by J. H. Croix
We moved into a rather easygoing conversation about the company they’d acquired. I knew what Ivy and Owen did, but in talking with Max, I realized he was just as involved in the field of engineering and renewable energy as they were. I probably shouldn’t have been so relieved to talk about business, but I was. It kept my mind off the way my body practically spun like a top at Max’s presence.
Chapter Fifteen
Harlow
Max was, as would be expected, an intelligent, well-informed conversationalist when it came to talking business. He was clearly passionate about sustainability and focusing his energies in that area, and freely acknowledged, while he had the engineering skills, his facility with numbers, and ability to look at the long game when planning for business had shifted him into more of a management role.
Dinner passed quickly. I eschewed any further drinks, telling myself rather sternly that I needed to stay sober. I was in bad enough shape with Max as it was, I sure as hell didn’t need to get tipsy and let my guard down. I’d have been perfectly happy to crawl across the table and straddle his lap. Not because I was an exhibitionist, but because he was that inviting.
When the waitress paused by our table, checking to see if either one of us needed a drink and to collect our now empty plates, I shook my head. Max regarded me after she walked away.
“Not that I care one way or the other, but is there a reason you don’t want anything to drink?”
I surprised myself with my blunt answer. “Because I don’t need to do anything else stupid with you.”
For a flash, I sensed my comments stunned him. Max shuttered his eyes quickly, and I experienced a sting of regret. He was quiet for a beat, draining the last of his beer.
“You have me pegged, don’t you?”
I started to shake my head, but then I shrugged. What the hell? I’d already been more blunt than was perhaps wise. “Maybe.”
Max leaned forward slightly. Even that small shift in the distance between us sent my pulse even higher and fuzzed my thoughts. His blue gaze held mine. “That’s not fair, Harlow.”
“I didn’t…” My words trailed off when I didn’t even know what I meant to say.
Max reached across the table and curled his hand around mine where it rested on the table. The simple feel of his skin against mine made my heart kick against my ribs and my breath hitch.
“I’m not going to pretend I’m a saint. But I know this thing between us isn’t going anywhere. I’ve never made promises I can’t keep, but I have enough sense to know no one can promise something in advance. It would be foolish for us to ignore this.”
His voice was like rough velvet, almost hypnotic. I couldn’t look away, and my mind narrowed, focusing on the soft brush of his thumb across the back of my knuckles. Because that was how helpless I was, caught in a riptide of need and desire over nothing more than the barest touch from him.
I heard Ivy’s voice ringing in my head, pointing out that I wasn’t giving anyone a shot. Perhaps, just maybe, I could let this play out, if I walked into it with my eyes wide open for once, without hoping for more.
Max’s thumb brushed across the back of my knuckles, the subtle gesture erotic. I’d never known my knuckles were that sensitive. The air was heavy around us as I tried to take a deep breath and failed. My heart was pounding too hard, and my body felt as if I’d just run a marathon. It was crazy; all I was doing was sitting there with Max’s hand curled over mine and his touch teasing me.
“Okay,” I finally said.
Our waitress arrived with our check just then. Max never let go of my hand, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and tugging his wallet out with one hand before handing over a credit card. She hurried away, promising to return quickly with the receipt. Given that Max was basically ignoring her, she got points for being gracious.
Not once did Max look away from me during that brief exchange. “Okay what?” he asked.
“Okay, we’ll let this play out.”
I could tell my answer surprised him. His eyes widened slightly, his nostrils flaring, and he squeezed my hand lightly as his gaze darkened.
“Tell me the ground rules. I’m sure you have some,” he said softly, his voice alone a seduction.
Before I could answer—and I didn’t even know the answer—our waitress returned. Max signed the receipt and handed it back. If she had any thoughts about the fact he wasn’t even acknowledging her, she didn’t give it away. After a “Thank you,” she left us.
Max stood from the table, curling his hand around mine more firmly. As I rose, I couldn’t help but tease. “Are you going to let my hand go?”
He didn’t reply, but then, he also didn’t release my hand. Not that I minded.
As we began to walk out of the restaurant, he glanced down to me, a grin teasing the corners of his mouth. “No,” he belatedly replied. “Beginning now, there won’t be a moment when I’m not touching you. At least not for the next few hours.”
The sensual promise contained in his words sent a rush of heat rolling through me and an ache began to build at the apex of my thighs. The desire I’d been trying to tamp down was a brushfire rushing through my senses.
With his hand warm around mine, we walked through the reception area down to the bank of elevators. When we stepped into one, another couple followed us, and disappointment scored through me. It was a testament to the depth of my need for Max that I was frustrated I couldn’t climb him like a tree right here in the elevator.
Let’s be clear, I wasn’t one for public sex, but Max hazed my mind and clouded my senses so thoroughly, I lost sight of everything but him. The space around us felt charged.
“Floor,” he murmured softly.
“Oh, seven,” I said, nudged out of my trance.
He jabbed the button and then leaned against the railing. At a glance, he appeared far more composed than I was. I felt as if I was tumbling and stumbling into a cauldron of desire. Meanwhile, he looked perfectly calm, cool, and collected. The only thing that gave anything away was the heat banked in his gaze when he glanced down to me.
The elevator ride felt like forever, although it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. The other couple’s floor was above mine. As soon as the doors whispered shut behind us, Max moved swiftly, spinning me into his arms and against the wall.
“Thank fucking God you didn’t tell me to leave tonight,” he murmured, his words vibrating against my forehead. Then, his lips were ghosting across my skin, over my temple, and down along my cheek before they pressed against mine.
It felt almost as if he were breathing me in. With the feel of his hard, hot body pressed against mine and his elbows caging me against the wall, I was nearly out of my mind with need. When he started to draw back, a frustrated gasp slipped from my lips, and I snatched at his shirt, tugging him back to me.
He obliged. The moment his lips met mine again, his tongue swept inside, and I moaned into his mouth. In a matter of seconds, our kiss was simply wild—our tongues tangling, stroke for stroke, hot, wet, and deep.
I lost track of everything but the feel of Max against me. His body was all muscle. His arousal rested at the juncture of my thighs, and I could feel every hard inch of him.
He muttered something into our kiss and then broke free. “Jesus, Harlow. I’m gonna fuck you right here against the wall. So unless you want that, you’d better tell me where your room is.”
His words alone had my channel clenching. My panties had been soaked all through dinner, so that was nothing new. Through the haze of need, his words registered, and I managed to straighten and push away from the wall.
“Lead the way,” he said, the rough edge of his voice sending butterflies spinning through my belly.
“This way,” I murmured as I turned. A few steps along, I realized I’d gone the wrong direction and promptly did a U-turn, bumping into Max along the way. He didn’t say a word, simply held tightly to my hand as I hurried down the hallway, my legs wobbly.
After pawing through my purse, I recalled my key card was in my pocket. Sliding it out, I scanned it over the sensor and then we were in my room. Max didn’t wait. Spinning me against the door, our kiss picked up right where we’d left off. Only this time, there was nothing to hold us back.
By the time my brain came halfway online, my nipples were damp and he was swirling his tongue over a taut peak with my blouse and tank top in a rumple on the floor. My legs were curled around his hips as I rocked against his arousal.
“I need to get you naked,” he murmured as he drew back from yet another punishing kiss.
Stepping back from the door, he held me high against him and I dragged my tongue along his neck, savoring the salty tang of his skin. Everything I had told myself about keeping my distance was lost in the maelstrom of the burning desire spinning around us, catching us in its flame.
I loved how easily he held me. He nudged the dimmer on the lights as he rounded the corner of the narrow hallway into my room. When we reached the bed, he eased me down. I stood immediately, kicking my boots free and shimmying out of my jeans. It was as if we were in a race to see who could get their clothes off the fastest. My boots ended up in two corners of the room, my jeans in a pile on the floor, and my underwear was tossed on the nightstand.
Then, he was stretching out on the bed beside me, and I was moaning at the feel of his hot skin against me. I was so frantic, I curled my legs around him, rolling on top to straddle him.
“I need you,” I gasped.
Max gripped my hips, holding me still when I tried to rise up. “Oh, you have me. But I’m not rushing. You’re meant to be savored.”
Sweet hell. This man was going to slay me with words.
He rolled us over in one swift move, and my protest was lost in our kiss. Then his lips were trailing down my neck, his stubble scraping across my breasts as he swirled his tongue around my nipples, and his fingers were teasing between my thighs. I forgot that I meant to argue and got lost in a blur of sensation.
I hadn’t known this about myself before my last night with Max, but I loved how he simply took control. Oh, he wasn’t pushy, or domineering about it. In fact, his control was so complete, that was entirely unnecessary. As his teeth grazed over my nipple and I cried out, I felt his low chuckle against my skin.
He slid back up my body, his weight settling against me. I reflexively arched my hips into him. I was slick and wet, and his cock slid against my folds.
“Oh no, you can’t make me rush,” he murmured against my lips. With another swipe of his tongue against mine, he drew back with a nip.
I nipped right back, eliciting another chuckle. “That’s what I love about you,” he murmured.
“What?” I asked, raw need lashing at me.
“You forget to be polite. Bite me all you want.”
Before I could react, he was mapping his way down my body, his lips, teeth, and tongue teasing me, and his hands sliding down my thighs to press them apart. When his lips dusted across my belly, I cried out.
“Need something?” The sly tease in his voice only notched the need higher inside of me.
Rocking my hips restlessly, I murmured, “Yes.”
When I glanced down, his blue eyes seared me. He trailed his fingertips across my slick folds, coasting over my clit, just enough to send a zing of pleasure through me and make me gasp.
“This maybe?” he asked as he finally, finally, sank a finger inside me.
I was so worked up, I almost came right then, but he gave me just enough to twist the need tighter and make my hips buck into him.
“Max,” I murmured, close to anger.
Just like my night with him over a year ago, it was as if he knew when I had reached my limit. Another finger joined the first and he stroked, fucking me slowly with his fingers. His mouth joined in on the action and his tongue teased over my clit as he pumped in and out of me.
Merely spending time in the vicinity of Max was foreplay for me, so I was at the edge already, the wave curling tighter and tighter inside and crashing over me so hard I blacked out when the pleasure hit me.
As my mind flickered back online, I felt him draw away before he rose up over me. I had no idea where he got a condom, but he was rolling it on in no time before his weight settled over me.
It didn’t matter he’d just sent me flying so hard I was nearly boneless—I wanted him inside of me. I started to curl my legs around him, but he shifted his weight, rolling us over so I was sitting astride. I felt exposed, bare to him as he looked up at me. Shimmying back, he rested against the headboard. With his dark gaze on mine, my heart thudded as he brushed my tangled hair away from my face.
“Ride me,” he said.
There was no hesitation. I couldn’t have said no to Max, not for anything when we were like this. As I rose up, he reached between us, dragging the thick head of his cock back and forth through my folds. I was so over-sensitized, I almost came again. But then, he surged inside as I sank down, the stretch of him filling me, drawing a rough cry from my throat.
His thumb traced over my lips, and I caught it in my teeth, opening my eyes when he murmured my name.
“I want you to know exactly who I am when you come,” he said bluntly.
Dear God. This man. His hands slid down my sides to grip my hips. It started slow as I rocked into him and he surged up into me, every stroke a little deeper. I was tight, because it had been a damn year since I’d had sex.
I tumbled into the moment—the feel of his strong hands on my hips, my nipples brushing against his chest as I rose up and sank down—again and again and again. I was chasing after another release, this one building more slowly, more intensely.
I was chanting his name as pleasure began to unravel inside. His thumb circled over my clit, and I came with a quivering cry, distantly hearing his raw shout as he went taut and shuddered underneath me. His arms came around me and his hand tangled in my hair as I collapsed against him.
He was a touchstone in a spinning eddy of pleasure, the aftershocks echoing through my system.
Chapter Sixteen
Max
I fell asleep tangled up in Harlow and woke up the same way. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Not really. All I knew was I wasn’t about to leave her side. It felt too fucking good to be with her. She was like a drug, with a straight line into my veins.
After we unraveled ourselves, I carried her to the shower. Once we were all washed up, we fell back into bed with her drifting off to sleep tucked against my shoulder, one of her calves hooked over mine. I’d lain awake for a while, contemplating how difficult it was to maintain my control when it came to Harlow.
I had never had to put too much effort into relationships. It had only become easier once I was a successful CEO with money and connections. Not that I cared all that much. Though I had money now, I’d been raised simply. My parents hadn’t been flat-out poor, but they’d always just gotten by. My father was a mechanic and my mother, a teacher. I’d grown up in a medium-sized town in western Pennsylvania. The mountains there were beautiful, and life was simple.
Aside from excelling in sports, I’d been very bright. Had my father been in a different position when he was a boy, he could easily have become an engineer. My facility with those skills came from him, as did my quick work with numbers. As it was, he was a damn good mechanic and perfectly content with his life.
He and my mother had been high school sweethearts and raised me and my younger sister, Mariana, in a quiet, simple way. Coming from a caring family, I’d had a girlfriend in high school who I thought I loved. We parted on friendly terms when I went off to college, and then MIT.
That was where I met Cheryl. I’d wanted more for myself than what my parents had, yet I also wanted the stability they shared. Cheryl and I quickly settled into the kind of relationship you had in college and grad school—lots of sex and lots of studying.
I’d fancied myself in love with her, and I supposed I was. Then, I took her home with me
one weekend. I didn’t know what she expected, but I suppose she didn’t expect the slightly rundown single-story ranch home, with a small yard and my dad’s shop right there on the property.
It had been tense. I hadn’t tried to create any other impression about my childhood, but in hindsight, I could see she might’ve expected something else. She was looking for money and had the brains to hope she could find it. To this day, I think she only stayed with me because of my high profile at MIT. I had the skills to land whatever position I wanted in engineering. When I didn’t take a lucrative position as a software or systems engineer at a company paying high-dollar, she dumped me and told me she thought I was too simple for her.
It was nothing horrible, but it had certainly soured me. By that point, I was focused on work and building my own company, and money was tight. I’d poured all of my energy into that, and decided I didn’t want to waste my time trying to find what my parents had.
Harlow shifted beside me, her silky skin sliding against mine. She didn’t wake and settled against me on a soft exhale. I’d woken earlier with my arm curled around her and my palm cupping the generous curve of her bottom and been quite content to leave it there as my mind wandered.
Her subtle motion brought my mind back to the present. I wanted to convince myself that this was just sex. It was certainly a white hot, raw, primal attraction, and the sex was fucking amazing.
Yet, I hadn’t forgotten the sense of relief after our night last year when I left. I now knew, even though I’d only had two nights with Harlow, I’d been kidding myself when I thought we could burn this to ashes. I had enough sense to know everything between us was made that much more powerful by the intensity and intimacy shimmering with it.
That begged the question as to why I didn’t get up and leave this morning. Because relationships were business for me, but there was no way in hell I was walking away from Harlow. Not right now.