And more determined than ever to hold on to what he had.
Chapter Twelve
It’s Everything
“Oh, sweet baby Jesus,” Vivian groaned under her breath the following morning, the sight before her one of the most incredible things she’d ever seen. Was there anything sexier than a hot guy who was shirtless, barefoot, and wearing a well-worn pair of jeans that hugged his muscular ass and thighs?
Her appreciative sigh must have been a little too loud, because Max turned his head, looking over his tanned shoulder at her. “Hey, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you sleeping?”
She grinned as she made her way over to him. “Maybe because I’ve slept like a hundred hours over the past few days.”
“Well, you needed it,” he said in a husky murmur, the way his heavy-lidded gaze was taking a long, hungry look at her making her wonder if he was thinking about her awakening…or the heated moments they’d spent wrapped around each other in her gran’s spare bedroom.
And she really hoped it was the latter.
When he turned his attention back to the window, she took a few seconds to appreciate how the muscles in his back rippled as he pushed his hands into his front pockets, the masculine stance making his shoulders look about a mile wide, then asked him, “What are you looking at?”
“There’s a white van across the street,” he said in a low voice, sounding concerned.
“A white van?”
“In Philly, the wargs used a white van when they kidnapped that last victim.”
She walked to the other side of the window and lifted the curtain back just enough that she could peek outside. “Look, it’s okay. It’s just a girl delivering packages.”
He exhaled a rough breath of relief, then slid her a wry smile that looked impossibly good on him. Letting go of the curtain, she stepped closer and lifted her hand to brush a wayward curl back from his forehead. “Have you been standing guard all night?”
“Not all night.” Placing one hand on her waist, he curled his other hand around the back of her neck as he leaned down, nuzzling the soft skin beneath her ear. “I spent the best part of it doing something a hell of a lot more fun.”
She slid her hands down his broad chest, loving how warm and hard he was, every inch of his incredible body as gorgeous as it was powerful. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Along with a bunch of other interesting adjectives.”
“Mmm. Like what?” she whispered, trailing a fingertip past his navel, where a dark trail of hair led down to what she knew was a breathtaking package.
“It was hard,” he husked against the sensitive side of her throat. “And loud, wet, rough, deep, wild…special.”
Oh, yeah. She totally melted when that last word fell from his lips.
He pulled in a deep breath as he buried his nose in her hair, a low, thick sound rumbling up from the depths of his chest. “God, you drive me crazy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t even have my mouth on your sweet little pussy,” he groaned, running his nose down the side of her throat, “but I swear I can taste its scent on my tongue.”
“And that’s a good thing?” she asked when he lifted his head, her voice drying up on her as she stood there staring up into his handsome face, wondering what they were doing. Why standing there with him in the muted morning light, in her gran’s orange-and-green living room, felt so impossibly right. Before she could come up with any kind of explanation, he placed his hands on her ass and started pulling her even closer.
Slowly.
Possessively.
With a beautiful grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, he leaned down and brushed his warm lips across her trembling ones. “It’s a makes me want to fuck you until you can’t even walk straight kind of thing.”
She threw her arms around his neck, the thought of playing hard to get never even crossing her mind. Vivian had never known a guy who knew his way around a woman’s body better than Max Doucet, and she wanted more of the sexy Runner. Wanted everything he had to give her, because she was already addicted to his mouth, lips, tongue, hands, fingers…cock. Already addicted to the way he smelled and tasted. To the hard, heavy weight of him. His delicious voice and striking gaze. The way she felt when he touched her, and the way it felt to have her own hands moving over his masculine body.
As she opened her mouth to the sexy feel of his tongue moving over her bottom lip, he deepened the kiss, tasting her completely, and everything from the night before came rushing back to her in a stunning, dizzying wave of sensation. She moaned into the kiss, as undone by the way he was taking her mouth as she was by those dizzying waves that were fast becoming giant thunderclaps of excitement. She was all tingles and heat and wanting, whispering pleading gasps for more and more and more, the way his big hands moved over her making her feel more desirable and feminine than she’d ever thought was possible. She’d always been green with envy over Skye’s amazing rack and hips, wishing like hell that she was built the same. But Max seemed to like her exactly as she was, and as she kissed him harder, gripping handfuls of his thick hair, she got completely lost in the velvety dark heat of his mouth.
And just like last night, he kissed her as if he meant to consume her. With one hand cupping the back of her head, the other kneaded her ass, holding her close enough that her breasts were pressed against his bare chest. Then closer still, until she could feel the way his heavy cock pulsed against her abdomen behind the fly of his jeans, the butterflies in her tummy beating their wings in frenzied delight.
Somehow, Max had taken the two things she’d always enjoyed about sex—the feelings, no matter how brief, of closeness and pleasure—and ripped all her previous experiences to shreds. He’d destroyed everything she’d ever known about sharing her body with a lover, and taught her just how watered-down the versions were that she’d been getting. Like watching a movie through a rain-spattered window, with no sound to bring it to life. Or walking through a breathtaking museum with your eyes closed.
But she was aware of the difference now. God, was she ever.
“I… I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what?” he asked against her trembling lips.
She flushed, horrified that she’d spoken those soft words out loud. “Nothing.”
He pulled his head back, those blue, blue eyes studying her warm face, and then a slow, wicked smile started kicking up the corner of his mouth again. “That it could be this good?” he husked, giving her hips a greedy squeeze.
“Oh, God,” she groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Shut up.”
“Hey now,” he said gently, pulling her hands away from her burning cheeks. “Don’t get embarrassed. Not with me.” Wrapping his big, strong arms around her, he spread kisses over her freckles, his voice a low, seductive murmur that swept right through her like a flame, setting her alight, her insides melting with emotion. “I’m not teasing you or laughing at you, baby. Trust me, I get it. I know exactly what you mean.”
“And what is it that you know?” she whispered, forcing herself to stop hiding from his gaze as she placed her hands on his broad shoulders and peeked up at him.
“Being with you… It’s different, Viv. It’s…” He seemed to struggle to find the right words. Then he shook his head a little, gave her another one of those crooked, devastating smiles, and simply said, “It’s everything.”
She swallowed so hard that it hurt, feeling like her heart had just thudded straight out of her chest, offering itself up to him in some gory display of affection. A single tear slid from the corner of her eye, and he kissed it away, his tongue flicking against her warm skin, before he worked his way back down to her mouth, kissing her so gently it made the back of her throat burn.
God, for someone who never cried, she’d been doing a damn good job of it lately. But she was too caught up in what Max was doing with his lips and tongue to worry about it. At least right then. Later, she’d no doubt start stressing about how easily, and how
quickly, this guy had gotten under her skin, her emotions in chaos whenever he so much as looked at her, much less touched her. But at the moment, she just wanted to keep losing herself in him. Just wanted to keep diving into that warm, lush pool of pleasure, and not worry about when she would need to come up for air.
Giving a playful nip to his lower lip, she was about to take his hand and start pulling him back to the bedroom with her, when his stomach gave a deep, rumbling growl that had them both laughing. Smiling up at him as he lifted his head, she said, “It sounds like there’s a hungry beast in there that needs to be fed.”
“I’d much rather have you, Miss Jackson. But you’re probably starving too, huh?”
“I could eat, but I’m not much of a cook. I can do eggs though, and I think I saw some in the fridge yesterday.”
He grinned as he ran his hands over her sides. “It’s okay if you can’t cook. I’ve been known to have a cast-iron stomach.”
She shot him a playful scowl. “Hey, it’s not like I’m going to poison you!”
“Good to know,” he drawled, earning him another playful look of warning before she turned and headed into the kitchen, keenly aware of his big, masculine body following close behind her. When she’d climbed out of bed, the only things she’d thrown on were a pair of panties and the tiny sleep shirt that Max had thrown to the foot of the bed before having his deliciously wicked way with her last night, while she’d had hers right back with him, so she had quite a bit of skin on display. She should have been freezing her butt off, but it was impossible to be cold when Max Doucet’s incredible blue eyes were moving over her body, keeping her warm.
She hadn’t been lying when she said she wasn’t a great cook, but she managed to make some decent scrambled eggs, while he took care of the toast and coffee. He even found her gran’s honey bear and made sure she took her recommended spoonful. It seemed impossible that something like that could be helping to control what the beautiful Arra had termed her “call”—but she couldn’t argue with the fact that there hadn’t been any terrifying confrontations with wargs or any other creatures since she’d started taking it. So who knew?
They kept the conversation light while they ate, talking about their favorite musicians, and after washing up, they decided it was time to get dressed and back on the road, since Max already feared they’d spent too much time there.
“So, um, where are we heading?” she asked a mere fifteen minutes later, as she locked the back door behind them, her backpack over Max’s broad shoulder and his bag in his hand.
“Well, Skye is up at the Alley.”
Her stomach instantly knotted as she made her way down the steps, avoiding his gaze. “Um, yeah, I know.”
She’d tried to sound casual, but he was too good at reading her. “If you’re not comfortable going there,” he said gently, “we don’t have to.”
“Yeah?” she asked, biting her lower lip as he reached over and took hold of her hand.
“Yeah.” He gave her cold hand a comforting squeeze, pulling her along with him as he started across the small yard. “And you don’t have to talk to me about your reasons, if you don’t want to. But I’m hoping you’ll decide to trust me with them.”
Shit. Guilt made her stomach churn, and she was starting to regret stuffing her face at breakfast. A feeling that only intensified when she thought about admitting her mistakes to Max. Just…no. No way in hell.
As if he could hear the things she was mumbling in her head, he said, “In your own time, babe. I’m not pushing.”
“Thanks,” she sighed, and she knew he noticed how the simple word shook with emotion.
“I know of a nice hotel that’s fairly remote in West Virginia. They have private cabins that sit along the bank of a beautiful lake. We could always head there.”
“Is it someplace you visited with an old girlfriend?” she asked, finally looking over at him as they made their way between the two houses that sat behind her gran’s property.
The corner of his sexy mouth twitched. “No. Elliot and me, we stayed there for a few days while tracking down a rogue last year. It’s owned by a couple who have ties to our world, so they were happy to let us stay.”
She managed to give him a little smile. “Sounds like a good choice, then.”
“Cool. I’ll give them a quick call and make sure they’ve got a cabin free for us,” he said, letting go of her hand so that he could take his phone out, and by the time they reached his truck, he’d managed to not only book the cabin, but also keep a careful eye on their surroundings. Ever the gentleman, he opened her door for her, then tossed their bags in the backseat, walked around to the driver’s side, and climbed in. His stomach gave another rumbling growl as he started the engine, and he shot her a wry grin.
“Do we need to find you some more food?” she laughed, grinning back at him.
“I’m okay.” He gave a husky laugh as they pulled away from the curb, out onto the quiet residential street, nearly every lawn covered in festive decorations. “Fucking just burns up a lot of energy for someone like me.”
Her grin slipped away like water down a drain, her brain getting stuck on the question of just how much “fucking” he did on a regular basis. God, he probably had women crawling around after him back at home, begging for a chance to share his bed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, giving her a quick glance before turning at the next corner.
“Why would you think something’s wrong?”
“Well, you suddenly have a really pissy look on your face.”
“It’s nothing,” she mumbled. Her voice had sounded a bit hoarse, so she gave a little cough. “I’m just being stupid. Ignore me. God knows I plan to.”
He reached over and grabbed hold of her hand again, threading their fingers together. “Hey, if that came out wrong—what I just said—I didn’t mean for it to.” He stopped at a four-way intersection and turned his head toward her, his dark gaze steady and earnest. “Because I meant what I said before. Last night…that was really different for me.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, unable to believe the way he was looking at her…or the words that he’d just said. Thankfully, she was saved from having to come up with a response when the car behind them honked, and he laughed as he turned his attention back to the road. But when he hit the gas, the truck seemed too sluggish to move, and they crept across the intersection like a little old woman.
“This can’t be good,” he muttered, parking on the side of the road, then quickly popping the hood and climbing out. She chewed on the corner of her lip as she waited in the cab, wondering what the hell they were going to do if something was wrong with the engine. They couldn’t very well stay off the grid if they had to rent a freaking car, because there would be no hiding the paper trail.
“What’s wrong with it?” she asked, the second he opened his door and climbed back in, the tip of his nose red from the biting winter wind.
“It looks like the EGR valve has gone,” he muttered, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket.
“Is that bad?”
He worked his jaw a few times as he typed something into the phone. “It isn’t good.”
“Can you fix it?”
“If we were in the Alley and I had my tools, yeah. But not here. We need to find a garage.”
Realizing that’s what he was searching for on his phone, she took all of about three seconds to decide if what she was about to say was a good idea or not, then blurted, “If we can make it a few more miles, then we can go to David’s.”
He slowly arched one of his dark brows as he looked over at her. “David’s?”
“David Hanson. He’s a guy I know from high school who moved here a few years ago. He owns his own garage.”
The raised brow lowered, but only so it could knit together with the other one as he frowned. “Is he the asshole who Skye mentioned? The ex-boyfriend who’s a mechanic?”
She blinked at the raw edge to his voice. “I didn�
�t realize Skye had mentioned him, but he’s not an asshole. David is actually the nicest guy I’ve ever gone out with. He wanted me to move here with him, but I didn’t want to leave Skye in Charity.”
“Great,” he snorted. “You’re really selling me on him, Viv.”
“Hey, don’t be like that. We’re just friends now. And I know he’ll help us as quickly as we need him to.”
He took a moment to study her face, searching her eyes for something, though she had no idea what it was. Just when she was getting ready to argue her case, he exhaled a rough breath and cranked the engine. “Fine,” he muttered, steering the sluggish truck back onto the road. “Just tell me how to get there.”
An hour later, Vivian wondered why she didn’t take more time to think things through. Running from Max the other day had been one of those times. The stupid decision that got her and Skye into this mess in the first place had been another. And now this.
What on earth had she been thinking? Obviously, she hadn’t, or she never would have thought introducing Max to one of her exes would be a good idea.
Thankfully, David had been just as cheery and friendly as always when they’d arrived, and Max had managed to keep from growling when her longtime friend had thrown his arms around her and given her a giant hug. She could tell by the look on his impossibly gorgeous face that Max had wanted to react with a possessive, animalistic snarl, but he’d controlled himself, and had even managed to shake David’s hand. But it hadn’t made the tension in the air any lighter, and she was so freaking grateful that David had been more than willing to start the work on Max’s truck immediately, not wanting to prolong the awkward situation any longer than they had to.
“Should we go and grab some coffee?” she asked Max, as they walked out of the garage, where his truck had just been boosted up in the air on a hydraulic lift, and back into the empty waiting area/office at the front of the building.
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