And not just for three days, or two weeks.
But forever, if he’ll have me.
Fourteen
Max
“Dammit, Nate!” I slam my good hand against the desk, and my best friend jumps sky high. “You have legal access to all of their information! Why won’t you just give me her address?!”
“Because you’re a felon? Because if you go over to the Beaumont’s mansion and threaten his safety, he will have you thrown back into jail and the future that you’ve worked so hard for will be taken away again?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. He’s right, and I’ll admit it. I just need to see Aria again, to make sure she’s okay. Even if she chooses to stay with her father and to marry that douchebag River, I just want to know she’s alright.
It’s only been twelve hours since those thugs shoved her into the Towncar and drove off into the night, breaking my nose in the process. But the splint crudely resting on my nose is the last thing I care about right now.
All I can think about is Aria.
Her sympathetic smile when I told her about my past.
The feeling of her hand wrapped around mine.
The way she looked when she came apart around me last night in the cave.
It’s like I found the other half of my soul and was blessed with her presence for exactly 36 hours, before Fate remembered that nice things don’t happen to Maxwell Hudson.
I vaguely register the sound of arguing on the street. From the corner of my eye, I see Nate move to the window with a frown. His eyebrows scrunch in confusion as he lifts the blinds open wider.
“Uh, buddy. You’re going to want to see this.”
I come to the window, pushing Nate to the side so I can see what he’s talking about. When she comes into focus, all the air leaves my lungs in a quiet whoosh. Rushing out the door to the street, I can’t help the grin that stretches my lips. The jubilation on Aria’s face is a perfect mirror of mine as I sweep her into my arms. “You’re back.”
“Yep. Turns out not even my overbearing, insane father can keep me away from you.”
I press my lips to hers in a kiss I thought may never happen again. Her lips are soft and warm, the taste of her even sweeter than I remembered. Then I remember the arguing I heard from upstairs.
“Were you fighting with someone down here?” I look around, sweeping my eyes over the small group of boys gathered on the corner.
“Yeah, some tiny future felons were getting ready to damage someone else’s car. I told them I was friends with the mayor and I got a good look at all of them, and they backed off.” She grins proudly. “I guess I’m more intimidating than I thought.”
“They probably just thought you were hot,” I tease her. Her smile flickers. “But you are pretty darn intimidating, too.” My lips drag over the exposed skin of her neck and she whimpers softly.
I’m so happy to see her I almost forget to ask.
I lower my voice to nearly a whisper. “How did you get away, Aria? Is there a body you need me to take care of?”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Nope. I spoke to River, who truly doesn’t want to marry me, either. I explained that I met someone else, and wanted out of the commitment. He sympathized with my plight, saying he was going through the same thing. Then he sent me some scandalous pictures of himself with his secret boyfriend and gave me permission to share them if I had to. I told my father I had photographic evidence that could destroy his business, and that I’d release them to the media if he didn’t let me leave.”
I chuckle softly, shaking my head. “That was it? That’s all it took for him to allow you to come back here?” I feel like she’s holding back something important.
“I also signed away my inheritance and everything that goes along with it. Even the car that you’ve been working on doesn’t belong to me anymore.” She shrugs and smiles shyly. “I just know that we have something here, and it’s worth it to me to figure out if you feel the same way.”
“I do, Aria.” I kiss her again, pouring all my feelings for her into the movement of my lips. “I swear to you, I’m going to take care of you, baby. It’s small, but we can live at my place for now until I can save up for something bigger.”
She laughs and kisses me back harder. “Actually, the Veterinarian over in Rucker’s Bend is retiring soon and looking for someone to eventually take over his practice. I have an interview later today, but they told me I’m the only applicant so far.”
“That’s perfect! That’s only twenty minutes away from here.”
“If I get the job, we could be in a real house by next year.” She looks up at me, her topaz eyes full of love. “But Max, I don’t care if we have to live in the alley behind the garage, as long as I’m with you.”
My heart squeezes as I lift her up and carry her inside the garage, bridal-style.
Maybe good things do happen to Maxwell Hudson, after all.
Epilogue
Aria
One Year Later
“Alright, that’s the last of the boxes.” I wipe my grimy hands down my jeans and lean back against the empty kitchen counter. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”
Max shakes his head. “Nah, it wasn’t so bad because I got to check out your ass every time you’d lean over to tape up another one.” He throws me that gorgeous, heart-melting grin. The one that still hasn’t lost the effect it has on me, even a year later. He moves closer, cupping my face in one huge hand and looking down at me with tenderness. “I wish I could afford to give you enough clothes and shoes to fill hundreds of boxes, Aria.”
“You know I don’t care about any of that stuff. All I care about is the way you make my heart dance in my chest with just one look.” I roll up on my toes and press my lips against his. When I dip my tongue into his mouth to glide against his, he groans.
“What time is the moving truck coming?”
“Noon, I think. Why?”
He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and checks the time. “They may have to knock a few times before we answer.” With a mischievous grin, he leans down and captures my lips with his. His mouth moves against mine, softly at first, and then with an urgency that has my panties good and soaked.
My arms wrap around his neck, toying with the hair at the nape, and I kiss him back with all the fire that has been burning for him since the moment we met. He moans into my mouth and I melt into his embrace against the hard edge of the kitchen counter.
“Alright, that’s it,” he growls, hooking his arms around the backs of my thighs. He lifts me up onto the counter, shifting my hips until my head rests back comfortably against the wall. “We may not have much time, but I have to have you right now.”
He sets to work on my fly, unbuttoning and unzipping the jeans faster than I’ve ever seen him do it. He tears the denim down my legs, groaning when my sticky thighs are revealed to him. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, you know that?”
“Oh, stop.” I can feel my cheeks burn beneath his intense stare.
His hands slip between my thighs, ripping my lace panties from my body before discarding them carelessly behind him. The sting from the action is quickly forgotten when he sinks one finger inside me, then another, before curling them expertly. He pumps them in and out of my warmth, his thumb occasionally brushing over my clit and stopping only when he feels the tell-tale clench of my walls around his fingers.
He removes his hand, cleaning his digits with his tongue and moaning filthily at the taste of my desire for him. “I have no idea what I did to deserve you, Aria, but I’m so fucking glad I did it.”
My pussy throbs at the thought of being filled by him again. I reach over and stroke him through his low-slung gray sweatpants. The outline of his cock has been teasing me all damn day. He shivers, hardening even further beneath my hand. As I draw his sweatpants down, our eyes meet. All the love and desire I feel for him is reflecting back at me, and I can’t hide my happiness.
&n
bsp; As his pants drop to the floor, I bite my lip. “I wish we had more time. I love the sound you make when I take you down my throat.”
“Jesus, baby. You’re going to be the death of me, I know it.” His eyes close as I shuck his boxers for him, gripping his cock in my hand and stroking it with confidence. After spending nearly every day in bed with him for the last year, I know exactly how he prefers to be touched.
He growls, drawing me closer to the edge of the counter and trailing his lips down my neck, as I continue to stroke the velvety skin of his shaft. I lift my leg over his shoulder and pull him closer to my aching core, which is now dripping all over the kitchen counter beneath us.
A whimper escapes my lips as I feel his tip drag through my folds, and when he lines himself up with my entrance, I hold my breath. He sinks inside my wet heat and we both sigh.
It feels like home.
He slowly withdraws from my depths, before slamming back in with a groan.
“So good,” I whine, before dropping my lips to his neck. I pull a mouthful of skin between his teeth and work it over with as much suction as I can as he pushes deeper inside me.
“Hey, now. You’re going to give me a hickey.” He laughs, shaking his head with amusement. He cups the back of my head with his hand lovingly as he rolls his hips deliciously.
His cock hits me in just the right spot, and I throw my head back in pleasure. “Good. I saw the way Melanie Baker was looking at you at the Driftwood last night.”
He pulls his head back, trying to look intimidating though he’s dangling at the edge of an orgasm. “You know you have nothing to worry about. Ever.”
“I know.” I feel him shudder at my words, before gripping my hips even tighter and rocking into me at a relentless pace. The first waves of my orgasm are sneaking up on me quickly. “Oh, God.”
When his thumb brushes over my swollen clit, I clench wildly around him, a hot rush of my arousal now coating his cock. His jaw hardens and his hips snap at a punishing pace, the delicious pleasure washing over us both.
All the pressure that has been building up inside me finally crashes down, my climax tearing through my body and causing my vision to blur. His thrusts grow sloppy and he tumbles over the edge behind me with an animalistic growl so sexy I nearly choke. I grasp his ass cheeks in my hands and squeeze him deeper inside me to bathe my walls in his hot release.
I press my cheek to his chest, listening to his heart race as our breathing slowly returns to normal. He strokes my hair lovingly and whispers words of endless love and devotion, while we come back down from our highs together.
He’s still buried deep inside me when the moving men knock on the door.
Max looks down at me with tender eyes as he helps me off the counter. “Well, this is it, Aria. The first day of the rest of our lives together.”
I smile up at him as he hands me my torn underwear with a chuckle. “Max Hudson, every day with you is like winning the playoffs."
He laughs and presses a kiss to my head as we pull on our clothes. We may not have much, but we have each other, and that's more than either of us ever expected.
The End.
Chasing Summer Page 6