How long would it take for him to snap? To tell me to knock it off and drag me caveman-style out of this place. I could feel his protective instincts fighting with something unknown, something I didn’t fully recognize, but was curious about all the same.
“Please,” I pleaded once more. “Dance with me.” I lowered my hands from around his neck and grabbed his elbows instead, pulling his arms completely around my back. Not wasting a beat, I once again wrapped my arms around his neck, the place where I was dying to belong.
His dark eyes narrowed at my move, meeting mine. They flashed with uncertainty before he gave in. And when he finally lowered his forehead to mine in surrender, I shivered at the intensity in his stare.
That’s when Maxwell began to dance with me.
Hot breath washed over my mouth as he moved his lips within inches of mine. The heady sensation of the alcohol, combined with his touch, warmed me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head—and all the special places in between. Three songs passed, then four, neither of us taking a break. Sweat trickled from his temples, and my drenched hair stuck to my cheeks even more than before. We were lost in a foreign world of lust and imagination, the surroundings releasing us from being our normal selves.
For the first time in years, I let myself truly be free with the opposite sex—with the only man I could trust to whom I wasn’t related. Travis had been a glitch on my radar, while Max was fast becoming my world…again.
My mind clouded as I spread my legs, taking things further. On my silent request, his knee drove between my thighs. The barely there panties I’d picked to wear rubbed me in ways I could only describe as magic. I gasped, my fingers tightening in his hair. My breathing grew heavy, erratic, my lower tummy tight. Fingers drew me closer, and I moaned as a shot of something spectacular tingled its way between my hips.
“Lee-Lee,” Max groaned into my ear, slowing his movements with the pace of the song. He pressed his lips to my neck and murmured, “We gotta stop.”
I whimpered, willing us to be alone, most of all willing him to want this as much as I did. Instead of giving him what he wanted, I took what I wanted, pushing down all my inhibitions as I pressed myself even closer. My dress rode up high, my breasts nearly popping out the top of my dress. Air grazed my backside as the pads of his fingers slipped beneath, the sensation unlike anything I’d ever known.
“Stop,” he begged louder, squeezing the sensitive area just below my ass. “Please, Lia. I can’t do this…” Yet he didn’t stop kissing my neck, didn’t stop touching my legs, did nothing to prove that what he asked for was what he truly wanted.
What was he fighting against?
More than anything, I wanted to believe that his sudden need to touch and kiss me was because he’d always wanted to. But I knew better. Which meant I would take what I could get.
“I need you, Max. I need you to make me feel good.” I leaned forward and pulled the lobe of his ear between my teeth. At my bold move, something inside him seemed to snap.
With a growl, he nudged me back, only to grab my hand and tug me off the dance floor. His grip on my fingers was so tight that my knuckles throbbed uncomfortably. But I welcomed the sensation, loving how I’d pushed him to some limit. The untouchable Maxwell Martinez with a rap sheet of women was affected…by me.
We landed in a dark corner, cut off from the rest of the club. My back hit the wall, and his mouth was on mine before I could ask what he was doing.
God, yes.
His knee took its rightful place between my thighs, but he somehow still managed to shield me from the rest of the room. He was always protecting me. Forever my Superman.
I moaned against his lips as he slowly lifted my dress at my thighs. “Are you sure?” he asked.
With a nod and not a lick of fear, I grabbed his hand and slipped it between my thighs, guiding him to the place where I needed him most.
For a moment, he froze, the pad of his finger firm against my clit as he slipped my panties aside. I gasped at the teasing sensation, moving my hips and urging him on. “Please,” I begged.
“Lee-Lee, God.” Need and desire battled for control in the dark pools of his eyes. Just when I thought he was ready to walk, he succumbed to the moment with a heavy sigh and lowered his forehead to mine.
Not wasting any time, I took what I’d been dying for and kissed him again, only for him to finally dip his finger fully inside me. “Max, yes,” I dropped my head back as he rubbed a slow circle over my clit with his thumb. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing with Max ever was. “Faster, please.”
Three quick grazes later, I was nearly ready to burst, knees shaking, pressed together to keep the moment from being over too soon.
“You’re so wet,” he growled, biting at my neck.
“For you,” I whispered, meeting his eyes again, my lips parted, my breath heavy.
One side of his mouth curled up in that cocky smile that was one hundred percent Max. “Only for me, yeah?”
I nodded fast, a thrill shooting through me at his words. Always for him. Forever for him. I kissed him again before I said, “Yes. Only you.”
Seconds later, I came hard on his fingers, body limp, sagging against him, sated…so very, very sated. I tucked my head under his chin, nuzzling his chest. In his arms, I felt like I could rule the world.
Fingers found my chin, tipping my head back. “Lee-Lee, you’re…” He trailed off. His face was a mask of wonderment. It seemed I was the only thing he could see. He lifted his free hand and traced his knuckles down the side of my cheek, watching the movement, studying my face…my lips, my eyes, my nose. In his arms, I felt whole. I felt real. I felt undoubtedly worshipped, and I never wanted it to end.
“You’re…” He said it again.
“What, Max? I’m what?” I licked my lips, kissing his chin.
Another sigh, and then, “You’re the most beautiful comer I’ve ever fucking seen.” He leaned forward and pulled my bottom lip between his teeth, letting go with a heavy sigh.
Disappointment squeezed my heart at his words. This was exactly the Max I’d expected, so why did it feel as though I’d suddenly lost everything?
Not wanting my emotions to win out, I played along with his game. “Comer, huh?” I grinned. “Is that a new term in the Maxwell Urban Dictionary?”
“Fuck yeah, it is.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, though the bubble of unease in my throat wouldn’t go away. Max was a filthy gentleman who I was pretty sure held the hearts of at least a million other women. I shut my eyes when he slowly slid the bottom of my dress back down. “Let’s go,” he said, grazing my cheek with the back of his hand once again.
The air was cool against my sweaty skin when we stepped outside. I trembled as he looked me up and down with a frown. “You’re cold?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Ignoring me, he pulled off his suit coat, the one he’d worn so casually over an old rugby T-shirt. “Put this on over your dress.”
“But—”
He pressed his finger to my lips, tenderness in his dark eyes as he said, “You need it more than me.”
“I’m fine without it. Promise.”
Lips pursed, he shot me a look that said don’t. I rolled my eyes but did as he asked, secretly loving how little I felt as the material fell just below the hem of my dress and down over the backs of my hands.
“Satisfied?” I flapped my arms like a bird, the sleeves nearly blowing in the wind. His eyes flared as he looked his fill.
My heart skipped, and my tummy flipped with excitement. Maybe, just maybe, this hadn’t been a tipsy fluke after all.
“How’d you get here?” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and frowned at something on the screen before he pocketed the phone once more.
I bit my lip. “I drove.”
“You what? I thought your car would
n’t make the trip.”
I shrugged. “Well, it did.” I just prayed it would get us home too.
After I handed him my keys, he headed toward the parking lot, his hand in mine once again. I reveled in the simple touch, the calloused edges of his fingers and palms curled around mine. It was an incredible sensation—one I wasn’t so sure he was even aware of.
In the car, he turned over the ignition. It started right away, but the muffler crackled, puffing out. He started it again, an adorable look of concentration on his face, only for the same thing to happen. The third time, the engine stayed on, but Max turned to me and shook his head with a playful grin. “Hope you don’t mind walking in the rain if this thing breaks down.”
As if on cue, a spark of lightning exploded in the sky, proving that a storm was imminent.
“What were you planning on doing tonight if I hadn’t shown up? It’s not like you could have driven home.”
My good mood faltered and I cringed, ashamed. I looked at my lap. “I’m not drunk.” The truth was that I hadn’t even thought about it, mainly because I was in such a head state today.
I’d received a phone call from one of the schools I sent my résumé to in Springfield, an alternative middle school that wanted to interview me next month. I was totally excited, but at the same time terrified out of my mind. This was real-life stuff happening. A real life that could mean moving away from the people I loved most. My only friends, my family. Max too. My trust level only went so far, obviously, and moving to a new city and meeting new people wasn’t something I could do easily. Not even New Lia was fully comfortable with the idea.
“Fine. Don’t answer me then.” He pulled out of the lot and drove toward the highway, silent along the way. My shoulders sagged in disappointment. I was losing him already.
“Why come all the way to Macomb for me?” I tried to keep my voice even because the last thing I wanted was to fight, especially after what had just happened between us.
“Because I was worried about you.”
Always worried…just like a brother. Exhaustion and fear had me leaning my head against the window. I shut my eyes, not wanting to think about what would happen next.
“I’m sorry.” He broke the silence first.
“For what?” I blinked, looking at his gorgeous face and the way his dark hair curled just a bit over his forehead. I wanted to brush it away, to feel it between my fingers again.
“For being so overprotective lately. I just…”
“You just…?” I held my breath, taking a risk. I moved my hand over the console, leaving it there, my fingers dangling. I was suddenly fifteen again, waiting for him to make his move.
And then he did. Fingers tangled with mine as he pulled our connected hands to his lap. I leaned closer, laying my head on his shoulder. Feeling as though the world had just righted on its axis, completely syncing everything that had been wrong in the world.
“I just need to make sure you’re good.”
“Why?” I blinked, willing him to say what I’d been dreaming about for years. That he cared about me…that he loved me like I loved him.
“Because…because you’re my best friend, Lee-Lee.”
Tears filled my eyes at his words, while regret made it impossible for me to respond. Best friends…best friends who kissed, danced, touched.
Instead of responding, I let my tears fall silently, only to fall asleep to the steady pitter-patter of the rain against the windshield.
Chapter 12
Max
It was after three in the morning when I finally got Lia home. The power was out in her apartment complex from the storm we’d just missed driving through, but she refused to come home with me—not that I could blame her. I’d fucked up. Not only because of what had happened at the club, but because of what I’d said in the car.
It was more than obvious that Lia had feelings for me, and with the way I felt about her, I was terrified about what might come next. I needed some time and space to figure out where to go. Most of all, I needed a plan.
If I was going to take this plunge and make it official with her, I needed to prove not only to her, but also to myself that I was a worthy enough guy to do the job. She’d been through far too much in life and needed real and right and everything I was scared I wasn’t gonna be good at. But for Lee-Lee, I actually wanted to try to be that guy.
Part one was already underway: stop continually screwing women. That was a hell of a lot easier than I’d thought it could be, since the woman who held my heart in the palm of her hand was the one I was trying to change for. I also had to quit being such a lazy ass. Jumping from job to job and partying when I should’ve been planning my life wasn’t the way.
After I got those issues worked out, I had to figure out how to ease the sting in telling Collin about my feelings for his sister. Maybe if I was a better man, I could prove to him I was good enough. Then he wouldn’t piss on the idea as much.
There again, he was Colly…and this was his little sister I was mad crazy about.
It was noon the next day when I pulled into her apartment parking lot again. Only this time I wasn’t driving her crapper of a car, but something a hell of a lot more reliable. She’d likely be pissed when she found out what I’d done, but I didn’t care. I had to use my money somehow, and what better way than buying her a safe, reliable vehicle to drive.
Taking the stairs to her apartment two at a time, I made it to her door in less than fifteen seconds. I thought about using the key on her ring to let myself in, but I didn’t want to freak her out. So, I knocked a couple of times. When she didn’t answer, I said fuck it and used the key.
The door creaked when I nudged it open, echoing in the bare space. I blinked and took it all in. Every corner of her tiny place. She didn’t have a lot, from what I remembered of us moving her in last fall, but this? This was sad.
One couch. One chair. One old-as-dirt coffee table. The apartment was dark and smelled like smoke—not from her, but maybe the previous tenants? I scowled, wondering where all the stuff we’d helped move had gone.
The place was quiet for ten in the morning. I discovered why when I found her on the couch, spread out with her hair over her face and a pair of earbuds dangling around her neck. A soft snore slipped from between her pretty lips, and I wanted, more than anything, to touch them again with my own. Instead, I continued to stare at her, amazed by how beautiful she was asleep. She looked like a pink angel.
My heart took a wild ride in my chest at the sight of what she had on. She was still bundled up in my suit coat from last night, with the addition of Spider-Man socks covering her toes. Adorable and sexy and pretty much any guy’s dream: that was my Lee-Lee.
More than anything, I wanted to kiss away the scowl on her lips and smooth the worry line in her forehead as she slept. And when those urges struck, I couldn’t push them away. That is until I caught sight of something shiny behind her head on the couch.
A bottle of Jack.
I rubbed a hand over my mouth and crouched to grab it, worry making my gut go tight. Apparently, she’d gotten herself wasted after I dropped her off. Was it because of me? Of what happened between us?
Even through the haze of her tipsiness at the club, I’d known she was aware of what she was doing when she shoved my hand up her dress. She’d looked fucking phenomenal grinding all over me, and even more phenomenal coming all over my hand. But what I really wanted—more than life and air and anything else in this world—was to see the look on her face when I could finally slip inside her. Now I was worried I’d read it all wrong. That maybe she wasn’t into me the way I was her. Jesus, what if she regretted it? I couldn’t let that happen. She’d have to know how much last night—and every second we spent together—meant to me. And I’d tell her…
Just as soon as I was ready.
She moaned in her sleep, rolling onto he
r side. My suit coat popped open, and…I froze. Damn. She wasn’t wearing anything beneath. Completely bare, one hard nipple peeked out, begging for my hands, my mouth. My throat went dry at the thought of pulling that tiny bud between my teeth. I squeezed my eyes shut and stood, taking a fast step back.
Not yet, Martinez. Patience.
Breakfast.
Yeah. I’d make her breakfast.
* * *
Lia
“…and he hasn’t called since?”
Loud words of concern echoed in my living room, yet I couldn’t open my eyes long enough to see where they were coming from.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve been there. I tried calling y’all this morning.” Silence followed, then a heavy sigh. More than anything, I wanted to acknowledge the familiar voice, but moving was impossible. My body ached too much.
“I had things to take care of. Won’t happen again. You guys are my life.”
I wiped at my lips with the back of my arm, frowning as I tried to squint through my lids a little more. Sunlight burst through an open window, crashing over my face like on a tanning bed, minus the goggles. Max was here, leaning against the living room wall, one foot propped up behind him while he talked on the phone.
Beneath my head, a soft pillow caressed my cheek and the potent smell of dryer sheets made my stomach curl. Still, I couldn’t help but wrap my arm around the pillow, savoring my last moments of what I was sure was pre-vomit.
Straight Jack did not sit well the morning after.
“Shit.” Gasping, I sat up. My head spun as fast as the room seemed to tilt. Bile pushed into the base of my throat, threatening to make a fast appearance. I stood, stubbing my toe on the couch leg as I raced toward the bathroom.
But I wasn’t going to make it.
On the floor next to my TV stand sat a planter, the leaves crumbled and dead inside. I grabbed it with fumbling fingers and hurled the contents of my stomach inside. Over and over I retched, falling to my knees when I could no longer stay standing.
The Right Kind of Reckless Page 9