“You’re… Ugh.” But I saw her grin, and those gorgeous cheeks turned pink too.
Then when she stepped out of my car and headed toward the trunk, I knew I’d won.
Inside her apartment, she flicked on the lights and tossed her bag onto the floor. “I’m going to take a quick shower. There’s alcohol in the cupboard next to the microwave and pizza menus in the top drawer.” She tried giving me a little smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Go ahead and order whatever you want.”
Nodding, I put the leftovers inside the fridge, then tugged off my shirt. It stank of old lady perfume and Mexican food—a combination I didn’t like much.
It didn’t take me long to find the menus. She had next to nothing in the drawers, except for the occasional plastic piece of silverware.
Once I’d dialed and ordered, I started snooping around. I’d only been in Lia’s place twice, and once was when she’d moved in a year or so ago. Before that, she’d been staying wherever she could crash, which always bugged me. I didn’t know why until now. She was reckless back then, didn’t seem to worry about anything. Even before I realized I was half in love with her, I hated thinking she was unsafe.
After everything she’d been through, you’d think she would have been a little more careful about what she did, where she stayed, who she lived with.
She’d started watching Chloe during the day while Collin worked, and with what he paid her, along with her job at the coffee shop, she made enough money to move into her own place. Not sure what her plan for money was now that she’d quit Jimney’s. Even if she said no, I’d pay her for the catering gigs she helped with.
Once I’d thoroughly hunted through the space, I headed back to her bedroom. A small, beat-up futon shared space with a few blankets and pillows scattered all over. Apparently that was where she slept. I frowned at the thought of her living this way, but she didn’t seem unhappy, and I wouldn’t judge.
“Jesus, Max, what’re you doing in here? You scared me.”
I turned, my body going stiff at the view. Wrapped in a towel, blue eyes wide, with her wet hair dripping down her bare shoulders, Lia stood in the doorframe, studying me.
“Nice bed.” I grinned, motioning toward the futon I was ready to toss her onto.
“Thanks…?”
Instead of running to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her ’til I lost my mind, I fell back on top of her blankets with a grunt and folded my arms behind my head. My feet hung over the edge, my elbows too.
“You’re welcome.” I motioned toward the nineteen-inch dinosaur TV. “Now, hand me the remote, please.”
When she didn’t move, I sat up higher to look at her better. She tugged the top of her towel up and bit her bottom lip. I stared at her naked legs, one eyebrow arched, waiting.
“Um…” Her cheeks went red again. For a girl with as much attitude as she had, Lia sure did blush a lot. “Do you think you think you could wait out in the living room or something?” She crossed and uncrossed her ankles.
I raised both my eyebrows this time, feeling no shame as I let my gaze wander over the exposed tats on her shoulder and neck. “Nope. Thinking I’m good right here.”
The pink-and-black tattoos reminded me of a picture I once saw at an art show in Tennessee—a Japanese tree tunnel, I think it was called. Pink flowers on the ground, pink flowers cascading over the tops in the trees…exotic, gorgeous, stunning, and just like her.
“Fine.” Her voice cracked. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
And then she did the opposite of what I expected her to do. She turned around and dropped the towel onto the floor, showing off the finest ass I’d ever seen in my life.
Chapter 18
Lia
“Damn, Lee-Lee.”
“What?” I grinned, secretly high-fiving myself. “I’m just looking for some clothes.”
Max groaned. “Warn a guy the next time you decide to go commando.”
“I did warn you. But you were too stubborn to leave.”
Laughing, I searched through my top drawer, fingering the silk of my panties until I finally found the ones. They were white and bikini cut with a pink bow on the front and two barely there strings on the sides. I called them my bridal panties because they reminded me of something a bride would wear on her wedding night.
“You act like you’ve never seen a girl’s naked ass before.”
He grumbled “Fuck me” under his breath and said out loud, “Well, usually the ass I’m looking at belongs to a girl I’m not interested in seeing. I’m a boob man usually…though that may be changing after this.”
My heart raced, and the sweat dampening my palms had me opening and closing my fists. When Max got nervous, his ridiculously sexy Tennessee twang would surface. It made the space between my thighs warm, which terrified the hell out of me. No doubt in my mind that I wanted Max, but what if he decided I wasn’t good enough? Tonight wasn’t about the future though. Tonight was about fun. Just hanging out, seeing where things went between us, that was all. We’d done the love declaration, but that didn’t mean we were diving into this as though we were days from getting married.
Hands shaking, I tugged the panties up and over my thighs, then leaned down and grabbed a T-shirt from the drawer below. It was midriff length and green, with the phrase I’m the kind of dirty you can’t wash off written across the front. After pulling on a pair of matching sleep shorts, I turned to face Max.
A nearly inaudible moan sounded from my futon as his gaze drifted over my body. Knowing that I affected him this way gave me the courage to be the seductress I didn’t think I could be.
“Did you order pizza?” Feigning innocence, I sat at my vanity with the oval mirror and ran a brush through my damp hair. The ends curled up slightly, probably because of the new color, but it worked, making me look like Marilyn Monroe.
“Pizza?” Max asked, his voice thin.
I stole another quick glance over my shoulder at him as I stood. Flat on his back with an arm draped over his eyes and a massive bulge in his pants, he looked like he was dying.
I cleared my throat. “I’m gonna grab some liquor.”
“Lick her?” He shot up.
My lips twitched. “Yeah. Liquor. Like, the stuff you drink from a bottle?”
He quickly put his feet on the floor to stand. “Shit, sorry, I forgot. I’ll grab—”
“It’s fine.” I smiled, placating him. “I’ve got it.”
For once, he didn’t argue or throw the chivalrous card at me, nor did he move from the futon. When I got back to the room, two Solo cups in hand and a bottle of Boone’s Farm tucked under my arm, he was still in the same spot, but this time his head was down and he was muttering something under his breath.
“Max.”
He lifted his head, watching me with hooded eyes as I set the cups on the cardboard box I used as a nightstand next to my bed. My heart thrummed in my ears as I popped the cork and began to pour. Chancing another look in his direction, I found his gaze on my chest, his lips parted.
“You’re gonna make me drink alone?”
“I’m not drinking that. Don’t you have any beer?” His eyes trailed over my body again, like he couldn’t help himself.
“It was part of a Christmas gift from Collin last year. It’s all I have. Sorry.”
“I’m gonna have to teach your brother some tact when it comes to gift giving, because this stuff tastes like shit.”
I didn’t complain. Alcohol was alcohol to me. But it was fun to play along and get Max all riled up. “I’m not about to waste something as delicious as Boone’s Farm, Maxwell. It’s the classiest drink on the planet.” I sat on the edge of the bed, handing him his drink while keeping a good hold on mine.
“Cheers.” I lifted my cup toward his, wasting no time as I downed the fizzy stuff in ten seconds flat.
My throat burned and I shivered, but the sweetness on my tongue had me licking my lips. I poured another cup, glancing at Max once I was finished.
His eyes were wide and focused on my mouth. “I’m so fucking turned on right now.”
“You’re too easy.” I laughed.
He grunted, then moved forward, his lips curled higher on one side. The futon squeaked under his weight. “You gotta little…” His thick thigh brushed against my knee as he lifted his thumb to wipe the wetness off the corner of my mouth. My breath caught at the move. On instinct, I flicked my tongue out again. His dark eyes grew molten when I pressed the tip to his finger.
He cocked his head to the right and studied my mouth. “You gonna let me kiss you again tonight, Lee-Lee?”
A sizzle inched its way over my skin, down my arms and legs, between my thighs…
“Only if you want to,” I whispered.
“Fuck yeah, I wanna.” His eyes glazed. “I wanna do a lot of things to you, but kissing is where I need to start.”
Our eyes stayed locked, the ever-present chemistry crackling between us. My face and neck warmed. It reminded me of heat lightning in the summer, but feeling it instead of seeing it. The humid air, the intensity of thinking it was so close, yet so far away…
Not thinking twice, I leaned forward, going straight for his mouth. But his palm stopped me short, pressed between my breasts. My chest heaved. The space between my thighs grew hot and aching and far too frustrated.
“Tell me something first.” He set his still-full cup on the table, unnervingly calm.
My face grew hotter, whether from embarrassment or the alcohol, I didn’t know. “What’s that?”
He moved even closer, as though drawn to me, like I was to him. “When was the last time you were properly made love to by a man?” He touched my knee with his hand, slowly moving it up my thigh until he reached the edge of my panties.
Goose bumps danced across my inner thigh. “I-it’s been a while.”
He trailed his fingers down my cheek and over my chin, utter devotion in his gaze. “I don’t want to push you. Ever. I do something wrong, take something too far, you tell me, got it?”
I nodded, not willing to let Old Lia work her way tonight. I wanted Max to push me to my limits. Love me like he’d loved all the other women he’d been with. So I sucked in a slow breath and leaned forward, whispering over his mouth, “I’ve dreamed about you touching me nearly every night for years now. So, go ahead, Soldier Boy. Work your magic.”
“Woman.” He threw himself back on the futon, pulling me on top of him. I straddled his lap, rolling my hips against his. “You’re killing me.”
“Nah.” I tugged at the end of his shirt. Both of his hands went to my thighs as he zeroed in on my panties. “The dick dies along with the dead body, and you feel very much alive to me.”
He growled low in his throat, then tugged me close for a kiss. Moaning against his lips, I continued to rub slow, tantalizing strokes against his zipper, my breasts heavy against my shirt. He lifted a hand and palmed one, a tentative movement that was more of a tease than anything else.
He moved his other hand to my back, splaying his hands out against my spine. Over and over, he trailed his lips across my neck, my throat, my chin. “Gotta see your beautiful body.”
He tugged my top up with one hand—higher, and higher, and higher… “Gorgeous.” The shirt was off and he pulled back, trailing his finger over my tats.
“I wanna spend all night kissing every bit of this ink, you know that?”
In one sweep, he moved to lay me beneath him, only to drop his lips to the underside of my breast. “And these, damn…” He nuzzled his nose around my nipple just once, inhaling. “They’re perfect.”
I moaned, arching my back as I ran my fingers through his hair. I needed more. I needed it all. But Max was gentle, worshipping the space and ink surrounding my breasts with only his hands. Just when I felt like I was on the verge of cracking, he finally touched my nipple. Fingers hot, he trailed them around the beaded hardness. He squeezed lightly, then tugged, the pinch going straight to the center of my body. I ground my hips up, seeking relief, and he grumbled his appreciation, finally latching onto the peak of my breast with his lips.
“Max…” I moaned at the wet sensation, needing more, but needing him to stop at the same time. Parts of my brain were growing fuzzy and out of control. An unfamiliar warning voice popped into my ears. Stop while you’re ahead. I tried to push it down, but it wouldn’t go away. You’re not his first rodeo, cowgirl. This is what he thrives on in life, remember? My eyes popped open and I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom. As good as this felt, as much as I wanted to keep going, I realized things were happening too fast. Not that I didn’t want a Mighty Max O again. It’s just that the what-ifs of him and me taking this to the next level were suddenly too overwhelming.
Stupid, logical Old Lia and her even stupider brain.
“Max, wait…” I pushed his chest, catching him off guard, only for him to fall onto the floor with a thud. I cringed and jumped down beside him. “Crap. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
His lips twitched in spite of the moment. His voice crackled as he said, “I might need a Band-Aid.”
There was a knock on the front door. The pizza man, most likely. When I was sure Max wasn’t going to pass out, I helped him sit up and then move to the futon.
“A Band-Aid?” I winced. “Are you bleeding somewhere?” I scanned his body, just as another knock sounded. He sighed. “It’s my knees, Lee-Lee.”
I crouched down in front of him and pulled the legs of his jeans up. “Like, what, rug burn?”
“Yeah.” He reached over and trailed a thumb over my chin. “I think I scraped them when I fell for you.”
Because I couldn’t help myself, I laughed and leaned into his touch before kissing his lips just once. “You’re truly made of magic, Mr. Martinez.” When all he could do was stare back at me with wide, puppy eyes, I patted his cheek and stood, then hunted around the room for some decent clothes to put on.
Chapter 19
Max
Somewhere between pizza and a bottle of Boone’s Farm, Lia and I had fallen asleep.
I’d barely been able to concentrate on whatever movie she’d picked off Netflix. Between my throbbing hip—the one I’d gotten after I fell off her futon—to my forever raging hard-on, I was a mess. Luckily sleep had won out, giving me a little reprieve.
She stirred against my side, and I immediately opened my eyes. I wasn’t one to sleep soundly. At least, not since my time in Afghanistan. We’d always have to be on alert back then, and some habits a man couldn’t change.
It was still dark out, no telling what time, but I knew we hadn’t been out long. She got up and sat on the edge of the futon. For some reason or another, she was shaking, her head buried in her palms. Not wanting her to know I was awake, I stayed still and watched her, keeping a healthy distance. Lia said she didn’t wanna be rescued, but I wasn’t sure how far that went.
An advertisement danced across the TV screen, and the rumble of a thunderstorm echoed in the distance. Occasionally a flash of lightning lit up the room, showing the hourglass outline of her waist. She wasn’t wearing a shirt. She’d told me her preference was to sleep naked, and I wasn’t going to complain. A beautiful, unclothed Lee-Lee was my new favorite thing in the world.
A few minutes passed until she finally stood, wearing nothing but those tiny panties. I wanted to reach out for her, pull her close, but decided at the last minute not to. I wasn’t really sure why she was up, or upset. A bad dream, maybe? I could relate.
She headed out of the room, gone for a few minutes. I heard the water in the kitchen sink run and figured she was getting a drink.
Eventually she came back, in time for a loud thunderclap to echo in the room. She squeaked at the noise, running toward the futon,
and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sorry.” She sat next to me, curling back under the blankets and against my chest. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I snuggled closer, wrapping my hand around her warm waist and settling my chin on her shoulder from behind. The futon was uncomfortable as hell, but the discomfort was worth it to be close to her. “You afraid of a little thunderstorm?”
Quiet filled the air. She didn’t respond. I frowned, leaning up on one elbow so I could look at her face.
Her eyes were open, unfocused on the ceiling. “Terrified, actually.”
Another flash of lightning. I put my hand on her cheek and pulled her face toward mine. “Wanna talk about it?”
A shrug. “It rained that night.”
I fisted my hands. “In college.”
“Yeah,” she whispered with a nod, her gaze now locked with mine. “I remember my roommate telling me not to go. That it was supposed to get bad outside.”
I didn’t remember much about that night, other than finding her, carrying her out, and then taking her straight to the hospital. But now that she’d mentioned it, I did remember the way my rain-soaked hair had stuck to my forehead as I stood in the ER waiting room with Gavin.
Blinking the memory away, I refocused on her face. “I wanted to kill him.”
She flinched, but didn’t pull her gaze from mine. “You wouldn’t have found him. He took off that night. Never came back to school, to his apartment either. I-I didn’t even know his last name.”
“You could have found out. Pressed charges… Ruined him.” Like he almost did you is what I wanted to say but didn’t.
She frowned, not because she was upset, but more like she was thinking. “I was dumb. Scared. I just wanted to forget it ever happened.” She sighed. “My parents were already so worked up about Collin leaving that I didn’t want to add more issues.”
“I’d say that was a hell of a lot bigger issue than Collin leaving.”
The Right Kind of Reckless Page 14