Until now.
He gently cupped her face in his hands, slowly dipped his head, and kissed her.
She gasped. Then she closed her eyes and made a purring sound as she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him back. Her arms wound around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair. She pulled him closer.
“Max,” she whispered.
His chest tightened. God, he loved the way she said his name. He let his eyelids droop closed as he teased her lips apart, gently nipped, sucked, devoured. With a soft groan, he let himself be drawn into the feelings only Jennie had ever aroused in him. Her fingers laced through his hair, making his scalp tingle. Her lips brushed against his, softly, seductively…Her tongue tangled with his, teased, darted away, and came back for more. His heart pounded. He felt her heart pounding back. Their breaths mingled. Everything faded away except the want that consumed him. Though Max had always been a slow and steady kind of guy, with Jennie he found he had no control. He didn’t want slow. He just wanted her. Period.
Then she sighed and rubbed her body closer, her small breasts squishing against his chest, her hips flush against his.
And he lost it. He chucked the flipper onto the counter. His hands settled at her waist, slipped down to cup her ass. His breathing quickened. Desire pulsed through his veins. He pressed her against his throbbing erection, grinding against her welcome heat, pushing her back against the counter. God, he wanted her. So much he could hardly think. And that scared the hell out of him. Because it gave her the power to hurt him. He’d never felt passion like this before. Whatever was between them was special, unique, so powerful it overwhelmed him.
And made him want to run from her as fast as he could.
Max drew back, breathing heavily. He was a fool. What the hell was he thinking?
He gazed down at her as his heart continued its erratic thump-thump-thump in his chest, as he fought back the desire that still blazed through him.
Her eyelids fluttered open. She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Wow. If you do that every time I decide to cook, I’ll just move in here and cook all the time.”
A chuckle erupted from his throat. It felt good to laugh again. It had been so long since he’d laughed, since he’d had anything to even smile about. Jennie was changing him. Bringing him back to the world of the living.
He cleared his throat. He was suddenly embarrassed by what he’d done. He shouldn’t have kissed her. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to take it slow with her. He wanted her too much. With Jennie, it would be too easy to lose control. He nearly had already.
“I’m sorry.” He turned away from her. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He snatched up the flipper and turned the sandwiches over. What kind of fool was he? If he thought he could make love to her and let her just walk away, then he was an idiot.
She came up behind him and touched his arm.
He glanced down at her, swallowing hard.
“Don’t look so disgusted,” she chided softly. “I like it when you kiss me.” She smiled. “I wish you’d do it more. My neck doesn’t even hurt anymore. I think you healed me.”
Heat crept up his neck and into his face.
She took the flipper from his hand and set it on the countertop. Then she stretched up on her tiptoes, reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers.
He knew he should resist, but he was powerless to stop her. He groaned softly when her lips touched his again. His arms snaked around her, pulling her close, pressing her against his swollen groin. He kissed her long and slow, until the blood was pumping wildly in his veins and his entire body throbbed with need. She was like a drug. An addiction he couldn’t fight. An addiction much worse than alcohol.
He sucked in a breath when her soft hands ventured inside his sweatshirt, her fingers splaying over his pecs. God, she was driving him crazy. He had to stop this before it went too far. Before he gave in to the temptation to make her his. God knew he wanted to strip her clothes off, little by little, run his hands over her soft skin, kiss her in all those secret places…
But he couldn’t. Not unless he wanted a broken heart.
He stepped back, pushing her away from him. Her hands fell away from his chest, leaving him feeling cold. He drew in a ragged breath, then opened his eyes to see her staring up at him.
“Max,” she whispered, saying his name in that breathy voice that made his chest squeeze again. “How long has it been since someone loved you? Truly loved you?”
Too damn long. He cleared his throat. What the hell had he started here? While his body screamed yes, his brain shouted wait. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he wasn’t the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. To some guys it was just sex, but not to him. If he listened to his body right now…
Jennie was already dragging him under. If he made love to her, he’d drown.
He turned back to the stove and removed the sandwiches before they burned, dumping them onto a paper plate. His hands shook. Damn. He was a fool. What had he been thinking kissing her like that? Wanting her to stay? He needed her to go. The sooner the better.
Dumb ass.
Jennie didn’t say anything, but he felt her gaze on him as he carried the sandwiches to the table. He sliced the sandwiches in half, then went to the cupboard for more plates and a bag of chips. Jennie watched him as he set the table, then went to the fridge for a couple of sodas. He returned to the table with the sodas and started eating.
Jennie slowly sank into the chair opposite his. He glanced up at her. Her expression was as crestfallen as he’d ever seen it. Dammit! He didn’t want to hurt her.
Her eyes filled with tears. She sniffled and reached for a sandwich.
Max dropped his sandwich back on his plate. Shit. He had to push her away, warn her off before he became too attached to her. Before she broke him.
“Don’t fall for me, Jennie,” he said hoarsely. “I’ll only hurt you. I have nothing to offer you. Nothing at all.”
“Then why did you kiss me?”
Max groaned. “I don’t know. Because I wanted to. I couldn’t help myself.” He rubbed a hand over his face.
“You’re giving me mixed signals here,” she whispered. “You say not to fall for you, but then you kiss me like that…?” She lifted her gaze to his. “I’m already falling for you. You’re a good man, a kind and caring person. You have a lot to offer a woman.”
Max’s heart pounded. He couldn’t tear his gaze from hers. An unexpected joy filled his chest, followed immediately by disbelief. She couldn’t truly be falling for him. She must be joking.
He choked out a breath. Emotion clogged his throat. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a pathetic drunk. I lost my business because of it. My own family turned away from me. I don’t deserve your love.” He sucked in a breath. “I don’t deserve you.”
Her gaze softened. “Everyone needs love, Max. Including you. And I don’t see any signs of a drunk living here.”
He shoved back his chair and rose from the table. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He strode from the kitchen, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll go set the X-ray machine up. Come back to the clinic when you’re ready.”
* * *
The man had serious issues. Most of which were his own insecurities.
Jennie slowly chewed her sandwich. She’d witnessed the torment in his dark eyes. She didn’t believe he was an alcoholic. She’d seen no evidence of that. But if he was, she wasn’t about to judge him. Max had lost his wife and daughter. She couldn’t even imagine what he’d gone through, what he was still going through…
She desperately wanted to be the one to save him from his misery, to bring some happiness back into his life.
Jennie knew the best way to do that would be to bring Emily back.
She let out a disgusted snort. She had tried to do that today but had failed miserably. She wasn’t a hero. She sucked at saving things. Crap, she couldn’t even save herself.
<
br /> If only she could remember what had happened to her. Then maybe she’d remember where Emily was.
Her neck throbbed. The Ibuprofen wasn’t doing much. She got up from the table, no longer hungry.
Max was waiting for her back in the clinic. Neither one of them spoke as he took several different X-rays of her neck. She sat back and watched as he flicked on the fluorescent viewing screen and reviewed the films.
“Though I’m not a human doctor,” he said after perusing all the films. “I know enough about human anatomy to see that, fortunately, you didn’t damage a disk. I’m guessing it’s just severe muscle strain. Tomorrow, once the roads have been cleared, you should go to a real doctor to be sure.”
He gathered up the films and shut off the florescent viewing screen.
“Will you take me?” she asked softly as he was about to leave the room.
He paused in the doorway. “If you want.” He avoided her gaze.
“I do.” She willed him to look at her. To see how much she wanted to be near him. To see that she truly did care about him. But he just turned away.
Jennie sat there for several moments after he left, her chest aching. Somehow she had to convince Max that she wasn’t going to hurt him. That she wasn’t toying with him. That she truly did care about him. But she understood his fear. He thought she’d leave as soon as she got her memory back. She knew he was attracted to her. He wouldn’t have kissed her like that if he wasn’t. And God that man could kiss…She’d like nothing more than to spend the afternoon in bed with him. Kissing. Touching. Making love…running her fingers over those corded muscles in his arms, his chest, exploring every inch of his beautiful body…
She sighed. Max was beautiful. Inside and out.
She didn’t care about her life before Max. Didn’t care who she’d been before. All she knew was that she didn’t want to leave Max. She wanted to stay here with him. Forever.
The phone rang, the shrill ring startling her from her thoughts.
Jennie leapt up from the chair. She hurried down the hallway. She heard Max’s voice as she entered the living room.
He hung up the phone, turning to look at her, his face filled with anguish.
Jennie’s heart dropped.
“Who was it?”
“Emily,” he rasped, his tortured gaze locking on hers.
“You were right. She’s still alive.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“What did she say?” Jennie eyed Max as she stepped closer.
He heaved out a sigh. “First she said, ‘Dad?’ and then she said ‘help me.’ She was crying. Then the phone went dead.” He put his face in his hands.
“Oh my God,” Jennie whispered. “That creep! We’ve got to find her. We’ve got to save her.”
Max lifted his head. His dark gaze locked on hers. “How? Where the hell is she?”
“I need to remember more.” Jennie turned and glanced toward the wolf lying near the back door. “Gray can help me.” She rushed across the room.
Jennie knelt before the wolf. Gray lifted her head. Jennie looked in the animal’s eyes.
I need help remembering, Gray. Can you help me? Show me the man who took Emily. Help me find out where Emily is.
Gray whined. The wolf lowered her head. Jennie lay on the floor in front of her. Max grabbed a pillow from the couch and tucked it under Jennie’s head. Then he leaned back to watch.
Focus on me, Gray. Help me to remember.
A fog-like cloud settled over the wolf’s eyes. Jennie stared, focusing entirely on Gray as Max disappeared somewhere outside of her peripheral vision. Her head started to spin. Her neck throbbed with the steady pound, pound, pound of her pulse. She closed her eyes, moaned softly.
Then the pounding was gone.
Jennie opened her eyes. The fog slowly cleared away from Gray’s eyes…
“I did it, Emily!” a male voice boasted. “I told you I could!”
Gray swung her head upwards as a man descended the stairs, carrying an unconscious blonde woman in his arms.
“No,” the dark-haired girl whispered from where she sat on the bed across the room, her mouth dropping open. “How could you? That’s Jennie Jones! My idol.”
The man dropped the woman on the bed next to Emily’s. He smirked. “I know. I told you I could abduct anyone I wanted. You were the one who dared me to go after her. The one who told me I couldn’t get her. You were wrong.”
Emily let out a sob. “You have to let her go. She never did anything to you!”
He snapped a metal shackle around the woman’s wrist, securing her to the wall.
“She’s my prisoner now, Emily. Just like you.” He rose from the bed and headed for the stairs. His mean gaze settled on Gray crouching in the corner where she was chained to the wall. The fur rose on the back of Gray’s neck. She snarled at the man, baring her fangs. Hatred consumed her. She ached to lash out. To bite him. To rip his throat to shreds. To make him suffer the way he’d made her suffer.
“What you looking at, you piece of shit!” The man kicked out at her. She leapt back, narrowly escaping the boot that arced out at her. She snarled.
The man chuckled and headed back up the stairs.
“Now I got me three prisoners.” He snickered, continued on up the stairs. Moments later the door slammed behind him.
Silence followed.
Gray glanced across the room. Emily’s gaze locked on hers.
“Oh Gray,” Emily whispered. “Look what I’ve done. This is all my fault.”
She burst into tears.
Jennie’s vision slowly cleared. Now she knew how she’d come to be abducted. But she didn’t blame Emily. The girl couldn’t be held responsible for the man’s actions.
Jennie’s neck throbbed again. She winced and gingerly sat up. Max’s arm went around her, supporting her.
“You okay?” His dark gaze probed hers.
“I think so, yes. But my neck’s hurting again.”
Max scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. Jennie didn’t protest. Her body felt weak. Drained. Her eyelids drooped as exhaustion tried to claim her.
Max returned quickly with a bottle of Tylenol and a bottle of Advil. “The combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen should help with the pain and the inflammation,” he said. He waited while she swallowed three of each type of pill, then settled back against the pillows.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m tired. Is it all right if I sleep for a while?”
“Of course.” He rose. “You can tell me about it when you wake up.”
Jennie reached for him, grabbing his hand. “We’re going to find her, Max. Have faith.”
He cleared his throat. “Rest now. We’ll talk later.”
He walked out, quietly closing the door behind him.
* * *
Emily whimpered as the man took another picture of her bruised face. This one a close up. She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her chin and held her face still.
“Hold still. We want your dad to see how serious I am.” He snapped several more pictures, then thrust her away. He stepped back. He pushed a button on the digital camera and scrolled through the pictures he’d just taken.
“Nice,” he said, turning away from her. Emily glared after him. Now she understood where Jennie’s courage came from. He’d tortured Jennie from the moment he’d captured her. But he’d never hit Emily until today. Her cheek still stung. Her swollen eyelid throbbed.
When he’d first abducted Emily, he’d never touched her. Just messed with her mind. Made her think she was going crazy. But then on her sixteenth birthday, he’d touched her for the first time. She shuddered at the sickening memory. He’d said she was a woman now, old enough to pleasure him.
Emily shoved the memory out of her mind. She refused to think about that.
Then today, he’d hit her. And it hurt. Hatred swelled inside her. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to escape from this hell. She wanted to be courageous like Jennie. She
drew in a ragged breath.
He’d made her call her dad earlier. Then he’d snatched the phone away from her and hung up before she could get more than a few words out. A tear trickled down her cheek. Hearing her dad’s voice…she forced back a sob. Her dad was probably going crazy right now, wondering where she was, wondering how he could get to her, how he could save her...
I’m sorry, Dad.
But Emily knew her dad wasn’t coming. He had no idea where she was. If she was going to escape this bastard, she had to do it on her own. She had to be courageous like Jennie.
She would not let her abductor get away with what he’d done to her or Jennie or Gray.
Emily vowed she would make him pay.
He turned back to her as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “We’ve got some good pictures here. Time to go send them to daddy.” He snickered.
Emily fought back an angry retort as he jogged up the stairs. She had to pretend to be meek and submissive. Had to do whatever he said. Because eventually, he’d let his guard down. He’d done it before. During sex. And right afterwards…
The next time he did, Emily vowed she would kill him.
* * *
When Jennie woke later that day, Max was at the back of the den, working out. She’d seen the weight bench in there earlier, but had never witnessed him using it. Now, she paused in the den doorway, her eyes going wide, her mouth watering at the sight before her. Max stood near the window as he performed curls, lifting one arm, then the next. His eyes were closed, his face tense with concentration. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. His biceps bulged under the weight, his chest muscles tightening with the strain.
Her gaze traveled down his splendid frame, then back up. His long legs were as hard and muscular as the rest of him.
Jennie stared, her heart hammering in her chest.
He was absolutely beautiful.
He must have sensed her presence. He opened his eyes. His gaze jumped to hers. He carefully set the weights down on the floor. Then he snatched a towel from the weight bench and wiped sweat from his brow.
Abducted (Unlikely Heroes Book 2) Page 13