Max (A Carter Brother series Book 4)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “Come to see you,’’ is all I say as I climb into the bed beside her.

  “Why are you undressed?’’ she hisses, her voice croaky.

  “Because I’m not leaving you and I’m tired. I don’t know why you’re upset but I can’t stand to see you hurting or knowing you’re hurt. Lie down,’’ I order.

  “No. You can’t just come in here and think you can sleep here. I told you to stay away. It didn’t even take you long to get with another girl,’’ she replies bitterly.

  “Jealous?’’

  “Yes! No! Fuck’s sake, Max, leave me alone and go home,’’ she huffs out, throwing herself back down and turning to face the wall. I crawl further beside her, spooning her from behind. She tries to fight me by moving away but I pull her body closer.

  “Still!’’ I demand. “I’m not here to piss you off even more. I just want to make sure you’re okay. I know I hurt you; you hurt me too,’’ I admit.

  “No. You just took a hit to your ego, Max, nothing I’ve done has hurt you,’’ she bites out. A part of me stops to think about it. Am I hurt because she’s bruised my ego or because I’m genuinely hurt by her?

  “You’re right,’’ I start and she humphs in agreement. “But you’re also wrong. Yeah, you’ve hurt my ego but you hurt me too. You’re the first girl I don’t just want to fuck. I love hanging out with you. I get on with you and don’t see you as another fuck. I can get anyone I want, Lake, but it’s you I want to be with differently. I don’t know what any of it means, I just know I don’t want to use you like I use other girls,’’ I admit.

  “Max,’’ she whispers, pausing before taking a deep breath. “I like you too, but we can’t be anything more than friends. I’m not the person you’ve all painted me out to be. I’ve done something terrible. Something I’ll never be able to reverse. You don’t need that in your lives.’’

  “What are you talking about? Is that why you’ve been upset?’’ I ask quietly.

  “Yeah and no. I was pissed at you. Pissed that I cared, pissed that you were with another girl, but more pissed at myself for being pissed.’’

  “That’s a lot of piss. Should have come to the party tonight, you would have been good to go,’’ I mumble, still confused on what she’s trying to say.

  “Shut up,’’ she warns before taking another deep breath. “I went out tonight; pissed off about you. But deep down it was more to do with Joan, with Harlow, Malik and everyone else. You all have this tight bond, this deep connection, and it’s something I had, yet, will never have again. I’m not after sympathy or a replacement family but I care about you all. I don’t even know why.’’

  “It’s cause we’re a fucking awesome family, that’s why,’’ I tell her, chuckling. She playfully smacks my arm that’s curled around her stomach and I chuckle into her neck, breathing in her apple shampoo. “So what has you so upset?’’

  “It wasn’t until I got back that Joan made me realise what’s really bothering me. It’s you. You’re making me want to live again and I can’t do that, not when I… Not when I…’’ she stops, her breath catching, and I squeeze her tighter.

  “When you did what?’’ I ask softly.

  “Nothing. I can’t talk about it. You should go,’’ she whispers: defeated.

  “I’m not going anywhere.’’

  “Max, the whore, staying to comfort a girl, whatever will they say?’’ she teases, still, I can hear the sadness in her voice.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I met someone tonight much worse than me,’’ I chuckle. “Now go to sleep.’’

  “You’re sleeping?’’

  “Yeah, you’ve spoilt me too much. I can’t sleep without you,’’ I half lie. I haven’t had the chance to test that theory but the thought of going home to an empty bed turns my stomach.

  “What about your date?’’ Lake blurts out a few minutes later. My eyes open and I wonder if I should lie but then lying is something I don’t condone, not when it’s something serious. Something stupid like drawing on your brother’s girlfriend’s face, however, is another story.

  “I was being a dick. Like you said, my ego was blown. Plus, I’m not into pissing on or fisting people,’’ I tell her yawning, the drink catching up with me.

  “What?’’ she laughs, trying to turn around but I stop her, my arms tightening around her. If she faces me and starts talking about all this shit I might get other kind of thoughts.

  “True story, one I didn’t make up myself.’’

  “Oh my God, she asked you to do…that?’’ Lake laughs, her body shaking beneath me.

  “And more,’’ I scoff, thinking back to the remark about watching Liam fuck me.

  “Tell me,’’ Lake giggles, relaxing back into my arms.

  “No, you’re far too young to hear such crude things,’’ I tell her in a posh voice, making her laugh harder.

  “Oh, come on, you can’t say all that then not tell me.’’

  “Okay, but promise not to get any ideas?’’ I warn. Half of me is only teasing, though, after tonight with Amy, nothing would surprise me.

  “I’m not into fisting and pissing on people, or vice versa,’’ she tells me, grossed out, and it’s my turn to laugh.

  “She asked Liam, an old friend from school, to fuck me so she could watch.’’

  “Oh my God, she didn’t?’’ she laughs harder but then stops and I brace myself. “Wait. You were going to have a threesome? You must have been in the room alone before she offered up those kind of…services,’’ she tells me sadly.

  “Liam followed us upstairs after he watched her dry hump me for an hour and get off twice in a room full of people; she wasn’t exactly quiet about getting off either.’’

  “I don’t even know what to say,’’ she whispers and I feel her body tense up. Shit! I should know by now after listening to Malik, Myles and Mason go on about their relationships that you should never talk about other girls.

  “It wasn’t like that. At first I met up with her to try to get back at you, or get you out of my head…or something. Then she wouldn’t shut up and I kept comparing her to you. She had a bottle of WKD and apparently I should have listened to her when she told me it made her horny. My only other option was to have a more talkative girl on my hand.’’

  “But you went upstairs with her and with a friend to have a threesome,’’ Lake deadpans.

  “Yeah, because I had a girl with big tits rubbing herself off on me and I couldn’t even get a damn boner. I thought it was because she’d drained the life out of my dick by rubbing herself on me, but it turns out I only get hard for you,’’ I admit, picturing earlier in the day when I kissed Lake. Fuck, I had been so fucking hard just from a kiss. No one has ever made me feel like I could blow my load from just a kiss. I’d been so close. One more thrust into Lake’s sex and I would have embarrassed myself in my boxers.

  “That does not make sense,’’ she groans.

  I push my hips into her, my erection from just lying next her, digging into her ass. “Does that make sense?’’

  I don’t think she realises it but she grinds back into my dick and I bite my lip to stop a moan from slipping out.

  “So why didn’t you sleep with her?’’

  “In case you missed it, I’ll mention fisting and pissing, that and the fact all I could think of is you.’’

  “I can’t be anything more than friends with you,’’ she tells me sadly.

  “I’m going to fuck you sooner or later, Lake. I see the way you look at me, act around me, and that you get turned on by me. As for more than being friends, we’ll see. You’re not the only one with commitment issues. My brothers may have all found the one, or what have you, but for me, relationships, kids, marriage and all that bullshit is what destroys people in the end,’’ I tell her honestly, seeing a case load of blue balls in my future. I hear her intake of breath and realise she’s about to ask questions and I’m not ready to indulge more into my fucked up parent’s past. Not that she doesn’t kno
w almost everything about them anyway. In fact, I’m willing to bet she knows more about my parents than Harlow and Denny put together. “Sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.’’

  With that, I pull the blanket over us and move further down the bed, snuggling closer to Lake, needing her surrounding me. Any time I think of my parents it’s like their ghost is there haunting me, waiting for that one moment to strike and ruin our lives all over again. It’s the only thing that can make me angry. They’re the only things that can make me lose my temper.

  I’ve gotten into fights, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never fought angry. It pisses whoever I’m fighting off even more, but that’s not my problem. I’ve never thrown the first punch and I’ve never caused a fight. Last year, John Gavins got into it with me, trying to rile me up, make me throw the first punch, but I kept joking, dancing around him, making fun of him and having everyone witnessing the whole exchange in fits of laughter. He hated it. He got sent over the edge when I told him how good his girlfriend was in bed. He couldn’t control the anger so I bested him. I won. He still hasn’t gotten over it till this day.

  My eyes close and I fall asleep listening to the sound of Lake’s breathing evening out.

  CHAPTER NINE

  LAKE

  It’s been three days since Max confessed all those things to me in my bedroom and also since Joan and I had that heart to heart that honestly seemed to come out of nowhere. It needed to be said, though.

  Meanwhile, things have become easier between me and Joan and I find myself becoming closer and closer to not only Joan but everyone around me. I’ve still not indulged in my past or why I’m here with anyone, but something tells me my secret won’t be kept a secret for much longer. With each passing day the urge to tell someone is becoming more and more apparent. It’s killing me inside keeping everything I’ve done bottled up. It’s like living with them is a whole lie and once they know the truth it won’t mean anything. It’s like God is telling me my life isn’t punishment enough for the sins I’ve done.

  A knock at the bedroom door has me snapping back to the present. “Come in,’’ I shout, putting down the magazine I was reading.

  “Hey, you busy?’’ Kayla asks, walking in.

  “No. You okay?’’ I wonder out loud, concerned about the colour of her bright red face. She doesn’t seem to be short of breath, though, so it calms me down a little. All I need is for her to have a heart attack in my presence. Karma would love that – another way to fuck with my life.

  “Yeah, but you remember when I woke up looking like a bloody clown?’’ she growls and my heart stops for a second. Has Max told her the truth? Or lied and told her it was me? Oh my God, I feel myself becoming hot. I don’t want her to hate me. We girls are supposed to stick together and all that crap. You know, sisters over misters. I actually like her and for me to like a girl is actually something new and rare. In the past I never got on with any of the girls at school or gone out of my way and made friends with girls because I found they were all catty. I had my best friend, Emma, and that was it. She was all I needed. Until she moved the year before I ran away.

  “Yes,’’ I answer slowly, coughing when my throat feels too tight. Guilt is eating away at me. I should have told Max no, stopped him or, hell, told Kayla the truth, but it was all funny at the time. Now having her standing in front of me questioning me, it’s not all that funny. Now I’m sweating like a pig and willing to blurt all my darkest secrets out.

  “Well, I’m about to get my revenge, but I need you to make sure Myles is asleep. He text me saying he was watching television downstairs and we all know when he watches evening television after being at college all day he falls asleep.’’

  “So, you want me to go over there and see if he’s asleep? Won’t I wake him up knocking on the door?’’ I ask, confused. She could do this on her own. She doesn’t really need me. Not for this. Plus, I feel bad playing both sides, but then again, I need to take one for the team. Sisters over misters and all that.

  “No, I need you to text Max and ask him what he and Myles are up to, then try and get him out of the house.’’

  “How am I supposed to do that? He’ll get suspicious. It’s Max. Plus, I never ask about Myles so he’ll know straight away I’m up to something.’’

  “Where’s your phone?’’ she asks me quickly and I hand it over to her, not wanting to mess with her. She seems to have a plan and I don’t want to get in the way of that. Before I hand it to her the door to my room opens and Harlow barges in.

  “God, everyone’s boring. Malik’s at work, the twins are asleep on the sofa next door, Denny is at her brothers with Mason and Maverick is at work. So it leaves you two. What are we doing and is it going to be fun?’’

  “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?’’ I ask, at the same time Kayla says, “The twins are asleep?’’ Kayla grins mischievously and I’ll admit it’s a scary looking grin.

  “Yeah, why? The door’s been left open so I just walked in. I didn’t bother waking them up because they were watching that cooking programme that they both love. Reading the instructions on a shampoo bottle is more interesting than that show. And no, I’m fed up of resting. I’m pregnant, not disabled,’’ she huffs out.

  “I’ve got a plan. I need to get Myles back for drawing on my face. He’s still refusing to admit it was him and blaming Max. But if they’re both asleep we might as well get them both,’’ Kayla grins.

  “Yes, finally, something fun,’’ Harlow whoops, jumping up and down. I’m too stunned to speak, though; I have to admit the tiny person has me intrigued. “What are we doing?’’

  “I got these,’’ Kayla laughs, pulling out boxes of wax strips and Harlow and I look to each other and grin.

  “This is great,’’ Harlow laughs.

  “What were they wearing?’’ I ask Harlow curiously.

  “Myles was wearing shorts, I think, and Max is only in a pair of boxers; the lad is gross. Even in his sleep he can’t leave his dick alone,’’ she groans, looking disgusted.

  “Eww,’’ I laugh while grabbing the box of wax strips Kayla is handing over to me. “I’ve got an idea,’’ I tell them and then go into detail about my plan with them both.

  “I didn’t think of that. I was just going to stick them over his eyebrows,’’ Kayla laughs and we laugh with her. “But this plan is so much better.’’

  I agree. My plan is so much better, plus, I’m still not over Max planning a threesome with another chick. I know I don’t have any right to be jealous or have any claim over Max, but deep down I still feel betrayed.

  All three of us head over to Max’s, taking our shoes off outside so we don’t make a noise walking in. Kayla assures us that they’re deep sleepers but Harlow and I said we don’t want to risk it; not wanting to be caught in the act. It would ruin everything we have planned for them.

  Kayla decided she wanted to do Myles and I said I’d happily do Max, so it left Harlow open to share the pile of wax strips she has to do both.

  We all bite our lips, fighting not to laugh already. Harlow and I make our way over to Max’s sleeping form where he’s snoring gently. Harlow stands up at the top end as planned while I get the shitty part.

  Harlow’s going to do his armpits and his chest hair, while I get the pleasure of getting the crease of the inside of his leg. His legs are already spread wide, one bent leaning against the sofa, the other bent lying flat on the cushion making my job easier. His hand is down his boxers pulling the material away from his man parts. When I see the outline of his dick my breath catches in my throat and I have to shake my head to get rid of all the dirty thoughts running through my mind. As soon as I slowly stick the first wax strip on, I see his bulge clearly stiffen and I gasp. Harlow whispers, ‘eww,’ when she sees what I’m looking at, but all I can think of is how big it fucking is. Does he take penis enlargement tablets or some shit? No lad his age should be that big. Should they?

  Fucking hell, I’m zoning out on Max’s dick and no
t concentrating on the task at hand. Getting with the game I make quick work of sticking on another wax strip, my fingers skimming his ball sack slightly.

  My eyes snap to Max to see if he’s awake and relax when I find he’s still snoring soundly. I kind of feel like I’m violating him, but something tells me if he wakes up he’d see it completely differently and be ecstatic my hands were near his junk.

  My eyes slowly rake over his muscled chest. It will never get old looking at his hard, sculptured body; even his wide chest turns me on. It’s fucking ridiculous how good looking he is, how well built he is for a lad his age.

  Harlow’s hand sticking a wax strip on Max’s happy trail wakes me up and I move down to his legs, making sure I use all of the six wax strips. When I’m done I admire our masterpiece before moving over to Kayla and Myles.

  Like Max, Myles has the crease of the inside of his legs done, his armpits, his happy trail and the hairiest parts of his legs covered in wax strips.

  The plan is to wait a few minutes to get the wax strips to work. Kayla can barely hold herself together as she takes pictures of Myles. Harlow already got some of Max as I was finishing up. I’ll have to remind myself to ask her to send them to me when we’re done. I giggle inside just imagining Max’s reaction when he wakes up.

  “I’ve got my video ready to record their reaction,’’ Kayla whispers and Harlow grins, taking her phone out and looking like she wished she thought if it first. I’m wishing I did too. I’ve left my phone back in my room. It’s too late to go grab it now.

  “Something tells me this moment is going to be epic,’’ Harlow giggles, setting up the video recorder for when they wake up.

  After a few minutes neither Carter brother wakes up. I start to get my hair off. There’s one thing I’m short of and that’s patience. Grabbing Harlow and Kayla by the elbows I usher us out the front door.

  “What are you doing?’’ Kayla hisses on a whisper. “It’s not payback if I don’t get to relish in the after glory of my prank.’’

  “Did it look like they’re going to wake up?’’ I deadpan, making sure the door doesn’t slam shut behind us.