by Vivian Arend
The air around them grew hotter and moister as sweat broke out on their bodies. She threw her head back and welcomed him in, dragging her fingers down his back, feeling the flex of the muscles under her palms. She’d never been so cared for and so consumed at the same time. Each time he shifted position, adjusted her slightly, it changed the sensations hurtling her back to the edge of the chasm. Her nerves were on overdrive, her skin suddenly too sensitive to be touched for much longer and still he held her body in thrall to his touch.
Ryan grasped one of her legs, propping his arm under her knee and opening her even farther. The crown of his cock drove so deep she swore it ripped her in two as explosions set off once more. Her pussy clutched him, and he slowed slightly before locking their hips together. His cock jolted within her, heat scalding even through the barrier. They stayed frozen like some erotic statue until Maxine laughed out loud and pulled him on top of her. He collapsed gratefully, molding her to the bed with his weight for a moment before rolling them both to finish with her resting, panting for breath, on his torso. Still intimately connected, she closed her eyes and listened to the rapid beat of his pulse under her ear.
“That was sex,” she said quietly.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “Well, it’s one way to do it. Give me a little while to recover and we’ll try again.”
“Hmm.” Maxine could barely keep her eyes open. Peace rolled over her. Every muscle in her body was relaxed and happy. Naked, and cradled in his arms, all she needed was a rest. Tomorrow would be soon enough for discussions.
Ryan twisted them to the side, leaving her for only a moment before returning to spoon together, his hand taking possession of one of her breasts in an intimate cuddle. The warmth of the heater on their bare skin was enough to feel like a quilt. Maxine closed her eyes and the world faded away.
Chapter Ten
The scent of bacon, eggs and coffee pulled him toward the kitchen. He paused in the doorway to watch Maxine bustle around. Something tightened deep in his belly as he noticed how wonderful she looked in his robe, how natural it was to see her in his home. It surprised him to be making those kinds of observations. If this was supposed to be about friendship and sex, nothing more, he’d already stepped over the line.
Sexually, she was even more inexperienced than he’d expected, but he could deal with that issue. Had dealt with it twice already, and since the teaching experience seemed pleasurable for both of them, it was certainly no hardship.
She raised her head in the middle of pouring two coffees and smiled at him. “I was going to bring you breakfast in bed,” she said, her voice low and sultry.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her thoroughly. When he finally drew away he was sure his foolish grin matched her own. “I was hoping for something else in bed but you were gone when I woke up.”
She laughed. “You couldn’t possibly want to fool around anymore.”
He finished preparing their coffees. “Max, you’ll find the words ‘couldn’t possibly’ and anything involving wanting you just don’t go together. But you’re right, we need to eat and then we need to talk.”
They moved to the table in companionable silence. Maxine pulled a hotplate filled with scrambled eggs and bacon slices from the oven. They ate hungrily, suddenly ravenous. Ryan watched her openly, her enthusiasm for the food pleasing him. The way she licked her fork drove him nuts, but it was wonderful to see a woman who didn’t hide her appetite. It boded well if he could continue to convince her to release that passion in the bedroom.
When the mountain of food trickled down to a small molehill, Maxine laughed. “I love breakfast, but that was ridiculous.”
“We never did eat dinner last night.” Ryan pointed out.
“Whose fault is that? I mentioned it a few times but you seemed to have other things on your mind.”
He grinned at her. “I still have other things on my mind, but food finally trumped the rest. Thanks for fixing the meal.”
She shrugged. “I like to cook, which is good since I like to eat.” She refreshed their coffees. “This is nice. I thought it might be awkward, but it feels good.”
“What might be awkward?” he asked, leaning back and enjoying the rich flavor of the drink and the view across from him. Her robe had loosened and the curve of her breasts teased him.
Max waved a hand. “This. The morning-after-sex thing. I thought it would be tense and uncomfortable but…it’s not. It’s right to be here.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “It’s right to be here with you.”
Ryan frowned. He felt the same, but what the fuck? “You keep saying things that confuse the hell out of me.” Her expression clouded over and he hurried to reassure her. “I’m not talking about you and me. I agree, this feels wonderful, and the only thing that will make it better is when we head back to bed. But it sounds like you’ve never woken up at a lover’s house before. Didn’t you ever spend the night with your ex? Didn’t anyone ever stay with you?”
She shook her head. “Jamie had a roommate and I did too, and it just never happened. The house Gramma gave me will be the first place I’ve lived on my own.”
He kept forgetting how much younger she was than him. “For the record? Jamie is a fucking freak.” When she opened her mouth he cut her off. “Don’t defend him. Makes you take a shower before you make love? Only makes love in the dark, and then doesn’t stay the night? Freak. Jerk. Asshole. Complete asshole.”
Maxine giggled as Ryan held out a hand. He pulled her onto his lap and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. There was no way he’d had enough of her, in the bedroom or out of it. While part of him wondered what the hell he was doing, he couldn’t stop feeding his new addiction for her. “Spend the weekend with me?” Fuck. He was expected at his brother’s. “I have to go out for a couple of hours, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He hesitated. Maybe he should tell her about Carl. Just to let her know about him, even if she couldn’t meet him.
“I need to plan the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s all I’ve got on my schedule.” She buried her face in his neck, her soft breath floating over his sensitive skin, tickling and priming him once again. “You want to help? You’re invited.”
“Are we talking a small intimate gathering, or is this an invasion of maximum proportions?” he teased.
She poked him gently. “Boo, like I’ve never heard that one before. Yes, it’s the entire clan gathering. I offered to host so Gramma could feel like she still had the house to return to as often as she wants. I feel like I’m cheating, in a way, having the house and the grounds before she’s gone.”
Ryan soothed a hand down her back. “But you said she couldn’t really take care of it by herself anymore. It’s not like you’ve taken advantage of her.”
She nodded slowly. “I still feel like I’m rushing, taking my inheritance early. While a family legacy is nice to look forward to, it’s not sitting as comfy as I hoped it would, what with all the issues.”
Ryan held her chin. “Speaking of issues. Why didn’t you tell me about the obscene phone calls?” She stiffened in his arms like he thought she would. Fuck it, he wasn’t going to skirt around the topic. He’d left it alone for the night, but he didn’t care how uncomfortable the conversation made her feel, he wasn’t going to let it slip past. Forget the fact they were now lovers, he ran a security-system business—what the hell had she been thinking? “Hey, I’m not mad. Well, at least not at you.”
She wiggled to get off his lap and he let her go. Max dragged a hand through her hair, the tight curls bouncing everywhere as she paced the small kitchen. “I know, but it didn’t seem like a huge deal. It started shortly after I moved back in with the fax-machine calls, and I told you about them. Then this week on Tuesday the guy phoned. I contacted the police right away. They traced a couple of calls and discovered the prankster uses a disposable cell phone—there’s no way to track him.”
Maxine fidgeted with the dishes, stacking them as
she spoke. “I didn’t know how to mention it to you. He called the last few days at dinnertime, and again around midnight. I’ve been turning off the phone so I can ignore him.”
Ryan reached to clasp her hand in midmotion. “Ignore him? Sweetheart, while I agree some things in life have to be accepted, others are warning signs of danger. This is one you don’t ignore, you fix.”
She pulled her hand away firmly and picked up the pile of dirty dishes. “Well, I’m not sure how you fix a person who’s got a juvenile sense of humor, when it’s impossible to track him. The police said they didn’t think there was any danger but they have been doing drive-bys every day since it started. I refuse to let some jerk chase me out of my home. Occasionally it just scares me a bit more, but that’s my imagination going overtime, not any real danger.” Maxine turned to the sink and started the water.
Ryan joined her at the counter, caging her in his arms and kissing her neckline. “Let me do some looking into it, okay?”
“But the police said nothing could been done.”
He laughed, nudging her out of the way to take over the dish washing. “Maybe the police can’t catch him, but let’s see if I can’t come up with a few other solutions. In the meantime, I’ve got my foreman completing the hookup for your system. Later today I’ll take you home and show you how it works.”
The musical notes of the “Ride of the Valkyries” rang through the room and Ryan searched for his cell phone.
“It’s not yours, it’s mine.” Maxine reached into her purse and checked the display. “Shit.” She made a face before answering it. “Hi, Auntie Maxena.” For the next five minutes, she barely got a word in edgewise. Ryan snorted as she rolled her eyes and attempted to rein in her aunt’s rambling discourse.
By the time Maxine broke free, the dishes were done and put away. Ryan looked at her expectantly from where he leaned on the counter.
“I have to go shopping to pick up some last-minute things for a surprise birthday party for my cousin. I’m sorry, Ryan, I…I just couldn’t say no.” She stepped between his legs and nestled into him.
“That’s fine. I told you I have to go out for a while myself.” He held her close and let her warmth soak into him. Oh God, he could get used to this. Maybe he was ready for more than he thought. He stared down at the top of her head. The urge to tell her about Carl rolled over him again. She’d understand if he explained how important it was to not upset the boy.
Maxine looked up at him, a curious light in her eyes before she grabbed him and pulled their mouths together. Her kiss was ferocious, almost desperate, and while he enjoyed it, he couldn’t stop from chuckling when she pulled away. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as she grinned back.
“What was that all about?” He squeezed her waist, letting her bright smile dazzle him.
“That was because you’ve done nothing but give and be there for me. You haven’t demanded I show up at work parties at the last minute like Jamie did. You haven’t dragged me off to family gatherings. God, you don’t know how tired I am of having to jump through hoops for all my relatives. I mean, I love my family, but I’m reaching the point I need to break away. I’d like to go one day, just one miserable day, without anyone needing me to do anything for them. That would be heavenly. Just me responsible for me.”
Fuck. The image of his brother waiting impatiently for his daily visit rose to Ryan’s mind. Yeah, wouldn’t she be thrilled to add another needy person to her to-do list. Disappointment washed over him at the missed opportunity to share, but he had to be realistic. His relationship with Carl had nothing to do with Maxine, not yet. He couldn’t let his brother get attached to someone when at this point he had no idea where this situation with Maxine was headed. And obviously she didn’t want any more commitments right now either.
Maxine seemed oblivious to his distraction. She tugged his belt loop. “If you want to drive me home I can get my car. Otherwise you’ll have to run me around on my errands. Or I can drop you at your appointment, if you don’t mind me driving your car.”
Ryan hesitated. If she dropped him at the nursing home he’d have some serious explaining to do. There was no fucking way he was telling her about Carl, not today when she was pissed about her family being demanding.
She laughed and walked toward the bedroom. “Seriously, guys and their cars. Forget I asked. I guess we’re back to option one or two.”
Ryan followed her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off before they’d even had a chance to really get to know each other. He would give them more time to see if his brother needed to become an issue. He’d find some way to deal with it, eventually.
“You use the same ring tone I do,” he pointed out, trying not to get too distracted watching her dress. He glanced at his watch. Maybe he could arrange a return visit to his place when their chores were complete.
She smiled back at him. “Wagner rocks.”
***
It was early afternoon before they received the call to say the security installation was complete. Which was fine with Ryan, since it was well after lunch before he finally let her out of bed where they’d returned once their morning commitments were complete. He spent a long time simply touching Maxine, watching her reactions to his caresses and enjoying her ready ability to flush. She slowly became more vocal about what she liked as they went along and he eagerly obliged each of her requests. By the time the call arrived they were both sated.
Heading up the path to her front door, he tugged their joined hands, pulling her against him. He kissed her, needing another taste of her lips. She was becoming a serious addiction and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be free of her. In fact, there was something that would make their situation even better and he’d forgotten to mention it before.
“What do you think about us both getting checked out at the doctor? And would you be willing to get the shot for birth control? I want to make love with nothing between us.” He kissed the spot in her neck that pulsed with a rapid beat.
She blushed again. “Do you always talk about sex just…anywhere?”
He glanced around in surprise. “There’s no one here to overhear us.”
“Still.”
Ryan stroked his hands up the sides of her body, smoothing the sides of her breasts in passing. “You know, I bet you’d enjoy making love outside.”
“Ryan!”
He laughed and picked her up, spinning her in a circle before planting her feet back on the ground and escorting her to the front door. He hadn’t felt this light-hearted in months. He kissed her again, their lips and tongues stroking smoothly together. His body tightened, his cock rising as he imagined slipping into her warmth, skin on skin. He pulled away slowly, lingering on the sweet flavor of her mouth.
He showed her how to work the access for the main door and together they set up the codes on the internal panel.
“I have one other addition I want to show you.” He took her by the hand and led her up the stairs to the master bathroom. After listening to Maxine chat for the last couple of weeks about how much she loved the house, inspiration had hit hard. She would appreciate this as much as knowing she was secure at night.
“You put a security system in the bathroom? What in heaven’s name?”
He shook his head. “It’s a part of the system, but it’s a water sensor. I put at least one on each floor next to the main water source and wired it in as a secondary alarm. If you had a water-main break, or a pipe bursts and the contact gets wet for an extended period of time, it will trigger the rest of the system with a special code. You’d know quick enough to be able to stop extensive damage from ever occurring again.”
He knelt and showed her the sensor location. “It’s not on a hair trigger, you don’t have to worry about it going off if you happen to splash it or get it wet while cleaning. The liquid has to be in contact for at least a minute. And you can turn it off at the main panel if you did happen to accidentally set it off having a water fight or something.” He st
ood and gestured toward the floor. “Take a look. It’s not very noticeable—I didn’t want it to stick out. There’s one in every bathroom plus in the basement behind the washer and in the kitchen.”
Maxine’s eyes were moist and she hugged him tightly, burying her face against his chest. Her voice was muffled when she spoke. “Thank you.” There was a volume of gratitude in the simple statement.
He kissed the top of her head. His guess had been right. “You’re welcome. I know how much sentimental value this house has for you. It’s just a little thing to help you be able to relax more completely.”
She slipped her hands under his shirt and stroked his bare skin. He froze. Was that her tongue on his neck? He stood stock still as she nuzzled closer, yanking his shirt free and pushing it up his body. “Max, what are you doing?”
Her eyes twinkled at him and she laid a finger on his lips briefly before dropping her hands and tugging on his jeans. “We’re done with the system checks, right? I thought we could relax for a while. If you’re interested.”
He clasped her fingers to still them. “Relax? Sweetheart, what you’re doing is not calming me down.”
Max leaned against him, rubbing like a cat. “Good.”
Ryan eyed her suspiciously. “Are you hoping I’ll let you have a shower since we’re already in the bathroom? Because it’s not happening.”
“I wanted to…” She hesitated.
He stepped closer, running his hands up the sides of her torso to cup her breasts through the cotton fabric of her dress. “Want to what?”
Barely above a whisper her voice rose to his ears. “Make love in the shower.”
He laughed. “Now that’s an interesting twist on the issue.”