by Lori Ryan
“What?” she asked, trying to rise up, but Max held her down with his weight.
“Stay with me longer,” he said with a husky need evident in the words.
She swallowed, reality finally hitting her hard. “I still have a few hours before my flight leaves.”
“I meant longer.”
She shook her head. “You know I have work in New York, Max. I have to get back to my hotel room and pack up soon.”
He remained silent but rolled off her and onto his back.
What was he asking? For more?
She couldn’t give him more. She never gave anyone more.
“I’ll be back in a month for the wedding,” she said, suddenly sad to be leaving as well.
It would be five weeks and three days till the wedding, she thought, but who was counting?
“How long will you stay for that visit?” he asked, ending the awkward silence.
Devlin rolled to her side, her head balanced on the palm of her hand. “For a week or so.”
He turned his head and stared at her, his eyes speaking words he couldn’t.
“Max,” she whispered, stroking his face.
He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her palm.
She stared at him, her eyes stinging. Was she actually going to cry? What was wrong with her? It must be time to start her period, she thought.
He released her hand and let his fingers trace her lips, his somber look disappearing, replaced with the trademark smirk of the man she was falling for.
Falling for? Oh, hell.
She nipped at his fingers then sucked one into her mouth, twisting her tongue around the tip.
“That’s a good way to get me started again.” He smirked.
She released his finger, but smiled at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
He tapped her nose, then ran his fingertip down her lips and over her chin, his hand sliding across her jaw to cup her face. He was gorgeous, sex personified, and all hers, for the next few hours anyway.
Max placed a gentle kiss on her lips and Devlin sighed. She hadn’t felt this peaceful in a long time. Only behind the camera did she feel so comfortable, so contented. She felt a pang in her heart and something cold began to melt.
She pulled back, trying to break free from the vortex of Max Sumner. The storm threatened to pull her down into oblivion. “Can I ask you something?”
He stared at her. “Yes.”
“You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you? I mean, more than you let on.”
“Sometimes.”
“Is it something you’ll always have to live with?”
He shrugged. “Football is a violent sport. We all know that going in.”
“What do you do, for the pain?” She ran one hand down toward his leg, letting it rest on his hip.
“I ice it, wrap it with aromatherapy oils and take herbal supplements an acupuncturist mixed for me.”
Devlin raised a skeptical brow. “You see an acupuncturist?”
“Don’t act so surprised. I went through some intense physical therapy for a year after my second knee surgery. I was in a lot of pain but determined to return to the field. I was willing to try anything. They have a clinic in southern Florida dedicated to holistic medicine.”
“You don’t take any traditional pain medication?”
He shook his head. Devlin sensed there was more to Max’s story, but she didn’t press him.
“My therapist recommended an osteopath,” he said, “and the doctor recommended acupuncture.”
“A what?”
“An osteopath. A doctor who looks at the whole body, not just individual systems like specialized doctors do. They have a hands-on approach and believe the body can heal itself if given the chance.”
Devlin stared at him, dumbfounded.
“What?”
She shook her head. This man was an enigma. She’d never figure him out.
“I’m not a dumb jock like everyone thinks, Devlin.” He was upset, affronted. Obviously this was a sore subject.
“I know you’re not dumb, Max. I never said that. I just didn’t see you as an alternative medicine kind of guy.”
“I have a degree in biomedical engineering. I know a lot about alternative medicines.”
Devlin sat with her mouth open. She knew Max was smart, but this? This was more than she’d expected. “Wow, that’s amazing, Max. Have you done anything with your degree?”
“I just retired from the NFL, Devlin. I didn’t have time for a side gig while I was driving my team to the Super Bowl.” His tone was condescending, as if she were an imbecile, and she wanted that playful tone he usually had back.
But this was better, his comment was what she needed now. She wanted out of there, needed out of his room before she got in any deeper than she already was with this man. “Right,” she said, turning over to sit up.
“What are you doing?” Max slid across the bed.
“I should probably get going.” Devlin stood and walked into the bathroom. Her clothes were still in a wet heap on the floor. “Shit,” she said under her breath.
Max’s arms wrapped around her waist from behind, tempting her to return to the bed with him. “Don’t go yet,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be an ass, it’s just…”
His voice trailed off and Devlin had the feeling he wanted to share something personal that he hadn’t admitted to anyone, even himself. A small part of her wanted to turn and take him in her arms, whispering to him to pour out all his fears as she held him, safe. That part might be small, but it was mighty and it scared the ever-loving crap out of her.
“It’s okay, Max. I’m fine.” She needed to cut this off. She didn’t want her time with Max to turn into a discussion of family secrets and personal fears. She needed to get the hell out of there. Now.
With one sentence, Max blew through her defenses. “The truth is,” he said, backing up against the bathroom wall, “I’m…scared.”
Devlin turned and glanced up at the six-foot-three, NFL wide receiver, shocked that this mass of a man would be scared by anything. “Why?” she asked softly.
“All I know is football.”
Giving up on protecting herself from her feelings for him, at least for the moment, she grabbed his hand and led him back to bed, lifting the covers and sliding in, motioning him to join her. She propped up pillows, leaned against the headboard, then patted the bed. What the hell was she doing? Inviting story time?
Max turned but didn’t follow her, just focused on her as he leaned against the door frame as if he had nothing left inside. Or maybe he was as frightened as she was by opening up.
“Come here, Max,” she said, patting the mattress again. He didn’t move. This was the point where she would have to break one of her cardinal rules. She needed to share something equally as scary with him. That, or walk away. She wasn’t going to analyze why she didn’t want to.
“When I was sixteen I caught my father having sex with another woman in his car only a block away from our house.”
“What?” Max started, pushing off the doorframe and crawling into bed with her. He leaned against the headboard next to her. “Devlin, that’s horrible.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t his first time, and it wasn’t his last.”
“I’m so sorry. What did you do?”
“Well, first I screamed because, I mean come on, it’s pretty scary seeing your dad screwing anyone, let alone when it’s not your mom.” She laughed nervously to cover the pain of her father’s betrayal. Discovering his affair had been pivotal in her life. It was the moment her trust in people began to fade away.
“Yeah, that’s, um,” Max seemed to stumble for words, “not something I would want to see either.” He moved closer and tossed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his warm chest. “Did you tell your mom?
She shook her head. “No, but she caught them a few weeks later.”
“What did your mom do?
”
“Surprisingly, not much. Apparently, my father had been having affairs for years.”
“And she was okay with that?” Max asked, with as much surprise and shock as she’d had at sixteen. Of course, she was older now. She understood that by the time her mom had caught him, he’d eaten away at her confidence.
Her father used to say things to her mother that would make any woman doubt her value, doubt that she could ever be loved by someone else. Her mother probably truly believed she was worthless and ugly.
Devlin’s dad had tried the same tactics on her. When she was a teenager, he’d tried telling her she was unattractive and overweight. When she wanted to start dating, he’d told her he couldn’t trust her with boys, because the only way a boy would want her was if she spread her legs for him, and she was probably easy enough to do it.
As a teenager, it should have been easy for him to convince her she was worthless, to beat her down emotionally the way he had her mom. The only reason she’d been able to keep him out of her head was because she’d seen the truth about her mom years before. She knew her mom was gorgeous. She knew her mom was a good person. And she knew her dad spewed nothing but lies and poison.
“My father was a hard man to live with. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“It doesn’t mean your mother should have to put up with that kind of infidelity. Or keep you in that environment.”
Devlin drew the sheet up, covering her chest as she clutched the material close. “That’s true. But she stayed anyway. All I knew was that I never wanted to be like her. Or him.” They sat in silence as Devlin looked vacantly down at her lap. Why had she decided to share such an intimate piece of her? She was trusting Max, and that was dangerous.
Moments later, her tactic paid off, but Max’s soft voice still surprised her when he spoke. “Sometimes I think people only see me as a dumb jock.”
Devlin looked up. “That’s because that’s all you allow them to see, though, right? I mean, I got the impression you sort of feed into that.”
Max smiled. “Are you sure you don’t have a degree in psychology?”
That made her laugh. “I don’t have a degree at all.”
“You don’t? I thought you went to the same art school in New York as Elle.”
“I did, I just didn’t graduate. I received offers for staff photographer positions from several big magazines and couldn’t say no. Even for a degree.”
“Oh.” Max nodded, caressing her shoulder, winding her hair around his finger. It seemed like something he did a lot when he was around her.
“So what do you want to do with your life now?” she asked.
His hand stilled and he drew in a deep breath. “That’s just it.” He blew out. “I have no idea. And it scares the shit out of me.”
“You have time, you don’t have to decide anything right away,” she said. “I mean, I’m assuming you have a shit ton of money, so that’s not an issue, right?”
“You’re right. I’m just not used to not having a goal. Something I’m aiming for. Ever since middle school, I’ve known exactly where I was headed and what the end goal was. Right now, I’m…” he shrugged a shoulder, “just kind of floating, I guess.”
“Your family obviously needs you. From what I’ve heard you’ve been a huge help to Shawn and his crew.”
“I used to do construction in high school,” Max said.
Devlin turned to face him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. My dad didn’t believe in free rides so all my brothers and I had to get jobs when we were old enough to work.”
“Fathers.” Devlin laughed dismissively. Max remained silent and Devlin remembered his dad had died recently, sobering at the thought. “I’m sorry you lost yours.”
His eyes met hers and she saw the sorrow deep within them. “Thanks. You know, all I ever wanted was to make him proud.”
“I’m pretty sure winning two Super Bowls made him very proud.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just…”
She scooted closer.
“How do I make anyone proud now that football is gone?”
“I don’t think it’s about your dad or anyone else, Max. I think it’s about you. You need to do something that fulfills you and say to hell with everybody else.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re right. Thanks. Sorry to get so deep on you. I know that’s not what our relationship is about.”
He said relationship. She stiffened.
“Calm your jets, Minx. I didn’t mean relationship as in boyfriend and girlfriend. I know neither of us are looking for that. I meant this kind of relationship.” He pulled her on top of him.
Devlin spread her legs to straddle on either side of his powerful thighs, her center preciously close to his.
“This kind of relationship.” He echoed, pressing his hips against hers.
Devlin felt him hard and ready. She leaned over and grabbed another condom, quickly slipping it on. She lifted up, her hands wrapping around his neck as she pressed her lips close to his. Slowly she lowered herself onto him, moving her hips against his. “I can do this kind of relationship.”
The truth was, sex was the only kind of relationship Devlin had ever been able to have with a man.
“Oh, I know,” Max said, his gaze holding hers.
And in that moment, she knew Max understood. She pressed her lips against his, unwilling to reveal more, wanting only this relationship, but wanting it for as long as it would last.
Chapter Eight
Max glanced around the conference room in his family’s lodge. Ben and their mother flanked Maggie and he wondered if they had intended what looked like a show of support in their stance. Shawn sat to Max’s right and across from Max was Emmett. Emmett’s blank expression proved he was as clueless as Max. Something was off.
“I’m sorry to take you away from the construction site,” Maggie said as she sat at the head of the conference table.
“What’s going on, Maggie?” Max asked the obvious question.
“Well, you guys are aware of the terms of the loan.”
Max, Shawn, and Emmett nodded.
“Not only do we have to make monthly payments, we also have to meet minimum sales requirements each quarter. Up until now, it hasn’t been a problem. The cabins are nearly finished and we’re already starting to book them.”
A tight band gripped Max’s gut. If they missed one payment or one of the stipulations set out by the bank, the lodge, the land it sat on, and their portion of Canyon Creek Mountain could be taken away.
He could cover his mom if it looked like they’d be short on a payment. It would be hard to get her to swallow her pride and accept it, but he would find a way. Dealing with the minimum reservations stipulations were harder.
“What’s the problem?” Emmett asked. “I thought the forecasts for the next quarter were good.”
“They were,” Maggie stuttered, “I mean, they are, it’s just…”
Max raised his brows and glanced to Ben. If Maggie couldn’t spit it out, maybe Ben could.
“One of the couples who booked a wedding in the barn backed out. They’re worried we won’t have it ready in time.” Ben raised his hand as Max and Shawn both began to speak. “We know you guys will, and Maggie and Mom assured them you will, but they wouldn’t budge. They’re within the refund period on their deposit so they want to go a safer route.”
Maggie took over. “And another couple had to change their date for later in the year. The groom’s mother is undergoing medical treatments and they had to schedule some of it for right before the wedding. They want to push things later to be sure his mother can attend.” She looked around the group. “So, while they’re still using us, it won’t be in this quarter, and that’s when we need them.”
“So what’s the bottom line, Ma?” Max said.
“We have a solution.” His mother turned to Maggie. This must be bad if his mother couldn’t even say it.
Maggie took
in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Ben slid his hand across the table and held it tight. “I know the grand opening of the barn was supposed to be our wedding.” Maggie glanced at Ben and smiled.
They were so happy in love, Max wanted to puke. He wasn’t jealous, just…hell, he couldn’t put a name on it, and he didn’t want to. It’s not like he wanted a long-term relationship. He’d never had the desire to marry and settle down. Of course, he would have said the same thing of his brothers six months ago, but now Ben and Emmett were both over-the-moon in love.
Shawn nodded. “I told you we’re on schedule, even a few days ahead so we’ll have time to test everything. I don’t want you to worry, Maggie. The barn will be ready for your wedding in five weeks.”
Maggie smiled at Shawn. “I know, thank you so much. I know the build-out has gotten a little behind schedule, with the storm damage.”
Max shuddered at the memory of the massive spring storm that had blown through Canyon Creek two weeks ago. High winds had whipped through the area so hard, several large tree limbs had snapped off and fallen onto the already battered roof of the barn. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the disaster had caused water damage and a host of other complications that set back Shawn’s build-out schedule.
“You’ve handled them all so well, Shawn,” Maggie said. “You’ve been amazing.” She smiled, that expression that turned Ben to mush, and Max knew in that moment the guy would do whatever it took to help her. Hell, they all would.
“So what’s the problem then?” Max asked.
“We’ve found a way to increase the sales for this quarter.”
Max nodded. His mother had already said that. What they hadn’t said was how, and he had a feeling he and Shawn were about to be screwed.
“But it means more work for all of us,” Maggie said.
“In what way?” Shawn asked.
Maggie bit her lip, her eyes darting toward Ben. He nodded.
Oh hell, here it came.
“We’ve rented out the barn for a big event,” she said.
“That’s great.” Emmett smiled.
Wait for it…
“It’s in two-and-a-half weeks,” Maggie said, her face wrinkling like she’d eaten a lemon as she winced.