by S. Poirier
Reaching up I place my hands flat on his hard chest. His body stills and he inhales a deep, ragged breath. My own breath snags at his reaction, and the way his chest rises sharply pressing against my hands.
I swallow trying desperately to wet my suddenly dry throat before answering him. It’s almost impossible to form an intelligible thought when we are only inches apart. “No, I’m not lying to you. It was June,” I whisper. “I had a feeling this would happen if I didn’t call her.”
Catch brings his hands up to grab the sides of my face. I inhale sharply at the skin on skin contact, and how close his face is to mine. Through the dark I can now see the intensity in his eyes. My heart rate kicks up a notch and I desperately want to twirl my hair, but I grab his wrists instead and hang on for dear life. Every time he gets this close my world tilts and the only thing that seems to make sense is him.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it will be to keep us hidden if anyone recognizes you and reports it to the police?” His breath tickles my lips as the goose bumps ravage my skin. All I can do is shake my head. I don’t trust my lips to form any kind of coherent word. “If you’re reported they will find out and our location will be blown. Dammit, Max, they could blind side us.”
I want to say something, a witty retort, or something to defend myself. He did in fact keep me from calling June when I knew I needed to, but I just can’t bring myself to say anything.
I exhale the breath I’ve been holding and lower my head so the very top of my forehead is resting against his soft, plump lips. Catch brings one hand around to the back of my neck and tightens his grip. I don’t know if he is trying to keep me upright or trying to keep himself grounded, but I feel safe. Not because I can fight or shoot straight, but because I’m allowing someone else to make me feel that way.
He drops his other hand to his side and a few breaths later he breaks the connection and hands me his phone. He doesn’t have to tell me what to do, I already know. I need to call June and convince her that I’m fine.
“Your face is already out there. There’s no guarantee that all the pictures will be taken down. And we are running the risk of your picture being broadcast on the news if it hasn’t made it there already.” He walks over to the door and places his hand on the knob. “But we have to try.” He leaves and within a few minutes comes back with our bags, placing them on the floor next to the door.
“Catch, are you sure it’s safe for us to be here? I mean, what if they are able to track you, somehow…” I trail off not sure of exactly what I’m trying to say. I don’t have any inkling of how those people work.
He gives me a reassuring smile. “I have different aliases that they don’t know about, and I paid in cash. We’ll be fine here for the night.” He opens the door and looks at me over his shoulder. “Stay here, and don’t answer for anyone. Not even June. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.” I nod in response as he backs out of the door leaving me alone.
I take a moment to come down from the emotional high that is caused by him being so close, and then the sudden separation. He didn’t kiss me when I put my forehead against his lips, only lingering for a few moments before awkwardly stepping away. I hate that I felt so compelled to be near him, and even more that I want to fuck his brains out. But even after sending a clear signal that I wanted to do just that it feels like he blew me off. Maybe I’m nothing more than a burden to him, someone he feels like he needs to protect to make up for past discrepancies. Whatever those might be, and I know there are some.
Physically deflating I sink down onto the bed and dial June’s number. She answers on the first ring, and doesn’t sound at all like she’s been sleeping. It’s one o’clock in the middle of the night, which immediately makes me suspicious.
“Max,” she breathes a sigh of relief. There is no way this number showed up on her caller ID. Reason to be suspicious number two. “I called the police. I reported you missing. After you said you were going to New York and then nothing. I called your cell but it just kept going straight to voicemail. So, I panicked.” There’s an edge to her voice. The same edge it had right before I almost broke her ex’s kneecap.
She’s terrified.
“I know. I’m sorry, but don’t worry, I’m fine. I just needed some time to myself. After what happened with James and losing my job I decided that I needed to take a vacation.” The excuse is lame, but it’s all I have at the moment. It doesn’t explain why I lied to her and I’m praying that she won’t ask. Unfortunately, June knows me better than anyone and wasn’t going to let me get by that easily.
“All you had to do was tell me the truth. Do you know how hard it was for me to get the police to file a missing persons report on you? I’m not legally your family, but thankfully, they believed me when I told them you didn’t have any family but me.” She’s rambling nervously. Reason to be suspicious number three.
“I’m sorry I put you through that, June. But, now you know, I’m okay. Just call whoever it is you need to call, and tell them I’m fine. I need you to get the pictures taken down.”
“Okay, just tell me where you are. Maybe I can come meet you and we can have a pity party together?” Her voice trembles slightly and I know for sure now that something is up. June would offer to come help me drink my mistakes away, but her voice shook. The idea of taking a mini vacation to party should have her giddy with excitement. So, that combined with the last three reasons sent up red flags all over the place.
“June, I’m not telling you where I am. If they are with you, you need to find a way to get away from them. Don’t trust anyone. I’m serious, June.”
“So, you don’t want company? Okay well, call me and let me know when you’re coming home.”
“I love you, June.”
“Love you too, Max.”
I end the call and fall back onto the bed. Someone has gotten to June, and now I can only hope they will leave her alone when they learn that she doesn’t know anything and isn’t going to get anything out of me. A horrible gnawing pain starts low in my stomach with the thought of June being involved in this chaos. It was exactly what I’ve been trying to protect her from.
If anything happens to her it will be my fault. When I heard James in that heated conversation I should have just quietly tip-toed out of the building and pretended that it was all some weird dream.
Thinking about James Kelly suddenly has me feeling dirty. I need a shower, a really hot shower. I hop off the bed and flick on the bedside light. I’m going for my bag when I look around and notice that there is only one king sized bed in the room. Covered in an itchy outdated comforter that matched the curtains and a muted colored painting hanging above the bed, it is the quintessential cheap hotel decor. I guess with all the excitement I failed to realize that Catch got us a room with only one bed.
“That son-of-a-bitch,” I yell.
I go from feeling sexually frustrated with him to completely pissed off. I storm into the bathroom and turn the water on as hot as I can stand it. Popping the seals off the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner I step into the steaming shower, and proceed to try and wash off the uneasy feeling that have the little hairs standing up on the back of my neck.
****
Catch
Food. I need to eat, and I’m sure Max is also hungry. Her friend reporting her missing is one of the worst things she could have done. Not only did it give Max a noticeable face, now they know who June is and what she means to Max. They will definitely interrogate her until they are fully satisfied that she doesn’t know anything. Now I can only hope that it will end there. June is obviously someone Max loves very much and I don’t want to imagine what it would do to her if anything happened to June.
When she told me the snippet of her past my chest squeezed with a pressure I hadn’t felt since my dad died. Unbeknownst to her she was slowly pulling me closer to her in ways that I need to avoid. I know there is more to her past than she’s telling me, something deep that helps to make her the incredi
bly strong woman that she is. But as much as I want to know those things I know it’s a bad idea, so I didn’t push when she shut down the conversation.
Then Max decided to touch me. I crowded her personal space to try and make a point. I was so mad at her in that moment because I thought that maybe she lied to me and I was only concerned with trying to intimidate the truth out of her. She placed her hands on my chest, but they were void of any kind of pressure to keep me away when I knew she had the strength to try. She wanted me close just as much as I wanted to be close to her. But then she pressed the soft skin of her forehead against my lips. She smelled of a mixture of my warehouse and lavender. I almost shattered on the spot, but I didn’t. Because I know that I shouldn’t. I couldn’t kiss this beautiful woman. Not even on that one innocent spot.
Everything about her draws me to her like we are two strong magnets. Her flaming red hair, mossy green eyes, luscious curves, and legs for days makes keeping all the blood in my brain from draining south almost futile. If I had kissed her I wouldn’t have been able to stop. I can’t care for this woman. If the tiny bit of relationship we have becomes sexual then that tiny bit will turn into something larger than I want to handle. Protecting her, because I know she is a good person, until all this is straightened out was one thing. But protecting her because I care for her is something entirely different.
“Ugh!” I roar as I start strangling the steering wheel. She’s getting under my skin, and I’m positive that there’s going to come a point where I won’t be able to stop myself.
8
Catch
At the exact moment I step back into the room Max steps out of the bathroom. Her red hair is in wet clumps, giving it a darker hue, and she is wrapped in a towel. The milky skin of her shoulders glisten and a few droplets of water roll down to the swell of her tits. She reminds me of a beautiful Goddess sent here just to torture me.
I’ve never seen her this exposed before. We have both been very careful over the last week to keep ourselves covered. It takes all the strength I have not to adjust the sudden hard on pressing against my zipper. I can only hope she doesn’t see it. Freezing on the spot I expect her to dart back into the bathroom. Instead she narrows her eyes at me and then points at the bed.
“You said you were going to get a room with two beds,” she’s seething mad. I look from her to the bed and then back to her. Shocked because that is the last thing I expect to come out of that beautiful mouth of hers. “You’re sleeping on the floor.” She is white knuckling her towel holding on for dear life, and all I can think of is ripping it from her body.
Sexual frustration burns through me and I drop the bags that I’m carrying on the floor. My whole body screams for me to go to her, to take her as mine, but it’s about to be sorely disappointed. For a brief moment I think I see a flicker of hope in her eyes, but I shake it off and turn for my bag. As I start digging she stalks over to me.
“I don’t know what you were expecting to happen by pulling this stunt, but…”
I stand up and toss one of my T-shirts at her successfully hitting my target and covering her chest. “Shut-up, Max. They didn’t have any rooms left with two beds. Now go put some clothes on,” I order. She stands in front of me worrying her jaw as my eyes dare her to say anything more about our sleeping arrangements. In a huff she turns on her heel and storms off to the bathroom. When it clicks shut I call out, “And you are bat-shit crazy if you think I’m going to sleep on the floor.”
Ten minutes later I bang on the door, and she throws it open. If looks could kill I would be a pile of ashes. I make no attempt to move out of her way so she shoves me back and stomps over to her bag. I watch with amusement as she yanks out a pair of tiny black and red panties. She turns her back to me, and then proceeds to pull them on without making any effort to keep me from seeing a peek of her bare ass. My mouth runs dry, and this time I do take the opportunity to adjust my swelling cock while her back is turned.
Max looks over her shoulder with an evil grin and says, “Goodnight, Catch.”
Dammit, I was going to have to take another cold shower.
After my temper and sex drive cools off I come out of the bathroom to find that Max has eaten and then fallen asleep. She is sprawled out in the middle of the bed, being sure to take up as much room as possible. Lying on her stomach with her head to the side, her red waves are spread out over the pillow, and she is snoring. And to my surprise I find the sound comforting. It’s nice to know she feels comfortable and safe enough so sleep so hard that it results in snoring.
Too bad I’m about to wake her up.
I thought I would give her one chance to move over. So, I wake her up easily by tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Max, could you please pick a side?” The snoring stops and it sounds like she mumbles something that sounds a lot like ‘fuck off’. “Max, if you don’t pick a side I’m going to do it for you,” I say with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I’d like to see you try,” she says without even bothering to open her eyes. “I said I wasn’t going to share a bed with you.”
I shrug. “Okay, have it your way.” I back away from the bed and give her one last chance to move. When a victorious smile stretches across her lips I realize she is in for a rude awakening.
In one quick motion I lean across the bed and scoop her into my arms. The comforter and sheet falls away from her as she lets out a gasp and starts struggling against me. I lift one hand and slap her hard on her half bare ass.
“Be still,” I grind out through gritted teeth. She is a lot stronger than she seems. I was learning fast that looks are truly deceiving when it comes to Max Brady.
“Ouch, you son-of-a-bi…”
I toss her in the air to the other side of the bed. She lands with a ‘humph’ as I claim the side of the bed her legs once occupied. “Oh, and don’t talk about my mom like that. She is an amazing woman.” I lean over and click the lamp off.
Max sits up and glares at me through the dark. “Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?”
“Do whatever the hell you want, Blaze, but I’m going to sleep right here. This bed is large enough for the both of us, and I have been very generous over the past week when it comes to sleeping arrangements.” She picks up a pillow and whacks me in the head once with it. I ignore her. “We have to be up in about six hours and I plan on sleeping soundly, something I can’t accomplish on the floor.” I roll to my side and tuck the covers up close to my chin. I feel her throw herself back onto her side of the bed with an agitated grunt.
Now I’m wearing the victorious smile.
Six hours is obviously asking for too much when my phone decides to ring four hours after falling asleep. I sit up and check the screen, unknown caller. It has to be Snitch.
“What’s up, man?” my voice is thick with sleep as I look over to see that Max is cuddled next to me on her stomach with her arms tucked underneath her. Her hair is fanned out over my arm.
“Timer is on to you. I got wind that he has his goons on the move. I’m assuming that you’re in the jeep. You need to ditch it as soon as possible, or at least before you get into New Orleans. And your cellphone has to go. You’ll need to stock up on prepaid phones,” he says in his scruffy voice.
I curse under my breath as I rub the sleep from my eyes. Ditching the jeep isn’t something I had planned on. I didn’t want to waist the time or money going out to buy another vehicle, and stealing one would alert the authorities. There is only one place I can go to get a car no questions asked, and have a safe place to stash the jeep, but bringing Max there isn’t something that had ever crossed my mind.
“Dude, I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I have to ask you something,” his voice takes on an even more serious tone.
“Yeah, what?” I whisper.
“Is she worth it?”
It’s a question that I keep asking myself over and over again. I lost a lot of money for her. Now I could lose my freedom or my life. “I don’t k
now yet,” I reply as I reach over and very gently tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. She smiles and nestles a little bit closer to me. It’s the only answer I can give him right now. And for some reason that I can’t explain that answer feels like a huge lie.
Snitch sighs heavily into the receiver. “Alright, Catch. Just ditch the car, and I’ll see you in a couple of days.” With those words said he ends the call.
****
Max
I wake to the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Stretching I smile and snuggle down into the pillows I was sleeping on. For a few moments I have forgotten where I am. When my brain kicks in to gear I shoot upright in the bed. The curtains are cracked only enough to allow a small amount of the morning light to sliver through. I look over to the digital clock to see that it’s seven o’clock, and very quiet.
The other side of the bed is empty, and the covers are pulled up to the pillow. “Catch?” I call out. No response, so I look over by the door for his boots. They’re gone.
Dragging myself out of bed I walk over to my bag and pick out a pair of jeans and a red V-neck, short sleeved shirt. I find the coffee pot on the vanity counter located right outside of the bathroom door. There is a folded piece of paper in one of the coffee mugs.
Max,
Had some business to take care of. Be back soon. Don’t wash your hair.
C.
I crumple the note in my fist while sarcastically mumbling, “What a strange request, mom.” Then I fix myself some coffee and drag ass into the bathroom to freshen up and get dressed.
Ten minutes later I hear Catch open the door. “Max?”
I walk out of the bathroom and set my mug down on the counter before turning to face him. I had gotten over being pissed last night, but I wasn’t ready to let him know that, so I take my time moving things around on the counter. Finally when I turn to face him he is leaning against the wall next to the dresser.