Contracted

by Marni Mann

  I dipped my face, my lips hovering right above hers while my hands held both of her cheeks.

  “I love you,” she whispered. Her eyes closed, and a single tear dripped from them.

  I wiped them with my fingers before I said, “I love you more.”

  Thirty-Seven

  Eve

  Max didn’t keep his hands off me during the entire reception. Mine were just as naughty, grabbing him under the table while we ate, running one across his ass when he walked me to the restroom.

  I couldn’t get enough.

  And it was a miracle that we hadn’t fucked by the time the party was over.

  But, instead, I was a good maid of honor and he a best man, and we didn’t leave until the bride and groom departed for the night.

  Seconds after they drove away, Max and I were in the backseat of an SUV, on our way to his house.

  As we approached the gate that divided his property from the street, the sight made me smile. It was a view I never thought I’d see again, one that felt so good to drive past.

  This time, I wasn’t going to surprise him.

  Tonight, he was the one who had surprised me.

  I hadn’t expected to return from Italy and have things go this way.

  At best, I’d anticipated it happening in stages. Maybe he’d warm up to one of the ideas, and it would take months or a year before he considered another.

  I could have lived with that.

  But that just wasn’t the case.

  I got hope that I would one day be a mother.

  I got him moving across the country.

  And I got all this because he loved me.

  As I sat next to him in the backseat, I leaned against the side of his body while his hands surrounded one of mine. I let my eyes close—not because I was tired, but because I needed to take in this moment. I needed to remember it. I needed my body and my heart to process it simultaneously.

  When it came to Max, my body usually got the most attention.

  But I’d heard love come out of his mouth more than once tonight, and my heart needed to recover from the shock.

  Just as I opened my eyes again, I saw that we were pulling up to the front of his house.

  He climbed out first and gave me his hand to help me onto the ground. Once my feet hit the brick pavers, he walked me through the front door, past the kitchen and living room, and straight into the master wing. I was only two steps from the entrance when he backed me up against a wall, cupped my face, and brought me as close to him as possible.

  “It was torture, having to wait all night to do this,” he said.

  His mouth hit my neck, and he kissed all the way to my cheek and across my entire chest.

  “Max,” I moaned.

  My nipples hardened, silently begging for his teeth. My pussy craved that perfect cock of his, needing it to be inside my soaked center.

  His hands dropped from my face and reached behind me, lowering the zipper of my dress.

  It fell to my ankles, and I stepped out of it.

  His gaze dipped down my body. “Fuck,” he growled.

  Four-inch heels, a black strapless bra, and a pair of matching panties.

  That was all I had on.

  “I’m going to try to be gentle,” he said, his stare slowly moving its way back up. “I don’t want to hurt your injuries, but it’s going to be hard because I want to fucking dominate you.”

  My nipples achingly pushed against the inside of my bra, and I almost reached down and rubbed my pussy just to give it the friction it was screaming for.

  “You don’t have to be gentle. I can take it.”

  “Don’t tease me, Eve.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Jesus,” he hissed, his eyes falling again, this time landing at the dip of my inner thighs. “I need to taste you. Right fucking now.” He reached underneath me and lifted me into the air and wrapped my legs around him.

  We were moving.

  Fast.

  And, suddenly, I was on the bed and he was grabbing for my panties and they were yanked off me.

  His mouth didn’t hesitate. It was immediately on my pussy, giving long licks toward my clit, a finger rotating around my entrance. In a voice that was muffled from being pushed against my lips, he said, “You taste so fucking good.” He followed that with dipping two fingers inside me.

  “Oh God.”

  It had been so long since I was touched or had an orgasm from anything other than a vibrator, and the combination of the two was bringing me straight to the edge.

  After just a few more flicks of his tongue going back and forth across my clit, I was screaming. My stomach was shuddering, my pussy clenching around his finger.

  “That’s what I wanted,” he growled. “For you to come all over my face.”

  Once I stilled, he moved out from between my legs, and he knelt in front of me. He gripped my thighs, spreading them so that they surrounded him. Now that I was in the position he wanted, he lifted my ass off the bed, so my pussy was aligned with his cock.

  When he inserted just the crown, his head tilted back, and he groaned, “Fuck,” so much louder than I’d ever heard him before. “I forgot how fucking tight you are.”

  I moved my hips, urging him to give me more, my pussy desperate to be filled.

  “Tell me how much you want my dick.”

  I reached down and pressed two fingers against my clit, rubbing them in a circle. I needed the friction, but I also knew how much Max loved watching me touch myself, and that inspired me to massage even faster.

  “Don’t make me wait,” I cried. “I need your cock. Right now.”

  He thrust all the way in, and my moan blared throughout the room. The same noise poured from my lips when he pulled out and shoved back in.

  He was establishing a rhythm, and my body was responding. His hips circled, and his hands dug into my thighs as he continued to hold them open.

  “Yes,” he grunted. “That’s the spot I want.”

  He had tilted his cock upward, knowing the tip would find that sensitive spot deep within me. At first, he was just tapping it after each pounding of his dick. But then he stayed all the way in, and he ground his hips in a circle, causing him to brush the spot back and forth.

  I couldn’t hold it in.

  My orgasm burst through me, and my entire body began to quiver, the sensation exploding in my clit. “Max!” I yelled.

  “I want you to scream out that fucking orgasm,” he said, pummeling through each shudder.

  So, I screamed, and my body shook as pleasure pulsed through it.

  Instead of slowing down, nursing my pussy with his length, he pulled out and pressed it against my ass.

  It was a warning.

  And then, he released my thighs, flipped me onto my stomach, and positioned me on my hands and knees. “Point your ass out, baby.”

  I arched my back and spread my legs even further apart, giving him the opening he was after.

  Once again, I felt him poke against me, this time his cock running from my ass to my pussy, spreading the wetness and soaking himself in it.

  The first thing that entered me was a finger and then a second one. I heard when he added spit, and I felt the thick wetness as it mixed with my own. He pumped me in and out, stretching me, readying me to take him in. And, when he thought I could handle more, his cock went in an inch.

  “Yes, Max. Give me more,” I demanded, enjoying the small spark of pain I always felt whenever his dick got reacquainted with my ass. It only lasted a few strokes before my body remembered his size and took him all the way in.

  He went slow, burying himself fully, and then gently moved back to his crown. I enjoyed the pace. It gave me the pressure I needed. And what intensified it was the way I reached between my legs to rub my clit.

  The slowness didn’t last long.

  Max put his hands on my hips and began to fuck me harder. That turned into deep, fast, relentless strokes that sent my body to a place it hadn�
�t reached in a long time.

  “Baby, your fucking ass feels so good,” he roared. “I want to feel you get off, and when that pleasure rips through you, I want you to milk the cum out of me.”

  The only way I could respond was to moan.

  So, I did, so loudly.

  And I felt the build work its way into my clit and spread to my ass.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “Just like that.” He gave me one long, merciless thrust. “Now, take my fucking cum.”

  My body started to shake, the sensation so intense that each grunt ended in a scream.

  “Yes,” he said. “Suck it right out of me.”

  I felt his cock get even harder the second before he shot his first load. Then, each time I bucked against him, another squirt landed in my ass.

  When he finally pulled out, he moved me onto my back and cleaned me off before he joined me on the bed. Facing him now, he swiped his thumb across my lower lip. “I have a present to show you in the morning.”

  “What is it?”

  “I can’t tell you. It will ruin the surprise.”

  “I think I’ve had enough surprises today.”

  He let out a tiny groan and kissed my forehead. “I hired Samantha to convert one of the guest bedrooms into a closet.”

  “Why?”

  “Because half of my closet isn’t enough space for you, so now, you’ll have all the room you’ll need when we’re here on vacation.”

  I melted from the way he had described this house, and then again as I said, “You built me a closet?”

  “No, baby, I built you the most badass fucking closet there is. Even James was jealous when she saw it.”

  That was why she had been on his side.

  She had known everything he was going to do tonight.

  My hand went to his face, so I could brush my fingers through his beard, and then I kissed him. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. You know I love spoiling you.”

  “But, Max, there’s a difference between buying me a bag and building me a closet.”

  He smirked. “Not really. The kind of bags you like almost cost the same.”

  I giggled against his lips. “God, I love you.”

  “Mmm,” he moaned. “Say that again, but this time, use my name.”

  Thirty-Eight

  Max

  “Max, don’t you think this is too much house for us?” I heard Eve ask as she stood on the balcony that was directly off the master bedroom.

  I finished touring the master bathroom and joined her outside, the French doors opening to a view that I’d been thinking about since I moved back to this fucking city.

  A city I was really starting to enjoy because of Eve even though I hadn’t wanted to return. I still missed the hell out of my friends, but I was in Miami at least once a month to see them and they were in LA just as often.

  “Because it’s over six thousand square feet?”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Because there are six bedrooms, a wine cellar, a media room, and a pool, and the square footage is more than double what I told the realtor we were looking for.”

  Nancy, the realtor I’d hired, had met us at The Agency’s condo where Eve and I had been living since we returned from Brett and James’s wedding three months ago. Now that Eve’s rental house had been converted into an office space for her and Trevor, the condo was the only place where we could stay.

  But three months had been enough. I was ready to buy something that would give us more space, that wouldn’t have anyone living beneath us, that would allow us to unpack more than our clothes and feel like it was our home.

  Eve had given Nancy a list of criteria.

  Her goddamn criteria.

  No matter how much I spoiled that girl and how much money she’d earned, she was still so fucking humble.

  So, while she’d listed off the things she wanted in a house and Nancy had written them down, I’d nodded and smiled and done everything a supportive boyfriend should. But, once she’d left and I’d had a second alone, I’d called Nancy and amended the list.

  Whatever Eve had asked for, I doubled. Sometimes, tripled. And I’d told her there was only one location where I wanted to live, and that was the Hollywood Hills, a section of LA that Eve hadn’t mentioned.

  When Nancy had picked us up from the condo this morning and brought us to the first showing, Eve had been pissed. The house wasn’t anything like what she’d asked for, so she’d pulled me aside and accused the realtor of not listening to a goddamn thing she’d requested.

  I’d told her I’d handle it, but we were still going to look at the house.

  The second place was even bigger than the first.

  And, because the realtor had sent me the listings and comps for each one, I was already familiar with the homes. Out of the five we were scheduled to see, I’d chosen a favorite.

  We were standing in it right now.

  It had everything I was looking for—the size, the upgrades, the wine cellar that I knew she was going to fucking die over.

  But I could tell it would take some convincing before she would consider it.

  “Truth?”

  She searched my eyes. “Spit it out.”

  “I called Nancy and changed our list of criteria.”

  “I was hoping that was the case instead of her blatantly ignoring everything I’d asked for because this isn’t even in the same ballpark of what I had in mind.”

  “I know, but I want you to give it a chance.”

  Her eyes left mine, so she could take in the scenery, the way the homes were built into the Santa Monica Mountains, at how we could see downtown LA from here. “It’s hard to hate this view.”

  I moved her to the edge of the balcony and stood behind her, wrapping my arms around her stomach, resting my chin on her shoulder. “Think of it as your new view.”

  “Max—”

  “I know what you want in a house, but I really want you to consider some of the ones we’ve looked at today.”

  It took her several seconds before she said, “Are we looking at any more? For some reason, I feel like you know the answer to that question even though Nancy has said nothing about it.”

  “Two more.”

  “And they’re better than this one?”

  “Not in my opinion.”

  She gazed to the side, which put her cheek close to my mouth. “I’ll admit, this is the nicest of the three.”

  I tightened my grip around her waist. “And the view is sick.”

  “There’s that, too.” She glanced straight again. “I don’t see any construction that would need to be done. Just some color changes, getting rid of some of the carpet, and decorating.”

  I moved my lips closer to her ear and said, “Which Samantha is going to knock out once we close.”

  “There’s just one major problem.” She sighed.

  “What?”

  “It’s so far out of the price range we talked about. I knew I could afford half of the house if we stuck with the criteria we gave her, but this”—her finger twirled around in a circle—“isn’t even close to my budget.”

  Whatever house we purchased was where we’d live when we got married, where we’d raise our kids, so I needed her to be comfortable with this decision. At the same time, I also wanted her to feel like an equal in this relationship.

  Eve didn’t want me to buy the house.

  She wanted us to buy it.

  My girl did well.

  But splitting a five-and-a-half-million-dollar home might be a stretch.

  Had she not been so adamant about contributing the same amount, I’d be signing the purchase offer right fucking now, and this conversation wouldn’t be taking place.

  But, somehow, I needed to make this work, so I said, “I promise you’ll be able to afford it.”

  She turned in my arms, now facing me. “The only way that’s going to happen is if you put enough money down that leaves me with a budget I can afford, and you let
me mortgage that amount.”

  I hadn’t even thought of that.

  I cupped her cheeks and brought my mouth down to hers. “If that’s what it takes, consider it done.”

  I watched her think about my offer. “I don’t know.”

  And then an idea came to me.

  As a stylist, she was a visual person. If I wanted her to see this as our home, I had to make her look at it that way.

  “I want to show you something,” I said, taking her by the hand and leading her back through the bedroom.

  When we got out of the master wing, I brought her toward the entrance of the house and up the staircase to the second story. The smallest of the six bedrooms was to the right, and I stopped once we were in the doorway.

  “We already saw this room.”

  I put my hands on her shoulders, and I moved her inside several feet. Standing behind her again, with an arm now wrapped across her chest, I used the other to point to the left wall. “The rocking chair could go right there.” I shifted my fingers, aiming at the corner and the back of the room. “Animals hand-painted on the walls. Big ones, like lions and giraffes. Maybe a giant stuffed alligator on the floor.” I turned her toward the right. “The crib would go there. In the center. With his name painted right above it.” I twisted her one last time, so she faced the closet. “This area is going to need the most work. With all the clothes you’re going to buy him, we’ll have to blow through the next room to make the closet double the size.”

  She continued to circle until I got the front of her body.

  I noticed immediately that her eyes were a little watery, and there was so much emotion in them.

  I pulled her against me, hugging her while I kissed the top of her head.

  “What did I do to deserve you?” she whispered.

  Since she’d returned from Italy and we’d been living together, we talked about children all the time. Marriage. Where we wanted to live when we retired, how we wanted to build a second restaurant and open Rosemary II in LA. The businesses we wanted to invest in as a couple and how we could financially grow together. I’d come a long goddamn way since we first started dating.