by Mia Carson
He climbed into the tub with her and dragged her back against his chest. “Next time I go out of town, you’re coming with me, sick or not. I can’t stand being away from you.”
Mia rested against his body, comfortable in the cradle of his hips as he shut off the water. “I’m not used to missing someone this much either,” she said, sighing when his hands slipped down her wet body to twirl in her curls. “You’re making me dizzy already.”
“Good, I want you dizzy,” he whispered against her ear. “I want you wet for me, begging for me as much as my body begs for yours.”
“My body always wants yours.” She lifted her hips and his hand glided easily against her cleft.
His erection swelled against her back, and she wanted him buried inside her. Three days was too long without his touch, but he didn’t let her turn around yet. He spread her lips, caressing them before his fingers thrust inside her. Mia groaned, digging her nails hard into his thighs as he worked to stretch her and find that one spot to make her scream his name. His thumb pressed against her clit as his free hand held her breast.
“I can’t live without this.” He licked her earlobe and sucked hard, teasing her nipple while his fingers ravaged her. Her hips bucked and she lost herself in the sensations pouring over her.
Every nerve was alight with passion. The water lapping over her skin was like a separate touch of his body, as if he was able to touch every inch of her while he brought her to the edge of climax then pulled back before starting over again. He teased her, and all she could do was hold on while he explored her body with such intricate care and detail, there wasn’t a single spot he left untouched. Mia shifted back against him and rubbed his cock, but there wasn’t a way to get a hold on him.
“Not yet,” he growled. “I want to hear you scream first.”
“Max,” she begged as he stroked her hard and fast beneath the water. “Oh, God! Max!”
“Come for me, Mia. Cry out your release for me.”
Her mouth fell open on a moan that built the harder he stroked. Her body twitched with the pleasure shooting through her limbs, his hand not ceasing as it tore every last bit of pleasure from deep within her depths. She shuddered one final time and collapsed against him.
“Not… fair,” she muttered and spun around slowly in the large tub.
“I don’t play fair, remember?”
“Neither do I.” She straddled his lap, and before he could attempt to pull away and torture her more, she gripped his length hard and worked her palms down his swollen erection, rubbing her thumb over the tip. “Now, I want you to come for me.”
His hands found her hips and he lifted her enough to thrust into her. Mia wrapped her arms around his neck as he captured her lips, kissing her hard and deep to match his thrusts. The idea of making love while she was pregnant with their child, set her on fire, and Mia had to be as close to him as possible, telling him without the words that refused to come how much she needed him in her life. He completed her; he was the missing piece she had sought her whole life. The water splashed out of the tub and onto the floor. Her laughter joined his as he made love to her the way a husband did to his wife.
“Max,” she tried to say, groaning with each drag out of her body, but she couldn’t find the rest of the words. He filled her to the brim with love and fire, stretching her beyond what she ever imagined, and she held on for the ride.
When the orgasm tore through their bodies, he plunged into her one final time, spilling his seed as his hips bucked wildly and she took him all in, quivering from the sharp bursts of pleasure shooting from her sheath to her chest. They would be fine. In that moment, she knew it. No matter what came next, no matter how he took the news of her being pregnant, they would be fine.
The second Max stepped through the door earlier, his gut told him something was wrong with Mia. He meant to corner her and make her tell him, but seeing her in her sweats and t-shirt, so comfortable in their home, shot all other plans out the window except to have her. Now, as they finished their steamy bath, he tucked her hair, curling gently from the water, behind her ears and kissed her as he pulled out.
“Damn,” he groaned, the aftershock of pleasure catching him off guard.
“Satisfied that there’s nothing wrong now?” she asked breathlessly, settling against the other end of the tub.
“For the moment,” he grunted. “You would tell me if something was wrong, right?”
She smiled and reached for his hand in the water, holding it to her cheek as she leaned into his palm. “I will always tell you everything. Sometimes, it just might take a little longer, that’s all.”
Did he tell her now as she held his gaze so steadily, no fear in sight, no flinching away from him? His jaw worked over the words, trying them out in his mind, but they remained stuck fast. “Since I did come home early, I have to swing by the office and check in with Jeremy and the two guys I left at the conference.”
“I told you not to come home,” she said, but the light in her eye said she was glad he did.
“Up for eating tonight?”
“I think I can handle it. Whatever you’re in the mood for is fine with me.” She closed her eyes and sank deeper into the water. Her hands slipped to her stomach and Max frowned, worried she was feeling sick again and maybe their exertions were too much, but she appeared peaceful.
He pushed through the water for one final kiss, lingering as long as he could before his cell went off and he hung his head against her shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be here,” she said and squeezed his hand.
Max dried quickly and dressed in fresh clothes. As he checked his casual dress one final time in the mirror, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and an icy hand dragged down his back. He spun around, but Mia was still soaking in the tub and he was alone. A voice whispered at him not to leave, but that was ridiculous. Mia appeared in good health and he would be back in a few hours. Everything was perfectly fine. He ignored the strange sensation, finished dressing, and squatted by the tub.
“I just have to stop by the office real quick, grab some food, and then I’ll be home. Murder She Wrote marathon?”
“If you’re up for it,” she agreed with a smirk. “I’m pretty sure I’ve memorized every ending.”
“No spoilers.” He kissed her forehead then the top of her head and her lips for good measure. “Right, I’m going then.”
“Hurry back.”
“For you, love, I always will.”
14
Mia stared at her smiling reflection in the mirror. After Max left, she soaked for a while longer until she was pruney, then got out, wrapped herself up in a towel, and promptly fell asleep lying on the bed. The fire in her eyes glowed brightly, all because of that man. He might be a damn brute, but he was her brute, now, and she knew there would be no leaving him, even after this arrangement of theirs was over. The marriage was only supposed to be for four years, but she wanted longer. She wanted more.
Not to mention she had to explain to him what she’d learned that afternoon, thanks to the pregnancy tests. She hadn’t gone to the doctor yet since it wasn’t even supposed to be possible, but her hand slipped to her flat belly and she glanced downwards. The hard-to-ignore morning sickness, the fatigue, the random bouts of wanting to cry at nothing… She was glad Max had been gone on his work trip for the last few days. It was bad enough he worried so much about her breaking down again, but that was a one-time deal. She’d had her bout of crying, her night of losing her sanity, and Max had been there to put her all back together. She only hoped that when she told him her news, he wouldn’t be upset. When he’d admitted he wanted a child, she’d told him flat out it wasn’t possible. He seemed to accept it, but now that she might be pregnant, would he still want one? And what if all the tests were wrong and she raised his hopes, only to have them come crashing down around him? There were so many questions she needed answers to and no easy way to get them.
Her mind racing, s
he drew her shorter brown hair back into a ponytail and wiped her hands down her face. The smile remained, and the second Max returned from taking care of business at the office this evening, she would tell him how she really felt. How the words hadn’t managed to slip out while they made love in the tub, she was unsure. There was no hiding it, though, not now. The idea of making this awkward crossed her mind, but if she read him right, he experienced the same monumental emotional upheaval when they were together. The way his eyes followed her every move, how his touch on her skin told her no matter what happened, he would be there to take care of her. To look out for her, but it was so much more than that. He would never let her down, not like the other men in her life had.
After slipping on blue jeans and a bulky sweater to be comfy the rest of the night, she decided to set the TV up for when Max returned later, when a knock sounded at the door. She set the remote down and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Max had his keys. They weren’t on the table by the front door, and she was pretty sure Jeremy wasn’t stopping by until later that night.
She waited to see if the person would go away, but there was another knock, more insistent. She picked up the landline beside the couch and called down to the front desk. “Hey, Harry, it’s Mia. Did you send someone up to the penthouse?”
“Oh, yeah. I tried calling, but the phones in the building have been acting up again.”
“No problem. Who is it?”
“He said he was Max’s new assistant, the one Jeremy was training? Said he was dropping off the papers Max asked for.”
Mia stared at the door, gripping the phone in her hand hard. “But he’s at the office.”
“Maybe he left already and forgot a few things?”
“Maybe. Thanks, Harry,” she said.
“Mia? You want me to come up before you let him in?” Harry offered.
“No. No, I’m sure it’s nothing. Max said he was going to grab food on his way home too. I’m sure everything’s fine.”
She thanked him again and hung up. Another knock sounded and she clutched the phone in one hand as she crept towards it. Leave it to Max to be the only idiot in the city without a damn peephole on his door.
“Who is it?” she called out.
A high-pitched man’s voice replied, “Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Ward. I’m just dropping off some files the boss forgot at the office.”
Quick, just be quick, she told herself. She opened the door, forcing her lips into a smile, until a hand gripped the door hard and a booted foot planted itself in front of it. Shaking in terror, all of Max’s self-defense lessons went out the door as Keith’s sneered down at her. “No,” she whispered. “Keith.”
“Honey, I’m home,” he growled and forced her back inside.
Their takeout in hand, Max strolled down the sidewalk on his way back to the penthouse. He had to tell Mia the truth. There was no more hiding from it, no matter what she might think. Four years be damned. He wanted her for the rest of his life, and deep down, he sensed she wanted the same. Their connection was too strong, too intimate to part at the end of this arrangement. He considered running the idea by Jeremy first, even though his friend had told him a hundred times just to admit he loved her. When he passed the window of a jewelry boutique, he tucked his cell away and let his heart guide him for once.
“Evening, sir,” the woman behind the counter greeted him. “Something I can help you find tonight?”
He set the food down at the far end of the counter and smiled. Even the woman’s wary glance at the scar running down his face didn’t bother him as it usually did. He was too surrounded by his love for a woman he was not supposed to fall for. “Yes, I think you can. I’m in need of an engagement ring.”
“Ah, and who’s the lucky lady?” she asked.
Max grinned wider as he realized how weird this would sound. “My wife.”
The woman frowned. “Your wife—you need an engagement ring for a woman you’re already married to?”
“It’s a long story, but let’s just say I couldn’t get her the ring she deserved, but now, I can.”
“Well, now, I’d be more than happy to help you with that, sir,” she said and waved her hands over the glass cases around the small store. “Where would you like to start?”
Max pictured Mia in his mind’s eye—her stormy grey eyes, her dark brown hair, the way she grinned a bit crookedly when she was really smiling. “White gold, I think,” he said tentatively, knowing how much she hated gold. “And no diamonds.”
“No diamonds?”
He shook his head. “Rubies. She’s a ruby girl.”
“Then right this way, sir,” she said and guided him down three cases. “Do you know her size? If not, you can always come back with her after the special reveal and we’ll get her all fixed up.”
“Tiny, that’s all I know.” He chuckled, picturing her small hand in his, but damn, how that tiny hand packed a punch. His eyes danced over the sparkling ruby rings and he tried to imagine each one on the hand of the woman he loved. “Let’s try that one.”
Gulping, Mia debated her chances of darting around Keith for the door, but she would never make it. He yanked the phone from her hand and threw it in the sink, smashing it to pieces.
“I don’t want you calling anyone,” he snapped, and she backed away quickly.
“What do you want?” she demanded fiercely. “I don’t want to be with you, so just leave me the fuck alone.”
His sadistic grin fell at her sharp tongue, and Mia forced herself not to flinch away from his furious glare and the way he reached out and gripped her shoulders hard enough to make her wince. “You do not use that tone with me, Mia. Ever. You are coming with me, right now.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you, you fucking ferret-faced bastard!”
He raised his hand and she braced for the hit, but like always, his hand fell to the side, curling into a fist. “Watch your mouth! You are coming home with me, and then you and I are going to have a nice long talk about where we’re moving.”
“I’m married!” she yelled in his face. “You can’t kidnap someone’s wife!”
“Why not? He did the same thing to me,” he shot back and gave her a hard shake. “You are mine, and he just swooped in and stole you from me! My pure, beautiful Mia… you’re not pure anymore, are you?”
It wasn’t a question so she didn’t offer him an answer. Max. Any minute now, he would come home. If she could stall until then, make him stay here, then Max would arrive and everything would be fine… everything would be just… fine. Her eyes widened when Keith shifted and his jacket moved aside. A handgun was tucked in his belt and her body froze.
“Have I taught you nothing about how important your purity was to me?” he muttered angrily and released her.
Mia backed away towards the hall. He had a gun. There was nothing stopping him from shooting her—or Max. “Keith, please,” she said, her voice shaky. “Just calm down. We… we can talk about this calmly. Work something out.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and the sudden blank stare in his eyes chilled her to the bone. “Talk. You think I came all this way to talk? God, how did that man put up with your stupidity this whole time?”
She bristled. “I’m not stupid, but you are if you think I want to spend any more time with you. Just get out. Please, leave before you do something you’ll regret.”
“The only thing I regret,” he raged as he stormed towards her, “was not locking you up when I had the chance! Come here!” He lunged for her, but Mia ducked under his arm and sprinted down the hall, sliding on the floor in her socks. She managed to stay on her feet and slipped into the master bedroom, slamming and locking the door seconds before Keith’s body slammed into it full force. The door rattled in the frame. It wouldn’t hold for long, and Mia tried to shove the dresser in front of it. “Come on, you bastard,” she snarled, bracing her feet against the other wall as she pushed.
But it was too heavy, and with every hit fr
om Keith, the door cracked and threatened to give way. She was trapped with no phone, no way out, and no way to warn Max of what he was walking into. The door slammed open on the next impact, and Mia screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping someone would hear her, when a fist connected with her face. She flew backwards, landing hard on the floor and cringing at the sharp ache in her cheek. Gingerly, she rolled over to her back as Keith towered over her, his chest heaving, eyes wild, and his fist curled at his side.
“You… you made me do that.” He stepped closer as she scrambled to get away. “Your perfect face, you ruined it.”
She spat at his feet. The weak Mia he knew was gone. Max had drawn her out and helped show her the woman she could be. “You’ll never have me, Keith. Never.”
He grabbed the handgun from his belt—a small revolver—and waved it before her. Automatically, her hands slipped to protect her belly and his nostrils flared. “No—no, it can’t be. You fucking cheating bitch!”
Mia winced as he yanked her to her feet and shoved the gun into her side. She fought the fear and panic, trying to focus as Max had taught her to do, but the gun at her side made it too hard. All she wanted to do was cry, to let the tears fall and give up. She had fought all her life, and she was so tired. Her life was a nightmare that would never end. He dragged her out of the bedroom when she heard the front door open and keys jingling.
“Mia? I’m back.”
Fire coursing through her body, she threw her elbow back into Keith’s side and tried to run out of his grasp. “Max!” she managed to scream before it was cut off on a yelp of pain. Keith snatched her by the hair as Max sprinted towards her.
“I’d stop if I were you,” Keith warned and pressed the gun against her temple.