by Aimee Duffy
Maybe Clarissa had done such a number on him that his heart was broken beyond repair. Maybe it made him too scared to take the next leap. Georgia had never taken that leap either. She’d thought she’d been in love a few times, but none of those guys had made her feel the way he did, and she didn’t even mean the way he made her come.
She slid her hands out from under his. Max’s eyes opened and at the shake of her head they grew icy, spearing her again. If she’d thought heartbreak was hard before, what would throwing herself at him feel like when he’d never accept her as more than a temporary fling?
Without another word he left his car. Georgia forced herself to drive to the car park, put the ticket on the window, and lock up. Only then did she realize she had to give him back his keys.
She slipped her cell out of her handbag and dialed Eloisa’s direct line. It went straight to voicemail, so she tried Shey’s. With every ring her heart raced faster and faster. She wanted to run after Max, to believe giving up the last part of her heart to him wouldn’t matter, that she’d get over him when they were over.
But that way led to trouble and she wasn’t thinking clearly.
Shey answered as Georgia was about to hang up. ‘I’m screwed, Shey. Really fucking screwed.’
* * * *
Everything was white. The walls, the chairs, even the linoleum on the floor. Max stared at a faded footprint next to the door of the waiting room, the faint smell of industrial bleach turning his stomach. Or maybe that was waiting on the news that his father had finally got his wish.
It had nothing to do with the way it felt to have Georgia hold his face, offer him comfort when he’d almost lost it trying to pull himself together. She’d left him when he’d really needed her, and wasn’t that the theme song for his life?
More proof the old man was killing himself for a myth. Then again, maybe Max was the only person on the planet who didn’t deserve the kind of happiness other couples found.
The door opened and his breath stilled in his lungs. Georgia stepped into the room, an apology clear in her eyes. He couldn’t speak, staring seemed to be all he was good for at the moment. Had she changed her mind? His throat got thick with hope.
Until he saw the silver glint in her hands and he sucked in a breath. She’d come to give him back his keys. Max shuttered his expression and rose, towering over her in the creepy room. He took his keys with a dismissive ‘thanks’, tucked them into his suit trousers then picked up a glossy magazine from the table. He’d no idea what it was as he returned to the seat, but the pictures of celebrities dressed up gave him something to look at that wasn’t her.
‘My friend Shey will be happy to hear you read her magazine.’ Georgia’s voice was close and he looked up to see her right in front of him.
Max glanced at the cover. ‘Who doesn’t love Glamorous?’
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. ‘Bet it beats staring at these walls. Who thought a white-themed room would be comforting?’
He shrugged, unsure of why she was lingering and making small talk. It was nice, though, distracting. The scent of her Dior perfume filled the air, dimming the clinically clean smell of the room.
‘How is he?’ she asked, concern pinching her forehead.
He wanted to smooth the lines on her face, anything to avoid thinking about why he was here. ‘Stable, I think. I’m waiting for the doctor now.’
Her hands twisted together in front of her. She eyed the chair next to him. ‘That seat taken?’
He almost smiled at the clichéd line. ‘Depends. If you’re staying because of some misplaced guilt, don’t bother.’
‘Max, I’m here because I want to be here. I said no because it scared me how much I want to be here.’
Georgia tugged at the hem of her dress, dropping her eyelids and hiding her emotions. It cracked his restraint, the whole shitty day had. From having her walk out on him at the office when he wanted nothing more than for her to stay, to the phone call and her refusal in the car.
He threw the magazine down on the chair. ‘It’s taken now.’
Georgia paled, so he quickly pulled her onto his lap. She gasped and dropped her handbag on the floor. ‘Max, what are you—’
Her lips were as tempting as they’d always been. Now they were soft, pliant and a shocked ‘o’ beneath his. Max kept it slow, trying to hold back the fiery arousal he knew would rip through his veins the second things sped up, but slow didn’t work. The burn wasn’t as urgent now. Instead it smoldered through him until he felt almost boneless.
Georgia’s palms cupped his face again as he held her close, kissing her like he’d never kissed her before. Hell, like he’d never kissed anyone before. The kiss was about more than distraction, it was all the things he knew he shouldn’t feel or say or promise. For these few seconds, he was going to feel it all.
She broke away first, but didn’t make a move to stand or shift from his lap. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. Max returned the hug, burying his face in her neck, smelling her perfume and the hint of rose shampoo. Fuck it, he could allow himself this. Allow himself to feel for a little bit longer.
The next time the door cracked open it was to let a doctor with a clipboard enter.
Georgia shifted to sit next to him and took his hand. He thought it might be to offer support, but she was trembling. A glance was all it took to see she cared what happened to his father, which set off a turmoil of other, more powerful, emotions. Anger boiled through him, swift and too powerful to restrain.
‘Mr. Briggs, your father’s awake. He’s asking for you.’
Chapter 7
Georgia might as well have had a dictionary of medical terms thrown at her head, knocking out everything the guy had said. Max seemed to understand, though. He asked all the right questions at the right places.
All she could make out – the most important part – was that Maxton Briggs was weak but on the mend. They were pumping him full of all the nutrients he’d lost, and though she wondered why he needed so much, she kept the question to herself. Max would have a chance to speak with his father, maybe even make things right between them, and that’s what mattered.
The three of them walked down the corridors and her nose wrinkled at the smell of total cleanliness, like someone had thrown up bleach and disinfectant and left it out to dry. She kept hold of Max’s hand, offering him comfort, but at the same time keeping the contact she was starting to crave from him.
Shey had done the best-friend job, talked her out of putting her heart on the line for a man who couldn’t open his, but one glance at him in the room, looking alone and broken, Georgia threw caution to the wind. This wasn’t about her. This was about helping someone she cared about through a tough time. Something she didn’t have until she met her besties. No way could she leave Max by himself.
She stopped at the door to the room and tried to pull her hand free. Max held on tighter.
The doctor looked down at their hands, then said ‘You can both go in but try not to stay long. He needs rest.’
Keeping her mouth shut was for the best. The doctor didn’t need to know they weren’t a couple and that Max should go in alone. Not that Max was down with that plan. After a deep breath he opened the door and tugged her in with him.
Georgia tried to keep the shock off her face. The room was full of medical crap, beeping machinery hooked up to Mr. Briggs, and her old boss was surrounded by bags of clear liquid pumping stuff into his veins. He was so much thinner than when she’d last seen him, not even two months ago. Now his skin was gray and his eyes sunken.
Max’s grip on her hand tightened when Maxton looked up at his son. Then his gaze flickered to their joined hands, making her wish Max had left her outside. Her old boss smiled.
‘Lovely to see you here, Miss Lewis,’ Maxton said.
She chanced a glance at Max’s face and her eyes blurred. He looked so angry, with his clenched jaw and hard eyes. He glared at his father like he
’d committed the worst crime in history.
‘Thanks, Mr. Briggs. I drove Max here. You gave us all a bit of a scare.’
He looked at Max then. Really looked at him, and his ancient eyes grew sad.
‘Father.’ Max nodded, his tone clipped. ‘How are you feeling?’
Maxton’s eyes shone bright with emotion. The tension between the two men radiated throughout the room and Georgia wanted nothing more than to bolt. This was private time, family time, and she was interrupting.
‘I’m sorry, my son. I’m… sorry.’ The words were whispered, and Mr. Briggs closed his eyes.
Max’s hand clenched hers so tightly it almost bent her bones. At her gasp, he eased off but didn’t look at her. His attention was on his father, a splinter of his former self, hooked up to tubes, air and monitors.
Silence dragged until the soft snores of Max’s father filled the room. The doctor told them not to stay long, but she figured Max would want to. It was clear Max and his father had to talk. Max hadn’t accepted the apology although she’d no idea why someone would have to be forgiven for having a heart attack.
They never settled into the plastic chairs in the room, instead remained standing at the door. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, unsure what to do now. Max turned to look at her with an eerily blank expression. Not even his eyes held any sign of how affected he was.
‘We should go,’ he said with a dead voice.
Georgia pressed her lips together and nodded. It wasn’t her business if he stayed or went. Without releasing her hand, he led her out of the hospital at a slower pace than when they left work.
They were outside when curiosity got the better of her. ‘You’re going back when you drop me off?’
Every muscle in his body seemed to tense as he led her through the car park. They were at his car and he was opening the door for her to get in before he spoke. ‘Not tonight.’
Georgia wanted to say more but he swooped down and kissed her hard. Not like the kiss on his lap in the waiting room, where she’d been warmed down to her bones. This was about their shared fire and passion and lust.
He ended the kiss looking as desperate for air as she was. Emotion had come back into his expression. Emotion and need that mimicked hers.
‘Get in the car,’ he instructed.
Georgia did as he asked and soon they were speeding through New York, much quicker than she had. Her apartment wasn’t on this side of Manhattan, though, and she knew then that this was the next step. It was make-or-break time for them both.
She had to tell him to take her home, didn’t she? Any more kisses like the one at the hospital and she’d be gone for sure. But could she walk away from him now, when it was so obvious he needed her?
Torn, she chewed on her lip and risked a glance at him. What she saw helped her make up her mind.
* * * *
The sane part of Max knew he was out of control. Dragging Georgia away like that and kissing her without shielding his intent wasn’t fair to either of them. She was an itch he hadn’t been able to scratch for so long. And now she was here, he didn’t want anyone else, and he needed the distraction.
Max’s logical side screamed to back the fuck up and think about it, because he didn’t just need the distraction of sex. But his selfish, irresponsible side convinced him he needed Georgia, with a clarity that drove him to smother that sensible part of himself.
Pulling into his building, he realized he had to give her the choice. She hadn’t protested, but he was in a shitty mood and might have scared her.
‘We both know what happens if you come up. Is that what you want? The time to say no is now, Georgia. When we get inside there’s no going back.’
She was too quiet as he parked up. When he turned to her she was squeezing the seat like it tethered her to the earth. His shitty mood evaporated and an ache formed in his chest.
In a calmer tone, he said, ‘I want you, I want this, but I’ll understand if you don’t. I won’t hurt you or make you do anything you don’t want to. You don’t have to be afraid of me.’
Her grip relaxed on the leather. ‘I’m not scared of you. I know you won’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do.’
The band across his chest loosened. ‘Do you want to come up?’
Georgia turned to him with one of her eyebrows raised. ‘That’s like asking if I want a new pair of shoes.’
‘Duh?’ At her nod, Max smiled for the first time since she’d walked out of his office.
They were both out of the car and heading for the elevator as fast as they could go with Georgia’s crazy-high heels. The lilac shift dress she wore complemented her honey-blonde hair, which he couldn’t wait to free from the intricate twist at the back of her head.
The second the metal doors closed he set about doing just that, tugging her close and kissing her with all the need and desperation pounding through him. A few pins dropped to the floor, then all those silky waves spilled over his hands. His cock was hard, leaking at the tip, and grinding into her stomach. With every moan, with every gasp from her the sensations racked up until he was bursting with the primal need to take her. Claim her.
He kicked the door of his apartment closed while breaking as little contact as possible from the tangle of limbs she had him in. Her hands fumbled with his belt for a second before giving up and unleashing him through his zip instead. She gripped his dick, drawing a strangled moan from his throat.
‘Too… close… we need to… slow—’
She cut him off by dropping to her knees on his thick carpet and taking him. The second he was back in that warm silky mouth Max slumped back against the wall, cracking his head off the corner of a painting before it fell to the floor. He didn’t give a shit if the glass smashed.
He wanted to look down, but couldn’t find the energy to open his eyes. She was pulling him deep into her mouth, swallowing around the head, while her fisted hand worked him hard. His thigh muscles tensed as he felt the first spark at the bottom of his spine, the only warning he got.
‘Georgia, I’m going to—’
She sucked him harder and deeper, totally without mercy. The orgasm slammed into him from behind and shot out of him in a dizzying flash. His head cracked off the wall again as he cursed, the pleasure going and going, building and contracting through him while her tongue and palms soothed him through the spasms.
It took him a minute to open his eyes when she let go. Georgia stood now, a half-smile tilting her swollen lips. Max pulled her close, kissing her thoroughly with his tongue and tasting himself along with her. It was so hot his heart got moving again, pounding sizzling blood through his veins.
This time it would be about her. This time he’d give Georgia all her firsts before he allowed himself to be satisfied. Max lifted her, carried her through to the sofa and sat her on the edge at the back.
‘I hear sofa sex is hot,’ she said with a smile.
‘It can be. Now I want you to show me how you did with your homework.’
Her skin flushed a shade darker, especially as he slid up her dress to reach the string supports of her panties. Max grinned. ‘Thong?’
She nodded and a fresh pulse of heat travelled south.
‘Do I ever get the other ones back?’
‘Depends.’ He tugged her panties to her knees and let them fall down her calves to land on the floor.
‘On?’ she pressed.
‘How well you do. Now lie back.’
Her brows furrowed and he took her hands so she didn’t go too fast. Though her eyes shadowed with doubt as she exposed herself to him, she lay back until her head rested on the seat of the sofa. He propped some pillows under her shoulders, ignoring the feel of his semi-hard cock against her thigh.
The upside down position meant her dress ruffled just below her ribs and when he rose it took him a second to pull himself together. On Friday it had been too dark to get a good look, despite the up-close-and-personal approach he’d used. But with her legs open
and spread, her toned stomach bared and her hair fanning out over the pillow, she took his breath away.
‘Fuck.’
Max drew the tip of his finger across her parted folds. They glistened with her arousal and his head throbbed with the need to take her now. He was almost on his way to solid, it would be easy to slide himself in and he’d be hard again in seconds.
But he had other plans.
Pushing her knees wider, he dipped his head to get a closer look. ‘Make yourself come for me.’
Chapter 8
Something inside Georgia was broken, or maybe not. Her whole body trembled with the adrenaline fizzling through her veins while her heart cantered faster than ever. She’d never been this exposed to anyone, had never masturbated in front of a lover, and the thrill of fear gave her the courage to do it.
With a shaking hand, she slid her palm across her bared stomach. Max’s gaze was fixed on her pussy with eyes darker than she’d ever seen on him. His jaw strained and his hands on her knees gripped her harder as she reached her mound. Thank God she’d kept up her bikini wax!
Her flesh was warm and slick with her juices, so much so he would be able to see it. Being on her knees, having all his stiff flesh in her mouth and throat had done that. Max didn’t just turn her on or get her body revved up. That was too easy for a guy like him. He pushed the boundaries of what she’d thought was safe and controlled, and look what going along with him had done on Friday night! For once she didn’t want to question or protest. She wanted to surrender. Everything.
She’d worry about the consequences later.
Georgia sought out her clit and started rubbing hard and fast. It hurt a bit, though her touch and his gaze caused more than tingles in the pit of her stomach.
‘Slow,’ he commanded. ‘At first anyway.’
Getting into the sensations, Georgia ignored him. She closed her eyes, her head lolled from side to side on the cushion with each stroke, and she had to gasp for air. Blood pooled in her head, making the sensations more intense. Now she understood the weird position he’d put her in.