by Aimee Duffy
‘I hurt Georgia, bad.’
His father frowned. ‘Tell me everything, from the beginning.’
Max did, shame curdling his insides with every disapproving look. He’d fucked it up with her beyond repair. Admitting the whole sorry thing to his father didn’t make him feel better. It only heightened the end-of-the-world feeling he’d been sporting since she told him she never wanted to see him again.
When he was done, Maxton was quiet for a long time. He couldn’t meet his father’s gaze. Shame burned through him along with the fear and the pain. Shit, even when Clarissa had humiliated him it didn’t feel a thing like this.
‘I never thought I’d live to see the day when you disappointed me, son.’
His throat constricted and his shoulders slumped. ‘I…’
‘I also never thought I’d see the day when you missed the obvious. You were always such a smart kid.’
He met his father’s eyes with a frown. ‘What do you mean?’
Maxton shook his head, a smile curving his lips. ‘You’ve spent so long convincing yourself you can’t fall in love because you’re so scared of rejection. But all along you’ve been falling hard.’
Max ground his teeth, rejecting the idea even though the proof that there was strength to be found after loss was sitting right in front of him. He couldn’t imagine that kind of grief, tearing him up. But then his own rocked him to the core with startling clarity and his mouth fell open.
‘And you said it yourself, she loves you to the point that she can’t bear to be with you since you told her you can’t. I don’t think you have to worry about Georgia screwing you over.’
‘I… oh God.’ He buried his face in his palms again. He didn’t think Georgia would leave him the way Clarissa did, but there were other ways a person could leave. Only question left was did he take that chance and risk getting fucked over, or go after what he wanted?
A scrape of a chair sounded, then his father’s palm rested against his shoulder, stronger than he expected. ‘You’ve got a lot of making up to do, son. Go get yourself cleaned up.’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve messed up.’
Maxton patted him on the back. ‘Maybe. You’ll never know that until you admit how you feel to yourself, then prove it to her.’
Max’s arms shook and he groaned. Shit wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He wasn’t meant to fall for a woman, but how could he deny it now?
It meant nothing, though. Without Georgia, none of it mattered – which was what he’d been worried about happening – but if there was a chance to fix this, how could he not try?
‘You can’t sit there all day. Aren’t you going to try and win her back?’ his father asked.
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question?
Chapter 12
A very unwelcome Shey stormed into her room and Georgia pulled the covers over her head.
‘When are you going to get out of this hovel and get your act together?’
Never wasn’t long enough. She was bleeding, torn, betrayed and fucking hurt. What did her friends expect? At least Eloisa had the good grace to leave her alone, though that was probably because of the mess. She’d shit a hedgehog if she had to spend any time in Georgia’s room.
‘It’s Sunday,’ she mumbled. ‘There’s no point getting out of bed.’
The mattress dipped under Shey’s weight. ‘What about tomorrow? You have a job.’
She shook her head under the covers, but Shey pulled them back. ‘You stink by the way. A shower wouldn’t kill you, you know.’
‘Leave. Me. Alone.’ Georgia put the last of her energy into a scowl that should have had Shey shaking in her stilettos.
‘Believe me, I want to. I won’t though. Not until you get your act together.’
Irritation bubbled over. ‘Maybe I don’t want to!’
‘How are you going to pay for food, for rent, for clothes?’ she demanded.
She turned to face the wall. ‘I have savings.’
‘Right, I’ve had enough of this shit.’
Georgia exhaled a sigh of relief, until Shey caught both her ankles. ‘What are you doing?’
‘If you’re not getting out of this bed, I’m going to make you. Then I’m getting Eloisa in here and we’re going to lock you in the bathroom till you’re clean. Just imagine how tidy your room will be when Eloisa gets her way, then you’ll never be able to find anything.’
She stared hard into her friend’s unwavering golden gaze, until she realized Shey wasn’t bluffing. ‘Fine. I’ll go take a frickin’ shower.’
Shey released her and she rose, pulling her towel off the radiator. ‘Remember the soap.’
‘You should have been a comedian,’ Georgia grumbled, making her way to the bathroom. Her body was stiff, but a weekend in bed would do that. She ignored the mirror and scrubbed herself from head to toe, feeling a teeny bit better by washing away the grime, though she hated to admit her friend was right.
Still felt like a bullet had split her ribcage, and she was bleeding out, but whatever. She was clean and Shey wasn’t following through on her threat. When she got back to the room she scowled, seeing the sheets had been changed. Pulling on sweats and a hoodie, she was tempted to slide back into bed, but that would just earn her more threats.
Instead she padded barefoot through to the living room, wondering why the apartment was so quiet. On the coffee table there was a card with her name on the front in Eloisa’s handwriting.
She flipped it open and frowned at the words.
You don’t have long. Slap your war paint on and wear something sexy. I’ll keep Shey away as long as I can.
She read over the note again and again, trying to make sense of it, wishing the conclusion she came to was the wrong one. Since she’d got back on Thursday night and broken down for the first time since her mom died, Shey had cussed Max out over and over. Come Friday night Georgia had locked herself in her room, half-agreeing with Shey and half-hating her friend for speaking about Max the way she had. Eloisa had offered comfort, but hadn’t said a bad thing about him. Not once.
Georgia had a sinking feeling she’d been set up. She ran through to her bedroom, scrambling to find her handbag and pulled out her phone. Finding a charger amidst the chaos of her room drove home the fact that she needed organization in her life. The second it was plugged in she switched it on.
The piece of crap took forever to load up.
No missed calls. No voicemails. Her heart broke all over again, but it didn’t make sense. She hit out a text to Eloisa.
What’s going on?
The reply came back within second.
You can thank me later x
Georgia frowned at the screen.
For what?
The sound of the front door opening had her straightening up. She left her phone in her room, wondering what the hell her roomies were up to now. Walking down the hall, she said ‘I thought you two wouldn’t be back for a while.’
When she saw him standing in the living room, she had to palm the wall for support. Movement caught her eye and she gaped at the people strolling into her apartment with huge bouquets of flowers, laying them on every available surface till her apartment smelled absolutely gorgeous.
Max didn’t move throughout, but she felt him watching her. Stunned, she couldn’t speak, even when the last person left. He didn’t have keys to her place. There was only one person he could have got them from. Someone she trusted, someone she loved. Eloisa’s betrayal turned her stomach.
‘You look how I feel,’ he said.
Anger pulsed through her veins, warming her, focusing her. ‘Like shit? Good. You deserve to.’
He shook his head, his blond hair falling into his face. ‘Devastated, miserable, cut to shreds.’
‘You’re giving yourself far too much credit.’ Thank God she had her wayward tongue. He looked too good in jeans and a sweatshirt. Even with the empty eyes.
‘Yeah, maybe.’ He pushed his hair out of his
face. ‘It’s how I felt when you walked away from me on Thursday, but I didn’t know why right away.’
Could this get any worse? Him surrounded by the flowers he’d bought her, given access to her home by her so-called-friend, saying he wanted her back? Really?
‘Flowers won’t change anything.’ Even if they were pretty and romantic. ‘I thought I made myself clear on Thursday.’
‘You did. You made everything crystal clear.’
She blinked a few times, not sure what was happening.
‘You made it clear you loved me, and that you couldn’t stay with me because you thought I’d never love you back.’
Hearing that made the pain hit her again. She leaned against the wall, feeling like her knees were about to fail. He was in front of her in an instant, but she shook her head. She wouldn’t survive it if he touched her again, she was sure of it.
‘Jesus, Georgia. When was the last time you ate?’ His voice was thick with worry.
She couldn’t bear it. Closing her eyes she said, ‘You need to go.’
‘I’m not leaving until you hear me out.’
Her forehead crumpled. ‘There’s nothing more to say. This doesn’t change anything, or what you did.’
He picked her up so quickly she only had time to gasp. In his arms, cradled against his chest, was a special kind of torture. She yearned for it, almost needed it, but he was moving and a second later sitting her on the armchair.
Kneeling before her, he held onto the arms of the chair, his expression more pained than she’d ever seen it. ‘I was wrong, Georgia. I need you. I’ve fallen in love with you and was too scared to see it.’
She shook her head back and forth, breathing through her nose, trying to stop the burning in her eyes.
‘Georgia, I know you think I was using you to make breaking Marcello’s contract seem like the end of his time, rather than revenge. I’ll admit I did need someone to help me out when I thought about asking you, and should have come clean, but then I fucked up by asking you to sleep with me too and lost my chance.’
‘You should have told me. When I asked about Clarissa, that was your chance.’ He hadn’t, though. He’d pushed her away.
Max buried his face in her lap and she was torn between comforting him and shoving him away. Instead she fisted her hands at her sides.
‘I was running scared. Pushing you away because I couldn’t deal with how you were making me feel. It wasn’t till that day at the hospital that I realized how much I needed you. At the time it freaked me out, seeing what love was doing to my father. And then knowing from personal experience what being cheated on by someone I cared about felt like.’
He lifted his head and begged her to understand with his eyes.
She couldn’t. ‘Then tell me what’s changed? You were prepared to walk away from me after that. Hell, you’ve waited days to come here.’
He took one of her hands in his and her heart swelled with hope, but she pulled it back. Believing in them again for it all to come crashing down would end her.
‘I talked with my father. Really talked. He’s on the mend, I’m not angry at him anymore, and he got me to face my love for you.’
A sob slipped out. Before she knew it she was in his arms, straddling his hips when he’d switched positions, and clinging onto him like she couldn’t bear to let go. ‘This… isn’t me. I don’t… cry,’ she said between sobs.
‘I know, honey. Eloisa told me. I was ready to hand them my balls and let them stick the knife in, but she gave me an in. A shot to prove how much I care.’
‘I can’t go through another split again. I can’t deal with it.’ She looked him in the eye, showing him how serious she was.
His hands cupped her face. ‘I know. I can’t either.’
He kissed her then and the suffering ended. Georgia kissed him back, reveling in the beat of her heart, the blood pumping thick and hot through her body. He’d been right all along, he knew what she needed. Him, pure and simple.
Max lifted her off the chair and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were moving, but all she could focus on was his erection, hot and heavy at her core. Need melted her insides, boiling hot, until he took his lips off hers and she realized where they were.
Oh, hell.
‘Umm…’ She had no defense against the mess, the chaos.
He laughed and the sound vibrated through her enough to clear the shock. ‘I didn’t expect anything else.’
The way he smiled at her, with adoration and total acceptance, made her heart swell. ‘The sheets are clean.’
Two steps were all it took for him to reach the bed and he fell back against the mattress so she straddled his hips. He pulled her hoodie over her head, exposing her naked torso. His blue eyes turned stormy, sending a thrill through her.
Shifting, she managed to ditch the bottoms. He rolled them both, his lips fixing onto her breast, stoking the flames inside. ‘Max!’ Her hands fisted in his hair, pulling him closer. ‘Get naked.’
He switched his attention to her other breast while his fingers found her clit. Jolts of pleasure muddied her thoughts. She let go of his hair to claw at the sheets, and he trailed his lips down to her core.
‘I’ve missed you. Everything about you.’ His tongue lashed between her folds and he growled as she whimpered. ‘Fuck, your taste.’
He utterly devoured her, sending her straight over the edge in one fast, hot, wild orgasm. When his mouth didn’t let up, she found the strength to reach for him and tug his hair. When his head lifted, a fresh wave of heat pulsed through her seeing his shiny lips.
‘I want you. In me. Now.’ Because love wasn’t just about giving, or taking. It was about both, simultaneously, and she wanted him to experience that with her.
Max kneeled, pulling his sweatshirt over his head while she unbuttoned his jeans. It only took a few seconds for him to kick them off, and less time for him to get between her thighs and slide home. Georgia relished in the stretch, digging her nails into his ass to pull him closer. All the while his eyes fixed on hers, shining with ecstasy and love.
Max made love to her slowly, savoring and giving, while she squeezed around him and told him exactly how much she loved him. When they both came, he collapsed on top of her and she lay wrapped around him, in his arms and still speared by him.
‘I don’t want you to leave,’ he finally said.
‘I can’t, not now. You’re a part of me.’
He lifted his head, his smile blinding. ‘You’re the best part of me, honey.’ After a second his brow creased. ‘Will you come back to work? We don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want them to know.’
‘I don’t care what they know. I can handle gossip. But I can’t handle you keeping more secrets from me.’
‘There’s nothing else,’ he swore. ‘You know more about me than anyone.’
‘That’ll do. For now.’ She closed her eyes, a peaceful kind of exhaustion closing in.
Max shifted them so they were on their sides, still not breaking their connection. ‘I swear to you, I won’t hold back anything else.’
‘I believe you,’ she whispered.
Max pulled her close, feeling his warmth and love seep in through her pores. She drifted to sleep knowing he would be there when she woke up. Maybe even for the rest of her life.
Don’t miss the first in this hot trilogy of erotic romance novellas,
What’s a Girl to Do
Available now!
Aimée Duffy
All my life I’ve been dreaming up stories. My mum said when I was little I used to make all the My Little Pony figurines talk to each other and even fall in love. Later, it was Barbie and Ken. In my teens, I played matchmaker with my friends at school. When I wasn’t creating imaginary scenarios, I had my nose stuck in books, reading across genres and there was one thing I loved more than the escapism—the fact a story could touch me so deeply, like I was experiencing everything along with my characters. I knew from early on this wa
s something I wanted to do for others.
Fast forward a few years and the dream almost got lost in real life, but I still couldn’t shake it completely. Now I write sizzling romance with the hope of making my readers’ hearts race as if they are falling in love for the first time.
About HarperImpulse
HarperImpulse is an exciting new range of romance fiction brought to you from the women’s fiction team at HarperCollins. Our aim is to break new talent from debut authors and import the hottest trends from the US, bringing you the very best in romance. Whether that is through short reads for your mobile phone or epic sagas that span the generations we want to proudly publish romance fiction that gets everybody talking.
Romance readers, come and meet the team at our website www.harperimpulseromance.com, our Facebook page www.facebook.com/HarperImpulse or follow us @HarperImpulse!
Writers, we are simply looking for good stories! So, what are you waiting for? To submit, e-mail us at [email protected].
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