More to Love

by Alison Bliss

  “Yet, you mean? You haven’t done anything to hurt her yet. I saw the way she was looking at you in that kitchen, Max. There’s more going on than you just lying to her about your profession.”

  Lord, were they really going to talk about this? “Look, Dad, if you dare ask me what my intentions are with her, I’m getting up and leaving.”

  “I’m just saying that it wasn’t a we’re-just-friends kind of look. She obviously likes you a lot, and you’re sitting here feeding her a bunch of bullshit. Don’t you think she’s going to figure it out at some point?”

  Max ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I do. That’s why I need to tell her the truth before she does. I just…don’t know how to. I’m working on that.”

  “Well, you better work faster. Because if you don’t tell her soon, I’m going to.”

  Anger simmered in Max’s blood, and his eyes narrowed. “Like I didn’t know that already? Of course you’d look for any excuse to send me up shit creek without a paddle. I’m not the least bit surprised, Logan. In fact, I don’t even know why you didn’t let the truth come out in the kitchen a few minutes ago instead of covering for me. I’m sure you would’ve loved seeing me in hot water.”

  Logan set his beer down and swallowed. “I didn’t do it for you. I don’t give a shit if you get yourself in hot water or not. You’ve always been an instigator, and yeah, payback would’ve been a bitch for you back there. But there’s only one reason I stopped it from happening and that was for Jessa’s sake. She’s a sweet girl. The last thing she deserves is you fucking with her head like this. So you need to fix this shit. Now. Or I’m going to.”

  “First off, I already planned on it. Second, Jessa’s not a girl. She’s a woman.”

  “Yeah, but she’s short and sweet and has those freckles, which makes her seem more vulnerable somehow. That only makes me want to protect her more…especially from the likes of you.”

  A grin stretched Max’s lips. “Yeah, well, I felt the same way about Valerie. We’re good friends, and I only wanted the best for her. Unfortunately, she had shitty taste in men. It is what it is.”

  There. Now they were back on solid ground.

  Logan chuckled and clanked his bottle of Corona against Max’s Bud Lite. “Touché.”

  “Great talk,” Max said, taking another swig from his bottle. “We’re good, right?”

  “Yeah, we’re good,” Logan agreed. “But you know Valerie’s brother, Brett? He still hates your guts.”

  Max smirked. “What can I say? Feeling’s mutual.”

  * * *

  Jessa awoke to something touching her thigh.

  It was a…hand. A very large, very warm one. And it didn’t belong to her. Holy hell. The man is insatiable.

  She couldn’t move so she didn’t even bother to try. “Again? So soon?”

  Max chuckled. “You up for it?”

  Well, no. Not entirely. When Max had arrived earlier in the evening, she’d opened the door and started to ask him how things went with Logan. But before she could, Max had covered her mouth with his, kicked the door closed with his foot, and began yanking off her clothes. Her legs still felt like jelly from where he’d taken her up against the wall an hour before. Afterward, they’d collapsed on the bed, their limbs intertwined while they dozed off.

  “One more hour,” she said, yawning. “Then I’m all yours.”

  But Max apparently had other ideas. His hand continued up her inner thighs, massaging lightly, while his fingers shifted upward. “I don’t think I can wait another hour. I’m selfish like that. Open up,” he said, giving her leg a nudge.

  She giggled. “Okay, but I’m warning you now. I’m just going to lie here. I’m too tired to move. I had a long day and spent most of it on my feet.”

  Max leaned over and kissed her mouth softly. “You can lie there. I just want to taste you again. That doesn’t really require any effort on your part.”

  She smiled. “Should I give an occasional moan to let you know that I’m still awake?”

  A smile spread across his face, and he winked at her. “It certainly would be appreciated.” He moved down her body and positioned himself between her legs. “Though if what I’m about to do to you doesn’t have you screaming my name at the top of your lungs, there’s something seriously wrong with the both of us.”

  Jessa laughed. “I’m sure my neighbors hate you already.”

  Propping each of her legs over his strong shoulders, Max nuzzled his head between them. The stubble on his unshaved jaw scraped lightly against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, and she squirmed a little in response to the sensation.

  “So you can move.”

  She grinned. “Looks like I’m gaining back some of my abilities.”

  “Hallelujah, it’s a miracle!”

  She started to laugh, but without warning, he nestled his face into the apex of her thighs and found her with his warm mouth. The laugh came out more like a strangled gasp, and her hips jerked involuntarily at the sensation.

  His hard, muscular arms wrapped around her soft, pliable thighs in a death grip, holding her in place as he began his onslaught. Without a doubt, he wasn’t going to let go until she fully surrendered everything she had. And that thought only made her nipples peak and her breath quicken.

  His tongue slid over her in a sensual rhythm, gliding through her wet folds and teasing her clit. Sharp teeth lightly grazed over her, nibbling on that sensitive little bud, then sucked on it until she began to pant harder.

  Jesus. She hadn’t felt this good in…well, about an hour.

  Max slid his fingers into her. First one. Then another. And after pumping them in and out for a while, stretching her, he finally added a third. The overwhelming sensation of fullness and pressure against her inner walls only brought her closer to the edge. But it was when he started rubbing against her G-spot that the exquisite heat pooled in her abdomen, radiating out to her limbs.

  Her hands fisted in his hair. “Oh God. Oh my God! Oh…I’m going to…”

  He firmed the pressure of his mouth and thrust his fingers faster. Her head thrashed back and forth on the pillow. Desire coated her with wetness. Need flooded her system. Spasms of raw pleasure spiraled through her belly, making her body twitch in delight.

  When the glorious convulsions finally subsided, Max lifted his head, his lips glistening with her arousal. He licked them. “So fucking good.”

  Her eyes were closed at half-mast, and she sighed contently. “I’m sorry, but I’ll need another hour before I can return the favor.”

  “Like hell you will,” Max said, moving swiftly between her legs and lifting her hips until his erection prodded at her. “I think we’re about to witness another miracle.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day, Max stalked into the Empty Plate Café and plopped down at his usual table. Pops had been sweeping the floor over by the front windows, but he abandoned his broom and came right over.

  “Hey, Max. You’re here early today. What can I get for you?”

  “A brain,” he grumbled under his breath.

  “What was that?”

  Max sighed. “Nothing. I’ll have the special.”

  His curt tone must’ve caught Pops’ attention because the old man rocked back on his heels and crossed his arms. “What’s bothering you?”

  Everything. “Nothing,” he snarled. “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine.”

  Max breathed out hard. “Just hungry, I guess.”

  “And grouchy as a bear,” Pops said with a grin. “You want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  Pops nodded. “All right, that’s fine. I’ll just go fix you up something to eat. But if you aren’t in a better mood by the time I return, you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you…whether you want to or not.”

  Max rolled his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to take orders. “Or what?”

  “Or I’m not going to bother washing my hands next tim
e I make your lunch.” Pops raised one brow, daring Max to say something else.

  “That’s blackmail.”

  “Yeah. So? What are you going to do about it—tell my other customers?” Pops chuckled to himself as he headed for the kitchen.

  Max shook his head as the old man vacated the room. Of course he wasn’t going to tell the other customers. “There’s no one else here to tell,” he said out loud though he knew Pops hadn’t heard him. The place was as dead as ever.

  But within seconds, the doorbell chimed as someone entered through the front door. Guess he had spoken too soon.

  Sam stepped into the dining room. The moment he spotted Max, he marched straight over to him, anger flashing in his eyes and a grim expression on his face. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Max leaned back in his chair, propping one arm on the chair next to him. “Me? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “My problem right now is you.”

  Max shrugged. “Then why are you here?”

  “We always eat lunch together on the weekdays, dipshit. Or did you forget about that?”

  “No, I didn’t forget. But it’s not lunchtime,” Max said sarcastically. “Besides that, I don’t eat with traitors.”

  “Traitor, my ass.”

  “What else would you call it when your best friend kicks you off his construction site?”

  Sam’s jaw tightened. “I wouldn’t have asked you to leave if you hadn’t been throwing shit around all morning and cussing out anyone who came within hearing distance of you. I gave you two warnings.”

  “That didn’t mean you had to fire me in front of the entire crew. What were you doing? Using me to set an example for the rest of them?”

  A smug grin tugged at Sam’s mouth. “First off, I didn’t fire you. I told you to take the day off and not come back until you had worked out whatever the hell was wrong with you. Second, you’re damn straight I used you as an example. I’m not going to allow anyone to behave that way on one of my job sites and get away with it. Not even you.” He turned a chair around and straddled it. “Now tell me what’s got you so pissed off.”

  “Nothing,” Max grumbled.

  “Bullshit. I know you better than that. You’ve never gotten that twisted up at work about anything before. And there’s only one thing I can think of to make you act like you haven’t got any sense left in you. So who is she?”

  Damn it. The sonofagun nailed it. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Sam narrowed his eyes. “I don’t give a damn what you want. Start talking. Otherwise I’m going to fire you for real.”

  Jeez. What’s up with all of my friends trying to blackmail me?

  Max hesitated to answer, but the determination in Sam’s eyes told him that he wasn’t going to give up easily. “Fine. The problem is that I did something that I shouldn’t have, and now I can’t get out of it.”

  “What’d you do?”

  Max shook his head. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Sam the whole story. “Doesn’t matter. But it’s put me between a rock and a hard place. No matter what I do to try to fix it, someone is going to get hurt in some way.”

  “Does it have to do with two women?”

  He gave Sam a yeah, right look. “Of course not. I’m not that big of a jerk. It’s only one woman. I, uh, sort of lied to her about something.”

  “So tell her the truth.”

  “Easier said than done. Especially since I’ve made things worse by sleeping with her. I’ve spent the past couple nights in her bed, and if I tell her the truth now, she’s probably never going to speak to me again.”

  “Is it something she’s going to find out eventually?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then you better be the one to tell her. If she finds out some other way, it’s only going to make things worse.”

  Max nodded. “I know.”

  Whether he liked it or not, Sam was right. Max needed to be the one to tell her and hope like hell that she would allow him a chance to explain himself. Jessa was a kind, sweet individual. But how forgiving was she? That was something he wasn’t entirely sure of. Especially since he knew she was still affected by the last guy who used her and moved on. Not that that prick deserved her forgiveness.

  Hell, maybe I don’t either.

  Sam rose from his chair. “All right. I need to get back to work. Get some rest today and be ready to work tomorrow.”

  “So I can come back to the job site?”

  “Nope. Until you get back in the right frame of mind, I don’t want you anywhere around my crew. But tomorrow you can start rewiring that old house over on Hickory Lane. The demolition has already been done on the inside, and the wiring has to be installed before my guys can put up Sheetrock. That’ll keep you busy, and since you’ll be there alone, your bad attitude won’t rub off on anyone else.”

  Max shrugged. “Fine by me. I don’t feel much like being around anyone anyway.”

  “I figured as much,” Sam said with a nod. “But do me a favor. Spend this week getting your shit together. The problem isn’t going to go away if you ignore it or let it keep happening. Trust me, I know this from personal experience. Right after you left, the plumber busted another pipe, and I fired him on the spot. My problem is now solved. Or it will be when I get back to the office and find a replacement for him. Now it’s your turn to resolve your own issue.”

  “I’m going to.” Somehow.

  “Good. But the next time you need someone to talk to, just come to me. Don’t start throwing hammers at the damn wall.”

  Max grinned. “It was a better option than banging my own head into it.”

  “Yeah, but it seems to me you’ve already been doing that anyway.”

  Pops stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food. “Hey, Sam. You here to eat?”

  “Depends. Do you have any of the special left?”

  “Nope,” Pops said with a grin.

  “That’s what I thought,” Sam replied. “That’s okay. I have to get going anyway. Just stopped in to talk to Max for a minute.”

  “All right,” Pops said as he slid the tray in front of Max. “Here’s your special, grumpy ass.”

  Sam laughed. “He must’ve given you lip too, huh?”

  Grinning, Pops nodded. “Yeah, but I bet he won’t do it again.”

  Max sighed. “Sorry, fellas. I didn’t mean to take it out on either of you. It won’t happen again.” He gazed at the turkey sandwich on wholegrain bread with the side of baby carrots and peach slices, and then glanced warily at Pops. “You washed your hands, right?”

  Pops chuckled. “Would you believe me if I told you I did?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then yeah, I washed them.”

  Sam burst out laughing. “Maybe I won’t come back later, after all.” He gave them a teasing grin and headed for the door. “See you guys later.”

  The moment Sam exited the building, Pops turned to Max. “You think he’s onto us about the special?”

  Max shrugged. “Probably. But I kind of hope he isn’t. It’s fun making him think you hate him.”

  “You’re a rotten scoundrel, Max.”

  Memories of the past two weeks flooded his mind. “Yeah, tell me about it,” he said, regret coloring his tone.

  Pops gazed at him for a moment, and then the old man did something that Max had never seen him do before. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “Why don’t you tell me what your problem is. Maybe I can help.”

  “That’s just the thing, Pops. You can’t help. I was actually trying to help you.”

  Confusion settled into the fine lines around Pops’ eyes. “Trying to help me? What do you mean—” The corners of his mouth turned down. “Don’t tell me you’re still messing with that young woman from across the street?”

  Max winced. “Well, sort of.”

  “Damn it, Max. I thought maybe you learned your lesson that first day when you went flying off the handle. Why would you
keep screwing with her like that?”

  “Like I said, I was trying to help you. I thought if I could just aggravate her enough to make her leave, then you could keep your business and things would go back to the way they were. But then…I don’t know what happened.” He scrubbed a hand over his face.

  Pops leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. “You fell for her.”

  Max blinked. “What? No. I just…I, uh…okay, maybe. But I didn’t mean to.”

  The old man grinned. “Does she know?”

  “Well, yeah. That’s sort of what is complicating the matter.”

  “So what you’re saying is that the two of you have been intimate.” It wasn’t really a question, rather a statement of truth.

  “Yeah. But she still thinks I’m the health inspector.”

  “I see,” Pops said, nodding. “You plan on telling her the truth?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know how to do that just yet. I’ve lied to her so much in the past two weeks that I doubt she’s going to just laugh it off and pretend it doesn’t bother her. The only thing she will know for sure about me is my name and that I’ve done nothing but lie to her from day one. I doubt she’ll forgive me.”

  “Do you want her to forgive you?”

  Max squinted at his old friend. “What kind of silly question is that? Of course I want her to forgive me. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you’ve always had a bad habit of keeping everyone—especially women—at arm’s length. It’s about time you finally let someone else in.”

  He just shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Pops stood and pushed his chair in. Then he gazed down at Max. “Secrets always have a way of coming out. If I were you, I’d sleep on it and consider how you’re going to break the news to her, and then tell her. Don’t wait any longer than that. Telling her soon is important. Sometimes accomplishing the task is more significant than doing it perfectly.”

  Max nodded. “I know. And I’m going to tell her. I’m just trying to work up the nerve to do so.”

  “Good,” Pops said, squeezing his shoulder. “Like me, you don’t have any family that lives here in town, but if you’re ever in need of some fatherly advice, I’d be happy to be the one who provides it. You’re the closest thing I have to a son, ya know?”