Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Yes and no.” I finally got out.
He raised a brow in question, so I continued.
“I want you more than I want my next breath.” I squeezed out.
“Baby, you can have me. I only have one night, but you can bet your cookie stash in your nightstand drawer that when I get back, I’ll be in your bed. If we do this, your mine. Don’t mistake this as some one-night kind of thing. You will be mine.”
I was left speechless. I mean sure, he did say he wanted me before he found out about my attack. When I’d told him some of the details, he’d backed off, and I took that to mean that he was no longer interested. He answered my calls in the night, and I leaned more towards thinking that he felt sorry for me, rather than wanting me.
Guess I was wrong.
“I’m a hot mess, Max.” I said to him.
He gave a throaty laugh. “Honey, we’re all hot messes. Some more than others. You and I are probably neck in neck in the screwed up race.”
“You’re not screwed up. Now, we’re wasting all of our time. Take me to bed, or lose me forever.” I said, trying to contain my laugh.
Max didn’t. “Show me the way home, honey.”
With that, he bent low at the waist, and I was up and over his shoulder. Each step bounced me up and down, and I had a nice view of his perfectly tight ass. My hands itched to grab and squeeze, but I wasn’t the type of person who would initiate anything.
My way of doing things was by playing everything off; I hid behind my sarcastic sense of humor. Just like earlier with my Top Gun comment, I made light of something, when in reality I wanted to jump his bones like there was no tomorrow.
Looking around, I admired his sense of style. The living room was homey and comfortable. Although it had white walls, there were photos hung on the walls. Most likely thanks to his sister who seemed to have a camera attached to her ass at all times. There was a large sectional that took up three quarters of the room, and it looked so very comfortable.
He took me down a long hallway, and I made note to come back and look at the family portrait tomorrow morning before I left. Walking at a fast clip, we winded up in his bedroom, and I found myself flying through the air, slamming into a bed that felt like clouds.
“Oh, Lord have mercy. You have one comfortable bed. I could totally sleep in this thing forever. I bet even crumbs wouldn’t ruin this experience.” I said, while moving my arms and legs in and out making an imaginary snow angel.
“You can have the bed if you like it that much.” Max said while ridding himself of his shirt.
“I’ll just sleep here since you won’t be here to use it anyway.” I said absently.
“That would be okay, if you wanted to do that. I don’t mind in the least. It also might help your nightmares.” He said casually, almost as if he didn’t care in the least.
He did care though, so much that he was trying to offer me his place where he knew it was safer, without offending my sense of independence. Everything in me screamed to take him up on the offer, but I knew if I did, that I would never want to leave. He’d get tired of me being here eventually, and I didn’t want to set myself up for failure.
Hoping to divert his attention, I ran my eyes up and down his bared torso. “You’re gorgeous.”
He was, too. His chest was well defined. The majority of his chest was unblemished and beautiful. There was a small portion of his upper right chest and arm that had some scarring, but from this angle, I didn’t know if it continued to his back or not. From what I could tell, it wasn’t too bad. Just a few puckered scars that looked like maybe some shrapnel got ahold of him. He could have been much worse; my hours of volunteering at the local VA hospital showed me that.
I was incredibly shy, and put on a good front with my wit and humor, but all of that humor deserted me at the moment. I longed to run my hands over him, but I stayed still, hoping that he would see that I needed him to take charge. He did. The man never missed a damn thing. He knew things about me that even I wasn’t aware of until he brought them to my attention.
Three weeks ago, the group all went out to eat at Cheddar’s. For dessert, I’d ordered a brownie, and Max made sure to tell the waiter to hold the nuts, when I never even thought to ask. I would have just picked them out once it arrived, but he noticed me do that only once.
His arms went to the waistband of my pants, and unzipped them slowly. My breath stalled in my chest, and I started panicking. Max noticed everything though, and stopped before he divested me of my jeans.
“You okay?” He asked.
How the heck do I tell him this? “Yes. It’s been a while, and, um, well, Rorysaidiwasacoldfish.”
Spreading my legs wide, he kneeled down between them regarding me warmly. “I got Rory. The rest you said too fast. Say it slower, Payton.”
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Rory said I was a bad lay. That I didn’t participate, and I needed to lighten up. I….I want it. I do. But I don’t know how to say it in the heat of things.”
“You listen to me,” he said leaning closer. “This Rory shit isn’t a man. A man wouldn’t leave his girl in the fucking street with two men attacking her. His woman doesn’t enjoy sex with him says something about the man, not the woman. It’s the man’s job to figure out what the woman likes, what will bring out the wild in her. Let me let you in on a little secret; I can make you wild. Don’t doubt it.”