Beyond Eighteen (16 page)

Max adjusted himself to crouch in front of
me. His hands moved down to the sides of my thighs as he pushed his
waist between my knees against the sofa. He reached up and dragged
his hands against either side of my face as his thumbs caressed my
cheeks. I felt so warm with him, so safe. I continued telling
him…everything.

“It was around the same time Candi left me a
message—” I started.

“Candi called you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Max interrupted protectively.

“I just didn’t think…with everything you’re
going through—” I tried to finish the words before the tears over
came the ledges of my eyes and streamed down my cheeks, colliding
with his hands.
Shit, I don’t want to frickin’ cry.
I looked
down at my hands. I was wringing them in my lap.

“Wilson, look at me.” He stopped talking
until I worked up the courage to look at him and his determinedly
sultry expression.

“Don’t you know by now that I’m your family?
You told me so yourself that day in the garage. You said I had to
take care of my family in order to be a part of yours. So, I did…I
did what you said,” he whispered as his head swayed closer to mine.
“Wilson, I need to be
it
for you,” his lips trembled as he
spoke and his eyes closed before he nudged up and cautiously
pressed his mouth against mine.

“Max, you
are
it for me,” I whispered
in the spare moments when his lips left mine. But his kiss
intensified, passionately. Our tongues succumbed to the pressure of
our mouths, trying to discover every word that we didn’t need to
say to one another. His teeth caught my bottom lip as he ebbed and
flowed, pulling just enough so I’d gasp and sigh.

God, he felt so good. So perfect, so right.
And yet I began to feel the day catching up to me. All I wanted to
do was make out with him for the rest of the night, but my body
betrayed me and overruled my heart. Max pulled slightly away from
our kiss, and that’s when a wave of fatigue rushed through my
entire body. I felt like I had run a marathon, barefoot and
backwards. Every muscle surged with lassitude and instantly, before
I could stop it, a huge cat-sized yawn hijacked my make-out
session.
Damn!
The yawn wasn’t even slightly feminine; it
was a huge, lazy lion in the sun, full mouth, tongue almost hanging
out, kind of yawn.

Contagious as yawns are, Max followed suit.
He fought it back until it took over his entire body. I felt him
flex as he raised his arms from around me and I watched his stomach
and chest stretch and tighten. His eyes squeezed shut and the
evidence of his long day dampened the edges of his eyes.

“Wow, I didn’t realize how tired I was—,” he
said, yawning again, as his expression fell back to the sexy look
he had before exhaustion demolished our moment. His arms draped
back around me as he lowered his head into my lap. I pushed my hand
through his hair and dragged my fingernails across his scalp,
causing him to shudder with a chill.

“Mmmm, that feels so good,” he purred as his
hands tightened their grip at the small of my back.

“You ready to go to bed?” I whispered before
another yawn caught my breath and took over control of every muscle
in my face.

“Soon. I think we should finish our
conversation about Candi and the lawyers first,” he said as he
tilted his head to meet my eyes.

“I thought I told you enough,” I groused. I
was dog tired and I didn’t really want to continue discussing
anything about my loser of a mother and my dead grandparents’
estate.

“I understand, but sweetheart, I think you
should at least listen to the voicemail he left you. What if it’s
something about Candi and the restraining order?” he insisted as he
kept looking into my eyes. I blinked for a lengthy moment before I
answered him.

“I don’t think listening to the message
right now would be any different than listening to it in the
morning. Besides, I really don’t give a rat’s ass about Candi or
the restraining order. She made her choice…drugs over me,” I spat
before I lifted his head off my lap and sprang up from the sofa.
“I’m going to bed. Are you coming or not?” I asked as I turned to
go upstairs.

I didn’t hear Max get up to follow me; it
was only after I felt his arms wrap around me from behind and his
lips warmed the space tucked right behind my ear that I knew he’d
agreed to go to bed with me.

“I’m sorry,” he growled against my neck in a
raspy voice that sent shivers down my spine. His hands clung to my
stomach, pulling me against him. It was as if his embrace was
telling me that he never wanted me to walk away from him again. I
turned in his arms until we were face to face, heart to heart. Then
I brought my hands to his cheeks and answered his apology.

“Don’t be sorry. There is nothing to be
sorry about. The woman that left me on my grandparents’ porch, over
ten years ago…
that
woman died the minute she drove away. If
Candi thinks she can call me up and somehow expect me to magically
become the daughter she left behind, she’s sadly mistaken. I’m not
that wounded little eight-year-old girl any more. Whether I have a
restraining order or not.”

My heart thrashed against my sternum and my
breath sped shallow as I struggled to stop the vice-gripping
thoughts of her from shutting down my lungs. Max pulled me tight
against his chest as he parked his lips against the crook of my
neck. His breathing entered into a real deep, slow rhythm as he
hummed words of comfort against my skin.

“Shhhh. Come on, sweetheart, just slow down.
You’re right.”

If there was a way to fade into him, I would
have. I wanted to dissolve into his good intentions, get lost in
his words, and evaporate in his love.
But for now, I’ll take
being wrapped in his arms while I collect all the painful memories
of Candi and bury them away…again.

~ Max ~

I liked holding Wilson, and if there was any
way to get closer to her, I’d find it. How could I explain the need
to pull her so tight against me that she’d melt into my body? I
didn’t want to ever let her go. I didn’t even really care who was
on that phone. At that moment, none of that mattered. All I wanted
to do was take her to bed. I shifted my weight and hoisted her into
my arms. She wrapped her hands up around my head and buried her
face into the crook of my neck. Her breath blazed hot across my
skin, and her meditative moans as I carried her upstairs caused my
heart to speed in my chest. Every last intention sailed south,
collecting below my waist.

When I reached the top of the stairs, even
though I was exhausted, I was buzzing. I couldn’t wait to get her
in my room, on my bed, and feel close to her. I let her feet drop
to the floor, steadying her stance before I pulled her to my room.
The distance from the top of the stairs to my door seemed like a
lifetime, even though it was less than five steps away. I pushed my
bedroom door open, still holding Wilson’s hand, she trailed behind
me a step or two. Truthfully, before I got so tired, I wanted to
ravage her body. It didn’t matter to me where we made love—on the
floor, against the fireplace, or even on top of the pool table in
the great room—all I wanted was to be close to her. In a flash I
pulled off my shirt, stripped off my pants, and turned back to
stare at her for a mighty second. She was closing the door and
pressing the lock. God, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever
seen. Her smile wickedly sensual, her eyes so skilled at taking in
everything she wanted as they pulled me back to her. I reached
across and took hold of the base of her top.

“
Let me help you,” I
whispered as I pulled it over her head and laid it across my chair.
I took her in as I closed the gap between us, dragging my fingers
up the inside of her arm. I noticed the goose bumps ripple across
her skin, and her pulse was racing with my touch.

“
I’m so tired,” she
whispered as she rested her hands against the waistband of my
boxers.

“
I know,” I answered in a
low rumble as I traced my fingers down the seams of her bra to the
front clasp.

I pushed and twisted, releasing the pressure
that bound her breasts. I dragged my fingers under the straps that
hung loosely on her shoulders and pulled her bra off her body. Her
skin was soft, warm, and so inviting.

“
I’m going to get you
ready for bed,” I said before I dipped my body lower and kissed
her, nibbling and tasting, just below her earlobe. I busied my
hands with the top button on her jeans.

“
Yeah, right, doesn’t seem
like it,” she breathed before she yawned again. I knew at that
point we weren’t rounding any bases tonight, we weren’t going
anywhere but to sleep. And, truthfully, I was okay with
that.

I tucked my fingers behind the waist of her
pants and felt the muscles in her stomach tighten as my scraped
knuckles rubbed roughly against her skin.

“
Sorry,” I murmured as I
unzipped her jeans and dragged my thumbs around the inside edge of
the waist. Almost as if peeling away the worries of the day, I
pushed her pants down to the floor.

Wilson pressed her hands to my shoulders and
maneuvered her feet out of the pile of denim around her ankles. I
stood up, tenderly dragging my fingers up her calves, across her
thighs and around her hips. Her nipples unyieldingly rigid, I
couldn’t stop contemplating her beautiful body. With every deep
breath she took her pulse visibly hurried as it hammered through
the vein in her neck.

She slowly tickled her fingers down my arms
as she dragged my hand from her waist and held it up in the slight
space between us, delicately inspecting the scrapes and cuts. Her
gorgeous blue eyes constricted as she brushed her fingers around my
knuckles. Swallowing briskly, her eyes rose to meet mine, causing
my mouth to run dry. She turned my hand over before her eyes
closed, and brought her healing lips to my palm. Everything she was
belonged to me. Everything we were lingered in this moment.

“
My pajamas—” she started
to whisper.

“
Let’s just leave your
pj’s where they are,” I growled.

Wilson smirked as I pulled her toward my
bed. “I promise we’ll just sleep tonight.”

“
Promise?” Wilson
teased.

“
Yes, as hard as it’s
going to be not to make love to you…I promise,” I said as I edged
my chest against hers, nestling in the heat building between our
bodies. Her skin was silky soft as my fingers tickled across her
lower back. Her flesh rushed with goose bumps and every hair on my
body stood on end as I dragged my nose across her neck, soaking up
her aroma. She smelled like a refreshing summer day drenched in a
field of honeysuckle. I pushed my lips up under her jaw.

“
You won’t need these
either,” I growled as my hands lingered on the waistband of her
lacy white panties before sliding them down her thighs.

“
Promise?” she
whispered.

“
Absolutely,” I answered
as I traced my fingertips up the lines of her hips and around her
body.

“
Then I’d better take
these off too,” she teased as she yanked on my boxers.

“
Well, now I don’t
know
what
I can
promise. You’re about to enter my bed at your own risk,” I quipped
as I pulled up the comforter and held it aloft, waiting for her to
slip her gorgeous body into my bed.

“
I’ll take my chances.
Sleeping naked next to you is a risk I’m willing to take. Either
way, I end up winning.”

“
That’s what you think,” I
answered as I slipped into bed. I pushed up against her as she
rolled on her side and our bodies fit together perfectly in spoon
position. I pressed my mouth next to her ear, and with the lowest
tone I could muster, I whispered how much I loved her.

Now that she was back in my arms and I could
feel her warmth and heartbeat radiate through my body, maybe, just
maybe, I could keep my promise. And finally I’d have a good night’s
sleep.

****

The sun shone through the
window, bright as the fresh snow that had fallen during the night.
Waking up with Wilson in my arms, feeling her breath as it rushed
across my skin, was the comfort I needed.
If only, I could lie here all day wrapped up in her aroma,
lost in the rhythm of her heart beat, and taken by how her voice
sparks a temptation so deep within me.
My
body throbbed to make love to her.

But it didn’t take long to
feel the chill of the morning scrape every nerve that waited to be
fucked with. Instead of enjoying the moment of waking up grateful
in the arms of Wilson, I found myself getting agitated. Suddenly I
didn’t want this day to come—ever. I was happy living my life
before my father died and left my dreams to dissolve in his wishes.
I flipped the covers down—
great, morning
wood. Useful if I wasn’t preoccupied with the fact that I’m being
forced into acting as CEO of my family’s company, a company I’ve
despised since I was five years old.
I
stretched to get up when I felt Wilson’s hand flit across my
stomach and her mouth push against my shoulder.

“
Good morning,” she
mumbled against my skin. Wisps of her dirty blonde hair tickled me
as she spread herself against my chest. I pushed my arm around her
and collected my fingers at the small of her back. She dragged her
leg across mine as she cuddled against my side. I felt her grind
against my hip, nudging to fit comfortably around me.
Hmm, she never put her panties back on last
night.
She was as naked then as she was
when we’d fallen asleep against each other the night
before.