Fallen Down Under (Down Under #2) (14 page)

Max

I've been fucking sat here waiting for Heath to call me back all afternoon and I'm starting to get pretty pissed and fast. I've not slept for almost two days and I need this shit sorting ASAP. I've been in England for six hours and I've only managed to see Jess for half an hour. What the fucks that about? I'm just about to call Heath when my phone starts dancing to life in front of me.

"Hey." I hope he has some answers for me. If anyone's good for the job then it Heath.

"Hey mate. I got back to you as soon as I could. This shits been a hell of a lot trickier than we initially expected."

"What do you mean?" I ask, unsure if I actually want to know the answer from the tone in his voice.

"Well, we've located the file at least and found which server hacked into it. You ain't gonna like what I'm about to tell you Max. It's likely going to take a whole lot of digging to find out exactly who's responsible for it but you should be good for that. The one thing that's worrying me is that the location where the file was removed was in your office."

"You sure?" There's no fucking way my own security details could have been hacked in my own office. No one has access to those drives but me and Jess and she sure as hell doesn't have the password to crack it.

"I'm telling you clear as day mate. The host and IP address is exactly the same to the one in Jess' office. I checked it out myself to be sure. If you give me the go ahead I'll get the whole computer checked to see what's on there."

"Sure, do whatever you have to do and come back to me ASAP." This shits getting fucked up? Why would that data be on Jess' computer? There's no way that she'd need to access it let alone take it. Nothing seems to be adding up and who the hell is this so called
client
threatening legal action? The only client of Limitless is Mal and I, and neither of us is demanding or threatening anything. I need to try and find out where that call came from and who's been throwing out these demands.

I try to call Jess again before I set off but her phones still switched off. That woman needs to learn that a phone is to be used. I doubt that she's eaten and I'm fucking starving so I stop off at the local Chinese and grab us a bite to eat. I've been looking forward to winding down with her all pissing day and if we're lucky we'll get no interruptions for a long while.

The lights are on low as I pull up outside Jess' house so it's a pretty good sign that she's still awake. I get out and knock on, unsure if she's actually expecting me. When the door opens, a woman who I have never seen before stands before me.

"Is Jess around?" I ask, not sure if I like the way this woman's looking at me.

"Who's asking?" The look she gives me is one of utter dislike. "What do you want with her?"

What the fuck? "Can you tell her it’s Max?"

"Mum, who is it? Oh hey Max I meant to call you earlier."

"No worries. I wasn't sure if you'd eaten so I thought I'd grab you something on my way back." I lean in to hand over to bag much to this woman's utter distaste. "I'll come back tomorrow."

"No, no. Don't be silly that's not what I meant." The smile that lights up her eyes instantly tells me that she's glad to see me. Her posture however is telling me that she's holding something back. The woman begrudgingly steps to the side to let me in. Jess looks at me apologetically as I pass by her.

"Excuse my mother. She can be a little standoffish to people that she doesn't know."

"A little?" Jeez if she could get away with harming me I'm sure she would have done it on first sight.

"Well Jessica. Are you going to tell me who this
delightful
looking man is that's turned up out of the blue to feed you?"

"Give over mum. What did I say about being nasty to people? This is Max." She says. "He's umm, a work colleague. Max meet my mum." Well this definitely isn't how I expected
meet the parents
to go down. I feel better knowing that I didn't actually lie to Mal when I told him Jess had to see her mum. I just hope after an hour or so she's warmed more towards me.

"Did you manage to get everything sorted at the office?"

"Kind off. A few issues have come from the investigations that Heath carried out but nothing we need to worry about." I hate twisting the truth when it comes to Jess but I'm not sure what to say until Heath has looked into it further, plus her mums watching me like a hawk. She fucking looks at me like I've got too heads.

"You seem pretty happy to be back." The glow in her face is evident and it looks so fucking good on her.

"I had a really good catch up with Jen and I think I needed it. We don't function that well when we're separated."

"Yeah? I never would have guessed. So Mrs Townsend, can I call you Mrs Townsend?"

"Diana will do." She snaps at me and Jess shoots her a warning glance.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Diana. Do you live locally?" I try to start a conversation to let her know I'm not the bad guy but Jess jumps in and stops me.

"Hey mum. I'm going to call it a night. I'm still shattered from the flight back and I bet you could do with some sleep too?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty beat." I say as I stand, ready to grab my keys.

"Max, wait a minute." She turns back to her mum and says, "I've laid out some stuff for you in the spare room. If you need anything help yourself okay? And I expect you to still be here when I get up in the morning."

Jess

I leave my mum in the front room once I'm sure she knows where everything is and make my way over to the man that I have been desperate to see for days. The stolen moments that I've managed to spend with him today have been few and far between and as much as I'd never admit it to him, I've missed him like mad.

"You're not going are you?" I ask, suddenly panicking on the inside that I'm going to have to go another night without him by my side.

"Yeah. I was going to head to Luke's and crash there for a bit. I'll come by first thing in the morning and take you for breakfast without a certain someone eyeing me like a hawk."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry about my mum. Seriously she's a nightmare at the best of times but she's in a bad place at the minute. Still it doesn't excuse her attitude towards you in the slightest."

"Don't worry about it angel. I've experienced much worse." My hand automatically reaches out, grabbing her hip and pulling her in close to me. "I've missed you so fucking much angel."

"Don't go then. Stay here with me." It's pointless going back out, plus you don't even know if he'll be home."

"You sure?"

"Hmm mm. Of course I'm sure. Thanks for dinner too. Food completely skipped my mind after the day I've had today."

"That bad huh? How about I try and make it end a little better for you?"

"Now that sounds promising, but I'd hate to dent your ego and fall asleep mid action. That's how tired I am."

"Angel, it's not possible for you to fall asleep while I'm buried deep inside of you, believe me." As he leans into kiss me, I'm scooped up into his big strong arms as he carries me up the stairs.

As I'm brushing my teeth I watch Max's reflection through the mirror and I openly perv on him as he removes his clothing. The muscles in his back tense and flex as he lifts and stretches and he looks like an absolute Adonis. I still can't believe that he's here with me. Shit, I still can't get over the fact that he actually followed me all this way. He's pretty fucking special. My eyes stay trained in him as he makes his way over to me. His arms snake around my hips as he presses himself against me and his touch sends trails of fire dancing across my body.

"I'm still pissed that you flew out when I told you not too." His face is serious in the reflection, but his tone is playful.

"Really? Max I'm an adult and I make my own decisions. Surely you should know this by now? If not you're in a for a pretty big shock pal." I tease and wriggle my arse into him. I'm greeted with a satisfied groan. As soon as I have finished cleaning myself up I'm spun around into his arms and his mouth is on mine in seconds. Claiming exactly what he wants, when he wants. The taste and feel of his body against me works me up into a bloody frenzy.

"I've missed this." He's says as he pulls me in closer to him. "These past few weeks have been fucking torture Jess. Do you know what you do to me?" Oh yes I do. I do indeed.

"You're lucky I'm not punishing you for disrespecting my wishes lady." I'm not sure how I fell about that. Threatened by the seriousness of his tone or turned on from the unknown.

"Maybe I'll have to disobey you more often Mr Wild so that I can find out exactly what that entails." I lift up onto my tip toes and kiss him briefly on the nose. "But for now, I really, really need to go to sleep."

I wake up suddenly and the room is still dark. A faint moan escapes from Max's lips and I turn to lean in to him just to make sure he's really here. The moment my hands reach out to touch him he cries out in what I can only describe as agony.

"Get the fuck of me. Don't you dare fucking touch me."

"What?" I recoil against his harsh words and feel the tears begin to fill my eyes.

"No. Fucking stay away from me." He shouts and then the bed stats to rock. It's then that I realise he isn't really talking to me. He must be talking in his sleep.

"Max, shhh it's okay." I try to soothe him but my voice just triggers him off even more.

"I said get your fucking hands off her. Jess, no please."

I jump up and switch the light on to see that he's rigid in the bed and his hands are gripping the sheets so tight that his hands have gone white. Shit what do I do? Do I try to wake him up or will that just make him worse? I've never experienced anything like this before. Worried he might lash out in his sleep, I pick up one of the scatter cushions and toss it at his head. He doesn't wake but he loses his grip on the sheet a little. He still breathes out small little moans as he turns back on his side. I remain seated on my chair until his ragged breathing seems to have calmed down.

"What you doing over there angel?" I look up and see that his eyes are now open, concern etched all around them. "You having trouble sleeping?"

"Are you okay?" I ask deciding to get back into bed.

"I am now that I know you're still here with me."

"You we're having some kind of nightmare I think." Max sits up instantly at my words and rubs both of his hands through his hair. He looks so fucking beautiful no matter what time of day.

"Shit. Jess I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I? Please tell me I didn't hurt you." He looks at me intently searching my face for any sign that he did.

"No, no of course you didn't hurt me, but you seemed like you were in pain yourself."

"I didn't mean to scare you angel. Come here." I lean into the comfort of his open arms and rest my head against his warm chest. At least his breathing seems to be back under control. "I'd never hurt you angel. I'd rather die than allow anyone to hurt you." He says those words with such a passion that I don't think for a second that he's lying.

My mum is already up and dressed by the time we get downstairs. There a fresh pot of coffee on the counter top with two mugs waiting for us. I look over at her as if to say
what the hell?

"My way of saying thanks for yesterday."

I smile at my mum and I'm thankful for the first time in god knows how many years that she has been more than civil towards me first thing in the morning.

"Diana." Max says as he follows behind me. I don't know what my mum’s problem is with him. Whenever I look at Max, all I see is my loveable rogue with his messy hair, piercing blue eyes and day old stubble and think he's the most perfect thing I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. My mother probably just sees the rogue side. I walk over to the counter to pour myself and Max a coffee and instantly feel him behind me.

"You luck so fucking beautiful when you wake up you know? It's a shame your mothers here otherwise we'd have other, more exciting things to take care of." He leans in closer to me and nibbles my ear and my body goes weak at the contact. That fucking man. Why is he doing this to me? It's fucking torture.

"Baby steps remember?" I say and a wicked grin graces his lips as he makes his way over to the table.

"What do you have planned today Jessica?" I look at my mother, a little taken aback by her question. She never, ever asks me about my plans. I guess I should take her new personality with a pinch of salt because I doubt it will last for long.

"I've got a few loose ends to tie up at Stanton's and then I'll head to the shops to get some food in. What about you?"

"I'm thinking it's about time I got out of your hair. You don't need me here cramping your style do you? I'll pop down to the letting agents and see what they have available."

I instantly place my cup down on the table and look her sternly in the eye. "Mum, you know it's not as easy as that. You can stay here until you get back on your feet. There's no rush for you to go anywhere as long as you quit it with the attitude. Who knows, maybe this is what we both need? Maybe we could try and start again?"

Max clears his throat and I'm suddenly brought back to the here and now. Shit. I hope he hasn't picked up on anything.

"I've got some stuff to go over with Heath so I'll leave you ladies to it. Call me later and let me know what you're doing later?"

"Hmm mm." I nod and lean into him for a goodbye kiss. "See you later."

"Oh Jess?"

"Yes?"

"Do me a favour and charge your phone. It's a bloody nightmare trying to get hold of you at the best of times." I watch him leave and I'm fully aware that I have the biggest dopey arse smile on my face.

"He's going to rip your heart out girl." My mother pipes up as I sit back down. "They're all the same. Men like that only want one thing. A bloody good time until they find someone else."

"Mum, we're not serious; we're just seeing how things go right now."

"That's what I said with your dad and look how that turned out. Your dad turned heads wherever he went. Everyone knew him and everyone wanted him. I'll never forget how he made me feel. I was instantly attracted to him but I kept my distance for some time. All I ever heard was Di, don't do it. He's going to break your heart and you'll never be able to fix it." She looks off into the distance and I don't know what to say. I've never heard my mum talk about my dad like this before. Normally she's closed off and never speaks about him unless she's slagging him off for one thing or another. "He never stopped pursuing me though. He'd wow me with flowers and spontaneous visits at work until one day I eventually gave in. I let him take me on a date and it was the best date a girl could ever wish for."

"What did you do?" I ask, intrigued at the story of my mums past.

"Well I finally said yes and on the day I stuck my glad rags on and waited for him to collect me. He was early which surprised me and he took me to a fast food diner where we happily ate burgers and drank milkshake." She smiles while in thought and it's so good to see. "It was one of the happiest days of my life."

"It sounds like you had a blast."

"Oh we did. You see, I know that's how you’re feeling right now, ecstatic in your perfect little bubble of happiness, I was the same. This Max, sure he might be a decent guy but he reminds me of your father too much for me to take to him just yet. His arrogance, his persona, it's all the same. Just watch your heart with him Jess because if you are anything like me at all, you won't recover from the damage. Look at me after all these years, I'm still trying to figure out how."

"Like I said earlier, you can stay here for as long as you need to. Get yourself on the right track and get a job and then we can look at getting you a new place, okay?"

"I've never said this often enough Jessica, Thank you and I'm sorry for the way I have treated you in the past."

"Don't worry about it, like you said, it's in the past. As long as it stays there then we can both move on and try and make something of this relationship."

I leave my mum back at mine while pop out to check how things are going on at Stanton's. Hopefully Max has managed to find out some more information from Heath so we can try and sort this mess out before Mal gets wind of it. The tubes packed as usual and today I remembered to wrap up warm to protect myself from the icy gale. How I took my leisurely walks along the beach for granted. Soon enough I'm rocking up to Joe's with numb hands, a tad windswept and a delightful red nose. Oh how attractive I must look to all the passers-by.

"Can I get two flat whites and a cappucino from the hot barrister please?" I say with a smile as I try to fight off the clatter of my teeth.

"How's your mum?" George asks while he works his magic. "Gotta say princess, it came as a bit of a shock to find out that she's staying at yours."

"Tell me about it, I woke up this morning and it took me a moment to remember that she was there, but I can't leave her homeless can I?"

"You can if she starts giving you shit again. I hope she realises how lucky she is that you've taken her in."

"Don't worry I've already had a talk with her. She's officially been warned. Any funny business and she'll be out on her ear."

"I believe that the sex god is also back on English turf too?" I can't hide the smile that lights up my face at the mention of Max's name.

"Yes he is. I've not seen him as much as I would have liked to be honest. I'm not going to lie, I'm getting desperate to spend some alone time with him but it just isn't happening."

"Princess. If that was me, he wouldn't have left my bedroom. A man like that is to be used purely for your enjoyment." I laugh as an elderly woman gasps in shock beside me. Bloody George, he has no shame, no matter where he is and I love him for it. He leans over the bar, much to the woman's distaste and gives me a peck on the cheek before passing me my drinks.

"See you later tiger" I say and wink at him. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em and all that. It feels so good to have my friends around me again, but for how long I can't be sure.

"I come bearing gifts." I shout as I walk into Stanton's. It should come as no surprise to see Max seated in Mal's office looking sexy as hell with his tie loose around his neck, top button open and his sleeves bunched up at the elbows. Damn he is utter perfection. He catches me biting down on my bottom lip while I check him out and greets me with that devilishly wicked grin of his and I blush instantly.