Her Perfect Getaway (14 page)

“Look at me,” he said when she
closed her eyes and dragged her middle finger over the tender wet
flesh.

She forced her eyes open and stared
into his blue ones. Who would have thought that would be the
hardest thing to do?

“Does it feel good?” he
asked.

“Of course.”

“Could you come like this?” He
lifted his hips to press deeper inside her, drawing a gasp from
her.

“Y-es.”

“Then make yourself come,
Elizabeth.” He cupped both hands around her ass and drove into her
as her fingers moved frantically over her clit, which swelled and
slickened under her attention. And then she stiffened as the
pleasure burst through her, exploding out from her clit, closing
around his cock and melting every muscle and bone in its path. She
collapsed against his shoulder and was only vaguely aware of his
own orgasm as he followed her.

Chapter Ten

Elizabeth only happened to hear
her phone because she was reaching into her purse for a pen so Max
could sign the bill. They’d gone out to Stubbs to hear some music
and eat barbecue, again. She was going to have a red meat hangover
when he left the day after tomorrow. She picked up the phone and
looked at the unfamiliar number, then tapped to ignore. Her pulse
jolted when she saw she had five missed calls from the same number.
She turned the screen so Max could see, then motioned to the door.
He frowned, nodded, and turned to sign the bill with a pen the
waitress must have finally provided.

As she hurried toward the door,
she scrolled to see the calls came in fifteen minute increments.
She was barely through the door before she hit the call back
option.

“St. David’s Emergency
Room.”

She’d heard the saying “heart in
her throat” before but she physically had to swallow before she
could respond. “My name is Elizabeth Black. I have five missed
calls from this number.”

“Oh, Miss Black. Yes, we’ve been
trying to reach you. Your father is here. He had a car
accident.”

Her knees turned to water and she
sagged against the wall, almost dropping the phone. “Is he all
right?”

Max came out of the bar then, brow
furrowed.

“Dad’s been in a car
accident.”

He scooped the phone from her numb
fingers. “This is Max Sullivan, Elizabeth’s friend. Is it
bad?”

Elizabeth couldn’t hear what the
nurse said, but Max met her gaze and shook his head. Relief ran
through her faster than panic had.

“We’ll be right there.” He hung
up. “Give me the keys. I’ll go get the car.”

“It’s not bad?” she
asked.

“Cuts and bruises. Blood pressure
through the roof. Bruised ribs. Other guy had been drinking and
t-boned your dad.”

He’d gotten a lot of information
in a short time. She dug in her purse and dropped her keys in his
hand, grateful he was taking control of the situation. The emotions
rolling in her head had her off-balance.

“I’ll walk with you,” she said,
though her legs still trembled.

As if he sensed it, he tossed the
keys to his other hand and closed his fingers around hers. They
made their way through the parking lot to her Camry. He led her to
the passenger door, opened it and made sure she was settled before
he crossed to the driver’s side. He readjusted the seat and
mirrors, then asked, “Which way?”

***

Her father moved very slowly as
they entered his house in South Austin. Elizabeth knew the
combination of bruised ribs and painkillers were the cause. His
swollen face had alarmed her, but the nurses had assured her that
he’d had a head CT and no damage was done. He’d moaned and shifted
constantly in the back seat on the ride over. Max had dropped the
two of them off and headed to an all-night pharmacy to get the
prescriptions filled. Thank God for Max. She hadn’t had to think at
all. He’d dealt with the nursing staff, and with getting her dad in
the car, and now getting the medication…

“You should just get into bed,”
she suggested when he rounded the couch and lowered himself to
it.

“Can’t sleep without watching some
TV.”

“You have a TV in
there.”

But he was already comfortable.
She sighed. It wouldn’t hurt him to sleep out here. “What can I get
you?”

“Could you make some
coffee?”

She headed toward the kitchen. “Do
you have decaf?”

“No.”

“Then Dad, I can’t make you
coffee.”

“The medicine is making me foggy.
I hate that feeling.”

“It’s supposed to do that. Sleep
is the best thing for you. Do you have tea? Juice?”

Without waiting for an answer, she
went into the kitchen and found only beer and milk in the fridge.
She wished Max had a cellphone so she could ask him to bring
something when he got the prescriptions. Instead, she poured a
glass of milk and a glass of water and carried it into the living
room where her father was watching a news channel. That was not
going to help his blood pressure. But she didn’t say a word, just
set the beverages down and headed for the bedroom for a blanket and
pillows. If he was determined to stay out here, she’d make him as
comfortable as possible.

She and her father were watching
an old Hitchcock movie when Max rapped at the door. She popped off
the couch where her father had finally relaxed, and opened the
door.

“I worried you might get lost.”
She stretched up to kiss him.

“Nah. GPS is a good thing.” He
handed her the bag with the meds. “His insurance card is in the
bag.”

Together they walked back to the
couch. Max sat on the edge and explained the medications to David,
who scowled.

“Elizabeth can figure it out for
me.”

“But when I’m not here—“ she
began.

His scowl deepened. “You’re
staying in the guest room tonight, aren’t you? What if I need
you?”

Guilt twisted her stomach and she
glanced at Max. “Dad, I’m going home with Max. You aren’t that
hurt, and I’ll be by in the morning to check on you. If you’re well
enough, we can go get you a rental car.”

He glared. “Don’t worry about it.
That one company will deliver. I’ll take care of myself. I’ve been
doing it for years.” But his words belied the look of betrayal he
sent Elizabeth.

“Dad.” She put her hand on his.
“You’ll be fine. You’re a strong guy. And I’ll be by in the
morning, all right?”

She stood, which was one of the
hardest things she’d done, and led Max out of the house.

***

Elizabeth curled her legs up on
Haven’s couch the following night. This was the first time she’d
relaxed since the phone call last night. She’d fought guilt for
leaving her dad, though she checked in on him before and after work
and he’d been fine, if cranky. But this was Max’s last night in
town and Haven had invited everyone over. Elizabeth reminded
herself she probably would have gone anyway, and her father would
have told her to go, if not for Max. He seriously didn’t like the
guy—or the time Elizabeth spent with him, which was the more likely
reason. She took a drink of her mojito. What exactly did her father
fear would happen?

“So what are you going to do?"
Bailey asked, joining Elizabeth on the couch. The two of them
looked through the sliding glass door to where Eric and Max were on
the patio, standing beside the grill and drinking beer.

Elizabeth's stomach tightened.
She'd been dreading tonight all week. Yes, she'd see Max in a few
weeks when she returned to Oahu for Haven's wedding, but that would
be another brief period, another honeymoon-type situation. And
then, after that? He'd enjoyed his time in Austin, but she couldn't
imagine him leaving Hawaii. He was too much a part of it. And her
job was here, her father, her friends. She couldn't go to
Hawaii.

But God, she didn't want to end
it. She wasn't sure she was in love with him exactly, but she was
definitely leaning that way.

"I don't know."

Just then Max turned and smiled,
his gaze meeting hers unerringly through the window. He lifted his
beer in her direction and she felt her face heat.

Bailey sighed happily. "Oh, to
have someone look at me like that."

The week had been lovely up until
last night. Monday night she’d come home from a rough day with a
client to find Max had made dinner and had it ready for her. He’d
gone to the store for the ingredients and cooked it himself.
Tuesday they’d gone to Barton Creek and had a picnic by the water.
Wednesday they’d gone down to Stubbs and listened to music before
getting the call from St. David’s. Tonight they were here and
tomorrow he was leaving. She loved her friends but really wished
she and Max were cuddled together in bed, enjoying every
minute.

“I’ve never done the long-distance
thing,” Joslyn said. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be, but
there’s computers and video chatting. I hear you can do nasty
things with that.”

Haven sat in a low-backed chair,
setting a bowl of chips down on the coffee table in the same
movement. “I’ll be in the same boat, you know, when Eric goes back
to Costa Rica, and Honduras after that, and maybe Peru in a couple
of years.”

“But you know he’ll be coming
home,” Joslyn said.

Haven shrugged. “And when things
go wrong and he’s not here, it won’t be easy.”

“But you’re strong,” Bailey
asserted. “Both of you are. Isn’t it better to have a man who loves
you out there somewhere than to be alone?”

“He hasn’t said he loves me,”
Elizabeth murmured. “I don’t think we could know that yet
anyway.”

Bailey gave her a look. “He flew
across the country for you. What else says it better?”

“Well, saying it,” Joslyn teased,
leaning forward to scoop some guacamole with a tortilla
chip.

“I haven’t said I love you to
someone in a long long time,” Elizabeth said with a smile as she
watched Max turn a steak on the grill. “And two weeks isn’t enough
for me to know.” She straightened on the couch. “Besides. When will
I get back to Hawaii after the wedding? And he’ll be teaching. It’s
just impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Bailey
declared. “As Audrey Hepburn said, it’s right there in the word.
‘I’m possible.”

***

“I didn’t know it was possible to
come that many times in one night,” Elizabeth said into the pillow,
too drained to roll onto her back.

Max helped her, giving her hip a
little nudge and sending her flopping before he took her place on
her pillow. He rested his hand on his sweaty stomach and grinned.
“Maybe you’ll be able to get some sleep once I’m gone.”

“Max.” She nestled closer. “What
are we going to do?”

“This isn’t the hard part,” he
said. “We know we’ll see each other at the wedding next month.
Until then, we’ll take a day at a time. Hell, after that we’ll take
a day at a time. But I’m not ready to give up. Are you?”

She looked into his blue eyes for
a long moment, wondering how she’d get through the next few weeks
without him in her life. She blinked back tears and shook her
head.

“Good.” He leaned over and kissed
her softly, then rose from the bed to head into the
bathroom.

She did her damnedest to get her
tears under control by the time he got back.

***

Five weeks later

Elizabeth stood on the front
porch, the breeze from the ocean stirring her hair, Her fingers
opened and closed on the handle of her suitcase and her stomach
felt ready to take flight right out of her mouth. What if he wasn’t
here? She was three days early and hadn’t let him know, and it was
late in the day—he could be out with the family he was escorting
around the island, maybe on a sunset cruise or a hike on
Diamondhead. She should have let him know she would be here. At
least then they could have arranged a time to meet. But she’d
wanted to surprise him, wanted to see the look in his eyes when she
told him her plan.

She knocked one more time, then
took a step back, ready to hop into her rental car and leave. She
could come back later when she knew he’d be home.

Then she heard footsteps on the
other side of the door and honest to God felt light-headed. She’d
just reached to steady herself on the post beside the porch steps
when the door swung open.

The grin that split his face was
everything she hoped it would be. In the next moment, he swept her
into his arms and covered her mouth with his, taking what was left
of her breath. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him
back—who knew five weeks could be so long? He set her on the porch
and curved his hand under her jaw, looking into her eyes. He
blurred there for a minute, until she blinked back the
tears.

“You’re early,” he
said.

She shifted her hold to his waist
and the butterflies in her stomach calmed. He was solid and
familiar and this wouldn’t be so hard after all.