Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I shook my head, determined not to let that memory of Max grabbing her and holding her next to him bother me. I lifted my face to his. “I know, but you just looked like you were getting a bit… close to her.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know that too.”
“Paige tripped and would have fallen if I’d not caught her. That was all that happened between us.”
He hadn’t pulled her to him, the little madam had fallen on him. A ray of happy sunshine pierced my heart. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “So you weren’t being a total asshole.”
He smiled back. “How much longer do you think this inquisition is going to last because this asshole is in heat?”
I giggled. “The things you say, Max, could make a woman fall for you.”
A veil dropped over his eyes when I said that.
“That was a joke,” I said quickly.
“Don’t worry, I know,” he said and opened his door.
I tiptoed after Max into the house trying to make as little noise as possible with my high heels. We had reached the middle of the staircase when I put my hand on his arm.
“I want to see your room.”
“Now?”
I nodded.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just want to take a peek into little Max’s life. You can tell a lot about a man by looking at his childhood bedroom.”
He shrugged. “Fine. I can fuck you anywhere.”
He opened the door to his old room and switched on the light. In the glow of the yellow light, the room appeared to belong to another time. There were trophies in a glass case, aircraft models, and framed certificates of merit.
His mother had preserved it exactly as he had left it. No wonder she did not want me to sleep in here. This was a shrine to the teenage Max. I turned to look at him.
“Your mother loves you very much, you know.”
“Yes, but her kind of suffocating love makes her insufferable.”
His face had become hard again. I hated seeing him like that. I decided to change the subject to something more playful. “Did you ever sneak girls in here?”
He chuckled. “Never. I was a late developer and when the hormonal urge to fuck as many girls as I could kicked in, I already had my own place.”
“Smooth,” I said and brought my mouth up to his. “So will I be the first girl you brought up to your room then?”
He grinned suddenly. “Yeah. You are.”
“I like being the first girl you took up to your room,” I whispered.
Something changed in his face. He cupped my cheeks with his large warm palms. “You’re a witch, Lillian. A beautiful, blue-eyed witch. Bit by bit you’ve bewitched me and turned everything upside down. I’ll never be able to come back to this room again without remembering you in it.”
I felt like I was drowning.
His eyes had always reminded me of ice. If you’re not careful, you could slip and hurt yourself badly. Now that ice had melted and become deep pools of water that I had already slipped and fallen into.
I took a deep breath and he captured my open mouth with his.
The kiss was like nothing we had ever shared before. This one was so passionate it liquefied me. It went on and on. My whole body felt as if it had turned to liquid and we had become one.
In the room where the youthful Max had once lived, reality began to drift away, and my unthinking body felt as if we would, could never be parted again.
Then he led me to his childhood bed and undressed me with care. Never before had he been so gentle. I stared at him, ravenously drank in the sight of him, and refused to believe he was not mine.
When he entered me, I called out his name.
“Max,” I called again.
He covered my mouth with his and continued his slow thrusts. There was nothing in this spinning world but his body joined with mine, inside mine. We fit together so perfectly.
I could deny it no longer.
I was in love with Max. Probably had been for a long time.
The climax when it came was earth-shattering. When one was over another began. My body shook uncontrollably as it went on and on, the colors, the sensations, the indescribable pleasure until I thought it would never end. It would always be like this. He and I joined in ecstasy. Forever.
But it did come to an end. And I cried for its loss.
He looked deep into my eyes and looked confused. “What happened?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“I don’t know, but it was beautiful. Really beautiful, Max.”
Chapter 41
Lillian
Revisiting Max’s past had made the visit to Connecticut an eye-opener.
Now I understood why Max’s mother hated me with such intensity. Now I could see her in a different light and it hurt less. I understood she had been taking her pain out on me. I reminded her of the most agonizing thing that had happened to her. To my surprise, I even felt sorry for her which was ironic. In the world’s eyes she was celebrated as the much-envied woman who had it all. But in exchange, she had sacrificed having a loyal man and real friends. They, she had found, could not be bought.