I sighed heavily, pulling her head back to my shoulder.
“That was pretty intense,” I agreed.
“I needed it after today.”
I frowned against her hair.
“Tell me.”
She was quiet, and I held her tighter.
“Tell. Me.”
“I ran into Wes.”
“Fuck. What did he do?”
I listened as she told me what had occurred. I was furious at his words, then felt my lips quirk when she described taking him down with a knee in the groin. She was small, and he wouldn’t expect that, even after what happened in the bar. I got mad again when she mentioned the way he had kicked at her.
I sat straight. “Which arm?”
“I’m fine. I’m not even sure he meant to. I think he was just kicking in reaction to the pain in his nuts.”
I noticed she was pulling down the sleeve on her right arm to keep it in place. I grasped her wrist carefully and tugged up the sleeve, cursing at the bruise forming, turning the milky skin a mottled mass of blacks and blues.
“Bastard,” I hissed. “I’m going to kill him.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to stay away from him.”
I shook my head. “This wasn’t words or taunting, Red. This was him touching you. Way different.”
“As I said, I don’t think he meant to. I kneed him pretty hard. He was in a lot of pain. I’m certain he was just moving too much. I got too close trying to get the envelope.”
“You should have left it.”
“I doubt that. It was five hundred bucks, Maxx.”
She had a point. “He needs to be taken to task for what he said.”
She studied me, a small grin playing on her lips. “Is he wrong, though, Maxx?”
“What?” I demanded.
She ran her lips up my neck. “I bet you’d love it if I called you Mr. Reynolds while I was on my knees in front of you, wouldn’t you? Taking your cock in my mouth—”
I cut her off with my lips, a new, frantic hunger taking hold. I stood, taking her with me, my cock already growing, wanting back inside her.
I headed for the stairs, all rational thought gone. She was going to call my name, all right. Mine, God’s, and I didn’t care if there was a mister in front of it or not.
As long as it was her voice saying it.
I’d save rearranging Wes’s face for another time.
Right now, I had other needs.
Hard, pressing needs only Red could soothe.
And soothe, she did.
Brilliantly.
Chapter 19
MAXX
I woke in the morning with Red beside me—or I should say, all over me. Her head was buried in my neck, her breathing small puffs of air on my skin. She was half on top of me, her leg thrown over my hips, snuggled tight to my body.
In return, my cock was hard and snuggled tight into her. All it would take was a shift of my body and a subtle movement of my hips, and I’d be inside her. I could feel her heat surrounding me.
Her mouth pursed and moved, ghosting my skin with kisses as she slumbered. Her fingers moved on my skin restlessly, and she whimpered low in her throat. I listened carefully, grinning at the words she whispered.
Maxx.
Please.
Want.
Please.
I couldn’t refuse. I was done denying both of us. I turned and gripped her hip, groaning as I sank into her. I tipped up her head, kissing her soft skin.
“Red, baby, open your eyes.”
She blinked as I moved, slowly easing in and out of her, her body moving with mine without any thought. Her breath caught in her throat as she woke fully.
“Holy moly, what are you…” She trailed off with a groan. “Maxx.”
“You asked me,” I growled. “You begged. I’m giving you exactly what you wanted.”
“Yes,” she whimpered. “Give it to me.” She hitched her leg higher. “All of it.”
With a snarl, I rolled over her, bracing on my elbows. I sank deeper as she wrapped her legs around me, and I moved faster. Powerful thrusts of my hips as I took her. Claimed her.
She was beautiful under me in the early light of dawn. Her red hair was wild and spread out over the pillows like a river of molten fire. Her sleepy eyes were half closed, her lips parted as she moaned and sighed my name. She gripped my shoulders, ran her hands over my chest, pulled me in deeper as she arched her back and tightened her legs.
I kissed and lapped at her skin. Her full, sexy breasts. I sucked at her nipples until they were red and wet from my mouth. I did the same to her lips.
Then, with a long roar, I came. I sat up, pulling her hips with me, driving into her as my orgasm raged through me. Pleasure spiraled down to the point our bodies connected, sending out long spasms of ecstasy so great, I was certain I would explode from the sensations. Red keened my name, gripping the sheets and twisting them in her fists as she climaxed, milking my cock, her muscles holding me within her in the most intimate of embraces.
Then, at long last, we stilled. I dropped my head to my chest, breathing hard. Red made a strange noise, her body still quaking.
I slid from her, then dropped beside her and gathered her in my arms.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing. Then she spoke.
“Good morning.”
I chuckled and tucked her to my chest, kissing her forehead. “That it is.”
“I expected to wake up alone or in my own bed,” she murmured.
“Hard to do since you were all over me when I woke up.” I nipped her neck. “And already ready for me, begging me to take you.”
“Oh.”
“A man can only take so much, Red.”
“I see.” She slid from the bed. “I need a shower.”
I followed her, enjoying sharing the water and steam. My hands lingered on her skin and more than once my lips followed their path. Red nuzzled at my chest as I held her under the flow. She felt oddly right in my embrace.
We stepped out, and I wrapped a towel around my waist, smiling as she patted at her skin, thinking how soft it was under my tongue. A small smile played on her lips.
“So, your early morning attack was justified?” she questioned, her lips quirking.
I laughed low in my throat, making my chest rumble. “That was hardly an attack.”
She peeked up at me, her gaze mischievous. “No?”
I lifted one eyebrow slowly, looking at her. Gripping a towel, her body on full display for my eyes and my eyes only, she was a vision. Sexy, curvy, and enticing. So very enticing.
“No,” I replied. “I can show you an attack if you insist.”
She tilted her head questioningly. Her gaze widened as she took in my growing erection. I already wanted her again. I was insatiable when it came to her. Add in a challenge?
It was so on.
She hurried into the bedroom, holding a pillow in front of her. I leaned on the doorframe with a smirk.
“You think a pillow is gonna stop me, Red?”
Her eyes grew rounder as I stepped toward her. “Come quietly. If I chase you, you’re gonna pay for it,” I warned, staring at her.
“Pay for it, how?” she asked, her lips curling into a teasing invitation.
“Wherever I catch you is where I take you. Might not be as comfortable as the bed,” I growled, ready to spring.
With a squeal, she tossed the pillow at me and ran, her giggles floating behind her. I laughed low, liking this game.
No matter what, we were both going to win.
I caught her in the living room and lifted her to the top of the sofa, grabbing her knees and pulling her legs apart. She whimpered, looking almost frightened. “No one has ever… I mean…” She trailed off.
I didn’t think I could be harder, but I was wrong. “Then I’m claiming you, Red. All of you.”
Then I dropped to my knees, and slid my thumbs between her legs, opening her up to me.
I groaned at the soft, wet pink warmth waiting for me. For my touch. I covered her with my mouth, dragging my tongue firmly along her slit. She gasped and grabbed at my hair. I touched and teased her, flicking at her clit with my tongue as I stroked her folds with my thumbs. I swirled my tongue around, gathering her wetness and moaning at her taste. Rainwater, honey, and musk—and all Red. I slid a finger inside and lapped at her as she cried out, the grip on my hair just short of painful. I opened my mouth and drew in her clit, smiling at the little cries and the pleas falling from her mouth. I suckled the stiff little nub, alternating teasing sucks and hard pulls. I added another finger, pumping hard. She screamed my name, lifting her hips, pushing forward, wanting closer to the pleasure. And I gave it to her. Licking, nibbling, sucking, biting—drowning in her sounds and her. The gasps, cries, pleas, and garbled words. Then she stiffened, her legs shaking as she came, flooding my mouth and orgasming hard. Her walls gripped my fingers, her pleasure rippling through her body.
Before she could recover, I was inside her, thrusting hard, clutching her hips and pounding into her. One orgasm morphed into another for her, and she wailed. Actually wailed my name. I lifted her from the back of the sofa she encircled my waist with her legs as I grasped her ass, using it to move her over me as I orgasmed. She was hotter, tighter, and perfect this way with her head buried in my chest, her little cries of pleasure huffed out on my skin.
Until, finally, we were both sated. Quiet. Exhausted. Too exhausted for even Red to talk.
I carried her upstairs, smiling and snuggled in my arms, and placed her back under the blankets. She was out right away, and I looked down at her for a long time, wondering what I was going to do. I wasn’t in the market for a relationship, but she was slowly worming her way into my heart. I couldn’t deny it. But I wasn’t sure I could ever be the man she deserved. That I could ever return her feelings fully—and she deserved that above all else. Someone who could love her completely.
I got ready and was in the shop early. Red—Charly—was still asleep in my bed, exhausted after round three this morning. Brett walked in from the back about thirty minutes later, and we discussed the day and the appointments. We talked about Charly’s new website and ideas.
“She is pretty damn clever,” he said.
“That she is. But let’s not tell her. Otherwise, I’m not sure we can live with her,” I stated dryly.
“Live with who?” Charly asked, walking into the office.
It was all I could do not to react. She was wearing one of the old garage shirts, the sleeves rolled up, the tails tied in front, with a pair of tight yoga pants and glittery pink sneakers. Her hair was tied up high on her head with a bandanna holding it back. She looked like a fucking pinup girl.
My cock lengthened at the sight of her. I had to turn away and pretend she didn’t affect me.
“Nice of you to finally show up,” I snarked. “The shop opened fifteen minutes ago, and there isn’t even any coffee made.”
Brett chuckled and headed to the garage.
She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, boss. My alarm clock didn’t go off, so I guess I slept in. It won’t happen again.”
“See it doesn’t.”
She draped over me, her breasts rubbing against my arm. She traced her finger over the blotter, tapping it. “The first appointment isn’t for another half hour. It’s all good.” She pressed closer. “My alarm clock needs to be reset.” Her breath drifted across my ear. “It behaved very badly this morning.”
I held back my groan. Her scent surrounded me, and I felt the hardness of her nipples on my skin. Little minx was playing with me.
I refused to rise to the bait.
I stood so fast she almost toppled over. “Get coffee going, and I want to see some more numbers from your ideas later today.”
She bit back her smile, playing with the ends of the shirt. “On it.”
She puttered around, making coffee. I had no idea why I stayed to watch her, but I couldn’t seem to make my feet move. She reached up to grab a filter, the shirt lifting, showing a sliver of skin between the waistband and the ties of the shirt.
I leaned close. “Change your shirt. You shouldn’t wear it like that.”
She looked down. “Like what?”
“Tied up and showing skin.”
“I’m not showing any skin!”
“You did,” I insisted. “When you reached up. I saw it.”
“That would happen whether I wore a T-shirt or this shirt,” she protested. “It’s called gravity.”
“For god’s sake, stop arguing and change.”
She put her hand on her hip, staring at me. “For god’s sake or yours, Maxx?”
“Take it off,” I warned.
She grinned, tugging at the tails. “You plan on giving Brett that show, do you?”
“I meant change it.” I scowled.
She undid the ties so the shirt fell past her hips. “Better?” she asked sarcastically. “Will that satisfy your puritan eyes?”
Fuck.
She was even sexier with the shirt billowing around her. It was huge—swallowing her up, making my imagination run wild with what it was hiding. My cock knew what it was concealing, and it wanted under that shirt.
What the hell was going on with me?
“Hardly,” I snarled at her and turned and walked away.
Her low laughter followed me.
She was a beacon all day. It was as if something had shifted inside me and everything revolved around her. I could pinpoint her location in the garage every moment. I heard her voice even over the sound of the machinery and the music we had playing. I knew when she was close. I wanted to bark at every customer who went into the office to pay their bill and made her laugh. I stomped in with some lame excuse whenever I thought the customer was hanging around too long. I glowered at many. Found reasons to need Charly on another task and took care of the payments myself.
Everyone commented on the garage and the changes. They admired the pictures, and a few of them shared stories of my dad. I had to grudgingly admit it was all Charly’s doing, which only brought their attention to her even more.
I sighed in relief when she disappeared midafternoon to take care of her “other duties,” as she called them. At least hidden in the house, she was out of sight.
Until I realized the reason many of the customers weren’t hanging out in the new waiting area was because she was working outside on a blanket with Rufus, and the customers were out there, talking to her.
My shitkickers dug into the grass as I marched over, glaring and angry. Three customers sat on lawn chairs, staring at her as she spoke, her hands waving in the air as she made a point.
With the bright light glinting off her hair, her pale skin touched by the sun, and wearing the old shirt, she was vibrant, sexy, and clueless as to her draw.
“Waiting room is inside, gents,” I snapped. “All new and shiny for you.”
One of the customers smirked as he replied, “Charly was telling us about the women’s clinic you’re going to run. My sister would be very interested. She hates going to a mechanic—says she feels stupid.”
Another customer nodded. “My wife would love it. Like Charly says, if she understood it, she’d be more comfortable. I have to take her car in all the time.”
Carl, the oldest man, observed my stance behind Charly with a wink. “You got yourself a treasure here, Maxx. Full to the brim with ideas.”
“Full to the brim with something,” I muttered, my anger deflated but still tense. I didn’t like Charly surrounded by men.
They all laughed and said goodbye to Charly. She bowed her head and typed on her laptop. “What are you doing?” I hissed, hunching down behind her. “You’re supposed to be inside the house.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m done getting dinner ready, and the house is clean. I decided to work outside. They just came over to chat, so I took the opportunity to tell them about the women’s classes we are going to offer.”
“I never agreed to them. I said I would think about it.”
“I think you’ve thought about it enough. You heard their reaction. It’s a good idea, Maxx. Gosh dang it, stop being so stubborn.”
I moved closer. “You are going to pay for your little stunts today, Red. Big-time.”
Her fingers faltered, then resumed their typing. “Whatever, Maxx.”
I slid my hand under her chin, lifting her face and kissing her hard and fast. “You won’t be saying whatever later. You’ll be screaming my name.”
I stood and stomped toward the garage.
“I look forward to it!” she called out.
The next day, she appeared in another shirt, worn over a tank top and another pair of yoga pants. These ones were bright blue and hugged her ass like a second skin. Her hair was hanging down her back in a long, bright swath of color. I was hard the instant I walked in and saw her across the garage. I had to turn around and pace behind the building before I could go back in. I refused to look in her direction.
Apparently, the wild sex on the stairs and in the claw-footed tub she loved so much, or the orders I issued about what she should or shouldn’t wear in the garage hadn’t sunk in. I had been certain I was clear on the yoga pants thing, but she found a loophole.
As she was sliding a sandwich beside me while I sat at the workbench, I grabbed her hand. “What did I say about yoga pants?” I snarled.
“You said no black yoga pants. These are blue.”
“I told you to stop wearing those old shirts.”
“You said I couldn’t tie them. You never said I couldn’t wear them as a cover.”
“Consider yourself warned on both counts.”
“Hmmph.”
After work, I was surprised to see her filling her basket on the bike. “Where are you going?”
“To Mary’s. Remember the lady I told you I met on the bus? Turns out, she knows Mary, so I’m going there to have dinner with them.”
I crossed my arms. “And what about me?”
She tilted her head, a smile pulling at her lips. “You want to come with and have girl talk, Maxx? You might be a little bored.”
Revved to the Maxx Page 20
