Max (A Carter Brother series Book 4)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “It’s not what it looks like,’’ I blurt out worriedly. I relax when Denny and Hope walk in, Denny wearing a grin.

  “Of course it is,’’ Max yells outraged, looking at me. I turn giving him a grave expression. He just grins in return, lazily folding his arms under his head and lying back down on my pillow. “How’s my girl?’’ he coos and for a minute I think he’s talking to me, but when I turn again to look at him he’s looking all soft faced at Hope.

  She mumbles something; her baby vocabulary limited.

  “Did she just say Max?’’ Max shouts, flying off the bed and rushing over to Hope. Denny stares wide-eyed between the two of us before turning to give Max a death glare.

  “No, she didn’t, Max,’’ Denny deadpans.

  Hope says something else and, yet again, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. “Listen, she said it again,’’ Max yells and I can’t stop the giggle that escapes my mouth. He looks like a little boy who’s woken up at Christmas and has received the toy he’s been wishing for for months. It’s adorable. “Don’t look at me like that, Lake. She did. She said it clear as day.’’

  “Of course she did,’’ I snicker, rolling my eyes. Denny laughs, shaking her head.

  “Max, let it go,’’ Denny breaks in, interrupting Max before he has a chance to argue. His shoulders sag in defeat. I chuckle. He looks like Denny just kicked his puppy.

  “She said it,’’ he boasts, clearly not letting it go.

  “Max, shut it. We’ve ordered in a chippy next door. I weren’t sure if you had eaten. In fact, I didn’t know you were here at all,’’ Denny smirks, looking at Max and then over to me. I feel my face heat but, thankfully, it takes more than this to make my face go red. “But luckily you’re both here.’’

  “Starving,’’ Max adds, rubbing his belly.

  “Lake?’’ Denny asks. Not having any money to contribute, my expression turns grim.

  “I’m not hungry, but thank you,’’ I smile, hoping it comes off as genuine.

  “Bollox, you’ve not fucking eaten all day. Ants have eaten more than you,’’ Max barks out.

  “I’m fine,’’ I bite out, giving him a warning look.

  “We’ve already ordered now. When we couldn’t find you…’’ she says to Max and then turns back to me. “And you weren’t answering the front door, we decided to just order for you. Harlow only came back ten minutes ago with the key to let me in. Hope you don’t mind. It’s only sausage and chips,’’ she shrugs. “Honestly, it will just go to waste.’’

  Looking at Denny I can tell she’s telling the truth, about them ordering that is. No doubt the others won’t have trouble eating what they ordered for me but I am actually hungry, and my stomach chooses the worst time to grumble, so I agree.

  “Take that as a yes,’’ Denny grins.

  Max laughs and I elbow him in the stomach. I can’t believe the guy is growing on me. As annoying as he is, he’s the first friend I’ve had in a year. At least a friend that’s my age anyway.

  “Will you stop hitting me,’’ he wheezes. “I’m going to need mouth to mouth if you keep on.’’

  “I bite,’’ I grin before grabbing my jacket. I don’t bother with my hair; I’ll shove it up in a bun when I get over there. Denny laughs and as we’re walking down the stairs she speaks up.

  “You know what they say, if the opposite sex hits you it means they like you.’’

  “No, Denny, that’s called domestic violence,’’ Max says slowly, sounding disgusted. I laugh, not able to help it, and watch as Denny stops at the bottom of the stairs and turns to Max rolling her eyes.

  “It’s a saying. You know when a boy teases you at school, it means he likes you.’’

  “No, that’s what parents told little girls to make them feel better about themselves. They clearly don’t have the heart to tell them how it really is,’’ Max tells her not caring. We both look at him open mouthed, then to each other shaking our heads.

  *** *** *** ***

  I’m still unsure how it happened. First I was eating sausage and chips, then I got roped into playing Monopoly where Max continued to cheat, and then it turned into watching a movie.

  Before I know it, I’m waking up to Max whisper yelling at me. “Will you get up?’’ he hisses.

  “Fucking hell, Max,’’ I curse, pushing him away and, in turn, pushing him on his ass. Looking around I realise I must have fallen asleep watching the movie because everyone has gone and its pitch black outside.

  “Come on,’’ he whispers at me, grabbing my hand. I shove him off still feeling a little out of it and tired as hell.

  “Where are we going?’’ I groan, standing up and stretching my back. It clicks and it feels so good I let out a moan. Max starts coughing and I look at him wondering what the fuss is all over. “What?’’

  “Fuck! I really want to shove your knickers down to your ankles and sink right into you so hard that you make that noise you just made over and over,’’ he confesses, shocking the hell out of me and, if I’m a little honest, it’s turned me on.

  “You’re such a lad,’’ I chide him, smacking his arm whilst trying to act like his words didn’t bother me, when really they’ve made wetness pool between my legs.

  “Hey, hey, none of that, you heard what Denny said; it means you like me,’’ he winks then grabs something from his back pocket.

  “What on earth is that?’’ I ask, ignoring his earlier statement.

  “Permanent markers,’’ he grins, holding up black and red permanent markers.

  Why on earth does he have those? Then it clicks and I giggle. “Myles is so going to kill you. I thought he was at Kayla’s tonight?’’

  “Nah, Kayla’s dad is out of town with his missus so Kayla’s staying here. It was too late for them to go back after the movie anyway,’’ he tells me and a thought occurs to me.

  “Hey, you haven’t drawn on me while I was asleep have you?’’ I ask, looking for a mirror to check my reflection.

  “As much as I was tempted to draw a dick on your face, I’d rather stick mine in your mouth,’’ he grins winking.

  I smack him upside the head. Max and his dirty mouth, I muse.

  I shake my head. The thought of him in my mouth kind of makes me cringe. I’ve only ever done it once and spent the whole time gagging for air. Plus, my boyfriend at the time kind of smelled funny down there. Like sweat, or musk, I don’t know. I just know the smell alone was enough to make me gag, let alone his dick shoved to my tonsils. Just thinking about my ex has me wanting to throw something across the room. That fucker has a lot of blame leading up to the events that changed my whole life, my parent’s whole world.

  “Hey, you look like you want to take my dick and sink your teeth into it. Please stop having those thoughts; my dick can sense it,’’ Max whispers, stopping on the stairs. My eyes reach his, forgetting about my ex, and I nearly laugh at the pure fear that has washed across his features. When I don’t speak, he grins before turning and carrying on up the stairs.

  I look at his retreating form and shake my head. I’ve never met anyone like him. How he managed to make me smile after having thoughts of my ex is proof he’s one of a kind. That and he’s fucking nuts.

  We come to a door that must be Myles’ bedroom and Max wastes no time in opening it; careful to make little noise. He seems to know where to stand so the floorboards don’t creak and I have to say that’s clever as fuck.

  I think about all the times my brother got caught sneaking out to go to a party because of some creaky floorboard. My parents would go mad at him every single time, but it never stopped him trying again and again.

  I shake my thoughts away once I step a little into the room. I try to adjust my eyes to the darkness of the room but it doesn’t come. The hallway is lit up from the moon shining through the windows, but with the curtains in the room closed, I can hardly make out a thing. Max must know where he’s going because I notice his large form bending over the bed before I hear the lid
from the pen pop off, echoing in the silent room.

  One of them stirs and Max crouches down low, hiding from view. When the body turns away from us I notice Max relax before kneeling back up and carrying on. My eyes adjust a bit to notice the body that turned away from us is larger than the other one. I gasp when I realise it’s Kayla he’s drawing on. I’m sure she said she had early lessons tomorrow and a job interview for a local supermarket.

  Ten minutes later Max is walking out of the room wearing a silly grin on his face.

  “Did you draw on Kayla?’’ I whisper yell, ready to walk back down the stairs. Max’s hand reaches out stopping me.

  “Yes, and where are you going?’’ he whispers back.

  “Um, home?’’ I tell him, wondering where he thinks I’ll be going at this time of the morning. Then I realise I’ve left my keys in my room. “Shit, I don’t have a key. You don’t suppose Malik and Harlow would be up do ya?’’

  “Nah, it’s half three in the morning. I’m surprised I woke up when I did. We fell asleep again on the sofa.’’

  “Seems we keep doing that,’’ I add on a grumble. Max grins and I hate it when he gives me that grin. He’s hot and he knows it. Usually this type of lad would have me turning the other way, but something about Max’s confidence and arrogance is appealing. I think it’s because I see something hidden behind those eyes of his. Behind all that fun, outgoing exterior there’s a broken boy somewhere; he’s just afraid to show it.

  “Come on, we can sleep in my room,’’ he declares, and my steps falter.

  “I don’t think so,’’ I hiss.

  “Oh come on, it’s not like we haven’t slept together before. Plus, I promise if you touch me inappropriately I’ll let you,’’ he smirks, eyeing me up and down. The look sends chills up and down my spine and I have to fight back the shudder my body desperately wants to deliver under his penetrating gaze.

  I don’t know what I was expecting when he opened the door to his room, but walking in, this wasn’t it. It was spotless.

  “Holy shit, you clean your shit?’’ I ask, completely shocked.

  He looks at me sheepishly, his cheeks turning a tinge of pink and I narrow my eyes.

  “Technically, Joan keeps my shit cleaned. I’m a busy man,’’ he cringes and I burst into laughter.

  “Don’t worry about it. My mom cleaned my brother’s room for him but never mine. I think it’s a boy thing,’’ I laugh, but then stop short when I realise what came out of my mouth. I’ve not spoken to anyone about my brother, Cowen. My vision begins to blur as memories start to surface. My body starts shivering from the cold rain, however, when the feel of two warm hands land on my shoulders, it brings me back to the present, my mind is back in the room with Max.

  “Sorry,’’ I croak out, images of my brother filtering through my mind.

  “It’s okay. So, a brother, huh? You the youngest or the eldest?’’

  It’s then that it occurs to me that Max and I have one more thing in common. A small smile gifts my lips but it’s soon gone when I think of everything my brother and I shared.

  “Younger,’’ I tell him, avoiding his eyes, not really wanting to talk about Cowen or my life back home. It only hurts me more.

  “What about you? Who’s the eldest between you and Myles?’’

  “Me,’’ he boasts, pushing his chest out. I giggle and sit on the edge of the bed.

  “You don’t talk about your family,’’ he states, and I look up at him shrugging my shoulders. His shoulders sag a little, yet, it’s enough for me to notice. I watch him sit down next to me on the bed and hear him take in a deep breath before speaking. “My brothers think I don’t remember much from our childhood, but I do. I remember most of it and all of it was bad. My dad wasn’t a good person, neither of my parents were. But somehow we managed,’’ he sighs, running his hands down his face. I’m completely stunned by his admission. I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but that wasn’t it. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. I guess I just want you to know I understand. I know I’ve asked you before, but who spills all their secrets when just meeting someone? Plus, I wasn’t lying when I told you we all have experience in this shit.’’

  “Max,’’ I start, wanting to assure him, but he holds his hand up stopping me.

  “Don’t lie, please, just don’t lie. No one can hurt you here.’’

  I look at him with a sad smile. “That’s not true. What if the person you’re running from is yourself? What if the person that can hurt you is no one other than yourself? Not everything is black and white, Max. My parents are great people. The best parents a child could wish for.’’

  “No need to rub it in,’’ he teases, lightening the mood.

  I chuckle, not taking my eyes from him. “Seriously, though, my parents are great. The only mistake they’ve ever made was ever having me,’’ I tell him, not meaning for the truth to slip out. As soon as the words leave my mouth I know there’s no way to take them back.

  This is the first moment since running away that I’ve desired to tell someone. But I know as soon as the truth about what I did leaves my mouth, I’ll have no one. And as much as I promised myself I’d make myself suffer for what I did, I still yearn for that warm touch, for that love blanketing me. And I know in an instant of telling the Carters and their family, I’ll lose every single one of them.

  “I don’t believe that for a second. How could you be anyone’s mistake?’’

  Tell that to my brother who is now 6ft under, I whisper to myself. I shrug not knowing what to say or wanting to answer him, scared I’ll reveal more than I intend to.

  “Enough of the depressing anyway, I could just go listen to Myles talk about college for that shit. Tell me, you ever had an orgasm?’’ he teases, lying back on the bed with a cocky grin on his face. I follow, lying down next to him and just laugh at him, the earlier tension easing from my body.

  “By myself or someone else?’’ I ask teasing him back.

  That’s how we fall asleep, talking about nothing important and getting to know each other. It turns out the arrogant boy has more to him than just his muscles and looks.

  CHAPTER SIX

  LAKE

  The sound of someone letting one rip jolts me awake. I roll over, glaring at a sleeping Max. He’s lying flat on his back again, although, this time he’s got one hand down his boxers and one on his bare chest.

  That’s when the smell catches up with me and I begin to gag, pushing Max off the bed. He falls with a loud thump before jumping to his feet in fright.

  “What? Where did he go?’’ he shouts, looking around the room with an alarmed expression. I cover my mouth to smother the giggle. He’s shirtless, standing in Bart Simpson boxer shorts, hair looking like he’s been electrocuted and wearing the most adorable facial expression I’ve ever seen on him.

  I’m about to fake waking up when a loud scream comes from down the hall, scaring me half to death.

  “Myles, how could you?’’ Kayla screams, her voice full of sadness and anger. Her raised voice is followed by heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs.

  Max and I look to each other before jumping off the bed and running down the hall and down the stairs to where they’ve stormed off to.

  “How could you do this? I’ve got an interview later on and I can’t go looking like The Bride of Chucky,’’ Kayla cries.

  I turn the corner just in time to see Max’s handy work. Laughter erupts from my mouth before I have a chance to cover it. Max has drawn raindrop shapes around her eyes in black and somehow he’s managed to colour them in. How he did that in the darkness is incredible, it’s a little smudged but that’s most likely from moving around in her sleep. It’s the mouth that is the funniest. He’s drawn a full blown smile across her mouth in red and even in a temper she looks as happy as Larry.

  Max starts laughing like a hyena and Kayla and Myles turn to glare at him. My laughing soon stops, not wanting to be on the receiving end of their
glares.

  “I’m going to get a drink and then I’m leaving,’’ Kayla snaps at us all before storming off into the kitchen.

  “What did you do?’’ Myles grits out the second Kayla is hidden from view. His eyes are hard and completely focused on Max, his look deadly and ready to strike.

  “Me? Nothing. What did you do?’’

  Myles sighs looking at his brother for any indication that he’s lying. When he can’t figure him out he turns to me, but I just hold my hands up, palms facing him, and back away without saying a word.

  Kayla walks in still looking as happy as can be, her eyes narrowing on Myles. “I’m going home; I don’t think I’ll be back later,’’ she tells him shortly, storming off. Myles follows her, but she turns back around quickly, stopping him and giving him a sad expression. “Myles, I’m supposed to be storming off, I can’t do that if you’re following me,’’ she sighs.

  He nods, his head letting her go and once again she turns around squaring her shoulders before storming out of the house. Myles looks confused once again as he watches the now closed door.

  “Is it bad I’m wondering if she still made me lunch?’’ Myles asks before shaking his head. “Never mind. Oh and Max, if I find out you had anything to do with this I’ll pay you back.’’

  Max grins. “Now, now, Myles, you don’t want to go playing around with Karma now do you? You know how much of a bitch she can be,’’ he winks before heading into the kitchen. I follow a few seconds later, wondering why there isn’t a full blown punch out.

  This family is so freaking weird.

  If I had done something like that to my brother he’d go ape shit right there and then and cause a massive riot.

  Then again, with the strength and love this family have for each other, nothing should surprise me.

  Walking into the kitchen I’m surprised by the mess. Chippy wrappers are littering the sides along with other bits and bobs, the sink is piled up with dishes and I’m pretty sure the bin needed emptying last week.