Max (A Carter Brother series Book 4)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  Letting myself in I find Max playing Grand Theft Auto and I squeal with glee. “Ohhh, can I have a go before we leave?’’ I love this game. Since the first time we started playing it’s become more addictive.

  “NO!’’ he shouts, getting up and turning the game off.

  “Why not?’’ I demand, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “Because.’’

  “Because…?’’

  “Because you stop at every bloody traffic light, even when the police are fucking chasing you. You have to find a parking spot before you leave the car and don’t even get me started on you running over prostitutes,’’ he barks out, looking pissed.

  “Hey, it’s sexiest and really disgusting,’’ I shout back, outraged he’d bring it up. It’s completely demeaning, even if it is just a video game. “And you’re just jealous I got skills and will pass my actual driving test before you.’’

  “Lake, don’t knock a man down. Even computer characters need to get a little nookie nookie, you should try it,’’ he barks and I rear back in shock. What an asshole! I wonder what’s gotten up his ass this morning.

  “This isn’t about sex or my lack of it. This is about you dissin’ my driving skills.’’

  “I can’t even argue about this right now, I just need to go,’’ he says, walking off. I follow, fuming, behind him and all the while wondering what the hell just happened.

  “You’re an ass,’’ I snap, shoving past him.

  “I’m surprised you have a problem with my ass with the amount of time you spend staring at it,’’ he snaps back.

  I turn around and give him my middle finger before stomping off to the food bank, trying to ignore him following behind me.

  We arrive at the food bank ten minutes early. I’m pissed at Max so when I push open the staffroom door I use more force than necessary. It bangs into the wall behind it with a loud crash and I wince at the sound.

  “Well, good morning to you too,’’ Joan greets, not looking at me. She’s too busy staring inside a cardboard box.

  “Please don’t tell me someone left something gruesome in a box again?’’ I stress, ignoring her earlier comment. Max slams into the back of me and I hiss at him; he ignores me, walking to the other side of the room to hang his coat up.

  Moving out of the way of the door I make my way over to Joan and nearly squeal when I hear a cute little meow coming from inside the box. I’m jumping up and down like crazy when I reach the box, scaring the cute little kitten curled up in the corner. Its fluffy fur is pure grey all over, parts looking frazzled like he’s been electrocuted. It’s adorable.

  “Where did you find him?’’ I whisper, not wanting to scare him again. My eyes light up with glee when he starts to get up, moving towards me with caution.

  Seeing the little guy is another reminder of home. My cat, Tabatha, was everything to me; I loved her. I’d had her on my fourteenth birthday and she was still going strong the day I walked out on my life. I nearly took her with me but I knew I’d struggle to find places to sleep myself, let alone bringing an old aged cat along for the ride. I couldn’t put her through it. And I was certain I would stick out more. I mean, who can go unnoticed when they have a cat with them?

  “She was outside. I’m certain now we need that sign put up, stating only food and clothes to be donated,’’ Joan mutters then looks up at me. Her doleful expression changes once she looks up in what has to my dreamy eyed expression. I don’t dwell on her sudden change, my mind is too occupied on the cute little things the kitten is doing. He’s purring, rubbing himself up my arm and rolling onto his back: loving the belly rub I’m giving him.

  “I wish we could keep him? Do you think the vicar would mind?’’ I chirp, thinking how ace it would be to have a cat around the place.

  “The vicar would; he’s allergic.’’

  “To one of God’s creatures?’’ I gasp, mocking outrage.

  “Oh my God, is that a rat?’’ Max yells, cringing at the kitten inside the box. I punch his arm, pissed off that he’d call the kitten that.

  “No, he’s a kitten you dipshit,’’ I snap and from the corner of my eye I notice Joan glancing curiously between us.

  “Well, that’s settled then,’’ Joan declares, clapping her hands once, loudly.

  “What is?’’ I ask, turning my back on Max.

  “The kitten; he can stay with you,’’ she tells me and I stand with an open mouth, utterly shocked. No way? No fucking way? I want to squeal, jump up and down, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. This is just so fucking cool.

  “Me?’’ I mutter, my index finger pointing at my chest.

  “Yes, you,’’ she cackles.

  “But… But, I don’t have a home,’’ I whisper, looking down at the cute little kitten. Even before Joan opens her mouth I already know I’m taking him home. Just looking down at him I know I’ll take good care of him. I’ll call him Thor.

  “Yes, you do,’’ she tells me sharply, my attention focusing on her again in shock. “You have a home with me, with Mark, Harlow, Malik and the rest of them.’’

  “I… Thank you.’’ I’m completely gobsmacked, speechless. She’s been so kind to bring me into her home and for her to call it my home as well, it’s overwhelming. I’d been treating the place like it was temporary and a part of me knows that’s all it can be. But then, looking back down at Thor, I don’t think I could leave another cat. Leaving Tabatha behind was nearly as hard as leaving everything else. She depended on me. She was always at my side.

  “No need. But I do not clean out cat poop so make sure you are sure before taking on such a big responsibility.’’

  “It’s a fucking rat not a dog,’’ Max barks and I turn to him sharply.

  “What exactly do you have against Thor, Max? Is it because he’s sleeping in the corner and not sprawled out like a starfish? Or is this just another way for you to have a dig at me?’’ I demand and with each poke to his chest Max takes a step back looking taken back.

  “Who the fuck is Thor?’’ he cries, throwing his hands up in the air like he’s the one that’s confused by my behaviour.

  “I’ll leave you two to it. Oh, before I leave, we don’t need either of you today. The vicar needs the building for a function. I forgot all about it until this morning.’’

  I give Joan a glance, nodding my head to let her know that I heard her. I watch her pick up the box Thor is in and make her way to the door, her lips twitching. What she has to be so happy about I don’t know.

  “I’ll just take Thor home so he can get settled in his new surroundings. I’ll get Mark to pick up some bits for him on his way home. We have enough to last us until then.’’

  “Thank you,’’ I tell her smiling, giddy about having him. I can’t wait to get home, play with him and watch him do adorable things.

  “You called that thing, Thor?’’ Max asks distastefully.

  “Yes, you got a problem with that?’’

  “Fuck, yes. You might as well have called it Splinter,’’ he growls, stepping in my space.

  “He’s not a fucking rat, it’s a cat,’’ I growl taking a step towards him, our bodies nearly colliding.

  “Rat. Cat… Who the fuck cares? I’m calling it Splinter.’’ His eyes are focused completely on my mouth, distracting me a little.

  “Don’t you dare call him…’’ I start, but then Max’s hot lips crash down to mine. Surprised by the sudden attack I’m unsure of what to do. It all happens so quickly, yet, the second I register what is going on and I remember his attitude towards me all morning, my hands move to his chest, ready to push him away.

  His hands tighten on my hips as if he can predict my next move and his tongue licks the seam of my lips, demanding access, and my whole body melts against his. Any thoughts I had about pushing him away have been buried to the back of my mind, the only focus is getting him to kiss me harder.

  Max, it seems, isn’t shy when it comes to kissing. The kiss started out hard, demanding, yet unh
urried, his tongue coaxing mine, but after a few minutes he slowed it down, like he feels the need to savour every second.

  His hands roam my body shamelessly. Even through the coat I still have on I can feel his touch burning me alive from the inside, my body igniting in a way it’s never done before. The sensation has my body doing things it’s never done before. I’m touching him, my hands roaming up his hard body, around his neck and into his dark, thick hair. I can’t get enough of him. The feel of his soft fuller lips against mine, the way he holds me against his body tightly like he’s scared I’ll pull away, feels good. All of it, good.

  Voices down the hall have Max pulling away and I feel the loss of his lips instantly. Both of our breathing is heavy, both of us panting. I lift my head up when I feel his gaze; his dark eyes capture mine, sending me a look that promises more, which causes a shiver to tingle down my spine, all the way to my toes.

  I’m frozen to the spot. My mind racing over what happened, how good it felt and how I wish we weren’t interrupted. Neither of us says a word to each other. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Is he regretting what happened? Do I regret what happened? I don’t think so. I don’t know. I groan inwardly at everything swirling around in my brain.

  Just when I’m about to open my mouth to tell him that it’s okay and that what happened was just a silly mistake, he moves, making me pause. He lifts his hand to cup my cheek before gently gliding his fingers across my jaw and down my neck in a deliberate slow stroke before coming to a stop at my pulse. His eyes watch the movement of his hand like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. It has my heart racing, making me feel things I know I shouldn’t be feeling. Things I don’t deserve to be feeling. Not with him; not with Max. He needs someone worthy of him, not me, not after what I’ve done.

  His head begins to descend again and I panic knowing that if I let his lips touch mine again, I’ll be in trouble. Taking a quick step back I watch the heat in his eyes change, another emotion I don’t get chance to read before I bow my head, hating that I’ve hurt him. I want to tell him it’s for the best but with an ego like Max’s, he won’t listen to reason.

  “We should go,’’ I mumble under my breath.

  He coughs, his feet shifting from side to side and for the first time since meeting him I feel awkward.

  “Yeah, we should um, go get breakfast at Antonio’s. He’s expecting us today, remember?’’ His voice is husky, the sound flowing through my body. Maybe it wasn’t hurt I thought I registered in his eyes but something else.

  ‘Or maybe it was just a kiss to him, Lake?’ my inner thoughts scream at me.

  Not wanting to keep contradicting myself about how he does or doesn’t feel I shut myself off from it all, needing to move on so we can get to Antonio’s and eat. After that I’ll go back to Joan’s and let my brain run wild.

  “Um… Yeah, okay,’’ I agree, remembering Antonio and Max becoming fast friends and organising us to do a breakfast food taste every other Sunday.

  Antonio wants to start opening the bar up earlier to see if a breakfast menu will bring in more cliental. But first he wants us to try out some recipes he has. After all, Antonio can’t serve ‘crap food’. His words, not mine.

  *** *** *** ***

  “My two favourite people,’’ Antonio shouts, walking over to us with his arms wide open. I greet him with a smile, my face still flushed from my earlier encounter with Max. When Antonio takes a closer look at me, his facial expression changes and a huge grin spreads across his face. “You two make love? No?’’

  My eyes pop out of their sockets as I stare at him completely shocked and utterly embarrassed. “What? No! God, no?’’ I shout defensively.

  “Oh, I see two people in love,’’ Antonio disagrees, looking far too happy with himself. “It’s my food, no?’’

  “No, it’s not. Now are you cooking us breakfast or not?’’ I snap none too harshly.

  Max laughs, clapping Antonio on the shoulder. “She’s just feeling uptight after I told her she had to wait until we had your fabulous breakfast and got married before we had sex.’’

  I rear back, blown away by his words, but then his words fully register and before I can stop myself my hand pulls back before flying forward and smacking Max across the face.

  My mouth hangs open, completely surprised by my horrific actions. The palm of my hand is stinging from the slap, but although it was a tad harsh and a little on the hard side, it was totally justified.

  Max looks traumatised; his face completely void of emotion. I know he’s going to hate me after this and I prepare myself for the verbal ass whooping. A huge grin spreads across his face and I’m more stunned over that than I am that I actually used physical violence.

  “Knew you’d like it rough,’’ he winks. He leaves me there to follow Antonio into the kitchen.

  If Antonio is shocked by my behaviour or by Max, neither of them show it. I’m still stunned I even raised my hand to another person, let alone followed through with it. I’ve never hit anyone in my life, or started a fight, and I blame Max entirely for the whole incident. Something about him sets me in every possible way imaginable. It’s not just the violent reaction and the snappy comebacks but the desire, the lust, the way he makes me happy and helps me forget everything that’s ever happened in my life. It’s been that way since the dickhead got me caught sleeping in the shed at the food bank. Maybe that’s it, maybe it’s hate I’m constantly feeling towards him and those other things are just karma’s way of confusing me.

  That doesn’t answer why you can’t stop being around him or why you are always thinking about him, Lake.

  I’m such a plebhead. I need to get a grip and lose the fascination or whatever the hell it is with Max. I know all too well not to trust lads, especially ones like Max. They will shit on you the second another vagina gives them attention. And by attention I mean walking into a room.

  It doesn’t help the only boyfriend I’ve ever had not only cheated on me but is part of the reason I’m here. If it had not been for his involvement I wouldn’t have been in that car, I wouldn’t have lost what I did and I wouldn’t wish I could take my brother’s place every second of every day. That’s where trusting a lad got me: homeless with no family, no friends, and feeling like an outsider. So, trusting Max? Who, by the way, has the power to take everything away from me once again? Not going to happen.

  Ever!

  And something tells me letting him in will cost me a lot more. My heart is already broken but Max has the power to mend it, but having it break again? The aftermath will kill me.

  “Are you going to stand there all day staring at the ground or are you going to come try this breakfast? It’s fucking awesome,’’ Max grins and my heart pounds faster just hearing his voice. How can he be so calm and collected? Why isn’t he freaking out about all of this right now?

  Staying away from him and not trusting him is going to be harder than I imagined. Just his cheeky handsome face has me melting towards him.

  I just need to remind myself he called my cat a rat. That should do it.

  I shrug my shoulders and follow Max behind the bar and into the kitchen. When I enter, the aroma of food has my belly rumbling.

  It smells like heaven in here. It reminds me of walking inside my house on a Sunday and instantly smelling the roast dinner my mom would always have cooking. It was the best smell in the world. But smelling this right now, I have to admit, is much better.

  “Max tell me you call your rat Splinter? Why you buy a rat, piccola ragazza? My good friend Roberto has dogs. I get you a good deal on dog,’’ Antonio emphasises and I shake my head before turning to roll my eyes at Max.

  “Joan found a kitten, we’re keeping him. He’s not a rat and he’s called Thor, not Splinter,’’ I growl out, kicking Max in the shin.

  I really do need to stop hitting him. One day I may permanently damage the poor sod.

  “I’m going to press charges the next time you hit me. It’s called frea
king child abuse,’’ Max hisses out, glaring at me. His jaw is hard but it makes the outline of his dimples more profound. I can’t help but feel the look makes him look hotter.

  “Bite me,’’ I snap, trying not to let the look he gives affect me.

  “Your wish is my command,’’ he winks, his eyebrows wiggling up and down.

  “Of course it is,’’ I answer dryly.

  “You two, so young, so much in love. It’s so powerful. I feel it in the room,’’ Antonio announces, gushing. I’m stuck on a comeback to say as he places a plate of food in front of me, making my mouth water. I don’t even bother asking what it is; I just start shovelling food into my mouth and it tastes better than it smells.

  “Nah,’’ Max says, waving him off with a serious expression and my body relaxes. He’s done teasing, I think, but then he finishes chewing to continue to speak and again, I’m back to hating him. “It’s all the sexual tension between us that you’re feelin’, my man. Isn’t it, my sugar plum?’’

  “If you say so, my little pea,’’ I growl sweetly.

  “I do, princess,’’ he replies, moving a strand of hair from off my cheek.

  I scoff, hating it when a lad calls a girl princess. It’s just another way of informing them they’re high maintenance, to me anyway.

  “What do you think, piccolo ragazza?’’ Antonio asks eagerly, motioning to the food.

  I’d been so annoyed with Max that I totally missed what I was supposed to do. I look down to my plate and notice that it’s already empty. I give Antonio a wide grin ready to tell him I love it when Max leans over me, his aftershave making me lean in closer.

  Has he always smelled this good?

  Of course he has, I mutter to myself.

  “You look like you’re about to become a serial killer, tone down the smile,’’ Max whispers and my face falls.

  “It was yummy, now tell me, what was it?’’

  “Mushroom and sausage omelette,’’ he tells me, looking at me like I’m crazy.

  I look at Antonio, surprised, then back down to my plate. Max and his damn kiss have my mind jumbled. Nothing is registering.