With a low and stern voice I say, “Let me go, Max.”
He walks until my back touches the wall.
“No, you can say what you have to say while I hold you.” His lips touch my neck lightly. “Go ahead talk, baby, I’m listening.” Kisses down my cheek he trails to my neck as he runs his hands over my arms.
I shiver with his touch. “You’re going way too fast, Max.” He nips at my neck and my knees weaken. “Umm. Like I was saying, uh, you need to slow. What’s that you’re doing? God, it feels so good. Anyway, like I was…”
Moving his mouth to the other side of my neck his face passes in front of mine where he stops for a second and looks at me. “You’re really beautiful, Lexi,” he says then leans down to kiss the other side of my neck. “Keep talking, baby, I can hear you. I understand what you’re saying. You want me to go slower right?”
“What?” I say as my hands flow over his tightly muscled back. “Dang it, you have a lot of muscles.”
His lips move over my skin as he says, “Yeah, I doubled up on my workouts after you left. It helped me when I thought about you too much. I never really stopped thinking about you, but it took my attention for a little while.” His hand takes mine, and he pushes it under his shirt which somehow has come untucked. “Handle that six pack, you made that happen with your stubborn ways.”
I run my hand over the muscles and sigh. “Sorry I did that to you, but it’s fantastic if that helps at all.”
“You want to really help?” he asks as his lips travel up my neck across my cheek and hover near mine.
I nod as I bite my lower lip and stare at his plump yet chiseled lips, which are the color of caramel and every bit as sweet.
“If you take me to your bed and strip all my clothes off and run your hands over every inch of my body. So you can see just what it is your leaving did to me.”
I giggle. “You are smooth. I’ll give you that, Max.” Pulling myself from his grip, I move back to the sofa and pick up the glass of wine, finishing it off.
“You do realize we have known each other not much over twenty-four hours, right?”
“It’s been six months, Lexi.” His fingers move to unbutton his shirt, and he takes it off, then unbuckles his belt and pops the button on his slacks. “I’m not letting you get away with that crap of barely knowing each other. I know you better than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“What’s my favorite color?”
He hesitates for a moment, then moves towards me. “I bet it’s blue. Mine’s an odd one, it’s a light tan color. Do you want to know why?”
I peek down at the shirt I have on and back up at him. “Cause you’re horny and it’s the color I’m currently wearing. By the way, blue is my favorite color, so that’s a lucky guess.”
His slacks drop to the floor, leaving him in a tight pair of boxer briefs and I find that he’s more endowed than I imagined when he was pressed against me moments earlier. He slips his socks and shoes off as he takes a seat next to me, then leans back and lays his arms over the back of the sofa. “What else do you think is important to know about each other?”
With raised eyebrows, I ask, “Comfortable? Because I’d hate it if you weren’t.”
“You’re in something comfortable and a little revealing so why can’t I be?” he asks then leans over me to get his glass of wine, making sure that his naked chest brushes against mine.
With an eye roll, I gesture to the lump in his underwear. “I do believe yours are revealing more than mine are.”
He points to my chest as he pulls his eyebrows together. “Those perky, plump, bouncy things you’re trying to hide under there are stretching that shirt to the limit, and when you walk the bottom of your lacey panties peek out from underneath. Anyway back to getting to know each other so then we can move on to other things. My birthday is May the ninth, and I Googled you so I found yours is September twenty-third. You’re a Virgo and I’m a Taurus. I found out our signs go well together, romantically.”
“You did what to me? Did you seriously see if our Zodiac signs went well together?”
A deep chuckle he makes as he leans in close and strokes my cheek. “I Googled you, and yes, I checked out if we were compatible. We are, so what else?”
“If we’re really going to do this thing, this dating thing, which I’ve never done before,” I say as I fill my wine glass up and take it as I sit back. “I want to know everything there is about you. Why were you sent to live in a children’s home?”
The sparkle in his eyes dims, and he looks away.
“You sure you want to hear about that? It’s not pretty.”
I take his chin in my hand and make him look at me. “Isn’t that what relationships are all about, knowing the bad along with the good? Pretty or not, it made you who you are, and I’m interested in how you came to be this man who came from nothing and made so much of himself.”
He takes my hand from his chin and places it on his chest.
“No one has ever asked me that before. Not one of the women I’ve dated wanted to know anything real about me. It’s painfully obvious they care more about how I make money and how I plan to keep making it.”
“I want to know everything about you. Your money terrifies me to be honest. It’s what makes me feel so inadequate. Well, that and your rocking bod.” A shy smile he gives me and I add, “And those devastating great looks.”
“I never want you to feel inadequate,” he says as he takes me by my shoulders and pulls me close to him. “Okay then let me tell you my life story so you can see how I’m no different than you are, except for the mountains of money. To say you don’t have a rocking bod is untrue and you’re gorgeous, my dear.”
Max
Bright sunshine fills my eyes as I open them. Lexi sleeps nestled in my arms, we must’ve fallen asleep as we talked last night. She’s the best thing to ever come into my life, even better than the money. If I had to choose her or money, it would be her without hesitation.
I expected her to find my childhood disgusting, but she looked at me with compassion. My mother was a drug addict who must’ve pissed her whole family off so bad that they wanted nothing to do with her. I lived a horrible life with her until I was ten years old.
No grandparents did I ever meet or hear much about. Every once in a while my mother would be on the phone with someone who refused to send her money and she would slam the phone down and rant about how nobody loved her and how her parents were pieces of shit.
No father was never talked about - my last name was the same as hers. I changed my name when I turned eighteen so hopefully I never have to deal with her again in my life. To call my life before the children’s home a nightmare is a bit of an understatement.
The angel that I hold in my arms is all I care about now. The months without her have been awful. I pray she thinks herself worthy of me though it’s really me who is unworthy of her. She’s as innocent as they come, and I love her already. I’ll wait to tell her, because I’ve rushed this thing from the very beginning. She’s as skittish as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs; one wrong word and boom, she’ll be gone.
A firm hold I’ll have to keep on her now I understand how she can be. Her insecurities run deep. While I told her all about my life, she hasn’t opened herself up to me yet, but I’m changing that tonight. I’m taking her back to my place and making her tell me all about herself.
She held me off physically last night, and to tell the truth I’m kinda glad she did. I want this to work with her, and I’ll have to be patient. But crap, it’s hard. Even now I’m experiencing a familiar sensation in my lower regions as I hold her. I have to get out of here before I do something to send her running from me again. Plus I have to send Ashley back to New York, and that should be handled delicately.
I kiss the top of her head and gently roll away. She rolls towards where I was and a slight smile curves her lips. Sleepy eyes open and she says, “Are you leaving me this time?”
I pull my slacks on and laugh. “
Never, princess.”
She giggles and runs a hand through her long, blonde locks.
“Princess?” she asks as she stretches. “You are full of sweet words. When will I see you again, Romeo?”
I zip my slacks and lean over her. “Every, single day, I’m never letting you go, baby.”
Her arms extend and I move into them. “Max, you’re so sweet. So I’ll see you today then?”
A kiss I leave on her cheek. “You’re so sweet. Are you doing some of your pet work today?”
“Yeah, I walk those three dogs every day. I have five appointments to groom dogs. I’ll be finished by six.”
“Are the dog walks the last thing you do?” I ask as I play with a strand of her gorgeous hair. She nods and I want to go right back to bed, but not to sleep. “Can I come help you?”
The smile she had blooms. “Be here by five, and you can.”
I kiss her cheek and stand to find my shirt. “I’ll be here, my sweet. After we walk the dogs, we can go to dinner, or would you rather eat at my place?”
She looks up at me as she rolls onto her stomach. Her blue eyes calling to me to stop buttoning my shirt and get back in that bed. “I like how you call that magnificent mansion, ‘your place’ it’s endearing. I’d love to go back there and eat one of Hilda’s creations, if the woman can make a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich she can probably make anything delicious. Tell her she doesn’t have to go all out and smancy or anything like that.”
“Yes mam. Any favorites?”
“Nope, I trust her choices. Oh, one more thing, Romeo.”
“Anything, baby,” I say then she turns back to me and her face is very serious.
Her fingers snap. “Did you see that?”
I know full well what she means. “I’ll deal with that first thing this afternoon. She doesn’t wake up until ten in the mornings and it takes her until noon to ready herself. So I’ll go to her hotel to pick her up and take her back to my place to let her down easy, okay?”
She chews at her bottom lip with a nervous expression. “Your place?”
“Why? You don’t think that’s a good idea?”
“There’s a lot of beds at your place, Max.”
Lightly I touch her lips with my fingertip. “You don’t have to worry about that, Lexi. I’m not the cheating kind and you and I are together, right?”
“Is that what people call it, being together?”
“I don’t care what you call it. Are you and I exclusive?”
She rolls away from me and says, “I’ve never even dated anyone else. So yeah, you and I are exclusive. If that’s how you really want it.”
I roll her back over. “That’s how I want it.” I press my lips to hers then pull back before I get carried away. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be here before five this evening and everything will be rosy from here on out.”
“Smooth sailin’ huh? My life’s never went real smoothly.”
“I hope it’s something you can get used to, princess.”
The lack of a smile on her face makes me uneasy, and I should stay with her, but I have to go. I throw her a kiss and it works, she’s smiling again. “Bye, see you at five.”
How can such a beautiful woman be so insecure?
Alexis
On my way to my first dog washing gig of the day, I sing along with the radio. Last night with Max was the best time I’ve ever had with anyone, and we didn’t do a thing, but talk.
There was a little hot action, but I kept it pretty clean.
I don’t know how long I can hold out on the guy, but I’m shooting for a month at least. He’s in such a rush to get married and have kids that I’m afraid he’ll knock me up before I even get to know him.
He told me about his childhood and it’s a heart breaker. His mother had a terrible addiction, but she made the right decision when she sent him to live in a secure home. Even though his young life was hard, he turned out pretty well.
It’s a mystery to me why he keeps hooking up with these uppity women when he’s so down to Earth. He said he’s telling that Ashley women he got hooked up with online that he’s no longer interested in her. I feel bad for her, but not so bad I’ll pass up a shot with him.
I’ve been an idiot. Leaving him in the first place was a mistake. I can see it all so clear now. Wish I wasn’t such an insecure whack job. It’s now my mission in life to stop this nonsense and let me be me. Dork or not, Max likes me, so I need to stop worrying about what might happen one day, and live this life.
Maybe since I turned twenty-six last month it has made me more mature and thinking of a future. I don’t want to be alone forever, nor a virgin for that matter. Max has awakened something in me that I didn’t realize was asleep.
I wonder if he’s telling her now, and if he is, I wonder if she’s crying or throwing things at him. She’s from New York so I hope she just gets on a plane and leaves so things don’t have to be awkward.
He said he was going to ask her to marry him, he’s such a dope. It makes me think he’s too lonely and grasping at anyone to fill the most important spot in his life. I need to have no doubt in my mind that I love him and he loves me, not puts up with me, not kinda cares for me. He has to love me, want to give up his life for me, not that he’ll ever have to, but it has to be in him.
The lust he has for me is evident, but I need more than that. I want to tell him about what happened to me when I was in school. If he still likes me after that then there’s a chance we might grow something between us. I do care about him that much is for sure. When he told me about his lonely birthday, I nearly lost it. It made my heart ache for him. I felt the same when he told me about his childhood and how even though his mother did all those terrible things, he still loves her and prays for her all the time. He’s a really good man.
There’s the lady whose dog I’m going to wash. Oh great, it’s a sheep dog. This is going to set me back today.
Max
Ashley took the break up rather well. Not a tear one did she shed. I dropped her back off at her hotel and we said our goodbyes. A weight is off my shoulders and I’m on the way to see Lexi and help her with the dog walking thing.
The only thing I noticed as I told Ashley that it wasn’t going to work out between us was a little twitch that her eyebrow made a few times. Other than that, not a thing. She just said she understood, and that she was sorry.
I’m pulling up to Lexi’s and her van isn’t here. It’s five o’clock now. I hope she didn’t go without me. It would be just like her to do that. A quick text I send her telling her I’m here and hope she answers me.
A taxi is pulling up behind me and stopping.
Shit! I thought that went too easy, it’s Ashley.
She’s banging on my window and I notice the taxi is pulling away. I roll the window down. “Tell him to wait for you, Ashley.”
“No, let me in the car. I’m not letting you go, Max.”
“Fuck! Get in, I’ll take you back to your hotel.”
I let her get in the car and take off as fast as I can back across town to her hotel. “Ashley, I get this isn’t easy, but I’m in love with someone else.”
“Is that where she lives?”
“Don’t worry about where she lives. She’s an innocent in all of this.”
“Innocent, my ass,” she says as she reaches for my hand, grabbing it she pulls it to her breast and I yank it back. “You’ll miss these, if you leave me.”
“You need to stop that. This is how you act when someone breaks up with you? It’s a little crazy,” I say, and glance at my phone as it lights up.
Ashley sees it too as it lies in the center console. She grabs it and reads what Lexi sent me.
“Oh my, Max. You’ve set up a date with the tramp before I’ve even left town. She says she’s sorry, she’s running late. She left the key under the mat so you should go in and wait for her.”
She starts to type something back and I yank the phone from her.
“No! It’s anything but okay. You and I are the perfect match. The dating site said so. If you were supposed to be with that girl, you would’ve been already, so why now? I mean, when did you meet her?”
“Six months ago, before you. She’s insecure about my money and ran away from me.”
“What makes you think she won’t do that again?” she asks as her hand runs over my shoulder. “Would you throw away what we have for such a risky thing with her?”
I brush her hand off my shoulder.
“What do you think we have? You shop, I follow you around and pay for the things you want. I have no idea who you really are. I know nothing about you and you know nothing about me.”
Her eyebrows raise and she smirks.
“I know you like it when I put my mouth on your…”
I hold up a hand and interrupt her.
“It’s just sex, Ashley. Everyone likes that. It’s not what makes a relationship though. It’s not what makes a marriage.”
The hotel comes into view and my heart is racing. I can’t get this chick out of my car fast enough.
“Don’t act like that’s all we have, Max. I’m not letting you throw this away on some tramp from the hood.”
“She’s no tramp and whatever it was you and I had, it’s over.” I pull up and the doorman walks to her door. “Goodbye. I’m sorry it has to end like this, but it’s over and I don’t want to talk to or see you ever again. Do you understand me, Ashley?”
“Good evening, ma’am,” the doorman says as he opens the door and extends his hand to her. “Welcome back.”
Her eyes glare into mine. “I understand you. Now understand me, this isn’t over until I say it is, and I’m not about to do that. So let your little tramp know that she’s in for a fight because that’s what you do for someone you love. You fight for them.”
Winter Page 79
