by J. Woods
“Blue?”
“I’ve been calling the baby Blue,” she admitted with a hint of embarrassment.
“Why?” he asked with genuine curiosity. She groaned, not wanting to tell him, to admitting to what she knew her heart was pushing for all along and being stupid enough to ignore it. “Why?” he persisted with a teasing air of knowledge.
“Because after I left, it was your eyes that would haunt my dreams, in the best way,” she admitted in a whisper. She felt his silent smile as he let his lips linger against her hair. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Thank you,” he murmured as he moved his lips to her neck in a forgiving kiss.
For the next hour they explored the house and to Max’s grudging agreement, the outside as well.
“Okay, enough. You’re freezing, I’m starting to waste away I’m so hungry...”
“It hasn’t been that long since we last ate,” Brie interrupted with a roll of her eyes.
“But I’m a growing boy. And my mom told me I need to eat if I want big strong muscles.”
“Please, you practically walked out of a dirty fantasy and you know it. I don’t think the female population would be able to handle bigger, stronger muscles on Max Savage.” She climbed into the cab of his truck and watched as he walked around to the driver’s side.
“A dirty fantasy?”
“Shut up.” She laughed, slapping his arm.
“And I don’t care about what the female population thinks, I only care what one thinks.”
“Really?” she inquired with a raised eyebrow and mock curiosity.
“Really.”
“Well I don’t think I can handle you now,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders with a small laugh.
“I think you handle me better than you know.” Brie remained silent and kept her gaze on the window as Max pulled away from the house and back into the city.
***
Max was in trouble. He knew it. He didn’t know how today was going to go, he had no plan in place but it seemed to all be falling together better than he could have asked for and he wasn’t going to do anything to mess it up. His only goal was to talk to Brie, to come to an agreement about the baby and then convince her, by any means necessary that she was supposed to be with him. But when she kissed him at the restaurant he had been so caught off guard and it wasn’t something he was willing to push aside. His chest clenched when he first saw her, the look of utter sadness that he could see in her eyes made him want to harm anyone who put it there. He never wanted to see her so lost again and he would do anything to prevent it from happening. Even if that included being the wall that stood between her and her cold hearted mother. He had completed a background check on her before he went to the restaurant knowing Brie was meeting her for lunch. He had no idea how a mother could treat their child that way, with such disinterest, such distance. It was the surprise on her face and the relief that washed through the pain that made him realize how deep he actually was. He wanted her, and she had shown him today she felt the same, even if she still wasn’t sure. And he knew she wasn’t. Brie wasn’t the type to forget everything she knew because of some sweet words and charming grins. He would have to work for it and that was fine with him. Max loved a good chase, especially when it was worth it. Carnal, wicked memories flooded him every time he was near her knowing she wasn’t his, not yet. And as she sat getting warm by his fire, his plan started to fall in place. The plan where he would seduce her until she believed him and saw he wasn’t going to let her do this alone.
Pulling out the few candles he kept around his apartment, he scattered them around the bathroom as the hot water filling the tub encased the room in steam. Before he had a chance to pull her away from the fire, he felt her wrap her arms around his waist, her belly round and firm pressing against his lower back. Just the feel of her and he was instantly hard. Her fingers gripped the hem of his sweater and with quick movements pulled it over his head, leaving him standing there in only his jeans. Her nails scored down his back and he felt the shudder run through him as she followed the path with soft kisses.
“This is supposed to be for you,” he told her, his voice guttural with the pleasure she was giving him.
“And I love it. But in order for you to get in that tub with me, you need to be naked.” Her fingers moved around his front and grazed his hip bones before finding the button on his pants. God, he wasn’t going to last. Moving around to face her he leaned in and gently pulled her pouting bottom lip between his teeth. Grabbing her hands he moved her arms over her head. He felt his cock throbbing behind his zipper, he was so damn hot for her he couldn’t see beyond his overwhelming hunger.
“I need you naked. Right now.” Before she could take her next breath, Max was staring at the tightness of her bare skin in awe. Her breasts were larger, her stomach firm and flawless and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as his mouth flooded with the need to taste her. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful. So damn sexy,” he breathed. With a playful smile she moved to her pants before he could and stepped out of the puddle of material at her feet. Max helped her step into the tub and he watched as she closed her eyes and leaned back with a sigh of contentment. He couldn’t take his eyes away from her if he tried. She was mesmerizing. After a long moment she opened her eyes and looked at him expectantly.
“I thought you were joining me.”
“I am. Just let me look at you for a little while longer.” He saw the moment she decided she was going to tease him. He watched as her hands came up and caressed and teased her swelling breasts and he almost couldn’t hold in the groan that built in his chest. If he didn’t get closer to her, touch her, replace her fingers with his own he knew this was going to be over before it even started. He had never been with a woman that provoked such a reaction from him. She made him feel like it was his first time every time he was with her. He wanted to touch and tease, he wanted to provide her with pleasure unlike anything she had ever experienced. And when her eyes became glassy with desire and she beckoned him with the slow crook of her finger he didn’t think he had ever moved so fast in his life. Kicking off his jeans he slid in behind her, framing her small body with his long legs.
“My turn,” he told her, whispering in her ear. She hummed her appreciation when her hands fell away and his replaced them, gently massaging and playing at her tender skin. He moved his hand down her body, her skin slick from the water until he found her hot, ready core.
“Damn, I love how sensitive you are,” he told her, responding to her sharp, surprised gasp. He nuzzled her ear before nipped at the soft skin. He loved moments like these with Brie. Moments where there was no past and no future to worry about. Her head fell back against his shoulder and he grew unbearably harder just listening to her breathing increase, knowing it was his touch, his fingers that gave her the pleasure she was panting for.
“Max... bed.”
“Soon baby. Come for me first.” As if on command he felt her tense against him before the sharp, passion filled cry echoed off the bathroom walls. Yet even after a shattering orgasm, his Brie was insatiable. She was never selfish and always wanting his pleasure. He felt her fingers move sensually, erotically up and down his legs in deliberate movements. He revelled in the feeling of the shudders only her touch could bring for a long moment before stopping her movements, entwining his fingers through hers.
“Max, I want you. Now.” She turned her head and he caught her lips with his.
“Me too,” he murmured against her mouth before stepping out of the water. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around her after helping her out of the tub before picking her up in his arms.
“Max!” she squealed, her laughter soon following. “I’m too heavy, put me down.” It was the laughter he found in Brie, the hot sultry passion mixed with the light playfulness he had never found in anyone else that made him a desperate man.
“You could never be too heavy, baby. You weigh like ninety pounds soaking wet.” Placing her do
wn on his bed, Max unwrapped her like she was his favourite present. Crawling over top of her, his eyes roamed every bare inch of skin, his tongue itching to follow the path. Before he could make his first move, he found himself lying on his back, Brie straddling his hips with a confident grin.
“You got to have your fun. Now I want mine.” Max raised an eyebrow in curiosity, knowing he probably wasn’t going to survive. Grabbing his hands she placed them above his head as he laced his fingers together and moved them behind his head. Trailing her lips down his neck, she nipped and sucked as she moved across his skin. “You are so sexy,” she whispered over his heart.
“Brie,” he groaned. Before he even realized it, she was shaking her head and moving his hands back to where she wanted them. Clenching his fingers into fists, he ground his teeth until his jaw hurt. She was teasing him. And it was pure torture. Her hot little tongue was killing him and he had no idea how much longer he would be able to take. He felt her smile against his hip bone when his entire body clenched in anticipation. Wrapping her hand around his eager erection, she looked into his eyes as she covered him with her mouth. He felt her moan of pleasure all the way up his spine and that was it. His self control lay shredded in ribbons at his feet. How he loved the feel of her mouth on him, her tongue working the iron shaft and as she continued to taste him like he was her favourite treat, her sexy little moans were the best kind of torture. He was too close to the edge, too close to ecstasy he could reach out and grab it but he didn’t want it like this. He wanted to spill himself inside of her. He wanted to fill her, to touch her soul like she had his until she couldn’t question him anymore. Until there were no more secrets between them. Instantly he had her on her back with a look of shock before he slammed his lips down on hers and he was inside of her with his next breath.
“Max!” Brie cried. He buried his face into her neck, stilling overtop of her. He felt her nails dig into his back and a wave of guilt washed over him. He was taking her like a damn starved man when he should have been worshipping her, cherishing her like she deserved.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed.
“Please... don’t stop,” she panted before sinking her teeth into the soft skin between his neck and shoulder. Before he could move, he felt her clamp down on him, washing a wave of pleasure over him that was almost breathtaking. He pulled back, his own breathing matching hers and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him staring at her knowing smirk.
“Feisty little thing,” he growled. He heard her breath catch as he started to move, her fingers threading through his hair as she brought his lips down to hers.
“Don’t ever apologise for this,” she murmured against his ear. Her words ignited a fire within him; his hips moving in rapid thrusts until he felt her start to quiver beneath him. Her fingers tightened in his hair and all he wanted to do was slow it down, revel in how she felt around him. Damn, but he swore this was what heaven felt like. Her back bowed off the bed as he felt her detonate underneath him and he made sure his mouth was on hers to swallow her cries that turned into whimpers as his own climax blindsided him.
Rolling off of her, he pulled her into his side, kissing the top of her head when she flung her arm and leg over his. They both fought to catch their breath and after long moments of contented silence, he heard her breathing slow as sleep started to take her. Old fears suddenly assailed him as he stared out the window into the night sky.
“Brie?” She nuzzled into his side, squeezing herself impossibly closer. “Promise me something.”
“Hmm?” she hummed sleepily against his chest.
“Promise me, when I wake up in the morning you’re going to be there.” She lifted her head as she looked into his eyes with regret. Pressing a kiss over his heart, she let her lips linger against the beat for a long moment.
“I promise,” she whispered into the dark. He let out a breath, almost of relief and he knew they both had a lot to prove. “Besides, I’m seven months pregnant. I can’t run as fast anymore. And I’d probably get hungry and have to stop off at the kitchen first. It already sounds like too much effort.” His chuckle vibrated through his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.
“Go to sleep.” She closed her eyes and he felt her tighten her arm around him.
Chapter Thirteen
Brie opened her eyes to find the early rising sun streaming through the window. Reaching across the bed, she found herself alone. Her heart sank as she worried at her bottom lip before forcing herself from the bed to the bathroom. She had made a promise to him that she wouldn’t run, but she never asked for that same promise in return. Finding a pair of Max’s sweatpants and a t shirt, she pulled them on and made her way down the hallway toward the kitchen. She stopped short when she noticed Max standing at the stove, a pan of eggs in front of him, fruit and bacon already on the table. He looked up at the sound of her.
“Hey, gorgeous. I was just about to come wake you.” She moved slowly into the kitchen, toward his outstretched hand and before she could grasp what was happening, he snaked his arm around her, greeting her with a soft, sweet kiss. “Good morning.”
She shook her head at his smug grin. “Morning.”
“And good morning to you, little one,” he said softly as he bent down, his large palm covering her belly. She didn’t think she could fall any further, any deeper. But it was when Max showed this side of himself, a side she knew was rarely seen by others when his hard candy shell fell away and exposed the warmth of his heart she knew she was in unchartered waters. She was still confused, still unsure what lay between them and she felt her fears and independence fight against each other as she drifted further and further away from shore in the storm and what terrified her most was she wondered where her need to return had gone as she felt the bonds he was silently weaving around her tighten around her heart. “Hungry?” he asked her, turning to pull plates from the cupboard.
“Starving.” She sent him a small smile before taking her seat at the table. She was in such a state of unbalance. How the hell was she supposed to figure anything out when he was persistent on taking over her feelings? He placed her plate in front of her and before he had a chance to sit down she heard her herself uncontrollably blurting out her concerns. “Max, what is this?” He raised an eyebrow in question as he sat down slowly across from her.
“It’s breakfast.”
“No, I mean this,” she explained, gesturing between them. “Us, me and you.” She watched as he took a deep breath while she held hers.
“Well, what do you want?”
“I asked you first.” She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Where the hell was the woman she was in the boardroom, the one who never asked and only demanded what she wanted? His warm chuckle did little to ease how tense she was feeling.
“I would like to give us a chance, me and you.” She clenched her jaw before letting out a slow breath.
“Max, I’m not going to be with someone just because I’m pregnant. I don’t want you to be with me just because we’re having a baby together.” She watched the fierce frown and spark of anger flash through his entrancing eyes.
“If you think that’s why I said that... that you’re the only woman I can’t get enough of, that whenever I’m just near you my dick gets so fucking hard with the need to be inside you, that you haunted my dreams for seven months, that you’re the only woman that I think of before I go to bed and the first one I think about when I wake up and every second in between... if you think all that happens just because we’re having a baby together, then we have more problems than I thought.” Brie was left speechless by the ferocity in his voice. But she had to make herself clear. Swallowing past her shock and the clench of her lower belly at his words, she took a deep breath.
“If we’re together, that means no other girls, Max.”
“Jesus Christ, Brie! You really don’t think very highly of me, do you?” She started to protest, to let him know it was the exact opposite. She knew she may have been over-e
mphasising her point, but she didn’t think she could handle the kind of hurt Max Savage could bring her. Things needed to be crystal clear between them. “I haven’t been with anyone for seven months. I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
“Why?” she asked, her feminine pride intrigued.
“Because the only one I want is you. Am I excited we’re having a baby? Yes. Am I scared shitless? Yes. Do I want our baby to grow up in a healthy stable, unbroken household? Yes. I know what it’s like to live in a broken one Brie, and I don’t want that for our baby. But none of that has to do with why or how much I want you.” Brie nodded her head, a knot of emotion hindering her ability to form words. “How do you feel about it, about us?”
“Ditto,” she whispered with a fervent nod. He sent her a breathtaking grin as he stood up and quickly moved to her, moving his lips masterfully against hers.
“Good. Am I supposed to ask you out formally now?” Brie let out a laugh as she felt the weight lift off her shoulders. “Brie Murphy, will you go steady with me?”
“It’s not the fifties Max, no one goes steady anymore.” He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers.
“Okay, how about this - I want you, all to myself. I want my arms to hold you at night and I want to wake up to your smile in the mornings. Exclusively.”
“Does this mean I’m your girlfriend?” Brie asked with a teasing smile.
“I think we’re a bit more than that.” She could only smile at him, staring into the ice blue of his eyes. “So, do you accept?” he asked eagerly. She cupped his face and leaned in with a reassuring kiss at the same time her phone pierced through the heated moment. Staring down at the phone she felt her stomach flutter with nerves at Joel’s name coming up on the screen. The heat in Max’s eyes quickly turned from eagerly sensual to frustrated annoyance. She knew what she needed to do. Picking up the phone his eyes widened with surprise and when he got up to move she held him in place.
