by Jolie Day
Grace had been right, though. No woman had ever convinced him to cut his hair or change anything about his appearance, really. His older sister, Carol, had attempted to cut his hair while he was sleeping and he’d woken in the middle of it, ending up with a scar below his left ear.
At the thought of his sister, Max paused. Carol was only a couple of years older than he was, but she’d taken on a lot of responsibility when they were kids. She’d appointed herself his personal bodyguard and protected him in elementary school—as much as she could—when he was tinier than most of the other kids and got bullied for it. She had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, waiting on him, long after their parents had given up and gone to bed. She had walked out in the middle of dates to bail him out of jail. She’d given her own money to help him escape from under Caesar’s clutches. It hadn’t helped much, but the fact that she was willing to do such a thing with her hard-earned money was more than Max could have ever appreciated at that age.
And what did he do in return? He left her to take care of their mother. Alone.
Max groaned and placed his head in his hands with a deep sigh, before reaching into his pocket and slipping his phone out. He pressed the phone icon on the home screen and selected his sister’s name, then placed the phone up to his ear as he kicked off his shoes and laid back on his bed, listening to the tinny sound of the ringing in his ear.
She picked up after three rings. “Hello?”
“Hey, sis,” Max greeted. “How are you?”
“Max?” Carol asked, sounding surprised. “Did you get a new phone?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “The old one fell out of my pocket on the highway.” That was a lie. “I remembered your number, though.”
“Convenient,” Carol sighed. “So what do you need? More money?”
“No. I have plenty of my own.”
“Then what?” Carol snapped. “What do you want, Max? I’m kind of busy, taking care of our mother.”
Max sighed. “I know, and I’m sorry I left you all alone. I just…I couldn’t really take it.”
“What, you think it’s so much easier for me?” Carol huffed. “Just because I took care of you when you were a kid? I was a kid too, Max.”
“I know,” Max said. “I know, Carol. I just…I have some things I need to handle, alright? I’ll be home soon enough, I swear. Things will be better.”
“You better not be planning to do anything stupid,” Carol warned. “Because if you die then I’m going to kick your ass.”
Max laughed. “Understood,” he said. “I won’t die, Carol. And I’m not going to do anything stupid.” That was only half-true. “I’ll be home soon, though. Tell Mom I love her…if she even knows who I am.”
Carol was silent at that, but only for a moment. “She doesn’t even remember who she is, anymore,” she informed him. “I have to tell her every morning that her name is Rose. She thinks that I’m just her nurse. I think she’s starting to get worse now, Max. I don’t know how much time she has left.” She sounded truly worried and Max couldn’t blame her. He was scared, too. He was practically considering leaving right then and heading back home.
But then he remembered Regina. He couldn’t leave her like that, even if it meant his sister would be pissed at him. Besides, he still had business to attend to. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he promised. “I just have something to do, first.”
“Be careful,” Carol said, her voice soft, just before the line went dead and Max sighed, rolling over with the phone still in his hand. Suddenly he had a headache.
He closed his eyes.
*****
Regina
The bar was more crowded than she’d expected it to be. The word had apparently spread about the free round of drinks and it was almost worse than Saturday nights. She was nearly out of whiskey by the time she put a stop to it. The entire bar let out a collective groan.
“Sorry, guys,” Regina said. “But this stuff has to last me at least the next couple of days.”
“It’s bad enough that you missed Happy Hour,” Jimmy huffed, slamming down his whiskey glass and motioning for another.
“I know,” Regina sighed. “And I’m really sorry about that, Jimmy. But I had a few…errands to run.” She refilled his glass and avoided his eye.
“Is that what the kids call it now?” Jimmy laughed. “I know you were out with that boarder of yours. I saw you on the back of his bike, with that pretty black dress and all. You can’t fool old Jimmy. I got a genius IQ, ya know!”
Regina chuckled. “Yes, I know, Jimmy,” she said. “Though you’re probably not helping it with all this alcohol.”
Jimmy scoffed. “Please!” he said. “Alcohol makes me smarter.” He took a long sip.
“If you say so.” She left him alone on his stool as she went around, taking orders from other patrons and Brandy, mixing drinks as fast as she could, in the hopes that she’d be able to close early.
Of course, that was all in vain as more and more people entered the bar and played pool and drank until Regina was announcing “last call”, having to yell over the loud music and voices. Her feet were starting to ache, despite having changed from her heels into a pair of her more comfortable boots. Her toes still felt pinched and sore and she just wanted to go upstairs and let Max help her relax.
Regina smiled at the thought of all the ways he could accomplish that. She couldn’t believe how far their relationship had progressed in just the last few hours. This morning, she’d been adamant about him not touching her or calling her anything other than her name or kissing her and now she was anticipating all of that. It felt strange, but also exhilarating.
When she was finally able to lock the door and said goodnight to Brandy, Regina headed straight for the stairs instead of leaving out the back, as she usually did, climbing the stairs to Max’s room on the second floor. She had no other guest staying with her for the moment, so she didn’t worry too much about the noise she was making as she stumbled and knocked into the walls, her boots clunking heavily on each step. She giggled at herself as she reached the door and shook her head.
Once she finally reached Max’s door, Regina rapped on it twice with her fist and waited.
There was no answer.
She knocked again.
Still no answer.
Regina frowned and tried the knob. The door was unlocked and popped open quite easily, so she poked her head inside, looking around the room. All the lights were still on and she spotted Max on the bed, still clothed and sound asleep. Regina smiled at him as she stepped into the room and closed the door gently behind her. She kicked off her boots as she made her way to the bed and sat down gently, reaching out to place a light hand on his shoulder.
Max started awake, his eyes widening in confusion for a second as he stared at the ceiling, then sat up, looking all around. When his eyes met Regina, he jumped, then relaxed with a laugh, shaking his head. “Oh god,” he said. “Sorry, you startled me.”
“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” Regina said. “I had a big crowd tonight.”
“I thought you said that you didn’t get a lot of business on weeknights,” Max said, reaching out to push a strand of hair behind Regina’s ear.
“Usually I don’t,” Regina admitted. “But word must have spread about the free round. You owe me a few bottles of liquor, by the way.”
“I’ll pay you tomorrow,” Max said, “but right now…I don’t really want to talk or even think about alcohol.”
“No?” Regina hummed, grinning at him. “Then what would you like to discuss? Politics? Entertainment? Sports?”
Max laughed, leaning down to press his lips to Regina’s, moaning into her mouth as she reciprocated, quite enthusiastically. Regina pushed him down to the bed, reaching for the buttons on his shirt. “I can’t believe you’re still wearing this,” she murmured against his lips.
“I can’t believe you’re not still wearing that dress,” Max retorted. “Your legs looked a
mazing in it.” Regina snorted at that, shaking her head as she pressed more kisses to his jawline, her fingers deftly undoing his shirt and pushing the fabric off his shoulders, revealing bare skin underneath. She kissed down his chest, practically purring deep in her throat.
“I figured you’d like it,” she husked, chuckling as he shivered. She reached the waistband of his jeans and began to undo his button, but then Max’s hands were on hers, pulling them away.
“Not yet,” he said, his voice breathy and deeper than usual. At her questioning glance, he clarified. “I want us to be even.” He grinned as he reached for the hem of her shirt and Regina didn’t resist as he slipped the fabric over her head, drinking in the sight of her heavy breasts, encased in a coral-colored bra. He licked his lips and sat up, allowing Regina to straddle his lap as he pressed his face against her neck, kissing down her collarbone to the valley between her breasts. Regina sighed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands burying in his hair as she pressed her chest further against his mouth, arching her back.
Max smiled against her skin and ran his fingers gently up and down her curved spine. Regina groaned as she ground herself down on him, their pelvises clashing as their hips gyrated. She was so turned on and all she wanted was to feel him, bare, against her, inside her.
“Max,” she gasped as he nipped at the top of one of her breasts, his hands finding the clasp of her bra and undoing it with surprising—and strangely attractive—ease, allowing the scrap of lace to fall off of her as his lips surrounded her breast and his tongue assaulted her nipple. Regina cried out as he sucked on the piece of flesh and nerve, her nails digging into his shoulders as she continued to move her hips over him, moaning and groaning and whimpering.
He continued to trail his lips and teeth and tongue over her breasts for a long moment, before moving down her abdomen towards the waistband of her jeans, one of his hands coming around the front of her body to undo the button and lower the zipper, before teasing the front of her underwear with his thick fingers, making Regina gasp and sigh and tighten her hold on his shoulders.
“Please,” Regina gasped raising her hips into his hand, trying to get him to touch her where she really needed it. Max just continued to tease her, though. He brushed his fingers over the wet patch on her panties, but then moved his hand up her body, cupping her breast and pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, placing his mouth over the opposite one and biting down, making her practically sob above him. “Max!”
He chuckled against her and it sent shivers up her spine.
Beginning to get frustrated, Regina reached down, her fingers attacking the button on his jeans and resuming what they’d been doing before he so rudely interrupted. She got them open with almost no effort and reached in, stroking him through his underwear and delighting in his resulting growl against her neck.
“Not so fun, is it?” Regina husked, laughingly.
Max growled again and turned his body, flipping Regina so that her back was pressed into the soft mattress with him above her, hips between her legs, pelvises once against pressed together. He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers, his hand reaching down to slide into the front of her underwear, fingers stroking through her wetness as she gasped and arched into him, biting down on his bottom lip in reaction. Max chuckled and found her clit, stroking it. Regina shuddered, tugging his hair between her fingers and raising her hips into his touch.
“More,” she gasped, pulling his mouth more firmly against hers. “Please, more.”
“As you wish,” Max husked into her mouth as he pulled away, kissing her cheek, her jaw, the base of her throat, and moving down her body, leaving tiny pink bite marks in his wake. When he reached her waistband, he hooked his fingers in and started to tug her jeans and underwear down, encouraging Regina to raise her hips to make it a little easier to do. Once they were completely off, he tossed them over his shoulder and pressed his face back against her stomach, pressing kisses to the soft flesh.
He moved down, gradually, nipping and sucking and kissing everywhere but where she really needed, causing Regina to squirm on the bed, trying to force him towards her center, but Max evaded her, chuckling and pressing kisses to her thighs instead. He allowed his growing scruff to rub against the sensitive skin there and Regina moaned, feeling the pool between her legs beginning to grow with each second that passed.
“Max,” she gasped, widening her legs. “Please. I need you.” Max felt himself grow harder and finally—finally—pressed his open mouth to her center, allowing his tongue to run through her wetness. Regina cried out, one of her hands clenching around the sheets beneath her body while the other continued to tug at Max’s hair as he ate her out.
It felt like heaven.
*****
Max
She tasted like heaven.
That’s all Max could think as he ran his tongue through her wetness. She tasted so good. He could feel himself growing harder with every swipe of his tongue. Regina shuddered underneath him and raised one of her legs, resting it over Max’s shoulder as he continued to tongue her clit and make her quiver with need. He could practically feel her getting closer and closer to the edge. Her fingers tightened in his hair and around the sheets, her hips grinding against Max’s mouth. He pressed them down with one hand as he continued to wreak havoc on her body.
When she finally broke, he could feel it and not just because of the wetness that gushed all over his tongue and into his mouth. He found himself grinning against her center, lapping it all up and prolonging her pleasure for as long as possible before he felt Regina’s tugs turn into shoves as she pushed him away, her chest heaving with her deep breaths. Max pulled away, standing at the foot of the bed as he slipped his jeans and boxers over his hips, letting them fall to the ground.
Regina leaned up on her hands and pouted at him, resting back on her hands. “I wanted to do that,” she whined. Max laughed and climbed back onto the bed, stretching out next to her.
“Next time,” he promised, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
“Pretty ambitious, don’t you think?” Regina teased. “Already planning out a ‘next time’?”
“You saying you don’t want to experience that again?” Max teased back, grinning as Regina’s cheeks turned pink and she looked down. He reached over, placing one finger under her chin and pulling her back to look at him. “Because,” he continued, “I definitely do.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips and felt her smile.
“Is that so?” Regina purred.
“Oh, definitely,” Max husked, pressing his lips more firmly against her, pushing her back into a laying position as he moved over her. Regina’s hands stroked over his shoulders and down his back, her hands caressing his tattooed skin, touching it like it was art, like his body was carved from the finest marble and painted like a canvas. It was the most gentle a woman had ever been with him.
Even Mary.
Max fought to erase his ex from his mind as he focused on the body beneath his. It was so very different than Mary’s; so much more beautiful. Perfection, his mind supplied as he ran his lips down her neck, sucking at her pulse point until he could see a purple bruise beginning to bloom there. He grinned in satisfaction and moved down, positioning himself between her hips again even as his mouth found the tops of her breasts again.
He was so distracted by the enticing flesh that he didn’t even realize that Regina was moving until he was lying flat on his back with Regina above him, grinding down into his hips, pressing against his growing hardness. Max groaned as she reached down and took him into her hands, squeezing and stroking him and shortening his breath as she collected the wetness at the head of him and spread it with her thumb. Regina grinned down at him and bent, pressing her lips to his chest, raking her teeth over the sensitive skin there and making Max moan and growl and grip her hips tightly, helping her to grind further against his hardness. Regina giggled, undulating her hips and reaching down to grip him again, positioning him at her
opening but never allowing him to slip inside.
Instead, she rubbed her wetness against him, grinding her clit against his head and moaning against his chest, right above his heart. Max gripped her hips tighter in response. “Regina,” he growled. “Please.” She grinned like the Cheshire cat and finally placed him at her entrance, sliding down just a fraction and allowing herself to gasp in pleasure for an instant, before sliding back out. “Regina!” Max barked, but he made no move to force himself into her. He let her set the pace; let her tease him for a few moments more, before she finally slid him all the way inside.
It was agonizingly slow as she allowed him to stretch her inside and she raised herself into a sitting position, bracing herself with her hands on his chest, her mouth widening with every inch that entered her, until their pelvises were touching again and he was so much deeper than any man had ever been before. “Fuck,” Regina sighed, opening her eyes so that Max could see the way the blue of her irises had darkened in lust and pleasure.
She rocked once, then twice, her nails digging into the skin of his chest as she set a rhythm, Max’s hands gripping her hips as she moved over him, making him sigh and grunt and moan. It was the best feeling in the world, he was sure of it. She felt like velvet, squeezing around him, bringing him closer and closer to heaven.
Regina’s breasts swung with each movement and Max found his mouth watering, the desire to reach up and take one into his mouth almost too great, but that would disrupt her motions and so he stroked one of his hands up her spine, tugging her down to him. Regina grinned against his lips as he initiated the kiss. Then she gasped as he moved to her ear, sucking on her earlobe, then pressed hot kisses down her jawline, her neck, her chest, returning once again to her breasts. She held herself above him, her hands pressing into the mattress on either side of his head as her hips continued to move against his. Gasps and moans tripped off her tongue as he sucked one nipple and pinched the other, heightening her pleasure as he found his own in her soft wetness sliding over him.
