by Aimee Duffy
Stepping closer, she made sure to press as much of her body against him as she could. There was no fire, no adrenaline, none of that lost-to-him fear coursing through her, and it was refreshing. There was anger, but anger she could deal with.
‘I’m more interested in hearing about you, Donnelly.’
Georgia painted on her most smoldering look and his throat bobbed. She had him in the bag. Getting what she wanted from him would be so easy. But so … boring.
‘Georgia, can I have a word?’
Eloisa’s voice snapped her out of her tried-and-tested flirting. Leaving Donnelly panting, she threw an apologetic smile over her shoulder while being dragged to another part of the bar by her so-called friend.
‘What?’ she snipped.
Eloisa scowled. ‘You know damn well what. Who was he?’
She shrugged. ‘Just a guy.’
‘And Max?’ Eloisa puffed out air. ‘Why are you fucking up your chances with him?’
Her eyes stung and she struggled to keep a hold on her anger. ‘Wanna know why that’s never going to happen? He’s here with another woman. I’ve been replaced, in four fucking days, with a skinny brunette!’
Her friend’s face paled a few shades, which was hard to do since her skin was porcelain most of the time. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘You were wrong, I’m not missing anything. He’s a bastard looking for a fling and I can’t do that with him. What option is there other than moving on? Max doesn’t—’
‘Georgia, stop,’ Eloisa pleaded.
Her friend wasn’t looking at her anymore. She stared over Georgia’s shoulder. For a crushingly horrible moment she wished it was Donnelly who Eloisa was looking at with something like fear.
‘Let her go on, I want to hear the rest.’
His voice was too close. All the blood drained out of her face and she wanted to run so badly. Her feet wouldn’t move, though. She couldn’t move a thing, not even her mouth.
Eloisa must have noticed the panic in her expression because her internal switch flipped to protective and her scowl came out full force. ‘I’m assuming you’re the bastard.’
‘Apparently,’ he answered.
She couldn’t wimp out like this, couldn’t let him see she was terrified how he’d react. Taking a deep breath, she linked arms with Eloisa and turned to face him. God, he was breathtaking in a white dress shirt and suit trousers. He hadn’t been at work, or so she’d thought, but why else would he be wearing what he was?
Not wanting to put it off any longer than she had to, Georgia met his gaze, calling on all the anger and pain which almost crippled her. The mask was back, but his eyes were shadowed with something she didn’t understand.
‘Max,’ she said in greeting, but his name burned on the way out.
‘We need to talk.’ His reply was clipped, but cool.
Shit, this wasn’t going to be good.
‘You need to back off,’ Eloisa retorted. ‘Run along back to your date.’
‘Not my date. Jen’s my father’s live-in nurse.’ He didn’t take his eyes off Georgia.
A lump lodged in her throat and she felt shitty for the performance she’d put on with Donnelly. She’d done that to hurt him like he was hurting her, but he wasn’t. Something might have happened to his father and, knowing he did have feelings for her, she’d just given him the equivalent of a punch in the face.
Eloisa looked at her and the protective-friend scowl was replaced by concern. Georgia nodded. She had to apologize and didn’t particularly want to do it with an audience. How could she have been such a bitch?
‘Not here,’ he said, pointedly looking at all the bodies surrounding them.
He led her over to the table he’d shared with Jen. It was empty now except for his beer. A waitress came over with a margarita and a glass of brown liquid – probably bourbon. How did he manage to get table service when she couldn’t get a drink waiting in line?
The thought ticked her off, but then she remembered what he’d heard. ‘I’m sorry.’
He didn’t respond, just pushed her glass closer. She took a sip, wishing a hole would swallow her up already. ‘I… seeing you with someone else…’ Blinking back the tears, she focused on the olive in her glass and tried again. ‘It shouldn’t have hurt so much. You made it clear you don’t want more than what you offered. Problem is, I can’t do the pretend thing. Somewhere over the last week I started to feel things for you I shouldn’t.’
He tilted her chin up and she met his warm eyes. He didn’t look mad now, he looked happy and sad and confused. ‘Same thing happened to me. If I’m honest it goes back farther than that. Anytime I spoke with you, I had to force myself to leave. I wanted to get to know you, Georgia, and I convinced myself it was attraction. Lust.’
Her eyes stung again. Regardless of what his words hinted at, she knew they couldn’t be together. ‘None of that matters though does it? You don’t want anything more than pretend.’
‘All I know is letting you go was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and staying away has almost killed me these last few days. I want to be with you and not just for sex. Seeing you with that guy really drove it home.’
Hope loosened the crushing sensation in her chest, but this couldn’t be it. One jealous encounter couldn’t change his outlook. ‘I got the impression you didn’t believe in happy endings.’
Max smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Maybe you could change my mind.’
Georgia wanted to believe him, but nothing was ever that easy. ‘Why the sudden turn around? I don’t get it.’
He took her hand in his and the contact sparked through her, bringing her to life and making her feel whole again. Amazing how one little touch could make her feel alive.
The mask he always wore slipped and she could see it now. Want and need, and something that might be love, or the start of it.
‘I was scared. My mother died and now my father’s killing himself so he can be with her. I don’t want to be like him, relying on one person for the rest of my life. I don’t want the kind of love that makes living without that person impossible. And I don’t want to open myself up to that to face another rejection like with Clarissa. But these last few days without you I’ve had time to put things in perspective.’
She frowned. ‘Still not getting it.’
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t have to love like that – so all-consuming. But that doesn’t mean I can’t share my life with someone.’
Her throat constricted. ‘You want to spend it with me?’
Squeezing her hand, he smiled for real this time. ‘I don’t see why we can’t give it a shot.’
Georgia pulled her hand back. ‘You didn’t know me. You still don’t.’
Did he think she was soft in the head? Sure, she wanted to believe his words, believe that he was romantic and had it as bad for her as she had for him, but she couldn’t.
‘I may not know how you take your coffee, or even your friends’ names, but I can learn. What I do know is you’re the bravest and strongest person I’ve ever met. After losing your mother you moved to New York even though you were grieving. Georgia, you built yourself a new family and that takes guts. I know that if you and I spend the rest of our lives together and I go first, you’ll have the strength to keep living.’
Her heart thumped erratically and her breath hitched. She watched the honesty in his expression dim until sadness took its place. He wasn’t making promises but he also wasn’t telling her there were no boundaries. And he did know her in the way that mattered. He saw past the sharp tongue to who she really was and it cracked the walls she’d put around herself – maybe that’s why he’d been the only man who’d made her come.
But he’d never love her. He’d never let himself, and regardless of how strong he thought she was, she couldn’t spend every day loving someone who’d never love her back.
‘If you don’t want to see where we can go, I’ll understand. I’ve hardly been reliable so far.
’
‘I’m sorry, Max. I can’t accept what you’re offering.’
His face fell and he didn’t hide the pain in his eyes.
She felt like she was sinking even though she got up. Turning around and walking away was harder this time, like her blood had been replaced with drying cement. Knowing he was prepared to give her forever was something she hadn’t known she’d wanted until now.
Turning it down because he couldn’t give her more ripped her to shreds.
Chapter 10
Max watched her walk away feeling like his heart had been replaced with an icy boulder. Rising, he sent a message to his feet to get them to take him out of there. That was when he caught sight of the fucker who’d had his hands all over Georgia. The guy watched her return to her friends, his friend clapping him on the back after he said something, and Max’s eyes narrowed.
No way was he going to let some bastard take advantage of her when she was upset. He ordered another drink and told the barmaid to keep them coming. Max didn’t acknowledge her flirting, instead, made his way to the upper level where he could keep an eye on Georgia.
For an age she and her friends stayed at their table and he let them have that time alone, checking out the club and the people. His mind kept drifting to earlier that day, when he’d had lunch with his father. They’d talked through a lot of shit, and he realized now why his father was keeping an eye out on the designers. The same reason Max had propositioned Georgia. His father had known Max would drop Marcello as soon as he’d officially retired. The other designers would lose faith in Briggs unless he could prove it wasn’t emotion driving his decision to let Marcello go and they might walk too. His father hadn’t wanted Max to be left with nothing when he was gone.
Max had gotten so angry that his father hadn’t even had faith in him to do it the right way. He hadn’t been proud of his reaction, so he’d walked away to calm down some. It left a shitty taste in his mouth that the last words to his father hadn’t been the nicest. Too late now, with both his father and Georgia. All he could do was make sure she was okay for the rest of the night and drink himself numb.
The next time he looked for her he found her on the dance floor, close to her friends but she had her eyes closed and was swaying those lean hips in a way that had the fire from the bourbon ripping a trail down to his groin. Mesmerized, all he could do was watch. Everyone around melted into the background as his focus sharpened on her.
Max wanted to go to her, but that wasn’t fair. Not for either of them. He meant what he said, he’d have spent every day with her giving her everything he could, but she didn’t want any of it. Wasn’t that the story of his life?
When a guy slid in close to her – the same guy she’d flirted with at the bar – his hand fisted so tight around the glass it almost cracked. Her smile was small, the colored lights flashing across her pale skin, but what stopped him from storming down there to make sure she was okay was the determination in her eyes. She was moving on and it was then he realized Georgia was the one in control of the situation.
As the guy leaned down to press his lips to hers, Max couldn’t take a second more.
* * * *
Too soon, it was too soon.
But Donnelly wasn’t giving her a second to think about it. His eyes closed as he brought his head down to meet hers. This was supposed to be about getting over Max, moving on, but her insides recoiled at the thought of kissing someone else. She turned her head at the last minute and caught sight of Max rushing down the stairs.
Her heart raced, but it had nothing to do with the wet lips on her cheek. For a second she thought he might make his way over, push Donnelly out the way and then claim her as his. But he turned and headed for the exit.
She glanced at the upper level of the club which was pretty much empty and realized he’d been watching her, probably watching out for her, and he’d gotten an eye-full of her dancing with someone else a few hours after she’d shot him down.
Donnelly pulled her closer, his lips too near and panic made her push him away. Surprise widened his eyes.
‘I’m sorry,’ she shouted to be heard over the music, but didn’t wait for him to reply.
She turned and pushed her way through the throng of dancers, picking up speed when her heels met the carpet leading to the exit. People were filtering in the doors and checking in their coats. All except Max, who passed a ticket to a woman who handed him his suit jacket a moment later.
Her heart was pounding, her breath coming in pants. She didn’t know what she was doing, only that she couldn’t let him leave. Not without proving he was the one she wanted, not some guy in the club.
She lost sight of him when he slipped outside, but she followed. On the street she whipped her head around, noticing the queue of people and not much else. Across the road, Max was opening the back door of a black town car and she darted out into the street. A cab pulled around the corner too fast and she lost her footing but quickly righted herself and got out of the way.
That was when he looked at her, his chin dropping with shock and his eyes wide. ‘Georgia?’
‘It’s you, not him. I only want you.’ She barreled into him, wrapping her hands around his waist. ‘Just you.’
Georgia could hear the hysteria in her voice, knew by running after him she’d accepted what he’d offered and would have to deal with it. The panic drained when his arms came around her.
‘You could’ve been killed. Are you crazy?’ His voice was rough, laced with ice and it made her smile.
‘Apparently. It’s what you do to me.’
He slammed her into the car, his head crashing down and his lips meeting her with force and lust and fear. Georgia’s heart hammered against her ribs and she pulled him closer by the hair, ground her pelvis against his and didn’t care much that she couldn’t breathe.
This carnal, overpowering feeling when she touched him, when they were together, was enough. It had to be enough, because the alternative wasn’t possible.
When he broke away to breathe, Georgia said, ‘Take me to your place.’
He hesitated. Doubt cracked through the lust and need in his expression. ‘What’s changed?’
‘I realized I don’t want anyone else. I don’t even want to want anyone.’
Tenderly, he cupped her jaw with his palm. ‘You deserve better.’
‘Are you turning me down again?’ Disappointment colored her voice, and she didn’t try to hide it.
Max stared at her for so long, doubt began to creep in.
‘No. I’ll never turn you down again, but I wanted you to know that you deserve more than I can give you.’
‘Will you cheat on me? Will you promise me things you can’t deliver?’ she asked, knowing he never would. That was enough, it had to be.
‘Never, on both counts,’ he promised.
Georgia smiled. ‘Then take me to your place. We’ve got wasted time to make up.’
He pulled her into the backseat of the car. Eloisa’s advice came back to her and she had the feeling again she was missing something, although he’d told her why he didn’t want to get close. He didn’t want to have to rely on another person, be so consumed by them that when it ended so did he. And he didn’t want to have to deal with more rejection – at least she could properly understand that.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked. Though he never stopped touching her the whole way, his eyes were shadowed and wary.
Georgia forced herself to focus on what would happen when they got back, so when she spoke he wouldn’t hear the lie. ‘I want you inside me, holding nothing back, with nothing between us.’
He smiled, but a second later it was replaced with a frown and a curse. ‘I don’t have condoms.’
She kissed him and though his lips were stunned at first, he quickly caught up and kissed her back. She shifted to straddle him on the seat, pressing her hips close and feeling just how much he was into it when his erection prodded into her sensitive flesh. They had too many
clothes, for her liking.
Pulling away, she caught her breath. ‘Do you always use protection?’
A line appeared between his brows. ‘Yeah.’
‘Me too.’ She wriggled her hips against him, causing a moan to slip from them both. ‘And I’m on the pill, so we’re good to go.’
Something hot flared in his eyes. ‘You’d take me at my word?’
She nodded. ‘And you’d have to take me at mine, but the proof is in my clutch.’
Grabbing the bag, she tried to undo the clip but he pulled it free and tossed it back on the seat. ‘What are you doing?’
When his lips were inches from hers, he whispered, ‘Taking you at your word.’
All the way back Georgia’s mouth was busy and dry humping him had her closer to the edge than she thought possible. All the way up in the lift, his hands were all over her, fanning the flames until her need became unbearable.
She’d freed his cock before he had the door open and the second he kicked it shut Max tugged her panties down enough that they fell to the floor. She’d barely stepped out of them when he lifted her, wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed her back against the wall.
With her core soaking his erection, she demanded, ‘In me, now.’
He reared back, then pushed into her all the way to straining point. She gasped, thrilling at the feeling of him filling her to bursting, and that her nerve endings seemed to tingle all over.
‘Honey, I’ve dreamed about this for over a year.’ He panted, pressed his forehead against the side of her neck. ‘Even the most intense dreams don’t cover how fucking right this feels.’
Her heart swelled as she threaded her fingers through his hair. She knew exactly what he meant. ‘Max, I need…’
She was going to say him, but couldn’t. If this was going to work she had to hold back as much as he did, or she’d end up getting crushed.
He lifted his head and smiled. ‘I know.’
What started fast and frantic continued lazily. His lips met hers as his hips rocked into her, stroking deep and making her shiver with each slide over the bundle of nerves inside. She ground into him, digging her heels into his ass to try to rush him on but Max didn’t hurry.
