Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

by Ciana Stone

  Nikki looked at Max. After a moment he nodded. Quickly Nikki told Ben what they wanted to do and why.

  Ben whistled and shook his head. “Man, you’ve really been given a bum rap, haven’t you, Max? Shit. This could be tricky. Let me give it some thought and I’ll give you a call in a day or so.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Nikki didn’t feel she could ask for more. “Well, I guess we better hit the road too.”

  Ben stood as Nikki and Max got up. Ben extended his hand to Max. “Hope to see you again soon, Max. Matter of fact, maybe we could get together some time without Nik.”

  Max smiled and nodded.

  Nikki walked around the table and hugged Ben tightly then gave him a soft kiss. “I love you.”

  Ben smiled and cupped her face in his hands, rubbing his nose against hers. “Same here. Be careful, okay?”

  “Always,” she grinned. “Max, you ready?”

  Max nodded without expression. She gave him a curious look. Maybe he was just tired. It was nearly four in the morning. He probably wasn’t used to being up so late.

  Max stared out of the side window on the drive home. He couldn’t face Nikki. Not after what had happened. How could he have been so blind, so stupid? Why didn’t he ever stop to think that someone as beautiful and special as Nikki would have someone in her life? Why did he ever think he could be that someone? He felt like such a fool. Suddenly the best night of his life had become the worst.

  When they reached the estate and got out of the car, she hurried to keep up with him as he made for the house.

  “Hold on!” She grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong?”

  He gestured it was nothing.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. There was no way he’d tell her the truth. He wasn’t about to let her know how much of a fool he’d been, hoping that she had the kind of feelings a woman had for a man, for him.

  “Okay.” She backed off. “Thanks for going out with me. I really had a good time. And thanks for coming to my rescue with the drunk.”

  Max nodded and hurried away. Nikki watched him go, trying to figure out what had caused the dramatic change in his behavior. She had no idea.

  Going to her room, she lay down but wasn’t sleepy. On an impulse, she grabbed a towel and headed outside. It wasn’t dawn yet, so no one was moving about. She walked down to the pier, slipped off her jeans and shirt and dove into the water.

  Nikki swam around, letting the events of the evening run through her mind. She was disappointed things had ended as they had, and also puzzled. She thought they had a good time. Max had seemed happy and pretty much at ease. What had happened to change things?

  Swimming back to the pier, she climbed up.

  “Jeez!” She jumped and threw her hands over her breasts as she saw the shadowy figure. “Max?”

  He took a step toward her, trying not to pay attention to the fact that she was wearing only her underwear, covering her bare breasts with her hands.

  “God, you scared me!”

  Max didn’t know how to ask what he wanted to know. Nikki came close to him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I don’t know how to even begin, he hesitantly communicated to her.

  “Just tell me what’s wrong. Please.” She reached out to touch him.

  “Oh shit!” She quickly snatched up her shirt as it fell and draped it around her upper body. “Sorry. Please, will you talk to me?”

  Gathering his courage, Max communicated as best he could. Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with Ben?

  “What?” She looked at him in astonishment. “Hold on, back up. You think I’m in love with Ben? What gave you that idea?”

  Well, for starters you said so, Max communicated.

  “Oh that!” She laughed in relief when she finally understood. “Well, yeah, I did say it. And I meant it. But as a friend. Not a lover.”

  Max was not convinced. But I saw you kiss him.

  Nikki was surprised. “Well, yeah I did. I always kiss him. Just like I do all my friends. But it was a friendly kiss, not an in-love kiss.”

  What’s the difference?

  Nikki didn’t know how to explain. She moved closer and reached up to kiss Max the same way she had kissed Ben.

  “Did that feel like an in-love kiss?”

  Max shrugged. How would I know?

  Nikki saw the look in his eyes. She understood it. Hell, she even shared it. The question was how long could she deny it? What factors did she have to take into account to justify her feelings? Did love have to be based on intellectual or even emotional maturity? Was it important that his life had been so different from hers or that the future held obstacles that might prove insurmountable for them? Did any of that really matter or was the only thing that was really important how she honestly felt?

  The questions pounded at her mind.

  Max put his hand on the side of her face. I’m sorry.

  His touch was her final straw. For the first time in her life she couldn’t let her head make decisions for her heart. She couldn’t run from it anymore. Forgetting about her state of undress, she reached up to pull his face down.

  Their lips met softly at first. Max’s arms went around her and her lips parted. Her tongue flicked at his lips. After a moment she felt them part.

  Hesitantly at first, then with growing boldness, Max gave in to the kiss. All of the suppressed longing and passion he’d held so tightly in check was released.

  Nikki’s hand moved over his shoulders and down his back, clutching and pulling him closer. He followed her lead, moving his hands down the smooth skin of her back until he felt the swell of firm flesh. He could go no farther, even as much as he wanted to.

  She pulled back from the kiss and looked into his eyes. She could at last admit the truth to herself. What she felt for Max was not curiosity, pity, compassion or friendship. It had nothing to do with who he was, or what his strengths and weaknesses were, any more than it had to do with hers. As wrong as it might be or as hopeless, she did love him.

  I’ve wished for that since before I met you, he signed to her.

  “Before?” she teased gently, pushing away the sudden reminder of all the times she’d dreamed of and fantasized about him.

  He nodded and traced one finger along the side of her face before signing again. You’re so beautiful and I—

  “What?” she prompted when he stopped and looked away with a pained expression.

  “Max?” She took his face in both her hands and gently forced him to look at her. “You don’t have to be afraid with me. Please.”

  He shook his head and looked down for a moment, summoning his courage. I dream of you, he said quickly, without looking up.

  She started, once more acutely reminded of her own dreams. He looked at her in surprise and she gave him an embarrassed smile. “I dream of you, Max. Even when I’m awake I dream of you.”

  I want you. So much I hurt. I want to kiss you and touch you and love you. But I want you to want me. Not the cripple or the poor rich man with the affliction, but for me—the man I am inside.

  “I do,” she breathed softly. “Oh god, Max, I do.”

  Then will you come with me?

  “Without question,” she replied and gave him her hand.

  He led her to the large sail boat moored at the end of the long pier. She followed him aboard and down below to the master cabin. Once inside, he closed the door, leaving them in darkness broken only by dim light from a porthole that sent a shaft of light across Nikki’s body.

  It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he saw Nikki standing there watching him, her shirt dangling from her hand, her body bare to the top of her lacy panties. It was enough to have his dick surging to immediate erection.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” she whispered.

  He nodded. No one ever comes here and even if they did they won’t check the boat.

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  Max smiled but remain
ed frozen in place. Now that they were alone with a big bed just feet away, he felt unsure.

  “Shall I show you my dreams, Max?” she asked softly.

  Please.

  She dropped the shirt then peeled down her wet thong and stepped out of it.

  His eyes traveled the length of her as she slowly approached, taking in her full breasts and hairless sex. She unfastened his pants and lowered them down over his hips and thighs. His cock sprang free immediately since he’d forgotten to bother with underwear.

  Her hands were warm on his skin as they moved up the outside of his thighs then circled in, stroking up his chest and slowly back down. When she wrapped both hands around his erection his knees nearly buckled.

  “In my dreams you’re dominant and sure,” she whispered, stroking him slowly. “You know that I belong to you and am yours to do with what you want.”

  His hands moved to her shoulders, gripping her tightly, and she smiled up at him. “I am yours, Max.”

  Those words were the key. A door within the labyrinth of his prison opened and the scared and unsure prisoner disappeared. In his place was the man he once was. A Ranger. Tough, strong and sure. Afraid of nothing. And hungry.

  Without thinking he pulled her to him for a kiss that was near brutal. His tongue plundered her mouth, one hand winding in her dark hair to pull her head back, forcing her to arch against him.

  She moaned, still gripping his dick with one hand while the other moved behind him, fingers digging into the flesh of his ass. His mouth moved to her neck, sucking and biting his way down to her breast.

  Nikki cried out but made no attempt to break free when his mouth closed on her nipple, tongue flicking the hardened nub. He took his time, enjoying the feel and taste of her, the small sounds she made in her throat and the way her fist around his dick was moving, making his balls tingle and contract.

  When her sounds began to ring with a tint of pain, he abandoned her breast and kissed and bit his way down her body. His shift in position forced her to release her hold on his dick, but that didn’t matter. If she continued to stroke him any longer he’d come and he wasn’t near ready for that.

  Max guided her to the bed, urging her back on it, her legs hanging off the edge from the knees down. He bent forward, running his tongue around her navel then down. When he reached the top of her pussy he paused to look at her. Her eyes were hooded and her face flushed. Her dark hair spread out on the light covering of the bed like black silk. Her lean, supple body was damp and hot, trembling.

  He took hold of her legs and pushed them up into a bent knee position then spread them wide, baring her to his gaze. Her shaved pussy called to him, the labia open and wet, those pink lips glistening in the dim light.

  Max lowered his head, using his fingers to spread her pussy open wider then running his tongue down the length of it, taking his time and circling below the opening of her vagina to move back up the other side.

  He took her clit in his mouth, rolling it with his tongue, and she cried out, quaking against him. That he had such an effect on her filled him with excitement. He wanted to drive her out of her mind with desire, show her pleasure so intense that she’d never want another man after him.

  Her whimpers and moans called to the Dominant in him and need exploded inside him. He had to make her his, brand her with his passion so that she knew beyond all doubt that she belonged to him.

  He felt a vibration run through her and realized that she was about to come, so he released her clit, moving lower to plunge his tongue into her vagina. She moaned and tilted her pelvis up, rocking her pussy against his mouth.

  She tasted sweet yet spicy, an intoxicating blend he could not get enough of. Her fingers wound into his hair, hanging on as her body started to tremble. He plunged his tongue in farther, searching for that special place that made her cry out and cling tighter to his hair.

  “Oh…oh…” she moaned and rocked against his mouth. “Max…ahhhh…” Her body arched up, at first rigid then trembling. Her arms moved up to grip the bedcovers behind her head as she writhed against him.

  At length her body relaxed. He climbed up on the bed, scooting her farther toward the middle. As he sat back on his heels, she stretched like a cat and smiled sexily at him. “My turn,” she said in a husky whisper as she crawled up onto hands and knees and knelt down to take his cock into her mouth.

  The sight of her, ass up, going down on him, was enough to threaten his control. He gritted his teeth, struggling to keep from coming. It felt too good. He pushed her away gently and she looked up at him.

  Don’t move, he signed to her and crawled behind her. She looked over her shoulder as he ran one hand over the swell of her ass and down to stroke her pussy.

  “Hmmmm,” she murmured when his fingers penetrated her. “That feels good.”

  She was right about that. Her pussy was hot and wet, and the sight of his fingers stroking in and out of that velvety heat was enough to make him break out in a sweat.

  When she brought her forearms together on the bed in front of her and laid the side of her face down on them, raising her ass higher, his breath hitched in his throat. “Hmmm, yes,” she crooned, rocking against his fingers. “More, harder.”

  He increased the tempo and depth of penetration, and after a minute her body started to tremble. A few seconds after that he felt a slush of warm slick fluid wash over his fingers. She moaned at almost the same time.

  “Get in me, Max. I want you. Now.”

  He didn’t need a second invitation. Gripping his dick, he rubbed the head against that silky wet opening. His balls tightened into knots at just the feel of her pussy against the head of his dick.

  Even though she was wet and ready, it took a bit of pressure to hilt himself inside her. She gasped, moaned and rocked back against him. “Oh god,” she moaned. “Max…Max…god, now!”

  She started rocking back against him, fast and hard. He grabbed her hips and matched her tempo, driving deep inside her. Something coiled inside him, getting tighter with each stroke.

  He held her tighter, the sounds coming from her driving that coil even tighter until suddenly it released. He felt her pussy clench around him a moment before reality exploded and he came, his dick throbbing inside her and his mind blank to everything except the sensation.

  When at last he was spent, he sat back on his heels, watching as a thin stream of cum worked its way from her pussy. She fell over on her side then rolled onto her back, reaching for him.

  “Come here.”

  He let her pull him down on top of her. Her lips sought his in a kiss so sweet and complete that it created a lump in his throat. When the kiss ended, she smoothed his hair back from his face, smiling up at him.

  “And that’s just one of my dreams,” she said softly.

  He rolled over, pulling her against his side as he signed with one hand, Will you show me more?

  “Any time you want.”

  Now?

  She raised her head to look down at his dick that was already swelling. With a grin she climbed on top of him, straddling him so that his cock was trapped between his belly and her wet pussy.

  “I think it’s your turn,” she said. “Tell me what you want.”

  He started to sign but stopped as he heard a sound. I think someone’s on the pier.

  She quickly dismounted and started gathering up her wet clothes. Max rolled off the bed and jerked on his pants.

  “The bed!” she whispered and started straightening the rumpled covers. “Oh shit!”

  What? he signed when she looked up at him.

  “It’s got cum all over it.”

  Max snatched the cover off and wadded it up under his arm, then put his finger to his lips for her to be quiet. She nodded and he took her hand to guide her across the room. They stood pressed against the bulkhead for several minutes then he slowly opened the hatch and they crept up the stairs.

  Once on deck, they looked around cautiously. Max pointed toward the mansion.
There was a dark figure moving toward the entrance of the servant’s quarters. “Who do you think it was?” she asked as he pulled her along, running down the pier.

  He shrugged and continued to jog for the house. When they reached the terrace, he stopped and released her. Steve sometimes patrols around at night, but he normally doesn’t go to the pier. But if he’s up then we have to be careful.

  “Okay. Can you make it to your suite without getting caught?”

  Piece of cake.

  She smiled and pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight. “I’ll be dreaming of you,” she whispered in his ear, then drew back and kissed him softly. “See you later.” With another quick kiss, she slipped inside.

  Max watched her hurry across the dark arboretum and disappear through the door at the opposite side of the room, then entered and closed the door behind him, making sure to rearm the alarm on the security pad just beside the door.

  This wasn’t the way he’d have wished for the evening to end, but all things considered, he was lucky. Tonight he’d discovered that he was fully functional when it came to sex, and that Nikki had been dreaming of him. It was more than he’d ever dared to dream.

  Chapter Eight

  His hand was on the doorknob, the polished metal cool against his clammy palm. All he had to do was twist. With a silent groan Max released the handle and scrubbed his hand down over his face. For a few moments he paced in place, turning one way, then another.

  What was he going to do? He’d been trying to answer that question for hours. All his conscious thoughts since returning to the mansion had been centered on only one thing. Making love with Nikki.

  Even now memories of it made his skin hot and his pulse race. His first real sex. It was like nothing he had imagined and more than he had dreamed. It had awakened sensations he’d never experienced. Not that he hadn’t experienced desire, or had sexual fantasies. Fantasies were all he’d had for years. But now he had a memory.

  And that memory possessed him, robbed him of the ability to reason, to see the logical course of action. It scared him. It was too powerful. He could neither reason his way free from it nor battle it. Now he was a prisoner to a new warden.