Not as bad as she thought, but she definitely looked well fucked.
It took a few minutes for her to get her hair under control, and it was a damn good thing she’d opted to keep her hair down or she’d be well and truly screwed.
When she stepped out of the bathroom a minute later, she came face-to-face with Max.
“We can’t go out there looking like we’re in love,” Courtney told him point-blank.
His lips curved into a seductive grin, and a tremor of heat shot through her.
“How do you propose we handle it, then?”
Courtney stood on her toes, meeting his mouth with hers. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “You go back to your sister, and I’ll go back to doing what I did before you arrived.”
“Which was?”
She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d been throwing herself a pity party, complete with endless alcohol. “I’ll mingle with my family.”
“When will I see you again?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she told him, looking away.
“Not a good answer,” he retorted, his fingers clipping her chin and turning her head so she was forced to look at him again.
“It’s the only one I’ve got,” she snapped.
“If I don’t hear from you tonight, you’ll find me at your front gate,” he said roughly.
“That can’t happen and you know it. No matter what, we can’t let people know about … whatever this is.”
“Then you’ll make every effort to see me. That or I’ll go public.”
Courtney grinned. “You wouldn’t.” There was no way Max Adorite would call attention to a relationship that involved someone within the ranks of Sniper 1 Security. He had a reputation to uphold, a business to run, mobsters to protect.
“Don’t test me and we’ll never know. But push me on this, Courtney, and I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of.”
A shiver ran through her, something dark and ominous and oddly sensual filling that cold spot that had been consuming her for the past year.
Max turned her toward the door. “I’ll give you ten minutes, then I’m comin’ out. Ashlynn and I will be leavin’ when I do.”
The euphoric feeling she’d had moments ago was replaced with disappointment when she thought of Max leaving, but she knew it had to happen. Nodding, she turned her back on him and reached for the doorknob.
Before she could get out of the room, she was up against the door, her breasts crushed against the hard wood. She adjusted her head so that her cheek rested against the cool surface. Max’s breath was hot against her ear.
“The next time I see you, I plan to have you on your knees while I bury my cock in your sweet fucking mouth. And then, I’m gonna fuck you in every position imaginable. And when we’re through, we’ll start all over again. In my bed.”
Damn, the man had the ability to turn her from cold to hot in a millisecond. That was something else she had missed about him: his dirty mouth. He could practically make her come simply by telling her all that he wanted to do to her, or her to him.
“So keep that in mind, Courtney. Think about that while you’re out there, talking to other men. They’ll never give you what I can give you.”
Courtney already knew that. No man compared to Max, and no man ever would.
Max’s big palm cupped her cheek, turning her head back so that her mouth met his, his erection pressing against her ass. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, wishing he wasn’t holding her against the door. She suddenly had the urge to climb his body.
“I’ll be waitin’ for your call.”
He was the one to pull away first, his lips pressing against her cheek before he took a step back and released her.
“Oh, and Courtney…?”
She waited for him to continue.
“I love you.”
Courtney met his heated gaze once more, nodded, and then stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she glanced down the hallway, wondering whether or not anyone was looking for her, praying they weren’t. Because no matter how put together she appeared now, she was still a jumbled mess on the inside.
And she wasn’t sure that was going to change anytime in the near future.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The difference an hour can make.
Max waited the ten minutes he’d promised and then left the room. He returned to the gathering, mingled with the guests, attempting to locate Leyton and Ashlynn but finding neither where he’d left them.
Grabbing his phone, he slipped down an empty corridor and dialed Leyton’s number.
He stopped moving at the sound of a phone ringing. He peered down the hall, but no one was there. With the phone still pressed to his ear, he ventured farther until he came to an intersecting hallway, and that was when he saw them.
Pulling his phone away from his ear, he stared in disbelief.
“What. The. Fuck?” Max glared at his sister and Leyton as the two of them jerked away from one another.
Leyton had been practically fucking Max’s sister in the goddamn hall, up against the wall.
When Ashlynn started to speak, he scowled at her. “Don’t. I don’t want to fuckin’ hear it. You better be out there in five fuckin’ minutes or things are gonna get real nasty. And you,” he said to Leyton directly, “I’m gonna cut off your goddamn dick.”
Turning, he headed back to the others, straightening his suit and trying his best to erase the mental image of Leyton and Ashlynn. What the fuck were they thinking? His closest friend, the man he trusted with his life, was fucking his sister?
Goddammit.
That shit was over. He didn’t give a good goddamn what either of them wanted; there was no fucking way he would tolerate that shit. That was a recipe for disaster, and they had to know that. They were both too important to the organization, and if word got out that the two of them were hooking up, shit would hit the fan. Not to mention, Samuel would likely castrate Leyton and feed him his own fucking balls.
But not if Max did it first.
While he fought the urge to check the time, Max took a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and scanned the crowd. He was looking from one person to another, making mental notes of who was who, but that came to an abrupt halt when he saw…
“Are you ready?” Ashlynn questioned, her tone clipped.
“Is that…?” he began, grabbing Ashlynn’s arm before she could storm off.
“What?” Ashlynn replied.
“Is that Dani?” he asked.
He received a mumbled response from Ashlynn before she encouraged him to leave.
Max watched while his cousin Dani made her way across the room toward one of Courtney’s brothers. She looked determined, and he wanted to know why the hell she was there. Last he’d heard, she’d been shipped out of the country for school by her father, Max’s uncle Nick. No one had been given a reason as to why she’d disappeared so quickly and without reason, other than she was handling some personal issues while also completing her degree. That news had never sat well with Max, and as he watched Dani approach Hunter, he got the unsettling feeling that there was a hell of a lot more to that story.
“Come on,” Ashlynn commanded. “We need to go.”
Max heard Leyton’s footsteps behind him, and when he managed to drag his attention away from his cousin, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Leyton or Ashlynn, the memory of what they’d been doing replacing his curiosity over seeing Dani at the Kogan wedding.
“Call the car around,” Max demanded, taking Ashlynn’s arm and pulling her toward the front door.
She didn’t argue, didn’t make a scene, but the death rays coming from her eyes practically burned a hole into the side of his face.
Once the limo arrived and Leyton opened the door, he pushed Ashlynn inside and joined her.
“What the fuck was that for?” she snarled when the door closed and they were safely inside.
Max ignored h
er.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Max,” Ashlynn hissed. “You might be in charge of the business, but you damn sure aren’t in charge of my life. You better get familiar with that concept right fuckin’ now.”
Max took a deep breath. He was going to fucking kill Leyton. He was going to string him up by his balls and watch him dangle from the ceiling. He wanted to hear the bastard begging for mercy. What the hell was he thinking?
If Samuel found out that Leyton was… Hell no.
“It’s over before it starts, little sister,” Max barked, meeting Ashlynn’s angry stare. “When Samuel finds out about this—”
Ashlynn interrupted, leaning in. “He’s not gonna find out about it. If he does, then he’ll learn that you’re still fuckin’ that girl. That you’re forsaking the entire business for pussy.”
Max growled. It wasn’t like that with Courtney, and Ashlynn knew it.
Rather than argue with her, he turned his attention out the window.
No matter what Ashlynn thought, this shit with Leyton was over. There was no way that Max was going to allow them to be together. It was too fucking dangerous.
After they dropped Ashlynn at her house and got her safely inside, Max ordered Leyton into the back of the car with him. He sensed the other man’s hesitance, but he didn’t detect an ounce of fear.
That was one thing he’d always respected about Leyton. The reason he entrusted the man with his personal safety and his family’s safety.
“What the hell were you thinkin’?” he demanded when the car was in motion once again. “No, don’t fucking answer that.” Max met Leyton’s gaze head on. “You will only receive one warnin’. You stay the fuck away from my sister. Do you understand me? If I catch you with her again, I’ll saw your fucking nuts off with a rusty butter knife. And then I’ll fucking feed them to you. Don’t touch her again.”
Leyton didn’t say a word, but Max felt his anger. It was clear that Leyton wanted to argue, probably wanted to stab Max with the knife he kept sheathed on his side. But he wouldn’t. If he cared about living to see another day, he would shut the hell up and do exactly what he was told.
They rode in silence until the limo pulled up to the estate, coming to a stop in front of the house. Max climbed out, still reeling from what he’d seen, still furious that Leyton would think that fucking Max’s sister was even allowed.
And that was the reason Max never heard the gunshots, never saw the shooter standing less than ten feet away from him until it was too late.
Chapter Thirty-Four
That’s it. I’m done.
Thirteen months, three weeks, and two days ago
“Where are you going?” Max asked as he followed Courtney down the stairs and into the foyer of his house.
“I’m done,” she told him.
“Done what?” he questioned, trying to remain calm as she traipsed through his house, snatching her purse and her car keys from the table near the door.
“Done with you!” she yelled. “It’s over, Max. I can’t deal with this shit anymore.”
Max stared at her, trying to process her words.
For the first time in three weeks, she’d spent the night in his bed, and when he’d woken up, she had been lying beside him, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. When he’d whispered good morning, she’d lost her shit.
The woman had gone absolutely fucking crazy, and he had no fucking idea why.
When she headed for the door, he grabbed her arm, halting her instantly. She spun around so fast he didn’t have time to block the hand that came barreling toward his face. The loud crack of her palm against his cheek echoed in the tiled entryway, but he didn’t let her go.
“I’m not doin’ this with you anymore, Max. I’m tired of bein’ your fuck toy whenever you need a release. You call me over here, expect me to drop everything I’m doin’ and come runnin’ when you need me. Well, you can find someone else to entertain you because I’m finished.”
What the fuck? Had she fucking hit her head or something?
Max swallowed hard, holding on to the anger that surged inside him. Courtney almost sounded convincing, but he knew her better than she thought he did. He knew what she was up to, knew the game she was playing, and he was ready to pull his hair out because of it. Especially since everything she said was bullshit. He damn sure didn’t treat her like a fuck toy. Never had. She was coming up with excuses, that was what she was doing.
If she wanted him to believe her, she probably should’ve waited until she had a reason to be angry at him. As it was, they’d fucked until they were exhausted, and she’d curled up in his arms and fallen asleep. Surely he wasn’t supposed to believe she was pissed about that.
For the last few weeks, she’d been threatening the same thing. Telling him how much she hated him, how much she despised him. But she still ended up in his bed, still begging him to fuck her, still looking at him in that way that told him she was a liar.
Oh, he didn’t doubt for a second that she hated him. He understood that.
She was pissed because she’d found out the perfect world she’d thought was on the other side of her door wasn’t quite so perfect. Those rose-colored glasses she’d shielded herself with all these years had cracked, and what bled through wasn’t pretty. Life wasn’t what she’d thought it was, and she’d seen the other side.
Not only that, but she hadn’t run away. Nope. She’d stayed because she wanted to and simply tried to convince herself that it was his fault.
And here she was, making threats again, and he was tired of dealing with the shit. He had too much on his mind, too many problems to deal with; he had no time to put up with her childish behavior.
So, he made a decision right then and there.
Releasing her arm, he took a step back. “Go.”
Her eyes widened, her mouth opened but closed quickly. “I’m never comin’ back, Max.”
“Good,” he told her. His stomach cramped at the thought of her leaving him for good, but he needed her to come to terms with what she really wanted.
“Good?” she railed.
Max took a step closer to her. “You came to me, Courtney. Remember? You came to me a year ago, seeking me out. I was your mission; I was your job. You climbed into my bed; you allowed me to slide into your body. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you. That’s on you. If you want to run away, if you want to pretend that you hate me when, in fact, you actually don’t hate me, you hate yourself for not hating me, then fine. Go.”
When she didn’t say anything, he continued.
“You’ve seen what I’m capable of, Courtney. You know what I do, even if you want to pretend you don’t. All this time, you’ve tried to convince yourself that you don’t have enough dirt to take me down, but that’s not true, is it? I’ve got cameras in every inch of this place. I see everything that goes on. I know every move you’ve made.
“All the information you’ve found, I’ve wanted you to find. Never once were you the one in control, Courtney. That doesn’t happen in my world. Never underestimate me. You don’t get to have control; you don’t get to pull one over on me. I’ve known from the second you stepped through that fucking door what you wanted from me. Did you get it? Did you find what you needed to take me down?”
She swallowed but didn’t speak, her eyes never leaving his.
“You wanted to be here. You came back time and time again because you wanted to be here. I didn’t beg; I didn’t plead. You came on your own because you want me. You need me.”
“I hate you,” she whispered.
“I’m sure you do. But that’s fine because I hate you just as much. I hate that I want you so goddamn bad; I hate that I can’t sleep when you’re not here. I hate that you have more control over me than you even know you have and I’m powerless to do anything about it.”
“Liar,” she snapped.
Max grabbed her arms and jerked her to him. “I’m a lot of things, baby, but I’m not a liar.”
Courtney’s sharp inhale caused him to release her. Max wasn’t going to try to convince her to stay. It wasn’t working. She wanted to go, so she should go. And if she took what little knowledge she had and tried to take him down, he’d deal with the consequences. Nothing he hadn’t dealt with before.
But if she didn’t… If she kept that information to herself, Max would know. He would know exactly how she felt about him, and that gave him a little bit of hope.
“Now go!” he yelled. “Get the fuck out of my house. Take your games and your bullshit and do whatever it is that you do. I’m tired, Courtney. So fucking tired.”
Her eyes turned glassy, and he knew she was fighting her emotions. She had wanted him to stop her, but he’d been doing that for the past year. He’d been trying to make her love him, and until she could admit to herself that she did, there wasn’t anything more he could do or say to change that.
“I’ve got shit to do,” he told her and turned away, his gut screaming in agony as he forced himself to leave her standing there. “You can see yourself out because I’m done.”
Max slipped into his office, shutting the door quietly behind him as he leaned against it, listening. Several minutes passed, but then the front door opened and closed, and he knew she was gone. Likely out of his life forever.
A knock sounded on the door, and he moved away, calling out that it was open.
“Sir? Everything okay?” Leyton asked when he stepped into the room.
“Fine,” he grumbled, turning to face him. “I want eyes on her at all times. I want to know every move she makes. I want photos. I want to know every fucking place she goes, who she talks to, what they fucking say.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Leyton,” Max continued, “I don’t want to hear one goddamn word about her. Understood?”
Leyton nodded, then slipped out of the room, leaving Max staring at the door. For the first time in his life, his heart actually hurt. He’d done the unthinkable. He’d fallen in love with the enemy, and now he had to pay for that.
He had to pay by watching her walk away, knowing there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do to change it.
Beautifully Brutal (Southern Boy Mafia #1) Page 23
