Falling for Max: Book Nine of The Kowalskis

by Shannon Stacey

  Especially at her desk. While the blue couch and the battered wooden coffee table, and maybe even the bed, were hand-me-downs or thrift store finds, she’d spared no expense on the massive L-shaped desk. Nor the computer equipment that covered half of it. He had no idea what it all did, since his technical ability was limited to making his laptop do invoicing, email, research and being Facebook friends with his family so he could see photos of his nephews. He noticed the only photograph on display in her apartment was a picture of her and Hailey stuck on the fridge with a magnet.

  He brewed them each a mug of hot cocoa. He wouldn’t drink very much of his because of the caffeine content, but she’d given him an opening to stay longer and he was taking it.

  When she came out of the bathroom, he didn’t choke off his laughter in time. She’d scrubbed her face clean of the soot, and her hair was brushed out. She’d lost the hat, robe and—judging by the bare feet and ankles—the wool underwear. That left her in the billowing white dress. Or nightgown. He wasn’t sure how that garment had started its life.

  “Ha, ha.” She rolled her eyes.

  “You’re like the heroine of an old gothic novel.”

  “If you go get your Hannibal Lecter mask, we could film an indie horror movie.” When he shifted, intending only to show her the mugs of hot cocoa, she held up her hand. “I was kidding.”

  “I made cocoa.”

  The mug lured her back into arm’s reach, but he didn’t touch her. He could smell the soap she’d used to wash her face, combined with a faint smoky smell that probably lingered in the dress from the fire.

  Tori picked up the mug and took several sips, but she didn’t carry it to the couch or step away with it. She put it back on the counter, though her hands remained curled around the warm ceramic.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” she asked, tilting her face up to look at him.

  “It was one of the most fun nights of my life.”

  “You need to get out more if hanging out in the cold, watching dressed-up ATVs is a highlight.”

  “I think it was the company.”

  The blush across her freshly scrubbed cheeks made his pulse quicken and he turned so he could put his hand on her waist. The blush darkened and he moved closer, so their bodies were almost touching.

  Bending his head, he brushed his cheek over hers, feeling her breath in hot bursts near his ear. “I want to kiss you.”

  “That’s such a bad idea.”

  She hadn’t pulled away, though. “Why?”

  “None of this—especially tonight—is part of the plan.”

  “There’s a plan?”

  “We’re supposed to be finding you a wife.”

  “Oh, that plan. I’ve lived this long without one. I can wait a little while longer.”

  She put her hand against his chest. “Define a little while.”

  “However long this takes.”

  “This?”

  “Every time I look at a woman’s mouth, I wonder what it would be like to kiss you. Every time I think about having a woman in my life, I wonder what it would be like to spend a night with you. I’m not going to make any forward progress until I stop looking at women and thinking about you.”

  She relaxed her arm a little, but the hand against his chest was still resistance and not a caress.

  “I’m tired of fighting this, Max. I want you and I’ve tried not to because it’s not fair to you, but I’m not going to say no tonight. But you need to know that I might let you sweep me off my feet tonight, but they’ll be firmly planted on the ground again tomorrow.”

  “I know where I stand.” He thought he actually knew better than she did, but if he pushed, she was going to push back. As in pushing him right out the door.

  Patience was something he was good at, and if she wasn’t ready to admit she had feelings for him, he’d wait. And he’d worry about tomorrow when tomorrow came.

  She relaxed her arm, her palm sliding over his chest, and he turned his head to capture her mouth. Her kiss tasted like hot chocolate, with a hint of minty toothpaste, and he ran his tongue over her bottom lip.

  Her fingers curled in his shirt and her other hand slid into his hair, holding him to her. He ran his hands up her back, hating the bulky dress that had amused him earlier.

  He savored the kiss, wanting more, as she unbuttoned his shirt. Her hand slid under the fabric, only to encounter the thermals.

  “You have too many layers on,” she muttered against his mouth.

  He’d been thinking the same thing. Unbuttoning the outer shirt and peeling it off didn’t take long, and then he yanked the thermal shirt free of his jeans and pulled it over his head.

  The feel of her palms gliding over his bare chest practically seared his skin.

  “That’s better,” she whispered, and then she took his hand and led him toward the bed.

  * * *

  Tori pushed thoughts of tomorrow out of her head as she crossed to her bed, Max’s hand in hers.

  The turning point had come hours before, when he’d touched her and she’d let him. When he’d put his arm around her and she hadn’t laughed and found a reason to step away and shrug him off. Definitely when he’d offered to drive her home and she’d accepted.

  She threw back the sheets, wishing she’d made her bed for once, and then turned to face him. “Still too many layers.”

  He put his hands on her waist, drawing her close. “Are you in a hurry?”

  She laughed. “A little bit, yeah. It’s been a while.”

  “I’m not a man who likes to rush things.” He hooked his finger in the neck of the dress. “This thing has a lot of tiny buttons.”

  “I’m lazy, so when I put it on, I only undid enough so I could pull it over my head.”

  He popped the top button open and then another. It was enough so he could dip his finger into the hollow of her throat. A third button and he could part the fabric enough to kiss the same spot.

  She threw her head back and he sucked gently, undoing two more buttons. Then he lifted her and set her on the bed, where he gently pushed her back onto the mattress.

  “I’m starting to really like this dress,” he murmured.

  “More than black leather?”

  She could tell by his sharp intake of breath it only took one more button for him to realize she wasn’t wearing anything under the dress anymore. “I don’t think black leather would be nearly as fun to take off.”

  Tori wasn’t going to argue with that sentiment. As he undid enough buttons to push back the fabric and bare her breasts, she raked her nails over his back.

  Then his mouth closed over her nipple and she arched her back off the bed. Burying her hands in his hair, she moaned as he sucked gently at first, and then harder. When he gave the same attention to the other breast, and he flicked his tongue over each nipple in turn, she squirmed.

  As each button revealed more skin, he stroked her and kissed her. Never hurried, he took his time exploring her body until she wanted to scream.

  Then he got to the buttons below her naval and she sucked in a breath as his mouth followed his trailing fingers from her stomach to...

  “Undo that button,” she pleaded.

  “You’re rushing me.”

  “You’re killing me.”

  His chuckle vibrated against her skin. “I thought my attention to detail was one of the things you liked about me.”

  “Bigger picture, Max. Let’s think big picture. Like the fact you still have your pants on.”

  He sighed and moved back up her body. Looking down at her, he smiled a wicked smile. “You made me lose my place. Now I have to start over.”

  She groaned, whacking his shoulder. “I know where you left off. I’ll show you.”

  Resisting easily when she tried to guide his hand to that button at the junction of her thighs, Max bent his head and kissed her throat. Then he ran his tongue over her collarbone before blowing lightly across the moistened flesh.

  By the time
he reached her naval again, Tori was almost burning with a hunger she thought would consume her. She was used to sex that was fast and hard and sweaty. This slow, excruciating exploration of her body was new and she reveled in it.

  The sweet ache was almost too much, though, and she whimpered when his fingers freed that pivotal button. Then another.

  “You’re like my favorite book. I linger turning the pages because I don’t want to reach the end, and I want to read passages over and over, savoring the words.”

  “Turn the damn page,” she said, her voice pleading.

  He made quick work of the rest of the buttons and the dress fell away. She pulled her arms free, and then fisted her hands in the sheets as his mouth closed over her mound. His tongue flicked over her clit and she groaned, opening her legs to him.

  The man wasn’t kidding about attention to detail. He teased and licked until she lifted her hips off the bed, needing more. “Please, Max.”

  He kissed his way down her thigh, almost to her knee, before he stood. “I have to get these off.”

  Tori sat up, intending to hasten the process of removing his pants, but he shook his head. “If you touch me right now, it’s over.”

  As tempting as it was to make Max lose control, she had bigger plans for him. She watched as he removed his jeans and the thermal bottoms, then his socks. The boxer briefs went next and Tori was happy to see Max was as eager as she was to move on to the next chapter of this book.

  He leaned over her, probably to push her backward onto the bed, but she put a hand on his chest. She didn’t want any more interruptions.

  “Do you have a condom?” She could tell by the way he tensed, he didn’t have one right at hand.

  “I left it in the glove box.”

  “Frozen condoms. Just what every girl wants.” She laughed and pushed at his shoulder. “I have one in my nightstand.”

  He sat up, but when he reached for the drawer, she slapped his hand. “I’ll get it, Max.”

  “Is that where you keep your secrets?”

  She pulled open the drawer enough to slip a condom packet out. “Never ask questions about a lady’s nightstand drawer.”

  Because she was stretched across his lap, her back was to him and he pressed a kiss to the base of her spine. Heat flooded through her and she slammed the drawer closed.

  “Here.” She handed the condom off to him and moved back into the middle of the bed.

  When he joined her there, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him. Biting at his bottom lip, she wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him forward.

  He filled her as slowly and deliberately as he’d unbuttoned her dress and she dug her fingernails into his back.

  “You’re not a very patient woman,” he said, his voice husky as he moved his hips slowly. Very slowly, giving her just a little bit more each time.

  She tried lifting her hips, but he only chuckled and pulled back. “Please. Please, Max.”

  He thrust forward, filling her, and they moaned in unison. She ran her hands down his back to his hips, urging him to move faster. This time he listened. Her breath quickened and she met each thrust with one of her own as he drove deeper and harder.

  He groaned what sounded like her name and hooked his hands under her knees. Yanking her body upwards and toward him, he drove into her and she closed her hands over his forearms.

  “Yes,” she said, over and over, as the orgasm wracked her body.

  His body shook as he pumped into her, until all that was left were the aftershocks. He collapsed on top of her and she wrapped her arms around him, panting in quick breaths that made the hair over his ear twitch.

  After a moment, he reached between them to hold the condom as he slid free of her body, and she ran her hands over his back. She was perfectly content to lie under the weight of him.

  Several minutes later, she realized that while she was slowly melting into a puddle of sated, boneless exhaustion, Max’s body was tensing a little.

  She chuckled against his shoulder. The man overthought everything. “There’s a box of tissues on the nightstand and a wastebasket under it.”

  The bed creaked as he disposed of the condom, and then his warm body pressed against hers again. It took some effort, but he untwisted the sheets until he’d freed enough to cover them and pulled the quilt up to their shoulders.

  She snuggled against him, loving the feel of his tall body cradling hers and the weight of his arm over her. When he kissed her hair, she smiled and closed her eyes.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Max woke before Tori, the sun peeking through her curtains hitting his side of the bed first. He breathed in deeply, contentment coursing through his body, and then rolled onto his side. Very gently, hoping not to wake her, he shifted closer and put his arm over her.

  She stirred slightly, but then nestled against him and quieted again. Max smiled and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t fall asleep again, but he wanted to savor this moment for as long as it lasted.

  Which he already knew would be until she woke up. She’d made that pretty clear last night. And he’d made the decision to accept what she was willing to give him...for now.

  He gently untangled himself from the sheets and slid out of bed. If she needed space to come to terms with what was happening between them, waking up in his arms might freak her out. This way, she could set the tone of the morning and he would follow suit. It was a plan that usually worked for him out in the world.

  After using her bathroom and pulling on his clothes from the night before—minus the thermals, which he dropped on the floor by her front door—he hit the power button on her brewer. The smell of coffee would probably wake her up, plus he really needed the caffeine boost.

  He was putting milk and sugar in his coffee when he heard the bathroom door close. While stirring it, he wondered what he should do with it. He could put both mugs on the coffee table, implying they’d sit together on the couch. If he had to guess, he’d say her habit was to sit at her desk and fire up her computer while drinking her morning coffee, but he wasn’t sure. Finally, he left hers on the counter and took his to the window, where he looked out over Whitford.

  When the door opened, he turned. She’d put on a pair of sweatpants and a long sweatshirt, and brushed her hair into a ponytail. It definitely wasn’t a hey, let’s have morning sex look.

  “I made you a coffee,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  He waited to see if she’d detour to the window and give him a good-morning kiss. Maybe he should have stayed near the counter, where he’d be right there in reach. It might have been his imagination, but he thought she hesitated for a second before heading straight to the mug.

  “I wonder how many people ended up crashing at the lodge last night,” she said after she’d had a few sips of her coffee. She didn’t move to the couch or her desk. Instead she leaned against the counter, cradling her cup in her hands.

  “More than a few, I’d say. Between beer and staying too late, there were probably some who opted to stay.”

  “It was fun. Everybody had a good time and I’m sure they raised a lot of money for the ATV club.”

  He nodded, dread forming a hard, heavy lump in his stomach. Tori didn’t sound like herself. She sounded...polite. Not that she was ever rude, but she sounded like she was talking to a stranger.

  Sipping his coffee, he tried desperately to think of a way to make things better—to make her look at him the way she had last night—but she seemed so far away. Not just physically, but emotionally.

  “Is there a football game on today?” she asked after a few minutes of heavy silence.

  “Yeah. Big game. It’s the four o’clock game, too, which is good. Leaves more time open during the day.” He wondered if she had plans for today, but couldn’t bring himself to ask without it sounding as if he was presuming they’d spend the day together.

  “I have so much work to catch up on it’s not even funny,” she said,
which answered the question he hadn’t had the nerve to ask. “Nobody ever brings me Swedish meatballs, though.”

  He laughed, then drank the remainder of the coffee in his cup. “I don’t have Swedish meatballs, but I’d be happy to buy you breakfast. Unless you’d rather get right to work.”

  Her gaze fixed on his face for the first time, as if she was trying to figure him out. “I guess I should get right to work.”

  It was a mistake, he realized too late, to give her the easy out. He should have stopped talking after offering to buy her breakfast. “I’ll get out of your way, then.”

  He had to go by her to set his mug in the sink, then he paused. “So how does this work? Do I get to kiss you goodbye or not?”

  Her smile didn’t have its usual brilliance, and she didn’t set her coffee down. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. It wasn’t enough and it left him even more unsettled than before.

  “Enjoy the game,” she said.

  “Thanks. I’ll...see you soon.”

  He picked up his thermals on his way out the door, wishing he knew what he could have done differently. Or maybe this was how it was done. He’d never been in a situation like this before.

  Once he was on the sidewalk, he realized he should have told her how much he’d enjoyed spending the night with her. Or something. Anything more personal than “I made you a coffee.” But it was too late now. The door had closed behind him and he wasn’t going to text her and ask her to let him back in.

  Turning the corner toward where his car was parked, he cursed himself for a fool. He should have stayed in her bed and held on to her until she made him let her go.

  * * *

  Four scoops of ice cream—two chocolate, one coffee, one French vanilla—three pumps of chocolate syrup, a mountain of whipped cream, a ridiculous amount of jimmies, six cherries and one spoon.

  Tori picked up the spoon and prepared to do battle with her emotions. They may have snuck up on her—all strong and messy and inevitably painful—but she was going to vanquish them or make herself sick as a dog trying.

  “My cousins’ kids would call that an ice cream sundae of doom.”