by A. K. Evans
With a renewed sense of determination, I rammed the shovel into the huge pile in front of me and continued my task. It couldn’t have been more than another twenty minutes later when I finally heard and saw Max’s truck barreling up his driveway. I smiled and waved at him before getting back to the task at hand.
Part of me was proud of myself for getting as much of the walkway cleared as I did, but the other part of me was disappointed that I’d only gotten just under half of it cleared. I had really been hoping I would have been able to surprise Max.
I was mid-scoop when Max growled, “What the hell are you doing?”
I froze on the spot and felt my body get tight. Evidently, Max was angry.
Why was he angry?
Slowly, I turned around and looked up at him. “Excuse me?” I asked.
“Why are you out here shoveling snow?” he wondered.
If anyone else had asked that question, it might seem inquisitive. But when Max asked it with the look on his face and his voice as low and angry as it was, that question was a far cry from curious.
“I was…you,” I stammered. “I wanted to help.”
“Help?” he repeated.
I gave him a nod.
“Ella, I have a snow blower in my garage that’ll do this walkway in no time at all. Fifteen, twenty minutes tops,” he shared.
My eyes widened. I was certain I’d been out for more than two hours.
Max persisted, “Based on that look on your face and the color of both your nose and cheeks, I’m guessing I wouldn’t be wrong to assume you’ve been out here significantly longer than that.”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t exactly know how to use the snow blower,” I explained, shifting back and forth on my feet. “So, I just thought it would be better to use the shovel.”
Max shook his head as he corrected me, “No, darling. It would have been better for you to stay inside where it’s warm and left this for me to take care of when I finished the driveways.”
“But I saw you,” I tried reasoning.
“You saw me?” he asked.
Nodding, I clarified, “I was upstairs in your bedroom looking out the window. I saw you plowing my driveway, and that made me feel all warm inside. Knowing that you were out here, working hard all day, and yet you still wanted to do that for me. I just wanted to do something to show you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me over the last few days.”
Something changed in Max’s expression. He took the shovel out of my hand, placed his opposite hand in mine, and started walking back toward the open garage door. Once inside, he threw the shovel off to the side. As it clattered to the ground, Max led me back into the house.
I was so caught off guard, I wasn’t sure how to respond.
So I didn’t.
Max took his gloves off first. Next went his hat, jacket, and finally, his boots.
I didn’t move. I just stood there watching him, mostly in shock at this completely new side to him. I hadn’t seen him act so peculiar before now.
Having removed his stuff, he came over and stood in front of me. He yanked off my hat, unwrapped my scarf, pulled off my gloves, and removed my jacket.
“Kick off the boots,” he ordered.
“Max—” I got out before I took in the change in his face. It was evident that Max was not interested in having a chat.
Unsure about his mood, I decided it was best to kick off my boots and save the questions for later. So, that’s what I did.
Without a word, Max slipped his fingers through mine and escorted me through the house and upstairs to his bedroom. He moved through it to the master bathroom where he turned on the shower. It was only then when he gave me another order.
“Time to warm up, Ella,” he started. “Strip, darling.”
I blinked in surprise, about to say something, though I wasn’t sure what, when Max began stripping. Seeing that, I knew it would have been useless for me to put up a fight because, truthfully, I was excited about the prospect of warming up in the shower with him.
So, I did the only thing I could do.
I stripped.
Max smirked and urged me into the shower ahead of him. The minute we stepped under one of the sprays in the dual spray shower, Max turned me in his arms, cupped my breast, and kissed me.
He was already hard between us. With his tongue in my mouth and his thumb gliding over my nipple, I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped my fingers around his length and stroked. Max groaned into my mouth.
Hearing that sent a shot of desire right between my legs. As if sensing it, Max slid his hand down my abdomen until it landed right between my legs. He rubbed me there gently before slipping a finger inside. Max alternated between plunging his fingers inside me and tenderly rubbing me. The change in pressure was indescribable.
For a while, I managed to continue stroking him and kissing him, but it eventually became too much. He’d done such a stellar job working me up, I was on the brink of an orgasm. My mouth disconnected from his as I moaned. I lost purchase on his cock the closer I got.
Max worked me harder and my breathing grew shallow.
“That’s it, Ella,” he encouraged me gently. “Let me take care of you.”
“Oh, Max,” I groaned as my orgasm took over, sending pleasure through my body. My legs gave out, but Max’s arm was planted firmly around my back and stopped me from falling to the floor.
When I’d come down from the high, Max curled my body into his. I took a minute to stand there under the spray with my body pressed against Max’s doing nothing but allowing the feelings I had run through me.
Without any forethought, I began touching my mouth to the skin of Max’s chest. My hands began roaming over his body, ultimately finding his cock again. I squeezed and stroked as I continued to kiss him. When I finally tipped my head back and gazed up at him, the look in his eyes was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
Intense was the only way to describe it.
I worked his length harder as one of Max’s hands came around to squeeze my ass. He dropped his mouth to mine and kissed me. And not long after, I swallowed the groan he let out when he finally came in my hand.
After a bit more touching and kissing, Max and I finished up in the shower. We did this all without saying anything to one another. Even with the silence, I didn’t feel any worry or concern over the situation between us even though Max had been so angry when he found me shoveling the walkway. Despite my belief that everything between Max and me was okay, I still hoped we’d have an opportunity to talk about what happened outside because I didn’t quite understand what caused his mood swing.
Once I’d dried myself off and wrapped a towel around my body, I started walking toward the bedroom door.
“Ella?” Max called.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“Where are you going?” Max asked.
Turning back to look at him, I replied, “My clothes are in the guest room.”
With a nod of understanding, he stressed, “I’d like to talk to you a minute. Can you come back after you get your clothes?”
“Sure,” I said softly.
I hurried down the hall to the guest bedroom and quickly threw on some clothes. Before I went back to Max’s room, I took a few deep, settling breaths. I wasn’t sure they helped to calm me in the least. By the time I made it back to his room, I found Max lying down in bed wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweats. He held his hand out, urging me to join him.
I placed my small hand in his large one, and he effortlessly tugged me into the bed. I was on my back beside Max, while he was on his side with his head propped up in his hand.
“I think I made it clear that we live in a tight-knit community here,” he began. “I told you I help out my neighbors. It’s just the way I am.”
Was he saying he plowed my driveway because he was just being a good neighbor?
“Okay?” I responded because I wasn’t sure I understood what he was trying to tell me.
&n
bsp; “But me plowing your driveway today had nothing to do with me helping out a neighbor,” he clarified. “I was doing that because you’re my woman now, and it snowed. Your driveway was covered, and it needed to be plowed. As your man, that’s my job.”
He was my man.
Max King was my man.
I tried not to act like a goof given how giddy hearing him say that made me feel, so I remarked, “I can understand that. But I also really appreciated what you were doing for me. I just wanted to do something nice for you in return to show my gratitude.”
“Ella, darling, please listen to me,” he pleaded. “You don’t need to show your thanks for everything I do for you. I suspect if things continue between us like they are, I’m going to find myself in a position where I’ll want to do a lot of things for you. It’s just the way it’s going to be. And that’s okay. I don’t want you going out of your way to do something for me because you’re trying to balance the scales. They don’t always have to be balanced.”
My brows pulled together. While part of what he said was wonderful, I wasn’t sure I liked what all of it seemed to indicate. “This doesn’t seem fair. Are you saying that I’m not allowed to do something nice for you?”
“Not at all,” he assured me. “What I am saying is that you don’t need to do something for me because you feel like you owe it to me. I have no doubts that there will eventually come a time when you will have something you’ll want to do for me simply because you just want to do it. And if you’re doing it for the same reason I went over and plowed your driveway today, you aren’t going to want me to do something else to show you my appreciation because I’m trying to make us even. Because if I do that, it makes what you’ve done not nearly as special as it could be or should be. I wouldn’t want to take that away from you, and I’d like it if you wouldn’t try to take it from me. You’ll get your turn to tip the scales in your favor, Ella. Trust me.”
“Okay, so can I ask a question?” I wondered.
Max dipped his chin.
“You said that if things continued between us like they are now…” I trailed off. “I’m curious how things are between us.”
Max seemed genuinely surprised when he asked, “You don’t know?”
I bit my lip before I assured him, “I mean, I know how I feel, but we haven’t exactly communicated those feelings to one another.”
Now, he went from looking surprised to looking confused. “You don’t think we’ve communicated how we feel about each other?”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t mean like that.”
“I know you didn’t,” he insisted. “But doesn’t that tell you something? Darling, we’ve got great chemistry. I can’t remember a time in my life where I laughed as long and as hard with anyone else the way that I did with you yesterday. Beyond that, you’re a little spitfire. You have these moments where you’re incredibly soft and sweet that I find endearing. But you also have no problem going toe-to-toe with me and teasing, which only makes me want to take your clothes off and get you in bed. And even though I’ve trudged through the snow six times for your ass already and even had to carry you a couple of those times, everything with you has been effortless. It’s just easy. I really like the idea of easy.”
He paused a moment, barely giving me a chance to let all of that sink in. Then, he continued, “From what I can tell so far, you aren’t high maintenance and you won’t be the kind of woman who will bust my balls over stupid little things. So, it’s all of that, plus you’ve got an amazing body, an unbelievably gorgeous face, and you’ve been wanting me for the last three months. I’m not sure how I couldn’t like what I’ve got lying in my bed right now.”
He just said that.
And every single word he said about me could have been said about him. So, I did the only thing I could and responded, “I feel exactly the same way about you.” My throat got tight, but I pushed past it and added, “Except, I didn’t trek through the snow for you, and you didn’t stare out your window wanting me for the last three months either.”
Max grinned when he replied in a low, serious tone, “Oh yes I did. I’ve been wanting you for a long time. I just didn’t know you were living right next door to me.”
He had to stop.
“Stop,” I ordered. “I’m going to cry, Max. You can’t say things like that.”
Max pressed a sweet kiss to my cheek and acquiesced, “Alright, I’ll stop.”
“Thank you. Now, can I feed you dinner and dessert?” I wondered.
“Dessert?”
Smiling, I nodded and shot back, “You didn’t think I was going to let my man go outside and work all day without making sure he was going to have something sweet waiting for him after I filled his belly with a hearty meal, did you?”
Max gave me a squeeze in response.
Then, we peeled ourselves out of the bed and went downstairs for dinner and dessert.
Eleanor
I rolled to the side and whimpered in pain. Each muscle fiber in my back and arms felt like it had been through a food processor.
No sooner did I get to my side when I felt Max’s body curl up behind mine. He put a hand on my arm, kissed the skin of my shoulder, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Just the thought of moving my body caused me to feel pain. I answered, “Ugh, my body hurts so bad. Why do my back and arms feel so awful?”
Max gently squeezed my arm.
I groaned.
“This is what happens when you go out and try to shovel a walkway of that size with the amount of snow that was on it,” Max explained.
“Well, if it upset you yesterday that I went out to do that, this is just a heads up that you won’t ever have to worry about me doing that again,” I mumbled. “I’ve never felt this bad in my life.”
Max gave me another kiss, this one on the neck just below my ear, before he encouraged gently, “Roll to your belly, darling.”
It took superhuman effort, but I managed to make it to my belly. I heard Max exit the bed, and I would have asked him where he was going, but I just didn’t have the strength. Luckily, he wasn’t gone long and returned not even a minute later.
The next thing I knew, Max was settling himself on my bottom. Within seconds, I heard him rubbing his hands against one another before they touched the skin on my sore back. As he worked his fingers into my muscles, I realized he’d gone into the bathroom and gotten one of my bottles of lotion. His hands were gliding effortlessly over my nearly naked body.
I was so sore that I couldn’t quite figure out if I was feeling pleasure or pain from Max’s massage. He was doing whatever he could to keep me comfortable. Each time he moved to a new spot, he started with gentle pressure before gradually increasing it.
“Max, I’m convinced I’m going to be utterly useless today,” I warned him. “I wasn’t joking when I said I’ve never been this sore before. And not that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do right now, but I’m not convinced it’s actually helping me.”
“It’s helping,” he assured me. “You’ve got to be patient. I’m not a miracle worker.”
“You mean, you don’t offer instant gratification as part of your services?” I teased.
Max’s hands moved from the spot between my shoulder blades up and out to my shoulders. Then, I felt his chest against my back and his mouth at my ear. With his fingers still massaging my sore muscles, he whispered, “If you behave and stop giving me grief, Ella, I’ll finish your arms, and then I’ll show you how instantly I can make you feel good.”
At his promise, I felt a rush of excitement between my legs. I also felt Max press his hips into my backside. He was hard, clearly ready to do just as he said. I decided it was wise to behave and stop giving him grief.
A few minutes later, Max finished my arms, pulled my panties down my legs, and slid himself through the wetness that had gathered. Then, he was inside me giving me instant gratification.
Roughly twenty minutes after Max had his way wit
h me—when we were still tangled up in each other in his bed—my cell phone rang. I let out a groan of protest but rolled out of the warm and comforting embrace of Max’s arms toward the nightstand. It was a local number, but not one I recognized.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, can I speak with Eleanor Page?” a woman asked.
“This is she,” I responded.
“Hi, Eleanor. I’m Marie with Gordon’s Fueling Service. We apologize for the delay in returning your voice message, but today’s the first day we’ve been able to get back into the office since the storm hit. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we’re able to get out to your place later this afternoon to refill your tank. And due to the circumstances, if the tank needs to be purged because it got too low, we’ll waive the fee for that. Are you going to be available this afternoon?”
“Yes, I will be,” I confirmed. “What time should I expect you?”
“I don’t have a definitive time, but it’ll be sometime between one and four,” she said. “Will that work for you?”
“Sure. Thank you. Would the driver be able to call me when he’s on his way? I’m staying at my neighbor’s house since my tank ran out shortly after the storm started, and it was just too cold to stay there without any heat.”
“Yes, I’ll make a note for your driver to call you when he’s on his way to your place,” she confirmed. “We’ll see you this afternoon then.”
“Thanks, Marie.”
I disconnected the call and something instantly hit me.
Dropping to my back, I looked at Max and asked, “How is your generator still running?”
“What?” he answered with a question.
“The power has been out for days now,” I started. “I thought a tank would have needed to be refilled at this point. Why hasn’t yours run out yet?”
Max brought a hand up to gently trace the skin along my collarbone. I loved the delicate, sweet, and tender touch from him, especially when it was the complete opposite of what I’d always expected he’d be like given his size. Anytime he was like that with me, it always surprised me. Despite the fact that I felt slightly bewildered by just how gentle he could be, it didn’t change the fact that I absolutely loved that about him.
