Maximus

by Riley Edwards

  “We have a big day tomorrow. Is there anything else you want to talk about or are you ready to hit the sack?”

  Liam didn’t say anything but he kept staring at me so I prompted, “Liam?”

  “I know this sounds stupid because Max already said he was staying, but I want you to know I want him to live here with us.”

  Not trusting my voice, I gave Liam a sharp nod of understanding and brushed my hand over Elijah’s hair. When I finally pulled my shit together enough to speak, I asked, “Elijah, honey, is that okay with you, too? If Max lives here with us?”

  “He makes me safe,” Eli whispered.

  “He makes you safe?” I repeated.

  My son didn’t respond, not verbally anyway. But his little arms around my neck squeezed and I knew that was his answer.

  Max made him safe.

  “Yeah, Eli.” I kissed his forehead. “Max makes all of us safe.”

  My head lifted from my son’s, and as if a magnetic force surrounded us, my eyes snapped to Max’s. And when they did, I found his eyes sparking—not with anger, but with something else far more dangerous.

  It took less time than I’d thought for Liam and Elijah to nod off. But even after they were asleep, I stayed. I needed the comfort only my boys could give me.

  They’re here. They’re safe. And we’ll be all right.

  Everything had changed with Max. And it had happened so fast, my head was having a hard time keeping up with my heart. I didn’t believe in love at first sight, and what was happening between us, certainly didn’t happen at first sight.

  I barely suppressed the giggle threatening to bubble up when I thought about that first day I met Max—the first time I heard his deep, rough voice from behind my front door. And when I let him in, good Lord.

  No, it was not love at first sight, but it was something, maybe lust, maybe awareness. But there was no denying that I’d felt something when his icy blue eyes took me in. Just like now, I’d been drawn to him.

  On that thought, I slowly rolled out of bed, leaned down and kissed Elijah’s cheek, walked to the other side and kissed Liam’s head. I couldn’t get Max’s words out of my head. You’re gonna be okay. God, I hoped he was right. Liam had taken the brunt of Jay’s abuse—my little boy had done his best to protect his little brother. Love and pride swelled in my chest as I forced myself to forget all the reasons why Liam had needed to protect Elijah.

  I quietly slipped out of the room to find Max waiting for me in the hall.

  “Hey,” I whispered.

  Max didn’t return my greeting, not with words anyway. His gaze took me in, but this time it was different. It wasn’t contemplative, it was heated.

  He tagged my hand and led me to the bedroom, closing the door and locking it behind us. Then he walked us to the bed and quietly undressed me.

  This was different, too. Gone was the frantic need. This was reverent, slow, gentle. But once my clothes were in a heap on the floor, he shucked his at a much faster pace.

  Max eased us onto the mattress and settled over me, his hips cradled between my thighs, my arms wound around his neck. I’d never wanted a man so badly in my life. Never needed to feel a man’s touch so desperately. But he didn’t move, he just stared down at me.

  “God, you are so beautiful,” he told me.

  “So are you.”

  His mouth curved into a smile before he lowered it to mine. Our lips touched, and much like the way he’d undressed me, he kept the kiss gentle—coaxing, teasing, light.

  My legs tightened and my heels dug into his ass trying to get him closer but he wouldn’t budge.

  “More,” I mumbled against his lips.

  “Slow.”

  “Max.”

  “Slow, honey. I want to savor you.”

  Well, who am I to argue with that?

  And slow he went.

  Max licked and nipped my neck, down to my breasts where he paid an ungodly amount of time teasing my nipples until they ached. Only when I started lifting my hips, trying to find friction did he move lower, kissing over my belly, stopping to dip his tongue into my belly button. Who knew that could feel so good? As much as I wanted him to go faster, I finally got to explore unrushed. My hands traveled over his broad shoulders, his muscled back, relishing his smooth skin. I loved the feel of all his strength under my palms. Loved how his muscles twitched and bunched under my touch.

  By the time Max’s mouth made its way between my legs, I was a quivering mess. My hips lifted off the bed when his tongue flicked my clit.

  “Stay still.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “Try, honey.” One strong arm went over my belly holding me in place, the other went to my thigh, pushing my leg farther open, and his tongue went back to my clit.

  Holy sweet Jesus. If Max wild, quick, and dirty was hot, Max taking his time was scorching. I burned from the inside out. His tongue worked magic, edging me closer and closer to release. His hand holding me open skimmed closer to my center and I lost the battle, the anticipation was too much. I knew where that hand was going and I squirmed in excitement.

  “Hurry.”

  “Slow,” he reminded me.

  I hadn’t recovered from the vibration of his word on my clit when he filled me with two thick fingers. Then he curved them up, found the place inside of me that drove me crazy, and I shattered.

  On and on, my orgasm rolled through me. His fingers relentlessly kept rubbing and one orgasm slid into two.

  Impossible, but nonetheless, it happened.

  Max Brown pulled off a double with nothing more than gently flicking my clit with his tongue and his fingers.

  Genius.

  Then he was over me, kissing me senseless with the taste of me on his lips. A deep rumbling moan filled the room and I wasn’t sure if it’d come from me or him. Either way, the sound fueled my desire.

  I needed him now.

  Right now.

  “Max, please.”

  The head of his cock nudged my opening and he stilled. “Slow, honey.”

  “You keep saying that,” I whined. “But I need you.”

  Max leaned back, giving me a clear view of his beautiful face, and my breath caught in my throat. There was no chill in his eyes, no hard lines on his face—he looked at peace. Which, due to our position and the proximity of his cock, was a strange thing to think. But there it was—Max didn’t look like he had a care in the world. His blue eyes were serene and my heart constricted at the sight.

  It was just him and me in this bed, and no one else mattered.

  Three life-changing words were on the tip of my tongue. They desperately wanted to break free, but now wasn’t the time. Not when I was so exposed—if he didn’t return the feeling, I’d be crushed.

  “I can’t get enough of you. Not your taste, not your scent, not your needy sounds. Not the way you look at me, not the way you touch me, not the way you make me feel.” Max’s gaze went from sweet to blazing as he pushed inside of me. “I’ll give you everything you need, honey, but I’m taking my time.”

  “Will you let me give you everything you need?”

  Max froze mid-thrust, his body went solid, and my hands stilled on his back. His muscles twitched under my palms and I waited.

  “Eva.” My name sounded rough, like it had been pulled from the depths of his soul.

  “You’ve already given me the one thing that no one else ever has. You make me feel protected. You don’t hide that you care about me. You’re honest with me. But more than any of that, one thing I’ve never had, not ever, is hope. You give me that, so you’ve given me everything I could ever need. Will you trust me to give that back?”

  “I do trust you.”

  Four words that made me want to weep in happiness and fist bump the air in excitement. Thankfully, I did neither.

  “If you trust me, then why do I feel like if I make one move, you’ll shatter?”

  “Because until this very moment, I’d never known what it felt
like to be cared about.”

  “I care,” I whispered, too overcome with emotion to say anything else.

  His eyes closed and his forehead dropped to mine and his lips nibbled on mine, effectively cutting off our talk. Because when his tongue lashed out and licked my bottom lip, every part of me quivered from my toes to my fingertips.

  “Tighten your legs around me and tip your hips.” Gone was my sweet Max and back was the master and commander of my body.

  I did as he asked and his dick slid deeper.

  “Goddamn, Eva, so fucking tight.” His hoarse, rough voice sent zaps of electricity through my body, making my hands tighten in his hair and my hips thrust up to meet his strokes.

  “Harder.”

  “Oh, no, baby, we’re taking our time. By the time I’m ready, you’ll be begging.”

  “I’ll beg now.”

  Max shoved his face in my neck and I would’ve mourned the loss of his gorgeous blue eyes staring into mine, except then I would’ve missed it when his body started shaking and his laughter danced across my skin.

  “Baby, we’re nowhere near you begging yet. But you will be.”

  And beg I did.

  I begged him every time he brought me to the brink of release then slowed, only to start the climb all over again. And by the time he finally let my orgasm break free, I was a sobbing mess.

  Completely wrecked—drenched in sweat, limbs limp, and out of breath. But mostly my chest burned with so many emotions I didn’t know what to do with them.

  “I…”

  “You what, honey?” Max asked against my throat where his mouth was still causing havoc on my senses, making it hard to concentrate.

  “Nothing.”

  Max lifted his head and our eyes locked.

  God, I could spend the rest of my life just like this and die happy.

  “Do you feel it?” he whispered.

  My throat clogged, leaving me speechless, so I just nodded.

  “Good. I do, too.”

  His thumb brushed away the tears as they rolled down my cheek. This was a whole new side of Max, and I couldn’t decide which I liked best—his hard-edge, tough exterior or this sweet, gentle side. The truth was, I just plain loved Max and all of his many facets.

  “So beautiful,” he murmured. “When we get home from Alaska, there’s a lot we need to talk about.”

  I wasn’t sure what his talk would entail, but with Max still hard inside of me, his body cocooning mine, I was too relaxed to ask.

  “Okay.”

  “You feeling okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. You ready for round two?”

  A thrill raced up my spine and my pussy spasmed.

  “Oh, yeah, you’re ready. Flip over, Eva. I want you on your hands and knees.”

  His growled demand did crazy things to my insides—soft, sweet, hard, rough—I’d take Max Brown any way he wanted to give himself to me.

  Chapter 30

  After travelling almost ten hours, I wasn’t surprised the boys were exhausted. By the time we touched down in Anchorage, everyone was ready to call it a night. The excitement of flying on a private jet had worn off approximately one hour after takeoff—thank God for video games.

  During the flight Anaya had been a godsend. She’d picked up on Eva’s apprehension and immediately went to work putting Eva at ease. I was unapologetically listening to their conversation even though I had a metric shit ton of intel reports to go over. My team had been busy gathering information on Icon and Madeleine Strotherby. The woman was in her eighties now. She worked as a fashion model, then went into acting and fashion design.

  The world viewed Madeleine Strotherby as some sort of a saint, and with all of the money she’d publicly donated to charities around the world, I fully understood why people would think that. Personally, I found it distasteful, it looked to be more of a publicity stunt than an honest to God heartfelt giving.

  Either way, Garrett had found what he’d been diligently looking for—Icon was indeed tied to Omni. And not only that, they were at the top of the pyramid so to speak.

  So, with all of this new information, I should’ve been combing over the reports. But I hadn’t been. Instead, I’d listened to Anaya talk about Emerson and Tatiana. Anaya had been thorough in her recounting of how she’d met Kyle and the rest of us. She’d also filled Eva in on how Brooks met Tatiana and how Thad and Emerson had gotten back together after a decade’s long separation.

  It felt odd listening to Anaya. I’d lived those missions—hell, Anaya wasn’t around when Brooks and Thad had hooked up with their wives, yet her perspective reminded me how strong the women were—how close they’d all become. The longer I’d listened, the more I wanted that for Eva and her boys and I was grateful Anaya was doing her part to welcome Eva into the women’s friendship. She was trusting Eva with a hell of a lot of personal information.

  When they’d moved on to shopping and other shit to do in the Annapolis area, I’d quit listening. But not before I vowed to make an effort to get everyone over to the house so Eva could start bonding with Emerson and Tatiana.

  Now we were lying in bed after Eva had tucked in the boys in the adjoining room. Her soft body was curled into mine and I couldn’t remember a time I’d been so content doing nothing more than holding a woman. Hell, I couldn’t remember a time being content, period. But with Eva tucked close, her hand on my chest, mine on her hip, I was just that.

  “I still can’t believe the stories Anaya told me,” Eva murmured. “It makes what happened to me sound tame.”

  There was nothing tame about having your children kidnapped and harmed, forced to commit a felony, then dodging a hitman hired to take you out. But I wasn’t going to bring her ex into our bed. She had enough on her mind with our meeting scheduled first thing in the morning.

  Tex was one step closer to tracking down the man who’d set her house to explode and had successfully detonated her car, but he was still out there somewhere. Thankfully, we were in a hotel in Alaska and he was not. One less thing to worry about, though I still wished my team had been able to come along.

  Eva’s hand started to wander and my all-too-eager cock lengthened in my sweats. Her fingertips trailed down to my waistband and my muscles involuntarily bunched as she got closer to the one mark on my body that still burned my soul.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled and quickly moved higher.

  Before I could think better of it, I grabbed her hand and placed it back where she had it.

  “I got it in Afghanistan,” I told her.

  “Sweetheart,” she murmured.

  My eyes drifted closed and I let her soft, sweet voice seep down deep to my core.

  “We cleaned a house and there was a woman, she was crying and carrying on about her son being taken. Her English was horrible and the interpreter was translating, trying to calm her down. When suddenly she stood and started yelling that her son was dead. I stepped closer to calm her down and missed it when she pulled a knife from her abaya. Before I could step back, she stabbed me. The woman had impeccable aim, she got me under my plate carrier. Thankfully, when she hit my belt, she couldn’t saw through that.”

  “Oh my God,” Eva gasped.

  “I got incredibly lucky that day. She did just enough damage I had to be medivacted out.”

  “What happened to the woman? Did someone arrest her?”

  “Arrest her?”

  “She tried to kill you.” The abhorrence in her tone would’ve made me grin any other time. But right then acid burned my gut.

  “No, honey, she wasn’t arrested.”

  Eva shot up to sitting, her back ram-rod straight, a fierce look of indignation, and more hostility than I’d ever seen pulsed from her body.

  “Why not? She tried to kill you. Something had to be done. That’s insane.”

  Oh, yeah, Eva wasn’t hostile—she was downright shaking with disdain.

  That made the next part easier to admit.

  “Beca
use I killed her.”

  Eva’s shoulders jerked before they slumped forward. “Good.”

  “Good?” I felt my brows hit my hairline in shock.

  “Yes. Good. She shouldn’t have tried to kill you. You were trying to help her. And if she pulled that sneak attack with you, she would’ve done it again to someone else. And what if she killed them?”

  Damn, that felt good. But I didn’t think she understood.

  “Eva, honey, you get that my job was dangerous. Hell, it still is. I’m telling you this not to boast but to be honest. I’ve taken lives. That’s not something I’m proud of, but I don’t regret protecting myself or my team.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure that’s really hard on you.” Her lips pinched together and twisted. “I hate that you have to live with that, but I hope you also know the rest of us are thankful for your sacrifice.”

  Something that had been lodged in my heart broke free. And for the first time in my life, I could breathe—an actual clean breath that wasn’t full of scorn and venom.

  “Probably should’ve had this conversation before now.”

  “What conversation?”

  I took a deep breath. I’d never had this conversation with anyone—never needed to—so I didn’t know where to start. I just knew she needed to understand what she’d gotten herself into.

  “The one where I tell you about my job and what we do. I think you have a general idea what Z Corps does. But you need to know, the company has just as many on-the-books contracts as we do off the books. There are some missions that fall into a gray area. We’re not always on the right side of the law, but we’re always on the right side of good.”

  “Max, honey, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Eva’s stormy gaze was like a punch to the gut.

  I was asking too much. Eva had been through enough and deserved so much better than an asshole like me, with more hashmarks on his soul than he could remember.

  Her soft hand landed over my heart and I bet she could feel my heart thumping under her palm.

  “I understand—"

  “No, I don’t think you do.” She cut me off mid-sentence. “I don’t need you to tell me you’re on the side of righteousness. The Max Brown I know is a protector, a champion of the truth. Thank you for sharing something I know you’d rather have kept locked away. I know how painful memories can be. Thank you for trusting me with that, it’s not something I take lightly.