Chapter 20

Max

My mother’s side of the family was notorious for their ability to hold a grudge. One slight and you’d be blacklisted for the rest of eternity, probably even from beyond the grave. So when I told Paulina about my relationship with Emma, and a full week had passed without me hearing from her, I knew I was in the dog house and that it was going to take a damn miracle to get me out.

I caved in on Monday evening, as I was sitting in my apartment alone reflecting on the amazing weekend I’d just spent with Emma. At first I worried that acknowledging our desires and fully giving into them would make what we were doing boring, but as it turned out, the opposite was true. I couldn’t get enough of her. Even now, when I’d only just seen her an hour ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Unfortunately, this thing with my mother wasn’t going fix itself. She wouldn’t be the one to come forward to make amends. Rather than calling up Emma and inviting her over, which was what I wanted to do, I decided I’d bite the bullet and go straighten things out with my mother. I rationalized that I could see Emma afterward. She would be my reward for doing the right thing.

I didn’t call first. Paulina wouldn’t take my call anyway, and since she seemed fine with dropping in to my place unannounced, it seemed only fair that I should be able to do the same to her. Her apartment was nearby, which thankfully didn’t give my resolve much time to wither on the way over.

I walked up to the front desk of her building wearing the friendliest smile I owned. Her doorman had long ago taken a dislike to me, and I expected it was because my mother used him as her own personal sounding board for whatever was distressing her at the time. Usually, I was the one distressing her.

He called to let her know I was there, but the look on his face told me immediately that she was not okay with my visit.

“I’m going up,” I told him, and then left before he had a chance to argue with me. As much as it was his job not to let unwelcome visitors into the building, even my mother’s doorman knew not to tell me what to do.

I banged on Paulina’s door a couple minutes later. She did not answer. I groaned in frustration, wishing she could be just a touch less dramatic for once in her life. Would it kill her?

“Mother,” I called through the door. “Let me in. We need to talk.”

Silence.

“How would you feel if I just refused to talk to you?” I asked.

Still silence.

“If you don’t answer this door right now, I’ll call your book club and tell them what you get like after a few too many gins.”

There was a shuffling from the other side of the door and then it opened to reveal my mother’s pinched, angry face. I pushed my way inside, careful not to do so too forcefully and risk inadvertently hurting her.

“You never want to talk to me when I want to talk to you,” Paulina sniffed. “But as soon as you want something, look where you come running! It’s outrageous.”

“What’s outrageous is the fact that you’ve been ignoring me for the past week because I told you I have a girlfriend.”

She closed the door and walked purposefully over to the kitchen to pour herself a gin and tonic. She didn’t offer me one, but then again that would have been the polite thing for her to do. Mother was only ever polite when it suited her. She never saw the irony in placing such a high premium on the manners of others.

“It’s not that you have a girlfriend, Maximillian. You mustn’t be so dramatic,” she chastised.

Now I was the one being dramatic? The woman was unbelievable.

“Then what is it?” I asked. “Is it that she’s my assistant?”

She finished measuring out the gin and practically slammed the bottle back down on the counter. “She’s your secretary,” she snapped. “And beyond that, she’s completely unsuited to you and you know that. You should be with an educated young woman of your own station. I wish you’d grow up and stop chasing the shortest skirt and start looking for someone to settle down with.”

“How is it any of your business which skirt I’m chasing?”

I clenched my fists and stormed over to the counter, trying to keep a lid on the rage bubbling in my chest. This confrontation had been a long time coming. All it had taken to push me over the edge was my desire for Emma.

“And for the record, Emma is not just some little skirt. You know her. Hell, you like her, which is saying something for you.”

She set her nose in the air as she took the first sip of her drink. “I like lots of people.”

“You like lots of people with money,” I corrected. “The list of people you like that don’t have money is actually quite small. In fact, I’m fairly certain it consists only of Emma and Haddie.”

“Used to consist of Emma and Haddie,” she snipped. “Now it’s only Haddie.”

My rage grew.

“So now you suddenly dislike Emma just because she wants to be with me? Are you insane?”

“I dislike Emma because she’s clearly trying to get something out of you,” she countered. “You may think it snobbish of me to take an instant dislike to the women in your life who come from average means, but it’s just common sense. People always want what they don’t have, and if they don’t have money, it makes sense for them to do everything they can to try to get it. Including tricking my son into a completely inappropriate and ludicrous relationship.”

Ah, so that’s what this was about. I should have guessed. Mother always tried to pretend that my father’s numerous affairs didn’t bother her, but they did. They always had. She considered herself to be above the women he took to bed, which made it hurt all the more when her husband chose them over her.

In most cases, Father’s lovers cared more about what he could give them than who he was as a man. I knew Paulina considered him a fool to give in to such immoral motivations. She’d built herself an ivory tower a long time ago from which to look down upon the peasantry with disdain. I hadn’t realized until now how problematic it was going to be if I let her stay there.

“She’s not tricking me, Mother,” I said gently, reaching out to rest my hand over hers. “She had similar concerns and I ended up having to convince her that this was a good idea. I’ve thought this through, I promise you.”

“I just wanted you to have a good wife and a secure legacy,” she said miserably. “Is it so bad for a mother to want the best for her son?”

“I understand that, but none of the women you tried to set me up with would have been the best for me,” I replied. “They bored me, Mother. Do you want me to end up bored for the rest of my life?

She sighed. It was a long, dramatic sigh. “No, I don’t.” After a small pause, during which she downed the rest of her gin, she continued. “And I suppose Emma will make a suitable wife. Perhaps even a good one.”

My triumph at having gotten my way was cut short by her last comment. I shook my head.

“I’m not marrying her.”

Paulina’s eyes snapped to mine. It always amazed me how a woman who was half drunk a good share of the time could always produce such icy stares. “What?”

“I’m not marrying anyone,” I said. “I still have no plans to marry. This isn’t news to you.”

I had told her a few times now that I had no plans to ever marry. It wasn’t my fault she never listened.

Her face grew stern, then cold. When she spoke, it was with the angry rasp she used to use on my father, which had always reminded me of a growling cat. “You’re a selfish little twit, aren’t you?”

She knew she couldn’t force me to get married, which meant the only viable response was emotional blackmail. Not happening.

“What I choose to do with my life has nothing to do with you,” I said, trying to stay calm. “The sooner you get that through your head, the sooner we’ll start having conversations that don’t end in shouting.”

“I’ve never shouted at you a day in my life!” she shouted. “You’re just like your father, except at least he had the decency to continue the Westfield bloodline to protect the company.”

“Protect the company? Are you fucking serious?”

“Don’t you swear at me!”

“I’ll fucking swear if I want! You’re being ridiculous.”

Paulina took a step back and tilted her head so that, despite me being much taller than she was, she could still glare sourly down her nose at me. “Get out.”

I didn’t need her to tell me a second time. For a moment, it had looked like we were going to resolve our issues, but now we were just fighting about something else. I’d had enough.

I slammed the door on the way out and cursed all the way to my car. Anger rolled off me in waves, making my skin hot and my thoughts churn. I was so tired of dancing around my mother’s moods and whims.

I needed to let off some steam. I needed to let off some steam or else I was going to explode.

Emma flung open the door with a wide smile, a smile that immediately slid off when she saw the look on my face.

“What’s wrong, Max? Everything—”

I cut her off, pushing my way into the apartment and slamming my mouth down on hers. I kicked the door closed with my heel and pushed her further inside, practically tearing the clothes from her body.

“Max...” she moaned against my lips. “What...”

“No talking,” I commanded. “Not until after I’ve fucked you senseless.”

She groaned and allowed me to continue guiding her to the bedroom. There still wasn’t much furniture in her apartment, so even though my cock was threatening to punch out of my pants, I would at least have to wait until we made it to her bed. The only furniture she had was a small desk holding her laptop and an open bag of pretzels.

Once in the bedroom I pressed her against the wall and ripped down her shorts, taking the panties with them.

I wasn’t wasting any time.

On my knees in front of her, I anchored my hands on her delicious ass and pulled her pussy against my face. She moaned, and I started lapping up her sweet nectar, watching her tits rise and fall with each ragged breath. She grabbed the wall for support as I upped my assault, sucking on her clit and getting her nice and wet for me.

I didn’t have time to give her the attention she deserved today. I needed a rough, brutal fuck and I needed it now.

She whimpered when I pulled away a couple minutes later, clearly disoriented. I didn’t blame her. I tossed her naked body onto the bed, face down, yanking her hips up before dropping my pants and boxers to the floor. My rod stood straight and proud, a bead of moisture glistening at the tip. I’d been thinking about her the whole ride over and it showed. Thank God she was on birth control and we’d both gotten tested already. The time it would take to put on a condom right now might have killed me.

I pulled my shirt off and then covered her body with mine, kissing and biting along her neck and shoulder as I tested her slick folds with my fingers. She was dripping wet, just like I knew she would be. I groaned.

Her body felt so good, so hot and tight, and perfect. I lined my cock up with her entrance and thrust in to the hilt, eliciting a shocked cry from my quarry. I didn’t give her time to adjust, pulling out and sinking in again before she even had a chance to catch her breath.

Emma’s moans filled the room as I rammed into her over and over again. My fingers sank into the flesh of her hips, a visual that I’d remember until my dying day. I squeezed as hard as I could and fucked as hard as I could. Her moans mixed with the slapping sound of skin against skin, creating a symphony of sex that was music to my ears. My balls tightened, and the pleasure became so powerful that I knew I was only moments from erupting. But Emma hadn’t cum yet. I’d have to do something about that.

I slowed down and wrapped my arms around her torso, kneading her plump breasts in my hands. I pinched and flicked her tight buds, making her moan even louder. My teeth dug into her back just the way I knew she liked. In that moment, I was more beast than man. Something dark and wild surged through me, and Emma responded to it. Her pussy clenched around me like a vice and I roared as I sank into her again, finally reaching my climax as the last spasms of her pussy began to subside.

She collapsed onto the bed. I lay down beside her, spent.

“What was that about?” she murmured a moment later.

I opened one eye to see her staring at me, a questioning look on her pretty, blushing face.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said.

She groaned, “You know I’m going to.”

I rolled her underneath me and held her, willing the questions out of her mind with my lips against her forehead. I couldn’t tell her about my fight with Paulina today. She was already so spooked about what kind of future we had together, and telling her about the content of our argument would only spook her more.

For now, I held her and all my frustrations flushed away with my breaths. A small thought kicked in at the back of my head, one I’d never expected to have.

Would it be so bad if this was for the rest of my life?