Chapter Six
As Amanda drove down the lane, she realized she should have taken Max up on his offer of following her home. It had snowed a little more than she thought. Up until now she had driven in some dustings but not real snow.
When she got out to the main road, she panicked even further. The roads were not plowed. Or even salted.
She hoped the Buick could make it home. There was no way that she was going to turn around like a wuss and go back to the Bryson house. She would just take her time.
She glanced quickly at Greg before turning her gaze back to the road to concentrate. At least he had fallen back to sleep and wouldn’t be harassing her about her driving.
The ride to the farm earlier in the day had only taken about twenty-five minutes. And here she was at least forty-five minutes later and still wasn’t even close to being home.
Every time the rear end of the car slid she bit back a squeal. She wanted to avoid waking Greg.
Out of nowhere, headlights came up quickly behind her. Close enough to the point of tailgating. The lights were high, like from a truck, and their glare into the rearview mirror hurt her eyes. She wanted to wave the person around her, but she was afraid to take a hand off the wheel.
Then the honking began, making her jump. There was no traffic coming the other way; why didn’t they go around?
The truck pulled around her and up next to her. She took a fleeting glance over.
Max.
She didn’t know if she should be relieved or annoyed. He shouldn’t have scared her like that.
He rolled down his passenger window, and she could barely hear him yelling at her to stop or pull over.
She did. She slammed on the brakes, and the Buick slid ten feet before coming to a stop crookedly in the middle of the road.
Max parked behind her and walked up to the car.
He stood there for a moment, and then when she didn’t move, he tapped on the window with his knuckle.
“Roll down your window.”
Amanda released the painful grip on the steering wheel to push the power window button.
He leaned into the window. “What are you doing?”
She gave him a look. “It’s not obvious? I’m going home.”
“You were driving five miles an hour.”
“Oh.”
“Amanda, there is only an inch of snow out here.”
“Really?”
She heard his chuckle. She didn’t think it was funny. Only an inch? It had seemed like a foot. Shit.
“I guess you’ve never driven in snow before.”
“Not until coming up here.”
“Hell, winter hasn’t even started yet.”
Great.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll park my truck and drive the Buick home for you.” He nodded toward Greg. “I don’t want to wake him up just to transfer him into my truck.”
He did just that. Without even waiting for an answer from her, he went back to his vehicle, parked it off the roadway in a field, came back, and made her sit in the back since Greg was asleep in the passenger seat.
He drove the car back to her house without a word, but she could see the grin on his face and the looks that he kept giving her in the rearview mirror. He must think it was funny that she couldn’t drive in the snow. She was just a helpless female.
With a straight face, she gave him the finger and slid over to the corner of the backseat so she was out of his view. A low chuckle came from the driver’s seat.
She looked out the window and realized that they were already pulling into her driveway. He pushed the garage door opener and slipped the car inside before turning off the ignition and shutting the garage door again.
He got out and went around to the passenger side and quietly woke up Greg. Max helped Greg out of the car. Amanda remained in the backseat watching this man take her brother into the house. He clearly had a soft spot for Greg. She had to admit that there was more to him than met her eye. All business on the outside, but on the inside? He was someone who cared enough to include Greg and her for Christmas with his family, and afterward go out of his way to make sure they got home safely. He didn’t have to do either. But he did.
However, she didn’t want to rely on anyone other than herself. She needed to be more independent. How was she going to achieve that if he kept stepping in to save her ass?
She had been dependent for most of her life; now she needed to be the complete opposite.
But, honestly, as much as it irked her that he had to drive them home, she was relieved he had. Not that she was going to tell him that. She didn’t want him to think he could step in whenever he damn well pleased.
Not even five minutes later, Max came back into the garage and stared at her through the car window. “Are you going to sit in there all night?”
She gave him a slight shoulder shrug.
He opened the back door and slid in next to her.
“Amanda—”
“You think I’m helpless, don’t you?”
He gave her a surprised look. “Why would you think that?”
“I could have driven home myself.”
“Okay,” he said cautiously. “And your point is?”
“My point is that I should have gotten us home. I shouldn’t have needed your help. I need to learn to do things on my own. Like driving in a little bit of snow.”
“Really? Because at the rate you were going, you would still be out there miles away.” He slid his fingers along her jawline, pushing a tendril of hair behind her ear. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Yes, you should definitely be able to drive in snow, but, hell, tonight wasn’t a good night for practice. Especially with Greg in the car. I could help you learn, if you want.”
Amanda flattened her lips and looked out of the opposite window, away from him. He was throwing himself in the mix again.
Though, she was flattered he wanted to help, but…she wanted to stand on her own two feet, not have a man propping her up. Max grabbed her chin and turned her toward him. “Amanda. I only wanted to help. It’s my job.” I’m here to protect and serve.
She pulled her chin out of his fingers and met his eyes. “I’m not your job,” she whispered.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, just looked at her. She couldn’t read him. She wanted to know what he was thinking.
He reached out a hand, then captured her wrist quickly. Pulling it to his mouth, he brushed his lips lightly against her pulse.
“I know,” he said finally.
She closed her eyes against the heat she saw in his.
“Amanda…look at me.”
She opened her eyes and murmured, “You have no way to get home.”
“I don’t care.”
He brushed his lips against her fingers.
“I…I forgot to thank you for including us today—” He stopped her words with a thumb against her lips. His thumb continued across her lower lip, along her jawline, and then his fingers found their way into her hair. “And…” She sighed. “And for driving us home.”
“Was my pleasure.”
He made a fist, grasping and pulling, tugging her head back, exposing her neck. He leaned in, nuzzling her throat. His warm tongue stroked her skin.
She gasped as wetness pooled between her legs. Her breasts ached for his touch. She needed him deep inside her.
He nibbled along the neck of her sweater, around the hollows of her collarbone.
He sat up suddenly, pulling her roughly into his lap. Her miniskirt bunched at her hips as she straddled him in the backseat of the boring Buick.
Only it wasn’t so boring at the moment.
The hard line of his cock was distinct through his jeans. She could feel it nestled along her sensitive heat, her thin stockings no protection at all.
Max ran his hands along her back to slide under her soft sweater. The roughness of his fingers against her heated skin made her grind a little against him.
“Fuck,” he groaned, thrusting up just a little himself.
He reached higher along her back to release her bra, then slid his hands around to push the front of her sweater and her bra up, exposing her breasts to him.
“Perfect,” he whispered.
She wanted his mouth on her. Wanted him to suck her. To take each nipple in his mouth and tug on them hard. Wanted him to nip her and nuzzle…
Amanda grabbed his face and ripped his gaze from her breasts. His eyes were hooded and unreadable. With a groan she plundered his mouth. Their lips crushed together, their tongues fought, and she held his face tightly, not letting him go, not letting him escape.
He found both of her nipples with his fingers and tweaked them. Pulling, pinching, twisting, making her squirm in his lap.
His cock hard, his jeans were rough and irritating through her stockings and panties, but she didn’t care. It felt good. She thrust against him harder. She thought she heard a tear. But, again, she didn’t care.
All she wanted at this moment was to get closer. Eat him up. Take control of his mouth as their lips meshed. She pulled back only to say, “Harder.”
He did what she asked. He pinched her nipples harder, pulled harder, twisted harder.
She had to give his mouth up. She had to let him go to gasp against his neck. She shuddered against him, tilting her hips, feeling his hard cock so close but not close enough.
Still hiding her face against his shoulder, she grasped the snap to his jeans and pulled. It gave away, but the zipper was tougher. The pressure of his cock against it made the zipper difficult to manipulate.
Before she could finish, he had his large hands on her hips and had her flipped under him on the backseat. Max settled between her legs and captured her wrists, holding her still.
“Do you know what you’re asking for?”
Of course! She wanted to scream. But instead, she choked out a “Yes.”
He tightened his hold on her wrists and stretched her arms over her head. “Do you like it rough?”
Amanda’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh yes.”
Max’s smile grew.
His cell phone, which he had thrown in the console earlier, blared an obnoxious country tune.
Max frowned. But didn’t move.
Amanda pulled on her wrists and thrust against him to remind him what they had been doing. What she wanted him to continue with.
The tune stopped, and the phone beeped to indicate a voice-mail message.
Max’s icy blue eyes pinned her. He transferred both of her wrists to one hand and worked the other one between them until he found the hole in her stocking, which was in a very convenient place. Right at her crotch.
He dug his fingertips into the hole and pulled, ripping the hole bigger, giving him more access to what was beneath. He maneuvered his fingers into her stockings enough to yank her panties to the side and then plunged two fingers deep within her. His fingers met no resistance. She was slick and hot.
“You are so fucking wet,” he said between gritted teeth. “So fucking wet. Jesus.”
Amanda gasped with the pleasure of his fingers ramming in and out of her. It wasn’t enough. “Do you think you are man enough for me?”
He suddenly stopped. A slight hesitation. She had caught him off guard.
“Baby, I’m all you’ll ever need.”
“Then show me.”
Max’s cell phone blared that stupid tune again, making him yell out a curse. He jerked away from her and snatched up his phone.
“What, Marc?”
Amanda took a deep breath. Trying to catch her wits. What were they doing? They were in the backseat of the car, which was parked in the garage. With Greg just upstairs.
“Yes, I’m fine… No, I left my truck there… I did not wreck it… Amanda needed help getting home.”
Amanda stiffened and pulled her knees up, making Max unbalanced. He had to move off her completely to finish his conversation.
“Uh. I guess… Okay. How soon? You are?”
Amanda watched Max tense and scrub at his short hair in agitation with his hand.
“Sure.”
Max hit the End Call button with more pressure than was needed and turned his head to look at Amanda.
“Marc is parked out in your driveway.”
“What?” She sat up quickly, straightening her miniskirt and what was left of her stockings.
“He said if I’m not out there in five minutes, he’s coming in.” He frowned. “I’m going to kill him.”
Amanda rehooked her bra, wiggled her breasts back into the cups, and tugged her sweater down.
“Why is he here?”
“He saw my truck abandoned in the field and got worried. He saw two sets of tracks nearby in the snow, so he figured your car was the second vehicle.”
“Oh. Well, shit.”
“Shit is right. He’s going to give me a ride back to my truck.”
“Oh.”
“Jesus Christ. Is that all you can say?” He reached down in his jeans and adjusted himself before zipping them closed and fastening the snap. His movements were jerky, and his jaw was clenched. She wondered who he was angry at. Her? Marc? Himself?
“What do you want me to say?”
“That you’re disappointed?”
“I…” Am. I want to fuck your brains out. There…are you happy? “Well, maybe it’s better this way.”
He looked at her in disbelief. “Better?”
“Look at us. We are in the backseat of a car. We don’t even really like each other.”
“We don’t?”
“Well, no. I think you are way too bossy, and you think I am irresponsible and immature.”
Excuses, excuses. But she refused to let on how disappointed she was.
“Amanda—”
Max’s phone rang again, and he flipped, cursing his brother up one side and down the other. He pushed the door open and climbed out of the back of the car. He grabbed his coat, which he had removed sometime earlier, and shoved his arms into the sleeves.
“I’ll talk to you later. I have to go commit murder.”
“Merry Christmas,” she called out. She was answered by the slam of the side door to the garage.
Her dreams were going to be torture tonight.