Chapter 11

Lia

I’d long since abandoned the idea of hanging out with Patricia. A half hour with her and her friends doing shot after shot—and lobbing bets on who would get into one of the upstairs rooms first—had all but killed my mojo.

All I wanted to do now was dance. Spend my rare night off relaxing and having a good time.

Out on the dance floor, a pair of hands grabbed me from behind, and the overwhelming grip had me jumping at first. But with the stream of mixed drinks running through my veins, I gave into the sensation uninhibited. I was New Lia—the Lia that didn’t give a shit who touched me.

“You’re fucking sexy.” The low voice purred in my ear. His hands moved to my ribs, rising higher and higher…

I rolled my eyes. Regardless, New Lia still had limits.

“And not for you.” I turned around and winked before moving toward the other side of the dance floor.

Eyes shut, I leaned my head back and continued to move, the flash of lights blinding me even behind my darkened lids. The sensation of power raged through my body as I sucked down the last bit of the drink I’d brought out onto the dance floor. I shivered and smiled to myself. The freedom to be whoever I wanted to be surged through my system like a rainbow after a storm.

I swayed my hips to the seductive beat of the music. Around me, crowds of men and women kissed and touched as they danced. I couldn’t help but watch, mesmerized by the idea of being so comfortable with sex and intimacy that it didn’t matter who was watching. What would it be like for someone like me to act like that? Someone who’d only had sex a handful of times. Once in high school, once as a college dropout, and the rest with Travis. My throat burned at the thought, goose bumps skimming along my flesh. I didn’t like the idea, but at the same time, maybe it was what I needed.

I could become the female version of Max.

Sweat beaded down my neck and between my breasts, causing the top of my dress to stick to my slickened skin. Being so free was a heady and powerful sensation. Nobody knew me here. I could be who I wanted to be—taunting the world, telling it to fuck off, saying I wasn’t afraid. That is, until another set of hands clamped down on my hips and held me in place.

“Lia.”

The scent of his aftershave crashed against my senses. My empty cup fell to the floor as I turned to face him, my mouth wide open in shock. Strands of hair fell in front of my eyes, but I saw him through the layers.

Max.

Had I willed him here with my imagination? I blinked a couple of times, knowing I wasn’t that drunk.

He studied me under the lights, his expression guarded, our bodies unmoving but close. Dark lashes batted against his cheeks with every blink of his eyes, but he didn’t speak, only looked at me with a glimmer of something I didn’t recognize, along with fear, anger, and a little bit of confusion.

Annoyed with my inability to read him fully, I pressed my lips against his ear and asked, “Did you come all this way just to dance with me?”

I already knew why he’d come here. No point in arguing when it would only ruin my mood. He’d probably heard me talking to Patricia last night. Pair that with his inability to leave me alone since the night I’d been arrested, and he was undoubtedly freaking out over the fact that I’d decided to visit some kinky dance club.

When he still didn’t answer me, I stepped even closer, slowly rolling my hips against the front of his jeans. I may not have been drunk-drunk, but I was feeling lonely and needy for…well, for him. Always, always him.

I barely looked him in the eyes as I moved, too lost in my actions to care. Tipsy Lia wasn’t afraid of rejection, apparently.

“Come on now. Dance with me, Maxwell.” I tangled my fingers in the back of his hair, reveling in the softness beneath. I rocked my hips in time to the music, dying for him to reciprocate that move against me.

I leaned forward, pressing my half-naked chest to his. To my surprise, he shuddered and shut his eyes, instantly reacting to my touch. His hands never left my waist, and his fingers never lessened their grip. In fact, never once did he move.

How long would it take for him to snap? To tell me to knock it off and drag me caveman-style out of this place. I could feel his protective instincts fighting with something unknown, something I didn’t fully recognize, but was curious about all the same.

“Please,” I pleaded once more. “Dance with me.” I lowered my hands from around his neck and grabbed his elbows instead, pulling his arms completely around my back. Not wasting a beat, I once again wrapped my arms around his neck, the place where I was dying to belong.

His dark eyes narrowed at my move, meeting mine. They flashed with uncertainty before he gave in. And when he finally lowered his forehead to mine in surrender, I shivered at the intensity in his stare.

That’s when Maxwell began to dance with me.

Hot breath washed over my mouth as he moved his lips within inches of mine. The heady sensation of the alcohol, combined with his touch, warmed me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head—and all the special places in between. Three songs passed, then four, neither of us taking a break. Sweat trickled from his temples, and my drenched hair stuck to my cheeks even more than before. We were lost in a foreign world of lust and imagination, the surroundings releasing us from being our normal selves.

For the first time in years, I let myself truly be free with the opposite sex—with the only man I could trust to whom I wasn’t related. Travis had been a glitch on my radar, while Max was fast becoming my world…again.

My mind clouded as I spread my legs, taking things further. On my silent request, his knee drove between my thighs. The barely there panties I’d picked to wear rubbed me in ways I could only describe as magic. I gasped, my fingers tightening in his hair. My breathing grew heavy, erratic, my lower tummy tight. Fingers drew me closer, and I moaned as a shot of something spectacular tingled its way between my hips.

“Lee-Lee,” Max groaned into my ear, slowing his movements with the pace of the song. He pressed his lips to my neck and murmured, “We gotta stop.”

I whimpered, willing us to be alone, most of all willing him to want this as much as I did. Instead of giving him what he wanted, I took what I wanted, pushing down all my inhibitions as I pressed myself even closer. My dress rode up high, my breasts nearly popping out the top of my dress. Air grazed my backside as the pads of his fingers slipped beneath, the sensation unlike anything I’d ever known.

“Stop,” he begged louder, squeezing the sensitive area just below my ass. “Please, Lia. I can’t do this…” Yet he didn’t stop kissing my neck, didn’t stop touching my legs, did nothing to prove that what he asked for was what he truly wanted.

What was he fighting against?

More than anything, I wanted to believe that his sudden need to touch and kiss me was because he’d always wanted to. But I knew better. Which meant I would take what I could get.

“I need you, Max. I need you to make me feel good.” I leaned forward and pulled the lobe of his ear between my teeth. At my bold move, something inside him seemed to snap.

With a growl, he nudged me back, only to grab my hand and tug me off the dance floor. His grip on my fingers was so tight that my knuckles throbbed uncomfortably. But I welcomed the sensation, loving how I’d pushed him to some limit. The untouchable Maxwell Martinez with a rap sheet of women was affected…by me.

We landed in a dark corner, cut off from the rest of the club. My back hit the wall, and his mouth was on mine before I could ask what he was doing.

God, yes.

His knee took its rightful place between my thighs, but he somehow still managed to shield me from the rest of the room. He was always protecting me. Forever my Superman.

I moaned against his lips as he slowly lifted my dress at my thighs. “Are you sure?” he asked.

With a nod and not a lick of fear, I grabbed his hand and slipped it between my thighs, guiding him to the place where I needed him most.

For a moment, he froze, the pad of his finger firm against my clit as he slipped my panties aside. I gasped at the teasing sensation, moving my hips and urging him on. “Please,” I begged.

“Lee-Lee, God.” Need and desire battled for control in the dark pools of his eyes. Just when I thought he was ready to walk, he succumbed to the moment with a heavy sigh and lowered his forehead to mine.

Not wasting any time, I took what I’d been dying for and kissed him again, only for him to finally dip his finger fully inside me. “Max, yes,” I dropped my head back as he rubbed a slow circle over my clit with his thumb. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing with Max ever was. “Faster, please.”

Three quick grazes later, I was nearly ready to burst, knees shaking, pressed together to keep the moment from being over too soon.

“You’re so wet,” he growled, biting at my neck.

“For you,” I whispered, meeting his eyes again, my lips parted, my breath heavy.

One side of his mouth curled up in that cocky smile that was one hundred percent Max. “Only for me, yeah?”

I nodded fast, a thrill shooting through me at his words. Always for him. Forever for him. I kissed him again before I said, “Yes. Only you.”

Seconds later, I came hard on his fingers, body limp, sagging against him, sated…so very, very sated. I tucked my head under his chin, nuzzling his chest. In his arms, I felt like I could rule the world.

Fingers found my chin, tipping my head back. “Lee-Lee, you’re…” He trailed off. His face was a mask of wonderment. It seemed I was the only thing he could see. He lifted his free hand and traced his knuckles down the side of my cheek, watching the movement, studying my face…my lips, my eyes, my nose. In his arms, I felt whole. I felt real. I felt undoubtedly worshipped, and I never wanted it to end.

“You’re…” He said it again.

“What, Max? I’m what?” I licked my lips, kissing his chin.

Another sigh, and then, “You’re the most beautiful comer I’ve ever fucking seen.” He leaned forward and pulled my bottom lip between his teeth, letting go with a heavy sigh.

Disappointment squeezed my heart at his words. This was exactly the Max I’d expected, so why did it feel as though I’d suddenly lost everything?

Not wanting my emotions to win out, I played along with his game. “Comer, huh?” I grinned. “Is that a new term in the Maxwell Urban Dictionary?”

“Fuck yeah, it is.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, though the bubble of unease in my throat wouldn’t go away. Max was a filthy gentleman who I was pretty sure held the hearts of at least a million other women. I shut my eyes when he slowly slid the bottom of my dress back down. “Let’s go,” he said, grazing my cheek with the back of his hand once again.

The air was cool against my sweaty skin when we stepped outside. I trembled as he looked me up and down with a frown. “You’re cold?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Ignoring me, he pulled off his suit coat, the one he’d worn so casually over an old rugby T-shirt. “Put this on over your dress.”

“But—”

He pressed his finger to my lips, tenderness in his dark eyes as he said, “You need it more than me.”

“I’m fine without it. Promise.”

Lips pursed, he shot me a look that said don’t. I rolled my eyes but did as he asked, secretly loving how little I felt as the material fell just below the hem of my dress and down over the backs of my hands.

“Satisfied?” I flapped my arms like a bird, the sleeves nearly blowing in the wind. His eyes flared as he looked his fill.

My heart skipped, and my tummy flipped with excitement. Maybe, just maybe, this hadn’t been a tipsy fluke after all.

“How’d you get here?” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and frowned at something on the screen before he pocketed the phone once more.

I bit my lip. “I drove.”

“You what? I thought your car wouldn’t make the trip.”

I shrugged. “Well, it did.” I just prayed it would get us home too.

After I handed him my keys, he headed toward the parking lot, his hand in mine once again. I reveled in the simple touch, the calloused edges of his fingers and palms curled around mine. It was an incredible sensation—one I wasn’t so sure he was even aware of.

In the car, he turned over the ignition. It started right away, but the muffler crackled, puffing out. He started it again, an adorable look of concentration on his face, only for the same thing to happen. The third time, the engine stayed on, but Max turned to me and shook his head with a playful grin. “Hope you don’t mind walking in the rain if this thing breaks down.”

As if on cue, a spark of lightning exploded in the sky, proving that a storm was imminent.

“What were you planning on doing tonight if I hadn’t shown up? It’s not like you could have driven home.”

My good mood faltered and I cringed, ashamed. I looked at my lap. “I’m not drunk.” The truth was that I hadn’t even thought about it, mainly because I was in such a head state today.

I’d received a phone call from one of the schools I sent my résumé to in Springfield, an alternative middle school that wanted to interview me next month. I was totally excited, but at the same time terrified out of my mind. This was real-life stuff happening. A real life that could mean moving away from the people I loved most. My only friends, my family. Max too. My trust level only went so far, obviously, and moving to a new city and meeting new people wasn’t something I could do easily. Not even New Lia was fully comfortable with the idea.

“Fine. Don’t answer me then.” He pulled out of the lot and drove toward the highway, silent along the way. My shoulders sagged in disappointment. I was losing him already.

“Why come all the way to Macomb for me?” I tried to keep my voice even because the last thing I wanted was to fight, especially after what had just happened between us.

“Because I was worried about you.”

Always worried…just like a brother. Exhaustion and fear had me leaning my head against the window. I shut my eyes, not wanting to think about what would happen next.

“I’m sorry.” He broke the silence first.

“For what?” I blinked, looking at his gorgeous face and the way his dark hair curled just a bit over his forehead. I wanted to brush it away, to feel it between my fingers again.

“For being so overprotective lately. I just…”

“You just…?” I held my breath, taking a risk. I moved my hand over the console, leaving it there, my fingers dangling. I was suddenly fifteen again, waiting for him to make his move.

And then he did. Fingers tangled with mine as he pulled our connected hands to his lap. I leaned closer, laying my head on his shoulder. Feeling as though the world had just righted on its axis, completely syncing everything that had been wrong in the world.

“I just need to make sure you’re good.”

“Why?” I blinked, willing him to say what I’d been dreaming about for years. That he cared about me…that he loved me like I loved him.

“Because…because you’re my best friend, Lee-Lee.”

Tears filled my eyes at his words, while regret made it impossible for me to respond. Best friends…best friends who kissed, danced, touched.

Instead of responding, I let my tears fall silently, only to fall asleep to the steady pitter-patter of the rain against the windshield.