25. Chapter 25
twenty-five
C ome home with me.
Max’s soft, commanding words were still raking down Willow’s spine five minutes later. She’d been so confused since the morning she’d spoken to him in their office that she’d convinced herself the whole thing had been a bad idea. But when he leaned in close and brushed her hair from her ear and his deep voice rumbled those words, she changed her mind.
Hooking up with Max was the only thing she was absolutely certain she wanted to do.
Next thing she knew, she was asking Jer to lock up for her so she could go home with Max. She’d worried about how Jer was going to react, given he seemed to hate Max, but he’d just smirked and said, “You got it, Boss. ”
“Are you okay?”
Willow turned in the passenger seat of Max’s car and took in his sharp features with a smile and a nod. She couldn’t believe how far they’d come from their first encounter. She’d thought he was the biggest dick on earth back then. But now? She felt comfortable with him. And safe.
He pulled into the driveway of a duplex and put his car in park. “Are you having second thoughts?”
She glanced over at him and started rolling her eyes, but the look on his face stopped her in her tracks. His brows were drawn together, and his shoulders seemed too stiff, as if he was . . . nervous? She’d never seen that look from him before.
“No,” she said. “I’m excited to see your place.”
He relaxed fractionally as he unbuckled. “Don’t get too excited. It’s not much.”
She got out of the car and met him in the driveway in front of his car. “Which side is yours?”
“I own both sides, but I live here,” he said, pointing to the door on the left. “There’s a family renting that side.”
“Oh,” Willow said, impressed at first, but then her mind started racing. She took in his face and finally formed a complete picture of who Max was in her mind. She hadn’t realized until that moment how he’d set up his whole life to be completely self-reliant.
“What?” he asked.
“You really like to own everything, eh?”
He shrugged and walked to the front door. “I don’t want my livelihood to depend on the whims of someone less reliable than me,” he said, unlocking the door. “And I don’t want my home to be owned by someone who can kick me out at any time.”
She followed him inside. “Is that independence or paranoia?”
He paused and stared at her, one eyebrow cocked, and she was worried he was going to tell her to stop asking personal questions again.
“Probably both,” he finally said, then smirked. “I enjoy being in control.”
She snorted. “The understatement of the century,” she said, looking around at the simple builder-basic decor and sparse furniture. “How long have you been here?”
“Three years. I bought it after paying off the first laundromat. The rental covers the mortgage, so my business income stays in my corporation to finance new acquisitions.”
She stared at him for a moment, shocked he was giving her so much personal information .
“What?”
“I’m just surprised you’re telling me these things.”
He smiled and shook his head. “I know now that you won’t let it go, so I might as well make it easy. Drink?”
She nodded and followed him down the hall to the kitchen.
“So, I can ask you anything?”
“Sure,” he said, pulling a couple cans of beer from the fridge and handing her one.
Hmm . . . better make it good.
She took the beer from his hand, then looked around the room. He was so organized; she wondered whether he ever did anything on a whim. He probably had his clothes for the week laid out on his dresser and a fridge full of prepped meals. Maybe even a plan for next week. And the week after.
There was no telling how far in advance he made plans.
She smiled as her mind screamed a brilliant question at her. “Do you have a five-year plan?”
He opened the beer and took a drink, then stared at her for a moment before answering. “That’s what you want to know?”
She rolled her eyes. “I want to know what it is,” she said. “I already know you have one. You probably have a ten-year plan. ”
He laughed and shrugged. “Fine,” he said. “I’m going to get the pub established and hire a manager to take it off my hands so I can focus on adding a few more businesses as opportunities arise. And when I’m ready to stop, I’ll—”
“Ready to stop?”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Yeah, I don’t want to work really long hours when I have kids.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You want kids?”
“Of course I do,” he said, almost surprised she would ask.
She laughed, then took a drink. “You’re more ‘daddy’ than ‘dad,’ don’t you think?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I think I’m both.”
She smiled and shrugged. That tracked. He was responsible and kind. Maybe if he could work on the controlling part, he’d be a good parent.
“How many kids do you want?”
“No less than four.”
She nearly spit out her beer. “Four?!”
“No less than four. Could be five. Maybe six.”
She stared at him in shock. “Six? How are you going to find a woman willing to birth six of your gigantic babies?”
“I can be persuasive,” he said with a smirk. “Once she’s pregnant, I’ll buy us a house with a big yard in a good school district and rent out this unit to cover the costs.”
“Wow,” she said, trying to stop herself from being scared for his future wife. And also a little jealous of her, too.
Six was aggressive, but it was admirable that he knew what he wanted. She couldn’t even figure out where she wanted to be living in two weeks. “You’ve got it all figured out.”
He nodded, and his face took on a more serious look. “I like having a plan.”
Ugh, she felt the same. Maybe that’s why she’d been so out of sorts. Because her one and only plan—to marry Shane—had completely fallen apart.
She took another drink and leaned against the cold granite counter behind her, forcing her mind off her problems and onto the here and now.
“What about . . . this?” she asked, gesturing between them.
He stared at her as if he was carefully considering what she’d asked. “What do you mean?”
“You sure you want to do this again?”
“Willow,” he said, injecting more patience into his voice than she’d ever heard before. “This is all I wanna fucking do. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. ”
Every nerve in her body fired at once. “You’re okay with a second one-night stand?”
He huffed out a breath that she now knew was his annoyance returning. “Is that what this is?”
She blew out her cheeks, then released them. She literally had no idea what the hell they were doing at this point. All she knew was that she wanted to be there with him.
He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them, and put his hands on the counter on either side of her hips. “I’m okay with a thousand one-night stands if you are,” he said, leaning down and kissing her neck.
Tingles raced over her scalp as she dropped her head to the side and let him work his way down to her collarbone. She set down her drink and put her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. God, it felt so good to be with him, pressed up against his warm chest. The world could end outside, and she’d still be perfectly safe and happy in this bubble with Max.
“A thousand?” she said, her eyes fluttering closed as her brain slowly powered down, letting her body take over. “That’s like, three years of one-night stands.”
“Mmm,” he said, making his way back up to her ear. “Better make it ten thousand, then. ”
She pulled back, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind, but he stared back, looking genuinely serious. He reached for her face, traced his thumb along her cheek.
“Wait, are you serious?”
With no hesitation, he nodded. “You can’t be surprised that I want you.”
“Uh, yeah, I can,” she said, pulling back slightly. “You’re always so . . . distant.”
He gave a pointed look down at their bodies pressed together with absolutely no space between them.
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean physically.”
He shook his head and ran his hands up her back to her neck before moving his fingertips in slow circles, massaging her traps. She relaxed into his touch.
“I’m trying to give you space because you just got out of a relationship, but I obviously really like you, Willow. I admire you for negotiating the deal on the brewery and taking it in your own direction and not letting anyone stand in your way.”
She pulled back, looked into his eyes. “I thought you hated me taking over your brewery.”
He smiled. “I did at first, but not anymore. You’re brilliant at this, and you’re a great partner. ”
She’d never been so flattered in her life. She honestly didn’t know what to say. He bent toward her, his warm lips on her ear and his hands on her neck. She tried to say something back to him, but she found herself completely lost for words.
She went up on her tiptoes and took his lips with hers in a deep kiss that made her chest flutter. When Max pulled back, his eyes were half-lidded and his lips were red. Her lips ached for more.
“Bed or couch?” he asked.
She sagged in relief. “Whichever is closest,” she said, kissing up his neck to his earlobe. He smelled so good.
He reached under her thighs, lifted her into his arms, took the few steps to the living room, then sat on the couch, resting her on his lap.
She put her lips on him, down his jaw as she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it down his arms. His hands brushed aside her hair as he unzipped her dress, and every bit of her skin went on high alert.
His hands drew up her bare back to her shoulders and gently slid the straps of her dress down her arms, freeing her breasts and making everything shiver and tighten. The tips of his fingers slowly skated up her back and into her hair as Max dropped his face to her chest. He trailed kisses across her collarbone, then down between her breasts .
Her head fell back as her hips rocked forward, needing more.
He groaned and hardened under her, and she got the friction she desperately needed, but it wasn’t enough.
“Max?”
He lifted his face from her cleavage and held her gaze. “Willow?”
His deep voice caused a fresh wave of shivers across her skin. She relaxed into the sensation as she reached between their bodies for the bottom of his shirt.
“I want to feel you,” she said, grabbing hold of the fabric and dragging it up. She pulled it over his head, tossed it backwards onto the floor, and pressed her bare chest against his as she kissed along his ear and down his neck.
He groaned again as his hands explored her thighs, back, and every other part of her body, except where her dress still clung to her waist.
She needed to get the rest off.
She gave him one more kiss on the lips and stood. He watched closely as she let her dress hit the floor. Slowly, she tucked her thumbs under the elastic of her panties and pulled them down and stepped out.
It took him a few seconds, but eventually, he seemed to snap out of the trance he was in. He stood and turned her around, then gently pressed her shoulders down, guiding her to lie on the couch.
She lay back as he unbuttoned his jeans and slid them, along with his boxers, down and off. He made an impressive sight with his giant tattooed shoulders and muscled stomach. She couldn’t look away or keep her mouth closed.
He reached for his wallet, grabbed a condom, and slid it down his length, then moved toward her. She spread her legs apart, making room between them for him to rest.
He pressed up against her as he leaned forward and kissed her, teasing and pushing and increasing the tension instead of relieving it.
But she really didn’t mind. As badly as she needed that release, feeling his weight on her, his warmth engulfing her, gave her a satisfaction she couldn’t really understand. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck as he finally pressed himself into her, and she let out a moan.
He pressed further and further, slowly, until he couldn’t go any deeper. He paused, dropping his head forward on a moan.
She almost came on the spot.
He slid his arms under her, cradling her against his chest before sliding out, then pressing back in, this time much faster and harder .
“Oh, God,” she breathed, not knowing what else to say.
He groaned and did it again. And again. And again, before she squeezed against him, unable to fight it any longer.
“Willow,” he said against her ear, licking her earlobe and making her even closer to release. “You feel incredible. I can’t hold back.”
“Don’t hold back,” she said, knowing she was so close.
He tightened his hug, dropped his head, and started pumping in and out of her, twice as fast as he had been.
She rose steadily, unable to process the fact that she was being held as if she was something precious to him while being fucked so hard. Her orgasm came on strong, spurring him on as he groaned and emptied himself inside her. He dropped his face onto her chest, trying to catch his breath.
She squeezed her legs tighter around him, pulling an almost painful-sounding groan from his chest, then rubbed his shoulders and back, basking in the warmth she felt lying under his weight.
A long while passed before he pushed himself up and stood, holding out his hand.
“Come to my bed. ”
She took his hand and let him help her up. Once she was on her feet, he bent down, putting one arm behind her back and the other behind her legs, then lifted her off the floor and carried her to his room.
He lowered her down on his bed, then lay down next to her and pulled the covers over them. When he reached out, she instinctively gravitated to him, snuggling into the comfort of his muscular arms.
She sighed, never having felt so content in her life, and never wanted to stop feeling that way as long as she lived.
The last thing she felt was Max’s lips dropping a sweet kiss on her head before she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.