Thirteen #3
I glare at him, but he goes on, voice serious. “You made yourself very clear you didn’t want me. I don’t owe you an explanation, but I didn’t do it to hurt you.”
“I didn’t ask because I was hurt,” I retort.
He stands firm. “Yes, you were. That’s exactly why you asked.”
I let out a long breath and try to steer him away from how right he was. “You don’t owe me anything, and I don’t owe you. If you’re going to go after the people in my life and kill them, then I should have the right to do the same with the women in yours.”
I want him to say there are no other women, but his response, as always, disappoints me. “I’ve got no problem with that. Say the word, and I’ll have those two taken care of with one call.”
His voice is so deadly serious that my blood runs cold.
I drop the towel and step closer to him. “If I’m supposed to claim my rights like you do, I’d have to ask you to kill every whore in your whorehouse—the same women you forced to take pregnancy tests because you were terrified one of them might dump another unwanted child in your lap.”
The vein in his jaw is pulsing from how hard he’s clenching it. He flicks his cigarette into the pool and looms over me. “Who’s feeding you this information, Ava?”
His voice is so lethal I realize I’ve messed up. If he thinks I’m spying on him, he’ll drown me in this pool, and he’d be within his rights.
I lower my defenses and explain, “Anytime two women are in a room together, one of them is talking about you. The staff at Carlo’s house, the women at the party. I overheard it by chance.”
His eyes soften, and he releases me to face the water. “It’s true, I don’t want a child from those women. I don’t want different kids from different women.”
He pauses to face me, a faint smile crossing his face.
“I didn’t expect Aurora, but don’t ever call her unwanted again.
Standing here now, I love that tiny orange thing, who barely reaches my knees, more than my own life.
If my little carrot wants a sibling, it should come from her own parents. I want my whole family under one roof.”
He’s indirectly saying he wouldn’t mind if I gave him another child. A few butterflies flutter in my stomach.
His gaze sparkles in the dim light, fixing on my chest. I follow his eyes. The short satin dress, which barely covered me before, is now soaked and clinging to every curve of my body. The hunger in Maxim’s stare and the tightening of his thick arm muscles send my blood racing at a dizzying pace.
I lower my head, crossing my arms over my chest. That deep, primal desire weakens my resolve to fight the lust this man ignites in me.
His big hands rest on my bare shoulders. My skin prickles under his fingers as they slide toward my neck, my breath quickening.
“I didn’t sleep with them.”
My brows knit together, my pulse stuttering. “What?”
His thumb brushes the sensitive spot below my ear, his gaze fixed on my face.
“The actresses. I didn’t sleep with them. I took them to Tuscany because I wanted to prove something to myself.” His voice drops to a whisper. “You bruised my pride, and I wanted to prove that you didn’t matter. That whether you stayed or disappeared from my life, I wouldn’t give a fuck.”
My lips part, my eyes widening as I stare at him.
“But I couldn’t do it, Ava.” His jaw tightens. “I couldn’t touch them.”
“Why?”
His expression turns serious, his breathing suddenly heavier. His hand slides to my waist, pulling me closer against his chest.
“Because I’m obsessed with you.”
The words hit me like a punch to the ribs, stealing the air from my lungs. It feels as though a thousand pounds have been lifted from my chest, but not completely.
“And the whores in your club—”
“No.” He cuts me off, his fingers tightening slightly around my waist. His face dips closer, his warm breath ghosting over my skin. “Since the moment you walked back into my life, there hasn’t been anyone else. No one.”
My knees go weak.
One hand presses me against his chest while the other lifts my chin. The moment my eyes meet his devastatingly beautiful face, my lips part on their own, and my breath brushes against his skin.
“You have no reason to be jealous,” he growls, pushing my head back and looming over me. “You’re different from all the women who throw themselves at me. I’m starving for you in a way I’ve never wanted anyone else. Actress, model, whore, rich or poor—they can all go to hell.”
His thumb drags down the line of my throat, not gently, stopping between my breasts. “You’re the one I want.”
He brushes aside my limp hands and cups my breast, making me gasp as I close my eyes. My heart is pounding like a war drum in my chest. His breath is hot on my damp skin again. “I want to taste these round, perky tits again.”
His fingers trail down with the back of his knuckles, sliding over the wet fabric until he reaches my soaked panties. As he strokes me through my panties, he mutters, “I want to bury myself deep inside this pussy.”
A helpless moan escapes me, I want him so badly it hurts. I hook a leg around his thigh, my fingers clawing into his shoulder. When I feel his hard length pressed against me, I let out a sharp breath, looking straight into his hungry eyes.
He takes that sound as a yes and crashes his mouth onto mine. Tilting his head, he uses his tongue to part my lips, gripping the back of my head to keep me still as he kissing me deeper. His kiss is full of dominance, and I surrender to it. I kiss him back, melting into his body.
Desire takes over completely, I can’t even feel my legs anymore. It’s like my bones are gone.
He grabs my ass, making me moan into his mouth, then kisses down my cheek to my neck. His lips bite and suck, little stings that make me shudder. I dig my nails into his back and rest my head on his shoulder.
One big hand cups my soaked heat, and the next second, his arm wraps around my waist and lifts me off the ground. My legs lock around his waist, my arms around his neck. His eyes—wild, primal, hot—lock on mine as he carries me to the lounge bed.
Our chests are heaving, starved for air between kisses. He lays me down like I’m breakable, then the next moment, he rips my dress apart like a predator tearing into prey.
He doesn’t care about the loud gasp I let out. He takes one breast in his mouth, sucking hard, while massaging the other roughly.. My legs fall open on their own. I grip his wet black hair and moan. My nipples are hard like diamonds, and he gives them equal attention, soaking them in his hot spit.