Chapter 17 Muzzles and Straitjackets #2
"I'm too fucking tired for this shit, Cassidy."
"I bet you're exhausted!"
His jaw tightens. "I asked her to leave. What more do you fucking want?"
I shake my head slowly and speak quietly. "I don’t want anything from you. Ever. Again."
His nose flares as he exhales. He didn’t seem to like hearing that. "I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle this."
"I suppose you were right. The silly little girl can't handle it."
We're both silent, and for a split second, I see the pain on his face before he moves toward me again.
"I said don’t touch me,” I say, stepping back.
His jaw tics like crazy. "I don't like hearing that."
"Get used to it," I whisper.
He takes another step toward me. "I didn’t fuck her."
Immediately, I hate hearing those words. I hate how much I wanted to hear them. I hate how they chip at the wall I've just built between us.
Arching my neck to look up into his eyes, I feel every cell in my body suddenly compress beneath his stare. "You can do whatever you want, Max. It's none of my business."
"Fuck," he growls before storming away from me. I watch him leave, my heart chasing after him; luckily, my body and mind are in control right now. He suddenly stops at the sliding door, spinning quickly to face me. "I. Didn't. Fuck. Her!"
After a few swallows, I manage to say, "You expect me to believe that?"
"I don’t expect anything!" He walks towards me so quickly I'm afraid he'll bowl me over, but he stops an arm's length away. "You’re the one with all the fucking expectations."
I glance at the grass for refuge because, once again, he's too much for me. Too consuming. "I just want to be alone, please."
"Look at me."
My breath shakes. "I can’t."
"I didn’t fuck her." He reaches for my hip again and his fingers coax me slowly towards him. Sighing, I let them take me closer because I want to seek comfort in him now. Comfort from him—in him...
Ugh.
I let Max press my body against his. "She was naked in your bed. The same bed we shared the night before. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
He rubs the length of my spine up to my neck. Gripping the back of it, he tilts my gaze to meet his. "That's why I didn't fuck her."
Shaking my head, I stare straight into his groggy eyes. "You're so full of shit."
His lips twitch with a grin. "Did you just swear, Little One?"
I mouth the word, "Shit."
He smiles for a split second. "What do you want from me? I want to hear you say it."
Breathing out loudly, all I can do is tell the truth. Even if I hate the truth. Even if it results in pain. "I want all of you or none of you."
He lifts me into his arms and wraps my legs around his waist. "Okay."
I push out from his chest and frown at him. "Okay?"
His shrug is all confidence. "I can be monogamous."
"You?" My cheeks twitch with a laugh and then it's gone. "You’d need a straitjacket and one of those muzzles greyhounds have to wear because they chase and eat little animals."
A sleepy grin stretches across his cheeks. He moves his hands from my thighs to cup my backside, and I can't help imagining where those hands were last night. Cupping big breasts. Teasing Scarlett's nipples. The images churn my stomach.
"I do like to chase and eat little animals," he says with a purr to his voice.
I drown out that tone and how it makes me feel. "So, if you didn't sleep with her, what did you do with her?"
"Nothing. She got naked. Girls do that."
I laugh with derision. "No, they don't."
"It was a bucks party! She wanted me to fuck her. I could have, Cassidy. I fucking didn't! Xander got his dick wet. Bronson got his dick wet. I. Did. Not."
"Did you touch her?"
"I'm sure at some point I did."
The ambiguity in his answer infuriates me. "Did you get anything else wet?"
His bloodshot eyes narrow on my face. "No. But if you keep talking dirty like that, I'm gonna shove my cock down your throat to silence you."
I consider pushing him away in a form of protest, but then I'm filled with fear he'll let me, so I don't. "How hung-over are you?"
"I'm not hung-over."
I scoff. "Right."
He tries to bat his eyelids, but they seem nearly too heavy to lift. "I'm still pissed. And I'd like to see you in a muzzle. Straitjacket. Nothing else."
"Max. You can't just say these things." My eyes squeeze shut as I shake my head, just once.
I shouldn't be listening to a single word that comes out of his gorgeous mouth.
Not while he's intoxicated. I doubt he'll even remember this conversation.
And if he does, well, I'm sure he'll regret saying he can be a one-girl guy.
"Okay, no straitjacket," he says.
I open my eyes to find him smirking at me. "Max. Do you know what you're saying to me? I mean... monogamous."
His brows draw together. "Never tell me not to touch you again. I fucking hated that."
"You can't just touch naked girls! You can't just sleep next to naked girls whenever you want."
He laughs a little. "Oh really? Fuck, forget about it then."
"Max," I breathe. "That's what this means."
His head dips back as he groans. "Listen.
I'm not concerned. You want me to be monogamous.
Then fine. I thought it would be hard. But last night I managed it.
" I attempt to interrupt, but he fists my hair, giving me a light tug in warning.
"And I fucking swear to God, if you make me say I didn't fuck her one more time—"
"Do you know how it felt to see her in your arms?"
"It wasn't a big deal, Little One!"
"Imagine if you walked in and I was naked, and my body was pressed against another guy. Would that be a big deal?"
As his eyes dilate almost instantly, the fingers knotted in my hair tighten. He leans in until his lips touch my ear. "Cassidy... You do not want me imagining that."
The heat from his breath cascades down my throat like a warning. "I was kidding."
"Well, I'm not fucking kidding. Be very careful," he growls as he walks me into the villa. "We can talk about this shit later. You can write me a long fucking list of all the things I can't do. I just gotta lay down and I need you next to me."