Chapter Sixteen
I stormed onto the deck after him. “What do you want me to say, huh?”
He took a swig from the bottle, glaring out into the distance as rain poured down on his head. It soaked through my clothes, making me shiver. I would’ve crossed my arms over my chest to hide my rapidly hardening nipples but I was too pissed off to care.
Instead, I grabbed the wine from his hand and threw it across the lawn.
His jaw clenched. “Just forget it, Quinn.”
A low growl left the back of my throat. I hated when he used my name. But that I cared at all bothered me even more, especially when he acted like a bullheaded brute.
Yanking on his arm, I tugged him to face me. “No, Max, I want to know!”
He turned reluctantly, glowering at me while rivulets of water streamed down his face.
But he refused to explain himself.
“So, that’s it? Act like you’re going to open up to me, bait me at every turn, but the second I give you a hard time, you get pissed off and shut down?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked at the accusation, but he still said nothing.
“Right.” Disappointment sank in my gut. “I guess that tracks. It fits perfectly with everything else you’ve shown me. I don’t know why I let myself believe I’d been wrong.”
Spinning on my heel, I turned to go back inside.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I whirled back around to face him, unsure where all this was coming from, but certain I needed to let it out.
“It means I know a spoiled rich kid when I see one. You play hot and cold because you have no idea what you actually want. You demand things from me without having to give up anything yourself. Heck, you even tried to eliminate me from The Quest because all this is a game to you. Even though it’s the furthest thing in the world from that, to me .”
All my fears about Max came tumbling out, the proverbial floodgates opened by the wine and five days of his confusing, infuriating actions. Hot-and-cold behavior that made it impossible to find solid ground with him. Demands for my secrets, only for him to clam up whenever I stepped into territory he didn’t want me near.
How was I supposed to trust him?
Especially when he stormed off and left with Vivian, a detail from the party my mind squirreled away, or when he wouldn’t give me a straight answer about his past, as if having a sexual past mattered or couldn’t be shared.
That wasn’t real.
I stepped into his space. “You shut down when I give you a hard time because you’re used to having your way. Having it easy .”
It was all a game to him—it had to be.
“That’s why you let girls blow you in coat closets.” I glared at him, lashing out as that hit me all at once. “Doesn’t take a shrink to guess that’s why you picked Vivian , too.”
Spitting out her name, I panted hard and stared up at him. I refused to back down. I refused to let it lie and willfully accept that he wouldn’t give me the whole truth.
And I needed to know right then what he’d do about it.
And as usual, it wasn’t what I expected.
His voice dropped low, his tone scathing. “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you? You think because you’ve interacted with me a handful of times and you’ve seen me at Camelot Court, that means you know anything about me?”
“I don’t know you, Max! That’s the problem. Only what I see. What I hear. And what you show me. But none of it adds up, and it makes it impossible to trust that all this”—I extended my arms to encompass the last five days and everything he’d shown me—“hasn’t been one giant lie.”
“And if I believed the lie that you show the world?”
“I haven’t lied about anything.” I lifted my chin higher. “And I’m not the one claiming who I am around everyone else is an act.”
“You think because you tell half of the truth, that means you’re being honest?” He scoffed. “You think no one can read between the lines to see what you’re hiding?”
I froze.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, taking a breath before pinning me with an accusatory stare. “Admit it, Princess. I’m not the villain in your story. And I’m not the asshole you think I am. I’m just the guy you want to hate because that’s easier for you.”
“ Easier for me? You think any of this has been easy for me?”
Scoffing a laugh, I stormed away from him. Rain streamed into my eyes, blurring my vision. I stomped toward the trees beyond the deck and away from the cabin. Growling when he stalked after me, I quickened my pace.
But for every three steps I took, he closed the distance between us with one stride.
Up ahead, I spotted the lake. I had no idea what I would do when I got there, but I’d figure it out.
Max reached me before I could. Grabbing me by the arm, he swung me back around to face him. Breathing hard, our chests brushing with each inhale, we glared at each other.
Fire raged between us—so strong, it would level the forest if we let it run wild. And I’d lose everything in the heat of the moment.
“So, what? You need me to say I’m attracted to you? That I want you even when I shouldn’t? Why , Max?”
“Why do you think, Princess?”
I shook my head. “You’re not going to do anything with that information but hurt me.”
He barked a laugh, harsh and derisive, as he stared at me in disbelief. “From where I’m sitting, I’m the only person here who hasn’t hurt you.”
“Only because I haven’t given you the chance!”
“Because I don’t want to!” he roared back, his grip tightening on my arm. “Do you think it’s been easy for me? Questioning everything I thought I wanted because I met you?”
My lips parted with a gasp, but I couldn’t speak.
“Do you think it’s easy going against what I’m supposed to do? Even with the consequences, I still want you! I’ve spent my whole life focused on taking care of only me, knowing no one else would do it, and I’m still planning to protect you. I’m still choosing you.” Max shook his head. “All while I’m stuck as the villain in your eyes, and you fawn over those two fucking—your so-called White Knight and bogus King? Do you think it’s easy being the asshole next to them?”
I panted, seething with rage at his mockery. Unable to see past it to hear the rest. Unable to give in to the way his words gripped my heart in a vise.
When I said nothing, he scoffed, his eyes darkening as he lowered his head.
“And standing here while you claim you’ve been honest? Do you think that’s easy?” He brought his face an inch from mine. “When every time we’re near each other, I know you feel this, too? You’re so wet I can practically taste you, Princess. Do you think that’s easy for me?”
My breathing hitched.
“You can lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t hide the truth from me. And I’m done denying it.”
Eyes widening, I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could respond—before I could even think—Max stole my lips in a crushing, bruising kiss. He swallowed the retort on the tip of my tongue.
And the moan I couldn’t hold back even if I’d tried.
That single, unbridled sound undid him.
Grabbing my hips, he spun us and pinned me against the nearest tree. His hard, powerful body pressed against every inch of mine, and he groaned, biting my bottom lip.
I didn’t fight it.
He palmed my thighs. Hauling me up, he wrapped my legs around his waist, and I didn’t stop him.
I locked my ankles and arched my back, my spine bending as my willpower not only broke but shattered completely.
And when he deepened our kiss, I couldn’t resist him.
His tongue battling with mine, he surged his hips forward. Grinding my body into the tree. Thrusting his hard cock between my denim-covered and trembling legs. Right where I wanted it.
And I let him.
I writhed against him, clutching him tighter. Clawing at his back as if that might bring him closer. As if he might reach all the places I needed him.
One hand still under my thighs, he slipped between them, his fingers edging along the hem of my shorts. And even though they barely covered me, I didn’t care.
He traced the curve of my ass. Digging into the muscle. Kneading my flesh with his strong hands. And finally, sliding past the barrier, he gave me his touch where I burned for it.
Brushing my thong with rough fingers, he skimmed the line we hadn’t crossed. My hips jolted, the thin scrap of fabric barely enough to stop his touch from searing through me.
And easily revealing the prize he sought.
Validation.
Because he’d been right.
I’d known it. And he’d known it, even before he grazed my core, his fingers coming away slick with my arousal.
“You try to fight it. Try to resist it. But I know you want me, too. You crave the darkest parts of me as much as I crave you.”
He brought his fingers to his lips and sucked, his eyelids heavy. And as he groaned at the taste of me, I stared transfixed. Eyes rapt, completely captivated as he consumed me.
My lips parted.
Gripping the back of my neck, he dragged me to him. Plunging his tongue into my mouth, he forced me to taste my desire. To face how much I wanted him.
A truth I’d been trying to keep at bay since this whole thing started. A confession it had taken five days to get out of me. Only five days. Instead of six.
My body froze.
Breaking our kiss, Max rested his head against mine. He drew in deep, ragged breaths. And I could barely breathe.
He leaned in to capture my lips again.
My hand on his chest stopped him.
Eyes jumping between mine, he searched for a sign to keep going. But he must’ve seen the realization on my face. Shock over what I’d done.
I couldn’t think past it.
Suddenly, his expression changed, eyes pleading in a way I couldn’t bring myself to understand.
All my mind comprehended was that I’d lost.
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Don’t,” he begged softly. “Don’t say it. This is on me until?—”
“You weren’t supposed to do that.”
His eyes fell shut.
I pushed against him until he released me. Unwrapping my legs from his waist, he stepped back and lowered me to the ground. My legs shook as I tried to stand.
I braced my body against the tree and stared at the ground. What had he done? Why had he done it?
It was happening all over again.
I’d lost.
What we—What he’d done...I couldn’t understand it.
My mind couldn’t make sense of why he’d taken it—why he’d stolen it—from me with a lie.
When Max stepped toward me, I flinched.
He put his hands up between us. Stumbling away from him, I clutched my chest as it constricted. Every ragged breath I dragged into my lungs felt painful.
After everything—what he’d said…
Why had he done it?
My voice broke. “Was this your plan all along?”
I buried my hands in my hair, running my fingers over my scalp. Tugging on my scar as everything spun out of control. My mind jumped between then and now, spiraling to the worst imaginable, but inevitable, conclusion.
“Did you—Were you playing me this whole time?”
Max hardened his expression, and all I saw was the way his features changed, his eyes narrowing with a cruel gleam.
My face fell.
He’d played me. Showing me a side of him I wanted to believe was real. Slowly lowering my defenses. And waiting to strike the minute I let my guard down.
I had believed him.
My mind raced through everything he’d said—everything he’d claimed—about things being different, about trying to protect me, about choosing me.
All so, in the end, he could take—steal one moment from me—hoping I wouldn’t be able to resist when he did.
I couldn’t breathe.
Had any of it been real?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to stop the tears building, but they slid down my cheeks, mixing with the rain as they fell to the ground.
I sank to my knees with them.
At the realization that I’d failed—I’d lost—my heart faltered as I dropped my head into my hands.
And when I finally lifted my eyes back up, Max was gone.
* * *
How long I’d knelt there, I had no idea.
Soaked through to the bone, I had no choice but to face him. I stumbled to my feet, my stomach rolling and vision blurring with rain and tears.
My head felt heavy, and my shoulders sagged toward the ground. Halfway back to the cabin, I stumbled again, my knees buckling. They hit the grass and slid out from under me.
I pitched forward. I tried to push myself back up, but I couldn’t stand. My body felt weighted down with rocks. As if someone stood over me, stacking them on my back. Watching as I sank lower and lower.
My forehead pressed into the dirt. I groaned.
But I didn’t fight it.
My eyes fell closed. I just needed to rest them for a second.
And I didn’t stop them.
A nap. that was all I needed. Then, I’d get up and face this.
I… Something was wrong.
My heart thundered in my chest, racing like a hummingbird’s wings. Panic crept in. It slithered like a snake in the grass.
But with my mind trapped in a fog, I couldn’t wade through the heaviness.
My breathing quickened.
I tried to draw in a deep breath.
It felt like inhaling mud.
Coughing and spluttering, I spit out wet dirt as I pushed up on trembling arms.
Some part of my brain recognized that I needed to move. I needed to move immediately .
But I was so tired. Too weak.
I didn’t resist it.
I somehow managed to flop over onto my back. Blinking up at the rain as it poured down. It filled my mouth. I choked before I could push it out. Head falling to the side, I forced my shoulder to follow. I rolled onto my side with a deep groan.
“Max,” I croaked instead of crying out.
But Max had gone inside.
He couldn’t hear me.
I wasn’t sure he’d help me if he could.
No one would hear me.
No one would be able to help me if I screamed.
“Help.”
Movement sounded in the distance. A creaking, indistinguishable noise. My name whispered through the rain. Footsteps approached, stalking toward me.
But they moved too slowly.
My vision grew black at the edges, until I couldn’t make them out clearly.
The sharp scent of citrus surrounded me.
It lingered with a hint of spice.
Was that…
Lemons?
Darkness came to claim me.
And I let it.