28. Julia
CHAPTER 28
Julia
I muffle a laugh, hearing Tasha and Rocco go at it.
“Well, that didn’t take long, did it?” Max says with an easy smile that I haven’t seen since Rocco was arrested. I push my fingers through his dark hair, and he leans into my touch.
We’ve retreated to what I’ve deemed as ‘our bedroom’, relaxing against the birch wood headboard.
“The two of them together is going to be hilarious.”
“Are you kidding? The two of them together is going to be nothing but trouble.” The dark mood that’s been clinging to him is back in full force. A reminder that we’re still not in the clear. Rocco may be out for now, but the cops are suspicious. I can tell Max feels guilty for his cousin taking the blame for something he did. Even if the cops believe my story, they’re looking at the family.
At Max.
At me.
“Hey, where did you go in that pretty little head of yours?” Max asks, hand firmly on my thigh. Holding me like I belong right next to him.
“Today was a lot. I’ve never been in trouble before. I’ve never seen the back of a cop car. When I was a teenager, I never even shoplifted like many of my friends did. I thought for sure they would lock me up, and I’d never see you again.”
He presses his lips to my temple and cradles me against his firm chest.
“That would never happen. If they tried to take you from me, I’d have no problem killing anyone that stood in my way of keeping you.”
Tasha might be teasing Rocco about being a killer, but with Max’s declaration, I’m forced to remember that the real killer is right here. Holding me. While that should cause me to panic, it calms me. Knowing that he cares for me so much that he’s willing to risk everything for me.
This thing between us might be new, but it’s fierce and full of passion. He understands me in ways I didn’t even know I could be. And what’s worse is that I feel the same way about him. Here I am, risking it all for a man I barely know, but I feel deep in my soul that he’s it for me. The mere thought of not being with him anymore sends my anxiety into a tailspin. I’ve already lost so much—my dad, then my mom. It’s been just me and Tasha. But when I met Max, he breathed life into my grief-stricken heart. Lighting my life up, and desperate to hold onto what we have.
“Make me forget, Max. Make me forget everything but you.”
He moves on me in an instant, hovering over my body and running his large hands over my curves.
His lips are on me instantly. He takes my mouth in his, then leaves a trail of hot kisses down my jaw and even lower. He moves over the dip of my breasts. His lips find my pebbled nipple, sucking against the thin fabric of my shirt. The friction of his mouth against the barrier between us has my core aching for more.
“Are you wet for me, Bella ?”
“Yes.” I moan.
His fingers find the button of my jeans, flicking it open and dipping his hand into my pants. I’m so wet that when his fingers graze the soft fabric of my panties, he smirks. I’m so fucking soaked for him, needing the feel of him inside me.
“Please,” I beg.
His index finger traces a circle just outside of my panties, hitting that sensitive bundle of nerves that has my legs quivering. I arch up into his hand, needing more pressure. He teases me.
The clothes between us are too much. I want them off, but he takes his time. Torturing me with languid circles, working my desire into a fit of need.
I can feel how hard Max is against my leg, his hips digging into me, searching for friction as he slides my panties to the side, pressing into me.
“So fucking tight and wet for me, Bella. I never want to stop feeling you wrapped around me.”
The intensity of his words mix with the sincerity in his eyes and I’m so far gone for this guy. It was a chance encounter that changed the entire trajectory of my life. It’s funny how one little decision can mold your future like that. He could have chosen any coffee shop. There are several in the area to choose from. But he walked into the one I worked at, flipping my world upside down with the tilt of his smile and wink of his eye.
I lift my hips and let him strip me bare. First, by peeling off my pants. Then, my panties. I raise my arms as he tugs my shirt up and over my head, his hands linger on the swell of my breasts. His breath skates over my bare skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
“So fucking responsive to me.” He murmurs, leaving a trail of kisses up my neck, pulling my ear between his teeth. It’s sharp and sensual. His hand finds its way up and around my throat, feeling my erratic heartbeat under the pads of his fingertips. His calloused thumb grazes my jawline, tilting my head to look up into his dark eyes. “So fucking beautiful.”
“I don’t ever want this to end,” I whisper, barely audible enough for either of us to hear. Partly because I’m scared to admit it and partly because I’m scared of what his response will be. But even with how low my voice was, he heard me loud and clear.
Max grabs the back of my neck and forces me to look right at him.
“This thing between us might be fast, but it’s real. I’ve never met anyone that makes me feel so untethered from gravity. You’ve become the force in which I orbit around. The one thing keeping me sane in this mess I’ve created. You understand me and accept me for who I am.”
I swallow hard, feeling the tip of his cock pressing against my slick entrance. His words wash over me and wrap around my heart, taking up residence in my soul.
“Come with me.” He says, pressing into me, filling me up inch by inch.
“Wh-what?” My body instinctually moves with his, feeling him claim my pussy with his pierced, throbbing cock.
“Please.” His lips kiss down the pulsating vein in my neck. “Come with me. To Sicily. Be with me.”
My hands dig into his back, feeling his muscles flex with each thrust. The weight of what he’s asking of me meshes with the need to keep him.
“I love you so fucking much, Julia.” His thumb comes up and wipes away a tear I didn’t know had escaped my eyes. He thrusts into me slowly, wringing pleasure from my body as his words fill my heart with hope.
“I love you too.”
His dark eyes flash and a smile takes over that sinful mouth of his.
“Then say yes.”
I know in that instant that there is no going back. This will be one of those moments in my life that I will play over and over in my mind, knowing the exact time my life changed with one simple word. “Yes.”
His thrusts become more intense as sweat drips from his prominent brow, his smile blinding.
“Oh, Bella , it’s a good thing you know I love you because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t. Now, hold on.”