21. Chapter 21
twenty-one
W illow woke up to the sight of Max fast asleep beside her and felt her eyes widen. The shock waned as she watched his giant sleeping form bathed in the morning sunlight streaming through her window and landing directly on his face.
Closing the blinds hadn’t even been on her radar when they’d got back to her room and tumbled into bed together.
She stared at him for a long while, taking in the peacefulness of his features as he slept, and could not contain the stirring deep in her belly that couldn’t seem to be satisfied. His bare chest, smattered in dark hair and dark tattoos, rose and fell which each deep breath, and his huge hand rested against his hard stomach. He’d pulled the sheet over them in the middle of the night, and it was now pooled around his waist, but the thin fabric was leaving little to the imagination.
He looked unbelievable.
She wanted to ever so quietly crawl out of bed, tiptoe across the room, and close the blackout curtains before he woke up. That way, they could stay like this for longer, without the reality of the situation setting in.
She stared at his thick dark eyelashes fanned out on his cheeks, waiting for the guilt to come rushing in, but instead of regretting sleeping with him, all she felt was slightly lightheaded from the warmth radiating off his body and infusing hers. She was deep in the sexy, euphoric little bubble they’d created, and she never wanted to leave.
Carefully, she peeled the sheet back from herself, tiptoed to the window, and pulled the curtains tight, then glanced at the door, then back at Max. Should she get back in bed, or go pee so she would be ready for round three?
Or was it four?
Five?
Shrugging, she tiptoed to the door.
She grabbed a sleep shirt from the dresser and pulled it on, then silently stepped through the door. After gently closing the door behind her, she turned around to see Cara emerging from her room, closing the door in the same hushed manner as Willow.
Cara turned toward her, then jumped, her hand going to her throat as if she was trying to stop herself from screaming.
Willow’s eyebrows shot up. “Hi,” she whispered.
Cara gave her a sheepish grin. “Hi,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “Cooper slept over last night.”
Willow’s mouth fell open.
“I know. It just sort of happened,” Cara whispered, her brows drawn together. “He messaged me when I was at the pub earlier and asked if I wanted to hook up. Please don’t tell Max.”
Willow grimaced, then glanced over her shoulder at her own door. “Uh, I won’t.”
Cara’s eyes went wider than Willow thought possible as her whole body recoiled.
“Is Max in there?”
Willow nodded.
Cara stared at her, speechless, and Willow racked her brain, trying to find something to say and coming up short.
She suddenly realized how fucked up it all was.
The door behind Cara swung open, and a shirtless guy emerged and leaned against the door frame. All Willow could see were abs and a ton of hair .
“Car—”
He stopped when he caught sight of Willow, then looked her up and down and plastered on a douchey grin. “Nice. I’m Cooper.”
“Ugh,” Willow said, crossing her arms to cover herself as much as possible.
“Everyone shhh!!” Cara hissed, pushing Cooper backwards into her room. “Max is in there,” she said, tipping her head to Willow’s door.
Cooper’s body froze midmovement. “What?”
“I didn’t know.”
He slowly shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it, before finding some words. “I guess today’s the day I die.”
“No one’s dying,” Cara said with a roll of her eyes.
“I just hooked up with his precious baby sister. He’s going to throw me off the fucking roof.”
Willow smiled as she imagined herself yelling Max! and watching that mullet careen off the highest pitch of the house.
Cara shoved Cooper the rest of the way back. “Just go back in there and stay quiet,” she said.
She closed the door, but Willow heard one last mutter about hiding under the bed before the hallway was silent again .
Cara took hold of Willow’s arm and dragged her to the end of the hall. “You and Max?” she asked, biting her lip.
Willow blew a breath out, not sure what to say. “Are you mad?”
Cara’s frown deepened. “Mad isn’t the right word. I guess I’m . . . concerned.”
Concerned?
Cara glanced across the hall to their doors, then back. “What about Shane?”
“Yeah,” Willow said, her eyes downcast as the guilt came. It rolled in like a mudslide, burying her.
“He showed up last night after everyone left.”
“Oh shit,” Cara said. “What happened?”
“He was angry that I lied, and he wanted me to leave with him, but I told him I couldn’t, so he broke up with me and left.”
“He broke up with you?” she asked, rubbing her face with both hands. “Are you okay?”
That was a loaded question. She had no clue. She hadn’t even given herself a second to process the whole mess before jumping Max.
He’d been protective of her, as if he actually cared how she was feeling, and he’d said kind things to her, and all the inappropriate thoughts she’d had of him since the day they first met came flooding in. But this time, there was no reason to stop them, and her brain just poof! Disappeared.
“I don’t know if I’m okay,” she said.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Cara broke the silence.
“So, was this just, like, a one-night stand?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Cara blew out a breath, her brows drawing together. “I know everyone always assumes Max is so tough, because he’s constantly in control and barking orders, and he’s huge, and he has a scary look to him, but he’s actually very—”
The sound of a door opening down the hall killed her words. They both jumped and turned to see which door would open.
Finally, Willow’s door pushed in, and Max stepped into the hallway in black boxers. His eyes zeroed in on hers before dropping to her naked legs, then back up. Her knees literally wobbled.
He looked so incredibly hot she couldn’t take it. Where Cooper had been showy and pretty, as if he spent hours flexing in front of his bathroom mirror, Max looked as if he spent his days crushing skulls.
He stared at her for a long while before sparing Cara a quick glance. But his eyes landed back on her. “What are you doing? ”
“Uh,” Willow said, not sure how to answer. She wanted to drag him back into her bed and never leave.
There was something seriously wrong with her.
Guilt and lust had locked into a battle in her body, but lust just got the upper hand.
She stared at him, knowing full well she was eye fucking the crap out of him, trying to figure out what to say, until Cara elbowed her in the ribs.
She glanced over, saw a pleading look in Cara’s eyes. Right. She should probably do something about the Cooper situation, but what?
Maybe bring Max back into her room and “distract” him? He wouldn’t even know Cooper existed once his dick was in her mouth. She glanced one more time at Cara, caught the terrified look in her eyes, and knew she should get Max to leave, as painful as that was.
She shook her head, determined to be a good friend.
Focus.
“Morning,” she said, leaving the corner she’d been in with Cara and closing the distance between her and Max. She took his hand and pulled him into her bedroom.
“Everything okay?” he asked after the door was closed .
“Yeah, great. Um, I’m just kind of tired, and I’m going to take a shower, and I need to get into work, and . . . uh . . .”
And what?
And nothing. None of those things were important. Her eyes landed on the bed behind him, and she sighed.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked with a smirk.
God, his smirk was so irresistible. Especially now that she knew he made that same smirk right before he dropped to his knees and put her legs over his shoulders.
She shook her head, then realized she was supposed to say yes, so she nodded instead. She was all confused.
His face transformed into a full smile, and he stepped closer before running his long fingers through her hair. “You sure that’s what you want?”
She melted into his big hand, but her eye caught the door, and she remembered her mission. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said with a sigh.
He narrowed his eyes. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
His hands felt incredible. Almost as incredible as his dick. She wanted to put his fingers back between her legs again .
“There are a lot of things I’m not telling you.”
He stared at her for another minute before giving her a kiss on the cheek and turning toward his pants.
“Fine,” he said, pulling them on and collecting his things off her dresser. “I’ll see you at work later.”
He pulled his shirt over his head, his torso stretching, and she wanted so badly to drop to her knees and lick his stomach. She fixed her face as his head came through the shirt, but he seemed to know what she’d been thinking, anyway.
He bent down and kissed her lips. “Bye,” he said, then left.
She listened as his footsteps retreated down the hall, then at his quick, muffled conversation with Cara before she heard the front door close.
She went down the stairs to the kitchen and found Cara at the counter, filling the coffeepot with water. “Hey, sorry I put you in a weird position,” she said.
Willow shook her head, dropped onto a stool at the island. “That’s okay. I’m sorry everything is so . . . awkward.”
Cara glanced at her, then back to the coffeepot. “So, are you guys going to . . . continue whatever this is?”
Willow cringed. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Are you going to go back to Churchill in two weeks? ”
Fuck. She hadn’t even thought about that. Shane had told her not to bother coming home. But Barley was there, and she had Nikki’s wedding that she’d already committed to, so she nodded. “Yeah, I have to go back.”
Cara pressed a few buttons on the coffeemaker, then leaned against the counter. “Do you think you’ll stay, though?”
“I . . .” Willow looked down. She had no clue. Churchill was her home, with or without Shane. Wasn’t it? Her job was there, her friends, her family. She’d never intended to uproot her entire life forever. “I don’t know.”
Cara nodded. “Does Max know you’re going back?”
Willow shook her head. “I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters. We made it very clear last night that this is just a hookup,” she said.
She sensed Cara wanted to press further, but Cooper came down the stairs, and she met him at the front door to say goodbye.
When she was finally alone, all the feelings came. The guilt for lying to Shane, the guilt for using Max to forget about Shane, the comfort she felt in Max’s arms, the difference between how Shane made her feel and how Max made her feel.
Ugh .
How had she fucked her life up so badly? A couple of weeks ago, everything was fine. Now she was single, homeless, and had slept with her business partner. Worst of all, she didn’t know what to do next.
She dropped her head onto her arms on the counter in front of her and tried to wipe her mind of all the rash things she’d done in the last fifteen days. If she’d stayed in Churchill, none of this would have happened.
“Can you just promise me something?” Cara asked.
Willow looked up, nodded.
“Please, just be honest with Max about what your plans are.”
She took in the concern etched all over her friend’s face, then nodded. “I will,” she said. “I’ll talk to him later today.”
Cara smiled. “Thanks.”