Chapter 9
9
M ax is not in the kitchen when I go searching for him, nor in his cozy winter study, and definitely not in his bedroom. I’m perplexed as to where to look next when I finally hear a dull thump from the back of the house. I head down to investigate and find him moving boxes in a back storage area behind the kitchen.
“Max?”
He shifts another box and reveals himself.
“What are you doing?”
“Sorting through things I should have done ten years ago,” he remarks dryly. “Are you ready for dinner?”
I tilt my head to one side. “Yes, I guess, but I was hoping for a different sort of appetizer.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “Is that so?” Without a word, he comes around the pile of boxes and picks me up. I’m dangling over his shoulder with one warm, possessive hand pressed against my backside.
“Did you have anything particular in mind?” he asks mildly as we move down the hallway.
“Nope,” I mumble, my words muffled by my hair swishing around my face.
We climb the steps, and I have to work to keep my nose from banging into his back. When Max finally rights me, we’re in a completely dark space. The only thing I can make out is his glow. It’s not even strong enough to combat enough of the darkness to make out his features. My breath catches.
Max leans down to kiss me gently, and it’s nice, but not nearly enough. “My pussy aches, Max,” I confess and thankfully, he doesn’t laugh. This close and I can read his expression. It’s thoughtful and a tiny bit mischievous.
“I can only help with that if you take off your jeans and panties, Jenna.”
I frown. And yet, the dark of the room makes it easier somehow. I’m not ashamed of my body, but somehow revealing it for scrutiny makes me too vulnerable. This time is different. I trust Max and I want my pussy to stop dragging my attention away from everything else. Slowly, I shrug out of my jeans, trying not to fall on my face as I bend to pull the legs off my feet. I can feel the heat of Max’s gaze on me even as he’s stepped back slightly to give me room. After sliding my panties off too, I stand up and turn towards him.
He picks me up once again and places me on a low surface. I frown because how is he… oh. Max places one soft kiss on my belly and then steps between my legs. “Lean back, Jenna,” he commands in a low, growly voice. I hesitate. Mostly because I want to watch whatever he’s going to do, but he simply stands back and waits until I comply. With a sigh, I lean back into the unknown. It’s awkward because I’m not sure what I’m sitting on, but eventually I figure it out: it’s the top of a dresser or something against a wall. I can brace my weight on my elbows and rest my head on the wall. And see absolutely nothing.
But the instant I’m settled, Max makes contact with my pussy. He doesn’t touch it, he licks it. My legs spasm in response. He chuckles, the small puff of air on my clit making me moan. He holds my legs still with his hands and nuzzles my folds until his tongue slides into my channel. I practically jump off whatever surface I’m lying on. I had no idea anything could feel like this. His tongue probes my center, soft but insistent, until I’m quivering with need. My spine is tingling with repressed energy and the need to move — closer, away, I can’t even say for sure. Then his tongue is gone so his lips can fasten on my clit.
“Nnngggahh!” explodes from my mouth. Max pays me no mind, except to tighten his grip on my thighs. His tongue licks and swirls even as his lips keep a tight suction around the base of my poor little clit. I’m on the edge of some great canyon and I’m not entirely sure what will happen when I fall over the edge. I’m waiting, anxious and eager to find out. Max moves his head away and I almost cry out in disappointment. Then his teeth nip at the soft fleshy bit of my inner thigh and I see stars. And I find out what’s on the other side of that abyss.
Miles and miles of spasming orgasm. My whole body shakes even as Max gathers me into his arms and carries me into another room. I can see now that we were in the closet of his bedroom. He settles down on the bed, cradling me against his chest, and simply lets me ride it out in the comfort of his arms.
When the tremors finally subside and I can stretch my limbs out again to release the residual tension, I ask, “What was that?”
Max slides his hand up and down my back a few times before answering, “Perfection, little Jenna. That was absolute perfection. Have you thought about what you want to ask me?”
I ponder that. I honestly hadn’t. My pussy was selfish and thought only of herself when seeking him out. So I go with what pops into my head. “Where did you grow up? Where is your family?”
Max hesitates for so long I peer up at him to see if he’s upset. His face is unusually blank, but eventually he responds, “My earliest memories are of a small town in Poland. I lived there until I was fourteen and then left to seek my fortunes in Europe. As for family…” His sigh is heavy. “There aren’t any of a traditional kind. My surrogate mother ran away from the facility where I was conceived.”
My hand naturally comes to rest on Max’s tense arm. “You don’t have to tell me more if you don’t want to,” I whisper softly.
Max’s smile is wry and full of denial. “No, you need to understand so you can be fully informed. These are the ghosts of my past, but once exposed to the light, they won’t linger. Niva, the young woman who birthed me, hitchhiked and walked her way across several borders until she couldn’t go any further. That final spot happened to be in Poland and an elderly farm couple took her in. She gave birth to me. I don’t remember her, not really. She was as much a victim of the facility’s experiments as I was. She cared enough about me to make sure the couple would look after me, I think. But when I was around two or three, she split. The elderly couple were fond of me, but also scared of what I was. They kept me hidden on the farm, but of course, when I got a bit older, I learned how to sneak out. I didn’t go far, and I didn’t learn much beyond that. I was a freak. The winter I was fourteen, they both got really sick but refused to call a doctor out to the farm. I don’t know if they were still worried about me or the cost, but they both died a few days apart. I left before the authorities showed up.” His lips twist wryly and I can still feel the tension of his muscles under my palm.
“What about Niva? Did you ever look for her?”
Max sighs heavily. “You are a genuine romantic soul, Jenna. Eventually I did. After I met Javier and learned of his rather extensive information network. Unfortunately, her life did not take a lucky turn. She left Poland and headed to Prague, why I’m not sure. Maybe she was from there originally or maybe she thought it would hold more opportunities. She didn’t find them. Instead, she turned to prostitution. And she died a few years later of a drug overdose. She had no official papers with her, so nobody knew her true last name or where she came from to notify her family. She wasn’t my mother, neither of us thought of her like that, but she did get me to safety and she didn’t deserve to die on the streets.”
“Nobody does,” I remind him, softly tracing a small pattern on his arm. Twisting slightly, I wrap both my arms around his middle and squeeze. “You deserve a real family, Max. Wanna share mine?”
He stares down at me quizzically. Then the very tiny spark of a twinkle blooms in his eyes. “I haven’t met them yet. What if they’re horrible people?”
I close my eyes with a small smile and snuggle against him. “Oh, they are. Absolutely terrible. My mom will want to fatten you up and my grandma will flirt with you shamelessly.”
I can feel him hesitating.
“Stop overthinking this, Max. They won’t care that you glow. Not once you reassure them that you’re not radioactive.” I lift my head up abruptly. “You aren’t, are you?”
Max regards me with a baffled expression. “Not as far as I know. I have been to doctors, you know. The regular kind. I simply wait until a morning appointment is available.”
My brain turns that over. “What about the eye doctor? They always like to keep the room dim.”
Max frowns. “I haven’t had to go to one. Not yet, anyway.”
Rolling my eyes at his ability to escape what I have to endure on an annual basis, I get back to more urgent matters. “So now what?”
He regards me with increasing bemusement. “Today specifically, or the long-term plan?”
I shrug, not really caring. Max muses aloud, “Well, I should get back to fixing the dinner that you so delightfully delayed. And then I’m expecting a call from Javier at eight. Long term, we continue as we have been.”
Groaning, I tease his jaw with my finger. “How many more secrets do you have?”
Max studies me carefully. “Are you all out of questions?” He sounds doubtful.
I shake my head. “I’m always going to have questions. If you’re waiting for me to run out, we’ll be here forever .”
His laugh is lighter than earlier. “No, little Jenna, your impatience is flattering but not conducive to the long-term goal. We will proceed with my original plan. If you haven’t run away screaming by then, I imagine we’ll be snuggling up by the fire on Christmas with my cock buried deep inside you.” His voice grows husky, as if he’s visualizing this very scene. Which, of course, makes me do the same. I like it. I like it a lot.
“Can I have another orgasm after dinner, then?”
Max startles. Then his eyes narrow. “At bedtime.”
I pout, because now that’s all I can think about even though I’m still wrung out from the last one.
“Come on, sweetness. I need to feed you if you’re going to become a voracious sex kitten.”
Dutifully, I follow him downstairs, although maybe he’s right because I can’t quite keep my eyes off his ass. I had to spend years fantasizing with only his headshot to work with. It made it very hard to picture what the rest of him looked like. Finally, being able to ogle Max in all directions is a dream come true.
At the bottom of the stairs, Max turns abruptly, catching me unawares and making me blush. He simply shakes his head with a mystified expression and turns back to enter the kitchen.
The plates have only just been set on the table when there’s a firm knock on the door.