Chapter 41 #6
“This is the longest ten minutes,” she breathes, drawing an easy laugh from him.
Maybe she’s been doing everything wrong—chasing a man who, after four years, walked away because her love was too much.
She’d hoped Jake would finish his goals and finally see that they were meant for each other, that she’d still be there, waiting with open arms. She’d sworn she’d never become her mother, drifting from man to man in search of a love that was never returned.
She will have The One. The One will love her more than anything and everything.
And Jake, it turns out, isn’t.
“I love you,” she whispers with a small smile, already knowing that, like an enchanting spell, those three words he’s always longed to hear from anyone will bind Max Anthony Cooper to her forever.
41
After she confesses her love, his eyes light up, a radiant grin spreading across his face.
“You love me?” he asks, his voice almost disbelieving, the words slow and deliberate, as if testing something unfamiliar.
“Yes,” she answers softly, her smile faint but sincere. “I love you.”
Just then, Mason returns to the car, carrying a foam plate of food.
The rich, savory smell of fried chicken and gravy hits her the moment he opens the door, mingling with the faint scent of leather and Max’s cologne.
Lila immediately pushes Max away and scrambles upright, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Max shoots Mason a glare, annoyance flickering across his face at the interruption.
“Let’s get out of here,” Max says curtly, his voice clipped with impatience.
Mason’s eyes meet hers in the rearview mirror, but he says nothing as he places the plate on the passenger seat. He fastens his seatbelt and starts the car.
The ride is calm. A random holiday station plays softly in the background, blending with the steady hum of the tires on the road.
Max sits beside her with an arm draped over her shoulders, scrolling through hotel listings in Foxbend.
Lila leans over his lap, trying to see the screen, though the privacy filter makes it difficult.
I should get one too, she thinks, watching his fingers move across the phone as closely as she can.
It feels unfair. He knows her old passcode and all the intimate details that once lived on her phone, yet she has no idea what’s on his.
His thumb pauses over a modest chain hotel boasting decent ratings and a small “Best in Town” badge.
When they arrive, reality doesn’t match the photos.
Max steps out, looking thoroughly unimpressed as his gaze lands on the welcome sign out front.
Its sun-bleached, yellowed surface, with half the letters hanging loose or missing entirely, looks like it has seen better days.
The parking lot is cracked and uneven, oil-stained, littered with cigarette butts and fast-food wrappers.
A lone plastic bag skitters across the asphalt, bumping against dented cars’ bumpers.
Still, Max reaches for her hand, grip steady and confident, and leads her inside.
Behind the counter, the grubby clerk barely glances up from his phone.
His indifference falters slightly when Max slides a sleek black credit card across the worn laminate.
The polished edge gleams against the scuffed surface.
The man quirks an eyebrow, processes the card quickly, and hands them a faded key card to the best room the hotel has to offer.
Inside, the air feels stale, mixed with the sharp scent of cleaning solution.
The carpet bears a few bleach stains, and the thin white bedspread looks like it’s been through too many washes.
Max walks over to the bed, running his hands over the sheets and lifting the pillows, inspecting them thoroughly as if expecting to find bed bugs—or something worse.
“Really?” Lila asks, half amused, half exasperated.
He doesn’t answer, absorbed in his inspection. She folds her arms, watching him with a mixture of fondness and disbelief. At this point, nothing about him should surprise her. Max is a control freak, and this spontaneous stop at a subpar chain hotel was clearly never part of his meticulous plans.
When he finally seems satisfied, he straightens, turns toward her, and closes the short distance between them.
Before she can say another word, he catches her wrist and pulls her gently but firmly onto the bed.
The springs creak beneath them as they collapse together.
His lips find hers with sudden urgency, the kiss deep and consuming.
His warmth seeps into her, his breath hot against her cheek.
Each kiss feels like it burns into her skin, a feverish mark she’ll carry long after.
“I love you, Lila,” he murmurs against her neck.
She moans, exhilarated to hear that he reciprocates her feelings, even though she’d already had an inkling. “You haven’t left my mind for a single second since the day I met you.”
“I love you,” he groans again, and then again, the words spilling out between each kiss as if he needs to prove them with every breath.
He unzips her dress and slips it off in one fluid motion. She’s relieved to see it gone, grateful to be free of the ugly thing, even if only for a moment. He takes off her undergarments next, then removes his own clothes, laying everything neatly at the edge of the bed.
Back between her legs, he dips his fingers between her folds.
She gasps at the sudden intrusion. Her natural slick clings to his skin as he thrusts two fingers in and out of her tight tunnel.
Wetness drips slowly down his hand, and without hesitation, he brings his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean, savoring her taste.
“Fuck,” he breathes, his voice ragged as his cock twitches with excitement. “Your pussy’s so yummy.”
He pushes her flat onto her back and lifts her legs, hooking them over his shoulders as he buries his face between her thighs.
She feels his tongue lapping greedily, caressing her folds before focusing on what’s hidden between them.
Her fingers tangle in his hair, tightening as the pleasure intensifies, caught between wanting to push him away and needing to draw him closer.
Her thighs tense, trying to close around his head as the pleasure builds steadily.
That familiar pins-and-needles sensation spreads through her lower body, her climax cresting until it breaks over her all at once. Her back arches as she trembles and writhes, her thighs clamping tightly around his head. After a moment, he pushes himself upright and settles against the headboard.
“Come. Suck it,” he rasps, the sound rough and drawn tight through a sharp breath.
He grips his member tightly, angling it toward her as she shifts forward between his legs.
She envelops him in her mouth, the warmth of her breath drawing a low sound from his chest. She moves in a controlled, rhythmic pace, coating his whole shaft with saliva.
“Atta girl,” he murmurs, his hand fisting her hair into a rough ponytail.
Using his grip, he guides her movements—lower, deeper, faster—until she starts pushing at his thighs for air.
Finally, he releases her. She pulls back, gasping, her lungs burning as she struggles to catch her breath.
A fit of coughing escapes her, each cough punctuated by the lingering ache in her jaw.
“It’s all wet for you now,” he says, reaching out to cup her cheeks. He gives her head a gentle shake, then raps her cheek a few times with his other hand to bring her back into focus. His dark, hungry gaze locks onto hers, her hazel eyes shimmering with tears from her coughing fit.
“So fucking beautiful,” he sighs, brushing the wetness from her chin, philtrum, and along her soft cheeks with his thumbs.
His touch is tender yet possessive, sending butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach.
Then, with sudden intensity, he pulls her closer and captures her mouth in a kiss, the connection sparking between them like a live current.
“Sit on it,” he directs, gripping his shaft and positioning her over him.
She quickly straddles his lap, her hands clutching his broad shoulders for balance.
Slowly, she lowers herself until she feels the tip nudging at her entrance.
She draws a sharp breath and lets herself sink down.
Her muscles tighten, her body straining as she adjusts to him inch by inch.
The sudden fullness overtakes her, blurring her thoughts and leaving her dazed.
She leans forward, her breath brushing his ear as she whispers, “Fuck. After all this time, I’m still not used to this.”
Before she can catch her breath, his hands clamp down on her hips, fingers pressing deep into her flesh as he takes control. He moves her—slow at first—guiding each rise and fall, his cock pushing deeper and faster into her tight space.
“I don’t know about that,” he groans. “Look at you now. Taking this fat cock inside your little pussy like a fucking champ.”
The heat where they’re connected feels scorching hot and utterly delectable. He licks his lips, loosening his hold and letting her take over.
She moans, clutching his shoulders as she rides him with abandon, her movements growing more fervent as she bounces on his lap, completely lost in pleasure.
Suddenly, he stills, pressing her down against his lap to halt her movement.
“Shit,” he murmurs, throwing his head back as his eyes flutter shut. “Slow down, baby.”
“Why?” she asks, bewildered. She begins to grind against him, relishing the surge of power that comes with being on top.
Each roll of her hips sends shivers racing down her spine, feeding her desperate need to take control—of something, anything—in that fleeting moment.
Every subtle change in his reaction, from his hushed sounds to the way his eyes close in response, urges her to go faster.
“Easy, baby. You’ve been missing this big, fat cock, haven’t you?”
“So vulgar,” she coos.
“I bet you haven’t been able to sleep without my cum seeping from deep inside you,” he continues, taunting her, goading her on.
In response, she tightens her muscles, clamping down on his shaft as she begins to lift and drop herself onto him.
He seizes her hips again, warm palms pressing firmly into her skin as he stops her mid-motion. “Fuck,” he rasps, his tongue sweeping across his bottom lip to moisten it as a deep sigh escapes him. His fingers dig into her hips. “If you missed me this much, your ass should’ve stayed home.”
Home, she repeats in her head.
Home with him.
She can’t wait to go home with him.
After a brief second, he exhales. “God, I’m about to cum,” he says, keeping her pinned to his lap. “Milk me slowly, baby. I’ve missed you. Let’s make this moment last…”