Chapter Twenty-One
This Could Be Fun
Juliet
I LIVE IN here now.
Not in this house, just in this shower.
I’d known the shower in Maximo’s— our —room would be nice, but I hadn’t known it would be so glorious, I wouldn’t want to get out.
It had a waterfall that fell over my head and multiple shower heads that gave a water massage as they hit my body at different spots.
And since I was sore, it was much needed.
Maximo hadn’t gotten home the night before until long after I’d gone to bed.
Since I’d followed his rules, he’d woken me with his mouth between my legs.
After I’d come from his tongue and fingers, he’d bent my knees up to my chest and fucked me at a mind-blowing angle while staring at our connection.
It’d been intense and hot and had left me tender in places I never knew existed.
When my stomach growled too loudly to be ignored, I turned the water off. I dried off and went to raid Maximo’s joggers.
But when I opened the armoire, it wasn’t only filled with his stuff.
The right half held my pajamas, too.
Huh?
Crouching, I tried the drawers at the bottom, and all his boxers and socks had been moved to the left. The ones on the right were empty.
On a hunch, I stood and went to the walk-in closet, flipping on the light as I entered.
Maximo’s clothes were neatly hung to the left. His shoes, belts, and watches were in their spots at the side of the island.
Like the armoire, my clothes were on the right. My shoes and limited accessories were placed on that side of the island.
There was something about seeing my clothes with Maximo’s that freaked me out a little but made me happy a whole lot more.
I’m not just sleeping in here with him.
I live with him.
Grabbing the ripped black crop I’d made, I put it on without a bra since I hadn’t located those. I went commando for the same reason and pulled on a pair of my own joggers. Not bothering with socks or shoes, I left the room and headed for Maximo’s office.
Despite the fact he was working from home, he wore black slacks and a dark gray shirt with the sleeves rolled. His shoulder held his phone to his ear as he typed on his computer.
Catching sight of me checking him out, a smile curved his lips.
He pushed away from his desk and I went right to him, letting him settle me on his lap while he spoke to someone about orders or venders or something.
I wasn’t following the business-y conversation to begin with, but once his hand slid under my tee, my attention waned further.
Skimming up, he touched my bare breast before freezing. His arm reflexively tightened, as did the rest of him.
“What did you say?” he asked, tweaking my nipple before palming my breast.
I must not be the only one having trouble concentrating.
He waited for all of three seconds before saying, “Never mind, we’ll talk about this later.
” He ended the call and tossed his phone to the desk before wrapping his other arm around my waist and shifting me so my back was flush to his front.
Pushing under my shirt to palm my other breast, he dipped his head to nip my neck.
“Do they not feed you enough?” I asked, my voice breathy.
“Hmm?” he rumbled.
“You seemed a little hangry on the phone, hanging up like that. Now you’re biting me. Should I ask Freddy to make you an omelet?”
“I like seeing you marked as mine,” he said, his possessive words making me hot and wet and happy .
Releasing his tight grip on my breast, he cupped me between the thighs.
“And the only thing I want to eat is right here, little dove.” He worked me through the fabric for a moment.
“If you’re not wearing a bra, does that mean you’re not wearing panties? ”
“I couldn’t find them,” I muttered.
Goosebumps spread across my skin as his lips skimmed my neck lightly. “Marco moved everything yesterday while you worked. I didn’t want him touching those.”
That was good, I didn’t particularly want Marco touching them, either.
“I thought you sent him to make sure I followed the rules, not to be a moving man.”
“That, too.” He loosened his hold and shifted me so he could see my face. “Are you upset?”
“Would you let me move the stuff back if I were?” I shot back.
“No. I want you in my bed. In my space.”
“I like being in your bed and space. Plus, it makes more sense to have my stuff there so I don’t have to take a naked sprint down the hall after I shower in the morning.”
“You can always take a naked sprint here.” He tilted his head and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Actually, that might be a new rule. It’d make the video conference calls more interesting.” Even though he was the one who’d made the joke, his jaw clenched. “Never fucking mind.”
I couldn’t hold in my laugh, not that I tried too hard.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?”
“Hilarious.”
Maximo shifted me up so my ass was on his dick, and my laughter cut off at the feel of him hard beneath me.
I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the way he felt. Or the way he looked. Or the way he wanted me.
“You drive me insane, dove.”
“That feeling is very mutual.”
His smile was equal parts tenderness and sinfulness.
God, how is this my life right now?
Averting my gaze because some things were just too beautiful to look at for long, I saw his phone was lit up with a ton of notifications. “What’s on the schedule today?”
“I have another phone meeting in,” he glanced at his watch, “five minutes ago. And then I need to go to Nebula and Star.”
“Do you ever take a day off?”
“Not usually.”
“Do other casino owners work as hard as you?”
“No, most of them delegate and collect money from other people’s hard work. I’m too controlling for that.”
“You? Controlling? Neeeeever.”
He gave me the look and the voice . “Juliet.”
“Maximo,” I shot back, mimicking his deep voice.
“Brat.”
“Control freak.”
His sinful, sinister smile was back, causing a tremor to run down my spine. It should’ve been from fear, but it was from an overwhelming amount of lust.
“I can reschedule my meetings and stay here to show you how much of a control freak I can be.”
I jumped off his lap and backed out of his reach. “No, no. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your work.”
But even as I said it, wetness pooled between my thighs. The coil of need he’d loosened last night with his tongue and cock tightened inside me.
“Kiss me, Juliet.”
I bent and pressed my lips to his, darting my tongue in to soak up the taste of bitter black coffee and Maximo.
Sinful.
Smoky.
Dark.
And so damn hot.
I stood when his phone started loudly vibrating on the desk.
“Jesus, someone wants to die,” he bit out, reaching for it.
I hurried for the door, not wanting to hear him rip someone a new one.
“Black,” he answered. “Yes. Yes. Hold on. Juliet.”
I froze in the hallway and turned back to look at him. “Yeah?”
“Like the shirt. One of yours?”
I nodded.
“Looks like something one of the stores at Crystals would sell for a shit-ton. I’m impressed, dove.” His expression hardened, and even though it’d only been a few days, I knew what was coming.
Daddy mode.
“But I don’t want anyone else seeing the way your pretty tits peek out of those holes. Put a bra on.”
“Got it.”
“Freddy’s bringing you breakfast in the sewing room. I’ll be home for dinner. And I’ll take tomorrow off. Anything you want to do, we’ll do it.”
I grinned, and his eyes dropped to focus on my mouth.
He sat forward like he was going to stand.
“Your call,” I reminded him.
“Fuck my call.”
I really hope he muted it.
“I don’t have time to make out. I have to move my bras and panties into our room.”
It was his turn to smile and my turn to stare.
“Juliet.”
“Right.” I went down the hall to the room that’d been mine for a whole year.
Considering how I’d come to live there, it was crazy that it ended up being the first place I’d ever felt safe.
I’d been able to sleep without worrying Shamus would drag me from the bed—pissed and drunk and violent.
Or that one of his drinking buddies would sneak in.
Or that the faulty wires would start a fire, someone would break in, or any of the other stressors that’d kept me awake at night.
But as much as I’d enjoyed having my own space, sharing Maximo’s was much better. I slept soundly because I knew I was even safer in his arms.
After putting on a bra, I grabbed the rest of my intimates and swimsuits before carrying them down the hall.
I dumped the load on the floor in front of the armoire before sorting them and putting everything away.
When I was done, I went to my sewing room, following the scent of coffee that wafted through the air.
I sat and grabbed the big mug off the tray, spinning the chair forward so I could sip my coffee and plan my project.
And then I nearly dropped the scalding hot liquid.
That sneaky bastard.
That underhanded, heavy-handed bastard.
Putting the cup down before I hurt myself—or him—I moved to the doorway.
Or maybe it was just a way because there was no damn door.
It was an open space.
Storming across the hall, I was ready to demand he put it back when I noticed he was still on the phone.
Maximo was leaning back in his chair, his legs kicked up on his desk and his cell pressed to his ear. But his gaze was on me as he ran his thumb along his bottom lip.
A lip that curled up in a satisfied smirk.
And then the smug, cocky son of a bitch winked.
Winked!
It was insanely hot and could work as porn for women all over the world.
But it was mine.
Not letting on that I wasn’t actually mad, I glared for a few moments before returning across the hall to my coffee and my doorless sewing room.
_______________
“Grrrrr.” My frustration grew as I reached for my scissors.
Considering I’d only been sewing for a few months, I was doing well. Not because I was gifted or effortlessly skilled. But because I worked at it for hours and hours every day. And even when I wasn’t actually sewing, I was usually watching videos about sewing.