He skimmed her clit back and forth, occasionally squeezing the sensitive nub between his thumb and forefinger, driving her mad with need. She worked her hips back and forth, grinding herself against his palm, but he refused to allow her relief. Between her sore nipples and the exquisite pulsing need soaking her sex, she was ready to turn around and climb him right here and now. But she knew that wouldn’t accomplish what she wanted. He’d drag this on longer, keeping her on edge.
Suddenly he nudged her forward, easing her upper body onto the mattress, and, without warning, smacked her ass with his hand. The first time he’d tried it, she’d been shocked, horrified, and thought she might cry. And then he’d smacked her other cheek. And suddenly the pain had morphed into pleasure, and she’d found herself rising in time to meet his hand.
“Do you know how fucking hard you get me? Seeing my handprint on our ass? Knowing you want my cock deep inside your wet pussy?”
He smacked her ass cheek again, and she began to grind her sex against the mattress.
“No. Only I can make you come. Now hold still.”
She did as he commanded and was rewarded with the sound of a condom wrapper. Relief was imminent, she thought, and she imagined him sliding the latex over his thick, straining erection. Then he’d shove himself inside her, fast and hard. She whimpered at the thought of him actually doing what she imagined.
He kicked open her legs, first one, then the other, positioning her, one hand on her lower back. And then his cock was poised at her entrance.
“Tell me what you want, princess.” He smoothed his calloused palm over her tender backside, gently caressing her skin.
“You, Max. I want you.”
“And I want you. So much.” With a groan, he gave her what she asked for, thrusting deep inside.
So deep she felt him everywhere. Her body had been his from the moment he’d taken her the first time, and she responded to him immediately now. She pulled at the comforter, curling her fingers into the material for support as he pounded into her. It was fast, it was a quick fuck, and yet it was no less meaningful for not being face-to-face.
Suddenly Max hit her G-spot, and her orgasm took over almost instantly. She flew apart, her heart soaring along with her body.
And as she came back to herself afterwards, she’d learned that intimacy took many forms, but every time with Max was better and more special than the last. Every time with Max was a form of making love. And keeping her heart intact until she returned to New York was going to be much harder than she’d thought, if not damned near impossible.
He rolled to the side, flipping her onto her back and looking into her eyes, his expression full of concern. “Did I hurt you?”
She blinked back tears of emotion, a combination of ecstasy and fear still bouncing around inside her. “No.”
A smile lifted his lips. “I had a hunch we’d be fucking awesome in bed.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky I find that confidence of yours charming and not annoying.”
“As long as you take me,” he said, rubbing his nose affectionately against hers.
The gentle gesture, so at odds with the dominant man who’d pounded her into the mattress, helped him tunnel even deeper into her heart.
She shoved at his shoulder, eager to get up and put space between them. “We need to get dressed.” She rose to her feet, realizing she was sore and she needed a quick shower. Again. Somehow she’d have to keep her makeup intact, because she didn’t have time to redo everything.
He rolled over onto his back and laid one hand over his head. “I can’t believe Decklan’s getting married. But man, from the minute he laid eyes on Amanda, he knew she was the one. No matter how hard he fought it,” Max said.
Lucy swallowed hard. “They’re perfect for each other,” she managed to say to Max before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.
As she turned on the water and waited for it to heat up, her thoughts wandered from Max to her brothers. Both subjects unsettled her. She’d tried very hard not to dwell on the fact that in a couple of hours, both Gabe and now Decklan would be married. The brothers who had raised her, been there for her, taken care of her after their parents had died were moving on with their lives. Wedding vows meant that someone else now came first.
Not Lucy.
It was normal. It was the way things should be. Them being happy and settled reminded her that she… wasn’t. It was time to correct that. She needed to find a way to have a happy life without risking her fragile heart and even more fragile emotions.
Because Decklan’s marriage signaled it was time to move back to New York and do as Isabelle said. She could watch Noah, and any other children her brothers had, grow up. She could enjoy a successful career and her family. Tomorrow morning she would fly back to New York with the memories of Max to keep her warm. It was more than she’d had before. And if she didn’t want to suffer true loss again, she had to be satisfied with that. Satisfied with what she and Max had shared, and begin the painful process of pulling away again, now.
* * *
By the time Max and Lucy cleaned themselves up—separately, since she’d locked the bathroom door for her shower—her happy mask was back in place. The one Max hadn’t seen since she’d given in to enjoying their time together on Eden. Something had flipped a switch in her brain, and she’d erected both physical and emotional barriers that had been missing for the last couple of days.
He couldn’t say for sure what was going on in that beautiful head of hers, but he had a hunch that it had everything to do with the wedding bells that were about to ring. He was also sure Lucy thought he’d allow her to get away with her aloof behavior because he wouldn’t start trouble in front of her family.
She’d be wrong. He had every intention of pushing his boundaries and hers.