“Max would never hurt me,” I insisted, a vehement denial. “No, listen.” I had to defend him, or my friends would close ranks. “When we were outside the bar the other night, he was only acting aggressive because that random guy had grabbed me to take photos. Max is seriously protective of me. Last night, Gavin showed up at my house and was trying to break my door down.” I continued on over Isabel’s shocked gasp. “Max came over and made him leave. He made sure Gavin will never come near me again.”
“Are you saying that he beat the shit out of Gavin?” Davis demanded.
I straightened my shoulders, refusing to feel bad about it. Seeing Gavin hurting and scared had been immensely gratifying, and I’d be a liar if I pretended otherwise. It wasn’t my finest moment, but I had to speak the truth.
“Yes, Max beat him up,” I declared. “And I’m glad he did. I don’t want to have to go through the messiness of getting a restraining order. I’m sure Gavin would fight it in court, and I don’t want him to have power over me ever again. It would be a total nightmare. So, I won’t pretend that it doesn’t feel good to know that he won’t dare to come near me ever again. Max will protect me.”
Charlie made a small humming sound that was a little more disapproving than noncommittal. “I’m glad he protected you, but I’m still seriously worried that he has anger issues.”
I wouldn’t reveal Max’s most vulnerable secret that he’d shared with me—that he’d been forced to witness his mother’s murder and was unable to stop it—but I had to make my friends see that he wasn’t a danger to me.
“Max does have a lot of anger in him,” I admitted. “But that’s because he’s been through some terrible things. The world hasn’t been kind to him. I don’t think he’s used to any kindness at all.” My heart twisted at the truth of the words. “He would never turn that anger on me.”
“He did seem really possessive, though,” Isabel added, biting her lower lip with worry.
“I’m possessive of him too,” I declared, unwilling to hide the depth of my feelings for him. “Do you think I’m dangerous?”
Davis placed a comforting hand over mine. “Of course not, but you’re not some huge, muscular guy. And you have a gentle nature. You’d never hurt anyone.”
“I would’ve hurt Gavin if I were capable of it.” I said the stark truth. “I would’ve stopped his torment years ago if I could have. Maybe that’s not the nicest thing to say, but would you hold it against me if I’d been the one to break his nose?”
“Of course not,” Isabel said firmly. “I would’ve wanted front-row seats to that smack down.” She dipped her head in a short nod. “Okay, we’ll give Max a chance. Right?” She glanced at Charlie and Davis, waiting for their agreement.
Davis said, “Right,” but Charlie made another humming sound. She wasn’t fully convinced.
“Max has never laid an aggressive hand on me. He’s totally gentle with me,” I asserted, just before my cheeks flamed.
Say my name. His hungry demand echoed through my mind, and my thighs clenched at the memory of his thick fingers biting into my hip as he gripped me through my orgasm. He hadn’t been gentle when he’d held me with savage possessiveness. But I’d loved every second of his ferocity. I wanted him just as fiercely.
“Spill, Allie,” Davis commanded, his mouth tugging up in a teasing smile. “Honey, you are glowing beneath that blush. So, what happened after your dark knight in shining armor beat up Gavin last night?”
My cheeks burned. “We didn’t have sex,” I said quickly.
“But something happened,” he prompted. “Something totally hot and dirty. I want all the details.”
“Davis,” Charlie admonished in her slow drawl. “Allie’s not the type to kiss and tell.”
His smile broadened in response to my deep flush. “Oh, they did more than kiss. Even if Allie’s V-card is still intact, I’ve never seen her cheeks this red.”
“You really do like him,” Isabel remarked, her eyes reading every nuance of my expression. She nodded again. “If you trust him enough to do…whatever you got up to last night, then we’ll give him a chance.”
“Yeah,” Charlie finally agreed. “But we want to meet him properly. If you’re serious about dating him, we want to know him better.”
I hesitated. There was still so much that Max and I needed to work through before I could truly introduce him to my friends. I straightened my spine, firming my resolve to talk through our issues tonight. I wanted to be with Max, and that meant we would have to figure out how to deal with his vendetta against my dad and his mafia family ties. There were so many secrets that still separated us, not least of which was the secret of how he’d been scarred. I’d noticed three more indelible marks on his skin when he’d been getting dressed this morning. I didn’t want to push him to talk about the scars before he was ready to share, but I burned to know. I wanted to somehow heal his deepest pain and the rage that tormented him.