Maxim (Carolina Reapers 10)

“Right,” he said, blinking a few times after I looked up at him. “It’s been a while.”

Mila rolled her eyes and left me to open the box Maxim had just brought up.

I spun around, grabbing the remaining novels spread across my twin bed, and holding them against my chest. Juggling the pile, I moved toward the lone shelf on my side of the room, reaching up to place one of the books on it—

And proceeded to dump the rest of the books all over the floor. I groaned, rolling my eyes at myself as I knelt to gather them, having to practically crawl for one that had half slipped under my bed. My fingers grazed smooth skin, fire licking up my spine at the contact, and I instantly jerked my hand back, gasping as I locked eyes with Maxim.

He’d bent down to grab the book, a brow cocked as he stood back up.

I cleared my throat, tucking some stray hair behind my ears as I clung to the remaining books like a lifeline.

“You need some help?” he asked, stepping only an inch away from me.

My heart raced so hard in my chest I was sure he could hear it. I wet my lips as I looked up and up at him—he was so damn tall.

“I…”

I couldn’t form words. Couldn’t remember words. He smelled like a fantasy, the kind where you’re enjoying a walk through an enchanted forest and suddenly a dashing, rogue warrior sweeps you up into his amazing life and rescues you from the boredom of your own.

Great. Now I’ve well and truly lost it.

“Here,” he said, placing the book he’d picked up onto the shelf before extending his arms.

Omigod, I couldn’t help but picture walking into those arms to see what it would feel like to have his body pressed against mine.

What. The. Hell. Was. Wrong. With. Me?

He tilted his head at my lack of response, my lack of movement, and finally my brain screamed at me to do something.

I shifted my weight, prepared to tell him I had it, but he just shook his head and gently took the rest of the books out of my arms.

“Any particular order you want these to go in?” he asked.

“By color,” I said, my voice cracking.

I swear the tiniest hint of a smirk shaped his lips before he faced the shelf. “Color it is,” he said, and proceeded to organize my books in the perfect order of the rainbow. “Have any more?” he asked when he was finished, glancing around the room as if another box of books would appear.

“That’s it,” I said. “Thanks.”

He nodded, then crossed the room toward our opened door. “Mila, I’m going to grab the rest of your shoes.”

“Can you grab coffee at the same time?” Mila asked without looking up from her work.

Maxim huffed, then glanced at me. “How do you take yours?”

“Black,” I said.

“Easy enough,” he said, then looked behind me at the books. “Let me know if you need any more help. Apparently, I’m good at everything. Even color-coding books.”

Did he just make a joke? Am I supposed to be laughing? God, kill me now.

“Okay then,” he said and spun around, shutting the door behind him.

And that was the day I’d fallen in love with my best friend’s older brother.

I blinked out of the memory as I carried in a box to Maxim’s kitchen—

Strong hands grabbed the box from me and set it on the counter.

“Maxim!” I gasped, then felt my cheeks flush from just the sight of him. “You’re home!”

“Why does everyone keep saying that like it’s a surprise?” he asked.

I looked at Mila, my stomach in knots.

Maxim was pissed. I could always tell when something was wrong because the blue in his eyes hardened in a way that his mask couldn’t hide. He didn’t even know what we were doing here and he was already mad? Or had something gone wrong at practice?

He glanced inside the box of snacks I’d salvaged from our apartment. “What the…” His voice trailed off as he spotted my three suitcases I’d left in the hallway behind us.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” I whispered to Mila.

Maxim looked at Mila. “What the hell is going on?”

“Evie needs a place to crash while I’m in Italy,” Mila said as casually as if she were telling him she needed a lift to the airport.

Maxim folded his arms over his chest. “What’s wrong with your apartment?”

“We need to sublet it while I’m studying abroad. Evie is staying here to finish her MFA, and we’re going to use the money to open our gallery when I get back. It’s the perfect plan.”

“And you’re just now telling me?” he asked, shaking his head as finally opened the water he’d grabbed from the fridge earlier and drained the contents in two gulps.