“Sshhhh, Wilson, it’s okay. I will never let this happen again,” Max mumbled into my neck. His lips, so cold at first, warmed to a temperature that made my life bearable.
“I…I…I wish—ed I knew a…a…about your dad’s funer—” I choked and stuttered, trying to continue. “I…I would…have…been there.”
Max pulled away. The chill poured between us, his expression pained as he looked at me. He gently cleared my hair away from my forehead and tucked it behind my ear before cradling my face in his warm hands. His eyes danced with mine and his lips held back all the words he needed to say before he pushed his tongue across his bottom lip and swallowed hard.
“I should have known you would have come. I should have followed my gut feeling and come for you,” he whispered.
“You couldn’t,” I said back.
“I’ve missed you so bad. I didn’t think I would ever reach that black space again until I experienced losing you,” he groaned. His breath steamed across his beautiful lips before evaporating in the air.
I grabbed his wrists and slid my hands up across his knuckles. He winced and his eyes narrowed in pain. I immediately pulled his hands from my face and looked at them.
“Don’t worry, he got the worst of it,” Max murmured low as he shifted back and forth.
“I want to go back and kick his ass myself.”
“He’s never coming near you again,” he commanded in a growl.
“I’m sorry,” I said before I pressed my lips to each gash on his knuckles. I looked up at him. His neck was exposed and I saw the red, rashy blotches across his skin. I wanted to kiss them too. I wanted to take away anything that reminded me of the pain I’d caused. He watched my expression change as I dropped my eyes to the snow-covered ground.
“Hey,” he whispered as he caught my chin in his hand and raised my head to look at him.
My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t stop.
“I would fight every day for the rest of my life if it meant I wouldn’t have to spend another day without you.” He lowered his head and pressed his forehead to mine. “I love you so much, Wilson,” he whispered as slipped his hand across my cheek and pressed his fingers to the back of my neck.
Every hair on my body stood on end. His eyes twinkled and danced across my expression before he closed them and leaned in to kiss me. I wanted to push hard against him and feel our kiss. I longed to taste every ounce of wanting that surged through his body, but I couldn’t. I pulled away and lowered my chin to toward the ground. I couldn’t let him kiss me.
“I’m sorry,” I choked.
“For what?” he panted in a breathy whisper against my cheek. He swayed his stance back and forth, inching closer and pushing his hips solid against me as he tried to catch a glimpse of my eyes.
“I left. I walked out on you, remember? And I don’t know…I don’t think I can handle losing you again,” I whispered as I pulled away from him. I had to protect that part of me. Something so delicate as the love I have for his family. I didn’t know if I was ready to face the fact that I hurt his mother too. It was so much bigger than just Max.
“Hey, you can’t lose something that was never lost,” he said as he caught me by my forearms.
“Really?” I whispered as our eyes danced in a stare that made my heart fall into my gut.
“Really,” Max answered as he nudged his nose against my face a couple of times, urging me to kiss him. He smelled so good, his aroma sent shivers down my spine. I wanted to taste his flavor against my tongue. I wanted to feel his every intention push hard against me. The muscles in his jaw tightened before he pressed his lips against my neck, baiting me to give in and kiss him back.
Everything he did created a raging fire deep in my core and I wasn’t cold any more. His breath quickened as he exhaled in a low growl. Suddenly his hands were on the back of my thighs and I felt my feet leave the snowy ground. He forced me up against his car and every regret I had for leaving was squelched by the pressure of his body against mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles behind him. With my hands nesting in his hair, I guess I had to admit that I wanted everything he was willing to give me.
In pitch black, in the middle of nowhere, Max pressed his lips to every inch, every bend, and every curve of my exposed skin. My breathing sped. Gasping, I watched the steam rise from my mouth. Sparks ignited low in my groin and every breath he lifted from my skin scorched passionately through my whole body.
I couldn’t push him off me if I tried; any strength I had was surrendered. My feet never anchored to the ground. Max had total control of what was going to happen between us. His teeth grazed against then pulled on my earlobe, his lips just damp enough to create the perfect balance of heat and chill to turn me on. The sound of him wanting me echoed viscerally across my ear as his breath tickled me lightly.