Private Affair(61)

Sliding her hand down his body, she clamped her fingers around his erection, feeling the heat and power of him.

He gasped. “Olivia.”

“Do it now,” she answered, rolling to her back.

He followed her, covering her body with his, and she guided him into her.

He went very still, looking down at her, passion and perhaps shock suffusing his face. Olivia knew then that he’d never thought this could happen. But here the two of them were, joined together. And it felt like the most natural thing she had done in a long time.

When he began to move, she matched his rhythm, knowing he was holding back, waiting for her to catch up with him. And all at once she was there, on a high plateau where she knew she might get burned by the heat of the sun. She didn’t worry about that. She could only drive for her satisfaction, then come apart in a burst of feeling that carried her into space.

She knew he was with her as she felt his body go rigid and heard his shout of satisfaction.

And then his weight was on her as he gathered her to him, breathing hard.

“That was okay for you?” he whispered.

“Wonderful.” She smiled and snuggled against him, feeling happier than she had in a long time. Someone had tried to kill her a few hours ago. But she had kept him at bay long enough for the man who held her in his arms to come back and drive the invader away.

“We make a good team,” she murmured.

“Making love?”

“I was thinking of a few hours ago.”

He winced.

“Sorry if I reminded you that you left.”

“I don’t need reminding.”

She raised her head and looked down at him. “You saved my life. Don’t forget that part.” When he said nothing, she added, “I mean that.”

He held her close, stroking her, and she might have drifted off to sleep in his arms—until she felt the tenor of the stroking change.

“What?” she murmured.

“There are things I never told you about myself.”

“Do they matter?”

Ignoring the question, he went on. “I had nothing growing up, and I had a chip on my shoulder. I envied the well-off kids at Donley.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting more than you had. I wanted more, too. Not just material things. I could see that the other kids didn’t have a father like mine—who was always on my case.”

“Yeah, well my mom wasn’t home enough to be on my case. And the only way I could see to get the things I wanted was to steal them. Another guy and I did some shoplifting—taking clothing, mostly,” Max said. “Stuff I wanted to wear to school. And when I needed cash, I broke into a lot of houses in Columbia and Ellicott City.”

“But you never got caught?” she guessed.

“Wrong. And the cops who caught me did their best to scare the shit out of me. That was the wrong approach. It only made me more defiant. But then there was this detective who understood how to handle me. And I guess he saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He turned me around. He was the reason I went into law enforcement.”

“And the reason you clashed with guys like Hamilton,” she guessed.

“Yeah. Cliff Maringer went the extra mile for me. He looked below the surface. Hamilton just does the minimum, so he can claim he’s doing his job, and he resents what he considers interference. I tried to help criminals, if I thought they were worth saving.”

When she nodded, he went on.

“After my dad left home, I took out my anger on my mom by paying no attention to anything she told me. Well, really, there wasn’t a lot of time for attention. She had a bunch of minimum-wage jobs that kept a roof over our heads, in a housing project in Ellicott City.” He turned his head toward her. “Did you even know there was a housing project in Ellicott City?”

“No.”

“I guess everyone who lived there was trying hard to fit into the Howard County image.” He snorted. “The wealthiest county in the U.S., you know.”

“I never thought about that. I mean, it might be the wealthiest county, but I lived in a farmhouse with one bathroom upstairs.”

“I lived in a housing project where you could buy drugs in the hallways. It made it hard to keep up.”

“But you found your footing,” Olivia said. “And you found Jack and Shane. They’re important to you.”

“You figured that out, too?”

“Uh-huh. I like watching the three of you together. I think you could finish each other’s sentences.”

“Yeah.” He dragged in a breath and let it out. “There’s more I have to say. Stuff you might not like as much.”

She tensed, knowing he wouldn’t say something like that unless he meant it.