Chapter 6

"This is all so confusing," said Max. "It looks as though my family may have had a connection to Kodiak from a long time ago, but I was raised in the lower forty-eight."

"What brought you here?"

"It's funny. I can't even tell you. I just knew this was where I belonged. Not just Kodiak Island, but this place. I discovered it when I first arrived. I was hiking all around the island and found the lake."

"The place we were at earlier? Up where you can see the whole of the lake?"

He nodded. "That led me to exploring the shoreline and eventually to this cabin. It was abandoned and in total disarray, but it spoke to me. I had some money put away, and I bought it. Then the need to create the sculptures and mountain climbing equipment just took over."

"Were you a success from the start?"

Max shook his head. "Not right away. I worked at Joe's shop, To the Top, worked as one of the cooks at the Black Bear Diner, and hired out as a guide. I took a group of corporate executives on a team building experience…" He chuckled. "Those guys were woefully unprepared for a ‘wilderness adventure,' but they came together and got each other through it. Those guys had a lot of money. One of them saw one of my hand-carved tools and wanted to buy it. I brought them back here and between them they bought everything I had. Joe got pissed that I hadn't been selling them all along and so started featuring my things in his store."

"But how'd you end up with an exhibit in Portland?"

"Gallery owner came up to Kodiak for his sister's wedding. He saw my things at Joe's and the sculpture I gave his sister as a wedding present. He guided me through putting on an exhibit down in Seattle where several other gallery owners saw it… and the rest, as they say, is history. In other words, pure dumb luck."

Alexa shook her head. "I don't believe in luck. I believe in being aware when life hands you an opportunity. If all it took was luck, most people would be doing better. But they aren't because when an opportunity is presented to them, they either fail to see it or choose not to take it."

Max leaned back, looking at her. "Why wouldn't someone take advantage of an opportunity?"

"Lots of reasons, I suppose. For me it was fear. The old adage ‘better the devil I know than the one I don't.'"

"In what regard?"

"I stayed in a marriage for far longer than I should have. Don't get me wrong, my ex isn't a horrible person, but we just weren't good for each other. Not toxic, but not good, either. I took a trip to Easter Island…"

Max nodded. "Yeah, I read that article. You're really good at what you do. I'd never had any desire to go there until I read your piece. The way you wrote about the island, the people, and the statues made it seem so important and relevant to today. I'm probably not expressing this well. You're the one who writes."

"You're doing fine, believe me. I know what you mean. Being in the presence of the Moai will always be one of the place markers in my life. You know, those times when you look back at your past, and you realize you had come to a fork in the road, and as Frost said, ‘I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.' I came home, left my husband and our beautiful loft in The Pearl District, and started living the life that before I'd only written about." Max smiled. "What?" she asked.

"I know exactly what you mean. I came to Kodiak for a long weekend, and never left. I felt as if I was home."

"Me, too. When I got off the plane and learned what happened to Joe, I was like oh shit, now what. Then you stepped in and brought me here, and it was as if everything I had been feeling settled as if I'd found my place."

There, she'd said it. She'd put it out there. Alexa sat waiting, but not for long. Max's strong hand cupped the nape of her neck and pulled her forward, his lips covering hers in a gentle yet somehow dominant kiss. His tongue traced the seam of her mouth, not so much asking for entrance, but letting her know he meant to taste her deeply.

He kissed her, taking her in, like a man long denied water and drinking her down as if he'd never satisfy the thirst. His tongue thrust deep, asking for more of her than he thought she might be able to give. Alexa sagged against him, opening not only her lips, but all of herself to this man. His need for her seemed to pour out of him like a waterfall rolling off a cliff, covering her in the same warm, comforting manner as the shower in her room.

Alexa could feel herself bending to his will and surrendering to a mutual need she was sure was there. She'd been celibate since her divorce, unless you counted self-stimulation and satisfaction as sex, which she didn't. For the longest time, she thought her libido had died. She hadn't felt much of a need for it, but it had sprung back to life from the moment she laid eyes on Max. She'd never been so intensely aroused and attracted to anyone. She was pretty sure if he'd told her to strip and lie down in the middle of the parking lot when she arrived, she'd have done it.

Max lifted his head. "What?"

"I was just thinking that when I got here, if you'd wanted, I would have stripped naked, laid down in the parking lot, spread my legs and let you fuck me then and there."

Max pulled away slightly, his eyes searching hers. ""Damn, I wish you'd told me that sooner."

Alexa was pretty sure her heart was racing like that of a thoroughbred at the track. It shouldn't have been difficult to find words, but it was. "Me, too."

Max stood up, hauling her up against his chest and kissing her again before sweeping her up into his arms and moving towards his bedroom.

"Put me down. You're going to hurt yourself."

He chuckled, the sound deep and melodic as it moved across her body, seeping into her pores. "Never happen. I plan to ravish you."

Alexa wound her arms around his neck. Nobody had ever picked her up, much less swept her up into his arms and carried her to a bed.

"What about what we found?" she asked.

"The stuff in the box? It's been waiting there for god knows how long; it can wait a while longer. I can't. I won't."

That seemed to settle things. He carried her to his bedroom, setting her down on the floor and getting her naked in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. The temperature seemed to shoot up by about a thousand degrees, and Alexa couldn't understand why he didn't have his clothes off too. He dragged her up against him, his mouth taking hers in a fiery, passionate kiss as they clung to one another like two magnets being forced together.

Alexa reached down, unbuttoning his fly and rendering him as naked as she was. God, he was built like some Roman god—all muscle and power. His chest was ripped, and his abs looked as though a master sculptor had carved them out of stone. And then there was his cock—big, hard, and nearly reaching his navel. She wasn't sure if it would fit, but she knew it wouldn't be for lack of trying on either of their parts.

Max lifted his head, his eyes devouring her like a famished predator. There was something distinctly feral and predatory about Max, but it didn't frighten her. If anything, it called to her, awakening some part of her soul that had lain dormant waiting for him. She could feel the heat coming off his skin.He ran his hands up her torso and spine until he was cradling the back of her head, pulling her closer. Goosebumps ran along her skin as the reality that this was happening sank in.

Alexa moaned into his mouth, the sensation of his tongue exploring hers causing warmth to pool in her core. His tongue retreated, inviting hers to follow so she could taste him. His taste was tantalizing and exotic while at the same time warm and comforting. Alexa knew in that moment that she would never willingly give him up. Whatever he was that he wasn't telling her didn't matter. Whatever had come before didn't matter. All that mattered was this time—right here, right now—and they would face whatever came in the future.

Max continued to kiss her as he laid her back on the bed, tracing the curves of her body and trailing his fingers along her skin. Alexa reached up, needing to feel more than just his hands roaming across her body. He looked down at her with hungry eyes.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I haven't been with anyone since my last physical, and I tested clean and healthy."

"Me, too, and I've been on birth control for years. It was something I did while I was married, and I just never thought to stop."

He grinned as he sank down on the bed next to her. Alexa wasn't sure whether or not she should be worried about that and decided not to be. Max covered her body gently, his eyes never leaving hers as he licked his lips seductively and then began pressing almost chaste kisses along her skin as he worked his way down her body.

When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, Alexa's body responded by arching up into him, pushing it deeper. There was something deeply erotic and sensual about the way he was handling her. He had definitely taken the lead, and for once Alexa was content to follow. He continued to move down her body, showing her that her fantasies were nothing compared to the reality of Max.

He nipped, licked and kissed his way down, making her arch her back and grip the sheets as his tongue found her clit and began to toy with it. Max sent shivers of pleasure through her entire body as arousal and need pulsed through her veins. He was relentless and seemed determined to bring her the ultimate pleasure and release. Alexa wasn't sure how much of it she could take.

Lost in the harmonic rhythm of his mouth and tongue, his hands explored her body as hers played in his thick, dark hair. He tongued, flicked, and circled around her swollen, sensitive nub, never missing a beat before drawing it into his mouth to suckle. Well, the man had said he meant to ravish her. It looked and felt like he hadn't been kidding.

Wetness seeped from her core as her thighs parted naturally to offer him more. The aching need for release was intensifying, demanding it be satisfied. The more he toyed with her clit, the closer she crept to the edge, not quite wanting to come yet. She wanted more… so much more. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her breathing grew more ragged, and she began to moan.

Max never broke his concentration, continuing to pleasure her with his talented mouth.He seemed to be enjoying what he could make her body do in response to his affectionate attention. He had a smirk playing on his lips as he lifted his head and gazed at her. The look wasn't arrogant, just the look of a man who knows he is bringing his woman the ultimate pleasure. Alexa realized that she was his woman and sensed he knew it as well.

She reached down to pull him up her body, seeking his lips for a passionate kiss that seemed only to prove the two of them had always been meant to be together to connect in this way.

"I want you inside me," she confessed, feeling hesitant to say it, but knowing it was true. She needed to feel how hard and amazing his cock would be as it pushed deep inside her before beginning to stroke.

"If I wasn't so desperate for you, I'd make you wait until I heard you call my name a couple of times before I allowed myself the luxury of fucking you. Lucky girl."

She smiled. "Yeah. Lucky me."

The words had barely left her mouth before he surged forward, shoving himself deep as she writhed in his embrace. She gasped at the sudden intrusion that filled her completely. Alexa had never had a man take possession of her with that kind of dominant confidence. This was a man who knew what he was doing and knew what it would do for her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as she clung to him.

Max slid his hands under her body, grasping the globes of her ass as he began to thrust in and out of her powerfully, driving her quickly to a climax that was as good as quenching the fire in her blood as it was in reigniting it.

His cock was thick and long and seemed to fill every inch of her, stretching the walls of her pussy with every thrust, each time going deeper and harder. Max's eyes never left hers, and they quickly found a rhythm that sent tremors of pleasure through her entire body.

Alexa threw her head back against the pillow, gripping the bedclothes, her nails digging into the fabric as she struggled to hold onto what little part of reality was left to her. She was encompassed in a sensual haze that left her with nothing but sensation and feeling.

He picked up the pace, thrusting harder and faster, each stroke intensifying the pleasure and need for more. Alexa's moans became louder and escalated into gasps and then cries of pleasure as it all became too much. She knew she was headed toward another intense orgasm. Max's stroking became more frenzied, almost brutal and ruthless in his own need.

She clawed at him, acting on instinct alone as she arched her body, tilting her head back as if she were offering him her throat. Max sank what felt like elongated canines into her neck in a savage bite that made her scream in both pain and ecstasy. As she careened off the edge in a freefall of pure rapture, his body stiffened as he ground against her, streaming a torrent of cum into her sheath.

Slowly, they both recovered from their almost feral coupling. Max kissed the wound he had inflicted, attending to it with something akin to reverence as he slipped from her body and then made his way to the attached bath. She lifted her fingers to touch the wound and felt blood. Alexa knew she should be angry or appalled that he'd bitten her so deeply, but she wasn't. There was a kind of rightness to it. Max returned and shushed her as he cleaned and dressed it.

"I suppose I should apologize for that, but I'm not sorry it happened. It was inevitable. You were destined to be mine. You know it, too," he said quietly.

Exhausted in a way she had never been before, Alexa did nothing more than nod.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart, and sleep. Everything will be fine. I promise."