Chapter 14 - Brooke

There was no point in trying to beat my giant of a new husband because I didn’t stand a chance against him physically, so I decided to bide my time. Lull him into complacency and then find a way out of there. It didn’t take long, and it kind of tugged at my heart how quick he was to want things to be happy between us.

He made some sandwiches that were almost too big to eat, but I somehow managed, along with a salad full of colorful veggies and the kind of croutons that weren’t tiny little squares that disintegrated at the first bite. My home salads consisted of chopped iceberg lettuce and sometimes a cucumber if they were on sale. Leafy baby greens, juicy red peppers, avocados, and sun-dried tomatoes were out of my reach at the grocery store, so even simmering with anger, I wasn’t about to miss out.

After his security officer called and I heard that Luca was out there, biding his time, I wanted to shrivel up with fear. Not even the temporary loss of my beloved job would have had me leaving Max’s side.

Then he just left to go to bed. No pushing me to join him, not even the slightest attempt to get me back in the position of crawling all over him and gasping for his touch. Not even a damn peck on the cheek. Why did that piss me off when I should have been relieved?

I must have still been loopy, but I knew I was fine, just confused as hell. I was in yet another situation I had no control over, safe, but at what cost? My job would be in danger if I didn’t get out soon and find a phone.

After waiting around in my guest room for what seemed like an eternity, I was pretty sure Max must be fast asleep, as tired as he acted when he left me in the kitchen to stew in my thoughts. I snuck out into the hall, wearing shorts and a t-shirt that had magically appeared, among a bunch of toiletries and a new toothbrush.

No sounds were coming from his room, and I carefully tiptoed down the stairs, pausing at the bottom until I was certain I hadn’t disturbed his sleep. After some more hushed and slow movement, I was out the front door and feeling pretty pleased with myself. I was out, free as a bird, and just had to face the long slog down the hill to find the nearest civilized person I could ask for a phone.

Did I dare call Jenna and get her involved or find a way to get to the airport without her help? I hadn’t really thought things through, and I didn’t have any money, phone, or even my wallet with my ID on me, since my purse was probably still in Luca’s apartment.

I also didn’t think about the gatehouse at the end of the drive. It had completely slipped my mind until I saw the light through the trees.

“Oh, hell,” I whispered, turning back before the guy working in there spotted me.

His presence reminded me that Luca might still lurk on the other side, and I almost scrambled back into the house. But hours had passed, and I could keep to the cover of the trees that lined this woodsy area. I just had to find a way over the high stone wall surrounding Max’s property.

The place was a fortress, and I muttered swear words as I followed along the perimeter. I was way at the back of the property when I finally came to a tree that overhung the wall. I hadn’t climbed a tree in years, but I used to be pretty good at it whenever I lived in a house with one in its yard.

I scrambled up, the muscle memory of reaching for branches and finding footholds not failing me, and soon, I was close to being level with the top of the wall. It was a good eight feet up, and I didn’t remember ever being squeamish about heights when I was a kid, but the darkness and utter quiet was getting to me.

For a moment, I was frozen, not sure if I should attempt jumping to the wall and sliding down the other side to freedom, or inching my way back down before an owl came after me for invading its space.

The decision was clear, I had to move forward, and I edged my way further out onto the branch overhanging the wall. A couple more inches, and I could drop and plant my feet. Except there was a sudden, sickening cracking noise, and I was plummeting toward the ground.

Straight into a strong pair of arms and hearing a familiar grunt as I slammed into Max. He tightened his grip around me and stumbled back a step, but didn’t falter, keeping me from splatting on the hard-packed earth beneath the tree.

“Damn it, Brooke,” he said, holding me close as he walked back toward the house. My heart beat like I’d run a mile from the shock of the fall and I was furious and embarrassed as he laughed at me. “I was alerted the moment you stepped out of the house,” he said smugly. “It’s been fun practicing my stealth moves to follow you all this time.”

I smacked him in the shoulder to get him to let me down. “I’m fine,” I said, wriggling ineffectively against his firm grasp on me.

“Hmm, why is that?” he asked, making my cheeks feel even hotter from humiliation.

He wanted me to thank him for saving my life. Again. I kept my lips clamped shut but continued to struggle to get down. In the end, he insisted on carrying me all the way to one of the back doors, and I gave up the futile effort. As he made his way through part of the garden that was a bit more manicured and less wild than where I’d ended up, I relaxed against his chest.

It was starting to be too warm in his arms, and it had nothing to do with the steamy LA weather, and that made me want to start struggling to get away from him all over again. Out of the frying pan and into the fire didn’t even begin to explain my predicament.

Back in the house, he still didn’t put me down but carried me to an office with several monitors showing camera views around the house. Holding me tight, he pointed to one frozen on a still frame. A sleek sports car passed in front of the house. Luca’s car.

“That was less than an hour ago. He went away for a while but came back. He’s not going to leave you alone, Brooke.”

Seeing the image and hearing the stark tone of Max’s voice made me hang my head. I nodded bleakly, and he finally let me go, sliding me slowly down his big, hard body. His hands remained at my waist to steady me, and I looked up at him. Huge mistake. His face was stern, intense, and his eyes were full of heat that instantly transferred to me.

Look away, Brooke.

It would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, I tilted my chin a bit higher, just as he lowered his face to mine. Our lips came together, our tongues tangled, and I clawed at his hair, not in anger but desperation this time. I needed every inch of him pressed against me, and he seemed happy to oblige.

His hands slid down my body to cup my backside, tilting my hips against his stiff bulge. I gasped, then pushed harder, making him moan into my mouth. I was trying to run away from this?

Yes, yes, I was. He stole my phone and, messaged my best friend with lies, told my boss I was quitting. I was every bit a prisoner here as I was at Luca’s, albeit I was perfectly safe here. Or, was I? Why was I twisting my leg around his hip to pull that hard heat even closer to me? Why was I tugging on his hair and eagerly opening my mouth to him?

I shoved back, telling myself I hated his guts. No, I really did. He was trying to ruin my life, stealing my future that was already as tenuous as a house of cards if I couldn’t get to a phone to explain things.

Despite my apparent fury, he yanked me up against his chest again, his mouth crashing down on mine. I clenched my fists in the fabric of his shirt, first pushing, then pulling, at war with myself as much as with him.

“Brooke,” he said, his breath hot against my neck as he kissed down the side of my throat. “Holy fucking hell.”

I groaned, shoving and grabbing at the same time. He was turning me upside down, so attracted to him, so alive under the feel of his hands all over me that I was going crazy. Not just with lust but with anger and confusion. I wanted to hit him almost as much as I wanted to keep kissing him,

His hands tore through my shirt to reveal my bra, the lacy new one I’d worn to my wedding. Oh God, my wedding. His eyes darkened to onyx as he swept them over me, landing on my face. He grinned slightly before picking me up again and carrying me toward the stairs.

In his bedroom, he had me pinned against the door the moment he slammed it shut behind us. With one hand next to my head, the other roamed down my front, easily snapping open the bra. Cool air hit my breasts, instantly warmed by his palm and the soft growl that rose in his throat as he teased my nipples to tight peaks.

No, this wasn’t right. What was I doing? Fifteen minutes ago, I was trying to escape. Now, I was locking my own cage door by delighting in every wicked sensation he was dragging out of me. My hands came up to block his, pressing against his chest. Push or pull? I was frozen in place, and sensing my resistance, he stopped, leaning back to look down at me.

His hair was standing up in places from where I’d dragged my fingers through it, but it did nothing to make him look less imposing or less brutally gorgeous. His lips were swollen, and his dark eyes raked over me before he took a step back.

I nearly sagged to the floor without his hard heat to keep me upright. His brow lifted as he watched me struggle to catch my breath.

“If you want me to stop, tell me. I’ll stop.”

A glance down showed me how much he wanted me, and even though I could see his desire, not just in his body but his eyes, I would have been in much worse shape than him if he stopped. I honestly couldn’t stand the man at that moment and wanted to slap him so hard my hand would break. How dare he suggest such a thing at a time like that? I’d never been so overwhelmed with need.

“Don’t you dare,” I said, voice shaking as much as my knees. “Don’t you fucking dare stop.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, picking me up and carrying me to the bed.

“Wait,” I squeaked, grabbing his shoulder as he kissed down my front. He looked up expectantly, and I closed my eyes, my body throbbing for his touch. “Just maybe go a little slow. Um, I’m a virgin.”

I peeked to see his eyes flare with fresh lust. His fingers curled into my sides as he slowly eased my shorts down my legs.

“Nice and slow,” he promised, kissing my belly and then the lacy edge of my panties. “God, I’ve been wondering how delicious you taste.”

What did he mean by that? The panties were suddenly gone, swept down my thighs, and tossed aside. Max plunged his face between my legs, holding tight to my hips. I jerked as his tongue brushed my most sensitive places, licking me in long strokes, then teasing my tender nub as I twisted under his grip.

“Let yourself go,” he urged, pausing so that I nearly cried out in agony. “Do you like this?”

“So much,” I admitted, my teeth clamped together. “So much.”

He smiled and resumed driving me to the brink. What was happening? I was in no way, shape, or form, in control. And yet, I was loving every second of what he was doing to me. Squeezing his shoulders, pulling on his hair, and grabbing handfuls of the covers, I arched my back and gyrated along to his expert tongue.

“Hurry, my little monkey, hurry up and come for me,” he urged.

“Monkey?” I wanted to be offended, but everything felt way too good.

“Climbing trees,” he reminded me. “Swinging from branches. Now be a good little one and do what I say.”

“I don’t—” My plea was cut off as he pushed his tongue deep inside me, and tremors wracked through my body from my toes to my hairline.

Shuddering, I turned my head to bite down on the nearest pillow, but I heard him urging me to cry out. “Let me hear how much you like it.”

I shouted, squeezing my legs around his head, trying to draw out that heavenly feeling. He laughed, kissing my thigh and pulling himself up to lean over me. Before I had fully recovered, his fingers were where his mouth had been, delving into my slick heat, stretching me until I gasped.

His eyes never left mine, and despite my burning cheeks, I couldn’t look away. His unspoken command was law, and I bit my lip as he eased his fingers in and out. I finally glanced down at the thick bulge straining against his pants. There was no hiding how huge he was in the sweatpants, and I timidly reached for the drawstring.

As soon as I felt that steely rod jolt against the tips of my fingers, I grew bolder, tugging the string until it was loose and I could slip my hand around his smooth shaft. Now it was my turn to watch his eyes roll back in his head as I eased my palm up and down, breathing harder as I felt the moisture on my fingers as I stroked across the tip.

“You want me,” I whispered. He really did.

“You have no idea,” he told me in a low growl. He was still Max but wilder now, almost like he’d been set free. “Let me show you.”

“Yes,” I urged, grabbing his face with my free hand and kissing him hungrily. I needed more, everything he had to give. Every last inch of what was in my hand. “Yes, please.”

Yanking me onto his lap, my legs straddled his hips, and he sheathed himself deep inside me in a smooth, urgent movement. I gasped as he filled and stretched me to my limit, holding onto his shoulders. Gripping my waist, he held me still, his eyes shut and his jaw set.

“Don’t move,” he warned. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

His restraint only made me turn into the feral beast that he was trying so hard to keep at bay. Holding on, I raised my hips and slid back down his iron shaft, moaning in ecstasy now that the first shock of his great size was over.

“You’re killing me,” he said, eyes still shut as I rode him.

I giggled. “Is that all it’ll take?”

Instead of laughing along with me, he grabbed a handful of my hair and claimed my mouth with a ferocity that stole my breath. Tugging me backward, he leaned down to lick my throat, down to my nipples, where he suckled each one before letting me go.

I slumped backward, but he caught me, deftly picking me up and laying me out on the bed. Another instant, and my legs were clamped around him again with his cock sheathed tight inside me. I thought this part was all for him, but that sensation was building in my core with every hard thrust of his body on top of mine.

My arms shook as I wrapped them around his neck, burying my face into the crook of his shoulder. “Max,” I gasped, unable to say anything but that.

He understood, and slipped his fingers between us, finding my swollen nub and making me scream. Confident I had deafened him, I tried to turn away, but he captured my lips, nipping at me as he gave his last few thrusts. His roar mingled with another shout as spasm after spasm rocked me. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, letting myself get carried away.

His body was heavy on mine a few moments later, pressing me into the twisted blankets. My face sank into a plush feather pillow until he rolled off of me and pulled me to face him.

Heart pounding and breath coming in short, sharp gasps, I kept my face pressed against his chest. There was no way I could look up at him after that. If he kissed me, I would disintegrate. That was too real, too amazing. I’d completely lost myself.

I’d forgotten everything. Where I was and why I was there. The reason I couldn’t leave. The fact I might not have anything to go back to. As quickly as he’d driven me to passion, I was now filled with fury again. It was mostly at myself, but I took it out on him, rolling away and sitting up with my back ramrod straight.

I had plenty of anger left over for Max. Not caring that I was naked, I shoved myself to the edge of the bed to scurry back to the safety of my guest room. With a chuckle, he dragged me back to his side. Instead of making me lie down with him, he got up and heaved his legs over the side, pushing his muscular, naked body halfway across the room before I could squeak out a protest.

“Get some sleep,” he said, laughter in his voice and teasing in his eyes. “I won’t bother you. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

He grabbed his robe off a hook on the closet door and slung it over his shoulders, depriving me of the last few seconds of that glorious view. Was he walking out on me?

I grabbed the lamp off the bedside table and yanked it out of the socket to fling across the room at his retreating back. It missed him by half a foot and shattered against the door just as he closed it, without a care in the world.

I slammed my fists into the bed as his infuriating laughter echoed down the hall.