Chapter 39 - Max

It didn’t take long to find the leader of the Italian organization after I had a few words with the guy Nik had been interrogating. I kept my promise to let him live for giving up the information without making me break too much of a sweat, and we headed over to the seedy hotel where his leader was hiding out.

The neighborhood was quiet and rundown, and we easily paid off a few people staggering out of a nearby bar to go up to the designated floor of the hotel and make such a ruckus that any guards would run them off. It worked like a charm, and as soon as we saw the two-armed men chasing them down the hall toward the emergency stairs, Ivan and I slipped inside the room.

The man’s name was Geraldo Rossi, and he was halfway through a bottle of red wine when we slammed the door behind us, startling the crap out of him. By the looks of the empty bottles on the table, he hadn’t just started celebrating.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, standing unsteadily on his feet. He shouted in Italian for his guards, who weren’t coming if Nik had done his job, and knocked them out once they were in the stairwell. “What do you think you’re doing in my room?”

I covered the small room in two strides and had my hand locked around his throat before he could blink. “Giving you some very good advice.”

Geraldo reached for something in his pocket, but stopped when he heard the clicking noise behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know my brother had his gun trained on him. The drunk man’s face told me everything I needed to know.

He let out a string of swear words, half of them I didn’t understand, but I got the gist. He was pissed, and I soon realized it wasn’t with me or Ivan. He was cursing Luca.

“You made a deal with the wrong guy,” I said.

“I’m just realizing that,” he said as best he could with my hand still gripping his neck. I loosened up and nodded for him to continue. “Supposedly, my father owed his father some favor. I don’t know anything about it except I’m trying to pay a debt so I can get home.” He continued to complain about how Luca never even visited the old country except for some stupid jobs. “This isn’t personal,” he finished.

“It is personal for me, though,” I told him coldly, but I was half amused at how much he seemed to dislike Luca. Something we had in common. I filled him in on why his distant relative had called them over to the States, explaining the place where I’d just picked up my wife. “That’s the kind of person you’re doing favors for, Rossi,” I said, shoving him back into his chair.

The bottle of wine toppled, its red liquid spilling across the table like blood. I nodded to it, raising a brow as I waited to see what kind of a turn this visit would take. Geraldo looked like he wanted to start throwing punches, and not at me.

“You want me to take care of him?” he asked.

I shook my head. “That’s going to be my pleasure. I do want you to get the fuck out of California, though.”

“You and me both,” he said, reaching behind him. Ivan made a halting noise and raised his gun, but Geraldo was only trying to get a fresh bottle. “I’ll have my people on a plane by tomorrow,” he promised, struggling to get the corkscrew in.

This was way too easy and a bit of a letdown. I took a step closer, leaning over the table. “This isn’t personal,” I said, meaning it. “But you know I’ve got to do it.”

Hauling back my fist, I cracked him in the jaw hard enough to send him toppling backward. The bottle remained clutched in his hand and it was only his drunken state of not being able to get the cork out that kept that one from spilling when he landed with a crash, out cold.

“Is that it?” Ivan asked as we headed down. I sent a text telling Nik to meet us at the car and leave the men unharmed, or at least not to harm them anymore than he already did.

“If he doesn’t keep his word and they’re not out of here by tomorrow night, you pitbulls can have at them. For now, just keep some men on them to make sure Geraldo up there does what he’s supposed to.”

“Are you getting soft?” Ivan asked, earning a fast, hard punch in the gut that had him doubling over. “Jesus, I was just kidding,” he groaned, hobbling the rest of the way to the car.

I left them to oversee the building until backup arrived to relieve them and headed back to the diner on my own. What was left of it. The firefighters were finishing up, continuing to spray water on the sizzling pile of ashes that had been my pride and joy for so long. My baby was gone, nothing more than an insurance claim at that point, but I couldn’t stand around and mourn for long with Brooke’s wellbeing at the forefront of my mind. Now that things were settled for the moment, I was itching to get back to her side.

Dawn was just starting to break. I had been away much longer than I wanted, but hopefully, she was still getting the rest she needed to recuperate from her ordeal. Dragging my eyes off the smoking rubble, I made my way back to my car. Just as I was about to get in, there was a commotion on the other side of the barriers. Hearing a familiar voice, I whipped around to see my second-in-command crashing into view among the straggling firefighters and the few leftover onlookers.

What the hell? He was supposed to be watching over Brooke. I had at least a dozen other guards at the house, but he was the one I trusted the most. He never should have left her alone, no matter what new bullshit had arisen that made him think he needed to be here. I was about to let him know that with a crack to the head, but then a firefighter moved aside to reveal Brooke.

She ducked past both of them and looked around feverishly until I called out her name. Somebody was getting fired for this. She was in no condition to be out at all, especially not at the scene of a recent explosion that was still smoldering. She finally heard me as I crashed toward her. Our eyes locked, and she hurtled past the barricades and into my arms.

Confusion wouldn’t let me enjoy the feel of her, safe and warm in my grasp. Did she wake up in hysterics over what she’d been through, and I wasn’t there?

I shouted across her head at my soon-to-be ex-guard. “What the hell were you thinking, Yuri?”

Brooke grabbed at my shirt, looking up at me. “It’s not his fault. I insisted.”

“Threw a damn fit is more accurate,” Yuri said bitterly.

“I needed to talk to you,” she said, seeming to notice the charred rubble all around us for the first time and pressing her face into my chest. “Oh my God, your poor diner.”

“That hardly matters right now,” I told her, leading her to my car with one final glare at Yuri.

He shrugged and went back to his own car to await further orders. Whatever Brooke told me would determine if he should keep his job or not.

“You can’t be mad at him,” she said when I had her sitting next to me in the front. “I really did throw a massive fit.”

“That sounds about right,” I said, starting to smile. She didn’t return it, only looking at me in a frantic way I couldn’t understand. “What made you race over here?”

“Are you really letting me go?”

My heart sank. Olivia must have told her, which meant she’d asked. Which meant she still wanted to leave me. She was so excited about the prospect she’d gotten out of bed after a traumatic experience to chase me halfway across the city to make sure it was true. She reached for my hand, digging her fingers into my wrist and asking again.

It was then I noticed she didn’t actually seem as excited as I first thought. More upset, maybe even devastated. Trying to process it, I took too long to answer and her fingers dug in harder.

“Don’t you want me anymore?”

The sound of pain in her voice made me lean back, staggered by the absurd question, stunned that she was asking it. She believed I was giving her freedom back to her because I didn’t want her anymore. Un-fucking-believable.

“Of course, I still want you,” I said. My voice came out in a gust since her question had nearly knocked the wind out of me. “Brooke, I’ll want you until the day I die, and probably long after that.”

“Then why?” she asked in a broken whisper. “Why send me away?”

“Letting you go and sending you away are two very different things,” I said, tilting her chin to look at me. Hopefully, she’d see every emotion in my eyes, because there weren’t any words to express them. They didn’t exist, not in any language. “I want you, but not at the expense of your happiness.”

She blinked. “What if staying with you is what will make me happy?”

“More than going back to school?” I asked.

“More than that or anything else,” she answered immediately.

“Whatever you want is what I want,” I told her. “All I want for you is to be happy.” Taking her arms, I gave her a little shake. “Don’t you get that by now?” She looked down, making a small, sad sound. “I love you, Brooke. Everything I do is for you. You’re the only thing in this world I don’t want to live without.”

She didn’t reply but finally looked up with shining eyes as she reached for me. Her hand slid behind my neck as she pulled my face down to hers. Our lips touched and her soft breath mingled with mine, along with a quiet sigh. After a long moment, I tangled my fingers in her hair, gently tugging her back so I could take her in.

“This might be the first time you’ve kissed me without wanting to beat the hell out of me,” I joked. I couldn’t help it; my heart was soaring. She wanted to stay.

Her brows shot together, and I braced myself, but she relaxed, smiling tentatively before looking down again. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure things out.”

“You don’t have a damn thing to be sorry about,” I assured her, running my hand down her shoulders. “I’m the one who has so much to make up for.”

She didn’t argue and we both snickered, then laughed. “This is better,” she said.

“Oh, just wait,” I told her.

We had the rest of our lives now, and as I made that promise, I watched her eyes for any sign of panic, any inkling she still wanted to run fast and far from me. There was nothing there but hope and maybe something more, but I didn’t want to press my luck and push her for anything she wasn’t ready to give.

Leaning close, she grabbed my face again and pulled me down for another kiss. This one wasn’t so tender, as her mouth crashed against mine. I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her as her lush body melted against me. We didn’t need all that anger and fighting to have me burning up for her, and for once, she wasn’t warring with herself, or with me.

“Max,” she murmured as my tongue swept her lower lip.

“I’m right here,” I said. “I’ll always be right here.”

She shivered in my arms, and I gripped the hair at her nape to tug her head back to taste her more deeply, when there was a loud thump on my car window. We jolted apart like teenagers caught out after curfew. A tired-looking firefighter told us we needed to clear the road, and we laughed as I pulled away from the curb.

“Time to get you home and back into bed,” I said, weaving through the early morning traffic.

“I won’t argue about that,” she said with a smile that had the front of my pants tightening.

“That might be a first,” I teased.

I wanted her to rest up and fully recover, and here she was, driving me crazy. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. By the time I pulled into the drive, she had dozed off, and only woke up as I lifted her out of the car.

“I can walk,” she said.

“I like carrying you.” I held her closer, and she nestled her head against the crook of my neck, her warm breath close to my ear and driving me wild all over again.

We have the rest of our lives , I reminded myself as I tucked her back into bed. Though it was morning and there was no lack of things to do, especially in the aftermath of the fire, I hadn’t slept at all, so climbed in beside her. Once we were both under the covers with my arm under her head and her leg draped over mine, I looked down at her, unable to keep from shaking my head in awe.

“What?” she asked, misinterpreting my head shake. “I’m not arguing about anything.”

“I was marveling at how gorgeous you are, and yes, even in sweats and with bruises on your face.” I scowled as I traced the outlines of the marks on her face, but this was no time or place for thoughts of vengeance. “What do you want to do about school?” I asked, so she wouldn’t start thinking about it, either. “Would you rather stay at Berkeley or look into schools in San Diego? Or here in LA, or anywhere else in the world.”

“Are you serious?” She twisted to look up at me with a frown. “What about your family?”

“I’m deadly serious,” I said, tapping her on her pert nose. “I have my own plane, remember? We can still visit my family any time I want.”

“So that means I’m not a secret anymore?”

“Definitely not. No more secrets,” I said. “Hey, how hard do you think Jenna can hit?”

“She won’t hit you,” Brooke answered with a giggle. “Not too hard, anyway. I’ll jump in before she leaves a mark.”

God, I wanted to kiss her, but she still hadn’t answered my question. I was eager to get us on the right track. “Tell me what you want,” I urged.

“I think I’d like to stay in San Diego,” she said slowly. “I love that house, and the beach, and the weather. If you really don’t mind paying, I could apply to some schools down there. Online doesn’t sound so bad to me anymore, either, and it’s probably a lot cheaper.”

I leaned back and pretended to roar in frustration. “You have to stop worrying about money. You’re married to a very wealthy man.”

Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink. “I guess. I’m only just starting to accept that fact. That we’re really married, I mean. And not just to keep me safe.”

I nodded, waiting with all the patience I possessed, and it did seem like she had accepted it, because she pulled my head down for a kiss. The feel of her lips against mine again seared my blood. With a groan, I pulled her closer so her body was flush with mine, every curve of her lighting up my senses.

How long had it been? Five minutes was too long to go without the taste of her. As she settled onto me with her legs straddling my hips, I ran my fingers through her chestnut strands. The curtains were closed, but the morning light came through in a thin line across the room, sending shadows across her skin. As much as I wanted her tongue in my mouth, I turned and snapped on the bedside lamp.

My gorgeous bride blinked in the wash of light and gave me a questioning look as I just stared at her. “I want to see you,” I told her. “Every inch of you.”

Her smile was brighter than the sun and the lamp combined and I gripped her waist as happiness washed over me.

“I don’t mind looking at you, either,” she said, her gaze dropping to my chest as she eagerly began unbuttoning my shirt. “I can’t wait to see more.”

With her palm flat on my bare skin, I took her hand and kissed it before replacing it over my heart. “Feel how hard it beats for you.” The fact she was smiling was something new and intoxicating. “This is like the first time, really.”

“A little bit,” she agreed, pressing against my heart as she wriggled on my lap.

With a groan, I claimed her mouth, sliding my hands under the oversized shirt she wore to brush against her silky skin. Goosebumps followed the path of my fingers, but her heat seeped through her sweatpants, making me throb against her.

After long moments of her sucking on my lower lip and her questing hands moving up and over my shoulders to grip at my hair, I was at my tipping point.

“Brooke,” I growled, flipping her off my lap and onto her back. “As much as I love the taste of your mouth, I need to taste you everywhere.”

Somehow her shirt was off, and her lush tits bounced free and into my hands. I teased each pink nipple to a tight peak before taking one in my mouth. Her groans reached my ears over the rushing of my blood, and I kissed hungrily down her body even as she tugged on my hair.

“More,” she sighed, her hands finding her nipples.

I paused, mesmerized by the sight, enjoying her mischievous smirk when she figured out what she was doing to me. With my face pressed to her stomach, I breathed her in, then plunged my tongue into her belly button, making her shriek. Her hands clapped to either side of my head, pressing me lower now, with the same urgency I felt.

“I want you so much,” she said, her voice raw. “I always have.”

I paused to look up at her. Our eyes met, and I saw the truth there. “I know,” I told her. “You never could keep your hands off me.”

This playful jibe earned me a swat across the top of my head, and I laughed, all the tension and uncertainty of our life together draining away. Brooke was safe; we were together, and that was all that mattered.

“I knew you couldn’t go much longer without hitting me.”

Before she could answer, I dragged her sweatpants down, bringing the cotton panties along for the ride, until they were at her ankles and she kicked them the rest of the way off. Spreading her legs wide, I dragged them over my shoulders, to lap at her wet heat. At the first taste of her slick pussy, I groaned, pushing my tongue deep until she writhed and clamped her knees tight around my head.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she murmured, her hands falling to her sides to twist the sheets.

I was torn between tasting and watching her and kept lifting my head to see her thrashing her hair in every direction. She finally lifted her hand and placed it on my forehead, pushing me back down between her thighs.

“Please!” It was more of a demand than anything else, and I couldn’t deny her anything.

I found her swollen clit and made her cry out, circling until she was shaking beneath me. I could have stayed there for an hour, feasting on her perfect body, but my cock was about to burst, aching to be inside her.

“I need you,” I groaned. “Give me what I want. I need to feel you come.”

Her reaction was instantaneous, with her legs gripping my head, her hands tearing at my hair, and her scream ringing out to echo around the room. I lapped at the gush of her pleasure, my own arms shaking, my whole body thrumming as I held back to enjoy watching her.

I slowly kissed my way back up her body, feeling as if I had gone six rounds with my brother in his boxing gym, but instead of pain, my muscles burned with desire.

Brooke relaxed into a heap, her head sinking between two pillows as her chest heaved, but still her hands reached for my shoulders as I leaned down to kiss her. As if she was brought back to life by the feel of my lips on hers, she eagerly opened her mouth to me. Reaching down, I slid my fingers into her tight little hole, slick and ready for my cock.

“I have to fuck you now,” I said. “I have to be inside this pussy of yours.”

“Why aren’t you?” she cried, gripping my shaft and stroking. “Oh God, hurry.”

My eyes slammed shut as she ran her thumb over my dripping tip in a hypnotic fashion. This was so, so good. Everything about being with Brooke was everything I wanted.

Everything I needed.

The frantic urgency receded for a moment so I could really take her in. Her tangled hair spread out over the pillows and half in her face, pink cheeks as bright as her eyes, which were a dark, stormy blue. But not with anger this time. Oh, I was certain I’d see that emotion there again, but now there was only…

I shook my head, coming back to the moment as she tightened her grip on my cock.

“Where did you go?” she asked. “And why aren’t you fucking me yet?”

The fact she hadn’t told me she loved me flew from my mind as she gave me a pleading look, stroking harder and faster. I grabbed her hand to still the movements that were driving me wild all over again.

“I’m right here,” I said, finding her entrance and sliding deep.

Her gasp mingled with my groan as her tight pussy swallowed every inch of my cock. Our eyes locked as I slowly pulled back, only to drive deep again and again. With trembling hands, she reached for my face and dragged me down for a kiss.

The taste of her juices on her lips had me pounding faster, needing to feel her tighten around me, and hear her cry out into my mouth.

“Come for me again, Brooke,” I said.

Her legs wrapped around my hips, and I ran my hand down the back of her thigh, pushing her knee to her chest to get deeper. Finding her clit between our grinding bodies, I teased the swollen nub as I drove into her. We were both barely hanging on, stubborn to the last, determined to get every last drop of each other.

“We have all day,” I said raggedly, kissing her again. “We have our whole lives.”

Her body stiffened, and her fingernails dug into my shoulders as her mouth dropped open in the cry I was waiting for. I rammed hard and deep one last time as her pussy spasmed around me, and it was mere seconds after that I shot my seed into her. The glorious sound of her laughter followed my shouts, and I kept going until there was nothing left in me.

Our hearts beat like heavy metal drums and nearly had me rolling off of her as I collapsed against her chest, completely spent.

“I love you,” I said into her neck. “I love you so damn much, Brooke.”

The answer was a kiss on my shoulder, and after a few moments of catching my breath, I rolled off of her, instantly bereft at the loss of her heat. It didn’t last because she grabbed my arm and put it under her head, snuggling into my chest with her legs entwined with mine.

“I don’t know if I want to sleep now while I’m all cozy and tingling, or do that all over again.”

“I’ll wait for your answer,” I said, moving some of her hair off her cheek and behind her ear. “Whatever you want.”

Casting her eyes down, she whispered a soft thanks, and I tipped up her chin to see what it was for.

“Everything,” she answered. “How many times have you saved my life now?”

“Oh, Brooke,” I said with a laugh I barely had the strength for. I pulled her closer and rested my chin on the top of her head, blowing strands of her hair out of my mouth. “Don’t you know I was just saving my own? I’m nothing without you. You’re my whole life.”