“Do you want me to leave? Is that it? Would you rather I wasn’t a part of this?” I ask, afraid of the answer, but needing to know, regardless.
That’s when Max surprises me. He gathers me in his arms, careful with my bad arm. He sits me in his lap while somehow pushing us back on the bed so he can recline against the headboard. Then, he places a kiss against my temple and situates me so I’m lying against his heart, and the beat of it is drumming in my ear.
“I don’t want to let you go, Tess. Ever. What we started out as, has nothing to do with what you are to me now.”
That one sentence from Max takes my breath.
I hold her close. Marcum’s speech hit me hard. He and I spent time hashing and rehashing what paths I had before me. He made it clear what he would choose. I, on the other hand, didn’t agree. Regardless, I have choices, but the problem is that each selection has some fucking huge consequences. How do I choose? Do I take Tess with me? Doing that, means, never coming back. I may not be super close to Marcum, but I would still miss the sorry fuck. Do I let her go back to her world without me and still say goodbye to everything? Can I accept that? Can I let Tess go? Just the thought of it curls me in knots.
“I don’t want to let you go, Tess,” I repeat.
“Then don’t.”
“It would be better for you,” I feel obligated to tell her.
“Last I checked, I was an adult, and I say it wouldn’t be.”
“We could try your route, Tess. Turn myself in, and wait to be together.”
Her body stiffens under me, and I kiss her again on the top of her head. I would be willing to do this for Tess. If I knew she was waiting for me, I would try it. Marcum would swing his influence out there; like I wouldn’t let him before. The waiting would be hard. The unknowing would almost kill me, but I would. For her, I would.
“No.”
The one word is quiet, but firm.
“It’s what you wanted, Tess.”
“It’s not the same now. They want your head, Max. They want to make an example out of you. It’s even more dangerous now.”
“You’ve been watching the news.”
“Some, yeah. The result would be too unknown now, Max. I’ll support whatever you decide, as long as you make me a part of your end game, but I think getting the hell out of dodge is the best answer.”
“You could live like that, Kitten?”
“With you by my side, yes.”
Her words do something crazy to me. My chest contracts and this nervous energy runs through my system. For so long I’ve been a dead man inside, and Tess has been bringing me back to life. The fact that she wants me beside her…me… Fucking hell.
My fingers dive into her hair, and I bring her face up to mine.
“I care for you, Tess. This is not just about fucking you. You need to be sure.”
Something flashes in her eyes, but it’s gone quickly. Maybe I imagined it. She doesn’t respond with words. Instead, she gives me her lips. A sweet kiss. A promise.
“We won’t be able to leave for two days. Marcum wants to let the dust settle and let his contacts start some smokescreens. It will make it easier for us to get away.”
“What if they find us again?” She asks, her voice filled with fear she doesn’t bother to hide.
“They won’t, Kitten.”
“You can’t be sure, Max. They found out about us somehow. Maybe we should leave here now, we can’t be too careful.”
“It’s being handled.”
“Max, you can’t be sure…”
“We know who the informant was,” I tell her. She goes still, and those green eyes search my face. Fuck, if I blushed, I’d be doing it now.
“That cum-guzzling, whore-bag, rubber-band, saggy-assed cunt…”
I laugh, I can’t help myself. “Rubber-band, saggy-assed cunt?”
“Yeah you know, stretches all to hell like a rubber band and then snaps back and cut your dick off, but once it’s been stretched it never actually goes back to the same…”
“I get the picture. Can we not talk about her? There are other things I’d like to do when you’re in my arms.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll show you,” I whisper, deepening our kiss.
“Max,” she whispers.
“Quiet, Kitten. I’m going to love you real gentle.”
“What if I don’t want gentle?”
“Too damn bad,” I tell her, and I mean it. Tomorrow I’ll give her what her body craves. Tonight I need to make sure she knows I care and that she matters to me.
“What are you doing?” I question Max. I’m lying on the bed; too exhausted from the night before to move. Max has just come through the front door; he’s rolling a silver utility cart and he’s humming. Humming! Before he can answer, Dusty, Marcum, and few other boys come in carrying a curved, lounge chair. I gasp and dive under the cover because Max made sure I was naked as the day I was born when we fell asleep. He says clothes slow him down, and he needs easy access. I find that waking up with his head buried between my legs is a good thing, so I don’t argue.
They all leave but Marcum; he stands by the door grins and winks. “You ever get tired of this son of a bitch, Tess and want to try out a real man? You just let me know, honey. You just let me know.”
I laugh, which I’m sure is what I’m meant to do.
“Fuck off, Marcum,” Max grumbles, though there’s no anger in his voice.
“No respect. Boy has no respect for his elders,” Marcum says laughing and closing the door.
Max leans against the closed door, looking like the cocky sex god that he is. I love that look on him. I love that smile on him. It makes me proud. I give him that. Me. I know Max doesn’t love me. He’s as much as confessed that, but he did say that he cares for me. I bring him something, even if I’m not sure what it is. I do that. From being with Max and everything I’ve read, that’s never happened. That’s enough for me—more than really.
“Are you ready, Kitten?”
“For what?” I ask, but the look in his eyes, combined with his smile, makes my insides heat up, and it’s a struggle not to scream, yes! Jesus, I’d do anything this man wanted just to keep getting those looks.
“I’m branding you today.”
“Uh…Mad Max, I love you and all, but I am not a side of beef.”
“I don’t know; you’re juicy, and I do like to eat you…”
“You’re such a romantic Max. Be still my beating heart.”
“Keep it up and I’ll beat you,” he jokes, throwing my covers back and gathering me in his arms.
“Max! It’s cold! At least let me get dressed!”
“Nope, sorry. I need you naked.”
“For what? What are we doing here?” I ask, but by then I’m lying on the chair and watching, as he starts taking things out of the cart and hooking up the electric to his equipment. “You’re tattooing me?” I ask with awe in my voice. I want his mark on me. I need it.
He kisses my stomach, and it makes me wanton, I instantly feel the tug of need and wetness gather between my legs. Max is lethal to me.
“Max,” I murmur, my voice needy.
“Later, Kitten. First, you’re going to have my work on your body.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he questions as I settle down in the chair, filled with anticipation.
“I want your mark on me, Max.”
“Do you care where I put it?”
“I belong to you, anywhere you want is fine, more than once, even.”
“Fuck, Kitten,” he growls and his mouth slams against mine, almost in anger, but it’s not. I can tell from the hungry way his tongue takes over my mouth and the way his hand grabs my neck and holds my lips to his. My words mean something to him. I give myself over to his kiss. When we break apart, we’re both inhaling, raggedly.
“Max, you keep it up, and you’ll have to fuck me before we can get your name on me.”
“I’m not seeing that
as a drawback, Tess.”
I smile; because for the first time since we were almost captured, I feel free. If I could leave the world behind so that Max and I were the only ones who existed, I would. In a heartbeat. I slap his leg playfully. “Ink now, then sex.”
He laughs but starts working. He seems to know what he wants. So I lie back and let him work his magic. The first part tickles but I do my best to hold still.
“I’m doing a simple design on your hip. I don’t want it to be too intricate because I want it done today. I want my name on you, Tess. I need that.”
His words vibrate through me, and I don’t respond, because if I did the only thing that would come out would be a happy sigh of a girl whose brain is mush over a man.
“When did you start tattooing?” I ask as I get lost in the feel of his hands on me. My eyes are closed, and I can’t ever remember being this happy.
“I thought you’ve read all about me?” He asks, not bothering to look up.
“I want to hear things from you, Max.”
“My uncle had an old army buddy, Spandex Pete.”
“Spandex Pete?” I ask, because this definitely wasn’t in his file.
“Crazy as hell, I think Raymond was saner. He wore these bright colored, spandex pants all of the time. Strangest fucking colors I’ve ever seen, we’re talking purple, hot pink, yellow, lime green…he’d hurt your eyes to look at him sometimes.”
“Wow.”
“Mm…hmm… But as crazy as he was, he could do magic with a tattoo gun. He gave me my first tattoo.”
“Which one?”
“The eagle. He said my spirit animal was the eagle. I had no idea what the hell that shit meant, still don’t. But the eagle was fucking cool. So I agreed with him.”
Max has an eagle covering his back shoulder. The eagle is flying, soaring really and the intricate work on the wings alone is something that I always find my fingers tracing over when we’re in bed together.
“I can see that.”
“What?” he asks, still intent on my hip, and I wish I could see what he’s doing.
“The eagle. It’s brave, bold, kind of a loner but fiercely protective, loyal…”
“Tess,” he warns.
“Plus it has a really big….”
He looks up at me with a cross between disbelief and amusement on his face. “Do not tell me you know the size of an eagle’s dick, Kitten.”
“I was going to say wing span, Mad Max,” I joke.
He laughs, shakes his head and goes back to work. I close my eyes and let him. Mission accomplished. I made Max laugh.
“Well?” I ask her.
Tess is looking in the mirror that’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door in our room. She’s staring at the tattoo I put on her hip. I’m nervous. Fuck, I don’t do nerves. This is the first time a tattoo has really mattered to me. I want Tess to like it, and the fact that I’m sweating it out makes me feel like my balls are in a fucking clamp. Hell, next thing she’ll be leading me around by my dick and patting me on the head saying, good boy.
“Max…”
“You’ll wear it and like it. Too fucking late now,” I tell her, turning away to pack my tools up. It doesn’t matter if she likes it or not. It’s me; I’m on her now and by God it’s just the first time too. I’ll have my name all over that fucking body before I’m done.
“Will you shut up? You’re ruining my moment.”
“Your moment?”
“Yes, I have a kickass tattoo on my hip. It’s a tattoo made by my man, and I like seeing his name on my body. So, I’m looking in the mirror, enjoying the way it looks and the way it makes me feel, and you’re ruining it with your grizzly bear, alpha male, growly shit,” she huffs.
I slide my arms around her and pull her into me. I kiss her forehead and tuck her head under my neck. “How does it make you feel?” I ask, closing my eyes and enjoying the feel of her in my arms.
“Sexy.”
“Kitten, you are always sexy.”
“It’s an eagle’s wing,” she whispers, and I can be completely stupid about most things, but I hear the happiness in her words.
“Yeah,” I tell her, my voice suddenly tight.
“Why is your name woven in an eagle’s wing, Max?” she asks.
I think about not telling her. I don’t have the greatest of luck with women. I wouldn’t give you a damn penny for the women that have walked in and out of my life. Marcum is right though. Tess is different. There’s not a woman I’ve ever met who would go through the fires of hell like she has, and all for a fucker like me. I’ve given her nothing unless you count orgasms. Still, here she is; proud to wear my name on that fucking delicious skin of hers. Here she is; still willing to go away with me, even with all the shit that has happened in the last few days. Fuck. Who am I kidding? I kidnapped her. I held her hostage and forced her to go with me since day one, and she’s still here. I may not understand what is between Tess and myself, but I do know it’s something worth embracing. It’s worth sticking your neck out for. So I give it to her.
“An eagle can’t fly without its wing, Tess.”
She pulls away, and those green eyes shine with moisture. I catch a lone tear that slides from her face with my thumb.
“I make you fly, Max?”
That softly spoken question sounds so innocent, so hopeful. Does she even recognize that if I give her what she’s searching for, it is like giving her the power to destroy me?
“You make me soar, Tess. You make me soar.”
More tears fall, but she’s smiling and through her choked laughter she still finds a way to give me hell. “You sound almost like it hurt to admit that, Max.”
“Stop mocking me, before I paddle that ass,” I warn her while turning away to finish cleaning my stuff.
My back is turned, so I don’t see what she’s doing. When her voice drags out long and in a pouty tone, I turn around. I am not prepared for what my eyes see.
“Max…..”
She’s lying on the bed, still completely naked. She’s on her stomach and has her ass curved out waiting for me. My dick instantly begs for her attention. What was it I said about her leading me by my cock? It’s probably too late, but what a fucking way to go.
“If I come over there, Tess, I’m fucking that ass, not just paddling it.”
“You’ve been preparing me, Max. If you say I’m ready. I’m ready. I told you; everything is yours.”
I don’t know if there are better words in the dictionary than that. She’s mine.
“Are you sure you’re up to this, Kitten?” I ask, giving her time to back out. I’m trying to remember what we’ve been through. I need her, but I’m not putting my demands before her needs. Tess is the first woman to really mean anything to me.
Her full lips curve in a smile that holds secrets as old as time.
“The question, Max, is if you’re up to it,” she replies with just a touch of sass in her voice. Her eyes lock on my crotch, so her meaning is clear. My dick is straining against my jeans, and my woman is looking at me full of hunger. There’s not a man I know who can turn down that combination.
I step away from my equipment and undo my pants, watching her the entire time. My dick springs out, hard and stiff and leaning towards her because the fucker knows; that way lies paradise. The room is silent, so hearing Tess’s breath roughen makes me smile. I love that I get to her as much as she does me. Fuck, if I had met her years ago, my life would have been so different.
I finish undressing, doing it slowly, so she can watch it all. I stroke my cock, firmly a few times, loving the way she bites on her bottom lip.
“You need something, Kitten?” I ask, letting my fingers play with the pre-cum I’ve pumped from my cock.
I catch the pearl, glistening stream on the pad of my index finger and pull the strand from my cock, using my thumb to gather up more. I move my hand to my pecs, finding my nipple and rubbing the liquid on it. I close my eyes, imagining that it’s he
r tongue on me. The vision is so perfect; I can’t wait. I walk to her, and she’s sitting up watching everything I do. I grab her by the back of the neck pulling her to me.
“Suck,” I hiss.
Her greedy little tongue darts over my nipple, lapping at it before sucking hard with a moan, tasting me and wanting more. She is…goddamn…she’s perfect.
“More,” she whispers when she breaks away.
Using my hold on her neck, I push her down to my cock. Tess doesn’t even blink; her tongue laps against the head of my cock like a hungry kitten discovering warm milk. She cleans my head while seeking more and I’ve never seen anything so fucking sexy. She opens her mouth and sucks just my head inside, letting her tongue continue to tease. Just as I’m getting used to that feeling, she sucks more of me inside. I watch as her lips slide down my shaft. I groan at the feel of her throat relaxing against my cock. I slip further into the wet warmth of her mouth. My hands tangle in her hair by reflex, pressing my advantage and pushing; hungry for more of her brand of pleasure.
I step in again, forcing her to shift the angle she has when sucking me. She can’t take me in as deep this way, but it doesn’t matter. I get what I want. My hand cracks down on that little round ass, connecting with a loud sound of flesh meeting flesh. She stiffens underneath my hand, but she doesn’t stop sucking. I spank her again and again. I know instinctively now, how to land my slaps to get the most excitement out of her. I watch her ass shudder as it turns a glowing red, an outline of my hand can be seen and then slowly fade. I rub against her ass, soothing and petting it, while at the same time imagining it covered in my cum. My balls tighten with need, and I know it’s time for me to change this around before my fun ends too soon.
I have to force myself to lift her off my shaft. It’s not easy, her greedy mouth is heaven, but it’s not what I want. She releases me with a whimper.
“I wasn’t finished,” she pouts. Fucking perfect.
“I told you what would happen if I came over here, and it doesn’t end with you sucking my dick, Kitten.”
Her tongue moves along her bottom lip, whether from need or nerves, I’m not sure. I go to the nightstand drawer where I stashed things earlier. I’m glad now that I had stored them in the backpack we took with us when we went on the run. I want everything I do with Tess to be new and different. She deserves that. I take out the tube of warming gel and the little vibrating egg. I handle them in such a way that Tess can’t see them, even if she is straining over her back, trying to look at what I’m doing.