Chapter 14
Billy drummed his fingers on the kitchen table as he listened to Maxi singing a song that he thought he remembered from Dirty Dancing. He was doing his best to clear all visions of her naked body beneath the water, but he was failing miserably. He was wound so tight he was about to snap and not just physically. He’d taken his own shower to try alleviating some of the pressure, but it hadn’t even taken the edge off.
After tonight he knew that something had to give.
Maxi was keeping something from him and avoiding him and he wanted to know why. He and Maxi needed to talk. He had questions that needed answered.
When he heard the shower turn off, he knew it was just a matter of time before she’d be out to get her water. Every night, either after her shower or, if she didn’t shower, then after washing her face, she came out and grabbed a water.
He heard the soft padding of her feet about a second before she came into view looking like his wet dream come to life. She was in profile, wrapped in a crisp white towel, her dark hair was falling over her bare shoulders and her long legs were glistening with moisture.
“Damn,” he said under his breath with a groan of appreciation.
He hadn’t meant to, but like he said something had to give.
Maxi shrieked and spun around at his soft moan. Her hands flew up and grabbed her towel, holding it in place. Small lines appeared at her nose as her lips pursed and her face scrunched in frustration.
“You scared me!” she exclaimed with displeasure.
He wasn’t sure if she was frustrated that he was in the kitchen, in her house, or in her life at this point. He’d originally waited for her to talk but after seeing her in that towel, there were more pressing matters to address. Like the fact that every time they were near each other they almost kissed. Or the fact that she couldn’t be alone in a room with him, which he was pretty sure had something to do with the first matter.
As much as he wanted to figure out what she was hiding from him, what she wasn’t telling him, he wanted her more. He was done tiptoeing around the explosive chemistry they shared. It was time to face it or move on. This limbo shit was making him crazy.
She pulled the terrycloth up higher on her chest as she took a step back. “What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” he rasped.
He was wired. Part of that, he was sure, was the constant level of adrenaline he’d felt since the second that he’d found out she was in danger. It would most likely stay that way until they caught the sick fuck that was stalking her. But the other part was just spending so much damn time with Maxi. Night and day. Twenty four seven. It had multiplied the feelings that he’d always had for her by a million. Unlike most girls that he spent time with, instead of her getting on his nerves, or him getting tired of her or growing bored, it seemed he was in deeper than he ever had been before.
He’d known Maxi for more than a decade. If anyone had asked him a few weeks ago if he’d known her, really known her, the answer would have been yes with no hesitation. He knew that she hated fish. She loved scary movies but never watched them alone. Her favorite flavor of ice cream was strawberry and her allergies were so bad when she was a kid she used to have to take four allergy shots twice a week.
But over the past week he learned there were many things he didn’t know about Maxi. The real Maxi. Before last Friday, he didn’t know that she never slept with the lights off. He didn’t know that she needed coffee in the morning before she could string a sentence together. He didn’t’ know that she sang in the shower. Really badly. And always music from the 80’s. He didn’t know that the second she came home she got into sweats and “slippies,” and she looked so damn adorable in them.
Now, he did. And the more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to know what secrets she was keeping from him. Why she’d been so sure that Carter was innocent. Why she’d been so scared when he’d pinned her against the wall to protect her from the crush of people.
But before he learned those things he wanted to know what her lips felt like and how she tasted. This entire week had been like one long, tormenting session of foreplay and he couldn’t take anymore.
He stood and the legs of the chair scraped against the wooden floor. Her eyes widened as they ran down his body. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt after his shower and had only thrown on loose sweats. They did nothing to hide his arousal. In two long strides he closed the distance between them.
One of Billy’s greatest strengths in the boxing ring had been reading opponents. If someone was in pain, scared, exhausted, or weak he could sniff it out like a bloodhound. He possessed the same gift when it came to women. Not that he’d had to use it much. The women that he was usually with were always more than happy to tell him, in detail, exactly what was going on in their minds. But not Maxi. Maxi hid, or tried to hide, what she felt.
As a kid he’d been the king of hide-and-seek. Time to regain his crown.
A quick scan told him she was turned on. Maybe not as close to the edge as he was, but she wanted him. Her pupils were dilated. Her lips were parted. Her cheeks were flushed. Her breathing was coming in short pants.
The energy between them crackled with intensity. Inching closer he eliminated the space between them. Her eyes darkened to a deeper sapphire blue as they peeked up at him beneath a thick bed of lashes.
Whether or not this was a good idea stopped mattering to him. All that mattered was finally acting on the impulses, desires, and feelings that were erupting through him with volcanic force.
“One kiss.”
He could’ve just lowered his mouth to hers, but he needed to hear that she wanted the same thing he did.
“What?” Maxi’s blue eyes were glazed with lust but he could also see doubt creeping in and battling it.
“One kiss, that’s all I’m asking for.”
Her breath was coming in even more labored pants. He didn’t know about her, but he was flashing back to the storeroom where their lips had brushed. Briefly. Too briefly. It was all he’d thought about since the moment it happened.