He looked down to see tears glistening in Julia’s eyes.“Fuck, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“No but your wife. Oh my God, yourwife.”
Chapter 7
ASshe paced up and down the property office, every muscle in Julia’s body was taut enough to snap. Bonnie Connor was going to kill her. She was going to show up on her doorstep and Taser her in the genitals. She’d deserve it. She orgasmed on Max’s fingers like a complete whore, all but begged him to commit adultery. A wave of revulsion rolled over her. She wanted his scent and his mouth and his eyes all fiery with lust and she’d taken it. Gotten him drunk and kissed his married mouth, knowing it was wrong but setting the bad feelings aside, like flies in a dessert she still wanted to eat. How could she have been so goddamnselfish?
“Julia, everything’s okay.” Max’s voice sounded like it was coming from Pluto.
He wrapped a big arm around her shoulders and she shuddered like a nervy show horse.
“That’s it, everything’s okay. Now take deep breaths. In and out, nice and deep.”
She sucked in a lungful of air, her head swollen with alcohol and unshed tears.
“That’s it. Deep breaths. That’s my girl.”
I’m not your girl. Your girl is a wife, Julia tried to say but her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“We can talk about everything in a minute. Just relax.”
Julia exhaled and inhaled.
“Who taught you how to head-butt?” Max asked. “You gave me a good one before.”
Ah, yes, the physical assault she’d parlayed into seduction. Julia shuddered harder, her teeth rattling in her skull. Max rubbed her back in soothing circles. “Come on, who taught you to fight?”
“My sister, she used to be a total hood rat.”
And she was the good one. The shy one. The nerd.
“I can’t believe I kissed you. I can’t believe I’m that girl.”
Max pulled away, placing a big hand on each of her shoulders. “Jules, you have nothing to feel guilty about.”
“That’s easy for you to say. When people find out about this, you’ll get some high-fives and I’ll get a big red A on my shirt. I should quit. I should move to Canada and volunteer for a charity. Or set myself on fire.”
“Jules—”
“But I can’t quit. I need to finish Scarlet Woman. Which is about ten times more ironic since I fucking am one.”
“Julia—”
“Since I’m already screwed I should probably tell you something really embarrassing about my game…”
“Julia.” Max gave her shoulders a little shake. “Even if Bonnie finds out about this, which she won’t, she’s not going to care.”
A whole new possibility dawned in her feverish mind. “Do you have an open relationship?”
She had no idea how to feel about that. On one hand she didn’t want to be Max’s mistress but she didn’t want to be his wife-approved side piece either. With the exception of first person shooter games, she didn’t have a competitive bone in her body.
“No. Not that I was aware of anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve been separated for months. We’re getting divorced.”
Julia’s mind dangled like an empty bear trap. “But…you told me you were going to the football?”