“I’m not at my mother’s,” he went on. “I stopped by to visit an old friend and got stuck here. But I’m using her laptop, so...yes, it’s a she.”
Max’s masculine laughter sounded through her house, and she didn’t even want to know what the person on the other end had said to garner such a response.
“I’m more than capable of working and playing when necessary,” he said, still smiling. “She’s an old friend.... Yes, I agree.”
Raine decided now would be a good time to make her presence known before he said something she wasn’t ready to hear. She moved to the doorway and leaned against the frame, arms crossed over her chest. She simply waited until Max fully turned around, but, instead of looking like he’d been caught, like most people would’ve, the man merely winked and continued smiling.
Even the way he oozed confidence was a turn on. Granted since he’d come back into town, she hadn’t been turned off.
Raine tried her hardest to tune him out as she grabbed a premade smoothie from the fridge and headed toward the stairs. She had her own work to do, and it didn’t consist of watching Hollywood hottie Max Ford parade around her house wearing the same clothes from yesterday, with bedhead and day-old stubble.
Why did he have to be so damn sexy? Stomping up the stairs, because she was mature like that, she sighed. Had she been stuck somewhere overnight, she wouldn’t have woken up looking sexier...not by a long shot. For some reason her looks deteriorated in the dark hours, because, when she woke, her hair was all lumped to one side in a matted mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was always a tad cranky.
Raine checked in on Abby once more before going into her workroom and setting the monitor on the counter. She had a small space heater she kept at her feet so she clicked it on high and closed the door to keep the warmth in.
Whatever Max wanted to do downstairs in the cold was his own business. They were safe and warm, so long as they stayed upstairs, and so far the electricity had held up which was surprising in a snowstorm that came on this fast.
Looking over her spreadsheet of items she wanted to make for the Farmer’s Market in six weeks, Raine tried to block out the fact that her furnace had died. She simply couldn’t think about that right now—although the blast of icy cold air when she’d gone downstairs had been a very real reality. The unit couldn’t be fixed today even if she had the money, so her attention was best suited for work and Abby. Not the pathetic bank account, not the snowstorm and certainly not her handsome new roomie.
Downstairs the backdoor slammed. Raine smiled at the thought of Max going out. Obviously he hadn’t learned his lesson the first time he had encountered her loving Orpington chickens.
But he hadn’t met Bess and Lulu yet—the equally loving goats. They hadn’t come out the other day, but it was only a matter of time before they realized a new person was here.
A giggle rose up in her, and, regardless of how cold it was on the first floor, she simply had to know how this all played out. Besides, she would have to feed her animals shortly anyway.
Grabbing the baby monitor, she padded down the hall, ran down the steps and stood just inside the kitchen door to watch Max.
Sure enough Bess and Lulu had gone through the rubber flap which gave them access in or out. The kindly goats encircled him, and, even with his jacket collar pulled up to his chin and his black knit cap pulled down over his ears and forehead, Raine saw the thread of fear and confusion in his blue eyes. Perhaps she should’ve warned him...
Nah, this was so much more entertaining.
She eased the back door open enough to yell out. “They’re like dogs. They love people.”
“What the hell does that mean? I’ve never owned a dog,” he called back.
Raine shook her head. “Just pet them and keep walking. They’ll go back in the barn when you come in.”
She watched as he went into the barn closest to the house to gather more wood. Part of her wanted him to get tangled up in the chickens again, simply because the last episode had been so amusing, but another part of her was a little excited to see this city boy back in Lenox. Once upon a time he’d felt so at home here on her grandmother’s farm. They’d ridden horseback, laughing excitedly as teens do, and had had a picnic out in the fields behind the property.
But that was long ago. Her grandmother was gone, the horses had been sold for the new roof, and all that was left were the bittersweet memories.
Tears clogged her throat. Turning back time wasn’t an option, not that she would want to endure all of that heartache again, but she certainly missed being so happy, so loved.
By the time Max made it back to the house, she’d blinked away the tears, but the pang in her heart was just as fierce as when she’d first seen him nearly two days ago standing on the side of the icy road ready to assist.
Max brushed by her as she held the screen door open. He stomped his feet on the stoop before stepping inside. Raine took the bucket as Max pulled off his coat, boots and hat.
“It’s still coming down,” he said, hanging his coat on the peg by the door. “My tracks were covered by the time I came back out of the barn.”
“I’ve given up listening to news reports. It will stop when it stops.”
And the longer he was forced to stay here, the longer she had to fall deeper into memories, deeper into those emotions she couldn’t afford.
Max turned to grab the bucket, but froze as his gaze held hers. “You okay?”
Raine nodded, pasting on a smile. “Of course.”
“I’ve lived in L.A. a long time, Raine. We’re professional liars, and you are holding something back.”
Even if he hadn’t been surrounded by “professional liars,” he’d always known her so well. They hadn’t changed that much.
“Seeing you out there brought back a flash of memories. That’s all.”
“Memories shouldn’t make you sad,” he said softly.
Raine eased the bucket down beside her, crossed her arms over her chest. “No, the memory was beautiful.”
Running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair, Max stepped closer. “We may have gone our separate ways, Raine, but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring for you. And even though we’re stuck in this hellish snowstorm, I have to say I’m not sorry to be here.”
“You’re not?”
Shaking his head, he slid his hands up her arms. “Not at all. Maybe this is fate’s way of making us talk, forcing us to settle this rocky area that’s been between us for years.”
Raine glanced down to their socked feet, so close together. Now he wanted to talk? What about when he’d left? What about sending for her and the promise of them starting their lives together? He hadn’t been so keen on talking when he’d left her behind, pregnant and alone.
She looked back up, catching a sliver of pain in his eyes as he watched her. “We can’t change anything about the past, Max. And you aren’t staying in Lenox any longer than you have to. I heard you on the phone. I know you have a big deal waiting for you in L.A., and that’s great...so opening up about what happened between us years ago won’t solve anything. It won’t bind us together, and it won’t erase all the hurt.”
“No,” he agreed. “But it may make this tension between us easier to live with.”
Raine laughed. “Tension? We have tension from so many different angles, Max.”
Those strong hands curved around her shoulders, pulling her against his solid, hard chest. Raine had to tip her head to look up at him.
“There’s a way to get rid of some of this tension,” he whispered against her lips a second before claiming them.
She curled her fingers into his sweater, knowing that letting him sink further into her life was a vast mistake, but she couldn’t help herself. Leaning against Max, being in his arms again, felt like no time had slid between them. No pain, no hurt.
He teased her lips as his hands slid down to the hem of the long-sleeved shirt she’d slept in. When his chilled fingers hit her bare skin, she sucked in a breath, but he continued to explore farther beneath her shirt.
His hands encompassed her rib cage. Max skimmed his thumbs along the underneath side of her br**sts. She’d not bothered with a bra this morning, and she was so glad she hadn’t. Not that her barely B cups needed confinement anyway, but, like a fool, she had wanted that extra connection with him. She wanted to feel his skin against hers.
And she’d known the second she’d seen him in her house yesterday that she wouldn’t be able to resist him on any level.
Before Raine knew it, her shirt was up and over her head. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted her and strode toward the stairs.
Raine tilted her head back as Max’s mouth traveled from her lips, down the column of her throat and to her breast. She gripped the side of his head, trying to hold him there, silently begging for him to never stop.
He held her against the thick post at the base of the steps, pulled back slightly and released her. “Tell me to stop,” he said, his voice raspy. “Tell me this is wrong, because I can’t even think when I’m with you. All I know is I want you, here...now.”
Raine palmed his cheek. “I want to tell you to stop. I know this is wrong, but right now, I want nothing more than to be with you.”
In no time Max had shed his clothes and was jerking down her bottoms and panties.
“It’s really cold down here,” she muttered between kisses and sighs. “Let’s go upstairs.”
In a swift move, he lifted her and carried her up the steps and into her bedroom where Abby was sleeping soundly in the warmth of her Pack ’N’ Play pen.
Max continued on into the bathroom and eased the door shut with his foot before carefully placing Raine back on her feet.
Light spilled through the small window on the far wall and the sight of Max gloriously na**d nearly sent her trembling knees buckling. Over the years he’d filled out in all the right places, but that scar stemming from his chest to his shoulder gave her pause.
She reached out, her fingertip lightly traveling over the faded red line. “Does it still hurt?” she whispered.
He grabbed he hand, kissed her fingertips. “That was long ago.”
She knew when it was; she also appreciated the fact he wasn’t about to let their past come into this room with them.
He kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist and arching her back. Raine had to clutch onto his shoulders and hold on for the ride.
As he gripped her tight, his lips left hers and continued their descent, making a path of goose bumps and trembling nerves down her throat and toward her br**sts.
“Protection?” she panted.
He froze, rested his forehead against her chest. “I have nothing with me. I wasn’t exactly planning on being stranded here.”
“I’ve never been without protection,” she said. “I know I’m clean, and I’m on the pill.”
Lifting his head, his heavy-lidded eyes met hers. “I’ve always used protection, too, but it’s your call, Raine.”
In silent response, she tilted her h*ps into his and smiled.
Max lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He turned and eased her down on the edge of the marble vanity. Raine couldn’t wait another second. She maneuvered her body, pushed with her ankles and enveloped him. Then she stiffened. It had been so long since she’d been with someone. But this was Max...well, she wanted it to last. Silly and naive as that may sound, she never wanted their time together to end.
For this moment, Hollywood didn’t exist, her problems didn’t exist. Right now all she knew was Max, and that was more than enough to satisfy her.
Max’s hands slid up her sides, palmed her br**sts, as her h*ps started moving, slowly at first and then faster as he kissed her, explored her.
Raine held on to his shoulders, using him for leverage as she pumped her hips.
“Raine,” he rasped. “I...”
Whatever he was about to say died on his lips. Which was just as well, because right now all she needed was release. She wasn’t doing this for sweet words, wasn’t with him for the long-term. They both knew that.
Max grabbed the back of her head and slammed his mouth onto hers, his other hand reaching between them to touch her intimately.
Clever man that he was knew exactly what to do to her...he’d never forgotten.
Within seconds Raine’s body shivered as wave after wave of ecstasy rolled through her. She tore her mouth from his, needing to somehow break that bond before she was pulled any deeper under his skin.
Max gripped her waist with both hands as he held her as far down as she would go when his own body stilled. For a second their gazes locked, but Raine had to look away. As his cl**ax came to an end, she wondered what she’d seen in those baby blues, but, she knew if she delved too far into what had just happened, she’d be even more hurt when he left this time.