Beautifully Brutal (Southern Boy Mafia #1) (23 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Was that…? Yes, it was. That strange feeling … definitely hope. A lot of it.

As much as Courtney wanted to argue with Max, to tell him that this couldn’t work, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She’d become so used to pushing him away, even when she didn’t want to, that the reaction was instant.

But she fought it.

She was back to that point … back to weighing right versus wrong, and wrong was winning, hands down.

He loved her.

Max
loved
her.

Did she think it would work out? No, she didn’t. But that was only because they were from two entirely different worlds. But that didn’t mean she didn’t love him, because she did. And as she’d learned, staying away from him wasn’t working, anyway. They always ended up together, like this.

Touching his face, Courtney blinked past the tears in her eyes, swallowed past the emotion clogging her throat. Max’s head lifted, allowing her to see his beautiful face better.

“We’ll figure this out, Court. I promise you that.”

“But you
are
engaged,” she repeated.

“No, I’m not,” he said with a huff, dropping onto his back beside her once more.

“What does that mean?” Well, she kind of understood the words, but as of the last time she’d spoken to him, he
had
been engaged.

“I came here for a reason,” he told her, peering over at her. “And because I had an ulterior motive—getting you back—I ended things with Angelica.”

“What did she say?” God, could she dig herself any deeper? Did she really care what the other woman had said?

“It wasn’t pretty.” Max sighed. “It’s not so much Angelica that I’m worried about, though.”

“Who then?”

“My father.”

Oh, shit. Courtney knew that she was doomed if Max’s father was against the idea of him being with anyone else. She knew that Max had been planning to marry Angelica for a business arrangement. He’d said so himself. Granted, she still wanted to know what the two of them had been scheming because that was her nature.

On top of that, she didn’t see Angelica giving up quite so easily. In fact, Courtney was pretty sure that Angelica was still stalking her and harassing her, more so than just the annoying phone calls. Not that she intended to share that with Max. If the other woman had gone that far while she’d been engaged to Max, there was no telling what she was capable of now.

Which meant Courtney would need to be vigilant.

Resting her cheek on his chest once more, she listened to the soothing thump of his heart. She was tired of running from him, from this, tired of kidding herself about what she did and didn’t want, but this was a big step, right off of a very steep cliff lined with jagged rocks. There was no way she was going to survive this if things went south, which no doubt they would.

Max’s hand slipped through her hair, gently rubbing her head. “Quit thinkin’ so hard.”

“Easier said than done,” she told him.

Max kissed her forehead and sat up, forcing her back to the bed. “I need to get you back to the reception.”

Shit. Her best friend and her brother had just gotten married, and here she was, naked, in bed with Max.

Launching up from the mattress now that the ideal-world bubble was officially popped, Courtney proceeded to get dressed, scrounging for her shoes and her panties once she got back into her dress.

“Be still,” Max commanded, coming to stand behind her.

The warmth of his hand trailed up her back as he zipped her dress. Courtney shimmied into her panties and located her other shoe. By the time she was dressed—not necessarily presentable—Max looked as cool and collected as always. Certainly not like he’d just fucked her brains out.

“Give me a minute,” she told him, rushing into the bathroom and closing the door. She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror.

Not as bad as she thought, but she definitely looked well fucked.

It took a few minutes for her to get her hair under control, and it was a damn good thing she’d opted to keep her hair down or she’d be well and truly screwed.

When she stepped out of the bathroom a minute later, she came face-to-face with Max.

“We can’t go out there looking like we’re in love,” Courtney told him point-blank.

His lips curved into a seductive grin, and a tremor of heat shot through her.

“How do you propose we handle it, then?”

Courtney stood on her toes, meeting his mouth with hers. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “You go back to your sister, and I’ll go back to doing what I did before you arrived.”

“Which was?”

She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d been throwing herself a pity party, complete with endless alcohol. “I’ll mingle with my family.”

“When will I see you again?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she told him, looking away.

“Not a good answer,” he retorted, his fingers clipping her chin and turning her head so she was forced to look at him again.

“It’s the only one I’ve got,” she snapped.

“If I don’t hear from you tonight, you’ll find me at your front gate,” he said roughly.

“That can’t happen and you know it. No matter what, we can’t let people know about … whatever this is.”

“Then you’ll make every effort to see me. That or I’ll go public.”

Courtney grinned. “You wouldn’t.” There was no way Max Adorite would call attention to a relationship that involved someone within the ranks of Sniper 1 Security. He had a reputation to uphold, a business to run, mobsters to protect.

“Don’t test me and we’ll never know. But push me on this, Courtney, and I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of.”

A shiver ran through her, something dark and ominous and oddly sensual filling that cold spot that had been consuming her for the past year.

Max turned her toward the door. “I’ll give you ten minutes, then I’m comin’ out. Ashlynn and I will be leavin’ when I do.”

The euphoric feeling she’d had moments ago was replaced with disappointment when she thought of Max leaving, but she knew it had to happen. Nodding, she turned her back on him and reached for the doorknob.

Before she could get out of the room, she was up against the door, her breasts crushed against the hard wood. She adjusted her head so that her cheek rested against the cool surface. Max’s breath was hot against her ear.

“The next time I see you, I plan to have you on your knees while I bury my cock in your sweet fucking mouth. And then, I’m gonna fuck you in every position imaginable. And when we’re through, we’ll start all over again. In my bed.”

Damn, the man had the ability to turn her from cold to hot in a millisecond. That was something else she had missed about him: his dirty mouth. He could practically make her come simply by telling her all that he wanted to do to her, or her to him.

“So keep that in mind, Courtney. Think about that while you’re out there, talking to other men. They’ll never give you what I can give you.”

Courtney already knew that. No man compared to Max, and no man ever would.

Max’s big palm cupped her cheek, turning her head back so that her mouth met his, his erection pressing against her ass. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, wishing he wasn’t holding her against the door. She suddenly had the urge to climb his body.

“I’ll be waitin’ for your call.”

He was the one to pull away first, his lips pressing against her cheek before he took a step back and released her.

“Oh, and Courtney…?”

She waited for him to continue.

“I love you.”

Courtney met his heated gaze once more, nodded, and then stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she glanced down the hallway, wondering whether or not anyone was looking for her, praying they weren’t. Because no matter how put together she appeared now, she was still a jumbled mess on the inside.

And she wasn’t sure that was going to change anytime in the near future.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The difference an hour can make.

Max waited the ten minutes he’d promised and then left the room. He returned to the gathering, mingled with the guests, attempting to locate Leyton and Ashlynn but finding neither where he’d left them.

Grabbing his phone, he slipped down an empty corridor and dialed Leyton’s number.

He stopped moving at the sound of a phone ringing. He peered down the hall, but no one was there. With the phone still pressed to his ear, he ventured farther until he came to an intersecting hallway, and that was when he saw them.

Pulling his phone away from his ear, he stared in disbelief.

“What. The. Fuck?” Max glared at his sister and Leyton as the two of them jerked away from one another.

Leyton had been practically fucking Max’s sister in the goddamn hall, up against the wall.

When Ashlynn started to speak, he scowled at her. “Don’t. I don’t want to fuckin’ hear it. You better be out there in five fuckin’ minutes or things are gonna get real nasty. And you,” he said to Leyton directly, “I’m gonna cut off your goddamn dick.”

Turning, he headed back to the others, straightening his suit and trying his best to erase the mental image of Leyton and Ashlynn. What the fuck were they thinking? His closest friend, the man he trusted with his life, was fucking his sister?

Goddammit.

That shit was over. He didn’t give a good goddamn what either of them wanted; there was no fucking way he would tolerate that shit. That was a recipe for disaster, and they had to know that. They were both too important to the organization, and if word got out that the two of them were hooking up, shit would hit the fan. Not to mention, Samuel would likely castrate Leyton and feed him his own fucking balls.

But not if Max did it first.

While he fought the urge to check the time, Max took a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and scanned the crowd. He was looking from one person to another, making mental notes of who was who, but that came to an abrupt halt when he saw…

“Are you ready?” Ashlynn questioned, her tone clipped.

“Is that…?” he began, grabbing Ashlynn’s arm before she could storm off.

“What?” Ashlynn replied.

“Is that Dani?” he asked.

He received a mumbled response from Ashlynn before she encouraged him to leave.

Max watched while his cousin Dani made her way across the room toward one of Courtney’s brothers. She looked determined, and he wanted to know why the hell she was there. Last he’d heard, she’d been shipped out of the country for school by her father, Max’s uncle Nick. No one had been given a reason as to why she’d disappeared so quickly and without reason, other than she was handling some personal issues while also completing her degree. That news had never sat well with Max, and as he watched Dani approach Hunter, he got the unsettling feeling that there was a hell of a lot more to that story.

“Come on,” Ashlynn commanded. “We need to go.”

Max heard Leyton’s footsteps behind him, and when he managed to drag his attention away from his cousin, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Leyton or Ashlynn, the memory of what they’d been doing replacing his curiosity over seeing Dani at the Kogan wedding.

“Call the car around,” Max demanded, taking Ashlynn’s arm and pulling her toward the front door.

She didn’t argue, didn’t make a scene, but the death rays coming from her eyes practically burned a hole into the side of his face.

Once the limo arrived and Leyton opened the door, he pushed Ashlynn inside and joined her.

“What the fuck was that for?” she snarled when the door closed and they were safely inside.

Max ignored her.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Max,” Ashlynn hissed. “You might be in charge of the business, but you damn sure aren’t in charge of my life. You better get familiar with that concept right fuckin’ now.”

Max took a deep breath. He was going to fucking kill Leyton. He was going to string him up by his balls and watch him dangle from the ceiling. He wanted to hear the bastard begging for mercy. What the hell was he thinking?

If Samuel found out that Leyton was… Hell no.

“It’s over before it starts, little sister,” Max barked, meeting Ashlynn’s angry stare. “When Samuel finds out about this—”

Ashlynn interrupted, leaning in. “He’s not gonna find out about it. If he does, then he’ll learn that you’re still fuckin’ that girl. That you’re forsaking the entire business for pussy.”

Max growled. It wasn’t like that with Courtney, and Ashlynn knew it.

Rather than argue with her, he turned his attention out the window.

No matter what Ashlynn thought, this shit with Leyton was over. There was no way that Max was going to allow them to be together. It was too fucking dangerous.

After they dropped Ashlynn at her house and got her safely inside, Max ordered Leyton into the back of the car with him. He sensed the other man’s hesitance, but he didn’t detect an ounce of fear.

That was one thing he’d always respected about Leyton. The reason he entrusted the man with his personal safety and his family’s safety.

“What the hell were you thinkin’?” he demanded when the car was in motion once again. “No, don’t fucking answer that.” Max met Leyton’s gaze head on. “You will only receive one warnin’. You stay the fuck away from my sister. Do you understand me? If I catch you with her again, I’ll saw your fucking nuts off with a rusty butter knife. And then I’ll fucking feed them to you. Don’t touch her again.”

Leyton didn’t say a word, but Max felt his anger. It was clear that Leyton wanted to argue, probably wanted to stab Max with the knife he kept sheathed on his side. But he wouldn’t. If he cared about living to see another day, he would shut the hell up and do exactly what he was told.

They rode in silence until the limo pulled up to the estate, coming to a stop in front of the house. Max climbed out, still reeling from what he’d seen, still furious that Leyton would think that fucking Max’s sister was even allowed.

And that was the reason Max never heard the gunshots, never saw the shooter standing less than ten feet away from him until it was too late.