Curvosity (5 page)

With nerves as sharp as a
surgeon’s blade, she glanced back at the door, fearing he’d walk
out any second. Part of her wanted him to chase her; the other half
wanted time to collect herself. She was waffling more than a
waffle-iron. Her heart said one thing, yet her mind said another.
Her insecurities screamed one thing while her body argued its
claim. She was a hot mess.

She never should have let
down her wall, surrendered to her lust filled fantasy, because
after all she surrendered, she had nothing to show for it but a
broken heart and possibly no job. How could she face Max day after
day? Book reservations for him and ‘insert bimbo’s name here’ week
after week? She couldn’t. That was the ugly truth of it. She
couldn’t survive that sort of long term torture.

Lucy pounded the call button
again, shifting her weight back and forth. Every second that ticked
by only wound her tighter. Her heart skipped a beat when the
elevator finally dinged its arrival. She took a few steps to the
right so she could enter the elevator the second the doors opened.
She stopped short, God-smacked when she caught sight of Gretta
kissing some hunky stranger.

“Sorry G, but I’ve gotta get
on,” she said, holding her purse to her upper stomach. She pressed
the first floor button as the doors closed.

Gretta broke away from the
stud, a man with roguish good looks and a smile that could melt the
fuzz off of Elmo. “Hello,” he smiled, waving his hand.

“Uh, hi.” Lucy looked to
Gretta, who was slightly sweaty but beaming. “Have a good night?”
she asked, brow raised.

“Great,” she choked out.
“You?” Lucy frowned at the reminder, but nodded her head
yes.

Gretta’s eyes narrowed,
taking in Lucy’s attire, Rudolph nose and puffy eyes. “What the
hell did the bastard do?!”

“Nothing Gretta. He was
great, really. We just don’t want the same things.”

She crossed her arms over
her chest. “Explain.”

Lucy’s eyes passed warily to
Gretta’s companion. She didn’t know if he was a werewolf too, if he
belonged to Max’s pack. She bit her lower lip, contemplating
whether or not she wanted to discuss this here and now.

“Sorry Brian, but best
friend duty calls. Give me a call sometime if you’re looking to
have some fun.” Gretta slipped him her phone number before linking
her arm through Lucy’s right as the elevator arrived on the bottom
floor. “Let’s go get your coat. We’ll pick up Starbucks and
chocolate on the way home.” Lucy nodded, trying to hold back the
tears long enough to get outside.

***

It’d been six long,
unbearable days since Max had seen Lucy and he was going stir
crazy. He’d snapped at everyone, including his dear, elderly
mother. All the temps they’d sent over in her ‘absence’ irritated
the hell out of him. He knew he was just in a foul mood because he
missed his mate. He’d gone through an entire tube of lube trying to
jerk off the steam, but felt no less frustrated or satisfied. He
shifted and ran through the forest, but returned hours later
wishing she lived in the country so he could spy on her. He broke
three punching bags in the gym trying to grit through his
desperation. He missed Lucy like he missed air. He didn’t realize
biting her, bonding with her, would shift his world so drastically.
Everything revolved around her; she was the center of his universe.
If she was happy, he knew for certain he would be too. But he knew
she wasn’t. She didn’t even bother calling him to tell him she
wouldn’t be in; she sent him an e-mail every morning.

He replied to every e-mail,
called her every day; he sent her flowers and candy. He did
everything a man should do to apologize for whatever it was that
he’d done wrong, but had received nothing in response. Every day
that passed, his hope died a little more.

“You up for a night out
bro?” Donte asked, walking into Max’s house without
knocking.

Max remained seated on the
couch, sprawled out with a beer in hand. He was trying to relax,
but his muscles were too tense and his mind wouldn’t shut the hell
up. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself. You know you
can’t mope around forever.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I
want.”

Donte chuckled. “Then why
the hell don’t you go to her apartment?”

“I can’t just show up there.
She’s liable to call the cops on me.”

“You’re her employer; she’s
called out sick every day. You got concerned,” he shrugged, as if
that was explanation enough.

“So I go there and say
what?”

“Fuck if I know. I’m not
good at that sappy shit. I can tell you that her friend is working
right now so she’s home alone.” Donte winked at his brother. “I’ll
catch you later bro.”

Max could hear the smile in
his brother’s voice, the amusement in his tone. He didn’t care
though. He was going to get his woman, if it was the last damn
thing he did.

Chapter 13

Lucy padded through the
apartment trying not to wallow even more in self-pity. She felt as
bad as she looked. Well, she did, until Gretta forced her to shower
earlier grumbling about how she wasn’t a homeless person. She’d
cried so much she didn’t know if she had a cold or not at this
point. She was a pathetic wreck.

Sighing, she flopped down on
the sofa, grabbing the remote off the coffee table on her way. She
was just about to turn on the TV when there was a knock at the
door. She groaned, having already found a comfortable spot. She
pushed away from her fluffy heaven and treaded towards the door.
Leaning up on her tip-toes, she peered through the peep hole. Her
heart skipped a beat at the sight of Max.

He looked tired and
disheveled in athletic pants, tennis shoes and a hoodie, the
opposite of his usual perfectly put together appearance. She wanted
to caress his cheeks while she lavished his eyelids with tender
kisses meant to heal his bruising. But alas, she couldn’t; she
wouldn’t. She was just about to walk away, leave him standing there
when he spoke.

“I know you’re there Lucy; I
hear your heart racing. Please just let me in.”

Lucy bit her bottom lip.
Glancing around her empty apartment, she debated him as if he were
a dangerous predator that she didn’t know if she was prepared to
defend herself against.

“Please Lucy.” He sounded so
hurt, like a child missing its mother.

She swallowed her jitters,
and opened the door.

***

Max’s heart swelled at the
sight of Lucy. Her hair fell in slightly damp waves around her face
and shoulders. Her eyes were puffy, surrounded by the same
purplish-blue as his own. She was dressed in oversized sweat pants,
a black tank top, minus a bra he noted with delight, and thick,
socks depicting yellow ducks. She was a beautiful
disaster.

His inner wolf roared to
life; it took a conscious effort for him not to yank her to him and
steal her lips. He stood outside the door, watching her, waiting
for the invitation to enter.

“Come on in,” she sighed,
leaving him to close the door behind himself. She sat down on the
sofa, leaning towards the arm, and watched him with hesitant eyes.
She wrapped her arms around herself, waiting
expectantly.

Max stood in the open living
room, his heart pounding, throat dry and mind racing. He wanted to
say so much, but didn’t know where to begin. He decided to start
with the easiest. “Why did you leave?”

“Why does it
matter?”

“Because you matter!” He ran
a hand through his hair, tugging it at the roots. “To me, you
matter.”

He watched that sink in, the
emotions pass through her eyes. She was trying not to react; trying
to hide how she really felt. She averted her gaze; that combined
with her body language, it all made sense to him. “You don’t think
you matter, do you?”

She shrugged, pretending to
study her nails.

Max stalked over to her,
lifting her face towards him. He waited until they locked eyes. He
heard her breath catch the moment they did. “I don’t know what
asshole ripped apart your self-esteem, but-“

“Stop.” It came out as a
soft command, but nonetheless did what she intended.

Max studied her, noting her
discomfort. “Why?”

“Max, I know I’m not a size
two, but I also know that I’m not a hideous troll. I get that I’m
pretty in my own big girl way. What I don’t get is how you can date
skinny blondes for two years straight and then all of a sudden
expect me to believe that you’ve had a thing for me all along.”
Lucy folded her arms over her chest. Max unbent himself, taking a
step back; he’d never considered that angle.

***

Lucy watched the creases
deepen on Max’s forehead. She could handle rejection; she’d thought
long and hard over the past week and knew she could handle Max
walking away from her. But she couldn’t handle him stringing her
along, playing with her mind, her emotions like he was. It’s ok if
she didn’t live up to his physical standards, but it wasn’t ok for
him to capitalize on her weakness for him.

“I’ll keep your werewolf
secret Max. You don’t have to put on a charade for the sake of
pacifying me.”

Something must have clicked
because Max’s face shot to hers, focusing his attention entirely on
her. “How do you feel about me Lucy?” Lucy cringed at the glint in
his eyes. He was going in for the kill.

She swallowed past the lump
in her throat. “Um, I like you.”

He smiled wide, brow rising
as he asked, “Do you find me sexy?”

Her mouth went dry as heat
warmed her lower stomach. “Sure,” she shrugged, all of a sudden
feeling like a cat in heat confined to a cage.

Max took a step forward;
Lucy’s breath caught. “Do you think about me often?”

“Uh,” she stumbled, her mind
feeling like jello as all of her melted before him. Damn she was
weak.

“I think about you all the
time Lucy; when I’m stuck behind my desk at work, listening to the
pitter patter of your heart right outside my door calling to me. I
daydream about you while I’m out to dinner with some pixie that
will barely touch her food, wishing you were there to share more
than inedible rabbit fare with me. I come with my eyes closed,
imagining it was you jerking me off in the shower. I can’t get away
from you. You haunt me every second of every day, torturing me with
your luscious curves and sassy attitude. Makes me want to bend you
over and fuck you until you apologize.”

The bottom dropped out from
under Lucy. Her pussy flooded, nipples hardened and heart softened
at his words. She’d been so stupid. She’d been lying to herself; it
was insecurity that drove her out of that hotel room, and it was
assurance from him that threw her into his arms.

Lucy jumped off the couch,
wrapped her arms around Max and crushed her lips to his, reveling
in the sweetest kind of love: unconditional love. She realized that
Max loved her just the way she was, extra stuffing and
all.

***

Max growled as he lifted
Lucy’s legs and wrapped them around his waist, reveling in the feel
of her large thighs encasing him. Hands explored as he kissed her
silly. He bit her lower lip when she raked her nails down his back;
his erection straining against the fabric of his
clothes.

He couldn’t take it anymore;
he led them to her room, but not before stopping off in the kitchen
where Lucy grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup. It was going to
be a delicious night, and the perfect beginning to their savory
life.

***

*****

***

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading
Curvosity. It’s my sincere hope that you thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’ve always believed that plus-size women should be more
prominently featured in romance novels. Given that, I plan to
continue with my line of plus-size heroines. And I’m not talking
about size 12 women, who are below the national average of a size
14. I’m talking about real women with excess sexiness (love that
line!) and a scale that doesn’t go below 200. Why? Because big
girls need love too!

Until the next book, feel
free to visit my website:
www.christinlovell.com

Or write me on Twitter
@christinlovell

Or facebook me: Christin
Lovell

Or e-mail me at:
[email protected]

I always love to hear from
my readers! I appreciate each and every one of you!

Thanks again for reading
Curvosity!
Christin