Dirty Boy (39 page)

“Yes,” Erin agreed. “My respect for her is bar none.”

“I’d want the same thing,” Natalia added. “The difference is you love her. Don’t be a stubborn ass.”

“Me? Stubborn?” he snapped with indignation. “What about her? I’m giving in to almost all her demands. She’s still leaving.”

“Then, fuck her,” Erin said abruptly. “Nat and I will go back to my place and wait for you to be done on the set.”

Suddenly, he understood Story’s position. These women would always be waiting in the wings, ready to drop their panties the moment they sensed trouble between them. He couldn’t imagine touching either of them. They weren’t Story and the fact that they could suggest he fuck them after they heard him and Story profess their love for each other, infuriated him. He got to his feet and pointed to the door.

“Get the fuck out. I’m not interested in you two. Story’s the one for me. She knows it. She’ll eventually see things my way.”

Erin stood, too, and stared at him, her mouth turning down. “I was joking. I wanted to see your reaction.”

“I don’t give a fuck. This isn’t anything to laugh about. Your come-on is exactly what Story fears and I won’t have her concerned for no fucking reason at all. We’re done.”

“What about my boutique?” Erin whispered, her look turning desperate.

He offered her a cold smile. “Kiss it fucking goodbye. You hurt Story, you hurt me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly.

“Let’s go, Erin,” Natalia said, offering Max an uneasy look. She attempted to kiss him, but his glare stopped her. She swallowed. “Please, ask Story to call us. Maybe, we can do lunch and bury the hatchet.”

“I’m sure,” he sneered. “Right in her fucking back.”

The two women didn’t comment as they hastily departed. Alone, Max grabbed the forgotten binder and read over the terms. He’d thought they were damn good and quite beneficial to Story. Any other woman would’ve jumped at this deal.

But Story wasn’t any other woman. She was as unique as her name.

“Max,” Addie said, sticking her head in the door to greet him.

“Hey,” he said, closing the binder and sliding it away.

“Ryker is lending me out to another studio,” she announced.

Max nodded, his heart not into anything pertaining to the studio. “How’s Kelan?”

Sadness crept into Addie’s eyes. “Fine, I guess. I haven’t talked to him in a few days. Not since I offered to sleep with him and he refused me, telling me I was worth more than my cunt. He says that now, until he decides to go to the next woman. Or hit me for not listening because I’m nothing more than a pussy to fuck.”

That got Max’s attention. “Someone hit you?” he asked. He was already angry over Story. If he discovered someone had put their hands on Addie, he’d go ballistic.

She finally came fully into the office. “Who hasn’t? It started way back with my father and continued on with my stepfather…” Her shoulders drooped. “Never mind.”

“Has any of us hit you?” Eric was a mean motherfucker, but he hoped he didn’t raise his hands to women. Max didn’t feel like participating in the gruesome task of chopping off offending body parts. If he had to, he would. “Eric? Ryker?”

“No,” she said. “Neither has Kelan. But…it doesn’t matter, Max.”

He bristled at her grouchy tone.

“I didn’t come in here to rehash my life story. I saw your door ajar and wanted to say ‘hi’.”

“Have you seen Story?” he asked, not wanting her to leave when she looked so upset.

“No. I have a lot of problems. I figured you wouldn’t want me around her, so I’ve stayed away.”

He winced as he recalled his words at her pool party. “I was out of place,” he admitted, wondering who’d invaded his body. Except he’d been an asshole to her, and Story deserved better than an unfeeling jerk. “Call her and do whatever girls do together.”

Addie grinned, a real smile that lit up her face. “Maybe when the project Ryker is sending me on is completed.”

“She’s leaving next week.”

“I’m so sorry,” she clucked, then squirmed on her feet. “That’s another reason I’ve kept my distance. I heard you’re planning another script for a Dirty Boys production. Eric said I’ll probably get the lead. More sex with you and me. I couldn’t be Story’s friend, knowing how she feels, and still fuck you during production.”

Max had mentioned the movie in passing to Eric during a brief meeting a few days ago. He was actually behind schedule, as he sought ways to convince Story to stay with him.

He sighed. “Not you, too. It’s only work.” But that refrain was even wearing on him.

“Yes,” she said, not adding anything else.

“You better get going,” he told her, having nothing more to say.

“Yeah, Max, I’ll talk to you later,” Addie said, and walked out, leaving Max alone to focus on Story.

“I’m calling a cab,” Story said, five minutes later, as she entered the office and crashed to a halt. “Where’s Erin and Natalia?”

“Gone,” he said on a tired sigh. “I’ve severed all ties with them.”

“Okay,” she said, her misery hard to miss.

He wasn’t sure what else to say to her. It seemed he always had an answer for everything. Mainly, because, he always got his way, as if the world would suddenly end if he didn’t.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he looked at the sex toys. A company offering to mold his cock to market as a vibrator had sent him prototypes this week, a deal he’d forgotten about in recent days.

He didn’t want this hurt and pain between him and Story. Sex would ease the enmity between them.

“Lock the door,” he instructed, knowing his rising desire was an abrupt turn of events. But he needed Story right now.

She didn’t waste time doing his bidding or question his reasoning, and his satisfaction ran deep. He stood, grabbed the two dildos, then guided Story to the sofa. He’d fucked countless women on it and swore, if she stayed, he’d get rid of it and find a couch that was exclusively theirs.

Sitting down, he pulled her onto his lap and tangled his hands through her hair. He drew her head closer, touched his lips to her, and lost himself in her taste. As he kissed her throat, he unbuttoned her dress, then slid it off her shoulders.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, guiding her back and shoving the skirt of her dress above her waist. A pair of embroidered panties greeted his greedy gaze. He wanted to rip them away in a show of animalistic possession, but he’d have enough of that behavior with her, on the set.

Words of love came a dime a dozen. He needed to show her what she meant to him in the only way he knew how. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the privacy of their bedroom, where he’d have hours to worship her. However, this couldn’t wait. After shoving Erin and Natalia in her face, she needed to see she had him body and soul.

“Undress,” he ordered, and stood to remove his own clothes. “Sit back and spread your legs,” he continued, once they were both naked. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed one of the forgotten toys before dragging his tongue over her clit.

She groaned and lifted her hips, encouraging him to lick faster. She started a slow grind, her pussy heating up, her juices beginning to flow. Max slipped two fingers into her and stroked, still lapping at her clit. Sighing, she cracked her toes and slid her fingers through his hair, moving to his rhythm. He wanted to eat her cunt for hours and promised himself that he’d feast on her another time. Replacing his fingers with the dildo, he thrust it in and out of her, enjoying her moans at the double stimulation.

Wanting her to come on his cock, he pulled his mouth away from her soaked pussy and removed the dildo. Her cream coated his lips and chin, and he watched as she brought her fingers to her swollen clit and fingered herself, pumping her hips. Instead of stopping her, he sat next to her and sucked a nipple into his mouth, tipping her over the edge. As she came, he covered her hand with his and helped her rub her pussy.

“Your turn,” she pushed out a moment later, slipping to her knees and grabbing the battery-operated vibrator, turning it to the lowest setting.

Impaling her mouth on his cock, she laid the toy against his balls. Electricity sparked along his nerve endings at the feel of the gentle vibrations on the most delicate place on his body. She licked the head of his cock, meeting his gaze, and massaging the vibrator from his balls to the base of his cock and all the way up, while still teasing the crown with her tongue.

Sliding it down his dick, she followed suit with her mouth. She licked between his ball sac, pressing the toy against his cock head. Max’s nuts drew tight and felt ready to explode. He wanted to come in her pussy, though.

“Stop,” he gasped, lost in pleasure, his heart pounding. “I want to fuck you.”

Without answering, Story turned the vibrator off, set it aside and climbed onto his lap. Max laid her on the sofa. Once he raised her legs, he buried himself inside of her, slamming into her again and again. She was as frantic as he was, meeting him thrust-for-thrust, gentleness forgotten.

He held her gaze, silently imploring her to accept him as he was. To love him, job and all. Watching her as she cried his name and fell apart. Grunting, he exploded inside of her, then collapsed against her, spent.

“I love you, Story,” he whispered, removing his weight from her and leaning against the sofa.

She kept her legs open, a view Max thoroughly enjoyed. “I love you, too, Max.”

He believed that she did, but, sometimes, love just wasn’t enough.

A week later, Max led Story through the terminal at LAX, toward the long security line. He couldn’t believe he’d have to walk away from her in a few minutes. She was really leaving him. Goddamn her. She’d said she loved him. If that was fucking true, she wouldn’t so easily walk away. As usual, she was using female manipulation to get her way. If he gave in to her demands, she’d stay.

His lost hope to keep her had been ruined when she’d gotten her period the morning she’d left. A sign, he supposed, that they really shouldn’t be together.

She stopped at the edge of the line, ignoring the man who skirted them to jump ahead. “I guess this is it,” she said softly, staring at him as if she expected something from him.

“Yeah, it looks that way.” He gave her a small, humorless smile, refusing to budge. She could compromise, too. “Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way,” he added, testing her.

“No,” she agreed. “But it’s settled. It doesn’t have to be this way, but this is the way it turned out.” She cleared her throat, sadness pulling down her face. “Let’s say goodbye and not cry over spilled milk.”

Brave words from her, but Max saw how hard this was for her. As hard as it was for him. Love was a two-way street. Just as she’d said she loved him, he loved her, too.
He
was allowing her to leave just as
she
was walking away. He had the power to keep them together. She’d put all the control in his hands, which was what he said he wanted. Except this control was an unfair ultimatum. Either-or. All he needed to do was resign from working in front of the cameras. He’d still run his company, see it grow to where he wanted it to be.

All he had to do…He couldn’t. Not now. Soon, though. Perhaps, not a whole year away, but it would happen on
his
terms.

“I’ve got to go through security, Max,” she said. “I don’t want to miss the flight.”

The thought to turn and walk away hit him, but he couldn’t do it. He wanted to touch her one last time. Wrapping his arms around her, he nosed her hair. “Be well, sweetheart. I’ve enjoyed our time together.”

“Me, too,” she whispered, clinging to him for the briefest second, as if she’d never let him go. She pulled away, stood on tiptoe, and brushed her lips over his. “I love you.”

Those words rang in his head and she started toward the line.

“Wait!” Max followed her and she stopped immediately, turning to him. “Listen…”

“What?” The hope in her tone matched the expectation in her eyes.

The words she wanted to hear sat on the tip of his tongue but died on his lips. “Keep in touch. Be safe. Take care of yourself.” He kissed her cheek. This time, when she walked away he knew he’d let her go if
she
didn’t make the decision to stay. “Goodbye.”

Her lower lips trembled and tears filled her eyes, but she lifted her chin. “Bye, Max.”

He waited until she went through the scanner and headed toward the boarding area before leaving. Not once did she look back at him. His hurt surprised him. Story was a strong woman, though, and he admired her determination.

After he left the airport, Max drove around for the rest of the evening, trying to make sense of his life. He went to Point Fermin, then decided not to exit his vehicle. Visiting the scene of Kayleigh’s crime wouldn’t undo it. As many times as he’d been here in the years since her suicide, he hadn’t found the answers he sought.

Kayleigh was gone. Her last words to him would forever be frozen in time, etched in his mind. He’d take the sound of his son’s scream to his grave. Nothing would change that horror, but for a brief moment a light had shone in Max’s dark existence. He’d been happier than he had been in a long time, even if he refused to admit it.

Now, it was gone.
She
was gone. He’d driven her away. How would his life be without Story in it?

Mentally exhausted, Max made his way home after midnight. Since he hadn’t eaten in house, he picked up a hamburger on the way to the condo. Inside, he placed it on the counter, then extracted a beer from the refrigerator before seating himself and unwrapping his burger.

Setting it aside, he took a swig of beer, then got up to walk through his place. It was still. Empty.
Lonely
. He’d come to expect Story’s presence when he arrived home on the days he went to work without her.

They’d eat together and fu…
make love
. Yes. He made love to Story, on the set, off the set, fast, slow…he made love to her.

His appetite fleeing, Max finished his beer, then went to his room. The silence mocked him. He’d wronged her on so many different levels and for so many different reasons. Whether or not, he ever saw her again, it was time to let Kayleigh go. Time to forgive her and himself. He’d been as unyielding with her as he had been with Story.

“I’m sorry, Kayleigh,” he whispered in a choked voice. “I’m so, so sorry.” He’d failed her and he’d failed his innocent son.

He hadn’t felt so broken since that day, as he did in that moment. Realizing he’d been standing in the middle of his bedroom, staring into space, but seeing nothing, Max walked to his bed and sat. She’d changed the linen before she left, but a faint odor of her still lingered on the comforter.

Her presence was in every inch of this room, this place—and his heart. He’d gone on before, so he’d find a way to do so again.

Max sent Story back to Dallas in first class, but after over three hours on the plane, then another forty-five minutes at DFW to get her luggage and flag down a cab, Story welcomed the comfort of her Mom’s apartment, where she’d be staying until she found another job and got her own place again.

Physically tired and emotionally drained, she abandoned her luggage and plopped down on the sofa. A cursory glance revealed the same expensive appointments she’d remembered.

Drawing in a weary breath, Story stood and rolled her suitcase into the bedroom, where she started to unpack. The sight of the clothes that Max had purchased for her, and demand she take, made her sigh. She’d resisted. He’d insisted. He’d told her he had no use for them and he’d bought them for her. Not wanting him to throw them out as he’d threatened, Story capitulated and took them. She was glad she did. The clothes would serve as a sweet memory to her special time with Max. Besides, she needed the outfits. She had more to wear than what she’d brought to LA, but not by much, so she was grateful for Max’s generosity.

Deciding to finish unpacking later, she drew a hot bath. She needed to soak away her agitation. She was so bone-weary. Thinking of Max and their last moments together drained her. When he’d called her back, she’d thought it was to tell her he’d give up being Richard Head. Instead, he’d dashed her hopes. He might’ve loved her, but just not enough.

After a twenty-minute soak, Story had enough. The bath did nothing for her state of mind. Max was in her thoughts, in her psyche, and she felt like crying because she
had
to face the fact that they were over. Whatever they’d had between them had ended. She couldn’t define it because she didn’t know how to. An affair? A fling? Now, she could also call it
finished
.

She hoped that time did the trick and she finally got that fact through her head.

Once she dried off, she wrapped herself in her terrycloth robe and walked into the bedroom. She missed Max so much and it hadn’t been twenty-four hours since they’d parted.

“Get over it, Story.” She had to go on with her life. She’d never move forward if she stayed stuck in yesterday.

Hide the Body
ringtone emanated from her cell phone and she swiped her finger across the phone to answer, then placed it to her ear. “Mom?”

“Yes, Story,” Babs greeted cheerfully. “Are you settled in yet?”

“Just about. Thanks for calling. The apartment is great.”

“I know. It has my stamp all over it, so that makes it excellent.”

Story grinned at her mom’s confidence.

“Listen, baby, it’s your first day there and you’re all alone.”

“No biggie, Mom,” she inserted quickly, not wanting thoughts of Max to overtake her again. “I’ll survive.”

“I know you will, but you should go out tonight and relax. Get your mind off Max.”

“My mind isn’t on him,” Story snapped, wondering why she felt it necessary to lie. Maybe, because, she didn’t trust what her mom might suggest if she told her the truth.

“Well, now, that’s good news,” Babs responded. “You’ll enjoy yourself better.”

Oh, no. “Where’s this going?” Story asked with suspicion.

Babs chuckled nervously. “Hear me out. You don’t have to fuck him. You just need company to keep you from feeling so lonely.”

Her mom couldn’t have set her up on a date! “What are you on? And who’s the
him
I don’t have to fuck?”

“Jimmy.”

Not her-almost-Sugar-Daddy-Jimmy. Babs wouldn’t. “What?” she screeched.

“He should be there any minute. Wear something sexy. I think he may still be interested in you, although the dynamics have tilted a tad.”

“Forget it, Mom. I won’t—” The sound of the doorbell interrupted her rebuff.

“He’s there,” Babs crowed. “Call me back,” she directed, before disconnecting.

Oh my God! Her mother was a freaking lunatic. Stomping to the door, Story threw it open and paused. She’d forgotten how closely Jimmy resembled Max.

“Hello, Story,” he greeted with a wide smile.

She tightened her robe around her. “Hello, Jimmy. Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked, ignoring his lascivious glint and playing ignorant as to the reasons for his presence. She wanted to know exactly what her mom had said.

Jimmy looked at her from head-to-toe, then met her gaze. “Babs was supposed to call you and alert you of my coming.” He cleared his throat. “You look different. Always beautiful. But…maybe…hmm…you’re more mature looking.”

She licked her lips, thinking of Max, wanting
Max
. She could’ve been more understanding. After all, he’d compromised and said he’d retire in a year. She’d gone almost the entire summer with him screwing other women. Another few months wouldn’t kill her. They’d have each other.

God, no. What was she thinking? If she agreed to the year, he’d find a way to add on another year. Before she knew it, the original five years would’ve passed and she would’ve been living in misery, sharing Max with Addie and whoever else, all in the name of a job.

It’s just that she missed him so terribly. Being away from him, in the company of another man sent to cheer her up, felt like a knife being driven into her chest.

“Story?”

“Um, listen, Jimmy…”

He held up his hand to interrupt her. “Go out with me tonight,” he coaxed. “No strings attached. You look like you could use a friend, babe. I won’t guarantee I’m not going to try to seduce you.”

She smiled at his honesty, on the verge of tears again.

“Have you eaten yet?”

Sniffling, she shook her head.

“Well, then, may I interest you in dinner topped with witty conversation, interspersed with a lot of sexual innuendoes?”

“I won’t be good company.”