Hide and Seek (8 page)

“Maxim…Maxim…” she whimpered and moaned, crying his name over and over.

What was she begging for? She didn't want to let go, but she couldn't take anymore.

“God, that's glorious.” Maxim kissed along her ticklish upper thigh and prickles danced over her sensitive skin, doing the salsa straight to her heart. “Tell me if you like this.”

He rotated the vibrator, so that the clit stimulator rested against her anus. Pressing the handle of the shaft downward, he drove the head against her G-spot, while the stimulator pressed into her bottom.

Elisa screamed out, shouting at the very top of her lungs as she convulsed and reared on the bed in a violent, earth-shattering climax. Her muscles seared from the manner in which she constringed them, her body slowly turning to mush.

Collapsing, she sunk into the mattress. With the toy still shaking within her, she lay limp, at his complete, utter mercy.

Maxim turned the vibrator off, slowly withdrawing it from her. Tossing it aside, he planted a kiss upon her mons, then took a slow lick along her pussy, swiping a taste of her cum.

The creamy liquid glistening on his lips, he stood. His eyes settled on her and he swallowed deeply. To her shock, he turned and walked from the room, earning more of her esteem and trust in that instant than she'd thought he'd gain in a lifetime.

He could have taken her. Had his way with her. She had no resistance left in her right now, no ability to restrain herself against his advances, and Elisa knew her weakness was obvious, especially to him. But rather than take advantage of her, he'd left. Respected her desire not to sleep with him yet. Respected her.

Such an act of decency for a man like him couldn't have been easy. Then again, she'd told him staying here wouldn't be. What she hadn't imagined was how very hard it would be on her; how very easy losing herself in his eyes, to his touch, could be. How very soft her heart was.

And that wouldn't do. Not at all.

H
ardly
able to walk, Maxim made a beeline to the bathroom. He was hornier than a sixteen-year-old on Viagra and needed to come so badly, he was pretty sure he'd do serious damage to his cock if he didn't.

He should have fucked her. Damn it. He
could
have fucked her.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda…

For once in his life, he was doing the right thing. And it sucked.

He threw open the heavy wooden door to the peach-tiled powder room and stumbled inside, falling to his knees. They smacked into the floor in a bruising collision, but Maxim ignored the pain, going straight for his cock.

Fisting it, he pumped his erection, blood rushing through his veins, and cum quickly filling his prick, rising in his shaft, prepared to erupt from his body. Release was so close he could taste it…

“Oh no, you don't!” Elisa burst into the bathroom, interrupting him a second from climax. “Put that cock down!”

His hand froze and he looked up at her, fighting the urge to keep going. Standing proudly naked, her arms crossed and shoulders squared, Elisa glared down at him. Her stern, militant gaze hardened her otherwise feminine features. “I said, put that cock down. Now.”

Shit. Apparently, she was back to being her old self, which meant he was busted. His hand fell away, but his sexual desperation didn't fade. Not an iota. “Elisa, I have to relieve—”

“You agreed to my rules, and ergo, you cannot take pleasure of your own.” Her unrelenting tone commanded obedience. Damn, she was being a hard-ass.

Right now, he didn't want to submit. Didn't want to play her stupid mind game. He only wanted, no
needed
, to get off, even if it was at his own hand.

What was so wrong with that?

He wasn't hurting her, or anyone else, damn it!

Again, he reached for his pulsing dick, prepared to do it right in front of her if he had to. “I need this, Elisa. Get over it.”

“Then you quit,” she said flatly, turning and walking from the room. Common sense—his freaking libido—told him to let her go. So why couldn't he?

Again ditching his needy cock, he jumped to his feet and went after her. In the hall, he caught her arm and whirled her around to face him.

“No, I don't quit,” he ground out, wishing she'd play more fairly. Couldn't she sympathize with him just a little? “Jesus, Elisa, do you have any idea what you're doing to me? Any clue how hard it is to do those things to your body…how hard I am?”

Her stubborn emerald eyes glared at him, not showing the slightest sign of relenting. “Have you no sexual stamina? Aren't you capable of walking away? Aren't you a man?”

“That's exactly it, I am a
man
! Damn it, Elisa!”

“One who'd fuck any female who spread her legs. Exactly my point.”

“No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't be doing this for any female. Just you.”

For that matter, he'd never been this freaking turned on by any lay…not even the best. He hurt. Ached like he didn't think was possible. Hungered. All he wanted was to release some of the tension, so he could continue to pleasure her in any way she could imagine.

Why was that too much to ask?

“Oh, just me?” She chuckled, actually
laughed
at him, and unfolded her arms. “Please Maxim…you've never been with just
one
woman, not your whole life. We both know you're nothing but a slut. Give it up.”

That stung.

Maybe he never went on more than one date with a girl, but he had damn good reason. He hadn't wanted to end up like this…pining over some woman, willing to lose everything for her, and eventually doing so.

Like his brother.

“I can't believe this.” How he wished he could take her in his embrace and fuck away all the bullcrap between them. But he saw without a single doubt, Elisa was not going to alter her decision. He was stuck with this raging erection, likely for hours, and she was telling him not to touch it. He freakin'
hurt
and for her, for the sake of proving himself, he'd put up with the pain.

“Think what you want Elisa, but you're wrong about me,” he told her. “You keeping acting like I'm inhuman. Like I haven't had my fair share of hard knocks and heartbreak…something you're all too familiar with. Take a good look at who you're purposefully
trying
to become.”

“I'm becoming stronger, more resilient. There's nothing wrong with me learning to take what I want and—”

“Then ask yourself, how did I”—he waved along his torso—“become this?”

“I don't know.”

“That's right. You don't, so don't pretend to understand me without ever giving me a chance.” He walked past her. “If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go roll around in the snow and cool off.”

“Maxim, I…”

“Don't worry. I'm not leaving,” he called behind him. “I can wait you out longer than you'd ever imagine…actually, you and I both know I could have already fucked you. But
could have
isn't good enough for me. Crazy as I am, I want more. I want
you
.”

M
axim
disappeared down the hall, leaving her stunned.

Every time she thought she had him pegged, every time she thought she had handle on herself…
wham!
Maxim went and said or did something so out of the ballpark, she was left stumbling to catch up. Sputtering like a fool. Acting like a jerk.

One thing was for certain, as far as being dominant went, she unarguably sucked. Hard as she tried, she always ended up clay in his magical hands.

She'd just have to try harder.

Yeah right. She was crazy for even thinking she could use him and lose him. How she'd behaved and how she
wanted
to behave toward Maxim were polar opposites. Deep in her heart, she sensed there was something more to him and what he'd just told her had confirmed it. Maxim had a dark side.

The front door slammed, marking his exit. Now what? She couldn't just stand here, feeling like a jackass. She needed a distraction.

Lizzy.

Probably the last person on earth anyone should take advice from in the relationship area, yet, Lizzy had an odd way of putting things in perspective, of being real. Elisa needed that right now.

Still naked, she walked to the great room and retrieved the portable phone, then returned to her now-cold cocoa, banked fire, and the blanket she'd abandoned when Maxim had returned. Curling up, she dialed her sister's number. Lizzy answered on the third ring. “Hey, Elisa.”

A chill ran down Elisa's spine at the ESP-like hello. “You know that gives me the creeps. Can't you just say hi? At least hear my voice first?”

“No.” Lizzy gave a short laugh. “What's the fun in having caller ID if you aren't going to use it?”

Exactly why Elisa didn't have them: caller IDs, answering machines…she couldn't stand them. She didn't care for the idea of her actions or words being recorded—her mistakes could potentially be permanent.

But she hadn't called Lizzy to debate the necessity of modern conveniences. “Question.” Other, larger matters on her mind, Elisa steered the conversation. “Do you think I'm too uptight? Maybe bitchy?”

“Yes.” Lizzy chuckled. “Oh yes, but what a way to start a conversation.”

“You didn't even hesitate.”

“Well, why would I?” Lizzy laughed again. “Is everything okay, Elisa?”

Ouch.

Lizzy might be teasing, but Elisa couldn't help but take her words to heart.

“At least I've had a boyfriend in the past decade,” Elisa snapped, then immediately felt guilty. What was wrong with her lately? You'd think her period was on the way, except it was at least three weeks off. “I'm sorry, Liz. My nerves are on edge, ever since…”

“Since?” When Elisa didn't respond, Lizzy made a tsk-tsk sound and laughed again. “See? Bitchy. But not that that's a bad thing, mind you. Being nice is being weak. Remember that. And, by the way, just because I choose not to tolerate men doesn't make me boring.”

“So now I'm boring?” Elisa raised her brows. Boy, was Lizzy putting things in
perspective
.

“Well, the whole porn fiasco did sport a certain measure of excitement, but not the good kind.” Lizzy's voice echoed slightly and made Elisa question if she was in the bathroom. “What's the matter, Elisa? Getting lonely? Tell you what…the club is the last place I feel like hanging out tonight. There's this guy who won't stop hitting on me. Yuck. Should I skip work and get some DVDs and chocolate and come over?”

“No!” Elisa practically shouted, catching her overreaction a moment too late. “I mean, that's all right.
Play
needs you more than me. Things never go smoothly when you're not there. Don't let that guy get to you. Besides, we'll see each other on Monday. But I wondered…” Her question trailed off. While she was hesitant to ask Lizzy anything that might spark her curiosity, she needed to talk with someone. Someone who would tell her how it was, not gussy up the conversation with a bunch of pomp and circumstance, or worse, romanticisms.

“Hurry up, Elisa. I have to pee,” Lizzy announced.

Take that for example—Lizzy didn't hold back, not anything, not ever. In fact, sometimes she revealed far too much.

Elisa could just imagine Lizzy, with her pink hair and big black boots, doing the pee-pee dance around the bathroom. But she'd called her a bitch, so she could hold it.

“I just thought you might remember…you probably don't. It was such a huge campus and you and I didn't study for the same degree. Heck, our classes weren't in the same building, much less the same rooms, but—”

“Elisa—” Lizzy interrupted with an exaggerated sigh. “I'm going on the phone. Deal with it.”

Used to Lizzy's blunt behavior, Elisa continued to ramble. “I don't know. You probably didn't know him. How could you have? I'm just being silly and—”

“Who?”
Lizzy demanded. “Get to the point already!”

God. Why couldn't she just get it out? She was exhausting herself with this nonsensical beating around the bush.

Truth be told, as much as she craved Lizzy's blunt opinions right now, she was half-afraid to bring up Maxim's name, for fear Lizzy
did
remember him.

“Well?” Lizzy questioned again. “Who is this man I'm going to shoot for getting to you?”

“No one is getting to me. I was just thinking about him.”

“Right.”

Elisa sighed. Maybe if she said his name fast enough, Lizzy would mishear. “Maxim Cox,” she blurted.

Silence.

Tap, tap, tap.

Silence.

“You stay away from him, Elisa,” Lizzy suddenly snapped.

“You remember him?”

“Sweetie, Maxim wasn't studying anything but females in college. I didn't know him personally, but my friend, excuse me,
friends
—”

“No. Don't. Never mind. I don't want to know.” Invaded by tortuous jealousy that squeezed her heart and prickled her nerves, Elisa swallowed at the knot suddenly lodged in her throat. She was a fool for even dwelling on Maxim. She knew better, damn it.

“Why? What's going on?” Lizzy's voice lifted a notch, becoming high pitched with worry. “Elisa, you better spill whatever you're hiding, or I swear—”

“Nothing,” Elisa quickly cut her off, feeling bad for fibbing, but knowing if she told Lizzy the truth, Maxim would be hoisted from her cabin by his ears and ass-kicked into the nearest trench. “I was just thinking about him, that's all. Out here, I have lots of time to think and not much else.”

Besides have mind-blowing orgasms produced by a dildo-wielding hottie that she wanted more than she should.

“But why him?” Lizzy questioned.

“I don't know.” Elisa sighed, trying desperately to remain nonchalant. “Did you ever get the notion there was something more to him than one-night stands?”

“Absolutely not.” Lizzy's voice was firm. Undoubtedly, in Lizzy's opinion, Maxim Cox was nothing but a walking, talking dick.

“Really?” Somehow, she didn't
want
to believe it, true as it likely was. “Nothing at all?”

“Sweetie, are you being honest with me? Are you sure you're simply thinking about him?”