Recovery (6 page)

“Now let’s get you out of the rest of this.”

He obeyed, kicking of his shoes and jeans as he continued to come down from his orgasm.  She led him into the bathroom where she’d drawn a bath and helped him step down into the porcelain tub. The role reversal felt strange. Yet, as he sank down into the water, he felt rejuvenated.

“How do you feel now?” she asked. Her voice was melodic and soft as she leaned over the tub to run a wash cloth over his skin.

“Relaxed.”

“Good. Why did you wreck your apartment earlier?”

“Because all I could think about was you with someone else and I couldn’t deal with that.”

He kept his eyes glued to the water, the weight of her stare singeing his skin like lasers. What could he say? There was no excuse for the things he’d done in the past six months.  His addiction had almost decimated the life they had built over the past ten years. With his head on straight it seemed unforgiveable. Sober was going to be a very painful state. Max took a deep breath, opening his first wound. He’d been called many things in his life, but a punk wasn’t one of them.

“I know I’ve fucked up on a catastrophic level, but I couldn’t see it at the time. This is the first time I’ve taken my head out of my ass long enough to talk to you straight and I promise you I won’t let you down like that again. I know I’m not perfect by any means. I’ll piss you off and make you want to scream at times, but I’ll never touch coke again.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Have I ever made you a promise and not made good on it?”

“No.”

“I’m not about to start now, O. I’m not naïve enough to think this will be easy. Right now my mind is screaming for a hit. But one look into your eyes reminds me of all I have to lose.”

“If that’s the case you’d better get out so I can make good on my deal.”

Her saucy wink earned a grin as he eased from the bath. The battle that he waged with his mind became a little easier to win with his focus shifted. She bent to release the stopper from the tub before she stood, grabbing a brown Egyptian cotton towel from the rack on the wall. The soft material teased his skin as she dried him in slow sweeps. His nipples puckered under her hungry gaze. When her ministrations moved lower he clenched his hands to stop them from winding in her hair and trailing over her skin. She’d made it clear it was her show.

“You want to touch me don’t you?”

“Fuck, O, you know I do.”

“Then do it,” she said, moving on to her tip toes to press her lips to his. He bent down to devour her lips, clutching her hair in his fist as he tilted her head to the side. His tongue swirled around hers, plunged deep and retreated as he savored her sweet flavor. Maxim stepped from the tub dragged the floral scent of her skin into his lungs, and held her face in his palms. Panting when they pulled apart for air, his fingers stroked the planes of her face as his eyes drank her in.  

“Fuck, O,” he growled, grasping her hips as he lifted her up. His breath stuttered in his chest as she wound her lithe legs around his waist and bit down on his shoulder. Her nails raked against his nape.

“You taste so good,” she said.

“Bite me harder, O, I want to see your marks on my body.” Her nails sank deeper into his flesh as she sucked the skin of his neck into her mouth and bite down hard enough to make him cry out in pain. The sharp sting sent him reeling as he slammed her back against the wall and thrust against her violently. His swollen cock strained against the flimsy barrier of her underwear. She threw her head back, grinding against him as she whimpered. The damp heat beckoned him as her juices soaked through and ran down her thighs.

“Shit! I’m coming,” she keened, trembling as her thighs tightened around him and her eyes rolled back in her head.

“That’s the first of many.”

He carried them into the bedroom with swift sure steps. A firm hand placed on her back to keep her in place as he knelt onto the bed and placed her body down. He worked her underwear down with his teeth, moaning when the scent of her arousal reached his nose. The sweet musk surrounded him as he parted her thighs and buried his head between her legs. The first taste of her juices was the best thing he’d consumed in months. His tongue swept across her center before it dipped inside.

“Oh, my God!” Her stiff fingers clutched his hair as he continued his steady rhythm, adding his thumb to the mix as he rubbed her clit in circles. When her walls began to clamp down he pulled away. “No! Maxi,” she gasped. Her protest turned to screams when he delved two fingers into her honeyed tunnel.

Scissoring his digits, he spread her wide, leaning down to suck her nub into his mouth. Her back arched off the bed and pride filled him as he suckled her, rotating his finger inside her walls. She squeezed down on his phalanges, signaling she was close and so he began to thrust faster. His fingers angled, just so, to hit that G-spot inside that had her calling for God as her body convulsed and liquid shot out soaking the sheets.

“That’s it, baby,” he said as his fingers continued to drive through her explosion until she pushed him away.

“It’s too much, Max.”

Removing his fingers from the tight tunnel he used the molten liquid to moisten his quivering cock, pausing to circle the head that dripped pre-cum.

“It’s never enough, Oceane.” Maxim lined himself up and eased inside her inch by inch. Her hungry walls swallowed him down and gripped him tightly even as he forced himself to slow down. “You’re so tight, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.” Sweat beaded on his brow as he propped himself up on one arm and stared down at her beaming face.

“You won’t, just keep going. You feel so good inside me.”

He buried balls deep into her and paused, not because he was afraid of hurting her, but to stave off his own orgasm. He pulled back out and then surged forward, bottoming out inside of her as she tilted her hips to take all he had to give.

“Harder, Max!” Oceane urged him on as she clutched the sheets, slamming herself up in time with his downward strokes.

Each thrust was a step closer to leaving the past behind. So he pounded inside of her and took out all the aggression, pain and fear experienced over the past six months. Wanting to feel as close to her physically as he was emotionally, he paused to arrange her legs over his shoulder. Her cries rent the air as he drilled her into the bed. The box springs squeaked its protest, her head bounced off the headboard and his balls drew up as her pussy began to quiver.

“That’s it, baby, come all over my cock.” He gritted his teeth as she clamped down around him.  By releasing all the negative thoughts that swirled around his head, he was able to come harder than he ever had in his life.

Chapter Four

Snuggled into his side, Oceane looked up and asked, “Where do we go from here?”

“Anywhere you want, O, I’ll take this as slow or as fast as you need.”

His face was expressive, his eyes burning with a brilliance she’d hadn’t seen in too long. The sincerity and honesty now visible were qualities she’d missed. She wanted to lace their fingers and ask him to elope, pretending the last six months had never happened, but the memory of his body prone as his nose bled and mouth frothed were still too vivid. She was a dreamer, not a fool.

“What I want is to go to city hall tomorrow, elope and be done with this back and forth mess once and for all, but what I need is for you to prove you mean what you say. That being said, I have a few rules.” She hesitated only for a second “No more drugs, moderate alcohol, a twelve step program and couples counseling.”  

A pregnant pause fell over the room and she held her breath, waiting for the offer to be rejected.

“If that’s why you need me to do I will, but I have one small request.”

“What’s that?”

“That you put your engagement ring back on.”

“If I take it off again—”

“I know, O, I don’t plan on letting you down.”

Moving away from the warmth of his body, she pulled out the drawer of her night stand. Her hands were shaky retrieving the velvet case and placed it into his open palm.

“I believe this is your job,” she said.

“Say it again.”

“Say what?”

“That it’s my job.”

She smiled as their eyes locked and she whispered once more, “This is your job.”

Her breath caught in her throat as he slid the band on her to her left hand. This was better than the first time he’d proposed because, when he leaned in to kiss her lips, she tasted victory. Maxim had fought his way back to her and the steel reserve visible in his eyes told her he was prepared to be the white knight on a steed who would slay dragons for his lady fair.

* * * *

Two Months later

“Hey, girl, sorry I’m late. Counseling ran longer than I expected,” Oceane said, winded from the mad dash from her car into the Thai restaurant. They’d kept up with their mani-pedi’s but this was a separate meet up to help plan her parent’s anniversary celebration.

“It’s okay, I just ordered our favorites. How’s that going?” Aurelie asked. The sarcasm dripping off her tongue so potent O swore she tasted salt.

“Great actually, we’ve made a lot of progress since we first started.”

“Hmph.”

“Aurelie!”

“What, Oceane? I think you let him back into your life too easily, after all he put you through he should
still
be groveling.”

“What good would that do either of us when all I want is to be with him and help him get better?”

“It would allow you time to see if this sober thing is going to stick.  That’s how abusers and users work, O, they make nice until you’re hooked and then they show their true colors.”

“This is Maxim we’re talking about, not some stranger.”

“Which makes it worse! Everyone thought they knew him.” “He’s made many mistakes while under the influence of a chemical substance he no longer takes. Should I crucify him for the rest of his life?” she sighed at the array of emotions flickering across her sister’s face. “I love you, Aurelie, but you need to understand the only person Max needs to prove himself to is me.” Shifting in her seat Oceane played with the spring rolls Aurelie had ordered as an appetizer. It felt cruel to bring up the past. It felt too soon and it was still troubling her sister, but this needed to be said. “He’s not Aidan.”

“I know that,” she whispered, voice cracking, “I just don’t want you to go through what I did.”

“And I love you for that, Aurelie,” she said, a gentle smile graced Oceane’s lips as she leaned in to squeeze her sister’s hand. “Max is on board with being sober one hundred percent. He’s grown so much with counseling and the twelve step program.”  Oceane released Aurelie’s hand. “We both have.” She moved to pick up a spring roll, chewing it thoughtfully as peace settled over their table.

Aurelie’s love life had been stagnating since she left Aidan. It had begun to worry her. It had been over three years; plenty of time to deal with any lingering issues. She decided to test the waters, doing a one-eighty, changing the subject.

“How’s Emile?”

“That man is infuriating!” The exasperation made Oceane laugh. “He won’t take no for an answer,” Aurelie said.

“Has he been asking you out?”

“No! But he’s
always
around.”

“He is Henri’s cousin, Aur.”

“Yes, but before we never knew he existed and now it’s like they’re attached at the hip.”

“And that bothers you?”

“I can never get a moment’s peace. The man is sex on two legs and when he focuses those gorgeous eyes on you it’s like the intensity of the sun.”

“I imagine these warm rays he exudes are pointed straight at your nether regions?”

“God, yes!” Crossing her legs beneath the table, Aurelie fanned her flushed face. “I feel like a teenage boy at the peak of puberty,” she said, taking a vicious bite from the last spring roll.

“If he revs your motor that much, why are you fighting it?”

“Weren’t we here to talk about Mom and Dad’s anniversary party?” she asked changing the topic so fast it nearly gave O whiplash.

“Have we come up with a theme?” Oceane asked, granting her a reprieve from the inquisition. She’d come back to it another time.

* * * *

Maxim went over his plans once again. He wasn’t sure how Oceane would react to what he’d done, but he’d felt it was necessary. She’d picked up on his nervous behavior lately and he knew she was concerned though she never said it out loud. It was evident in the darkening of her eyes and the careful way she studied him. After all he’d done previously, he couldn’t really blame her. When he heard the key turn in the lock he quickly shut down the computer and stored away all the signs of his activities.

He raced over to the couch and flipped on the television, striking what he hoped appeared to be a casual pose.

“Hey, bebe, how did planning go?” he asked.

“Really good, we got a lot done,” she said eyeing him cautiously as she closed the door and locked it. “Have you been sitting there long?”

“Yeah, why?” he asked not seeing where she was going.

“Because you’re watching
Ru Paul’s Drag Race
,”
 

Well, shit
he thought, at a loss for an answer.

“I thought we agreed no secrets.”

“We did.”

“Then why are you lying? You’ve been acting strange for days now.”

“I know—”

“I refuse to do this again, Maxim!”

“O, calm down, you’re jumping to conclusions. Is this going to happen every time I’m acting out of sorts?”

“That’s not fair!”

“Neither are your accusations.”

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything! I just don’t want to be kept in the dark.”

“You know what? I can’t deal with this right now,” he said as he stood.

All he’d wanted to do was surprise his fiancée with something nice and she was ripping him a new asshole. It wasn’t like her. Had he done too much damage to ever fully repair? Emotions swirled around inside him like a pinwheel and he knew space was the best thing for the both of them. He slipped on his black Converse and left. The slam of the door echoed down the deserted hall as he rushed outside into the night air that tasted of freedom.