To the Max (29 page)

“Max?”

Still loads of shaky, he lifted his head. He’d taken her roughly, without foreplay. Filled her with his cum. He was going to get his ass handed to him, and she would be entitled to.

Annie grinned. “You were right, Max. There are certain occasions that call for dressed sex. This definitely was one of those.”

As he withdrew from her, his semen dripped out of her. Fuck, he’d never seen anything sexier in his entire life. With the tip of his cock pressed against her opening, he slid his still-rock-hard erection up and down between her swollen folds, spreading his semen all over her.

“Mine.”

When he managed to tear his gaze from her pussy, he realized her dress was twisted around her waist. Her thigh-highs were ripped, and she had marks from his fingers on her.

She looked totally satisfied.

He gathered her in his arms. “Let’s go to bed, Ace. I owe you soft and slow naked sex.”

* * * *

As far as Annie was concerned, soft and slow naked sex was just as spectacular. Everything with Max was. Afterward, he stayed inside her for a long while, kissing and caressing her. Telling her how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her. He was fantastic at foreplay, but the afterplay was even better.

Then Max withdrew from her, went to the bathroom, and came back with a warm cloth.

She stirred and tried to get up, feeling a bit awkward. “I can do this.”

He stopped her. “I know you can, but I want to. This is my job, Ace. Taking care of you is my privilege.”

She feared it would be embarrassing, but it wasn’t. The gentle way he touched her and how he looked at her, as if she was the most precious thing in the world, made her chest seize.

He cleaned her core and after drying her, he spooned her. They lay in bed, quiet, for a very long time.

She was drowsy and bone-tired, yet she had lots of questions. So many so, she didn’t know where to start, or if he would be willing to talk to her. “Max?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Yes?”

“What did he mean when he asked if you came to finish what your dad had started?”

When he spoke, his tone was somber. “At my mother’s funeral, Dad’s knuckles were all bloody. I asked, but he said it was nothing, that he’d had a score to settle. I always suspected, but I wasn’t sure. When my mother died, my father was called in as her still-legal husband. I went with him. The autopsy numbered a rather long list of injuries and broken bones, most of them old. Dad sent me home. Next day at the funeral, his knuckles were smashed.”

“Why did your mother leave you guys for that?” Annie couldn’t get over the image of that thug and the trailer park. Who in her right mind would abandon Nate Bowen and three little boys for a life of misery?

Max shrugged. “That’s the million-dollar question. Addicts aren’t really logical, are they? As I understand it, she left my biological father several times for other losers, but she always came back to him. Why, beats the shit out of me. My dad always said that one has to battle one’s own demons. My brothers think that dumping us was a very selfish act. I’m not sure. I’m extremely grateful she did. And that she stayed away. For the most part, that is. I believe Karl was behind the whole shit that day when they took me. Be that as it may, my dad came for me, so I spent only an evening in that damned trailer. I could have spent my whole life there.”

Annie shuddered. A whole life in that trailer subjected to those people. Max would have been broken.

He must have noticed her goose bumps, for he caressed her back and arm. “I’ve never told this to anyone. Much less shown it.”

“I’m honored you did. And you know what? Your mother walking out on you? It was her loss.”

His cell beeped and he reached for it. “Shit,” he said, after reading the message.

“What?”

“I have to go to Canada for ten days to shoot on location. Apparently the scandal has died out, and they’ve decided to go ahead with filming. It figures that now that I cut off the extensions, I have to go back.”

She smiled at him and then nuzzled his chest, trying to hide her disappointment. And her apprehension. Ten days without Max.

“You okay, Ace?” he asked, probably sensing her change of mood.

She lifted her face to him. “Max, this, between you and me, it’s a big deal for me. I understand you have girls left and right and you lead a completely different life, where groupies—”

He placed a finger on her lips, his expression hard. “This is a fucking big deal for me too. I’ve never had sex without condom. Ever. Or even wanted to.”

“This means exclusivity. Staying away from other women.”

“Baby, don’t be mistaken. From the first moment I kissed you, it meant exclusivity.”

Her heart tumbled. She sighed, leaning on his chest. So much had happened today, she was totally overwhelmed.

“It works both ways, you know, right?” he said after a while, his tone harsh.

“What?” Annie lifted her face, confused.

“Exclusivity. I need you to stay away from other men. Otherwise I’m going to go fucking insane in Canada.”

She nodded. “It goes without saying, Max.” She hadn’t even looked at another man. All she could see was Max.

His eyes were intense, boring in her. “Say it, nevertheless.”

She raised her right hand solemnly. “I, Ann Marie Patricia Vaughan Griffin promise to keep away from other men while mine is severing heads in Canada.”

“Wiseass,” he muttered, a smile tugging at his lips. He cupped her head and kissed her.

“Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for putting up with my family.”

He smirked. “Well, given the circumstances, I think we can agree your stepmothers are an improvement over my biological father. At least they fed us, right?”

Chapter Seventeen

“Do you want another bacon burger without the bun and the patty?” Penny asked, refilling Annie’s cup of decaf.

Annie smiled. “Yes, please, and make it extra heavy on the bacon. And a dash of chocolate syrup on the side.”

The baby had outgrown its aversion to sweets, but she was still craving crispy bacon. Even more now that Max wasn’t with her. He’d been gone for less than two days, and even though they texted constantly and spoke in the phone, she was missing him like crazy.

“A double ration of crispy bacon coming. What are you doing?” Penny asked, gesturing to the papers on the table.

“Working.”

She had been ready to give a report to her boss about Franke Enterprises when, buried among all the thousands of transactions and after weeks of hearing alarms bells, she’d found several irregularities in a particular nonprofit organization’s account. After that, it had been only a question of following the bread crumbs. On the plus side, that was keeping her busy.

At that moment, Christy and Cole entered the diner and headed for Annie’s table. “Ladies,” Cole greeted them.

“You staying, honey?” Christy asked her fiancé while she sat next to Annie.

He shook his head. “I’m going to go check on the guys at the condo.”

“Say, Cole,” Annie started, gathering all the papers from the table. “Do you happen to know why almost all the condos in my complex are ready but mine?”

“I have not the slightest idea what you are talking about,” he said, his face totally blank. After kissing Christy, he left the diner.

“He’s so in on it,” Annie mumbled. Holly’s condo was almost ready. Hers was still a mess. Although with everything else done, they would have to start fixing hers.

“Yep, he is. Get used to it. Bowens play by their rules,” Christy said. “By the way, how did it go at your dad’s?” With Max leaving and all, Annie hadn’t had time to speak with her friend.

“Surprisingly well,” she answered. “Dad didn’t notice. Barbara was very discreet, as always. Rowena and Dee Dee ate Max with their eyes and spewed their venom at the first occasion when no one was listening, congratulating him for knocking me up and advising him not to sign a single paper coming from my grandmother or a lawyer.”

“What bitches,” Christy fumed. “How did Max take it? Because I can tell you from experience, walking into the Vaughan world is a shock.”

“He was wonderful.” Annie didn’t think he was thrilled about her being a Vaughan, but he wasn’t withdrawing from her, as she’d feared at first.

“And your grandmother?”

“She held her head high and didn’t say a word about the pregnancy. Yesterday, though, Polly called on her behalf, and I was forcefully invited to have lunch with her.”

“No Charlene?” Christy smirked.

“Nope. Straight up for the big guns.” Polly handled the emergencies because she was almost as scary as Annie’s grandmother and didn’t take no for an answer.

“So? Did she disown you and tell you never to put a foot in the house?”

Annie wasn’t that lucky.

Her grandmother’s driver had picked her up from work and taken her to an upscale restaurant in downtown Boston, where the Vaughan matriarch had a permanent table reserved for her. Her grandmother had gotten straight to the point.

“How attached are you to this Mr. Bowen, Patricia? Because I know of several very desirable and well-positioned men who would gladly overlook your…condition.”

Annie had breathed deep and prayed for patience. People didn’t change, much less at age seventy-eight. No use getting worked up.
“Very attached.”

“All right, maybe we can polish him. He did have conversational skills, and the basic manners were there.”

“Max does not need any polishing, Grandma.”

“Grandmother, dear.”

She’d ignored her correction, like she always did, not that had deterred the old lady yet. “
Max is perfect the way he is
.”

Her grandmother’s lips had gone into a thin line. Thinner than usual.
“I see you’re going to be difficult about this. You understand he will disappear the second he realizes the prenup is armored, right?”

“He couldn’t care less about my money. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even know I had it before the other night. You’re confusing Max and me with your son and his wives.”

That had struck a sore cord.
“Patricia, don’t bring up your father’s misfortunes in his private life. I never approved.”

“Sorry,”
she’d apologized.
“But it’s too early to discuss marriage. He may not even want to marry me.”

Her grandma had looked at Annie’s belly and then back up.
“Too early? I beg to differ, darling. And he can’t evade his responsibility. Or better yet, let him evade it. You can do so much better.”

No one could do better than Max, but her grandmother would never understand, so she hadn’t even tried.
“Max would never evade his responsibility, but he doesn’t happen to be the father.”

The old lady had stilled. Her left eye had flash-twitched twice before she could suppress it.
“May I ask who is the father?”

For a second, Annie had considered letting it all out, but in spite of everything, she loved her grandma.
“You don’t want to know, trust me. Besides, he’s out of the picture.”

“My great-grandchild cannot be born out of wedlock.”

“You better start getting used to it, Grandma. There are much worse things in life than that.”

If her face had been anything to go by, then her grandmother hadn’t agreed. Annie was going to have to introduce her to the OGs in Alden. Maybe the Vaughan matriarch could learn a thing or two.

Christy’s voice pulled her out of her reverie and back to the present. “Annie? What did your grandmother say?”

“All things considered,” she told her friend, who was looking at her expectantly, “it went well. I’m still breathing; she’s still breathing. All is good.”

Holly came in with Rachel, and Penny brought a mountain of crispy bacon to the table.

“Having a bite before the book club, I see,” Holly said as they sat.

“How did you guys like Paul and his skills in putting out fires?” Christy asked.

They’d gone through Highlanders, bikers, billionaires, vampires, and werewolves. Now they were on firefighters.

Rachel reached for a strip of bacon. “These books are ruining me for real men. I think there are more chances to meet a true vampire than a man with half the skills of any of these heroes. Maybe we should move the book club here so that I can drown my sorrow in beer.”

“I absolutely agree,” Holly said.

The meetings always degenerated into very private matters. Annie didn’t want to know what would happen if they added alcohol to the mix. They would all get arrested.

Penny must have read her mind, for she said, “The sheriff would get my diner shut down.”

“Reading the books is fantastic, but afterward comes the humongous book hangover. And reality. Reality sucks,” Rachel muttered. “I hold you all responsible. I had lived without sex for so long, I had put it totally off my mind. Totally Forgotten. And I was happy. Imagine if it had been long since I was turned on, that when I…” Rachel lowered her voice. “You know, came, I thought I was having an ictus and almost called a doctor.”

The girls broke into laughter. Rachel was so damn funny. She was a tiny, pretty blond. She belonged in a stage, not in a garage desecrating the bowels of monster trucks.

“You’re exaggerating. Reality doesn’t suck. There are men like that out there,” Christy said, and Annie nodded.

Holly and Rachel looked at them, then at each other, and snorted.

“Of course there are. You both are fucking them. But believe us; they are the exception.”

Alden’s sheriff, looking quite gloomy, entered the diner and headed straight for them.

“Ladies.”

“Sheriff,” Holly greeted him. “Did you need anything? I left all the files on your desk.”

Adrian shook his head and turned to Rachel, his face sterner, if that was even possible. “Can I have a word with you?”

Rachel grimaced. “What now?”

“What else? The OGs, of course.”

“Can it wait until after the book club?”

“I want you in my office right away after it.”

“Yes, sir,” Rachel muttered from between clenched teeth as the gruff sheriff turned around and left the diner.