Raging Heart On (Lucas Brothers #2)(113)

I’m not sure you can prepare for someone like Tess. Had I know she was my future, I would have chosen differently. I would have still ended that sorry son of a bitch, but I would have played it smarter, I would have called in markers and done it safer.

My finger traces the delicate curve of her neck and shoulder. She’s so small and beautiful. I want more time with her. I want…

“Max?” she whispers sleepily. My dick has yet to be soft around Tess. I have three stages around her, hard, harder, and f*ck if I don’t get relief I’m going to die. That stage is what I imagine overdosing on Viagra would be like. Four-hour erection? Tess has no problem inspiring them from me. With just her whispering my name I move into stage two, and I’m knocking on the door of stage three. I want to groan out loud, from the torture.

“If things were different, I’d put my mark on you,” I tell her before I can stop myself.

“Your mark?” she asks hugging me tighter, and I’m in no hurry to move from here. This feels a lot better than her fear of me yesterday.

“A tattoo. I’d want you to wear me on your body,” I tell her, kissing her just above her ear.

“Do a lot of women wear your mark?”

“I own a tattoo shop, Kitten.”

“Oh…right,” she whispers, and her voice is a strange mixture. I’m not good at deciphering women, I’ve never needed to be, but I think I hear the disappointment in hers. I smile.

“Not one woman has my name on her though, and that’s what I want on you, Kitten. My name, marking your skin. My name a part of you, so that any son of a bitch who comes near you, knows you’re mine, you’ll always be mine.”

She grows still, and I figure I’ve gone too far. Then her soft voice surprises me, “Would you wear me? I mean my name?”

I don’t even have to think about it. “Absolutely, Kitten. Absolutely.”

“We could still do it,” she whispers, and the temptation is so strong. I beat it down.

“We need to get going. It’s dangerous to stay in one place for too long,” I tell her helping her to slide off of me. I can’t allow myself to live in the dream world that tries to weave around me. I have a road already laid out ahead of me, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. I need to keep reminding us both of that.

“Where are we headed?” she asks sometime later. We’re walking towards Holy Hills, it’s an area near Ormond, and it’s also where the Vipers have their compound. I don’t know exactly, what I’m going to do, but I know Marcum will have my back and I’m going to need his help to survive. I look over at Tessa. I still want to survive, I’m trying to let go of the dream she promises, but I can’t, not yet, not entirely. Somewhere deep down inside, there’s a little spark of hope that burns from just being around Tess.

“I’m going to call in some markers to make sure we get you returned home safely.”

“You don’t need to do that; it’s not me they’re after, Max. You shouldn’t indebt yourself to anyone because of me.”

“They owe me, I just never cared enough before to call in the marker.”

“So, why do it now?” she persists, and I think about ignoring the question, but I don’t.

“I would rather not get shot to death in front of you, Tess.”

She’s walking beside me, but at my blunt words I can see her stumble in my peripheral vision.

“If you give yourself up, they won’t. I mean, we could tell them you were saving me, and we were walking back to turn yourself in. They wouldn’t have to know anything else, Max.”

“It must be nice living in your dream world, Kitten. I’m an escaped convict with a pretty woman who has been missing for days. They are definitely going to shoot first and ask questions later. Besides, I’m starting to think I want to be free.”

“You could get parole, Max. It might take a little bit of time for a new hearing, but I would testify for you. You could get parole, I know it.”

I listen to her words, and the hope laced in them, and I know she believes what she is saying. I also know that the courts aren’t stupid, and even with her on my side, parole is a long shot, after breaking free from jail for a few days. There’s also no guarantee. I could rot away for years in that hellhole. Before, it didn’t bother me, but knowing Tess is on the outside, and I can’t take care of her, or watch over her, would slowly kill me from the inside out. I need to think. Problem is, I have trouble doing that around her.

“Please, Max,” she whispers, her hand on my arm.

“Are you forgetting I just killed two people and not a day ago you were scared of me?” The devil inside of me makes me remind her. Forces her to acknowledge our differences.

“They were trying to hurt me, and he was going to kill you. We could explain, Max. It would be extenuating circumstances. We have to try.”

I turn to look at her, and it doesn’t seem real. Maybe it’s the intensity of the situation; I don’t know. It feels as if we’ve been together a lot longer than we have. The plea in her eyes grabs me, and even though I know I can’t give her what she wants, I need to reassure her. The lie comes so easily. The relief on her face is my payoff.

“We’ll hold up at Marcum’s for a day or so, and I’ll think about it, Tess.”