Raging Heart On (Lucas Brothers #2)(156)

“I haven’t forgotten! You pushed me away, Max!”

“I was trying to keep you from tying yourself to someone who might never be able to be there for you!”

“You were wrong!”

“Maybe so! But I sure as hell have been doing my best to make it up to you!”

“You destroyed me! I cried for months! It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest!”

“You don’t think I felt the same, Tess?”

“It was your choice, Max! That’s the difference! You decided what was best, and you did it!”

“To protect you, woman!”

“I didn’t ask for it! I asked to go away with you! You decided against that without listening to me! Then when things didn’t go according to your grand design, Mad Max struck again! You decided to freeze me out of your life. It didn’t matter what I wanted! You decided you knew what was best for me, yet again!”

“Tess!”

“What happens if I let you in again Max? What happens when you decide that things are too difficult again? What happens when you chicken out?”

“Is that really what you think of me, Tess? Do you think so little of me?”

His words do nothing but increase my anger. How can he say that to me? What gives him the right to say that to me?

“Wrong again, Max! It’s you who thinks so little of me! It’s you who thinks I am so weak that I can’t stand beside you no matter what!”

He looks at me, really looks at me, and I don’t know if my words have finally made it through, or if it’s something else. He walks over to me, and he does something he hasn’t done in so long I’ve almost forgotten how much I love it. He wraps his hand around the side of my neck, and he pulls me in close to him.

“It was never about you. It was what I didn’t want for you. What would have happened, Tess, if I never got out? If the time we had together before was all we were ever going to get. How would it have been fair to you to live like that?”

The pain and emotion in his voice cuts through my hurt and anger. I take a breath and try to make him see what he did.

“What if I get sick tomorrow, Max? Hell, what happens if I lay down tonight and don’t wake back up? If our past is all that we ever have, would the fact that I’m not here make it hurt less? Or would you rather at least have me to talk with, to know that I am still here in whatever form, and I still care?”

“You will not get sick. Do you hear me, Tess? You will not get sick. You won’t even think about that shit.” His fingers contract against my neck as he pulls me closer to him. His body shakes as he pulls my face against his chest. “You won’t get sick, Tess. You won’t leave me.”

My hand grasp his hips, and I close my eyes. He loves me. However warped his thoughts were, I can understand them. Listening to him talk, maybe I would have done the same. I can’t say. I only saw things from my point of view.

“I won’t leave you, Max. You love me.”

“Love’s not a strong enough word for how I feel about you, Tess.”

“Then show me,” I tell him, pressing my lips against his chest.

“Tess?” He pulls back, questioning me.

“Make love to me, Max. I miss you.”

“Are we okay now?” He asks; those beautiful eyes of his looking down at me—searching.

“We’re more than okay.”

“God, I’ve missed you, Kitten.”

“Then, show me,” I dare him and wait to see what happens next.





Max

After going for so long, feeling as if everything was wrong, it’s surreal to know that finally…finally, things are clicking into place. I bend down and place my lips against Tess’s. The taste of her is familiar, but it’s been so long since I’ve had it, that I can’t stop. I push my fingers through her hair and tighten them in it. The texture, the feel, along with her taste; combine to set my blood on fire. My tongue thrusts into her mouth, not asking for entry, taking it. I ravage her mouth in the same manner, owning it. Showing her, that regardless of what has gone down in the past, she is and always will be mine. She’s right there with me, taking what I give and doing her best to match me.

When we break apart she’s breathing so hard her body is shaking slightly. Her nipples are tight, hard nubs straining through her clothes, her cheeks are blushed with color and her lips are already swollen. My dick is already straining, and my balls are tight with the need to release. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex; since I’ve been inside Tess, and I know this won’t last long. There’s just no way. I need her too much. I take two steps away from her. She’s a drug that is clouding my head. I need to clear it if I have any hope of making this last longer than a couple of minutes.

I don’t ask, I just reach over and grab her shirt on each end of her collar and pull it apart. Buttons pull, release, or pop free. Her breasts are larger than I remember. She’s stopped breastfeeding Maddy, but maybe that still affects things. I undo the clasp at the center of her bra and Tess helps me by taking what’s left of her shirt off and then throwing her bra down to join it. My thumb goes to tweak her nipple, brushing it gently. Tess’s fingers are pushing into my hips, and when I do squeeze her nipple, her nails claw into me, making my dick throb in anticipation.