Pieces of Us (Confessions of the Heart, #3)(78)

“Anything you make would be just fine.”

“How long have the two of us been settling for just fine?”

The shift in his tone came out faster than I was prepared for. This easy, cocky boy flipping a one-eighty.

Blue eyes flashed.

Savage possession.

I reared back in surprise.

And there was nothing I could do but whisper the admission into the dense air.

Unable to stop it.

Not sure I wanted to keep the reality of it from him. It needed to be said. “I’ve never been just fine, Maxon. Though I’m sure you were. Plenty of company to keep you warm at night.”

I didn’t mean for the bitterness to come through. But it was there.

Before I could make sense of it, he had me by the upper arms, and he spun me around, backing me into the counter and out of view of the boys. He towered over me, so powerful, muscles of those arms twitching with restraint.

Heat instantly exploded in the middle of us.

Flames raking at my skin.

I struggled to find a breath beneath the impact of him, but the only thing I managed to do was gulp down his presence, overflowing my lungs with the promise of sex and dominion.

“You think I was ever fine for a second without you? That my heart ever beat right? That my spirit was ever at peace?” He edged even closer. “Not for a second, Little Bird. Can’t fly without you by my side.”

My head shook slowly. “You’re wrong. You could always fly. Soar higher than anyone.”

My moon in the darkest sky.

“You just forgot to remember you had wings. That you had the power. I believed in you. Believed in us. You gave me away, Maxon. Why? For what?” I almost begged, moisture clouding my eyes with the way he was looking at me, with the scars that he’d left ripped open wide.

A patter of footsteps came scurrying our way.

I froze, not sure what to do, realizing I was pinned.

Dillon groaned. “Oh, man, is this what it’s gonna be like all the time now? You two kissin’ away? Sheesh.”

He was all childlike outrage.

Maxon’s eyes fired, still pinned on me for a beat, wrought with something so severe my knees nearly buckled beneath the force of it. Then he fixed on a bright smile, turned around, and swept Dillon off his feet.

And then he was . . . oh God . . . he was peppering a million kisses all over Dillon’s sweet, chubby face, making my son shriek with laughter.

“What? You don’t like kisses?”

“Kisses are gross!”

“You better get used to them.”

“Why, ’cause you’re a part of the team now?” Dillon asked, still howling between the kisses Maxon was smacking all over his face, trying to deflect the assault and desperate for more of it at the same time.

Maxon shifted his gaze back to me, slowing as he tucked my 5-year-old to his side. He held him tight, as if he wasn’t ever gonna let go.

“Yeah, Lil’ Dill. Because I’m a part of the team now. No getting rid of me.”





*



“In you go,” I told Dillon who crawled into the backseat. “Buckle up.”

“Do we have to go?”

“We do, it’s late.”

“But we don’t even got school yet, not for two whole weeks,” he argued, his eyes begging like a puppy dog’s as he stared at Maxon who was lingering around by my back.

“You might not have school, but I have work.”

“Come on, Mr. Mack, tell her it’s early. We could play Mario for like . . . fifteen more minutes. That’s it. I promise.”

I could feel amusement riding off of Maxon, his hands going up in surrender. “If your mom says it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”

“Ah, man, always a funsucker.”

“Always a troublemaker,” I shot back, playfulness pulling at the corner of my mouth as I bantered with my son who always had something to say.

The quiet one was just smiling soft, content and happy after the amazing night we’d spent inside the walls of Maxon’s house.

Dinner so easy.

Light.

Laughter and conversation coming from the four of us. As if we’d been simply catching up at the end of a day that was just like any other. Funny, when it felt completely monumental.

As if we’d just shared our first real meal as a family.

That in itself was terrifying.

I needed to get out of there before my body settled right in.

Straightening, I backed out.

Of course, because I was fumbling and nervous, I had to go and bump right into Maxon.

His big hands went to my waist to steady me, and he pushed his nose into my hair at the back of my neck, and oh God, a shiver was flashing across my skin.

“Whoa, there,” he murmured, rough voice sending another rash of chills skatin’ free.

I managed a feeble smile as I stepped out of the way, and Maxon dipped down so he could lean inside the backdoor of the car. He reached across and ran his fingers through Dillon’s hair. “See you soon, Lil’ Dill.”

“When?”

“As soon as I can.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Maxon’s attention swept to the seat closest to him, and Benjamin was just sitting there, smile so bright.