The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(190)

“Gladys,” I corrected him.

He grinned, his thumb caught on my lower lip and he muttered, “Whatever.”

Then he stopped talking apparently thinking his final point was made.

I stared at him and I did this for a long time. And I came to the conclusion that Max didn’t need to say any more.

His final point was made.

And I realized, very late, that he didn’t even have to talk to make it. He’d made his point hours earlier by showing up to take me “home”.

Though I decided not to share this with him. What I did decide was we had to talk about one more thing.

So I called, “Max?”

“Right here, honey.”

Yes, he was, right there, with me, in a cabin, by a river, fifty miles away from his house.

I closed my eyes then opened them and admitted, “You scare me.”

“You told me that before.”

“I have?”

“Yeah, baby.”

“When?”

“That first night I f**ked you.”

Oh yes, right, I was half asleep, I forgot about that. Of course, Max didn’t since he obviously had the memory of an elephant which, I figured, did not bode well for me.

He was still grinning, likely reading my thoughts on my face (which, I should add, also didn’t bode well for me) and his thumb went back over my lip before I asked, “What if this goes bad?”

“Like I said then, I can’t give you any promises but we’ll do the best we can.”

“Is that enough for you?”

He stared at me then he burst out laughing, collapsing on top of me for a second before his arms went around me and he rolled carefully, taking me with him until he was on his back and I was partly on top of him, partly pressed to his side.

I lifted my head, looked in his eyes and asked, “What’s funny?”

Still smiling big, he remarked in a way that I knew he was blatantly lying, “It cuts deep, Duchess, knowin’ you’re settlin’ for me.” His hand went into my hair and cupped the back of my head as my eyes got wide. He pulled my face closer and muttered, “But you should know, the answer is, yeah, it’s more than enough and, you settle for me, I’ll settle for that.”

Then he pulled my face even closer and he kissed me.

And then, apparently our conversation was over because he kissed me for a good long while, so long I totally forgot about our discussion. When he stopped kissing me, he turned out the light, settled in and told me to go to sleep. And his kisses were so good, his body so warm, he felt so good at my side, I was so exhausted, I just cuddled into him and did what I was told.

But I did it with that feeling of hope drifting back into my heart and this time, it drifted in with the clear intention of staying awhile.

Chapter Thirteen

Breakfast

I woke when Max’s heat moved away from my back, the weight of his arm gliding from around me. He did this carefully, with that exquisite gentleness unreal in such a powerfully-built man.

I didn’t open my eyes. I felt like I’d had around fifteen minutes of sleep and like I needed fifteen days to catch up.

And anyway, when Max was being gentle like that I thought it would be better to shut off the other senses and experience nothing but the feel of it.

I was sliding back into dreamland when I heard the distinct murmur of voices. The owners of the cabin complex might have taken pride in their facilities but the cabins themselves were a fair shade less well made than Max’s A-Frame. With the way I could hear the conversation, I knew the walls were paper thin.

“Nina had a rough night,” Max’s gravelly voice explained.

“Oh dear,” Gladys replied and my eyes flew open.

“And you are?” Norm asked.

“Max, Nina’s boyfriend,” Max answered.

“Nina’s boyfriend who left her alone all day yesterday to do nothing but stare at the river like her world had ended and then left her alone last night to have dinner with two old coots like us?” Norm asked, sounding somewhat surprisingly belligerent, and his tone, not to mention what he gave away about me spending the day pining for Max, made me throw the covers back and jump out of bed, ignoring the shot of pain that emanated through my ribs as I did so.

“Norm!” Gladys cried on a gasp.

“Yep,” Max replied, sounding not affronted but amused. “That’d be me.”

On Max’s remark I had made it to the door and I threw it open, rushing out into the living room.

“Is it eight thirty already?” I asked on a smile I hoped didn’t look fatigued.

Max, wearing jeans, his long-sleeved t-shirt but in bare feet, turned to look at me and when he did, his lips pressed together and weirdly, his ear tilted to his shoulder at the same time he was giving short shakes of his head.

Both Norm and Gladys were staring at me, for some reason openly gobsmacked.

Then Norm moved, luckily not quickly for I could see his intent and I was able to cry out “Max!” in time for Max to turn back to Norm and then duck clear of Norm’s flying cane.

“Norm!” Gladys screeched.

I ran forward as Max retreated, his torso swaying back to dodge the swipes of the cane Norm was wielding like a rapier as he advanced on Max.

I got in front of Max and threw my arms out, shouting at Norm, “What are you doing?”