The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(51)

“She’s wearin’ heels, boy, but she’s five foot seven, you got five inches and at least a hundred pounds on her,” Max replied and I figured he was being a might bit generous with the weight but I wasn’t going to correct him, mostly because he wasn’t done talking. “And, lastly, she’s a woman. You don’t ever strike a woman in anger.” Damon continued glaring and Max continued speaking. “I’m feelin’ generous since you’re bleedin’, so I’ll point out you should learn a lesson from this. A man hurts your woman, you take yours from that man. You never take it from your woman.” Damon just kept glaring at him so Max asked, “You got me?”

To which Damon muttered, “Just f**k off.”

Max’s back was to me so I couldn’t see his face but he didn’t speak and I suspected he was examining Damon to see if he was really that dumb. Deciding that Damon was indeed really that dumb, Max shook his head, turned and walked away.

“Here’s your bags.” The lady who ran to get them handed both to me.

“Thanks, um…?” I said, looking at her face.

“Jenna.”

“Thanks, Jenna,” I whispered, she nodded to me and I led Mindy to the Jeep.

The lights flashed as we walked to it and I knew Max was behind us. I helped her into the back, tossed our purses to the seat beside her, moved to the passenger side door and saw Max there.

“You okay?” I asked, looking at him but he didn’t answer.

His fingers and thumb caught my chin and he tipped my head up to look at me in the outside lights. His face, I noted, was no less scary and it got scarier when the entirety of it went hard and tight when he looked at my cheekbone.

“Max, I’m okay,” I whispered but I wasn’t. Now that the commotion was over, my cheek stung like crazy.

“Need to get ice on that soon’s we can,” he muttered.

“Mindy should stay at your place. That man is… I don’t trust him.” I was still whispering.

“Yeah.” He was still muttering. “She’ll stay with us. Get in, I’ll talk to Becca, I want her stayin’ somewhere else tonight too. I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

He let my chin go and the backs of his fingers drifted along my jaw before he moved away and jogged to Becca.

I got in and turned to Mindy. “You’re staying at Max’s, okay, darling?”

“Yeah,” she said, looking out the window.

“Mindy, look at me, sweetheart.”

She didn’t look at me. “He hit you.”

“I’m okay.”

“He hit you. I saw it. Becca saw it. Max saw it. Everyone saw it.”

“Sweetheart, I’m okay.”HESHEHshehe

She started crying silently, I knew because her body was moving with her sobs and I crawled through the two front seats and got close beside her, pulling her into my arms.

Max got in and looked around his seat to us, his face, even in the shadows, I could see was still angry. Mindy didn’t lift her head or stop crying.

“I’m going to ride back here with Mindy, is that okay?”

His eyes went to Mindy in my arms, her face in my neck and he nodded.

“Buckle up, Duchess,” he said quietly.

I nodded back, buckled Mindy first, used the middle seat buckle for myself and held her shaking with tears frame all the way back to the Max’s house.

Chapter Six

Somethin’ Else

I was slightly jostled but I was comfortable, warm and mostly asleep so I didn’t let it bother me. I could also hear a tone which was familiar but I didn’t let that bother me either.

Then I heard a deep, gravelly voice quietly say, “Yeah?” but I didn’t let that bother me either.

I also listened when the voice went on, still quietly. “Yeah, she’s here but she’s sleepin’.” Pause. “Yeah, you want me to have her call you?” Pause while the sleep slid from me, it hit my consciousness that it was Max’s deep, gravelly voice, it was his bed and his body that were making me comfortable and warm and that the familiar tone was my mother’s ringtone.

Then my eyes flew open and I shot up to an elbow, my thigh still thrown over Max’s, my hand sliding up to his ribs when I pulled up.

Max’s clear gray eyes locked on me.

“She’s awake,” he spoke into my phone.

I started panting.

“Hang on,” he said to who I assumed was my mother then he held the phone to me. “You wanna talk to your Mom?”

I took my hand from his ribs and snatched my phone away. Then I sucked in breath and put it to my ear.

“Mom?”

There was silence on the line.

“Mom, you there?”

More nothing and then, “Neenee Bean, are you in bed with a man with an amazing voice?”

I closed my eyes tight then twisted, getting up on my bottom, my knees coming to my chest.

“Mom,” I said, opening my eyes.

“Holy cow, sweetie, holy… holy cow.”

“Mom, um…” I twisted and looked at the clock, seeing it was seven thirty-two and also seeing Max lying on his back; the covers down to his waist; one hand behind his head, the muscles in his bicep well-defined and naturally flexed; his chest exposed to the na**d eye, nearly searing my retinas with its magnificence; and his eyes in his soft face on me. I took this all in, the searing sensation in my retinas burning a direct path southward and I twisted back saying, “It’s early. Can I call you later?”