An Ounce of Hope (A Pound of Flesh #2)(55)

“I’ve got you, Gracie,” he husked. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

As she calmed and her body returned to the earth, his hands and face gradually moved away. “Fuck,” Max bit out after a moment where their heavy breathing was all that could be heard. “Christ, I needed that.”

Grace regained the use of her eyes just as Max dropped back onto the bed, making it bounce. His pants were back in place; while his arms spread wide, a small smile played on his face and he closed his eyes. The faint gleam of sweat across his chest looked good enough to lick. She imagined he tasted exquisite. Glancing down, Grace saw the remnants of Max’s orgasm, white and stretching from her belly button to her collarbone. Grace couldn’t remember seeing something so sensual, something that should have been dirty and gross, but just . . . wasn’t.

If anything, it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. It was freedom and hope. It represented what she’d overcome. It represented what she made Max feel, what she could do for him, what she was capable of doing to a man, this man, and for the first time in years, Grace’s confidence stood up a little straighter. She didn’t even feel the need to cover up her naked chest.

“Are you okay?”

Grace looked over at Max. His brow furrowed gently when he noticed where her attention was.

“Was it all right that I did that?” he asked, sitting up and reaching for some of the leftover toilet paper.

“It was . . .” Grace took the paper he held out to her but made no attempt to move or wipe Max off her skin. She stared at him. “It was hot as f*ck.”

Max’s laugh exploded out of him, making his face crinkle and his shoulders shake. “One orgasm and she’s got a mouth on her like a sailor.” He shook his head and rubbed his hands through his hair, making it stand up in a million and one different directions. “Well, hell, we might just have to try that shit again sometime.”

Grace grinned.

You bet your ass we will.





“So, do you have plans for July Fourth?”

Grace looked over at Ruby, who was running at her side. She was red in the cheeks and breathing hard, but she kept up with Grace, stride for stride, despite the two of them being running buddies for a grand total of four days.

From the ass crack of dawn until late every night, Max had been working with his uncle Vince out of town and, as a result, was too tired to do anything, least of all run. It wasn’t good news for Grace’s libido, but she tried to be understanding. Ruby had eagerly stepped in as Grace’s partner, citing the need to get rid of her muffin top and get ready for new bikinis. Grace couldn’t see even a hint of a muffin top on Ruby’s petite frame, but kept quiet. Ruby had always been nice to her, with the added extra of being really fun to be around.

“July Fourth? Not that I’m aware of.”

“Great! Wanna come to my dad’s cabin for a few days? There’s a group of us goin’. We do it every year. It’s by the lake so you can swim every day, we go out on the boat, we grill, cook s’mores, get drunk, fool around, plus the fireworks are incredible. It’s good fun.”

It sure did sound it; still, caution itched at Grace’s neck. She wasn’t working and she’d made no plans with Kai, knowing that he’d be jetting off somewhere with his new set of boobs or his buddies. “Um, I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on!” Ruby encouraged. “It’ll be fantastic. You’ll know most of the people there.” She started lifting fingers with each name. “Me, Josh, Dad and Mom, obviously, Caleb, Buck and a couple of his lady friends, and Max.”

That piqued her interest. Grace slowed to a walk, placing her hands on her hips. “Max is going?” She tried to hide the obvious curiosity in her voice, but from the glint in Ruby’s eye, she’d failed miserably.

“Mmhm,” Ruby replied with a smirk, still jogging on the spot. The cute, pink, bow-shaped clips she had in her hair to keep her short bangs back bounced as she did. “What’s going on with you two anyhow?”

Grace shook her head, the image of his orgasm all over her still fresh and still sexy as all get-out. “Nothing’s going on. We’re friends.”

Ruby’s mile widened. “You like him, don’t you?”

Grace cleared her throat and avoided Ruby’s smiling eyes by pretending to stretch. “Who are we talking about?”

Ruby snorted. “My cousin. Max. You know, the guy you’re always with, the guy you can’t stop looking at, the guy who lights up every time you walk into the room.”

Grace’s head snapped up. “He does not.”

“Ah!” Ruby retorted with a grin and a pointing finger. “But you’d like him to.”

Grace exhaled, not knowing whether to be relieved or hurt that Ruby was playing with her. She rubbed a palm down her face and kicked at a nearby stone, confusion drying her throat. Over the weeks, and with all the time she’d spent with him, it had slowly become apparent that her investment in the agreement she had with Max was tilting toward something less friends-only and more dangerous, something scary and new.

“Yeah,” she murmured toward the ground. “I like him.” The confession should have been freeing—it was the truth, after all—yet the words made Grace hollow. She looked up.