An Ounce of Hope (A Pound of Flesh #2)(56)

Ruby was standing closer, no longer moving. She smiled gently. “Max is a decent guy. He’s messed up, which isn’t surprising given what he’s been through, but he has a good heart.”

Grace nodded in agreement. “He does.”

Ruby crossed her arms. “You could be good for him.”

“I don’t know.” Grace sighed.

He’d told her, in no uncertain terms, that he couldn’t give her anything but his body. A few weeks ago, Grace had been fine with that—and she still was. Sometimes. Other times, when his hands were on her . . . She gave her head a shake and breathed. She knew she was being ridiculous. It wasn’t anything other than excitement she was feeling. Excitement about the progress she was making with intimacy, at the leaps she’d made being with a man. Besides, she knew, deep down, she wasn’t ready for anything serious, either. It was just . . . Max made her feel ready.

“Look, come to the cabin,” Ruby said quietly. “See what happens. Max is always chill when he’s at the lake. You two can maybe have some fun.” She cocked an eyebrow. “If you get my meaning.”

Grace laughed, shielding her heated cheeks with her hands. Yeah, she got Ruby’s meaning and, she had to admit, if going to the cabin meant she and Max could be alone to have some more “fun,” then she was all for it. She could brush aside her confusion and treacherous emotions for now.

Hiding her feelings, good or bad, was not a new thing for her or her heart.

The drive up to the cabin was as long and hot as it always was. Max was grateful he wasn’t the one behind the wheel for once. He was sitting in the back of his uncle’s pickup, alongside Ruby and Josh, admiring the views and looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. He couldn’t wait to get in the lake. It was amazing this time of year, and the treks into the mountains were great for walks or runs. He’d have to show Grace. She’d appreciate it for the photography potential.

When Max had learned that Grace would be joining them all at the cabin, he’d been pleased. He was genuinely happy that she’d made friends with Ruby and that everyone had welcomed her so thoroughly. But that was just his family. They were cool like that. He liked that they liked her and that she was becoming less and less timid, becoming braver, more inclined to take on new challenges. He was proud of her when he heard her sass the way she did when it was just the two of them.

He just didn’t like it when she did it with Deputy Asswipe.

Max hadn’t peeked at the truck following theirs. He’d managed to ignore the urge for at least thirty minutes already and he wasn’t backing down now. Nope. He didn’t give a flying shit that Grace was in Deputy Asshole’s ride with Buck and two random women. Not at all.

He fidgeted, checking his cell. No signal. Damn mountains.

He glanced back.

Buck waved back wildly between the front seats, nudging Grace, who laughed and waved, too.

Fucker.

Max noted the deputy’s sly expression and clenched his fist. He understood that Uncle Vince had known the deputy for a long time, but did the prick really have to join them at the lake? The answer was apparently yes, since, as Ruby explained, he’d been doing so for the past four summers. Whatever. Max only just managed to resist the urge to flip the bird or write out a text message to show the jerk later, describing in detail how Grace’s tits tasted and felt on his tongue, or what his orgasm looked like all over her skin, or the smell of her body after she’d come. But that might have been a tad overzealous.

Nevertheless, those particular images had entertained Max and his cock no end for days. Dammit, he couldn’t wait to get Grace alone again, so he could see what else she had lurking under that innocent quiet of hers. The tigress he’d glimpsed was ridiculously hot, and Max knew that once he got the chance to tear away the rest of her apprehension, she’d be unstoppable.

The man she’d end up with would certainly have a tomcat on his hands. He just hoped to God that it wasn’t Deputy AssBandit. For whatever reason, the dude rubbed Max the wrong way and how he looked at Grace, as if she were a piece of meat or something, made Max’s teeth grind. He wasn’t good enough for her and Max was more than prepared to set that shit straight anytime the prick wanted.

Thirty minutes later, with a barrage of hootin’ and hollerin’ from the truck’s occupants, Max’s uncle pulled up outside the cabin. The place hadn’t changed one bit since Max’s last visit, twelve years before. Predominantly logged, with a few modern metal and glass embellishments that Uncle Vince added over the years, the six-bedroom cabin sat one hundred feet back from the water, a gorgeous lake three miles long and one mile wide. Max had spent many a summer swimming, fishing, and boating on that lake with his uncle and his father, and as he stepped out of the truck and took in the beauty of it, nostalgia trembled through him. The memories he had at the cabin were happy ones, trouble-free ones, ones that every kid should have.

“Penny for them.”

Max startled at the sound of Grace’s voice. She was standing at his side in a pair of denim shorts, a pink tank top, and matching flip-flops. As always, her toes were painted the exact same color as her outfit.

“Nice ride up?” He cocked an eyebrow over his shades.

She shrugged. “Buck was entertaining as hell. Caleb wouldn’t let us put music on. Good music, at least. His tastes leave a lot to be desired.”