Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(113)

“He’s not stupid,” I said quietly as I brought my drink up to my lips and took a sip through the straw.

“Excuse me?” Crystal asked as though I had offended her by addressing her at all.

“I said,” I paused, as I geared myself up to intentionally raise my voice, “he’s not stupid. But you sure as shit are if you think he's falling for your bullshit.” My eyes locked on hers, beckoning her to battle. Tina sat up a little straighter behind me, getting herself ready in case this turned ugly.

“Please, by the time I'm done with him, he'll be so smitten he'll barely be able to see straight. And after I get him back to his place tonight, he’ll be hooked.”

“Better watch out for his whore sniffing dogs,” I muttered.

“What the f*ck did you just say to me?” Crystal stood up taller and entered my personal space. Bad move, Sybil.

“I’m pretty sure you heard me. You stay the f*ck away from Max. He’s too good for you, so catch the next Greyhound back to Trampsylvania." I was off my stool in an instant, pushing back into the space we now shared.

“You’re just jealous. I know all about how you tried to seduce him last year. And it clearly didn’t work. Don’t hate on me because I'm about to get what you couldn’t.” Her lips twitched into a cruel smile. She thought she had really zinged me with that one.

“I don’t want to be with Max.” My voice was low, but firm.

“Bullshit. It’s written all over your face. You want him. But you can’t get him.” She backed away from me slightly and folded her arms across her chest, assuming the position of victory.

That’s when I verbally launched on her. “I don’t want to be with Max because he deserves better than me. And he sure as shit deserves better than you. He’s a good man. A great man, actually. So if you think for two seconds that I’m going to sit here and let you hurt him, you’ve got another thing coming. I will go to prison for murdering your skanky ass before I let you anywhere near him.” My eyes bore into her, daring her to test me. And as I watched her face, I saw it change slightly. I silently began congratulating myself on the verbal lashing when I heard a throat clear.

“A great man, huh?”

My body tensed instantly at the sound of his voice. I turned slowly and gazed up into those blue eyes I knew so well. Fuck. Me.

"Uh, that . . . that was . . . umm, how much of that did you hear?" I finally choked out.

"Enough," Max said, clearly irritated. "Outside. Now. We need to talk." He grabbed my hand and pulled me easily from the bar. His pace was difficult to keep up with. I would've been silently celebrating my success at getting Max away from Crystal if I hadn't been so nervous. He was angry, and there weren't many creatures in the animal kingdom that were more daunting than a pissed off Max Samson.

"Max, wait," I pleaded as he pushed open the bar doors, still yanking me along behind him.

He turned right and guided me around to the rear of Flanagan's. It was pretty secluded there , since the restaurant backed up to a bunch of trees.

This is going to be bad. Really bad.

Once we reached the back, Max used my forward momentum to spin me around and force me up against the wall in front of him. He then put two arms on either side of my head, caging me in. "Tell me what the hell that was."

I was in a state of shock. The dominance Max exuded was hot as hell. Pair that with his proximity and I was damn near orgasmic. "I was . . . I was defending you."

"Don't bullshit me, Lily. That's not all you were doing. What you said, did you mean it?" His voice was stern, and it made me even wetter.

"Which part?" My brain was short-circuiting, and it was allowing incredibly stupid shit to come out of my mouth.

He bent his elbows and brought his body in tighter to mine. His voice was a deep whisper when he finally spoke. "Do you really think I could do better than you?"

I met his gaze, though the way his eyes seared into me, I was finding it difficult to breathe. My chest rose and brushed against his hard body. My nipples puckered immediately, and my tongue darted out to moisten my lips. "I know you could do better than me, Max. You always could have."

He brought his hand up to cup my jaw. "Lily, when are you going to get it? There is no better than you."

I barely had time to process his words before his lips crushed against mine, the hand that had been on my face now twisting in my hair, holding me firmly in place. I couldn't hold back a moan of sheer bliss as he rocked his erection into me, making it clear that he still wanted me. In every way.

He moved both hands to cup my ass and lifted, causing my legs to instinctively wrap around him. His mouth was everywhere: my lips, my jaw, my ear, my neck. My skin was ablaze wherever he touched me. This was the feeling I'd been missing. I was finally alive.

"I want to make one thing very clear," he murmured, his lips against my skin. "You and I are going to have a do-over. I'm going to take you against this wall, just as I did in that airport a year and a half ago. But this time, when we’re done, I get to keep you." He pulled back slightly to meet my eyes. "Do you understand? You'll be mine, Lily. Only mine."

I summoned all the strength I could and returned his gaze with passion equal to his. Maybe greater. "Under one condition." He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to name my terms. I smiled at him, a smile meant to hold all the promise in the world. "You'll need to be mine too."