Heart to heart.
He carefully laid me back down onto the bed, never breaking the contact of our mouths. We weren’t rushed as we had been before. Something had changed.
And I knew instinctively thatwehad changed.
That I wanted to trust him. With all of me.
Eventually our slow, languid touches became more heated, and soon I was burning alive in Maxx’s unquenchable flame. I heard the rip of the foil packet and then the slight pressure as he pressed himself against me once more.
This time I didn’t stop him. I spread my legs to accommodate him. My fingers dug into his back as he pushed deep inside me. We both gasped as he buried himself to the hilt.
Maxx looked down at me, his eyes surprisingly bright. Were those tears?
I reached up and brushed away the stray wetness on his cheek. He didn’t move as we lay there, as close as two people could possibly be, our noses touching, our lips brushing against one another.
“I love you, Aubrey. I love you so much,” he said in a tormented sigh, as though the words were somehow painful.
I curled my hand around the back of his neck and brought my legs up to wrap around his hips. Maxx groaned as I moved just a fraction of an inch.
“I love you, too, Maxx. More than anything,” I said, giving him the words he had always needed to hear.
chapter
twenty-four
aubrey
afterward, we lay in bed, trying to catch our breath, silent and heavy from the moment we had just experienced together. We were both exhausted, tangled together in my sheets. Maxx traced lazy circles on my back, making me giggle. The air was warm with renewed promises and tangible hope.
“To love or have loved, that is enough,” he whispered into my hair.
“Where’s that from? I like it,” I asked, smiling into his skin.
“Les Misérables. It’s a personal favorite.”
I smiled, my eyes drifting closed. This moment was as close to perfect as I could imagine.
Then my bedroom door flew open, and we were scrambling to cover ourselves.
“Aubrey, do you have a moment, I need to talk—” Renee’s words drifted off as Maxx quickly pulled the blanket over his body.
“Uh, can you give us a minute, Renee?” I said, my voice sounding strangled as I saw the look of total shock on my best friend’s face at the sight of Maxx... naked. And me... naked.
“Yeah, okay. Sorry,” she mumbled, and closed the door with a decisive slam.
“Shit,” I muttered, getting out of bed and rooting around for my clothes. Maxx watched me pull on my pants and shirt.
I struggled with my buttons, already trying to think of how I could possibly justify having Maxx here, like this. How was I going to explain to Renee and, dear God,Brooks, that I was willing to give Maxx another chance?
That we were together, after I had been adamant that he would never be in my life again?
I felt like a total hypocrite. A liar.
My postsex euphoria was murdered on the spot.
And then I felt Maxx’s hand on my arm, and I startled at the contact. “It’ll be okay,” he said, once again reading my mind.
I gave up on trying to fasten the buttons on my shirt and pulled it back over my head, opting for a simple T-shirt instead. I was feeling edgy, not sure what I was going to have to face when I left my room.
