"I suppose you were right. The silly little girl can't handle it."
We're both silent, and for a split second, I see the pain on his face before he moves toward me again.
"I said don’t touch me,” I say, stepping back.
His jaw tics like crazy. "I don't like hearing that."
"Get used to it," I whisper.
He takes another step toward me. "I didn’t fuck her."
Immediately, I hate hearing those words. I hate howmuch I wanted to hear them. I hate how they chip at the wall I've just built between us.
Arching my neck to look up into his eyes, I feel every cell in my body suddenly compress beneath his stare. "You can do whatever you want, Max. It's none of my business."
"Fuck," he growls before storming away from me. I watch him leave, my heart chasing after him; luckily, my body and mind are in control right now. He suddenly stops at the sliding door, spinning quickly to face me. "I. Didn't. Fuck. Her!"
After a few swallows, I manage to say, "You expect me to believe that?"
"I don’t expect anything!" He walks towards me so quickly I'm afraid he'll bowl me over, but he stops an arm's length away. "You’re the one with all the fucking expectations."
I glance at the grass for refuge because, once again, he's too much for me. Too consuming. "I just want to be alone,please."
"Look at me."
My breath shakes. "I can’t."
"I didn’t fuck her." He reaches for my hip again and his fingers coax me slowly towards him. Sighing, I let them take me closer because I want to seek comfort inhimnow. Comfort from him—in him...
Ugh.
I let Max press my body against his. "She was naked in your bed. The same bed we shared the night before. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
He rubs the length of my spine up to my neck. Gripping the back of it, he tilts my gaze to meet his. "That's why I didn't fuck her."
Shaking my head, I stare straight into his groggy eyes. "You're so full of shit."
His lips twitch with a grin. "Did you just swear, Little One?"
I mouth the word, "Shit."
He smiles for a split second. "What do you want from me? I want to hear you say it."
Breathing out loudly, all I can do is tell the truth. Even if I hate the truth. Even if it results in pain. "I wantallof you or none of you."
He lifts me into his arms and wraps my legs around his waist. "Okay."
I push out from his chest and frown at him. "Okay?"
His shrug is all confidence. "I can be monogamous."
"You?" My cheeks twitch with a laugh and then it's gone. "You’d need a straitjacket and one of those muzzles greyhounds have to wear because they chase and eat little animals."
A sleepy grin stretches across his cheeks. He moves his hands from my thighs to cup my backside, and I can't help imagining where those hands were last night. Cupping big breasts. Teasing Scarlett's nipples. The images churn my stomach.
"I do like to chase and eat little animals," he says with a purr to his voice.
I drown out that tone and how it makes me feel. "So, if you didn't sleep with her, what did you do with her?"
