He had a couple of tattoos that were covered by his uniform, yet when he wore regular t-shirts, she could see one peeking out of the bottom of the sleeve. She wasn’t sure where the others were.
She’d always been fascinated with his hair and eyes. While he kept it in the military crew cut style, when he would let it grow out a little, it was a black so dark that in certain lights it almost looked like a darker blue.
His eyes, fuck, that man’s eyes were so damn easy to get lost in. His eyes were an iced blue that melted her every time she’s looked into them.
Fuck a duck, she needed to get her mind off of him before she really did go climb that man like a mountain that needed to be explored. To hell with who else was here.
Desiree started thinking hockey stats until her mind and breathing evened out. Sleep taking her under its spell like a lullaby.
She woke up to it being dark and in her own bed. When she tried to roll over, she felt and arm tightened around her.
Her fight or flight mode started to kick in. Tensing up, she got ready to fight her way out of the hold.
“You okay, hellcat?” Max’s sleepy voice sounded behind her.
“Max?” Desiree’s heart skipped a beat.
“Who else would be in this bed making sure you were safe all night?” Max growled in her ear.
Desiree bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together at the way his voice affected her. Made it hard for her to think of a retort.
“Jason Momoa…” She quipped, trying to sound hopeful.
When Max growled low as he shifted and nipped her neck, she laughed. She couldn’t remember being this carefree with a man other than her brothers, Tiny, or Andrea’s little brother.
“You’re lucky you’re injured or I’d be showing you I”m better than Momoa.”
Desiree rolled over then pushed Max onto his back as she moved to straddle him before leaning down into his face. She bit her lower lip when she felt his hands grip her hip to hold her still.
“You’re lucky Teddy is down the hall, or I’d tell you to prove it.” Desiree challenged him.
Max gripped her hair and pulled her lips against his. “I meant what I said, Desiree. No matter how badly I want to sink ballsdeep into that sweet pussy of yours, I won’t do it unless we are in a relationship. A real one. That means dates, spending time together, highs and lows…together. I want the good days, the bad days, the disagreements, and the make ups. I won’t disrespect you or your brothers doing the booty call bullshit.”
“I know. I’ve thought about it…a lot while you were gone. I’m scared.”
Desiree hated to admit she was scared to Max. She nearly started to get pissed when the tears started to well up and spill over.
Max rolled them to the side, his arms around her as he held her tight. She didn’t know how, but she felt like Max understood.
“Scared of what? Talk to me hellcat.”
“Of not being good enough. I’m damaged goods, Max. You deserve so much better than someone broken like me.”
“First of all, I’m stopping you right there, Desiree. That’s Bradley’s bullshit spewing out of that mouth right now. You are worthy of whatever your heart wants. He wasn’t worthy of you. He was an insecure fucknut that should have ran down his mom’s leg. Every achievement you made in the time I knew you, I celebrated, quietly cheering you on. You earned every fucking tab you earned in the Army. You were better than half the men I served with in both the Rangers and Green Berets. Hell, you were better than half the men I know currently in Delta. I would have been proud and honored to have had you on my teams back then.”
Desiree silently cursed the man as his words hit close to home with her. She’d always thought he’d felt the same as Bradley.
“I’m not giving up the club.”
“I would never ask you to, hellcat.”
“I’m scared of things causing issues between you, Teddy, Tiny and Jose if things don’t work out between the two of us.”
“Are you expecting them to not work out between us?”
“No. I want them to, to be honest. That’s what scares me. You changing your mind down the road.”
“I’m not going to, Desiree. I know what I want. I’ve wanted you for the last eight years. That hasn’t changed over the years, it won’t change now that I have you. The ball is in your court.”
