Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Ecstasy gathered low in my belly, tension coiling my entire body. My legs clamped around him, and I writhed against his firm, steady hold on my wrists. He pounded into me, losing himself to the same primal abandon that’d claimed me. I screamed into his mouth as the pleasure crested, ripping through me in a tidal wave. My core contracted around him as the orgasm claimed me with blinding force. White washed over my vision, bliss bursting across my mind so that my entire being sang with it.
My release triggered his, and he shouted against me as he drove deep one last time, surrendering to my claim over him. He was mine: his pleasure, his body, his heart. He might not be ready to speak the words aloud, but I knew it deep in my soul.
Max loved me just as fiercely as I loved him.
CHAPTER 4
Max
I collapsed onto my couch, breathing hard. Allie instantly cuddled up against me, barely breaking contact for a heartbeat. Impossibly, she seemed to crave our nearness as much as I did.
She wasn’t scared of me. Not even after I’d threatened to murder Nikolai right in front of her.
What had I been thinking?
I’d seen that bastard hovering over her, and a red haze had descended over my mind. All I could think about was eliminating the threat, ending the Russian scum who would hurt my sweet Allie. Just like the men that his father had ordered to hurt my mother.
“Hey,” she said gently, her soft fingertips featherlight as they skimmed around my scar. “I’m right here. I’m safe with you.”
The rage and pain must’ve been plain on my face. Allie shredded my defenses like no one else, seeing straight through me. Maybe it was because I innately sensed that I didn’t need to keep those defenses up when I was around her. She would never turn a cruel word against me, never drive a dagger in my heart with a brutal insult or cold dismissal.
I’d never known anyone like her. She was my own personal miracle.
I stoked her silken hair, handling her with awe. A small smile curved her lush lips, and she leaned into my tender touch. She looked practically angelic, glowing in the aftermath of our harsh, desperate union.
Her ethereal beauty made our surroundings muddy into something impure and shabby, far too grubby for her perfection. A frown tugged at my mouth as I fully took in the sight of her nestled on my threadbare couch. The dim bulb overhead did little to illuminate her delicate features—two of the lights had gone out, and I hadn’t bothered replacing them. I hadn’t bothered to keep the studio apartment very neat, either. It didn’t bother me; I was too focused on my mission against her father to worry about the mess. And it wasn’t as though I ever brought anyone back to this shithole, so I wasn’t concerned with what company might think.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sensitive to my shifting moods as ever.
I pulled her closer on instinct, tucking her face to my chest. “I shouldn’t have brought you here,” I grumbled. “You deserve better.”
I’d fucked her against the wall like an animal, uncaring of our surroundings; all that’d mattered was her.
She tugged against my gentle hold on her cheek so that she could sit upright. I smothered a wince as she glanced around us. “This is where you live?”
There was no judgment in her tone, only curiosity.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Like I said, I shouldn’t have brought you here. I wasn’t thinking. I saw that bastard near you, and all I could think about was getting you away from him.”
She blew out a sigh. “Thank you for taking me away from there. Niko didn’t hurt me, but I don’t feel safe at my place right now. I’m glad you brought me here. Thank you for trusting me.”
“I wish I could take you someplace nicer,” I admitted. This apartment had only ever been a place to crash, and it showed. There were no personal effects around the sparse space, no individual touches.
“Where we are doesn’t matter to me.” Her pale green eyes were wide and earnest. “I just want to be with you, Max.”
“This place was all I could afford when I moved out of my family home,” I confessed, drawn to explain. “After the fire, I… Well, I knew I had to get out of that house.”
She threaded her fingers through mine, anchoring me to the present. The searing heat, the phantom kiss of fire, on my face faded.
“I sold my Ferrari to get some cash. I’ve been living off those funds for a couple years. I had to make the money stretch.”
My father had cut me off after he’d disciplined me. He’d probably expected me to remain in the house and serve him, but I couldn’t bear to spend one more minute in that hell. Once I’d healed enough to get out of bed without vomiting, I’d gotten the hell out.