Page 106 of Maximus

“Eva.” My name sounded rough, like it had been pulled from the depths of his soul.

“You’ve already given me the one thing that no one else ever has. You make me feel protected. You don’t hide that you care about me. You’re honest with me. But more than any of that, one thing I’ve never had, not ever, is hope. You give me that, so you’ve given me everything I could ever need. Will you trust me to give that back?”

“I do trust you.”

Four words that made me want to weep in happiness and fist bump the air in excitement. Thankfully, I did neither.

“If you trust me, then why do I feel like if I make one move, you’ll shatter?”

“Because until this very moment, I’d never known what it felt like to be cared about.”

“I care,” I whispered, too overcome with emotion to say anything else.

His eyes closed and his forehead dropped to mine and his lips nibbled on mine, effectively cutting off our talk. Because when his tongue lashed out and licked my bottom lip, every part of me quivered from my toes to my fingertips.

“Tighten your legs around me and tip your hips.” Gone was my sweet Max and back was the master and commander of my body.

I did as he asked and his dick slid deeper.

“Goddamn, Eva, so fucking tight.” His hoarse, rough voice sent zaps of electricity through my body, making my hands tighten in his hair and my hips thrust up to meet his strokes.

“Harder.”

“Oh, no, baby, we’re taking our time. By the time I’m ready, you’ll be begging.”

“I’ll beg now.”

Max shoved his face in my neck and I would’ve mourned the loss of his gorgeous blue eyes staring into mine, except then I would’ve missed it when his body started shaking and his laughter danced across my skin.

“Baby, we’re nowhere near you begging yet. But you will be.”

And beg I did.

I begged him every time he brought me to the brink of release then slowed, only to start the climb all over again. And by the time he finally let my orgasm break free, I was a sobbing mess.

Completely wrecked—drenched in sweat, limbs limp, and out of breath. But mostly my chest burned with so many emotions I didn’t know what to do with them.

“I…”

“You what, honey?” Max asked against my throat where his mouth was still causing havoc on my senses, making it hard to concentrate.

“Nothing.”

Max lifted his head and our eyes locked.

God, I could spend the rest of my life just like this and die happy.

“Do you feel it?” he whispered.

My throat clogged, leaving me speechless, so I just nodded.

“Good. I do, too.”

His thumb brushed away the tears as they rolled down my cheek. This was a whole new side of Max, and I couldn’t decide which I liked best—his hard-edge, tough exterior or this sweet, gentle side. The truth was, I just plain loved Max and all of his many facets.

“So beautiful,” he murmured. “When we get home from Alaska, there’s a lot we need to talk about.”

I wasn’t sure what his talk would entail, but with Max still hard inside of me, his body cocooning mine, I was too relaxed to ask.