Page 51 of Maximus

I nodded but didn’t say anything because there was nothing to say.

“If you want to go back home, I’m sure we could talk to Tex, see if—”

“I don’t have a home.”

Max’s fingers tightened painfully around mine and his whole body turned to stone. The vibe in the room turned suffocating, and once again, Max’s mode shifted.

“We’re gonna fix that, too,” he growled and stepped away. “Get you and the boys ready. We’ll leave in an hour.”

Then he was gone, leaving me frozen, chilled to the bone, and alone.

Chapter 16

Ten hours in a car with two kids was too damn long. Against my team’s advice, voiced the loudest by Declan, our team leader, I decided to break up the drive and stop in North Carolina.

That leg of the trip should’ve been five hours, but between bathroom breaks and stopping for lunch, it was closer to seven. My ass was sore, my eyes heavy, and my head was throbbing from the constant memories of Eva telling me she had no home.

What the fuck?

Between that and her admitting she was lonely, my head was in a weird, fucked-up place.

It was something else we had in common, though I wouldn’t admit that to her. I’d already shared too much. Came way too close to explaining exactly why I didn’t trust women.

Then, as if to fortify my belief that all women were out for themselves, I lay in bed torturing myself, vacillating between thinking about Eva and Pam. The two women were worlds apart in their motives. Eva was trying to protect her children. Pam had no such excuse, she was simply a scheming bitch. Yet I was still comparing the two.

More than ten years later, I still remember the lessons Pam taught me. I was nothing more than a good time. The boy from the wrong side of town as far as she knew, since I lived with my aunt and uncle by then—going nowhere, good for nothing except a quick walk on the wild side. She’d taken my virginity, gave it to me regular, sucked me off anywhere, anytime, essentially leading me around by my dick. And yeah, because I didn’t want to lose being able to fuck her anytime, anywhere, her mouth wrapping around my dick whenever I wanted kept me oblivious to the fact she was a scheming bitch.

She was a good girl from a middle-class family that had no problem slumming it with me, getting off on it. But when the time came, when we graduated and I wanted to marry her, she had no issue telling me I wasn’t good enough, I was going nowhere, and the Navy wouldn’t be enough for her. She was going places, and those places included a nice house, nice cars, designer shit, and she had no fucking issue telling me I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep her in all of that on Navy pay.

My bank account balance proved she was wrong about me not being able to afford all that shit. But she was right about one thing—I was nothing more than a good-time guy. A quick and dirty walk on the wild side.

“This place is too nice,” Eva mumbled, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glanced around the lobby of the Greensboro Marriott, taking in the white marble floor and the wide carpeted staircase that came to a landing and split in two directions, each leading to guest rooms that circled the entrance. I did this thinking that the hotel was indeed nice but it wasn’t luxury. Then I thought about how Eva likely had never been able to stay in a hotel where the rooms were two-hundred dollars a night.

My gut twisted.

“Come on, let’s go up and decide if we’re ordering room service or heading down to the restaurant.”

“We should’ve grabbed McDonald’s. It would’ve been cheaper.”

Fuck, another kick to the gut.

“Babe, we had fast food for lunch. There’s only so much grease my stomach can take before it goes on strike. And considering we got another five-hour drive tomorrow that will likely turn into seven, where we’ll be stopping for grease-laden junk, we are not eating McDonald’s for dinner.”

“Well, I get that, but the boys and me can eat—”

“You and the boys are eating a real meal.”

“But—”

Careful not to let the boys hear me, I leaned in until my mouth was close to Eva’s ear and I continued. “Babe, you got a sweet body. Tight, toned, just enough ass that it’s a handful. But you are too thin. You need to eat and I’m gonna make sure it’s something somewhat healthy. Best I can do while on the road is sit your ass down in a restaurant that’s sure to have some sort of vegetable. But mark this, Eva, you’re gonna eat.”

Eva stumbled and my hand wrapped around her forearm before she could take a header.

“I…I…” she stammered.

“I know why you’re so thin,” I told her. “I know you’re too busy taking care of your boys, making sure they eat well so you don’t watch what you’re putting in your body. I also know you’re watching your money, so I’d guess you go a lot of nights not eating at all. But tonight, you’re eating, and you’re eating well.”