Page 85 of Maximus

“A Frog Hog,” he told me.

“A what?”

“That’s what those women are called. And trust me, Eva, they do not use us. We’re very aware of what they’re good for.”

“That’s gross, too.”

Max sobered and I wondered if now I’d offended him. It was not lost on me that Max had had a goodly amount of partners—more like a godly number of them. I bet he’d taken more than one or a hundred Frog Hogs to bed.

The thought of him in bed with another woman made my stomach sour and my jealousy surface.

“I should make the kids breakfast,” I told him, needing the conversation to be over.

“First, tell me why you’re frowning.”

“No reason,” I lied.

“If you have a question—ask. If you have something to say—say it. But don’t hide from me.”

“You know, people don’t have to voice their every thought.”

“I’m not talking about people. I’m talking about you and me. And if something’s weighing on your mind, don’t hide it from me. Because if you haven’t caught on yet, I don’t hold back.”

That was an understatement.

“Fine,” I huffed. “I was thinking that I’ve slept with three men.”

“And?” Max’s guard slammed down and his eyes turned to ice.

“And you’ve obviously slept with more than three.”

“And?” he repeated.

“And nothing. You wanted to know what I was thinking and that was it.”

Max continued to study me, and I fought not to fidget under his scrutiny.

“They meant nothing. Less than nothing. They wanted one thing from me and the feeling was entirely mutual. There was no after-sex lingering.”

“Max, I don’t need to know this.”

“No, I think you do, Eva. You need to understand that, yes, they were using me and I was using them. And never did I allow any of them to ever cuddle up next to me. Which sure as fuck means I never pulled one close and held on because the thought of her leaving my bed made me physically ache.”

My heart started thundering in my chest and the hope I’d been trying to keep at bay blossomed. No, that wasn’t right—it busted open and overshadowed my doubts.

“And one last thing, there’s no comparison—so get that out of your head. Everything about you is different and I don’t just mean the way we are, physically. I mean everything. Trust me enough to know I wouldn’t have asked you to take a chance on us if I didn’t know with blinding clarity just how different you are from those other women.”

I did trust him. Max Brown was nothing like any other man I’d ever met. Max was not a liar. He was not a crook or a drug dealer. And even though I couldn’t stop myself from worrying that he’d break my heart, I knew down to my bones he’d never hurt my boys—and they were what was important.

And Tex trusted Max. That meant a great deal to me. Tex was the best person I knew. So I didn’t know much about Max but I knew he was a good, decent, honest man. It wasn’t a lot but it was something—and right now, something was better than nothing.

“I do trust you,” I confessed. “But I’m still scared.”

“I’ll tell you a secret, honey.” Max leaned forward, his breath fanned across my neck and goose bumps pebbled. Then he whispered, “So am I.”

My knees turned to jelly and I sagged against Max.

“Will you trust me?” I asked.