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A sob escaped her, and she burrowed her face into my chest for a moment. But I couldn’t fucking breathe. Cupping the side of her face, I tipped her head back and repeated the question slowly so she could read my lips. “Why are you crying, baby?”
“Because I’m happy, and that scares me. The last time I was happy, I lost my parents.” She began to tremble as she fought to contain her sobs while still signing the next words. “And I don’t want to lose you, Max.”
5
Delaney
How could one person change my entire world in less than twenty-four hours?
I’d gone from having nothing and no one, to Max giving me everything. It felt like a dream. Someone cared about me, and that meant more to me than anything in the world.
The last time someone had cared, I’d lost them both in the blink of an eye. Max was quickly becoming so much more than just the hero who rescued me the night before. I was feeling things I’d never felt before for anyone. It was exhilarating—but yeah, totally terrifying.
If I allowed myself to get too close and then I lost Max, it would destroy me completely.
Yet, I wasn’t sure I even cared.
All I wanted was to savor whatever this was with him.
He stroked my hair back from my tear-soaked face and placed a tender kiss on my forehead. That simple, innocent touch of his lips on my skin was enough to calm the sobs trying to tear me apart, and I blinked up at him in an attempt to stop the flood of tears from my eyes.
“You will never lose me,” he signed with a look on his face that told me he meant every word. “Because I am never, ever, letting you go, little treasure.”
My heart melted as he called me that sweet endearment yet again. The first time, I’d tried to ignore the puddle of goo it turned me into, thinking maybe he was just being kind. But I was starting to think he really did consider me his treasure. I didn’t understand how this hot, amazing guy would want me, but I didn’t want to open his eyes to the reality of how messed up I was either.
Picking me up, he sat on the edge of the bed and cradled me in his arms. I rested my head on his chest and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of cedar and citrus along with the hint of what must have been oil from the car he’d worked on earlier. The scent soothed something deep in my soul, and I closed my eyes, just letting myself enjoy being in his arms for the moment.
I couldn’t hear the beating of his heart, but I could feel it through his shirt, telling me it was pounding erratically. Concerned, I lifted my head to ask if he was okay.
As soon as our gazes locked, he was devouring me in a kiss that left me breathless and achy. He’d given me my first kiss, but I was a quick learner and I kissed him back, wanting to taste and please him just as he did me with the simple brush of his tongue over mine.
His hands dropped to my behind and lifted my legs until I was straddling his hips on the bed. I felt the vibrations from his deep groan as he kissed his way from my lips to my jaw and then down my neck. I arched, willingly giving him better access as his teeth scraped over my flesh, causing goose bumps to pop up everywhere he touched.
I felt something hard and hot pulse against my inner thigh, and I shifted until that hardness was pressed right where I ached the most. Sounds I couldn’t name left my throat. I couldn’t hear them, but the way Max’s eyes glittered told me he liked the sounds I was making.
My hands went to his throat, wanting to feel the vibrations when he made noises as well. I shif
ted my hips, rubbing my pulsing center over his thick hardness through our layers of clothes. The vibrations from his throat were long and made my fingertips tingle. My nipples pebbled even harder than they already were, and I pressed my chest to his as I rubbed myself against him like a cat wanting to be petted.
But then he was grasping my hands and pulling them behind my back as his lips slowly formed words so I could read what he was saying. “Hold that thought, little treasure,” he said with a wink.
Shifting, he pulled his phone from his front jeans pocket. Glancing down at the screen, he grimaced, and I caught sight of the name “Prez” before he lifted it to his ear. As he answered, he turned his head away, and my heart sank. Obviously, he didn’t want me to know what he was talking about, and that…hurt.
It shouldn’t. He had every right to his privacy. I was an interloper after all. But Max had been so kind and included me in so much already that it was wrenching to realize he didn’t trust me as much as I already trusted him.
When I got off his lap, his hand caught my hip and squeezed for a second before releasing me, continuing to keep his head turned away. I watched him for a few moments, noticing how tense his shoulders got the longer he stayed on the phone. Not wanting to add more stress to him, I started folding the clothes he’d so kindly bought for me and placed them in the corner of the room so they weren’t in the way.
Keeping busy left him out of my line of sight, so I was startled when his arms wrapped around me from behind, and I felt his lips touch my shoulder. I felt him inhale deeply before turning me to face him.
“I have to go take care of something for my dad,” he signed, his face tight, almost angry. “I don’t know how late I’ll be out.” Taking my hand, he pulled me over to the bed and pushed me down. Then he just turned and walked away.
I sat there, unsure of what to do. He hadn’t even said goodbye…
Just as my heart was squeezing painfully, Max reappeared with a smaller bag in his hand. Crouching down in front of me, he pulled out a rectangular box, and my mouth fell open. Opening the box, he lifted out a phone that looked just like his own, but instead of black, this one was a pretty baby blue.
“All that has been set up is my contact information. I’ll text you Nova’s number later.” He placed the phone in my hand, his eyes having lost some of the anger I’d seen right after he’d gotten off the phone.
“This…is…mine?” I signed, so shocked, all I could do was gaze from him to the phone and back again.
