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“I mean it!” I yelled, forcing them to snap out of their girlie moment. “No tears, and she better be here when I get back. Understand?”
“We heard you, Max.” Lexa pushed me out the door. “Now go, so we can work a little magic on your treasure.”
19
Delaney
I jerked awake, my heart pounding against my ribs, and reached for Max, needing his arms around me as a wave of fear left me trembling. I barely remembered the dream I’d just had, and it was quickly fading from my mind as my hands patted the bed in the dark and only came into contact with Max’s pillow.
All I could remember was the urgency to run, like the night Marta had come into my room, telling me I needed to go. Even though it had been there this entire time, the sense of danger hadn’t been nearly as strong between that night and now. I wasn’t sure why it was suddenly pushing down on me, but the need to get as far away as fast as possible was beginning to make my stomach churn.
Trying to calm my racing heart, I pulled Max’s pillow to my chest and buried my face in it, inhaling his scent in a desperate attempt to calm myself. It was just a dream, I tried to reassure myself. After the events of the day, it was hitting me harder than it normally would.
That was what I kept telling myself, but I wasn’t sure I believed it. There was just a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that kept whispering for me to run.
After a few minutes, I sat up and tossed the pillow aside. It was dark outside the window, and my stomach was growling with hunger. I couldn’t smell food, but Max always had us something to eat by now. Given how long we’d made love earlier, I knew he must have been hungry. And with how much of a workout he put us both through each time, it was no wonder he was always so ravenous.
Flipping on a light, I crossed to the closet to get dressed. Max had shredded my clothes in his haste to get me naked, and it had turned my blood to lava watching his desperate rush to get my body bared for his hands and lips. It was the first time he’d shown me that side of himself, and I wanted more of it. It was hot, and the possessiveness that had shone from his eyes had told me how much he wanted me more than anything else ever had.
When I opened the closet door, the smile that had begun to lift my lips at the memory dropped at the sight before me. The hangers where my clothes had been were now bare. All that was left were Max’s things. My gaze lowered to the floor, thinking maybe I’d knocked everything over earlier when I’d changed out of my dress and grabbed my backpack. But no, the floor only had a few pairs of shoes. And other than the flats I’d worn to the reception, the rest were Max’s.
My heart, which had been so full only moments before, cracked open. Had Max changed his mind? Did he not want me to stay after all? Had our lovemaking been his way of telling me we really were over?
When I’d fallen asleep in his arms after he’d blown my mind countless times, I’d decided I wouldn’t care what his family thought as long as he wanted me around. But by the looks of it, he’d already packed me up. No doubt he was waiting for me to wake up so he could take me to the women’s shelter.
But he hadn’t even left me a single thing to change into. That was so unlike Max that it gave me a moment of pause. If he wanted to get me out of his life, he would have at least left an outfit for me to wear.
Confused, I grabbed one of his shirts and pulled it on, then found a pair of his boxers. Finger-combing my hair, I left the bedroom. In the living room, I came to a sudden halt when I saw the two beautiful women sitting on the couch.
Their heads snapped up, and their faces brightened, which only confused me. Lexa was the first to get to her feet. “We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves earlier,” she began, signing effortlessly. “I’m Lexa, and this is Tavia.”
Unsure what to say, I shyly waved to them both.
“I want to apologize for earlier,” Lexa continued. “We were so happy to see our brother with someone so beautiful and sweet that we scared you. Please don’t think we don’t like you. At this point, we adore you. Possibly even more than our stupid brother.”
Tavia waved me over, patting the couch beside her. “Join us,” she said slowly.
Tentatively, I crossed the room and sat in the center of the couch. While Lexa took the other side of me, my gaze landed on the garbage bag at Tavia’s feet. It was open, and I could see the dress I’d worn earlier sticking out of the top. I stiffened, my heart starting to pound again as I glanced around frantically for Max.
Following my gaze, Tavia quickly shook her head. “No, no,” she said in a rush, pulling my gaze to her mouth. “It’s not what you think. We stopped Max from burning these.”
“What?” I signed, looking between the two women in confusion. “Why would he burn my clothes? He spent so much money on them.”
Lexa threw back her head in laughter. After a moment, she started fanning her face with her hand as tears of mirth spilled from her eyes. “Okay, okay. I’m good now,” she signed, her lips moving as she spoke so Tavia could understand too. “It’s just, it’s obvious Max has kept a part of himself hidden from you, and that is absolutely adorable. My brother has never censored himself for anyone, but I’m seeing now that’s because no one else has ever mattered.”
“I don’t understand,” I told her honestly.
“Max is scared you’re going to leave him, so he was going to burn your clothes to make it harder for you to run off.” Lexa motioned toward the clothes. “Tavia saved them from becoming ashes.”
“Thanks…?” Stunned, I was unsure of what else to say.
Lexa laughed again and grasped my hand, giving it a squeeze. “You are so different from Max’s usual type.” Jealousy hit me, and she seemed to see it because her next words were to reassure me. “That’s a good thing, Delaney. You have nothing to worry about or be jealous
over. Before you, Max didn’t think about a girl past the first hour of meeting her. With you, he’s ready to take on the world—or worse, our mom. And trust me, taking on Raven Reid is much scarier than taking on the entire world.”
I gulped. “Your mom doesn’t like me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Her blue eyes softened. “Mom already loves you. The minute Max claimed you, she considered you hers. You can ask Tavia. When Raven claims you, she will move mountains to protect you. Things just got out of hand at the reception, and Mom didn’t have time to welcome you to the family as she would have done under normal circumstances.”
