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A hint of surprise passes over his features and for a moment I worry I’ve said way too much. But then he slides closer and cups my cheek in his hand. “You’re a dream come true, Mona. I never hoped…I never imagined I could meet someone like you.”
* * *
“No!Dammit, I was so close. Ugh!”
Max’s triumphant laugh echoes through his sparse living room as I toss my cards on the coffee table, scattering game pieces across the board. I cross my arms and glare at him, but that just makes him laugh harder.
“Don’t gloat, it doesn’t look good on you,” I say with a frown. It’s a lie—he looks sexy as hell right now. Sleeves rolled up above his elbows to show off his thick forearms, messy auburn waves falling over one eye, and a cocky grin on his victory-flushed face.
“Shame. Because competitive sore loser looks great on you.” Max winks at me, egging me on.
“Fuck off, I bet you cheated. Used magic to rearrange the cards.”
“I didn’t need to cheat to win. Not my fault I’m better at games than you.” His eyes sparkle with mischief as he taunts me.
“How dare you? I demand a rematch!” I reach out to reset the game board but he grabs my hands.
“Later. Right now, I want my prize for winning.”
When he suggested we bet on the game, loser having to do something of the winner’s choosing, I readily agreed, certain of my victory. I’m realizing now I fell right into his trap.
“Fine.” I sigh dramatically. “What do you want?”
Max surveys the mess of the board game and our dishes from the dinner we ate while playing, then gives me a lingering once over that makes my skin prickle. “Let me think while we clean up.”
“You just want more time to gloat, don’t you?”
He smirks at me as he offers a hand to help me up from my seat on the floor. “Maybe.”
We make quick work of the mess, and I enjoy the simple domesticity of tidying up together. Though the whole time, my mind races, wondering what he’ll ask for his prize.
As I load the last dish into his dishwasher, he steps in behind me and places a soft kiss on my neck. His solid chest against my back and his hips flush with my body sends a ripple of heat through me, feeling breathless when he whispers in my ear. “I know what I want for my prize.”
“Oh?” I want to say a witty comeback, but this man makes it so hard for me to think when he’s touching me.
His hand slides up my side, finding its way under my loose tank top until his thumb brushes the underside of my breast. “I’m going to the city next weekend for an informal family thing. Come with me.”
My brain stutters, unsure I heard him correctly. “W-what?”
Max guides me to turn around, his arms caging me against the counter as I look up at him in confusion. “I want you to come with me. We don’t have to stay at my parents’ house while we’re there. I’d get us a hotel. But…I want you there. I want them to meet you.”
“You want me to meet your family?” I blink up at him, dumbfounded. He can’t possibly want that, can he?Does that mean we’re…“Are we a couple?” I add before he can answer.
He laughs, the husky sound reverberating against my chest. “Yeah, I’d like to think so. Unless that’s not something you’re interested in.” Max reaches a hand up to toy with my hair as my mouth falls open in surprise at his words. “But if I had my way, this thing we’re doing would be more than something casual. I don’t want anyone else.”
It takes a good ten seconds for my mouth to catch up with my brain. I stand there gaping at him like a dead fish, and he doesn’t say anything, just holds still next to me as he waits for my answer. I can’t believe he wants me to be his girlfriend. “No way.” The words escape me unbidden.
His face falls, and he takes a step back. “Ah. Right. That’s okay, I understand.”
“Wait, no!” I panic and tug him closer, smashing my lips to his before he can say anything else. Max groans against my lips but pulls back after a moment, looking down at me with aroused confusion.
“I-I would love that. To be your girlfriend. To go with you. Sorry, you just surprised me. I didn’t know you wanted more than sex. Because I’m still okay with that, if that’s the case. You don’t need to make things official for it to continue. You don’t owe me a relationship or anythi—”
This time, it’s his lips crashing against mine that cuts our conversation off. He wraps a fist in my hair and tugs my head back, nipping my lower lip then pulling back so that his dark eyes bore into mine. “I want you, Mona. Stop questioning it.”
Something finally snaps into place inside me. All the shame and insecurities that’ve festered in my head for years fade for the briefest moment, giving me space to realize maybe I am worth more than I’ve asked for. That I deserve a man like this. And though I know those fears and self-doubts haven’t gone away for good, in this moment, with Max looking down at me with fervent desire, I feel like I’m enough.
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