I nodded. “Let’s do it—spend the summer together, I mean.”
Max yanked the hand he was holding, and I stumbled against his body, crashing into what felt like a brick wall.
“Oww…” I said, laughing. My palms landed flat against his chest, and I patted it twice. “This thing hurts. It’s really hard.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to show you hard. Now give me that mouth. I said I’m good with going slow, but I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t at least have a little taste.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond before his lips crashed down on mine. He squeezed me tightly against his hard body, making my knees feel weak. There had been an intensity about the way Max looked at me from the moment we’d met, but this kiss… It was a whole other level. He licked my lips and nudged my mouth open while one of his large hands slid up to my neck and wrapped around my throat. I’d never had a man hold me like that. It felt desperate and needy and just on the right side of dominant. My hands threaded through his hair, and he lifted me into the air and walked us until my back hit a wall. I lost all sense of where we were when I felt his hard-on push up against my stomach.
Oh God.
We stayed wrapped around each other for the longest time, groping and grabbing like two horny teenagers. Max used my hair to pull my head back and sucked along my pulse line, which had to be beating frantically. When we came up for air, he leaned his forehead to mine and used his thumb to wipe at my bottom lip.
“I knew it.”
I could barely form words, and I was glad he hadn’t set me down yet, because my legs felt like jelly. “What?”
“Magic, sweetheart,” he said. “We’re going to make magic.”
The smile on my face was so big, I thought my skin might crack. “Would you…like to come up for a little while?”
Max gripped both of my hands in one of his behind my back. “I’d love to come up. But you’d probably never get me to leave, and I also have practice in the morning. Besides…” He pressed closer to me, and I felt his erection dig into my hip. “My brain understands going slow, but my body isn’t quite getting the message. Have dinner with me Friday night. Let me take you out on a real date.”
I nodded. “I’d love that.”
Max pushed the elevator button again, and the car doors immediately slid open. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine once more. “I didn’t even leave yet, and I can’t wait to see you again.”
I stepped into the car with a fluttering heart and smiled as I shook my head. “No strings attached, right?”
He winked. “The only string might be one I use to tie you up.”
It all sounded perfect. Too perfect. As the doors slid shut, I felt sweat tingling my palms. I rubbed them together and squeezed my eyes closed a moment. I mean, what reason would there be for something to go wrong?
CHAPTER 8
* * *
Max
Ten years ago
“Ummm…what are you doing?”
I shrugged without turning around. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“It looks like you’re filling an empty, half-gallon container with milk from that milk dispenser that’s supposed to be for coffee.”
“There’s no sign that says there’s a limit.” I held up the empty coffee cup in my hand. “I paid for a coffee.”
When the milk reached the neck of the plastic bottle, I pulled the jug away and twisted on the cap. I turned, expecting to see one of the ladies who worked here wearing her cafeteria uniform, but instead my eyes landed on a gorgeous blonde I’d never seen before. She looked a few years older than me. I glanced around the room to see if whoever had started with me about the milk might’ve walked away, but nope… No one was around except her. She had her feet propped up on the chair in front of her, and I did a double take catching a look at her ankle.
“What’s going on there?” I motioned to her leg. A dozen or so colorful ice pops were taped around her ankle with black electrical tape.
“I twisted my ankle playing volleyball. It’s starting to swell, and no one has an ice pack. So it was these or beers. I figured ice pops are colder and plus, Andrea will let me return them if I bring them back unopened.”
“Andrea?”
She lifted her chin toward the cashier. “The woman you handed a dollar for your empty coffee cup to justify stealing a half gallon of milk.”
I chuckled. “You’re a stickler for rules when it comes to me, yet you’re stealing ice.”