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Max’s lips turned up as he moved to the dresser and opened the drawer, pulling out a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt, and promising himself not to forget that he owed his sister a very big favor. “Five minutes,” he told Mia, practically running to the bathroom and closing the door, probably setting a world record for taking the fastest shower and still getting himself clean.
Mia was yawning when he exited the bathroom, his hair still damp, but feeling almost human again. She moved to the edge of the bed so he could slip in beside her. The bed was small and would have been tight for a man his size even without another body, but at the moment, it was heaven. Pulling Mia away from the edge of the bed to cradle her back against his front, he groaned with ecstasy as her scent surrounded him, happily drowning him in her essence. His heart thundered, his body reveling in a sensation he thought he’d never experience again.
“Jesus. I missed this so much,” he whispered huskily against her ear, his hand reaching up to swipe the string that turned off the light above them, plunging them into darkness.
Mia relaxed into his body, fitting perfectly against him. “I don’t remember usnotbeing together, but I know that I missed it too. I love you,” she said in a quiet, solemn voice.
His whole body shuddered as his hold on her tightened involuntarily. His hand splayed over her stomach, urging her closer. Those were the words he’d wanted to hear, needed to hear. As long as Mia loved him, not another damn thing in the world mattered. “I love you, too. I didn’t think I’d ever get to hold you again.” His voice was choked, emotion lodging in his throat.
“I’m not sure my nurse will approve,” she said with a light laugh.
“Don’t give a fuck,” he murmured against her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair. “Are you comfortable?”
“Yes. You smell so good,” she said in a sultry voice. “Are you okay?”
“Hell, no. Hospital beds are like torture devices. But you couldn’t blast me out of this position with dynamite right now,” he told her honestly. “And I owe Maddie a hell of a nice present for the clean clothes.”
“She’s wonderful, Max. I’m so happy you found each other. How did it happen?” she asked curiously.
He shrugged slightly as he replied, “Fate. Or maybe just dumb luck. I saw her at Simon’s wedding to Kara and she looked just like an old picture of our birth mother. It made me want to dig into my past and I finally found the proof that we were brother and sister. Unfortunately, she didn’t get adopted and she’s had it pretty tough. I wish I had known earlier. I was just a baby when we were separated and neither one of us remembered the other.”
“She seems happy now,” Mia mused.
“She is. How could she not be? She has me for a brother,” Max answered with a chuckle.
“I know she’s happy to have you as a brother, but I sort of think Sam has a little bit to do with it too,” Mia answered with a sigh. “They look so happy. Maddie told me some of their story. I never thought Sam would become so domesticated. I guess underneath the playboy exterior, he was always yearning for Maddie. I guess both Simon and Sam are finally happy. It seems so strange that everything has changed so much. It’s almost like I went to sleep one night and woke up to an alternate universe. But I’m glad both of them found the right woman. I’m glad. I always worried about them. I wish that would happen for Kade and Travis.”
Max was pissed as hell at Kade, and Travis needed a woman who’d grab him by the balls and wouldn’t let go, because he could be an asshole, but Max answered magnanimously, “I hope so, too.” And he did, because that’s what Mia wanted. Kade could find the right woman to please Mia…right after Max beat the hell out of him for being an asshole.
“Will you stay for a while? Until I remember or at least get used to the fact that I don’t remember the last few years?” Her voice sounded nervous, frightened. “Everything just seems so dissimilar to what I can remember.”
“Sweetheart, I’m staying all night,” he reminded her.
She shook her head slightly. “That’s not what I meant. I was wondering if you could put off your business trips. Just for a little while. The media will have a field day with this, and I was hoping you might be able to stick around for a while.”
Guilt made Max’s body tense and his gut burn. “Mia, I’m not going anywhere.”
“What about work, your plan to conquer the business and political world?” she questioned, her voice confused.
Yeah, at one time he had wanted to run for political office, but those desires had completely fled. He’d wanted it for all the wrong reasons, and he’d discovered he would make a lousy politician. “I told you I’ve changed. I don’t want the same things as I wanted back then.” He released a masculine sigh as he continued, “And I’ve conquered everything I want to conquer in the business world. I don’t need to travel like that anymore.” Actually, most of the trips hadn’t been critical, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
“It will be nice to have you home,” Mia said with a yawn. “I miss you so much when you’re gone. I need you to help me get used to all the changes that have happened. I wish my memory would just come back.”
Max could have told her that he understood the loneliness she had felt, but he doubted that she could handle exactly how much he’d missed her—during their marriage when he traveled a lot, and during the years she had been taken away from him.
“You won’t have a chance to even miss me,” he informed her playfully. In a sterner voice he told her, “You’re also going to be surrounded by security from this day forward. No arguments. No more going around unsecured. No more ducking our security. You’re being protected. Always.”
“I know I ought to disagree, but I won’t. Not now. I’m actually relieved,” she admitted, her voice sounding lost in the dark.
“And you aren’t going to be exposed to the media either,” he rumbled adamantly. “I’ll make a brief statement when the media finds out, and that’s all they’re getting.”
“I’d rather avoid them for now. At least until I remember what happened.” Mia shifted position slightly, rubbing against him as she moved, her ass flexing against his groin. “Max, are you…” Her voice trailed off, her question unfinished.
He knew exactly what she was going to ask. “Am I hard? Yep. My cock is like granite right now. Everything about you arouses me, and I’ve been without for over two years, sweetheart. So you need to quit squirming against me like that,” he answered. “Be still.”
Her body stopped shifting, but she asked curiously, “You didn’t…you never…nobody ever…” She stopped and then continued, “You didn’t sleep with anyone while I was gone?”
“Nope. And I didn’t fuck anyone either. I had no desire to screw a woman who wasn’t you,” he answered bluntly.