Page 34 of Biggest Regrets (Breaking Free #1)

T he next morning was…awkward to say the least.

Lily didn’t linger in bed. When Max reached for her, she eluded him and kept her gaze averted.

When she slipped out of bed, Max sat up. She skirted around their clothes on the floor, yanked some things from the dresser, and practically ran into the bathroom.

When the shower kicked on, Max sighed, then dressed in his jeans and t-shirt before making his way out of the room.

Entering the brightly lit kitchen, he made two cups of coffee, one with heavy cream, and made his way back to the bedroom.

The shower ran for another minute and then several minutes went by before Lily ventured out.

When she emerged, steam rolled from the smaller room. Her hair was a wet mess hanging loose down her back, and she wore a pair of blue jeans that molded her hips and hugged her thighs. A rosy pink hue colored her lips from their kisses the night before.

He held out the mug of coffee and she took it, holding it in both hands. Her right arm was still wrapped in a brace.

“How’s it feel?” He gestured to her arm.

“It’s fine.” She sipped at the coffee, looking toward the window instead of at him and he wondered how she felt about last night.

About them.

“About last night—” he began but she cut him off.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Clearly, they were not okay. He’d rushed her, damn it, and he mentally kicked himself in the ass.

Her husband had died a few days ago. She hadn’t been ready, but he hoped the release they’d found in each other’s arms had been at the very least, satisfying.

He lifted his eyes from his own mug and found her glaring at him.

“Don’t think a few flimsy words of an apology are going to make what you did go away.”

“I don’t think that.”

Well, he had, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. Women were complicated. They needed understanding, but he made sure to keep his expression neutral. If she thought for a moment he was patronizing her, she would explode.

“I never thought that.”

“What do you want?” Her chin tipped in a silent challenge.

“Whatever you do.”

“That’s a fucking copout,” she hissed and marched out of the room with her coffee.

Max stepped out into the hall and found Levi coming toward him.

“Hey boss, I’m going to head out and get a change of clothes. I’ll be back.”

“Who’s still in the house?”

“It’s just Sara and Lily. The others left saying they’d be back later.”

“There’s a video of the perp, he or she is of slender build. Keep an eye on all three of them,” Max said.

Levi nodded and headed out, and Max made his way into the living room.

Maybe he should sit this day out in his jeep? He headed toward the door when Lily’s voice stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

Pausing at the door, he turned around. She pinned him with a hard stare, almost a glare but not quite.

“My jeep?” he asked, sounding confused because he was, very.

“Breakfast is almost ready, so I suggest you stay inside. Sara didn’t make all this to have it wasted.”

Shooting a glance at Sara, the woman gave him a pained look but hid it when Lily spun around and marched back into the kitchen.

Max retreated from the door and took a seat at the table.

Far be it from him to stop Lily when she wanted something.

Only, he wasn’t quite sure what she wanted.

Lily was mentally chastising herself for being a bitch to Max, and she couldn’t fathom what the hell had gotten into her.

She’d gone from a needy, hungry, wanton woman last night to a snappish shrew this morning and she hated herself for it.

Old anger at his actions lingered and she had to get it out before it ruined any chance for them.

Piling both her and Max’s plates high with eggs, bacon, and toast, she sank down into the chair next to him.

“I’m eating in my room while I get ready for work,” Sara informed them, dropping a kiss on the top of Lily’s bright hair as she made her way out of the kitchen with a fully loaded plate.

Max ate without looking at her until she snatched a piece of his bacon.

“Hey,” the man grumbled.

“What? Are you going to take it back?” She dared him with a gleam in her eyes.

Max smirked and snagged two pieces of bacon from her plate and gobbled them up so fast, it left her mouth gaping.

“What? You got mine, I got yours.”

“I only got one of yours.”

“I’m bigger, so I need two.”

“Yes,” she quipped on a breathy sigh. “You are certainly bigger.” She almost gazed down his body, but managed to keep her eyes on his, barely.

His cock was impressive. The biggest she’d ever had and he’d satisfied her like no other man had in the past or, she suspected, in the future.

Max’s eyes suddenly glittered in the kitchen light as if gauging her mood and reading her like a fucking book.

She licked the taste of bacon from her lips and his eyes zoomed to her mouth.

All bets were off when his hand fisted in her damp hair and he tilted her face upward with that possessive grip.

His head dipped and her breath caught. Heat pooled between her legs and she waited breathlessly for him to kiss her and put a stop to this ache.

“You have bacon on your lip,” he said huskily and wiped his thumb at the corner of her lips.

She made a sound in her throat, a sound she couldn’t hold back, but then his fingers slipped from her hair and she was left with a burning ache.

And a building feverish need that only Max could quell.

Max shoved back his chair and plucked her up from her seat like a child.

Carrying her back into the spare room, he stripped them both naked and there on the big bed, he once again quenched her fire.

They spent most of the day in that bed, only surfacing to eat snacks and let Leo out to potty.

Later, Lily pulled him to the couch because she was too sore to keep up the pace and she curled up with the comforter over her lap and Max pressed to her side.

As they sat gazing at the fire, Lily wondered what Max wanted from her.

But she was too afraid to ask.