Page 16 of Love Bites (Timber Creek #2)
CHAPTER 16
SUMMER
The ground dropped out from under me — and didn’t return even when the world around us did. I shrieked, realizing we were midair and falling rapidly, and scrambled to wrap my limbs around Max.
“Shit, sorry,” he said with what sounded like amusement right in my ear. His wings shot out, catching on the wind, and in the longest seconds of my life, we were soon gliding through the night. “Been a while since I’ve visited — overshot it a bit.”
“Mmhm,” I managed intelligently, my heart still racing.
“Open your eyes.” Now he was definitely laughing at me.
After a steadying breath, I cracked my eyes open, peering over his shoulder. And my jaw dropped.
As far as the eye could see was desert, bathed in the warm glow of sunset and interrupted only by the giant chasm below us.
“Holy crap,” I breathed, doing my best to take in the view without loosening my limbs even a fraction from the vise grip I had on Max like a terrified koala.
“I think this is the least you’ve ever talked,” he whispered into my ear, the words tickling against my skin. “Is this the secret to peace and quiet? Magnificent views and-or terror?”
I pinched his arm, the only violence I could risk at that moment, and his grip tightened on my waist. “As much as I love the birds’-eye view, can we land somewhere?”
“Please return your tray tables to their upright and locked position.”
With no other warning, Max tucked in his wings, and we plummeted. I screeched again, eyes squeezing shut involuntarily, every muscle tight as wind rushed past us.
Until, with surprising gentleness, it all stopped.
Max’s grip on me loosened, and I pried my eyes open again. Once I confirmed we were on solid ground, I slowly disentangled myself from his body, already missing his warmth.
“That was not nice,” I said on a shaky breath and shakier legs, staggering away as I fought to steady my heartrate. “But also, let’s do it again.”
Max chuckled, his hands gripping my shoulders as he turned me around. Now that I wasn’t dangling a mile in the air, it was easier to take in the view.
The layers of history carved into the orange and brown colored soils down the walls of the canyon, beams of the fading sun stretching across the chasm. The tiniest sliver of silver glinted down at the bottom, marking the Colorado River snaking its way through time and history. An eagle soared through the canyon so far away, it looked miniscule.
It was everything I thought it would be, and yet — my fingers pressed at the corners of my eyes, coming away wet.
“Hey.” Max’s voice was as soft as I’d ever heard it as he stepped in front of me, concern drawing his brows down as he tilted up my chin. “What’s wrong? I thought this was what you wanted.”
I forced a smile. “It is, and thank you for making it happen, it’s just” — I gestured at the canyon, the desert, the overwhelming vastness of it all — “It’s just all a reminder of how much I haven’t seen or done. In Timber Creek, it’s easy to forget there really is a world out there, you know? But here…” I trailed off, swallowing heavily before risking a look up at Max.
His blue eyes searched mine, and for a minute, I thought he might give me one of his usual smirks and make a snarky comment. Instead, he gave the smallest nod before stepping back and dropping to the ground, patting the spot next to him. I sat down beside him and, without conscious thought, leaned my shoulder into his.
“I get it, you know.”
I almost laughed at that. “Really? You, Mr. I Can Go Wherever I Want, Whenever I Want?”
He didn’t respond right away. Belatedly, I realized I might have sounded a little harsh, especially when he hadn’t laughed at me. The silence stretched so long, I wasn’t sure he would respond at all, until finally he gave my shoulder the tiniest nudge.
“I might be capable of going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean I can .”
I chewed on my lip, casting him a sideways glance. For as much as I’d laid myself bare to Max tonight, it began to dawn on me how little I knew about him. “Why can’t you?”
He huffed a laugh. “One, supe. Two, half vamp.” He shot me a look. “For most of my life, I had to stay under the radar so no one would raise questions about why the Premier’s son has black wings. Why the Dark Angel is so dark. ”
I squinted at him. “You couldn’t just go with, emo phase?”
“It’s not a phase, Mom.”
A laugh burst out of me, and that damn dimple showed up on his cheek. He shook his head, dark hair falling into his eyes. “Then for decades, I’ve been busy with whatever Malachi assigns me.”
“Surely you got to see some of the world,” I teased, nudging him back.
“Yes and no. Have I traveled a lot? Sure. Have I seen the world?” He shrugged. “Most of the shit I do is in darkness, alleys and the shady parts of town. Not exactly the tourist highlights.”
I hummed, considering that. “Still, you never took a detour? Watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon? Had a special friend tag along just to see stuff and explore?”
“Special friend?”
“Girlfriend?”
“Not a chance.”
I bit my lip, but in the end, curiosity won out. “What about Krista?” Max stiffened, but I went on. “I realize she turned out to be… whatever she was, but weren’t you two dating for a while?”
A muscle in Max’s jaw twitched, and he shot me an uncertain glance.
“Spit it out, Mascarpone.”
“You’re going to think less of me.”
That brought me up short, and I turned to him. “Well now I have to know.” I nudged his shoulder with mine again, and he nudged back. “Hey, I promise not to judge. You didn’t judge me when you saw my bucket list.”
His lip twitched. “I might have judged you a little. Ride an elephant? Really?”
“Stop deflecting. What was the deal with Krista?”
Letting out a deep sigh, Max tipped his head back, fading sunlight limning his features in gold. “Krista was a means to an end. I needed to get in with the Black Rose Coven to take it down, and she was an easy in. She was cheating on me basically the whole time, and I just pretended I didn’t know because I didn’t care. She didn’t matter.”
I blinked at his bluntness.
“And before you think I’m too much of a callous asshole, believe me, she didn’t care about me either.”
“Did I say I thought that?”
“She wanted someone to give her status in that Coven, and someone to fuck when she was bored.”
Ice settled in my stomach at those words. “Guess you were happy to oblige.”
He shrugged. “We were using each other. Isn’t that what people do?”
Something told me to stay away from that with a ten-foot pole, so I tried to redirect our conversation. “Okay, so that’s a no on the girlfriend. What about a friend friend, sibling, cousin, whatever?”
“Nope.”
I stilled, that single word sinking like a stone. “No, like, you never took them traveling, or…”
“Or.”
“Oh.” I turned away, ostensibly to take in the view again, but in reality to hide my expression as I took in the knowledge that Max had no one.
Well, he had his father, Malachi, but they didn’t exactly sound tight like I was with my dad. But no girlfriends, or friend friends, or anyone?
Was it possible West was his… best friend?
“Stop feeling sorry for me, sunshine.”
“I’m not!” I was. A little bit.
“I just don’t have time to hang around and make friends or —”
“How old are you, again?”
A low growl sounded from him at my teasing, and I smiled to let him know I was joking.
“So you, what, do Malachi’s dirty deeds and go home to your coffin? No friends, no family barbecues, no town peach festivals, no questionable blue balls ice cream, nada?”
“I told you the coffin thing is a myth,” he muttered, but didn’t comment on the rest.
“What about magical tattoo artistry? No time for that out there, either?”
“What?”
I tapped my shoulder, where the mysterious ink had shown up, and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
“Ah, that.”
“Yes, that. And I don’t think West bought my story about this being a spur of the moment tattoo, so spill it. What is this?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “It’s called a shadowmark. It appears sometimes on a Source, especially if there’s” — he broke off, licking his lips before finishing — “an emotional connection.”
“Like a relationship?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that settles it.”
“Settles what?”
“You can help me with my bucket list and see the big wide world, and I can show you the joys of small town life. And help hunt vampire dens. Up.”
I stood, dusting the red dirt off my yellow sundress, then held my hand out to him, wiggling my fingers.
He stood, and I stepped into his space, grabbing his hand and interlacing our fingers. The gentle touch shocked me as much as an electric current between us, but his bright blue eyes locked on mine as I tilted my chin up towards him. “I’m doing this with you.”
He took a deep breath, looking out over the Canyon. “I’ve already told you?—”
“No.” I stepped closer, putting my hand on his chest to draw his attention back to me. “I’m telling you, I’m going with you. We’re going to find these vamps you’re looking for and talk to them all nice and friendly, convincing them they need better representation and that the PRICs have their best interest in mind.”
“It’s too dangerous.” His hand rested on top of mine, closing over my fingers as if he meant to pry them off him, but he didn’t. “You saw what happened with Grigor.”
“I did.” I nodded. “But you said if we were married it wouldn’t be as much of an issue right? Between a ring and your shadowmark, I’m off limits then.”
Max squinted, his heart thundering under my hand. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying , you zip us due north to Las Vegas, and we tie the knot. Screw fake dating. We get married, and then tell my family the happy news while we use a European honeymoon as a cover so West doesn’t kill you. Meanwhile, we go hunt some vampire dens.”
“Summer.”
“Max.”
“We can’t do this.”
“Who’s going to stop us?”
His hand tightened over mine, then pulled it down to our sides. “But why would you want to do this? Marry me, even temporarily?”
“Because.” I jutted my chin up more, making sure he saw every single word I was about to say play across my face and could read the honesty in my words. “You’re my friend, and you need help. I want to help you, Max, for no reason other than that.”
“Friend.”
“You heard me.”
“And you get what, in return?”
“An epic adventure with my friend.”
Max sighed, closing his eyes, and I dropped his hand to reach up and cup his face. “I mean it, Max.”
“You’re too good for me.” His hand framed mine again, our fingers intertwining once more. “No one would ever believe you willingly chose me.”
“So wife me up, buddy, before someone else does. Besides, this is one more thing I can cross off my bucket list.”
Max shook his head, then pulled our hands down, turning to face the Grand Canyon in front of us. “Maybe we just tell your family the truth, so your brothers don’t to kill me.”
“You think telling them we’re only fake-married and you’re using me for some dangerous scheme is better than telling them we’re actually married and happily traveling Europe in love? Trust me, if they believe I’m blissfully happy in love, they won’t have any reason to try to kill you.”
His blue eyes flashed as they glanced at me, that familiar smirk playing across his lips once more. “Is that a challenge?”
“Happy wife, happy life.”
“This is temporary,” Max said, his thumb running across the back of my hand where he still held on. “We end it after our work is done, then go our separate ways.”
“Sounds fair.” I nodded, even though the thought of going back to my routine pre-Max seemed desolate. That was a problem for a later day, though. “Let’s say, three months, or whenever the vampire issues wrap up, whichever is first.” Three months seemed about the maximum limit I’d be able to lie to my family about this, but I kept that part to myself.
“And what do we do for the next few months?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
“We—” He swallowed, still not looking at me. “We live together, and act married. Sell it.”
“I think I proved my acting abilities if you at least tell me the basic plan.”
“And what about dating? You can’t have other men around if we want everyone to believe we’re madly in love.”
I snorted. “Not an issue, trust me. Did you see how my brothers reacted to us dating? Everyone knows how they are, and it’s enough to deter anyone who even thought about potentially being interested.” When he didn’t answer, I squeezed his hand again. “I’m not a cheater, Max. I’m not Krista. I’m yours and only yours until we end this thing.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
Max held my gaze for a minute longer, like he was giving me one more chance to back out, then he shot me a smirk. “Well? Something you want to ask me, Little Larkin? I’m all ears.”
My brows furrowed, unsure what he meant, until his eyes flicked to the ground and back up to me. Rolling my eyes, I started, “Massimo Russo, will you —”
“Uh-uh.” He pointed to the ground with a devious glint in his eye.
“Seriously?”
He raised his eyebrows, daring me to back out. Or maybe daring me to do it.
With a huff, I dropped to one knee and adopted my most adoring, beaming smile. He wanted the whole nine yards? I’d give him ten.
“Massimo Russo, love of my week, would you do me the greatest honor of my life and agree to be my temporary wedded husband?”
It was fake. I knew it was fake. And yet, as the words came out, my voice almost trembled. Kneeling before him like that, I felt like I truly was offering him my heart in my hands.
Max’s blue eyes glinted. “Why, Summer, I thought you’d never ask.”