Page 27 of Maxim (The Syndicates #12)

T he door opens. I look up and smile at Maxim as he comes in.

“Hey, I thought you would be gone longer,” I tell him as I finish the dishes.

He raises a brow. “Would you like me to leave again?”

“Of course not.” I dry my hands, rushing to him.

I crash into him as I hug him tightly. I never feel totally okay unless I’m in his arms.

Earlier he asked if I was okay with him leaving for two hours or so. As much as I hated the thought of being here alone, I said yes. I don’t need him by my side the whole time, but when I’m alone, I struggle to keep my mind off of him. That usually ends up with me worrying.

“Good.” He kisses me on the top of the head. “Now I need you to get ready.”

He pulls back from me, turning me toward the room.

“Ready? Did I forget something?” I ask as I let him push me into our room.

“No, this is a surprise,” he informs me.

“A surprise?”

Surprises have never been good for me, but he is changing that. First it was the sweets, now this. He is spoiling me.

“Yes, now come on.”

“Okay. What should I wear?” I ask as I go to the dresser.

“There’s one of those casual dresses in the closet. Put that on.”

I nod and head into the closet. This whole situation reminds me of the daydream I had of the future the other day. How crazy is that? When I reach the bedroom, I head to the closet and strip. I find the dress easily enough and slide it on. At the last second I decide to take off my panties too.

I mean, I’m probably not going to need them anyway.

I pick up my clothes and drop them into the clothes hamper before heading to the bathroom. I apply another layer of deodorant and then start messing with my hair. It looks fine down, but I want to do something a little different. Quickly, I rifle through the drawers and find a clip.

Perfect.

Carefully I run my fingers through the sides of my hair until they meet in the back and then place the clip on the back of my head. Half up, half down. Then I pull two pieces right in the front free to frame my face a little.

The sudden urge to chop my hair off hits me like a freight train. While I like it, Father was always adamant that I keep it long. Maybe it’s time to cut it. They say hair holds memories, right?

Then I think about how Maxim loves running his hands through it. Do I really want to cut it so he can’t do that?

“Olena, you almost ready?” Maxim shouts.

“Coming,” I yell back.

I’ll sit on the idea of cutting my hair until Maxim has handled my father once and for all.

Exiting the bathroom, I slip on a pair of sandals and head toward him.

“Ready,” I say when he comes into view.

Maxim looks up and smiles, making my heart race. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you.”

When I reach him, he leans in and kisses me softly. I can’t help but sigh when he pulls away much too soon.

“Come on,” he says as he moves us toward the back door.

“What’s that for?” I ask, pointing to the blanket in his arms.

“In case you get cold.”

I come to a halt when I see the yard in front of me. “What? When? How?” I ask breathlessly.

To be honest, I haven’t looked at the backyard since he brought me home.

The yard was nothing to be impressed with, so I never looked again.

Tonight, though, it’s been transformed. There is a pergola set up with lights strung all around.

In the middle is a bistro-style table with two wine glasses and a basket of bread.

There is even soft music playing, setting the mood.

First all the different types of bread he brought home, and now this. It’s too much.

“Well, I wanted to take you out, but then realized that really isn’t an option right now.

It wouldn’t be safe for either of us. This is still a risk, but less because of the privacy fence.

I have monitors all around the exterior so if someone gets close, I can react.

Besides, I don’t think your father is looking at me suspiciously anymore.

It’s worth the risk. As for when, I did it this afternoon. ”

“Wait, you mean you didn’t leave? How the hell did you accomplish this without making a ton of noise?”

“Actually, this thing is pretty cool. All the pieces just slotted together. I technically did leave because I didn’t stay inside with you.”

“Maxim…this is…” I say as my emotions get the better of me.

A tear slips down my cheek. Quickly, Maxim swipes it away.

“You like it?”

“No, I don’t like it. I love it. Thank you.”

“Good. Things will get tougher before they get better, so let’s enjoy this moment. Now come on.”

I understand what he means. We have to live in the moment, otherwise, we will waste our lives. I’ve wasted enough life.

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the table. He drops my hand and pulls out a chair.

“Thank you,” I say as I sit down.

When he pushes me toward the table, he leans down and kisses the crown of my head. “Be right back.”

I can’t help but watch him as he walks back into the house.

This man…he blows me away. Constantly he’s reminding me that he’s a bad man, but then he goes and does this.

Or the bakery. God, the baked goods. When he came home yesterday, he had three bags of freshly baked bread.

He got me the banana bread he introduced me to, along with two new-to-me flavors that I also highly enjoyed.

He didn’t have to stop on his way home but chose to.

As far as I’m concerned, he’s a damn good man who just isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

When he steps back outside, I can’t help but shake my head.

“Where did that come from?”

“I timed it to be dropped off on the porch when you were getting changed.”

“This is insane,” I tell him as he sets the bottle of wine and a bag on the table.

He sets a container of food in front of me and one in front of the chair across from me. After setting the bag out of the way, he moves on to the wine.

“Does this one meet your standards tonight, miss?” he teases.

I lean forward and pretend to study the label before sitting back and nodding. “It will do. Carry on,” I say, playing along.

It’s unfathomable to me that I wouldn’t have even been able to pretend like this before I came here. Between Thea, Maxim, and all the TV I’ve been watching, I’m starting to understand more. I’m starting to feel like part of society. It’s mind-blowing.

Smirking, he shakes his head as he pours us both a glass. Then he moves to his chair and sits down. Maxim raises his glass, so I pick mine up as well.

“To hopefully the first of many dates together,” he says.

“Salute,” we murmur in unison.

I take a drink and almost wince at the tart flavor of the wine. It’s not bad by any means, but it caught me off guard. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Slowly I take another sip, and this time it goes a little better.

I’ve always heard that wine is an acquired taste, I just didn’t realize how true that is.

“You know, this isn’t the first date we’ve had, right?”

Maxim’s forehead creases. “Yes, it is.”

I shake my head slowly. “The park.”

“Сонечко, the park wasn’t a date. That was just an outing.”

“Tomato. Tomatoe. It was a date to me. One that I loved.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, his eyes soften.

“Fine, that was our first date, and this is our second.” He reaches across the table and grabs my hand.

“Now that we have that corrected, what did you order for us?”

Tonight has been perfect.

It’s like the calm before the storm. I know that we are so close to cracking Jan’s operation wide open. It is going to get ugly. People are going to get hurt. We aren’t going to be able to save them all.

It’s the reality of the dark world we live in.

Before shit hits the fan, I wanted to do something for Olena. Something she can hold onto when things get rough. Hopefully it reminds her that there will be light on the other side. Little does she know, it will be her.

Сонечко.

My sunshine.

“That was perfect. What do you call that dessert again?” Olena asks, licking her fingers.

It makes me want to lick her in other places. Or feel her tongue on me. I haven’t asked for a blow job, nor will I. It is something she was trained to do.

If she asks one day in the far future, I’ll explore that with her, but I refuse to even consider it now. Not with her trauma.

Doesn’t mean I don’t imagine how her mouth would feel.

“Babe?” she says, instead of using my name.

She’s been doing this more and more. Using little pet names. I love it. She could call me her little kitty boo thing, and I would pant for her. God, I’m such a simp, but fuck if I care.

“Tiramisu,” I respond, my tone gravelly.

Her eyes flare, recognizing what that means.

Yeah, Сонечко. You have me hard as fuck.

She licks her spoon seductively before she sets it on her plate.

Minx. She’s a damn minx.

“I have one last surprise for you. Come on,” I tell her, helping her stand from the table.

“The dishes…” she starts.

“Leave them. They can wait.”

Walking her over to the back corner of the house, I show her the daybed I set up with fluffy blankets.

“What’s this?”

“Stargazing. Have you ever tried?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “What do I do?”

“Lie down.”

She does as I ask, staring up at the sky. While she does, I pull the remote out of my pocket and turn off all the lights.

“Wow. It’s so pretty out here.”

“The light pollution is less when you have no neighbors.” I kneel at the end of the bed, spreading her legs.

She looks down at me. “What are you doing?”

“I got you a gift.” I pull the small box out of my pocket and hand it to her.

She opens the box and gasps. Inside is a small ring along with a photo.

“It’s a star I named after you. Сонечко.

You light up my dark world without even trying, so I got you this.

It’s yours, and the ring represents it. So anytime you think it’s too dark, that your demons are being too loud, you can either look at your ring or the sky and know that you are the bright light guiding someone through the world.

Guiding me through it. You are my little sun, Сонечко, the brightest star in the sky. ”

Tears fill her eyes. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

Leaning over her, I press a kiss to her lips. I start off light, but quickly it turns into a rushed need. She kisses me just as passionately as her legs fall around my hips. When I feel her heat, I look down and groan when I realize she’s not wearing any panties.

“Really?” I hiss in pain. “You are perfect.”

“I figured you’d ruin them anyway.”

Shaking my head, I quickly strip before stroking my cock twice. Then I kneel between her legs, kissing her pretty, perfect pussy.

“I would eat you until you scream, but I really want to fuck you under your star right now.”

She giggles. “Our star. I want it to be ours.”

“Fine,” I tease, kissing her nose before I pull on a condom. “Our star.”

She reaches for me, touching me on her own for the very first time. I let her stroke me as I grip her legs, getting her into position.

“It’s not like I thought it would be,” she says.

“What did you think?” I ask.

“It’s hard, but still a little squishy. It’s interesting.” She squeezes it, making me groan. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

She goes to let go, but I wrap my hand around hers, stroking myself with her hand as I squeeze.

“It feels good. You feel good.”

She blushes. “It does?”

I nod. “Anything you do feels good. Fuck, we gotta stop or I’ll come right here. I want to fuck you.”

“Please do.” She smiles up at me.

I love that she is confident enough to say that now. It’s like I’m watching her shed her shell right in front of me. I love that I am the man that she wants to hold her hand as she does that. It makes me feel more powerful than anything in my life. I give all that power to her.

I let her squeeze me one more time before I position myself at her entrance. I push in slowly, savoring the way she feels until I’m buried to the hilt. I swear every time is like the first time with her. I hope I never get over this feeling. I have a feeling I never will.

Pulling her knees up, I tilt her hips until I know I’ll be hitting her clit and G-spot at the same time. I love the way her eyes look when I do that. Then I start to thrust.

I start off slow, teasing her. Whenever it seems like she is getting closer, I back off, changing my pace. I keep doing this, watching as she gets more and more frustrated.

Finally, she growls, “Will you stop changing your pace? I’m so fucking close.”

I smirk down at her. “You want me to stop edging you?”

She nods.

I flip us so she is on top and I’m on my back. Looking up at her, I know I am in heaven. She is an angel.

“Take it.”

“W-what?”

“Take what you need, Olena. Fuck me,” I tell her.

She’s a little nervous, but slowly she starts to swivel her hips.

My hands grip them, helping her move. I can see the moment she feels the pleasure from it.

She starts off tentatively but commits to her motions more, moving faster as she chases her orgasm.

The entire time, I watch her, ignoring my own pleasure to live in hers.

It only takes minutes for her to come, her body collapsing on top of me. Gripping her hips, I keep thrusting up inside of her before I finally allow my own pleasure to release.

I let myself enjoy the moment before moving her to the side. Taking off the condom, I tie it and throw it into the yard for later cleanup. Then I gather Olena in my arms.

After several moments of silence, she giggles.

“What?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

I tickle her, making her giggle more. “Tell me.”

She smiles up at me. “Well, that took the saying ‘seeing stars’ to a whole new level.”

I chuckle, kissing the top of her head. “I love you, Сонечко .”

“I love you, Maxim. So much.”

She says that like she can’t live without me, but the truth is, I can’t live without her.

She has quickly become my everything.