Page 14 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

I was very aware of Eva’s palm on my chest and her hand in mine. So goddamn aware, my body was reacting to her touch in ways I couldn’t explain. She was looking up at me with wide, scared eyes and damn, if I didn’t want to soothe the fear.

I probably should’ve found a better way to tell her about her car. I’d been told a time or a hundred I lacked finesse. Under normal circumstances, I found pussyfooting around a subject a waste of time. Shit was what it was, so why waste time sugarcoating it?

Life happens—you deal and move on.

But watching Eva’s face grow pale and her eyes go guarded churned my stomach.

I should’ve found a way to break the news gently.

And the mere recognition of that made me wonder what in the hell was wrong with me.

I wasn’t a complete asshole but I dealt in facts, not emotions.

And the fact was, her car had been used as a bomb.

But fuck if it didn’t suck watching her take in that information and try to process it.

Of course her mind went immediately to her boys. They’d indeed been in that car not even thirty minutes before it exploded.

That thought ate at me. Why the fuck hadn’t I checked her car before we’d left Georgia? I knew better and my lack of attention to detail could’ve gotten them killed. I’d been too caught up in giving Eva what she wanted that I’d let her call the shots.

That shit had to end.

From there on out, I was in charge. No more bullshit games.

“It really doesn’t matter, Max,” she whispered. “Just please tell me why Tex thought my car was being tracked.”

“You keep saying it doesn’t matter, but it does. You said you weren’t afraid of me. So why do you think I’m always mad at you?”

“Because you’re constantly scowling at me.

I know you don’t like me and I don’t blame you.

I’ve done things I’m ashamed of. I’ve made more than my fair share of bad decisions.

But I’m not a bad person. Everything I’ve done was in an effort to protect my kids.

Everything, Max. Jay infiltrated my life and once he was in it, I couldn’t get him out.

He was a cancer that ate away at my soul.

I hated everything about him, everything about the person I had to become to get my boys away from him.

But since Tex… I haven’t done one single thing that I’m not proud of. ”

Her hand in mine tensed and her fingers flexed against my chest. Another reminder I’d pulled her close, and not because I didn’t want her to flee.

I’d simply wanted all of her attention. And if I was being honest, I’d wanted to touch her since I’d walked into her living room.

Even knowing what she’d done to Bubba and Zoey, I couldn’t help the attraction.

And the truth was, that made me feel like a disloyal dick.

Mark Wright was a friend and by extension, so was Zoey.

I should not want to touch this woman. I shouldn’t want her close, I shouldn’t want to make her feel better, and I sure as fuck shouldn’t want to lean down and kiss the hell out of her . But I wanted all of these things with an unhealthy desperation.

Maybe that’s why I was always frowning. Because I could not for the life of me figure out why I would be infatuated with Eva Dawson.

But there it fucking was—a spark of interest that I couldn’t stop. And the hell of it was, it was more than lust. Eva intrigued me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know I had mommy issues. I’d grown up with a shit mother, so maybe my infatuation had to do with how she was with Liam and Elijah.

Yeah, asshole, keep telling yourself that big honkin’ lie.

“I don’t dislike you,” I told her.

Disbelieving eyes met mine and a small, deprecating smile tipped her lips.

“Right.”

“Straight up, Eva, what you did to Bubba and Zoey was jacked. But believe it or not, they understand why you did it. Which I’ll admit, until I met you and heard you explain why you did it—rather than reading it in a report—I did not understand how they could’ve forgiven you.

But they have. Tex saw something good in you, and I know you don’t know the man all that well, so let me explain this to you—Tex is as loyal as they come.

If he didn’t believe with a hundred percent conviction you were a good person made to do something unbelievably shitty, he would’ve let you rot in jail.

What he wouldn’t’ve done was save your ass.

He would’ve gotten your boys help, because that’s the type of man he is, but he wouldn’t’ve busted his ass to protect you.

“I’m telling you all of that to say this—I understand why you did what you did.

Beyond that, I respect how much you love your boys.

The lengths you’ll go to protect them I admire.

I didn’t have a good mom. Mine was pretty much the opposite of everything that you are.

So I’m telling you, I do not dislike you.

I’m not scowling at you. I’m simply not finding anything to smile about.

The situation you’ve been put in is fucked.

I’m not being nosy asking you personal questions, I’m trying to gather as much information as I can to catch the motherfucker who is after you.

That’s the only way I can make you and the boys safe. ”

Eva remained silent, either from stubbornness or disbelief.

Either way, I didn’t have time to convince her I was being honest, and frankly, I hated having to prove to people I was being honest. Either they trusted my word or they didn’t.

The irony of that wasn’t lost on me. I trusted no one until they demonstrated I could, and even after that, I rarely extended the gesture.

“Tex sent in a team to intercept the man who accepted the contract to take you out.” Good Lord, those words tasted foul.

“Intel says Chris Peters is on a flight to Florida. One man went to the airport to look for him as he disembarked. The others went to your house. When they opened the front door, they smelled gas.” I paused and waited for her to digest the new information.

I didn’t get to continue. Eva’s eyes turned glassy and wetness pooled before the first fat tear slid down her cheek.

“Why?” The question was barely audible—more like a warm puff of breath that I felt wash over me. The feel of it crawled inside and seeped so deep I didn’t think I’d ever forget her terrified whisper.

“I don’t know, babe, but I promise you I’m gonna find out.”

“Wait.” Eva’s brows drew together and I knew the moment she figured it out—her palm on my chest spasmed right before she fisted my tee. “If that Chris guy wasn’t in Florida yet, why did my house smell like gas? Was there a leak? ”

“No, Eva. Someone set your house to explode.”

“But…but Tex said…”

I was losing her, I knew it when her eyes went wild, her lips stretched into two flat lines, and the unshed tears started to fall. I couldn’t watch Eva crumble, so I did something incredibly stupid and pulled her into my arms and held her tight.

I learned two things: Eva’s body pressed against mine, arms wrapped around me, cheek to my chest, felt fucking great.

The other was even more disconcerting—she fit perfectly.

Her petite frame molded to my larger one and her head tucked under my chin.

She felt right, almost as if she was made to be there. The perfect size to hold and protect.

“Babe, we’re gonna figure this out.”

“You already said that,” she hiccupped.

“And I’ll keep saying it until you believe it.”

“When?”

“When, what?”

“When will this be over? When can me and my boys just live? Be normal? That’s all I want, Max. I want them to be safe, to live a normal, happy life. And I feel like every time I get close to being able to give them that, something happens.”

I had no answers, so I remained quiet. The silence stretched, and with every passing second that ticked, Eva relaxed until her erratic breathing evened out.

Her head tilted up, mine tipped down, and goddamn, her mouth was a hair’s breadth away.

Right fucking there—so close I could feel her breath on my lips.

So wrong.

So achingly beautiful.

“Max,” she whispered my name and before I could stop myself, my lips were on hers.

There was no hesitation. Eva’s mouth opened, her tongue brushed mine, and I was lost. One taste was all it took.

The salt from her tears mixed with the apple juice she had with dinner.

Salty and sweet—a deadly combination I couldn’t get enough of.

I took more until Eva was whimpering, the sound snapping my control.

My hands went to her ass, lifted, and her legs wrapped around my hips.

There was nothing gentle about this kiss.

No finesse, no long, slow seduction. All tongues and teeth, clashing, battling, violent passion.

Need took over common sense and I was walking down the hall toward the bedroom.

I waited for Eva to protest, to stop the madness before it went any further.

But by the time I had the door closed, locked, her back pressed against the wall, she was yanking my shirt up and grinding down on my cock.

Fuck this, there was a perfectly good bed five feet away and I needed her naked and under me with a craving I’d never felt.

I set her on her feet next to the bed, tore my shirt over my head, and wordlessly she followed. Clothes came off and were carelessly tossed on the floor. Eva’s mouth went to my chest, her hand fisted my cock. Pleasure ricocheted through me. Good Christ .

“Eva,” I groaned when her tongue swiped my nipple, her hand still working my cock in tight, fast strokes.

Her mouth went lower, nipping, licking over my stomach until she reached my cock, and without warning, she pulled me into her warm, wet mouth.

I locked my legs and let the sensation wash over me.

“Goddamn, babe.”