Page 20 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

“If you think that, Maximus, you’re a fuckin’ idiot. She doesn’t trust anyone. Other than you, I’ve never met someone so distrusting in all my life.”

Maximus? Christ, no one calls me by my full name—ever .

“I think you’re wrong,” I noted.

“I know I’m right; as a matter of fact, when all this shit blows over, you and I will sit down, have a beer, and you can tell me all of the ways I’m right.”

Tex had lost his mind.

“You inviting me up to Pennsylvania to have that beer?” I asked.

I’d only ever seen Tex in person a handful of times in all the years I’d known him and he rarely invited anyone to do anything with him.

“Sure am, but that invitation is only valid if you bring Eva and the boys.”

“What the hell?”

“I’ve heard a lot about Liam and Elijah. ”

“They’re good kids,” I told him.

“I’ve heard that. Get this shit done. Get your shit sorted. Then get their asses up to my place and we’ll share a beer. You can stroke my ego, tell me how smart I am—”

“I’m not stroking anything of yours, friend.”

“Right.” Tex laughed. “Stay sharp.”

Tex disconnected before I could explain to him that once this shit was over, I wasn’t taking Eva or her kids anywhere. They’d be safely tucked away someplace new, starting over, and I’d never see them again.

Damn .

My hand went to my chest to rub the phantom ache that thought caused.

Then I dialed Declan.

“Yo,” he answered.

“You busy?”

“Nope.”

Hopefully that meant he wasn’t at the home of a woman he had no business visiting. No, fuck that, hopefully that meant he’d stopped seeing the woman altogether before everyone else found out where he’d been going and all hell broke loose.

Declan was the very definition of a ticking timebomb.

Between his past—most of which I didn’t know because the man was a vault of secrets, but what I did know about his childhood made mine seem normal—his time in the military, then going on a long cover on a covert mission for the CIA and whatever the fuck happened there, he was the perfect recipe for disaster.

Hence, I wasn’t all that surprised he was skirting the line of death around Thad and our boss, Zane Lewis.

Because if those two men found out, Declan’s balls would be in a vise.

Zane, because what Dec was doing was beyond stupid and Thad would lose his mind because his wife Emerson would lose hers.

“Have you heard from Tex?”

“Yeah, he called about an hour ago and filled us in. Everything good with you?”

That was a hell fucking no. My head was so far up my own ass where Eva was concerned, I was afraid I’d never breathe fresh air again.

“Yep. We’re at the hotel. Everything set for us to arrive tomorrow?”

“Really wish you—”

“We talked about this already. No way was I gonna make those kids sit in the car for ten-plus hours, which really means fourteen. It’s bad enough we did seven today. I heard you the first time you bitched about me not driving straight through. Get over it, Dec. I got them covered.”

“Right, but who’s got you covered? Yesterday you were almost taken out.”

“That was yesterday. Today no one tried to kill me, it’s all good. We’ll leave first thing. Which by the way, have a rental at the hotel by nine. No way in hell am I putting them in an SUV that’s been sitting in a hotel parking lot unwatched.”

“Copy that.”

“And make sure it’s an SUV.”

“Goddamn, King Max. Anything else?”

I couldn’t stop from smiling at Declan’s annoyance.

“No, that will be all, my faithful servant.”

“Fuck off.”

Dec disconnected and I shook my head—two people in the last five minutes had hung up on me.

Damn, my friends sure know how to make a guy feel the love.

I heard it, the door creak, the soft footfalls, the shallow breathing, the hesitation, before I felt a soft hand touch my shoulder.

Then I heard Eva’s squeak of surprise after I reached out, snagged her hand, yanked her onto the bed, and rolled her under me.

“Max.”

That was all she said, all it took for my control to slip, her saying my fucking name in that sweet, breathy whisper.

“If this isn’t what you want, tell me to stop now.”

She didn’t tell me to stop, she didn’t utter a word, but her legs wound around my back and her heels dug in.

One hand fisted her hair, keeping her mouth where I wanted it, and the other traveled down and yanked her panties to the side before I dipped two fingers into her pussy.

Fucking hell, wet.

Not bothering to waste time taking them off, I shoved them farther out of the way and lined my cock up and drove home.

Christ, better than I remembered. Hot, slick, and tight as fuck.

Our tongues continued to play as I tried to find some sort of control to slow this down. I wanted to savor her, take my time, explore her body, and learn what drove her wild. But when her nails raked down my back and her legs tightened, control wasn’t an option.

Eva wrenched her mouth from mine, her head tilted back, and on a long moan she mumbled, “Harder.”

Fucking perfect.

“Shush, honey,” I reminded her when her soft moans grew louder.

Her face went into my neck, her hips bucked up to meet my thrusts, and her pussy hugged my cock so fucking tight I was counting back from ten to fight off my need to explode .

With every stroke, I sank deeper into heaven.

Every moan was the sweetest sound.

“Max, please.”

Yeah, the sweetest fucking sound.

“What do you need, honey?”

“More.”

“You want my hand, Eva?”

“Yes.”

“Gotta loosen your legs, honey,” I told her, giving her thigh a squeeze.

Her legs fell open, her heels went to the mattress, knees bent, and she fucked me, driving up as I plunged down. Hell, yeah, Eva felt like heaven.

My hand started to go between her legs, then I changed direction, grabbed hers, and brought them both to my original destination.

With her finger on her clit, mine over hers, I started to rub.

“I want to feel you get yourself off.” Eva started to shake her head but I pressed harder on her clit and continued. “Come on, honey, take over,” I coaxed.

After a second, her finger started to move and I wished the lights had been on so I could watch.

“Next time, we’re taking this slow.”

“Max.”

“Just like that, honey, harder.”

Wetness gushed and her pussy started to flutter.

“Christ, Eva,” I grunted. “Get there.”

“I’m there, Max.”

Yeah, she was, and she felt like a hot, sleek fist squeezing my cock.

Control gone, I let go and powered into her. Fast, hard, and rough, until all my restraint was gone and I spilled inside of her .

With my cock planted as deep as I could go, still wanting to get deeper, Eva’s hand trapped between us, her pussy convulsing around my shaft, my face buried in her neck, I couldn’t stop myself from sinking my teeth into the soft flesh between her shoulder and neck.

“Oh my God, Max,” she moaned, and sweet fuck, she wrapped all four limbs around and held on tight.

Eva’s lips pressed against my chest and she nuzzled closer.

The gesture did all kinds of crazy shit to me—it muddled my head and made me want to keep her pinned under me for eternity.

Where in the fuck did that come from? Her choppy breath fanned across my heated skin and pulled me back to reality.

Begrudgingly, I lifted my weight off her and balanced on my elbow while brushing her soft brown strands away from her pretty face.

Unlike the first time she made no move to disengage, there was no shock or panic in her eyes, nothing but soft, hazy satisfaction. And I couldn’t stop the swell of pride—the knowledge that I’d put that look on her face. It hit me in all the places I normally kept locked down.

Maybe it wasn’t her pussy that was heaven, maybe it was just her—all of her. The way she said my name, the way she held me tight, the way she allowed herself to be open even when she thought it was embarrassing.

Her hands roamed my back and a smile played on her puffy pink lips when she asked, “Is your shoulder okay?”

“Yeah, honey, it’s fine.”

I rolled to the side, taking her with me and did something I’d never done—I pulled her close, not wanting her to run away. Not yet, not until I got my fill, not until I sated this crazy need to hold her.

Eva was unabashed in her examination. Her palm skimmed down my chest, and for the first time in years, I enjoyed the soft touch of a woman. This wasn’t about sex or passion, it was exploratory. Her hand made it down my stomach, pausing before her finger traced my scar.

Not even the goodness of her touch could erase the memories, and before she could continue, I grabbed her wrist, halting her progress. She lifted her head off my chest and in the dim light, I could read the question in her eyes.

“Just don’t.”

“Don’t what? Touch it or ask about it?”

“Both.”

Eva gave me a sad smile before she lowered her head back down and burrowed close.

“All right, Max, I won’t touch it.”

I released her wrist and she immediately moved her hand to safer territory—but the moment was broken. Eva was no longer relaxed.

“It’s just—”

“Shh, Max. I get it. We all have things we don’t want to talk about. You don’t need to explain.”

Jesus, she did get it—more than most, she understood that there were things that were better off left buried.

And how that scar came to be was one of those things.

The problem was, with Eva’s warm, soft body pressed against mine, I didn’t want secrets between us.

I didn’t want to leave things buried. I wanted her to know why that scar was a visual reminder never to let my guard down.

But if I told her that, I’d need to explain what happened to the person who’d tried her best to kill me.

And with all of those crazy thoughts swirling around in my head, and with Eva cuddled close, I realized I was a little more than over my head.