Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) (6 page)

Max was sure I thought he had abandoned me. I knew that was not the case. “It’s okay, I wouldn’t have wanted you to see me when I first woke up. I was pretty frail, right Joe?”

Joe nodded enthusiastically, “She sure was. Moving slower than molasses in January, shuffling around with a walker. She’s a might prettier now that she is moving under her own steam.”

Joe motioned the two of us to a couch.

“So how long have you been…” Max didn’t finish.

“Awake? A little over six weeks.”

“And, you’re okay?”

“I am now. My mom’s going to be glad I’m not badgering her anymore. I’ve called her every day since I could work the phone to see if you called her back or e-mailed her.”

Max looked down, as if I were pointing out yet another failure. “I was using my phone for e-mail, and it got smashed a couple months ago. I didn’t think, I mean, I should have…”

I cut Max off with, “That’s right! I’m sure you could have found a Verizon store, right? You should have just popped over to the mall after work.” The absurdity must have been infectious because they both had smart comments about how convenient everything was in a war zone.

We all sat down and caught up on each other. As we talked, Joe and I hatched the best plan. We were both here on a voluntary basis and could discharge whenever we wanted. We decided we would both go back to Ridgeville with Max, so we could all spend some quality time together. I called my mom, Seth, and Rachael to fill them in on what I was up to, and they were all thrilled that Max was back. I passed a message to Rewsna as well, not over the phone, obviously, but I was sure she got it.

Rewsna’s voice echoed in my mind as she said, “
Passion becomes you Lauren. Tell Max ‘welcome home’ and enjoy your celebration - do not wait too long to fill Max in on the evil all around you. He must be prepared.
”

Passion becomes me? I was transformed back to that same dream I had for years of Max before I actually met him. He had prophesized that we would know true passion. My mind at the time equated this to physical passion, but in this moment I could feel passion for Max in my mind, body and spirit; this was true passion.

The three of us arrived at Max’s house while it was still light out. We sat together telling stories and sharing happy memories. It was several hours later after easy conversation had begun to subside that I noticed the sun had disappeared and darkness had fallen.

Joe announced abruptly, “Well, kids, I’m going to bed. I’ll see you two in the morning.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he was out of the chair, down the hall, around the corner, and we heard the echo of his bedroom door shut. I’m sure his departure was his way of giving us the privacy we both craved.

Max stared at me, his calloused hand stroking my face. His skin felt rough on my cheek while his thumb gently caressed my lips. We sat there immobile for a long moment, neither wanting to break the silence, both knowing this would be a night like no other. We had been given a second chance. I stared into his eyes, the same amazing green with brown flecks; I had missed them for so long and just wanted to keep staring.

“Lauren, I am so sorry I left you…I wasn’t strong enough…I gave up.” I put my hand over his mouth and shook my head.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I don’t care about the last couple years. You’re here and I’m here now. Can we just live in the moment?”

“I never thought I’d have a chance to tell you…I thought you were gone.”

“I’m here, I’m okay – none of this was your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it.”

“I left you alone. I should have known…” Emotion overtook Max. I already knew exactly how guilty he felt.

I could think of only one way to make the guilt go away. “I don’t care about any of it. The last time we were here you wanted to take things slow. I’m ready to speed things up, if that’s okay?” The humor was thinly veiled, as my desire was spinning out of control.

Max slid his hand behind my head and pulled my lips to his. His lips were tight on mine, and electricity pulsed through me. He dropped his hand from my face, sliding it under my shirt. Max caressed the skin on my stomach for a second as if he were apprehensive. I could tell his fingers were lightly tracing the scars from my attack. Before I could get too self-conscious his hand found its way to my breast. He reached around and unhooked my bra so there was no barrier between his hand and me, slowly caressing at first, but abandoning the gentleness in favor of a stronger hold and near painful grip.

The sweetness of his kiss also turned angry. I felt a moan escape my lips, and Max’s other hand found its way under my shirt as well. He lowered his mouth and kissed one of my breasts. When my shirt got in the way, he grabbed it in both hands and effortlessly slid it up over my head and onto the floor.

The scars were deep and might as well have been a neon sign. I could see him stare and was worried he’d put my shirt back on. I laid on the couch as he pressed his weight against me so heavily that I almost couldn’t breathe. Just when I was ready to gasp for air, Max readjusted, his lips making their way all over my exposed flesh; everywhere he kissed might as well have had an accelerant poured over it, because I was on fire.

Max removed his shirt as well and our bodies lay half naked together on the couch. I felt his heart racing, his strong hands taking in every inch of me. My head was spinning so fast I felt like I was intoxicated. All the inhibitions and nervousness I was feeling the last time we were together were completely gone. I wanted only one thing; his eyes told me he longed for the same. We lay sprawled on the couch together, neither rushing the moment, but both our desires screaming for more.

His lips moved to my ear as his labored breathing gave way to, “Lauren, I’m going to take you to our bedroom.” He raked his teeth across my earlobe as I felt the bulge in his pants grinding on me; he had just called it
our
bedroom.

Max carried me in his arms down the long hallway. With each step the longing in his eyes grew more intense. As he entered the bedroom, he gently placed me on my feet. Max backed me up to the wall, closing the bedroom door absently. Max stepped into me using his body to press me harder into the wall. Our bodies didn’t fit together perfectly; he was significantly taller than I was. I wrapped my arms around him, he slid his hands behind me and hiked my legs up so they were wrapped around him, too. He continued pressing me into the wall, each time further stoking the flames under my skin.

When I believed the inferno couldn’t get any hotter, he whispered, “We need to change venues, and you are far too overdressed for the occasion.” He unwound my legs from his torso, took both my hands in his, leading me to the bed. We lay there for only a second when he eased my shorts and panties off. The room spun and I had trouble breathing. When I thought I could take no more and tried to grind my pelvis into him, he merely pushed me back flat against the bed.

Max began kissing every inch of my body. All these sensations were so foreign to me, every single one of them was a carnival in itself. I was so self-conscious of the scars that I reached to turn the light off. Max must have understood because he said, “You’re beautiful – leave it on.”

“Max, I’ve waited so long, don’t make me wait anymore.”

Max shook his head at me, in a cool voice confiding, “I waited too long for this moment to rush any part of it. Relax, and let me savor you a little while longer. I need to see if I can make time stand still.” He went back to my abdomen and continued working his way all over me. Eventually, he pulled a condom from his bedside table.

There are no words to describe the magic between us. Although our first time together was more painful than I had imagined, I could see it was a completely different experience for him. I could see his love for me through his eyes, and I could feel it in his touch.

I finally dozed off, his body wrapped around mine, exactly where I wanted to be. I didn’t care about what happened two years ago, or a week ago, or anything that might happen in the future. As of today - I had everything I would ever need.

Somewhere around three a.m. I awoke and reveled in the safety and warmth of his arms, his body still wedged to mine. The comfortable feeling began to evaporate, replaced by my desire for round two. The initial soreness I had felt diminished as we wound ourselves together a second time. When we had finished, Max asked, “Are you okay, did I hurt you?”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been waiting for you forever. It’s nice to know sometimes reality is better than fantasy.”

Max whispered back, “I’m going to close my eyes and see if I wake up tomorrow.” He paused while I tried to understand what he meant. “I’m not sure if I was blown up by a roadside bomb today and I’m in heaven, or if I’m really with you. Either way is a win-win, but I can’t wait to find out.” He kissed the top of my head and held me tight until I drifted off to sleep again.

Our days together flew by, daylight hours filled with outdoor activities: mowing, trimming hedges, mulching flower beds, power washing buildings, feeding animals and anything else that needed to be done. Max and I did everything together; no chore was ever a one-person job. I began to wonder if the novelty would ever wear off, but I couldn’t get enough of him and he seemed to feel the same.

Having Joe around was great comic relief. He wasn’t nearly as handy with the manual labor, but he was so thrilled to be with Max and me that he was eager to assist wherever he could. I believe this time in my life could only be called pure bliss.

It had been nearly two weeks since Max returned. We were outside finishing up some bush trimming when I asked if he wanted some tea. He stopped trimming and walked over to me, “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ll bring you a glass.”

“That’s all right, I’m done here for now. I’ll go along.”

I didn’t want to argue, but we probably needed to talk about the fact that more than a week had gone by and he had never been further than twenty feet from me. As we started back for the house I said, “You know you can’t keep me at arm’s distance for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re always with me, but it might be a little unrealistic.”

Max reached out and grabbed my hand but said nothing. I didn’t want to push it, because I really did like being the center of his universe, but I could see in his face that this was more of a protective posture than anything.

I heard a loud whinney from the horse barn. “Geeze, I haven’t seen the horses all week. Let’s go say hi.”

“Let’s stop by later. I’d rather get a drink.”

“Okay, go get a drink. I’m going to stop by to see the horses.”

His grip held my hand tighter for a second as he gently pulled me back toward the house. When I tried to nonchalantly loosen my hand from his, he pulled me to him, and wrapped his arms around me. This was a tender moment from out of nowhere, but I wasn’t complaining. I could hear Joe yell from the kitchen window, “Am I going to have to turn the hose on you two?”

Max let go of me. We feigned embarrassment at Joe standing on the porch with a garden hose. Max started back for the kitchen, and I said, “I’ll catch up. I’m going to the barn for a minute.”

As I turned to walk away, I caught Max following me out of the corner of my eye. We got to just outside the barn door - I entered, Max stopped short. I saw Christy in her stall, and she began prancing around pawing a greeting into the floor. I petted her and turned around to say something to Max. He hadn’t followed me in; he just stood outside the door watching me. Puzzled I asked, “What’s wrong, aren’t you coming?”

He shook his head but didn’t say anything. I went down to the other stalls. They were empty.

“Where are Ursula and Mischief?”

His voice sounded different when he answered, “I got rid of them right after the - accident.” His voice was full of hate and his eyes were locked on mine. I knew there was more to the story, but I wasn’t going to push it. After I had said my goodbyes to Christy, I walked back toward the house with Max in lock step with me.

Not understanding the contempt I heard in his voice, I told him, “We should go for a ride later.”

Max’s reply held no emotion at all. “No.”

Surprised by his abrupt dismissal, I was sure he saw the confusion I was wearing. I asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just don’t want to go for a ride.”

“Okay, maybe tomorrow?”

“No, not tomorrow either.”

I stopped and looked at him. He wore a painful expression but didn’t offer any explanation. I didn’t think I should have to ask the question, but ultimately I did. “Why not?”

“Lauren, I don’t ever intend to get on a horse again, and I don’t want you on one either. I don’t blame them for what happened, I blame myself, but there is no way I’m going to take a chance like that again.”

I knew this was coming. In the days since our reunion, we had spent every waking moment living in
the now
, not the past or the future. We hadn’t even discussed
my accident,
and it seemed like now might finally be the right time.

“You aren’t blaming what happened to me on the horses, are you? I mean it had nothing to do with them.” He shook his head that he wasn’t, but there was so much pain shining through his face that I knew he was lying. “You aren’t to blame either.” I could see the disbelief, so I added, “I think we need to talk about it because there are some aspects that you don’t know about.”

“Sure, I left you alone, at night, in a forest, with no protection, and a bear mauled you. You’re right we do need to have a discussion, which should take all of 30 seconds.” The contempt in his voice would have normally made me want to stomp off, but I knew this contempt was masking guilt - guilt that he didn’t deserve.

I motioned for him to follow me to the trunk of a tree and sit down. He did, but it had less to do with wanting to talk and more to do with the fact that he wouldn’t leave my side. I started slowly, “There was absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent the attack.” He rolled his eyes not believing me, but I continued anyway. “It wasn’t a bear, Max. It was something else.”