In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) (23 page)

Max brought his other hand to her cheek and tenderly caressed her. What surprised Stella was that he didn’t spring on her like he had before. He was showing amazing restraint, considering how intimate that moment was. It was as if he waited for her, as if it was her decision to make.

She melted into his hand and closed her eyes, fully surrendering to the moment. Exhaling loudly, Max tightened his arms around her, almost crushing her, and bringing his face to the side of her neck, breathed her in. Then he slowly, almost agonisingly so, touched his lips on her neck.

Stella physically shivered. She’d never felt such intense pangs of pleasure before. If he could do that to her with a soft kiss on her neck, what would it be like to make love to him? The thought made her gasp, as another wave of lust thundered through her body.

“Stella,” Max whispered, his voice husky. “You’re killing me here.” He dragged his lips and the tip of his tongue up her neck to her jaw line. Stella moaned as contradicting emotions spread inside her; she needed to pull away, because if she didn’t they’d end up spending the night together – and yet she’d never felt this good in her life. It was the single most amazing moment of her existence, and how was she supposed to interrupt it?

“Max ...”

“Please don’t tell me to stop, baby. I want you so much,” he whispered, as his lips found hers.

This time his kiss was slow and luxurious. She savoured every moment as he stroked her tongue with his. Sucking on her lower lip, Max buried his hands in her hair and eased her back on the sofa. He laid on top of her, his lips never leaving hers, his hands stroking her thighs, her waist, her breasts. His thigh parted her legs as he positioned himself right on top of her, and she whimpered at the back of her throat.

What am I doing? Making out with Max on my aunt’s sofa, for Christ’s sake! What if she wakes up and finds us? What if Lisa wakes up?

All Stella’s thoughts were cut off, because Max had increased the pressure of his thigh between her legs and his hand was under her tank top.

Oh God!

*

Stella gasped under his touch, her whole body trembling with need. She kissed him back as if her life depended on it. Her lips were eager and anything but gentle. The moment Max pressed his thigh between her legs, she bit his lower lip and moaned, her hands finding their way under his shirt. Her grey eyes were so unfocused they looked black.

God, she’s so close!

Max wanted to make her come and to watch her the whole time, drinking in her face, her lips, with her whole body shuddering underneath him. He moved his hand under her tank top, over her breasts, her stomach, until he replaced his thigh with his fingers. Stella’s breath caught as she was trying to be quiet, and she arched her body, her head falling backwards. Max bent down and kissed her neck, then moved away to watch as she came undone in his arms.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and sexy as hell.

He’d been imagining that moment since he’d met her on the beach and poured hydrogen peroxide on her injured foot. She had arched her body in the same way and he had craved to make her do that from pleasure, not pain.

Slowly, Stella relaxed in his arms, and looked at him, her eyelids half closed. Her skin was flushed and her lips were swollen and red. Max bent down again and kissed her, gently, savouring the sweet taste of her. She wrapped her hands behind his neck and drew him even closer.

Good, she wasn’t pushing him away. That was a good sign. He wouldn’t be able to take it if she started acting all awkward on him right now. They had crossed a line and from now on it was all or nothing. No more friendship bullshit. Max wanted Stella like he’d never wanted anything before.

Judging by her body’s reaction to him, she wanted him just as much.

*

As Stella calmed down, she started to realise what had just happened. Max had made it clear that he wanted to be with her, and he’d been trying to be her friend only because she’d asked him to. She had succumbed to her attraction to him and given him false hope.

There was no way she was going to break his heart.

He deserved someone he could be with, without any complications like a long-distance relationship or, even worse, cancer. There was a very real possibility that when she went back to London and had her check-up, the cancer would be back. It had been back after the first surgery.

Stella gently put her palm on Max’s chest, trying to push him off her. She had to be very careful how she reacted right now – she didn’t want to hurt him, but at the same time he had to know that this couldn’t happen again.

“Max,” she whispered, still a little bit breathless. He lifted himself off her and looked into her eyes, his own full of longing. She pushed him up a bit further until they sat back on the sofa. “That was amazing.”

“But?” His expression clouded and he frowned, sensing there would definitely be a ‘but’.

“We can’t do this right now. Lisa’s really fragile at the moment and I don’t want to spring any relationship between us on her. She’s made it clear she wouldn’t approve and I just think it would be a good idea if we put her needs first. Let’s talk to her tomorrow, see where her head is.”

He looked at her, frowning, for a long time. She knew she’d put him in a horrible position and hated herself for it. Max wanted to be with her, but if he said so right now, he’d seem like a jerk because he didn’t care about his friend’s feelings.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his neck, trying to collect his thoughts.

“OK. You’re right. Let’s talk to her tomorrow morning, I’ll come by for coffee. And we’ll take it from there.”

Stella nodded and got up from the sofa. Even though that was exactly what she wanted him to say, deep down she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. It was too easy, considering what had just happened and the intensity of Max’s attraction to her. She expected him to argue with her, make some big statement about how he couldn’t stay away from her a second longer – but he didn’t.

Stella hated the way Max scattered her emotions all over the place, making her lose focus on what was right and what she really wanted.

Chapter Eighteen

Max decided to call Stella before he went out of the house, just in case she was still sleeping. She picked up on the fourth ring and her voice was still husky and low.

“Did I wake you?” he asked, unable to keep the smile from his voice. He’d give anything to have woken up next to her and heard her sexy morning voice in person.

“Yeah. But if we hang up right now, I might just pretend this is a dream and continue sleeping.”

“No way. If you have dreams about me, they’re not going to be about me waking you up over the phone.”

She laughed in a cute, throaty way and Max started to regret that he’d agreed to pretend nothing had happened between them last night. If he’d argued his case, he was certain Stella wouldn’t have been able to resist him, not in the state she was in. And that was exactly the problem. He would be waking up next to her right now, but she’d start to regret it and doubt her decision. If Max ever did spend the night in her bed, he’d have to make sure there would be no regrets in the morning.

“I called to let you know I’m coming over. I’ll be there in ten. You’d better get up and make that coffee.” She groaned on the other end, clearly not enjoying the idea of getting out of bed yet. Max sighed. “OK. Stay in bed. I’ll grab some coffee on the way and bring it to you.”

“You have no idea how good that sounds right now,” she murmured, and Max heard sheets being ruffled. Just thinking about her under those sheets, imagining her wild hair everywhere and her eyes sleepy and her body warm, got him instantly turned on.

“Can you just drag your cute ass downstairs and unlock the door?” she mumbled a ‘Mm-hm’ and he added, “I’ll see you soon,
tesoro
.”

When Max arrived at Lisa’s house, the door was indeed unlocked and he let himself in, carrying three cups of coffee. He didn’t see Niki’s car in the driveway, but it was 10 a.m. so he guessed she was already at work. He left Lisa’s cup on the table and, carrying the other two upstairs, knocked quietly on Stella’s door. A barely audible ‘Come in’ came from the other side and he pushed the door open.

She was still in bed and he had imagined it correctly before – her hair was indeed all over the place and her eyes were barely open. Max sat on the edge and handed her the coffee.

“Thanks,” she said, sitting up. Watching her drinking her first sip and exhaling in pure pleasure was mesmerising. His thoughts immediately drifted towards last night, when he had watched her experiencing a different kind of pleasure. Shaking his head to disperse those thoughts, at least for now, Max noticed that Stella was staring at him, assessing him. Was it obvious what he was thinking about? Was she thinking about the same thing?

For a moment, he felt uneasy under her gaze. When she watched him like this, he could almost feel her poking around inside his head.

“So, do you think we should wake her up?” Max said, breaking the silence.

“Let’s give her another half hour. I need some time for my brain to start working.” Max nodded.

“Usually you don’t have a problem waking up early. What’s wrong today?” he asked, remembering that she was always up and running in the morning.

“It’s not that I don’t have a problem waking up. It’s just that sometimes I can’t sleep and I prefer to get up instead of tossing and turning in bed.” She paused to take another sip of her coffee. “Last night I slept better than recently,” she said, and Max almost choked on his coffee. Was she referring to what had happened last night? As if realising what she’d said, Stella quickly added, “This is the real me, not a morning person at all.” She smiled and tried to cover he slip-up, but it was too late. Max had caught onto it and his lips spread into a wicked grin.

“You know, if you have problems sleeping, I can prescribe you some treatment.”

“Yeah? Since when are you a doctor?”

“I’m not a doctor. I’m more of a ... hands-on kind of guy.” Stella blushed and didn’t come back with a reply.

He loved making her flushed and speechless.

Just as he was thinking of more ways to do that, he heard the door across the hall open. Lisa was up.

“Look, I don’t think it’s a good idea to attack her right now. She’s probably hung over and feels like shit. She probably won’t cooperate. Let’s give her some space to wake up, at least,” Stella said.

Max nodded.

“I left her coffee on the kitchen table, so that’ll help.”

“OK. I’ll go get a shower then.”

Stella flung the covers off and Max’s eyes roamed over her body. She was wearing the same shorts and tank top she’d had on last night and his mind was immediately filled with imaginings – Stella under him, Stella arching her back, him caressing the bare skin under her top. He felt his heart starting to beat faster and his reaction to her must have been obvious because when his eyes went back to her face, Stella was avoiding his gaze. Hurriedly, she took some clothes from the wardrobe and headed for the bathroom, firmly closing the door behind her.

*

Stella took the quickest shower of her life. The whole time she was acutely aware that Max was just a door away, and she was wet and naked. Taking her time seemed just wrong, for reasons she didn’t feel like exploring just then.

She quickly towel-dried her body and her hair, and put on the clean pair of shorts and T-shirt she’d picked up on the way in. Thick steam came out of the bathroom as she opened the door and walked out. Max was still on her bed, but had made himself a bit more comfortable. He was propped up on her pillow, his arms behind his head, his legs on the bed, crossed at the ankles. His T-shirt had ridden up his waist and Stella could see some bare skin right above his jeans. Even though she’d seen him without a shirt a dozen times, right now, sprawled on her bed with just two inches of skin showing he was even sexier than before.

She bit her lips in order to stop herself from smiling or going to him. Standing two feet away from the bed, she said,

“Ready?”

“If you are,” he replied and winked at her.

Does he have to be so goddamn irresistible?

They walked down to the kitchen and found Lisa sitting at the table, her coffee cup in front of her, her head in her hands. Hearing them come in, she lifted her head up with what seemed like great effort, and her eyes didn’t react for a few seconds. Then, as if she had finally managed to focus and invoke rational thoughts, she looked at Max and then at Stella, and then back to Max. Her brows furrowed.

“Where did you come from?” Her voice sounded hoarse as she directed her question at Max.

“Stella’s bedroom.”

Stella rolled her eyes, because she knew what he was trying to do; she just didn’t know why. They had come down here to try to talk to Lisa rationally, not annoy her.

“Did you spend the night in Stella’s bedroom as well?” asked Lisa in a clipped voice, biting his bait.

“What if I had?” Max frowned, probably not liking her tone. Lisa didn’t reply straight away, just stared at him accusingly, and then that same stare moved to Stella. “Hey, don’t look at her like that. We can do whatever the fuck we want. We’re adults. We don’t have to get your permission.”