Lovers at Heart (20 page)

MAX WAS GORGEOUS wearing only his T-shirt and her panties. Her hair was still mussed from sleep, and her eyelids were heavy with desire. Treat lowered his lips to hers, closing his eyes and reveling in the feel of her tender kiss.
God I’ve missed you
. She pressed her hips against him, heightening his desire. He pulled back and took her face between his large, strong hands. The love and lust he felt for Max coalesced as he looked into her wanting eyes, and he didn’t know what to do with it as it sent his urges rushing forward. A voice in the back of his mind told him to go slow.

“Max,” he whispered.

Max’s lips parted, but nothing came out.

“I don’t know how to love without you, Max,” he said. He narrowed his eyes as he searched hers for any hint of hesitation. She’d been through so much over the previous few days, and the last thing he wanted was to force himself on her—even if every ounce of him craved her love. In her eyes he saw need and want—and something that resembled love, spurring him on. He told himself to go slow, but watching her breasts heave beneath the thin cotton shirt, her taut nipples teasing him, he had to grit his teeth against the urge to throw her on the kitchen table and make love to her until she forgot her own name.

Max slipped her hands beneath his shirt and ran her fingers over his abs, sending a tug of anticipation to his groin. She touched the button of his jeans and stood on her tiptoes—no match for the foot difference between them. He closed the distance between them and settled his lips over hers again.
Damn you taste sweet
. Her tongue flicked his, then swept his mouth in fast, deep strokes. He lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her hair fell like a curtain around their faces as she pressed her body into him and settled her lips over his. She smelled like freshly washed linens and her body felt so damn good against him. Her kisses were rough and hungry. The confusion of the days before came rushing back. The pain of his walking away from her pierced his heart. He had to bury it. Had to get that burn out of his body. Max ran her hands down the sleek lines of his biceps and grabbed hold of his bulbous muscles. Her fingers strained against the girth of them as he placed her on the table and pushed his hips between her legs, at the same time he pulled her forward. His erection strained against his zipper, hard against the thin veil of cotton that separated them.

“Do you still want this?” Treat asked through heavy breaths.

“Yes. God yes, Treat.” Her words came out in a rush of hot breath as she reached for his shirt. He lifted her shirt over her head. Her breasts were so perfect, round and firm. He reached behind him and in one swift move he yanked his own T-shirt off, exposing his massive chest and broad shoulders, before taking her in another rough kiss, blinding him with electric shocks, and before she could catch her breath he was stealing her oxygen again. She moaned into his mouth, and that sexy little noise sent his mind reeling. The need to make love to her clutched him like a wicked hand, tightening every muscle in his body. His teeth grazed her lips, her chin, her neck, while his hands groped her ribcage, brushing the underside of her breasts.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His tongue stroked her skin, trailing its way down the arc of her breasts. He took one breast greedily into his mouth. She gasped and buried her hands in his hair, pulling his mouth harder against her. She arched into him, gasping as he moved from one breast to the other, exposing her to the cool morning air. She reached for his jeans and fumbled with the button, before giving up and stroking him through the harsh material of his jeans. Treat grabbed her hand and held it in his. He had to have her—more of her. His love for her grew by the second, and every passionate kiss and every sensual caress drove his need deeper. He had to claim her. He took a step back, pinning Max to the table with a hot and hungry stare, and leaving her panting, wearing nothing but her thong, her legs open, her body eager. Jesus she was beautiful. He wished they were upstairs, on the couch, anywhere more respectful, but he was too far gone. He’d never make it another minute. In the next breath his body took over.
Fuck it
. He laid her back on the table and dragged his hands down her breasts, her ribs, to her hips, and slid her to the edge of the table. He rubbed her through the tiny damp swatch of her panties. The need in him burned ruthlessly through his veins. He slipped his finger beneath the material and touched her silky, wet skin. Her eagerness sent a thrill thrumming through his body. Max closed her eyes, arching her hips against his hand as he bent and kissed the tender skin at the top of her thigh, probing her with his fingers before slipping her thong over her slim hips and down her legs. The first flick of his tongue made her shiver beneath his hands. He stroked her sensitive folds with his tongue, and it wasn’t enough. She was too sweet for just a taste. He strengthened his licks, finding her sensitive nub with his finger and teasing her until it was swollen and she squirmed on the hard, wooden table. He settled his mouth around her sex, raking his teeth over her clit.

“Yes. Please, Treat,” Max cried. She dug her hands in his hair again and arched against his mouth as he pleasured her with faster, more urgent strokes of his tongue. She gasped sexy, fast, little breaths. He felt the tension mounting in the muscles of her thighs and in the force of her hands in his hair. He was determined to give her what she wanted—to love her the way she deserved. He licked faster, probing her with his finger. Max shook her head from side to side. She released his hair and clawed at the table as her body pulsed around the tip of his tongue and she cried out again—a loud indiscernible plea.

He put his hands flat on her belly, licking as the pulses continued in fast succession, then slowly eased, before finally coming to rest, her body raising with each deep breath. Treat ripped open his fly and stepped from his pants, setting his formidable erection free. He grabbed his wallet from the counter and ripped open a condom with his teeth, then sheathed his eager length. In the next breath he pulled her hips forward and thrust into her. Max gasped at the deep penetration, and there was no quelling his primal urges. She grabbed at his shoulders as he took her breast into his mouth and buried himself deeper, thrusting over and over again, before wrapping his powerful arm around her and pulling her to the edge of the table so he could push harder. Every nerve was on fire. Every thrust against her hips left him wanting more, a stronger connection. His thoughts became fragmented. He was blinded by the mounting tension within him.

“Max,” Treat said through gritted teeth. He grabbed her cheeks and stared into her eyes. She looked at him through a sexual haze, unfocused and unguarded.

Max shook her head free and grazed his pec muscles with her teeth, then found his nipple and did the same. Treat sucked in a loud, sharp breath as he grabbed her waist, forcing her to match the efforts of his frenetic rhythm. She arched back, her lips fell open, and her eyes fluttered closed as another orgasm shuddered through her, pulsating and tightening around him just as he climbed to the peak of his own glorious release. He rested his head between her breasts, feeling her heart beat against his cheek, and for a moment, he closed his eyes. He pulled Max to him and picked her up in his arms. Treat knew, as he carried her up the stairs for the second time in twenty-four hours, that loving Max completed him in ways that nothing else ever could, and he wondered, as he turned on the shower in the bathroom his mother had used so many years before, how a heart could feel so full.

TREAT WAS RIGHT. The streets of Wellfleet appeared deserted compared to the day before. After picking up her rental car and dropping it off at the bungalow, they headed back into town. They walked hand in hand through the shops, and Max picked out toys for Trevor and Lexi at Abiyoyo. It had been so long since she’d held a man’s hand that she found herself studying the way her hand fit snugly into his. His palm engulfed hers. When he found a scarf that he said set off her eyes, he squeezed her hand like it was the most natural reaction in the world, and Max relished in those little things between them that confirmed that somehow, overnight, they’d become a couple.

They walked around the corner and had lunch at a little restaurant called the Juice, where they shared a bowl of New England Clam Chowder and a sandwich. Max felt her heart opening to him even more than it already had. The simple act of sharing another meal together felt natural—like they’d been doing it forever—and new, all at the same time. Treat didn’t rush her through the meal, or make her feel hurried as they meandered through an entire street of art galleries. He showed her pieces he loved and took interest in the ones that she swooned over.

When they reached the end of the row of galleries, a little fear tiptoed through Max. They hadn’t had enough time together yet.
Would there ever be enough time?
She didn’t want to go back to real life. She didn’t even know where or what he called home.

“Sweetness, I have a great idea.” Treat took both of her hands in his. The excitement in his eyes made her smile. “If you’re not too tired, I’d love to go to Provincetown, grab some dinner, and maybe see a show? Or we could just go back to the bungalow and watch a movie and relax. Whatever you want.”

I have to know.
“Treat.”

“Oh, no. What’s that look? Did I assume too much? Did you want to find a hotel and have some alone time?” He rubbed his hand along his forehead. “I’m an idiot. I didn’t even take into consideration when you might have to be back at work.”

She laughed at his dramatic flair. He was always so calm, and she’d clearly rattled him. “No. I’m just curious. Where do you live?”

He laughed, a deep, hearty laugh that turned her heart to mush.

“Live, live? Like, where do I keep all my stuff?”

“Yeah. You know. Where do you call home?”

He took her face in his hands and said, “It doesn’t matter, because the moment you tell me it’s okay, my home will be wherever you are.” He kissed her, and the sheer delight of it brought her to her toes. His silky lips on hers, the way he smelled musky and sweet all at once, everything about him made her crave his touch.

When they finally pulled apart, she said, “Wow.”

“Wow?”

“I just love to kiss you.”

He put his hands on her waist, and she could see in his eyes that he was thinking the same thing she was—that it would be so great to make out, right there on the street. Just to throw her arms around his neck and have him lift her up into his arms so she could wrap her legs around him and they could just kiss each other senseless.
Oh, wait. Maybe he isn’t thinking that
. Why was he covering his mouth and looking away?

“Did I say something wrong?” Max asked tentatively.

He shook his head. “No. You just had my mind racing in ways that it shouldn’t be.” He looked down, and the problem was evident by the tent in his pants.

She couldn’t hide her laugh.

“You’re laughing? You’re laughing at this? This is not good, Max. I’m not a twenty-something kid. I’m a grown man. I should be able to kiss you without the world knowing that I can barely think past wanting to”—he lowered his voice to a whisper— “be inside of you.”

Max grabbed her side and bent over in a fit of laughter.

“You are incorrigible!” He swept her into his arms and spun her around, so his back was to the road. “This is so unfair.” He took her hand and walked her behind two enormous hydrangea bushes, then kissed her until her legs turned to spaghetti and her laughter was forgotten. They sank to the ground, where he kissed her deeper, slipping his hand under her hoodie and caressing her breast through her lacy bra. She arched her hips into his, and he kissed her chin, her neck, and down the open V of her shirt to the crest of her breasts.

“Treat,” she moaned.

He rubbed her nipple with the pad of his thumb until they were taut and she was clutching his head, bringing his lips back to hers. Every molecule in her body ached for him. She shoved his hand down between her legs, and he rubbed her through her jeans, heightening her arousal.

“Max,” he whispered.

Her brain couldn’t force her mouth to respond. She lay beside him panting, wanting, craving more of him than his tongue as he licked the dip above her collarbone.
What’re you doing? Where are you going?
She opened her eyes as he rose to his feet beside where she lay on the grass, with a big, cocky grin on his face.

“Get over here,” she managed, smacking the grass beside her.

Treat crossed his arms. “Two can play at this game.”

Max groaned. “You are so unfair!” She held a hand up for him to help her up.

He pulled so hard she fell against him, and he kissed her again, probing her mouth with such delicate care that it only made her crave him more. She moaned before she could quell the urge, and that was all he needed to pull away with a victorious smile.

“Provincetown?” he asked.

PROVINCETOWN WAS AN artsy community with eclectic shops and street performers along a beautiful coastline. They caught a comedy show, and Max doubled over with laughter in her chair, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. Watching her laugh had become one of Treat’s biggest delights, and as he watched the spark that had returned to her eyes, he swore he’d do everything he could to keep her just as happy as she was right then.