Max (The Casanova Club Book 12) Read online

She rested her chin on my shoulder and gazed up at me. “I want to hear.”

  Opening up to Piper about a history I sometimes pretended wasn’t mine was easier than I thought it could be. “Our parents weren’t the sort of people to inspire love,” I said. “They were… how do I put this? They were easily distracted by other things. Like booze and weed. We grew up in a two-story townhouse. Thirteen hundred square feet or something. For four people and especially two teenagers, you can imagine how that’s not a lot of space.”

  “Sounds like how I grew up.”

  “Then you know things can get a little tense when everyone is on top of each other like that. Dad wasn’t a happy guy. He spent all his time in the garage getting high with his buddies and blowing through twenty-four packs of beer while watching fights on TV. Mom tried to keep things together, but she didn’t have a clue how to be a parent. Holly found a journal of hers once. By accident. And she read it.” I recalled finding my sister on a Sunday morning in her bedroom closet, sitting cross-legged, poring over our mother’s journal. She was in tears.

  “Oh no,” Piper breathed.

  “Mom wished her life was different. Wished she hadn’t married our father. Wished she hadn’t tethered her life to his so completely by having children. Wished she could up and leave somewhere tropical and start fresh. I mean, I couldn’t blame her. But Holly? Holly never got over that.”

  “I can’t imagine how hard that would be. Your mother is supposed to love you unconditionally. She’s supposed to choose you over everything else. I’m sorry, Max. That must have been really hard.”

  I shrugged. “I got out. Holly too, eventually. When she moved to LA, I hid her in my dorm room for eight months while she saved money and made friends. Then a group of four girls moved into an apartment together.”

  “Sounds to me like the two of you made a good team.”

  I nodded. We had no other option. We had to escape our parents and start our own lives. “I wish I’d taken her with me the day I left.”

  “You were seventeen.”

  “I knew better. Those two years she spent without me at home… she had a rough time.” I’d stood between her and my father on the worst of times, but when I left, there was nobody to defend her. Nobody to spare her from his overbearing drunken ways where he’d go into a rage over her grades or her wanting to see a movie with friends.

  Our mother was no help. She’d preferred to keep her nose in her cross-stitching project than defend her daughter.

  “Max?”

  I looked up at Piper.

  She offered me a warm and tender smile. “Holly turned out just fine. She’s tough. Really tough.”

  “Yeah. She is.”

  She had no choice but to be tough.

  “What about your parents?” Piper asked.

  “What about them?”

  She got to her feet and ran her fingers through the roots of her hair, gently massaging her scalp. “Holly told me about your parents. How they died. I’m sorry, Max. That’s hard regardless of the kind of relationship you had with them.”

  I shook my head and stood with her, sliding my hands into my jacket pocket. “They died in my final year of college. A freak car accident, authorities said. But you never know how those things really go in small towns. Dad had friends in the sheriff’s department. And I can’t help but wonder how many drinks he’d had before he got behind the wheel to drive them home that night. Questions like that will remain unanswered. It certainly doesn’t make it easier to close the door on that part of my life.”

  Piper bit her bottom lip. “I’m really sorry, Max.”

  I kind of wished she’d stop saying that. I didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for me.

  “Don’t be. My grandmother stepped up to the plate and helped Holly and I navigate the confusion of losing parents who never felt like parents at all. The grief was jarring. And unpredictable.”

  So was the guilt. I couldn’t count how many times I’d felt genuine relief that they were gone, that there was no obligation to call my mother every two weeks to tell her how life was going in LA. That I didn’t have to pretend to love my father. That I didn’t have to slap on a fake smile and act like everything was fine now that Holly and I were grown.

  Things had never been fine.

  Until they were gone.

  I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Enough reminiscing for one night. Are we going to ride that carousel or what?”

  Piper clasped her hands together and nodded eagerly. “Please.”

  We hurried across the pier hand in hand to the carousel, where Piper studiously took her time selecting the perfect horse. I stood down on the ground watching her as she wove between the glossy wooden horses. She trailed her hands over colorful saddles and manes and swung herself around candy-cane poles before she happened upon the perfect stallion.

  Piper beamed down at the shiny white horse. It had a red saddle, which I should have predicted she would gravitate to with her uncanny obsession with red, and gold-painted reins. Its front legs were kicked up, and its black tail was frozen in a nonexistent wind behind it.

  “This one.” Piper threw one leg over the saddle and took her seat. Then she looked expectantly at me. “Are you coming or what?”

  I nodded as I stood by the control panel. I’d received instructions on how to turn the ride on prior to arriving at the pier. I pushed the lever and waited five seconds. The carousel crept forward inch by inch until it gathered a bit of momentum. The music came to life, all bells and chimes and a joyous symphony that sounded like a childhood I never had, and I jogged around the side to catch up with Piper, swung myself up onto the platform, and braced myself against the horse beside hers.

  In the warm light of the carousel, Piper was even more breathtaking than ever.

  Her dark eyes sparkled with magic, and her full red lips called to me like a siren’s song. This girl was everything I could ever dream of having. She was life itself. And kindness. And warmth. It radiated off her and touched everything around her, making everything brighter somehow.

  It didn’t make sense to me, but the best things never did.

  “What are you looking at?” Piper asked as she slid forward in her saddle. She gripped the red and white striped pole mounted through her horse as she cocked her head to the side.

  I took a seat on the horse beside hers. A black stallion, a little mean looking, with a royal blue saddle and silver reins and eyes that needed to be repainted. “You.”

  Piper’s cheeks turned as red as the saddle she sat upon. “Are you trying to sweet talk me, Max Fisher?”

  “I don’t know. Is it working?”

  She leaned back, both hands gripping the pole, and her hair trailed behind her as the carousel picked up speed. She lifted her feet from the pegs and straightened her legs as laughter bubbled out of her.

  My heart skipped several beats. My palms began to sweat.

  Piper tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “This is the best date ever, Max.”

  I turned sideways on the horse to face her. Piper cracked open one eye and did the same, swinging one leg around and holding herself on top of the horse with the pole. She gave me a knowing smile.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Can I suggest something? Something personal that might be crossing a line?”

  I nodded.

  She licked her lips. “I think you should talk to Holly.”

  I blinked.

  She slid off her horse and came to stand so close that my knees pressed into her thighs. She looked at me, and I resisted the urge to count her lashes as she spoke softly. “If you still have some unresolved stuff about how you grew up and how you came to LA, you should talk to her about it. I think it would be good for both of you. Carrying that kind of guilt around doesn’t serve you, Max. And it doesn’t serve your sister either.”

  I searched her dark brown eyes. Who was this girl? Where had she come from? And how had I gotten lucky enough to be the bastard standing in the g
low of her light?

  “Max? Oh God. Did I overstep? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  I grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her to me. She let out a sweet little gasp that I silenced with my lips upon hers.

  Her muscles went rigid with surprise, but when my fingers sank into her hair, she melted against me and slid between my knees to gather the front of my jacket in her hands.

  Chapter 15

  Piper

  So much for keeping Max at arm’s length.

  Every thought of not falling for him slipped away as the carousel continued to turn and the kiss deepened. He tasted like wine and the mini donuts we’d stopped to devour between carnival games. And he smelled heavenly, like a warm tropical breeze and citrus. I wondered dimly if it was his beard oil as I ran my fingers along his jaw.

  We were still kissing when the carousel came to a slow stop and the music slowed and wound down like an old music box. The last few chimes tolled, and then silence settled in and all I could hear was the rush of my own blood in my ears.

  When our lips parted, I hovered inches away and gazed into the rich blue of his eyes.

  I wasn’t looking at his mouth, but I knew he was smiling. And so was I.

  He cupped my cheek before tucking my hair behind my ear. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you all night.”

  “I hope it lived up to your standards.”

  His laugh was nothing more than a whisper. “Not really, actually. Maybe we should try again. Just to make sure.”

  I began to protest weakly, to offer some sort of comedic tidbit, but he sealed his lips over mine again, this time indulging me in a kiss that made my brain all fuzzy and my whole body tingle with warmth. He wrapped his arms around me as his tongue explored my mouth, and then his hands moved down my waist, and he slid them into the back pockets of my jeans.

  He squeezed.

  I giggled into our kiss before breaking it and looking down at the stamped metal floor of the carousel beneath our feet. Then I peered up at him from beneath a veil of dark hair. “Better?”

  His smile lingered in the corners of his perfect lips. “A little. But I think there’s room for improvement. Lucky for us, we still have plenty of time left to… perfect our form.”

  I pushed at his chest. “You’re bad.”

  He squeezed my ass again, and I laughed. “Am I?” he challenged.

  In the best way, he was. And the worst way, too. Because there was no denying that we’d already blown past several milestones in a single evening and I already knew goodbye was going to suck. Again.

  I bit my bottom lip and ran my hands over his broad shoulders. “Should we head back to the hotel?”

  Max’s eyes were glued to my lip pinched between my teeth, and he pulled a hand out from one of my pockets to trace it with his thumb.

  “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, we should.”

  “Hurry up,” Max whispered in my ear as I tried to unlock the hotel room door. I giggled, and he pressed forward, bracing himself with one hand above our heads on the doorframe. He was caging me in, distracting me, and making it impossible for me to get the damn key in the reader.

  He drew my hair off my shoulder and pressed his lips to the side of my neck. “This isn’t hard, Piper. Come on now.”

  I swatted at him.

  Then I tried yet again to get the key card down the slider. He pushed into me. Lucky for me, the key slid in, and the light flashed green. Desperately, I turned the handle and pushed the door open, and we both stumbled in, drunk on the kisses we’d stopped to indulge ourselves in on the walk home.

  He’d offered to call for a ride, but I was enjoying the fresh air. And there was something romantic about walking the street at night parallel to the ocean. Plus, there were plenty of beautiful spots for us to stop and make out.

  Good lord was Max a good kisser.

  Actually, good was a poor word to define the kind of kisser he was. He was a sensational kisser. A lord of making a girl’s panties wet just by the way he trailed his tongue along her teeth as he tipped her head back, cupped the back of her neck, and kissed her soul.

  It made me a little worried that I was getting in over my head as he took my hand and led me up the stairs.

  But I followed.

  I had a hunger growing inside me that could not be satisfied with anything other than whatever it was we were about to do in his bedroom.

  Max pulled me into his room. Moonlight poured in through the windows and painted his white bed sheets with a cool gray light. He went to the blinds and turned them up just slightly so nobody could see in, and then he turned back toward me and shrugged out of his jacket.

  I swallowed.

  He placed his jacket neatly on the chair by the window. Then with deliberate slowness, he undid his cufflinks.

  I know I’m not alone in saying watching a man remove a button-up shirt is one of the sexiest things in the world. And Max put all others to shame. The cufflinks came off first. He set them on the windowsill. Then with the tendons flexing in his wrists, he undid his buttons one at a time until his shirt hung open, exposing a strip of lean muscle and taut skin.

  And then he waited.

  Right. My turn.

  I started with my jacket. Then I pulled my shirt over my head. The neckline was a wee bit snug, so it got caught up in my hair. As I struggled to pull it off, Max moved toward me, and when my shirt hit the floor, he was right there, taking up all my vision. I gasped in surprise, and he smiled before moving me to the bed and gently pushing me down on it.

  Then he lifted one of my feet by the heel and pulled off one thigh-high boot at a time.

  This was the kind of thing dreams were made of. Every girl dreamed of a dangerously sexy man undressing her with confident hands. And holy hell was Max confident. He pulled the second boot off. Then he moved to undo my jeans. The button popped open with a flick of his fingers, and he pushed the fly open, revealing the pink lace pattern of my panties beneath.

  He pressed his lips to them.

  At this rate, I was going to have to throw the damn things out.

  Max hooked his fingers in the waistband of my jeans and worked them down my hips and over my ass. I had to lift up off the bed for him, and then he pulled them all the way down and discarded them on the floor by my boots.

  I lay upon the white sheets before him in my black bra and pink panties.

  Max explored my body with searching fingers until every inch of my skin was covered in goosebumps. My breath was uneven and desperate, and every muscle ached for more.

  For him.

  I fought to stay in control when he snapped my panties against my hip. When I caught him smiling at me, I hid my face behind my hands and giggled into my palms. He pulled my hands away from my face and moved his attention to my bra.

  He cupped my tits in both hands as he kissed me again, holding himself above me. I slid my hands up his stomach and over his ribs, tracing every ridge of muscle and the lines between his abs and down the middle of his stomach. He was all masculine power. And he was mine.

  Max pulled my tits free of my bra. His breath rushed out of him with excitement that only turned me on more, and when he took my nipples in his mouth one at a time, working until they were hard and I was a breathless mess beneath him, I plunged my fingers into his hair and messed it all up from root to tip.

  Max peered up at me, his mouth hidden beneath my breasts, and began making his way down the length of my body until he slid off the edge of the bed and took to his knees. He ran his hands along the inside of my thighs. I became consumed by him, by his touch, by the way he was looking at me, by the smell of him that still lingered in the air from our kisses.

  He pulled my panties to the side. His eyes burned with lust as his gaze fell upon my nakedness.

  I smiled at the ceiling and reveled in the way he looked at me.

  My smile gave way to parted lips in a sigh when he touched me. He trailed a finger through my wetness and then over my clit. I was
so sensitive. He purred as he leaned in close and slid a finger inside me.

  I gripped the sheets beneath me. My head spun. My vision swam.

  Max sealed his lips over my clit.

  I sighed.

  He worked his finger slowly in and out of me. The friction set my body on fire as he took his time teasing me with his tongue and worshipping me with his finger. I wanted more. So much more. But I also didn’t want to rush him. This moment was perfect in every sense of the word, and my body was responding in ways it hadn’t before.

  Small quivers started in my thighs. He never quickened his pace. He was consistent and steady, and it drove me wild. Every time his finger slid inside, he’d swirl his tongue, and something inside me would ignite. Then the feeling would flutter away as quickly as it came, but each time, it became slightly more intense until time became something unimportant and it was all I could do not to come apart and fall at his mercy.

  Max pressed another finger inside me. I moaned. It was impossible to stay quiet. His tongue danced over my clit. He sucked and pulled and swirled. My back arched.

  Max moaned against my pussy, and a cry of pleasure tore from my throat as I came. Stars popped and flashed against my eyelids as I descended into euphoria. Max rode my climax out with me, never stopping, and when I was done, he leaned back to shrug out of his shirt. I heard him undo his belt as I struggled to put the pieces of my will back together.

  I was quite certain I would give him anything he wanted right then and there. All he had to do was ask.

  My legs trembled as I pushed myself up. Max stood, pulled a condom from the front pocket of his jeans, and then pushed them down and stepped out of them.

  “Let me take care of you,” I whispered, reaching for the waistband of his boxers. I wanted to return the pleasure he’d given me. “I want to make you feel good.”

  He shot me a cocky smirk that made my pussy tingle. Then he dropped his tight black boxers. His cock sprang free, hard and ready, and I gazed upon him with unabashed excitement as he rolled the condom down his length.

  Max pushed me back down. “Maybe next time. I can’t wait any longer. I need you, Piper.”