Page 19 of Awakening Anna

“Enough!” she yelled, her outburst jerking Lou to a halt. “If you want to play cavemen, take it outside. This library is closed.”

Looking properly chastised, her sudden admirer nodded and headed for the exit. Max didn’t move, nor did he look apologetic.

“I’ll stay until you’re ready,” he said. “Give me the keys to lock up.”

Anna did as asked, holding out the key for the library door. Though Lou had been more insistent than expected, Anna didn’t doubt she could have handled him. The man wouldn’t even have asked her out if Max hadn’t turned her into a walking hormone.

One nail tapping on the countertop, Anna waited for Max to return with the keys. When he dropped them in front of her, she said, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to walk you home.”

“It’s two houses away, Max. I’m perfectly capable of walking alone.”

“Do you want me to go back out and get him?” he asked with a hard tone.

“What?” He was acting as if she’d led Lou on or something. “I don’t want anything to do with Lou Drummond, and until today, he wanted nothing to do with me.”

Anna grabbed a stack of periodicals and stormed around the end of the counter.

“I saw the way he looked at you,” Max said, following her across the room. “He would have taken you right there on the counter.”

The magazines hit the circulation desk. “I had nothing to do with the way he looked at me, and he won’t be taking me anywhere, so it doesn’t matter.”

Max clutched her upper arms. “It matters to me.”

Before Anna could respond to that revelation, Max’s mouth crashed down on hers, sending heat surging through her body. There was no gentleness. No sweet words or slow build. Only raw power and a pulsing need that left her panting and confused.

His fingers dug into her hip hard enough to bruise seconds before her feet left the ground. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time her legs locked around his waist.

When her back hit the wall, Max swallowed her gasp of surprise.

Like a mad man, Max drove her higher, taking her breath and drowning any resistance. She heard his zipper drop seconds before he said, “I have to have you, Anna. Now.”

Now sounded good to her. The orgasm was already building when Max ripped her panties off with a growl. She gripped his shoulders as he drove home, setting a frantic pace until Anna was begging for mercy.

The thrusts were relentless, hard and fast, driving them both to the edge. Anna went over first, crying out in ecstasy, sending Max’s name echoing around the building. Max withdrew before finding his own release, then collapsed to pant against her neck.

In the frenzied sex, Anna hadn’t thought about the missing condom. But even mad with lust, Max had thought of her. Made sure she wasn’t left with a consequence neither was equipped to deal with.

Letting her feet return to the floor, Max said, “I shouldn’t have lost control.”

But he had. And he’d revealed a great deal in the process. Jealous and possessive, Max’s actions weren’t those of a man feeling nothing more than passing lust.

“You’re leaving tomorrow,” she said, stating the reality of their situation.

With a quick nod, he said, “I am.”

Cradling his cheek, she looked into eyes the shade of a looming storm cloud.

“Then we don’t have much time. Let’s go home.”

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