Page 31 of Maximus

“Again, I’m not an arresting authority.” He shrugged. “The people who do that for the agency will have that obligation.” If he didn’t succeed in killing the bastard, Reaper would. He had no doubt Smith and Malice would also give their all to ensure the man didn’t live. His days were numbered.

She stopped what she was doing on the computer. “It feels like you’re talking around the subject.”

“I am.” He’d admit it. He was trying to be as transparent as he could be.

“And if I asked?”

“I’d tell you, but again, I’d ask you not to do so.” He leaned forward. “One day, you’ll understand everything. I will be as transparent as I can be until that time. That is as fair as I can be, given not only our lives, but the lives of my coworkers, are on the line. Should Molchalin or Sokolov find out I’m not who I say I am, or our intent be discovered before the night of the showing, I have no doubt he’d kill all of us without a second thought. Which is why I told my coworkers you were to be protected at all coststhe night of the showing.” If she were hurt, he'd never forgive himself.

“And before the showing?” She got up and came over to him, standing in front of him.

He took her hands and stood up, looking down at her. “Until then, I dare anyone to try to get to you. I’ll tear them apart with my bare hands.”

She stared up at him. “You’re dangerous.”

“Extremely.”

“But not to me.” It was a statement. Her eyes told him she knew it.

“Never.” He made that vow to her, whether she understood it or not.

“Take me home, Max. Take me home and make love to me.” She closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She’d wanted him to protect her, to be her guardian against the world's evil, and he would.

CHAPTER 14

Elena’s hands were shaking as she toweled off. Max would be waiting for her in her bedroom. She glanced at the bruises on her neck. They were ugly and glaring. She pulled the pins out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. Capturing it, she trailed it over her shoulders in an attempt to cover some of them. The attempt was useless and futile. The red spots in the whites of her eyes were vibrant marks, and she looked like some kind of vampire. Dark eyes surrounded by red instead of white. She pulled her wrap around her and turned off the light as she left the bathroom.

Max was in bed. His dark chest hair narrowed and trailed lower, blocked by the sheets on her bed. What was under the sheet was impossible to miss. He reached over, flipped the sheets down on the bed’s other side, and then extended his hand toward her. She drew a steadying breath and slipped off her robe.

Her insecurities grabbed ahold of her as his eyes traveled down her body. She moved her arms to cover herself, but he growled, “No. Don’t do that. Don’t hide from me. Come here.” She reached for his hand, and he pulled her in toward him. “You’re beautiful.”

“I’m not.” She shook her head.

“To me, you’re more beautiful than the most priceless work of art. Never try to hide from me. There’s no need. I see you. All of you, and I find you utterly enthralling.” He lifted the sheet that covered him and draped it over her.

She reached up and touched his cheek. Her hand was shaking. God, she was so nervous. She whispered, “It’s been a long time.” She hadn’t had sex in years. She’d tried to convince herself she was okay without the intimacy, but she wanted the relationship to work so badly that a part deep inside her wept for Max to love her. She prayed he was the man she believed him to be.

He leaned over her, his intense eyes boring into her soul. “I’ve never been in this position. Sex was an anatomic event before you. But tonight, we’ll go somewhere special, somewhere that we can only go together.” He lowered, and she thought he would kiss her, but he dropped a kiss on her cheek. He trailed kisses to her ear, then down the line of her jaw and neck.

Gasping at the sensation of his chest hair touching her breasts, she broke the trance she’d been stupefied in and reached around the man. His broad shoulders were plated with muscles. She trailed her hand down his spine as he moved over her, and she shivered when his lips found her breast. The sensations were so intense she was a little scared. She was scared of losing herself inside this mysterious man. The person who vowed to protect her and yet couldn’t tell her his real name. He filled the dream of who she’d always wanted. Attractive, strong, smart, and so damn perfect he’d shattered her dream and created a reality beyond anything she could have hoped for … until Sokolov shattered everything.

He lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”

She jerked. “What?”

“What did I do that you didn’t like? Your body tensed and not in a good way.” Max bent down and kissed her collarbone. “You can tell me if you don’t like a touch or a kiss.”

“No, no, you’re not doing anything wrong.” She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted. “I was thinking how perfect this was, how perfect it was until Sokolov …”

Max’s eyes flashed before he shook his head back and forth slowly. “He has no place here.”

She pushed his dark hair from his brow and smiled up at him. “You’re right. He doesn’t.”

He dropped for a kiss that left her breathless. She panted as his lips moved across her skin. He moved his fingers across the skin before his lips followed. She had no idea how long he lavished her with the attention, but she was more than ready when he moved between her legs. She wrapped them around him and felt him at her sex. “Do I need a condom?”

She shook her head. “I’m on birth control.” It was to regulate her periods and had nothing to do with being active sexually.

He dropped to his elbows and cupped his hands under her shoulders, pulling her down as his shaft entered her. She gasped as he entered her, and he stopped. The muscles of his neck were straining as he asked, “Did I hurt you?”

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