Page 32 of Maximus

The momentary discomfort lessened almost immediately. “No. No, you didn’t. Please, don’t stop.”

His body bowed, and he slid inside her. His size stretched her, but the feeling of him inside her was beyond anything she could remember of the few times she’d had sex. Her body took him as he moved in and out. There was no pain, no rutting clumsiness, and no desire for the act to be over. She relished the feel of his strength over her, his hot body inside her, as the consuming sensation of being protected and cherished washed over her with ever-increasing waves of certainty.

Her body tightened, and her core ached for something … something more. “More.” She whispered the word over and over. She had no idea if he knew what she needed. She only knew she didn’t.

Max lifted to his knees and pulled her down the bed and up his thighs. She arched her back, and he slid inside her. “Oh, God.” She wasn’t sure if her words were a prayer or a plea, but the sensation was exactly what she needed. Max sped up and drove deeper. She was so close, so close. She shook her head in frustration. She needed something more. His thumb spread her sex and found her clit. He rubbed it, and Elena shattered into a billion shards of white light. He dropped on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around him as his hips moved in and out of her. When he came, she held him as tight as she could.

He moved to roll, and she tightened her hold and mumbled, "No, not yet.” She needed him to be close. She needed to feel their skin melded together and to force air into her lungs as his weight was on top of her. The awareness of what had just happened sunk deep into her consciousness. Her perception pivoted; she found a new truth, and that certainty soaked so deeply inside her she knew Max had forever changed her.

When she finally loosened her grip on him, he pulled her over onto her side so they faced each other. He pushed her hair away from her face and lifted her chin with his finger. His lips found hers, and the kiss was everything she needed it to be. It was soft, a promise and a pledge. Or at least it was for her.

She lifted her leg and draped it over his legs before she wormed herself closer to him. His finger made circles and lines on her back. She shivered when she realized what he was writing.Mine.The possessiveness filled the tiniest of voids in her heart. There was no room for anyone but him. She was fully consumed with this man. She kissed his throat. Yes, she was his.

CHAPTER 15

Max knew when she fell asleep, but he didn’t move. He wanted to hold her as much as she seemed to want to keep the connection with him. He was so far out of his depth with her. That lack of any anchor and the sensation of floating aimlessly fascinated him. Normally, research would put his world right. Questions had answers. Thoughts had logical progressions. Progressions made way for new thoughts, new processes, and new ideas. Only when it came to Elena, none of his practiced scripts would answer the questions that floated through his mind. What was love? Could a person fall in love so quickly? Were his feelings a product of the dopamine and his body’s chemical reaction? And if it were a specific chemical reaction, why hadn’t he felt the same when he’d had sex before? What were the variables that were different? Only his attachment to Elena. His connection.

He heard his cell phone vibrate and carefully extracted himself from Elena’s hold. She woke and asked, “Where are you going?”

“My boss is calling me,” he said as he got up and pulled on his boxer briefs.

“How do you know?”

“He’s the only one who has the number besides you.” He bent down and kissed her. “Go to sleep. I’ll be back soon.”

She burrowed into the pillow he was using and hummed. He grabbed his phone from his suit jacket, where it laid on a small chair. Shutting the door behind him, he glanced at the face of the phone and called back Archangel.

The CEO of Guardian growled, “Maximum.”

“Force,” Maximus countered.

“The painting you discovered today, do you believe it’s an original?”

“I do, but what’s more, Elena believes it, too. Have you read the provenance on the piece?”

“I have.” There was a sigh. “Our primary focus is Molchalin, but if we can acquire those canvases and return them to the rightful owners …”

“A good deed,” Max said and sat down on the couch, looking out the window at the Black Sea. It was a beautiful area.

“More than that. Closure,” Archangel said. “What do you need to get them out?”

“According to Elena, a crate that can control the humidity they’re exposed to and someone who knows how to handle them on the receiving end.”

Archangel was silent for a moment. “You trust her?”

“I do. She’s not part of Molchalin’s inner circle. He protects her because she’s damn good at what she does.”

“Jewell and Ethan found out how he was shielding the residences from us.”

“I would expect a persona that has been stolen. Perhaps a victim of a mass tragedy such as flooding or earthquakes in a third world country.”

Archangel chuckled. “Your brain is faster than any computer.”

“No, not really, but I had time to consider how I’d do it while watching Elena work today.”

“You care for her.”

“I do. More than care for her. We have a connection.” He would admit it to his boss because Jason King understood what that meant to him.

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