Page 70 of Sin and Redemption

I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. Maximus swung the axe again, his muscles flexing. The concentration edged into his face accentuated the rough attractiveness of his face. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. His gaze logged on me where I stood on the porch, clutching a thermos, and he slowly lowered his arm, his brows drawing together.

Despite the heat throbbing in my cheeks, I gave him a quick smile. Giving myself a mental kick, I hurried toward him. Cara’s boots were too big for me, and I wasn’t used to wearing lined Wellingtons, so I stumbled over the cut-off branches and twigs that covered the ground. If Maximus hadn’t caught me by the waist, I would have faceplanted right in front of him. My cheek was pressed to his sweaty chest. Heat radiated from his skin, making me feel even hotter, and the scent of his manly sweat only increased the tingling in my body.

He helped me straighten, then scanned me from head to toe. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“No,” I said, mortified. Maximus looked like a beastly man fantasy, and I stumbled along like a klutz. His eyes registered the thermos on the ground. I’d dropped it.

He picked it up with an ironic twitch to his lips. “Good thing you didn’t carry a cup.”

“That’s really a good thing because there’s boiling bone broth inside that thermos. I could have burned you. Instead of being a good wife by taking care of my husband, I would have scalded you.”

“I don’t expect you to serve me food and drinks to be a good wife. I’m glad to have you as my wife, even if you throw burning liquid at me.”

I flushed, my lips parting in surprise. “Have I given you much reason to be glad? Things have been hard.”

“They were hard, yes,” he murmured. His amber eyes were distant, thoughtful. I loved the sound of his deep voice. It always reverberated in the depth of my belly, today in particular. “My father always says good things take work. I’m willing to put the work in.”

I nodded because I didn’t know what to say. I’d focused on having a baby, on creating my family by bringing new life into this world, but Maximus and I were husband and wife. We were the root of that family. We needed to build a foundation for our kids. I needed to make more of an effort if that was ever supposed to happen.

Maximus grabbed a towel from a fallen tree stump. He brought it to my face and wiped my cheek. “There’s some dirt on your face. You should keep your distance from me. I reek and will get you dirty.”

I scanned his body, covered by a fine sheen of dirt that clung to his sweaty skin. I wanted to be with Maximus, and not for any other reason than to feel his touch.

“What’s wrong? I can see that something’s bothering you.”

I was bothered by the sight of him so manly and unhinged. It did things to my body that I didn’t understand.

I slowly shook my head, tearing my eyes away from him and sinking my teeth into my lower lip.

Maximus stepped closer and lightly touched my shoulder. He was still very careful when he touched me despite our last sexual encounters. “Are you worried that it didn’t work again? There’s still the option to go to a clinic if that makes it easier for you.”

Did he think I was worried about having to sleep with him again? I let out an embarrassed smile. “I’m a bit worried, but not for the reason you might think.”

His confused expression made it clear he didn’t understand what I meant.

“I’m not worried about having to sleep with you again if I’m not pregnant this time because I wouldn’t mind doing it even if it’s not about making a baby.” The words rushed out of my mouth so fast I wasn’t sure he understood anything. Yet after a moment of utter confusion, realization set in, and the look on his face changed to desire and something primal that made my core clench.

“You want to…” He was obviously still not convinced I really meant it.

“Actually…phew.” I blew out a breath, embarrassed to say what I felt. “Watching you like this”—I motioned at his half-naked state and the axe behind him—“has made me feel quite…umm.” I gave a nervous giggle, my face bursting with heat.

Maximus understood at once, and the look in his eyes… wow. He held out his hand, and when I took it, he tugged me along deeper into the woods until his parents’ house was no longer visible. He pressed me against a massive tree and cupped my cheek.

“Let me eat you here,” he rasped.

My eyes widened. “Someone could walk up on us.”

“Bacon,” he called, and his dog came running. “Sit and guard.”

The dog sank to the ground and actually began to scan the surroundings.

“He’ll bark if someone approaches the area.”

“Even your parents and your brother? He knows them.”

“He’ll bark,” Maximus assured me in a low voice as he leaned closer, his fingers playing with a few strands of my hair.

I swallowed nervously. From having sex only for reproduction purposes to having Maximus eat me out in the woods was a huge step. One my body was definitely ready for, but my mind still revolted.

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