Page 42 of Moonlit Kisses

CHAPTER20

–molly–

I wake in the dark,a faint light streaking across my room from the living room. I close my eyes again, remembering everything from this morning. I must have slept all day.

“You okay?” Max’s deep rumble comes from the corner of the room.

Peeling the covers away from my face, I peer over at him sitting on the chair in the corner that I picked up from the second-hand market. I take stock for a few moments. “I think so. I’m sorry I let you down today.”

He sits forward in the chair, his elbows resting on his knees. “Please don’t apologize to me. You had a major bombshell dropped on you this morning.” He moves across to sit on the edge of my bed. Carefully, he brushes what must be a rat’s nest out of my face. “Martin’s not doing much better than you. I had to call Beth to come and get him.” Words won’t come, so I nod. “Maybe give yourself some time to digest what you’ve learned today, then you probably need to have a chat.” I lick my dry lips and nod again. “Do you want something to drink?”

I try to sit up, but with Max sitting on the bedcovers, I can’t move properly. He lifts his butt and helps me to sit up, propping the pillow behind me. “Thank you. I could use a glass of water.” I tuck my matted hair behind my ear. “What time is it?”

“Six.”

“Shouldn’t you be at your soccer game?” I can’t believe I’ve screwed up Max’s day so badly.

“Nope. This is where I needed to be.” He leaves the room and returns quickly with a glass of cold water for me. I take a long drink, soothing my dry throat. When I’ve finished, Max takes the glass from my hand and places it on the nightstand for me. “You wanna talk about it?” I shrug. My mind is such a jumble. I’m not sure where to start. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

Sounds from outside infiltrate my sleep and I slowly open my eyes. Something heavy across my middle makes it hard to move. I look down to see what it is and glance over my shoulder to confirm I’m not imagining what I’m seeing.

Nope!

Max is lying on top of the bedcovers curled around my body, his arm slung across me. I study his face. He looks different relaxed in sleep. The scruff on his cheeks is thick this morning, adding to his appeal. My tummy flips and I feel like a schoolgirl whose crush said ‘hello’ in the hall.

He stayed.

When I needed someone, he was there. Same as he’s always been since we first met.

Manipulating my body, I twist carefully in his hold. I don’t want to wake him, but I want to study him more closely. He bands his arm around my body, pulling me in tight as I get comfortable.

“Stop moving, Dimples.” My girly parts wake at the sound of his deep, raspy morning voice, and I freeze. His hand slides up my back, cupping the back of my head beneath the fall of my hair. “Your hair smells so fucking good.” He kisses my forehead. I’m not sure if he’s aware that he’s being affectionate with me in his half-asleep state, but I’m not about to point out his behavior. I don’t want him to stop. His fingers slip through the long strands, then he closes his fist around them. “So, goddamn silky.” I doubt that. I’m certain it’s a tangled mess at this point. He runs his lips down to the tip of my nose, landing another kiss. I smile to myself and snuggle in closer, wrapping one arm around his middle.

Lying like this, our bodies would touch at every available point if Max wasn’t on top of the covers. I can’t believe he isn’t cold.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

Recalling yesterday, my mood drops. “Do you want my honest answer?”

He pulls away to study my face. “Always.”

“I’m confused. I don’t know what to think about any of it.” Taking a deep breath, I take a few seconds to gather my thoughts. “At first, I felt bad for him finding out that his high school girlfriend had passed away. I imagine that would have been a shock. But then when he said he was dating Mom when she got pregnant … the world sort of fell away beneath my feet.” My eyes sting and I have to glance away from Max’s bright green gaze. I lose the battle and tears trickle down the side of my face, crawling over the bridge of my nose, and down into my hair. Max’s deft fingers massage the base of my skull and I hide my face in his chest. I’m not sure why I’m crying again today. I should be happy that I may have found my father, but my thoughts won’t stop spinning.

He abandoned Mom. Essentially, he abandoned me, too.

“I have too many thoughts running through my head at the moment. I’m finding it difficult to make sense of everything, if I’m honest.”

“It’s completely understandable, Mols.” He squeezes the back of my neck gently. “And you can take as long as you need to work things out.”

I nod into his chest, then peer into Max’s eyes. They’re full of compassion and understanding. His breath tickles my face and I drop my eyes to his lips. He moves forward slightly, and I take the cue to meet him in the middle. At first, it’s a simple press of lips against lips. Max’s whiskers teasing the skin around my mouth, adding to the sensation. He sighs, then presses in firmer and I meet his pressure. My tongue slips out to taste along the soft pillows of his lips. Max tightens his hold and he glides his fingers up to grasp my hair close to my scalp. He tightens his hand into a fist, tugging my head back, and I peel my eyes open to find Max’s heated gaze on me. He plants the softest of kisses down the side of my face, swiping my tears with his tongue. My breaths speed up and I press my boobs into him, silently begging for him to kiss me. To really kiss me. I fear he’s going to come to his senses and stop.

He surges forward and I open willingly, allowing him to invade my mouth with his tongue, exploring and tasting me. I match him with an exploration of my own, bringing my hand up to run my fingers through the short strands of his hair. Our teeth clash as our tongues rut against each other. This kiss is hungry. No, it’s more than that. It’s like we’ve been starved for too long and we need this to survive. My lungs burn, but I don’t want to break away. I don’t want to lose this.

Max slows the kiss and I panic that he’s going to stop. Reaching up, I press his head toward mine. His lips spread wide against mine. “Don’t worry, Dimples. I’m not stopping.” My lips match his in relief and he moves forward, nipping my bottom lip before sucking away the sting.

Using his body, he rolls me onto my back and then situates himself on top of me and I wish to all that’s holy that we didn’t have the bedcovers between us. What I would give to feel his naked skin against mine. My body heats at the thought and I lift my head from the pillow to steal another kiss. Our lips meld and move together as though we were always meant to kiss like this. It’s a kiss that I’ll remember forever as it sears an indelible mark on my soul.

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