Page 44 of Make Me Whole

I smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I like that.”

“Me too,” he replied, though his brows pulled together in confusion.

We kissed again, slowly but with so much fire. Then, Max started to move.

His hips rolled at a measured pace, pulling almost completely out before diving back in. It wasn’t frantic and hard and pounding as our trysts had been up to that point. There was no rush. It was like every other time he had been singing, but this time he was worshiping. There was feeling and meaning, not just an act or intention, and it heightened the not-to-be-named emotion that had driven my first orgasm.

We kissed the whole time, slowly and deliberately, like our . . .boinging. And as good as the fucking always was, this was better. This was what both my body and soul needed.

Before I could think straight or even feel, my inner walls tightened around his length. Max’s groans became more urgent and his praises for me more labored.

“Are you close?” he asked.

I nodded. “So close.” Then I kissed his mouth again.

Our tongues tangoed together. He sped his movements to the relentless rhythm I was used to. My breasts bounced, my core tightened, and my pussy contracted, and before I knew it, I was falling into a pleasure so intense I could barely contain it inside me.

Max cried out my name and a bunch of curses as he spilled his load deep inside. I clenched around him, begging for every drop, for every ounce of his pleasure.

We stayed connected, his body above me and my lips pressed to his stubbly neck, as we enjoyed the peace of sated bodies. Then, Max pulled out of me, leaving me feeling incredibly empty, and stretched out behind me.

He snaked an arm underneath my head like a pillow and pressed me closer with a hand on my belly. He kissed the back of my neck, and after two seconds, fell asleep spooning me—my very first ever spoon.

I felt safer than ever before. Tears filled my eyes for the millionth time, but they were good ones. Exhausted from both stress and delight, I also closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up,the bed was as cold and lonely as I knew it would be. A greedy part of me resented the loneliness of our agreement. The sex was amazing, but after every time, I was left wanting more.

I wanted mornings together, public outings, and inside jokes. I longed to hold his hand in public and proudly display him as my partner and the father Ella deserved. And I craved knowing that we belonged to each other. Still, I was beyond grateful that I had this part of him. It might not be everything I wanted, but any part of Max was a gift I deeply cherished.

Holding that in mind, I stretched and looked at the stupid plastic frog clock on my nightstand to see how long I still had before I had to leave to pick up the kids. My heart soared at the pink Post-It stuck to it.

You looked too relaxed to wake up.

I’ll pick up the kids, take Ella to practice, and come back with pizza.

You’ve earned a day off. XX

The happiest tearsfilled my eyes. Maybe, just maybe, there was a part of Max that wanted more things as well.

I picked up my phone and typed a quick reply.

You’re literally the best. Let me know how I can thank you later. X

I putmy phone back on the nightstand and went to the bathroom for a much-needed bubble bath. As I soaked, I allowed my mind to drift to a place where all my desires concerning Max were realized. The fantasy was so real I could almost see us living together in this house, our kids growing up as siblings, and a marriage that was defined by love, friendship, and passion instead of pain and hurt, as mine and Eli’s had been. As impossible of a dream as it was, I wanted it. I wanted that life more than I wanted to breathe.

But the water had gotten cold, and it was time to return to reality.

I stepped out of the bath, took a quick shower, and got dressed. The sun was low in the sky, which meant that Max would be home with the kids at any moment. Before leaving my room, I walked to my nightstand, folded the sticky part of Max’s note, and hid it inside the drawer. I picked up my phone and made my way downstairs.

There were two calls from my dad and a message from Max. I obviously opened the message first.

As a norm, thanking a man with nudes and/or a BJ are failsafe.

I laughedout loud and thought about snapping a picture of my tits right there at the staircase, but I didn’t because Max was with the kids and there was a strange rattling coming from the door.

Eli’s promise to make Max and me pay for my actions came back to my mind, and a chill ran down my spine. Heart pounding, I looked around for something I could use as a weapon. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw the new baseball bat Aiden had left after his team tryout yesterday. That would have to do.

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