Page 59 of Red Hunt

“And I always thought men were the ones pushing for sex.”

“Yeah, obviously not me. So why?”

“Because it feels right. You feel right. I’m 100 percent sure you would never hurt me. You care for me; you protected me. I’m insanely attracted to you, and when you pushed me against that wall, I nearly came just from having your leg between mine. Now feels right. You are right.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“But you know you can back down, anytime.”

She lifted my hand to her mouth, kissed it, and said, “I know.”

35

MILLI

I didn’t know what the hell had gotten into me. But somehow, between what had happened today and Max telling me he thought I was sexy, something short-circuited my rational brain. The wise thing to do would be to wait. But I didn’t want to wait. I trusted Max. Trusted him more than any other man before him. No matter if I didn’t know all there was to know about him. Didn’t know his history and his plans for the future or everything else.

For the first time, I didn’t want to be rational. I’d been rational my whole adult life, staying in my lane, keeping a low profile just to not attract attention.

Tonight, I wanted to be free. Free from my past, free from my fears. Free from expectations and thoughts and worries.

Maybe the couple of shots had a play in that, though I didn’t feel drunk. I felt strong and brave and sexy and ready.

As ready as I’d ever be.

We arrived at the lodge, and Max had kept the outside lights on. He exited the truck, rounded the hood, and helped me out. “How’s the leg doing, by the way?”

“It’s okay. Still a little sore, but I’ve been resting it most of the day. It’s fine.”

And even if it’d hurt like a bitch, which it luckily didn’t, I probably wouldn’t tell Max. Because he would take that as a reason to take sex off the table. That was for sure.

He grabbed my hand, and together we climbed the stairs to the door. Spittle, the cat, was waiting for us. “Hey, Spittle, you’re getting bigger by the day.”

“Spittle?” Max asked with a smile as he opened the door.

“That’s her name. She’s so big. What are you feeding her? Hey, did you ever get to pet her?”

Max shook his head. “We’re not that friendly yet. I’m just here to open the doors for her and give her food. I think she’s pregnant. That’s why she’s getting bigger, but she doesn’t let me touch her.” He shrugged.

I laughed, then looked at Spittle once more. Maybe Max was right. Her belly was bigger than the last time I’d seen her a couple of days ago. “If you get to pet her, you’ll see why she deserves the name Spittle.”

Max turned on the lights in the living room.

“Wow, I’ve never been in here. I like what you did so far. It always looked so sad, so empty.”

Max chuckled, entered the open-plan kitchen, and opened the fridge. “Can I get you anything?”

I followed him and peeked under his arm. “A beer maybe?”

He closed the fridge without taking anything out and turned around. He wasn’t smiling, just looking at me. With his clear blue eyes. Then he grabbed me by the sides and lifted me onto the kitchen counter. “How much alcohol did you have this evening?”

He looked at me all serious. Was he thinking I might be coming on to him because I’d been drinking?

“Not enough to not know what I’m doing.”

“How much?”

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