Page 1 of Maxwell

Chapter 1

Alessia studied her reflection in the intricately carved mirror, which had been in their family for over a century. She did not notice the oak pattern or that there was a smudge where her fingers had grazed the clear glass.

She looked past what everybody else said was natural beauty with her cocoa-brown skin and exquisite cheekbones to the shadows beneath her eyes, ones that her dad would notice. Joseph Vanderweld might be approaching seventy-five, but there was nothing wrong with his eyesight. It was as sharp and searching as ever.

Being his only child, she was the object of his devotion and the center of his attention. She hadn’t been sleeping well over the past several nights and had to keep lying to him, something she was uncomfortable doing.

“I don’t see why we have to continue meeting in secret.” She could hear the deep voice inside her head. “I don’t feel comfortable sneaking around like a damn kid, Alessia. I want to take you out, wine and dine you, and you’re tying my hands.” He sounded frustrated, and she couldn’t blame him.

She hadn’t counted on falling in love with him, but she was head over heels in love with a man her Daddy would never approve of. It was causing her sleepless nights, and she was sure she’d lost weight. The alternative was to stop seeing Maxwell; even the thought of it was giving her a panic attack.

“We love each other!” He hissed. “How long are we going to do this?”

“Until I figure things out.” She stared at him pleadingly.

“And in the meantime, we continue to meet here.” He swept a hand around the tiny apartment. “This isn’t my style.”

“You love me!”

His expression softened. “It’s the only thing keeping me here. Come to me, Alessia.” He had urged, and she’d walked into his arms, burying her head in his chest. She could still feel the strength of his arms wrapped around her and the scent of his subtle cologne.

They’d met at one of the many charities she was in charge of and one that her Daddy’s company facilitated. That was six months ago. At first, she resisted his advances because she knew he wouldn’t be someone her dad would approve of, but he had gotten her number and called her.

“Meet me. I have to leave for a week and want to see you. I understand you don’t want to be seen with me, but I need to see you. Please.”

The location had been an out-of-the-way cabin belonging to his company.

“I shouldn’t have come.” She said as soon as she exited the vehicle when he opened the door. The place was isolated and surrounded by trees with heavy and overhanging branches, and it looked creepy.

“Why did you?” His hazel eyes bored into hers. “You can always turn around and go back, but I’m guessing you won’t.” His mouth twisted cynically. “You’re curious about what’s happening.”

“Let go of me.”

Ignoring her, he clamped his hand on her arm and steered her inside the dank-smelling interior. Before she could blast him, he’d pushed her back against the door, his long, lean body trapping hers.

The contact had sent an electric charge throughout their bodies, and without a single word spoken between them, they’d reached for each other with a desperation so potent and intense they’d felt as if they were being burned alive.

Clothes had been torn and disposed of hastily. He’d pierced her; that was the only word she could find to describe when he entered her. Gripping her hips, he’d thrust into her, his breathing harsh. They hadn’t thought about protection; that had been the furthest thing from their minds.

Afterward, after the explosion of their combined climaxes, he’d swept her into his arms and carried her into the tiny living room where a fire was blazing in the hearth. She’d stayed curled against him, trying to understand what had just happened.

“I’m attracted to you.” He told her brusquely, hands soothing her back. “It’s more than that, and I can’t let this go. Let you go.”

“I can’t be in a relationship with you.” She whispered.

“Because of your old man. I’m not what he would choose for you.”

“Yes.” She said honestly.

“Then we have a problem. I’m not giving you up.” He’d warned.

He’d made love to her again by the fire after spreading a blanket. He’d taken it slow this time and had her weeping in his arms. That had been it- that first encounter had sealed it for them both. He’d been with someone else just a month before that, and she knew his reputation with women.

Maxwell Callister was handsome in a rough type of way. He’d been raised in a single-parent home with a mother who had to work three jobs to put food on the table. He’d started working in high school and went straight to a security firm to clean floors as soon as he graduated.

He'd told her that he had been hungry and determined to make it and had spent nights studying while living in his old, beaten-up car. His mother had died from an embolism when he was nineteen, and instead of paying rent on the crappy apartment, he’d chosen to live in his car.

She was proud of him and told him.

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