His End Game (MMG #1) (14 page)

“No condom, I’m on the pill,” I panted.

“What?”

“No condom. I’m safe, I…” Before I could say any more, he tilted my hips up and was plunging inside me.

“I love you,” he ground out. He had a hand on my hip, the other between my legs and I was shaking with pleasure. I could feel every bare inch of him deep inside. In a total of two seconds, we went from restrained to completely wild. He was pounding me from behind while grinding his fingers between my legs. I was screaming in pure ecstasy. Loving…Every…Second…Of…It.

“Come,” he commanded and I did.

I lay face down on the bed with my skirt thrown over my hips and my bare ass hanging in the breeze. Max lay next to me and was running his fingers up and down my naked spine.

“Have I ever told you that I love the way you smell?” I sleepily mumbled.

“No.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Like leather and spices and everything that’s good in the world.” I felt his hand still. When it started back up I continued. “I haven’t had much good in my life. I was convinced that it didn’t exist for me…. until you.”

I must have fallen asleep because when I came back to consciousness, I was snugly tucked into Max’s side with his arms tightly wrapped around me. Apparently, he had taken off my skirt and sandals while I slept because they were no longer on my body. I breathed deeply in, wanting to memorize the smells that made up my Max. I knew that he wasn’t going far or forever, but he was going. Things were going to change and, whether he admitted it or not, so would our relationship. I felt a wave of sadness roll over me. I never had anything worth keeping before so I wasn’t familiar with the feelings that came with having to let go. I could feel the tears welling and, thinking Max was asleep, I let them spill over.

“Hey, you okay?” His voice was sexy with sleep.

I buried my head in his pillow and hoped that he wouldn’t see me crying.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked into his beautiful eyes.

“Why are you crying? Did I hurt you earlier? Was I too rough?”

“No, it was absolutely perfect. You are perfect. This whole summer has been perfect. I am just sad to see it go.”

“It’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere,” he huskily replied, wiping a tear away.

“I don’t want things to change,” I whispered.

Cradling my face between his hands, he tenderly kissed my lips. More tears fell and he deepened the kiss. Sensing his need,
I opened my legs. Slowly, he slid into me and rocked, in and out, until we were both breathing heavily.

“Deeper,” I told him.

Sliding both of his hands underneath me, he pulled himself in deeper. Shivering with desire, I wrapped both of my legs around him so that my heels were touching his lower back. I stared into his eyes, wanting him to see everything I felt but could not say. Thrusting deeply, he whispered, “You. Are. Mine.” Those three words were all it took. Moaning out his name, I came and took him over with me.

“I love you Max. I always will.”

“Always,” he replied.

He woke me up a few hours later and was already showered and ready for work. He dropped me off at my house with a kiss and a promise to come by the café when he got off work.

I waved as I watched him drive away. That was the last time I saw him.

~Five Years Later

I hate graduations
.

This time of year dredged up all kinds of painful memories. The best decision I ever made was to get out of Charlotte. Four years at UNC Greensboro had flown by. I went home for holidays throughout the years to see Joss, Kurt, Benny and my aunt, but I never stayed for long and I made sure that I had a job lined up in Greensboro every summer. Piper was my savior, especially during the first two years of college. She could have gone anywhere, but because of me she chose a smaller private college a mile away. We saw each other every chance we could.

I almost didn’t make it to my high-school graduation on account of my failing grades.

And my heartache

Thank goodness my teachers took pity on me during that time. Through extra help and a lot of extra credit, I managed to graduate from high-school and now from college.

Max would be proud
.

Joss ended up following Kurt to UNC Charlotte. They visited Greensboro every now and then, alternating stays between my fold out sofa and Piper’s guest bedroom. Kurt graduated last
May and was, as of a month ago, the proud owner of a bar named Dragonfly. I had gone home for Joss’ graduation and Kurt gave me the grand tour. With a little bit of TLC, it was going to be an awesome place to hang out.

Piper’s family moved back to Texas. She was heading there for who knows how long after graduation. I was going to miss her terribly.

My aunt, Joss, Kurt and Piper all came to see me graduate this past weekend. We went out after the ceremony and lit up the town. Even Aunt Elizabeth cut loose, something I had never seen before, and actually drank a beer. With a brand new degree in Business Administration, I had one week to go before my job at Trace Advertising started. Instead of taking a much needed vacation, I decided I was going to clean out my apartment and redecorate. This time of year was always hard for me, especially right now with all of the graduation stuff happening. If I could skip summer all together, I would. I didn’t allow myself much time to think about Max and what happened five years ago, but summers, especially the beginning of them, always took me back.

~Five Years Earlier

“Max, I have been calling your cell since five this afternoon and am starting to worry. Benny said you left the garage around eleven this morning. I hope everything is okay. I’m trying not to worry here so… call me. Love you.”

Max hadn’t shown up at Providence that afternoon, which was unlike him. At first I didn’t think anything about it. I figured he got caught at work and would call as soon as he was free. It was now going on midnight and I still hadn’t heard from him. Now worried, I dialed Joss.

“God, Ellie, do you know what time it is?” she groggily asked.

“Have you heard from Kurt today?” I was hoping that he was with Max and that Joss knew where they both were.

“He’s here with me. Why?”

“Is Max there, too?”

“No. Should he be?”

“Will you ask Kurt if he has heard from Max today?” Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my bones.

“Sure, hang on”… I heard her talking but couldn’t make out the words. “Ellie, he says he hasn’t heard from Max since yesterday afternoon. Is everything okay? You don’t sound good.”

“I’m sure it is,” I lied. I wasn’t sure about anything. “He was supposed to come by after work and didn’t. He hasn’t called and his phone just goes to voicemail. Benny said that Max got a phone call at the garage around eleven this morning and took off right after. Will you have Kurt try him? I just need to make sure he’s okay.”

“Sure. We’ll call you right back.”

Kurt will figure it out and everything will be fine
.

Kurt didn’t figure it out. Max didn’t call or answer his phone that night and by the next morning I knew that something bad had happened.

Joss stopped by before lunch and we drove by Max’s house. I had little sleep the night before and was running on pure adrenaline. Both his truck and his dad’s car were sitting in the driveway. I felt like throwing up.

Why are both cars here? Why hasn’t he returned any of my calls
?

A million scenarios were running through my head. None of them were good.

“Do you want to stop and knock?” Joss asked.

If it wasn’t for his dad, I would be in there right now
.

“No. Apparently he’s busy.”

At least, too busy to talk to me
.

“There’s a logical explanation for this, I’m sure. Sarah probably needed him or his dad went on a bender. Stop worrying.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Again, I wasn’t sure of anything.

Joss drove me back to my house, told me to take a nap and that she would call as soon as Kurt heard from Max.

Kurt showed up at my house around six that night. I was surprised to see him standing at my door. He told me that he had just been by Max’s house and that Max’s truck and dad’s car were still in the driveway.

“I rang the doorbell like a hundred times, Ellie, but no one answered.”

“What if something bad happened to them, Kurt, and we are just sitting here doing nothing?” I had a visual in my head of Max lying on his floor bleeding to death. “We need to do something, like go over there and break in or call the police…something,” I stressed.

“No police. At least…not yet. Max would never forgive us if we got Sarah taken away because of some stupid knee jerk reaction.”

Kurt was right. Max would hate me if I contacted the police and got his sister put in foster care. Still, why hadn’t he called me? What if Kurt was wrong? This was so out of character for Max and I knew …I knew…. deep in my gut that I was missing something.

After Kurt left I went to talk to my aunt.

Desperate times called for desperate measures
.

“Did you call the police?” she asked, after I explained the situation.

“We don’t want to involve them unless we have to.”

“How about the hospitals and why, may I ask, no police?”

“First of all, we’re not sure that Max is even missing and Joss and I called the hospitals already. Second, Max is barely
eighteen and is too young to take care of Sarah. His dad is a loser, an alcoholic and a possible drug addict.”

“I see. Thank goodness that boy found you when he did. He will call, honey,” she patted my hand. “He is tied up with something but I know when he gets the chance, he will reach out to you. He loves you. I can’t imagine anything that would keep him away from you for long.”

That’s the problem, I can’t either
.

I left her in the office and forced myself to go back up to my room. I was afraid to sleep downstairs. What if Max tried to get into my room and I wasn’t there? Pausing outside my bedroom door, I closed my eyes and made a wish.

Please let Max be sitting on my bed when I open this door
.

I flung open the door and……nothing, except my phone that I had left sitting on my bed. Not believing that I had left my room without it, I raced over to check my messages. I hit my desk chair as I rushed by and knocked my purse onto the floor. The contents flew everywhere.
Shit!

No new messages. Sighing, I bent down to pick up the mess and on my floor were the keys to Max’s Scout.

I figure that I need to protect the two most important people to me in any way that I can. But Max, you love your truck
.

Yes, but I love you more and I want to know that you are safe, especially when I can’t be with you
.

That’s it. I couldn’t do this anymore. Tomorrow I was going to his house. I was searching his car. Even if I had to break a window to get into the house, I would.

I had a plan
.

The next morning I called Providence and told Amy about Max. She told me to take as much time off as I needed. School was starting next week so my schedule would be changing anyway.

After checking that off my list, I called Kurt to tell him my plan. He convinced me that felonious acts like breaking and entering should only be attempted after dark and since he had to work tonight, he would be by to pick me up at eight tomorrow evening. I was about to call Piper when my doorbell rang.

Maybe it’s Max
.

“Have you seen him?” Benny asked.

“No. You were fourth on my list to call today,” I told him. Benny and I had been in constant contact since the afternoon of Max’s disappearance.

“Wherever the hell that boy is, he should have checked in by now. In all the years I have known him, he’s never gone this long without at least a phone call.”

I gnawed my lip, wondering if I should tell him my plan.

“I drove by the house before heading over here,” he continued. “I swear, this has his dad written all over it. That man has been up to no good for a long time.”

I didn’t know what to say to this. I wanted to know more about Max’s dad but wanted Max to be the one to tell me, not Benny. “Are both cars still there?” I asked.

He nodded his head. “Yep, I rang the bell and looked in all the windows but I couldn’t see a damn thing.”

I told him what Kurt said about the police and, not being able to stand it, told him about our plans.

“I’m coming with you,” he said.

I knew he’d say that
.