Lost Heartbeats (Alexander & Maya Book 2) (9 page)

“Sure,” I murmured, rolling us over until I had her body over mine. My fingers dug into her hips, holding her in place.

Panicking, she sat up, and her hot little pussy finally made contact with a very eager part of my body. As soon as she realized what she was sitting on, she attempted to scramble off of my lap.

“Not so fast,” I grumbled and hooked my hand on the back of her neck so I could get her lips on mine.

It took a while for her lips to part for me, but when it finally happened, it was pure pleasure running through my veins. She moaned in my mouth and I absorbed it all.

Slowing down the kiss before her taste lulled me into a dream, I said, “Shut up and listen to me.”

Breathless, she just stared at me as if I was the biggest mystery she’d ever come across.

“I missed you. I’m here
because
of you, and I want to stay because of you. Since the first day I saw you, I’ve been slowly
falling
for you, and I’ve decided that I’m going to keep you, Maya Hart.”

Her body froze over mine. Her lips were parted as if she wanted to snap back at me but couldn’t quite find the words she needed.

Swallowing, she asked, “Just like that, huh?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Just like that,” I replied, softening my voice.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see if I decide to keep you too, then.”

I lifted an eyebrow, amused beyond words. “Maya, you’ve already been keeping me in your heart for all this time. I don’t think I have to work too hard on you for that.”

“Has being an asshole always been a part of your charms? Or did something or someone turn you into one?”

Feeling the cold hard truth of her words settle all over my skin, I forced my body to be gentle with hers as I slowly lifted her off me. Thankfully, she was too focused on the flinch she saw on my face to object. I knew she hadn’t meant to hurt me with her words, and if the concerned expression etched on to her face was anything to go by, she was already feeling guilty for it. I wondered if that was all she saw in me.

I got up from the bed and turned my back to her, indecisive about leaving or staying. The tone of her voice stopped me from moving further away.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Alexander. I’m sorry. This is us, you know, I insult you, and you make pay for it with a kiss. You don’t walk away.”

“You haven’t said anything you should be sorry for. I’m quite aware that I can be an asshole sometimes.” I turned back to her, leaned down, and pressed a small kiss on her temple. “But, in this case, with you…whatever I say will only be the truth. I’m not one to lie about my feelings, Maya. If I feel something for you, I’m not going to hide it just because you think I’m not capable of love.”

Her first expression was shock. Then she threw her legs over the bed, clutched the sheets tighter around herself, and stood up, facing me.

My brave little warrior.

“I would never say something like that, Alexander. You know that’s not what I meant at all.” Her brows furrowed, and she touched my forearm timidly. “I just think that you…” Without finishing her words, she sighed and sat back on the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet.

I reached for her hand, holding it tightly between my palms as we sat next to each other.

“I know what I want, Maya. All I’m asking from you is to give me a chance to prove that you can’t go on without me in your life.”

She laughed as she lifted her head to look at me. “God, you really are impossible.” When I smiled back, she shook her head and got up, urging me to move too.

“How about I take a shower so I can take you out for lunch? You must be starving by now. If you’re good I’ll treat you to Piggelin or Mjukglass. Both my favorites.”

“I’m not sure if I’m ready for a treat that starts with ‘pig’, but if you promise not to overthink everything, and if we can take that shower together, we can do whatever you want.”

“They are the names of the tastiest ice creams you could ever find.” Her gaze moved down to my chest and down to my abdomen. With the way she was looking at me, you would think it was the first time she had ever seen me naked. I let myself enjoy that hungry gaze on me. “The shower might get a little too crowded with both of us in there though. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“It’s fine. Come on,” I said and tugged her arm in the direction of her small bathroom.

It was true, her shower was too small for two people to move around freely, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Plus, it meant I could have her breasts pressed against my chest as I made her come on my fingers. My cock would do better, but after the night we’d had, she deserved to recover from the pounding I’d given her. I was patient enough to wait for nightfall to have her under me—or over me—again.

“You look beautiful,” I said after she emerged from her bedroom as I was unconnecting my phone from the charger she’d given me. The way I’d left New York, it was no surprise to find out I hadn’t even packed the things I needed. Then again, what could I possibly need other than a few scraps of clothing when I had Maya this close.

Stopping to stand in front of me, she put her hands on my chest and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. My arm closed around her waist to keep her tucked close to me for longer, but she was quick to take a step back.

“Thank you for the shower,” she said, smiling up at me.

My ears were still ringing with her sensual moans and screams as I remembered how good it felt to have her wet slippery skin against my heated body. How she trembled as I gazed into her eyes when I licked my fingers clean of her slick arousal.

“More tonight?” I asked, leaning down to nip at her neck.

“Yeah, more,” she whispered, her eyes already dilated.

My dick jumped in response to what I saw in her eyes. A dangerous promise. “Come on, let’s get out of here before I strip you naked and start fucking you for hours again. You need to feed me.”

Caught in her stare, I brushed my fingers along her throat, impatient to feel the jump in her pulse.

“I need to know everything about you, Maya. I need to learn everything there is to know.”

“Why?” she asked, frowning up at me innocently.

“Because you are mine now.”

***

We were having lunch in one of her favorite restaurants when Maya asked, “You want to tell me more about Lucas?”

“I want to, but not here. I want you in my arms when we talk about him. Right now, I want to hear your voice some more.”

“I do have a nice voice.” She nodded to herself. “Go ahead, ask more of your questions then.”

“Do I have to worry about anyone here?” I wouldn’t share her with anyone. If there was even a possibility of some jackass interfering with my plans to take her away, it would be better if I knew everything from start and could plan accordingly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you seeing anyone?”

She shook her head with an amused expression on her face. “Jumping straight into hard stuff, huh? No, I’m not seeing anyone. It’s funny that you ask that
after
everything you did to me last night. A little late, some people might say.” She shook her head, but her lips were twitching. “I did go out with a friend last month, but it didn’t work out. We decided to stay friends.”

“Who?” I asked, noticing the bite in my voice.

She huffed. “Are you going to recognize him if I give you the name? I don’t think so. And how about the ones
you
are seeing? Claire still around?”

“Now that you’ve mentioned her, how about you tell me what she was doing in your room? You didn’t tell me everything that night.” Her body visibly stiffened. She stopped chewing her food for a moment then took a sip of her water.

“You haven’t talked to her about it?”

“I try to stay away from her as much as possible if I can help it, which is why I’m asking you right now.”

She looked down to her plate; there were a few meatballs left and some purple stuff next to it, but she pushed it away.

“She said she was waiting for you in your side of the room and apparently noticed the open door. When I came down from your place, she was sitting on my bed.”

Claire never seemed to hear what I was saying to her. The more I showed her that everything was done between us, the harder she tried to convince me that it couldn’t be.

“What did she say to you?”

“Do we really have to do this, Alexander? If there is something going on with your ex-wife, I don’t want to get in the middle of anything.”

If the look on her face hadn’t been so serious, I would’ve laughed, but I didn’t want to look like I wasn’t taking her seriously. I would tell her more about Claire and the games she played on me one day, but not yet.

“There is nothing going on between me and Claire, and there never will be. Tell me what she said.”

Giving me an annoyed look, she held up her fingers and finally spoke up. “I am just another willing and convenient body to you.” She counted one of her fingers down. “You guys are going through a rough patch but that doesn’t mean you are not thinking of her when you are fucking someone else.” Another finger down. “Soon enough you won’t even remember my name.” Another finger. “You dress up the woman you are sleeping with because you care about your image. She will always be the love of your life. A few more things, all along those lines.”

Fucking Claire.

Going through a rough patch?

That was what she was thinking after all she’d done to me? Maybe trying to ignore her wasn’t having the effect I’d hoped it would. Maybe it was time to show her what I really felt about her.

“Nothing she said to you is true, Maya,” I said finally after I managed to calm myself down. I met her eyes.

“Are you going to tell me the truth, then?”

“I will,” I nodded. “But not now. Claire is the last thing I want us to talk about. Just know that I don’t love her. There is no love lost between us. I haven’t loved her for a long time now, and I never will.”

“You are the one who was curious to hear what she said to me,” she shrugged.

“And you are the one who brought up her name. Not me.”

“Well, she is your ex-wife after all. And you were the one who started the questions about relationships.”

“Ok, smart mouth. That’s all the time we’ll give Claire. Do we agree on that at least?”

“Sure. It’s not like she is my favorite person in the world anyway.”

There was a moment of silence. I knew there was something bothering her, but I wouldn’t push her to share it with me before she was ready. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long.

“What about the other women, Alexander?”

I couldn’t blame her for being curious about them.

“I won’t lie to you and say there wasn’t anyone else after you because that wouldn’t be realistic. But, it wasn’t as many as you think.”

“How many are we talking about?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on me. I wanted to kiss those eyes. She looked amazing.

“Two, maybe three,” I answered, distracted.

She nodded, looking down at her lap.

“I told you that I met Claire in college and married her soon after.” Hearing my voice, she glanced up. “After we got divorced, I don’t think she realized I was serious.”

“You think so?”

“Anyway,” I continued, ignoring the hostile look she gave me. Forget about kissing her eyes, I wanted her under me. “I started to sleep around soon after that. Mostly to make a point to her. To be honest, I was hurt, and I was afraid I still had feelings for her. It seemed like a good idea back then, to get lost in other women. As far as I’m concerned it worked too.”

“Worked, how?”

“Worked as in I don’t have any feelings for Claire anymore. We didn’t end in a simple way, Maya. It wasn’t like we fell apart over time. I very much loved her until the last moment, but after a certain point, it was pure hatred. Which meant I was still carrying some feelings for her. Now…she doesn’t even deserve my hate.”

I knew she was dying to ask me why I would divorce Claire when I still loved her. I wasn’t ready to give her the answers she would want. She probably thought Claire was unfaithful to me—it was, after all, what other people thought when they heard about our breakup.

When she avoided looking into my eyes, I softened my voice.

“I didn’t hurt anyone, Maya. They knew I wasn’t looking for anything serious, and trust me sweetheart, they didn’t care about anything as long as they got what they were after. The only thing that kept them coming back was my money and social status. And, well, maybe good sex too,” I added sheepishly.

That brought her eyes right back to mine. Again, hostile. I smiled, pleased to get that reaction out of her. I loved it when she showed me her claws.

“They weren’t in love with me, Maya. I wouldn’t do that to anyone. It was nothing more than sex.”

She grimaced. “They were all blonde because Claire is a brunette?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m a brunette, too,” she pointed out the obvious.