All He Wants (16 page)

This wasn’t the first time they’d found themselves in this position. The first time it had been on the couch. The second had been in her office, and then there was now. Maxi secretly hoped that the third time would be the charm.

His soft lips barely brushed over hers but her hopes were dashed when the door behind him flew open.

“There you are!” Cora exclaimed rushing in, oblivious to the moment that had just passed and threw her arms around Maxi’s neck. “I’ve been looking all over for you. The cars went to the venue not the club. Ace was able to deliver both Ricco and Alan to the SUVs; they’re safe and headed to the airport. In all the mayhem some of his people got left behind but Martin is handling their transportation. The crowd has died down since word spread that Elvis had left the building.”

Maxi chuckled and it had less to do with Cora’s joke and a lot more to do with the fact that if Cora hadn’t come in when she had, Maxi would definitely have kissed Billy Marshall. Unlike the other two times, this time there was contact…and it wasn’t nearly enough.

As the three of them left the small office, Billy’s hand rested on Maxi’s back and all of the nerves disappeared instantly and were replaced with a different sensation. The world righted itself.

Uh oh.

Note to self: Do not
actually
fall in love with Billy Marshall.

Maxi feared this was a case of too little too late.

B
illy drummed his fingers on the kitchen table as he listened to Maxi singing a song that he thought he remembered from
Dirty Dancing
. He was doing his best to clear all visions of her naked body beneath the water, but he was failing miserably. He was wound so tight he was about to snap and not just physically. He’d taken his own shower to try alleviating some of the pressure, but it hadn’t even taken the edge off.

After tonight he knew that something had to give.

Maxi was keeping something from him and avoiding him and he wanted to know why. He and Maxi needed to talk. He had questions that needed answered.

When he heard the shower turn off, he knew it was just a matter of time before she’d be out to get her water. Every night, either after her shower or, if she didn’t shower, then after washing her face, she came out and grabbed a water.

He heard the soft padding of her feet about a second before she came into view looking like his wet dream come to life. She was in profile, wrapped in a crisp white towel, her dark hair was falling over her bare shoulders and her long legs were glistening with moisture.

“Damn,” he said under his breath with a groan of appreciation.

He hadn’t meant to, but like he said something had to give.

Maxi shrieked and spun around at his soft moan. Her hands flew up and grabbed her towel, holding it in place. Small lines appeared at her nose as her lips pursed and her face scrunched in frustration.

“You scared me!” she exclaimed with displeasure.

He wasn’t sure if she was frustrated that he was in the kitchen, in her house, or in her life at this point. He’d originally waited for her to talk but after seeing her in that towel, there were more pressing matters to address. Like the fact that every time they were near each other they almost kissed. Or the fact that she couldn’t be alone in a room with him, which he was pretty sure had something to do with the first matter.

As much as he wanted to figure out what she was hiding from him, what she wasn’t telling him, he wanted her more. He was done tiptoeing around the explosive chemistry they shared. It was time to face it or move on. This limbo shit was making him crazy.

She pulled the terrycloth up higher on her chest as she took a step back. “What are you doing?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he rasped.

He was wired. Part of that, he was sure, was the constant level of adrenaline he’d felt since the second that he’d found out she was in danger. It would most likely stay that way until they caught the sick fuck that was stalking her. But the other part was just spending so much damn time with Maxi. Night and day. Twenty four seven. It had multiplied the feelings that he’d always had for her by a million. Unlike most girls that he spent time with, instead of her getting on his nerves, or him getting tired of her or growing bored, it seemed he was in deeper than he ever had been before.

He’d known Maxi for more than a decade. If anyone had asked him a few weeks ago if he’d known her, really
known
her, the answer would have been yes with no hesitation. He knew that she hated fish. She loved scary movies but never watched them alone. Her favorite flavor of ice cream was strawberry and her allergies were so bad when she was a kid she used to have to take four allergy shots twice a week.

But over the past week he learned there were many things he didn’t know about Maxi. The real Maxi. Before last Friday, he didn’t know that she
never
slept with the lights off. He didn’t know that she needed coffee in the morning before she could string a sentence together. He didn’t’ know that she sang in the shower. Really badly. And always music from the 80’s. He didn’t know that the second she came home she got into sweats and “slippies,” and she looked so damn adorable in them.

Now, he did. And the more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to know what secrets she was keeping from him. Why she’d been so sure that Carter was innocent. Why she’d been so scared when he’d pinned her against the wall to protect her from the crush of people.

But before he learned those things he wanted to know what her lips felt like and how she tasted. This entire week had been like one long, tormenting session of foreplay and he couldn’t take anymore.

He stood and the legs of the chair scraped against the wooden floor. Her eyes widened as they ran down his body. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt after his shower and had only thrown on loose sweats. They did nothing to hide his arousal. In two long strides he closed the distance between them.

One of Billy’s greatest strengths in the boxing ring had been reading opponents. If someone was in pain, scared, exhausted, or weak he could sniff it out like a bloodhound. He possessed the same gift when it came to women. Not that he’d had to use it much. The women that he was usually with were always more than happy to tell him, in detail, exactly what was going on in their minds. But not Maxi. Maxi hid, or tried to hide, what she felt.

As a kid he’d been the king of hide-and-seek. Time to regain his crown.

A quick scan told him she was turned on. Maybe not as close to the edge as he was, but she wanted him. Her pupils were dilated. Her lips were parted. Her cheeks were flushed. Her breathing was coming in short pants.

The energy between them crackled with intensity. Inching closer he eliminated the space between them. Her eyes darkened to a deeper sapphire blue as they peeked up at him beneath a thick bed of lashes.

Whether or not this was a good idea stopped mattering to him. All that mattered was finally acting on the impulses, desires, and feelings that were erupting through him with volcanic force.

“One kiss.”

He could’ve just lowered his mouth to hers, but he needed to hear that she wanted the same thing he did.

“What?” Maxi’s blue eyes were glazed with lust but he could also see doubt creeping in and battling it.

“One kiss, that’s all I’m asking for.”

Her breath was coming in even more labored pants. He didn’t know about her, but he was flashing back to the storeroom where their lips had brushed. Briefly. Too briefly. It was all he’d thought about since the moment it happened.

With determination she nodded and that should’ve been enough for him. But it wasn’t. He wanted to hear her say it. To say yes.

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.” The word came out as a breathless pant.

“Say it,” he demanded.

“One kiss. I want one kiss.”

His hands wrapped around her waist and he lifted her up on the counter, bringing her mouth closer to his. She sucked in a startled breath as her hands grasped his bare shoulders for balance. He stepped between her knees and leaned closer to her, his skin felt like it was vibrating with need. Every cell in his body was alive with desire. The heat of her breath warmed his lips. He knew that this kiss had to be more than just a kiss. It had to
be
everything,
say
everything that he felt for her. She may not want to hear him tell her what he felt, but he could show her.

But not like this.

Her eyes closed as he got closer but instead of pressing his lips to hers, he slowly lowered down to his knees and placed his hands on her thighs. That got her attention.

Her lids flew open. “What are you doing?”

“If I’m only getting one kiss, I want to make it count.”

His fingers spread out on her soft thighs and dipped beneath the terrycloth material covering them. She stared down at his fingers as they disappeared under the material. As tempting as it was to do the same, he kept his eyes trained on her face, looking for any sign that he should stop. Any small hesitation and he’d stand up and kiss the lips that her tongue was currently wetting. A groan rumbled in his chest at the temptation that seeing her lick her own lips presented.

Slowly, giving her plenty of time to put an end to this, his hands traveled farther up her creamy legs and the white towel bunched at his wrists. Her skin felt like silk beneath his hands. As he reached the apex of her legs, he dipped his thumbs between them and gently, with measured restraint, spread her legs apart.

She let out a sensual sigh as his thumbs traced the lines of her delicate flesh. He still didn’t look down at the enticing, tantalizing display that was mere inches from his face. He needed to know that she wanted this, that she wanted him.

The pads of his thumbs grew damp with her arousal. He slid up and down her feminine folds as she coated him with her wetness. He loved that it was his fingers making her wet. His touch that was turning her on.

His own body was pulsing with over a decade of pent up lust, passion and desire. Not just his dick, which was harder than it had ever been, but every single cell in his body was screaming for him to strip her naked and touch, kiss, lick, and devour every inch of her perfect body.

Billy had been with more partners than he could count…literally he’d lost count. But this wasn’t just sex. This wasn’t just physical. The air around them was supercharged and somehow it felt like they were cocooned in space and time. He didn’t just want to pleasure her, he didn’t just want to make love to her, he wanted to consume her. To own her. To show her that she was his and he was hers.

“Billy,” she breathed his name in a soft, needy sound as her legs parted even further.

At her open invitation, he lowered his eyes to her sex. When he saw his thumbs against her delicate, glistening flesh, his body flooded violently with lust. It was like a dam had broken as the sensation rushed through him.

As much as he wanted to prolong this experience, to draw out the heightened sensations, he wanted, no
needed
to taste her more.

His thumbs continued their intimate massage as he leaned forward, stopping just a hair shy of contact. Using his fingers he gently pulled the top of her sex, separating it so her clit was exposed. It was swollen and coated in her juices. Her inner walls contracted against the pads of his thumbs as he breathed against her sensitive nub. She was ready to come and he hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.

For a moment he wondered if she was this responsive to every man she’d been with and the thought made him want to throw her over his shoulder and claim her caveman style, but he quickly banished the thought from his head.

This wasn’t about anyone else. This was about the two of them. No one else existed.

“Damn,” he whispered against her flesh. “You’re perfect.”

His mouth covered her sweet center and she gasped at the contact. He took his time tasting her. Memorizing every dip, every line, every fold as he licked, kissed, and touched her.

Her thighs started to tremble against his cheeks and shoulders as he began tracing her opening, teasing and massaging her slit. His tongue ran up and down her core paying special attention to the hood of her sex. Every time he brushed over the sensitized nub her body clenched and her hips lifted up. His fingers dug into her thighs, holding her in place.

Pleasing a woman like this had always been one of Billy’s favorite things to do. He always took care of his partner before himself and he’d found that this was the fastest and most direct way to do it. But this wasn’t just the most efficient means to an end, this was different. With Maxi, the act itself was more than enough. It was everything. Her pleasure was his pleasure.

“Billy…please…I need…” As she pleaded her fingers threaded through his hair and she fisted her hands.

With tenderness that defied the lust raging through him, he gently pushed the tip of his finger into her tight channel as his tongue swirled then flicked her neediest place. The sensation of her body clamping around his digit as he slowly pushed inside of her had his balls tightening and beads of sweat breaking out on his back. Never in his life had he come from getting someone else off, but if that ever
was
going to happen, this would be the time.