All He Wants (31 page)

She slid her hands up his chest and whispered, “I want to feel you, Billy. I want to be close to you, and make you feel as amazing as you’ve made me feel. Please make love to me.”

He lowered his head and kissed her passionately, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he did. When he drew back, he was as breathless as she was, and he quickly said, “Condom.”

She wanted to scream in protest, but somehow managed to refrain. Her body didn’t just want him, she craved him like she was drowning and he was oxygen. His kiss. His touch. His everything.

Billy stepped back over to the couch, rolling the condom down over his length, and her body finally uncurled a bit from its high-strung state. She was mere seconds from feeling him fill her up, which meant she was mere seconds from the incredible feeling that all was right with the world, and that she was in exactly the right place and with exactly the right person.

When Billy had the condom unrolled all the way to the base of his dick, he bent down over Maxi, climbing onto the wide, comfortable couch and spreading her legs apart with his knees. He positioned himself at her opening and paused there for the briefest of moments, just long enough to look up into her face and catch her eye. When their gazes were locked, he thrust himself inside of her, never breaking eye contact.

Maxi wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to focus on all the roiling sensations and impulses inside her, or throw her head back hard into the pillow and let her eyeballs roll to the back of her head. She did neither of those things. She kept her gaze locked laser strong on Billy’s while he moved his hips in that magical, mesmerizing way of his. She trailed her fingertips up his body until her hand reached his face and she caressed his cheek as they gazed into each other’s eyes, their bodies moving as one.

This combination of sensations was completely new to her. It was amazing, she knew that. But, other than how great it was, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The two things didn’t seem like they should be able to go together. A wild animal instinct to tear him apart that was more visceral than anything she had ever felt. Then, also, feelings of tenderness that were gentler than anything she had ever experienced. They didn’t alternate. And, although she couldn’t figure out how it was possible, they didn’t seem to each take up “half” the space available in her head and heart. No, she was filled to the brim with each of these seemingly competing emotions, and she felt both of them in a way that was deeper and more profound than anything she could have imagined.

It was like a religious experience. That was the only way she could think to describe it. It was like their souls were merging together as one as their bodies did the same thing. Like a symphony, where all of the instruments, each beautiful on their own, soar and combine to create something more intricate and stunning than any of them could attempt individually.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed as tightly as she could. When that didn’t even get her close enough to him, she tore her gaze away so that she could snake her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Her entire body was wrapped tightly around Billy’s, enveloping him and taking him into her body just like she was taking him into her heart. And yet, she still wanted more. Needed more.

She tilted her chin up so that her lips were pressed against his ear. She whispered, “Turn me over. Take me from behind. You can get deeper that way. I need to feel you deeper inside me.”

She didn’t recognize the woman that would say something so bold. She was artful. In her professional life, and in her personal life, she always phrased things with grace. She was never crude. Billy brought out something in her that she’d never seen…but she didn’t hate it. In fact, hearing that hot and dirty command come out of her own mouth turned her on even more than she had been before.

The raw growl that tore from his throat at her words let her know that he felt the exact same way. He leveraged himself up on one of his arms and used the other to flip her over as easily as if she weighed nothing at all. Damn, she loved the way Billy, with all of his controlled muscular power, always made her feel like she weighed nothing more than a ragdoll when he handled her. But it was only because she knew that he would only ever use that strength to protect her, never to harm her, that made her feel safe with him in a way that she never felt around far less threatening men.

It was also what made her drool every time she saw him without his shirt on. The thought made her smile, but she put it away to focus on the present, where he was much more than shirtless—he was everything-less, and so was she, and he was inside her and they were making love.

Even though it was definitely happening…she was here in the room and participating, and it wasn’t even the first time, so the reality of the moment was not in question…it still felt too good to be true. Like she was going to wake up in a cold sweat and realize that everything that had happened since the morning he came back into her life in a meaningful way was all just a surreal dream. It occurred to her that that might be why she felt such a desperate need to feel him closer to her, deeper inside her. She was trying to make herself understand and accept that this was real. This was happening. She was really with Billy, he was really making love to her. Claiming her. Possessing her. She was his.

She felt his hands grip her hips and dig into the soft, pliable flesh there an instant before he drove into her again, pulling her back against him over and over as he thrust his dick into her slit.

“Oh, yes…” she groaned, her elbows giving way and her face collapsing into the pillow in front of her, “that’s what I needed. Oh, yes, it feels so good. So deep. Oh…!”

Even though the orgasm had been building steadily the entire time they had been together, the sudden and jarring crash of it tearing through her still took her by surprise, and she screamed as it shook her. She felt Billy’s chest press against her back as he leaned down and enfolded her while she came. His muscles were twitching and contracting just like hers were, and she realized with a deep and warm sense of satisfaction that he was coming, as well. She loved that. The most intense thing that a human could feel, and not only were they giving it to each other, but they were experiencing it simultaneously. Together.

That seemed exactly right.

They both collapsed onto the couch and as easily as he’d flipped her over, he flipped her back so that they were face to face. As they caught their breath Billy ran his hands through her hair. The look in his honey eyes was still so intense, she expected it to be more relaxed now, but it wasn’t. She could sense that he wanted to say something to her, something
important
, something
significant
, something
meaningful
.

He cupped her jaw and her pulse sped and her lips turned up at the anticipation of hearing the three words that she’d been dying to hear from him.

The words were on the tip of her own tongue when he said, “Marry me.”

Wait. What?

She blinked in shock. Did he just…

“What?” she breathed.

“I love you. I don’t know when it happened. I think part of me has loved you since the first time I saw you. But I fell even more in love with you over these past weeks. This isn’t about today or thinking about losing you, this is about having you. This is about wanting your face to be the last thing I see every day and your smile to be what I wake up to every morning. This is about wanting to cook you dinners that make you sit back and stretch like you just ran a 5K. This is about being the one that gets to hear you sing, off-key in the shower and knowing what kind of mood you’re in depending on which eighties song you’re singing. This is about wanting to be the one that gets to make you coffee every morning and the one that gets to hear the first sentence you speak after you’ve had your first cup. This is about being the man that gets to love you, protect you, hold you, and be at your side. This is about being the one legally obligated to make sure that you never have to face anything alone again. This is about you. I love you so much, please say yes. Please be my wife.”

Tears that had pooled in her eyes were now falling down her cheeks as what started as a grin turned into a smile that spread from ear to ear. “I was happy when I just thought you were going to tell me you loved me.”

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” he repeated over and over as he peppered kisses over her face. “Marry me. Let me spend the rest of our lives telling and showing you how much I love you.”

“Yes.” Maxi nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you so much.
I
want to spend the rest of our lives telling and showing you how much.”

Billy covered her mouth with his, sealing their promise in a kiss that turned into them spending the rest of the weekend showing each other just how much they loved each other.

B
illy looked down at the gold band that he wore on his left hand. He still couldn’t believe just how damn lucky he was. It was only one week ago today that Maxi had been abducted and he’d asked her to marry him.

It had taken a little convincing on his part not to wait, but he promised her if she wanted a big wedding they could have one later. He just didn’t want to spend another second without her as his wife. She’d agreed to a courthouse wedding, which they’d had this morning in Chicago. The only attendants were Zach and Jessie, who returned the favor he and Maxi paid them when they were witnesses in their spur of the moment Vegas wedding. Charlie walked Maxi into the chambers and Jana was there as well. That was it. Small and intimate. It was perfect.

Glancing up, he watched his
wife
on the dance floor with a few of the Sloan women. Chelle, Jessie, Jamie and Krista were all tearing it up. When Jessie had found out their plans she asked if she could throw them a
small
(which turned out to be a relative term) reception in Harper’s Crossing. Maxi hadn’t wanted her to go to any trouble, but if there was anyone more stubborn then his wife it was her boss. Word must have spread quickly because they were under a tent down by the river, surrounded by about a hundred and fifty or so people who were friends that felt a hell of a lot more like family. There were twinkle lights hanging everywhere, a DJ, a dance floor, food and drinks. It was perfect.

“Well, son…” The Colonel slapped him on his shoulder. “When you get your ducks in a row, you don’t waste any time, do ya?”

“No, sir.” Billy smiled. Or continued smiling was more like it. He’d been doing it all day. He was surprised he could still feel his cheeks.

“Good job.” The Colonel beamed. “I’m proud of you, son.”

“Thank you, Colonel. For everything.”

“Oh and Charlie just told me that you’re going to be training that boy that saved Maxi.”

“Yep. Carter Simpson. He’s gonna start training next week. He has a mean right hook.”

When Billy had seen the security footage of what happened in the lobby before he got there, he’d felt even more grateful for how everything turned out. If Bonnie and Clyde hadn’t slipped out of their owner’s grasp and Carter hadn’t knocked Angelo out cold things could have turned out very, very differently. But he didn’t want to think about that, not on his wedding day.

“Yoohoo, do you want to dance?” Billy turned and saw Jessie and Zach’s landladies Margie and Mabel, who referred to themselves as the M&M sisters, beelining it across the dance floor in their direction. They both had a
fondness
for the Colonel.

When Billy turned back to say that he was pretty sure The Colonel was their target, he was surprised that he was no longer beside him. The Colonel was like a ninety-year-old ninja. That man was his hero.

The music slowed and Maxi left the group that she’d been dancing with, and was heading straight towards him. She wore a simple white dress that hugged her body in all the right places and he couldn’t wait to tear off of her. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders and her cheeks were flushed. His smile defied physics and grew even wider with every step she took. When she was an arm’s length away she held out her hand. “I want to dance with my husband.”

“I can make that happen,” he said as he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.

As they began slowly swaying back and forth her head shot off his chest. “Oh, did I tell you I know who trouble is?”

“Excuse me?” He had no idea what she was talking about.

“Trouble,” she said excitedly. “I know who he is.”

Billy narrowed his gaze. “How much have you had to drink?”

She swatted his arm playfully. “I’m not drunk. Don’t you remember Stephanie talking about her neighbor? Trouble.”

“Oh, right, yeah the guy that was working on his bike and she couldn’t sleep.”

Maxi nodded and her eyes widened. “It’s Ace.”

“Ace?”

“Yep. Ace.” She tilted her head to the side motioning for him to look to her left.

When he did he saw Ace talking with Seth, Dax and Nate at the edge of the dance floor.

“She choked on her champagne when she saw him walk in. I asked what was wrong and she said that’s him. That’s trouble. She’s been avoiding him all night.”