“Fine.” I went up the stairs, taking one step at a time. At the top, I turned the corner and stopped in the darkened doorway. “Max?”
“Here.” His voice echoed from inside the room that brought back endless provocative and emotional memories. This was the room where he’d once taken me hard, held me soft, and made me feel so loved and beautiful that I had ripped out my own heart and handed the damned thing right over. Here are the keys to your new heart, Max. Drive it around for as long as you like, just don’t dent it. Oh, and while you’re at it, can you drive into me again, because your cock is amazing. Every sensual, elicit memory came crashing down at once as the delicious scent of Max and his cologne infused my brain.
Suddenly, I was right back where we left off. None of the nightmares, the heartache, the mistakes felt real, but somewhere in the back of my mind, that little voice kept telling me over and over again that they were. And if I chose to ignore reality, we would only end up repeating our mistakes.
Be strong, Lily. Just tell him what you came to say.
“May I turn on the lights?” I asked softly.
“Why are you here?”
All right. Play it that way. “I came to get something off my chest.”
My eyes gradually adjusted to the room, and the bit of light coming through the window caught the shape of Max’s lean physique. He sat at the foot of his bed, shirtless, wearing only boxers or shorts or something. His arms, which I knew were ripped to perfection, were crossed over his exquisitely chiseled chest. I literally began aching for him, the warmth of his skin and the heat of his mouth on mine.
“Why are you here, Lily?” he repeated sternly.
Clearly, I enjoy torturing myself. “When I saw you last, I said it was over, and it is. But it felt wrong to end things like…” I drew in a quick lungful of air, trying to steady my pulse as the tears began streaming down my face. Telling yourself you were going to say goodbye was not the same as doing it.
“Like what, Lily?” he growled.
I couldn’t quite come up with the words. “You mean so much more to me than ending things with yelling. And with lies.” I exhaled. “So I guess I’m here because I needed you to know how much you’ve meant to me. Oh, and I’m not pregnant,” I muttered. “Patricio and I always used…” I cleared my throat, trying to come up with diplomatic words. “We were very safe. In every way. So it’s impossible.” God, I sound like an idiot. My nervousness was annoying, because I hadn’t done anything wrong sleeping with Patricio. Yet, you clearly feel guilty.
“So you flew all the way to Chicago so you and I could have a proper goodbye.”
“Yes. And I’m not pregnant.”
“I got that part.”
I wondered if he felt relieved or indifferent or…well, I guess it didn’t matter.
“We also need to talk about your purchase of my building and the company—the one you didn’t tell me you started.”
“All moot points given why you’re here, I’d say. All of that can be undone since you wish to say goodbye.” The coldness in his tone made me wonder if he was getting ready to put up a fight. Because Maxwell Cole was many things, but he wasn’t a quitter. That man didn’t let anything get in his way when he wanted something.
“I’m serious, Max. We need to let us go.”
The room filled with an uneasy silence.
“All right, then,” he finally said, “if it’s a proper goodbye you’re looking for, strip and lay on the bed.”
“Sorry?”
“Take off your clothes and get on the bed,” he demanded in a slow deep voice. “That is why you’re really here, isn’t it, Lily? Because you wanted to feel my cock inside you one final time.” He wasn’t joking around, and my body knew it. Every inch of me sparked with adrenaline—heart pounding, skin tingling, and my nipples tightening. His rough words had struck a nerve. An erotic one.
“Answer me, Lily,” he said, his voice stern.
Had I flown all this way because I needed to be with him one last time? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t lie. I wanted him. My body craved everything I knew Max could make me feel—love, utter despair, need, ecstasy, and loss… I would lose myself the moment he touched me. And I wanted to.
“Have you been with anyone else?” I knew it was unfair to ask, but I wanted to know.
“What the hell do you think?”
That was a no and possibly his way of pointing out he hadn’t given up on us. I had.
In reply to his question, I stripped off my shirt, pants, and undergarments while he watched in silence. It felt oddly arousing to undress for him, but my body had always pleased him. He liked looking at me, and I liked him looking.
My knees unsteady, I walked over and stood in front of him, naked, my chest heaving with anxious breaths.
He gripped my hips with his large hands and pulled me to his mouth, placing a kiss on my stomach.