Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (14 page)

Instead of joining the masses, Max stayed behind to talk to Abby after the meeting.

“Aren’t you going with Alex?” Abby was relieved to finally find her voice. Now that they were alone, she turned her chair to face him and was surprised to find him mirroring her position.

“He doesn’t need me today.” Max’s smile melted Abby’s normally iron will and she felt a sudden blush sting from her cheeks down to her chest, continuing past the top button of her black satin blouse. “I’m not caught up on anything yet, so I’d just get in the way.” He added, giving Abby a good enough reason to ignore her generally stellar work ethic in favor of the throbbing desire pulsing through her veins. Not that she’d do anything about it, but the idea of spending even a few more seconds with the unspeakably handsome man made her virginal body ache.

“So what’re you gonna do?” Abby asked. She hoped that the conversation wasn’t leading to his quick exit. She expected the next words out of the sharp masculine lines of his perfectly formed lips to be something along the lines of
So, I’m heading home
or
Well, I’ll see you next week
, but instead Max reached over and gently cradled her hand in his.

“I thought maybe you’d like to volunteer your time to help acclimate a poor newbie to a new world.” The seemingly innocuous sentence sent a thrilling electric volt through her. She was more than willing to guide him into her world. With any luck, he’d get lost and she’d be able to keep him. Abby giggled at the though and Max’s eyes lit up as he watched her smile.

“I guess I’ll take that as a yes?” He prodded, stood up smoothly and pulled her up in front of him.

Shit
, Abby thought when her voice again refused to cooperate, but the timid nod was enough to keep Max from walking away and that’s all she really needed. The intense desire she’d felt while sitting so close to him was nothing compared to what she felt now. With their cloths lightly skimming each other, all it would take was the slightest lean and their bodies would be connected.

As if reading her mind, Max released her hand and brought his hand up to Abby’s neck. He drew the back of his fingers down the long line from her chin to her collar bone, bringing a flash of red back to Abby’s skin.

Abby suddenly felt the large bulge in Max’s trousers press against her stomach even though neither of them had moved closer.

Her body wanted nothing more than to step in and accept his body with hers but her brain, the hard to ignore immensely frustrating intruder that it was, returned to its natural state of panic. The chaotic onslaught of fear and frustration she experienced whenever faced with the possibility of carnal needs taking precedence over well thought out intentions.

Just as she opened her mouth to protest, Max leaned in and dipped his head to taste her lips. Her strawberry flavored lip gloss was a favorite of Abby’s. She wore it almost every day, preferring the more manageable presentation of colorless gloss to a solid lipstick, but there was something about it that made her feel sexy, in her otherwise asexual life. She worked with family, rarely dated and even if she did, the likelihood of letting a man come close enough to get a taste of her prized gloss was so slim that she was able to treasure it as something just for herself, or for someone very special.

She kept her eyes open at first. She was too stunned to do anything else. Max pulled up from the kiss just long enough to lick a bit of the gloss off his own lip before delving back down and sucking her bottom lip into his mouth.

The animalistic gesture was enough to snap Abby away from her stupor and it gave her the unspoken permission to lose herself in Max’s arms.

His warm tongue caressed her lips and erased any trace of the strawberry flavor before sweetly exploring her mouth.

While he was aggressive with his mouth, his hands remained still. One hand around Abby’s trim waist that settled right above her skinny black belt, the other rested carefully around the back of her neck. He didn’t pull her in or force her in any way.

I could do this forever, Abby thought as she savored the sweet taste of Max’s mouth. But she knew, from the little experience she’d had with men, they never felt the same way. It was only a fast paced introduction to what they really wanted and that was something that she just wouldn’t give.

Just as she was about to pull back for fear of giving him the wrong impression and ruining any chance she had of even the shortest romance, the sound of the door sweeping over the berber carpet interrupted them.

They separated just in time and pretended to clean up the massive conference table when Alex sauntered back into the room.

“You’re still here?” He asked Max. Abby could immediately hear the suspicion in her brother’s voice, but to anyone else it would have come off as an unloaded question.

Her protective instincts won out and she stepped in between Max and Alex and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I told him I’d show him the ropes while he was waiting for you to start a new project. That way he wouldn’t have to sit around and try to figure things out himself or, god forbid, wait for you to show him.”

Alex tensed as he examined his sister’s assured posture. “Fine.” He squinted at Abby while he waited. When Abby refused to budge, he turned to walk back out the door.

Alex didn’t even turn to look at her when he answered. “I just left a file on your desk. Dad wants you to work on it.”

Abby waited until the door slowly closed behind him before relaxing her posture and turning back to Max.

“OK, well that was a little too close for comfort.” She laughed awkwardly and rung her hair in her hand.

“It was fine with me.” Max shrugged and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked her towards the door.

The both skipped work for the rest of the day just to spend the time in each other’s company.

That was it. They had their first date that night, a romantic dinner at Chez Renalde. It was a restaurant that they visited time and time again. It was their place, now it was a restaurant that Abby could never show her face in again, for fear of someone asking about Max as much as to avoid the inevitable flood of memories.

Abby shook the thought out of her head, trying to focus on the present instead. She felt the sweat pouring down her temples, down her back, and down the back of her knees.

Abby had been in training all her life. Her father insisted that, even when he was away, she was meeting with her myriad trainers, studying every possible form of martial arts, and cross training for endurance.

“No success without hard work,” he’d tell her. And anything he told her she believed. That had always been the relationship that the two had.

But right now, Abby struggled to pull through. It was hard to accept her future when she still hadn’t gotten beyond her past.

Max was her first. Not her first boyfriend, of course, but he was her first love and with that she gave him everything.

And just three months after that first date, what would seem like a long time for many twenty-something couples, she brought him home to spend the night.

Abby’s house was a reflection of her outward appearance. Neat and put together, everything was in sync. She allowed very little of her personality to show in her interactions with others, and true to form, her interior decor reflected that in clean lines, subdued colors, and very few personal artifacts. Inside, she felt nothing like that persona. She was a bundle of nerves, chaotic feelings, and intense emotions.

Abby allowed Max to lead her through her home that day. She was more nervous than she’d ever been. Every time he’d tried to move their relationship forward over the past few months, she had brushed his affection away, making one excuse after the other and treasuring every interruption she could think of and any reason to push him away.

For the first time ever, she let Max guide her into the bedroom, pulling her gently with his strong hands.

He took his time stripping Abby’s teal cardigan and from her arms. Max lavished her bare neck in sweet kisses before moving up to her mouth and slipping his hot tongue deep between her lips. Abby groaned in response, as she instinctively edged her body tight against Maxwell’s growing bulge. Still her brain screamed at her to stop, that it wasn’t too late, but her hormones persuaded her to give in to Max’s advances.

Abby’s lace topped camisole was next to hit the floor, followed just seconds after by the pink satin bra that she had spent an hour selecting that morning from her top dresser drawer. She knew that she wouldn’t be the only one to see it. She had just a flash of regret when she saw all of her preparation lost, before becoming lost in the sensation of Max’s warm breath blowing circles around her nipples as his silky fingers gently pinched and massaged them erect.

Barely able to suppress her excitement, Abby frantically grabbed at the starch white dress shirt. She ripped the buttons free before sliding the remnants aside and groped the taught muscles of his chest and arms as she went.

As if her uncontrolled desire sparked something in Max, Abby found herself on top of the bed with Max wiggling her pants down her hips, down her legs, and onto the floor. And then Max was above her. He hovered with one leg between her legs and the other balanced off to her side. Her satin panties slid over her core as he massaged her with the palm of his hand, tenderly kissing and sucking on her parted lips.

“Are you sure?” Max’s gruff voice echoed through her head.

That loving question cemented Abby’s decision. His sweet concern, taking her needs and placing them before his own, bored into Abby’s heart.

Those were the last words he spoke before Abby grabbed hold of his hand, guided it underneath the smooth cloth and buried them deep inside her.

That evening she was his. She lost herself in his arms and let him bring her to the brink, over and over before finally letting go and coming along with Max, while he held her tight against him.

Now Abby regretted that more than anything else. She never expected to be betrayed. She would guard herself more carefully for the rest of her life, she promised herself.

Abby knew that she would never forget a single detail of that terrible day. The day her world crashed down around her.

Just the thought made her heart ache. Hopeless. Never to trust another man, again.

Max sat at a small round table at the Centre Bistro, waiting patiently. It had been almost a year since he arrived in Ruthers. He was been recruited by a small group of rebellious demons that had made their home in town. Max took on his new role with incredible zeal. He would do anything to succeed. He was always very ambitious and he wanted nothing more than to move up in the organization and have all the others answering to his every whim and Abby was the key. Like all humans, she was easily betrayed by her heart. Abby’s innocence was an unexpected perk; a challenge he conquered with ease and he enjoyed every single second of it.

Abby was madly in love with him and he could tell that she thought he loved her too. Max had been around humans enough to feign the emotion well. Abby wanted to believe it, so the job was even easier. They had even discussed marriage. In that far off, non-committal way. But a discussion was a discussion. It was just one more thing to solidify the relationship.

This meeting today was really only a formality. Once a month, he did this, a conference with a colleague to discuss his progress.

Morgan walked casually into the bistro. She was the newest demon in their group but she took the leadership role the moment she discovered their presence. Her petite frame, topped with long blonde hair was stunning perfection. Khaki shorts, falling mid-thigh and a black sequined tank gave her an approachable facade that was at odds with her out of this world beauty.

Max knew Morgan for years, too many to count, in fact and he knew better than to make a false step around her. Behind that slight frame stood one of the most dangerous creatures he had ever met. She was completely without conscience, evil even among her own kind. Max counted himself lucky to be an ally and not an enemy. Now that she was his leader, he was confident in their successful conquest of Ruthers.