He lowered his head even as he parted her with his fingers. Warm air blew over her sensitive flesh as his breath huffed out just before his tongue touched her opening.

She strained upward only to be issued a sharp reprimand to be still. She panted, her chest heaving as she fought for control. It had simply been too long. She couldn’t possibly restrain herself. She couldn’t do his bidding when her body screamed for him.

“Please,” she begged. “I need you.”

He glanced up at her, his green eyes smoldering so hot she shivered. “Do you want it rough? Do you want me to take you now before you’re ready?”

“I’m ready,” she gasped out. “Please, Max.”

His hands curled around her knees, and he yanked her down until her ass rode the edge of the mattress. He spread her, positioned his cock and thrust forward.

His entry was a shock. No matter that she thought she was ready, he was big and swollen and it had been a long time for her. Her body hugged him so tight she wondered if it was even possible for him to go deeper.

He withdrew and then hammered forward, opening her ruthlessly with the force of his thrust. All the while his gaze was fastened on her. His eyes glittered. Wild. So unlike his usual controlled, cool stare.

His face was drawn with harsh lines. His lips were thin and flat, and his nostrils flared even as he powered into her again. Her body shuddered. She felt small and helpless, prisoner to the pleasure he took from her body.

She closed her eyes in bliss as her pussy rippled around his cock. She arched her body, stretching, welcoming him back.

“Open your eyes, Callie. Look at me. Only at me.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she did as he directed.

His lips twisted savagely as he grasped her hips, opened her wider and forced himself deeper. He thrust so hard against her that her body shook. Her breasts jiggled with each movement, and the sharp slap of his groin against her ass sent a jolt of pleasure, razor sharp, through her belly.

He leaned over her, pinning her body to the mattress as his body powered over hers. In and out. Rougher, harder until she bit her bottom lip from the exquisite, overwhelming sensations bombarding her at every turn.

She wouldn’t last. Couldn’t. Not against his onslaught. Not after so long.

Pressure built, coiled in her belly and tightened every one of her muscles until she was weak from the strain. Her nipples beaded and puckered, and a thousand tiny chill bumps raced over her skin as the flames of her orgasm fanned higher and higher.

He was so big and she was so tight. She felt him in every part of her body, sliding like velvet through her most delicate tissues.

Not once did he pause. He pushed. Harder and harder. Relentless. His jaw bulged and he stared down at her, his gaze flashing over her face.

“Come.”

The quiet order was like a short fuse. It whipped over her body and unlocked something deep within her soul. Her release flashed like lightning. She let out a sharp cry and she came apart, piece by jagged piece.

Her vision dimmed. He and the room blurred but through it all she stayed locked on him. He’d demand no less. He was her anchor. Her shelter. Her strength. Her very soul.

He fell on her, gathering her into his arms as his hips rocked spasmodically against her. She felt the quick wetness between her legs, and the ease with which he slid into her body now.

For a long moment he lay over her body, blanketing her protectively, his chest pushing into hers as he sought to catch his breath.

Their legs were tangled, and he rubbed one hair-roughened limb up and down her thigh before he finally rolled to his side, taking her with him.

He pulled out of her in a warm rush of semen and then he pressed his lips to her forehead.

She stiffened and he went still. Her pulse bounded even as his hand came up to rub up and down her arm.

“Callie?” he asked in a low voice. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

She rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling as realization crashed through the euphoric haze surrounding them. He let her go, surprising her, even though he rose up on one elbow to look at her through narrowed eyes.

“You didn’t use a condom.”

She rolled away from him and curled her legs to her belly, wishing desperately she had covers to pull over her.

He touched her arm but she didn’t acknowledge the touch even though she knew it was a command for her to look at him.

“We didn’t use condoms before. I saw no use for them now.”

“That was before.”

“Before what, Callie?”

She exhaled long and slow. “That was months ago. You weren’t with anyone else. I don’t know who you’ve been with since. It’s not fair to me. Nor is it safe. You should have used one.”

This time he didn’t ask. He simply rolled her over until she was forced to meet his angry gaze. “You think I was with other women after I left you?”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know. That’s the point. You should have used protection until we could talk about it.”

He swore under his breath. “There’s been no one else. Not since you.”

She stared for a long time, judging the veracity of his words. She hated that there was doubt. Before she would have embraced his words. She hadn’t believed him capable of lying to her. He wasn’t a man who lied. But in a way he had. He’d told her he wanted to be with her. And he’d left her.

He spread her legs, and to her shock she felt him prodding at her with his cock, hard and erect again. He slid deep, his semen making his entry easy this time. He was deep and hard inside her, and he stared down at her, his face stormy as he pushed into her again.

“Just you, Callie. You haunted my nights. My days. I never stopped thinking about you. How could I possibly go to bed with another woman who wasn’t you?”

Her mouth rounded in shock as he thrust deep and hard through her swollen tissues.

She was so hypersensitive after her orgasm, his entry was nearly painful, but there was a raw, edgy bite to it that stirred her response and had her arching into him, wanting, needing more.

“And you, Callie? Has there been anyone else? Tell me, do I need to worry about protecting myself?”

Her eyes widened in shock and then she frowned but remained silent.

His nostrils flared, and he planted his palms on either side of her head and rocked his hips against her.

“Answer me. Has there been anyone else?”

He set a ruthless pace, driving her so close to the edge that she twisted and begged him to let her come. But he’d stop, just at the edge, and he’d watch her with cool green eyes as she went nearly frantic, trying to get him to move again.

“Max, please!”

“Tell me what I want to know, damn it. Tell me, and I’ll let you come.”

“No,” she said brokenly. “There’s never been anyone after you. I couldn’t.”

He lowered his head and kissed her softly on the mouth. He swallowed her soft sob and then slowed his thrusts. He began making love to her, so gentle and sweet.

Slowly and tenderly, he slid into her until the bite was replaced by waves of warm pleasure, seeping into her body and spreading like sunshine.

“Come, dolcezza,” he whispered, and this time her release wasn’t a violent explosion but rather an exquisite flow of honey, sweet through her veins.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she tried valiantly to regain her composure. But he kissed each one away, sipping at the salt and then kissing her until she tasted the slight salt.

“I missed you so much,” she said brokenly.

“And I missed you. So very much. You’re mine, Callie. Mine. I’m not letting you go again.”

Chapter Ten

Callie lay in Max’s arms as the first rays of dawn crept through the window. He stroked her idly, his hand moving over the curves of her body to her hair. He bent and kissed her shoulder, sending a shiver of awareness over her aching body.He’d made love to her the entire night. Raw and insatiable. He’d taken her to the very edge of her limits, and now she lay sated and exhausted but aware that for the first time in months she felt at peace.

He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Even now, his touch was possessive, like he was laying claim all over again.

“Tired?” he murmured, breaking the silence.

She nodded against him as the warm fuzz of sleep settled over her.

“Then sleep.”

It wasn’t as simple as that. She was almost afraid to close her eyes, worried that this was all a dream. A figment of her most earnest wishes. How many nights had she lain awake, wanting him so badly that it was a physical ache?

She turned, curling into his warm body. She tucked her head underneath his chin and let out a sigh of contentment.

“Do you know how many nights I’ve lain awake remembering how you felt in my arms?” he asked. “Or how you used to sigh like a contented kitten after we made love?”

She smiled against his chest.

“If you won’t sleep, let’s go out for an early breakfast. You can show me your town.”

“I’d like that,” she said softly.

He threaded his fingers into her hair and gently pulled through the strands. “I love your hair. I’ve never been able to figure out what color it is. It’s a fascinating mix of black and chestnut with all these warm shades of brown mixed in. It reminds me of a sunset over the Greek isles.”

She kissed his chest and slid her hand between them to let her fingers glide through the hair in the hollow of his chest.

“You were my best vacation ever,” she joked lightly. “I’ve been so many places. But the trip where I met you was…magic.”

“I’m amazed your family lets you crawl all over the world like you do. If you were mine, I’d worry endlessly about what you were getting into. I’d want to be with you to share in the joy of discovery.”

She grimaced. “They worry. They’ve always worried. I don’t think they understand me. They love me. They support me, but I don’t think they’ve really ever understood what makes me tick or why I’m such a restless spirit.”

He stroked up and down her arm and rested his cheek against hers. “What does make you so restless, Callie?”

She went silent a moment. “I love chasing sunsets. They look different everywhere I go. There’s always something new to experience. My family is so…settled. Maybe I never felt like I really fit in.”

She could feel him frown against her cheek.

“How so?”

She sighed. “My family is different. I told you I have three fathers. What you don’t know is that after I came home, my three brothers fell in love with the same woman. It sounds so odd when I say it out loud, but it works for them. It works for my mom and my dads. Maybe in the back of my mind I figured, three sons ahead of me. It’s sort of like a family tradition,” she joked. “And then I come along, the only daughter in the mix. The only daughter in generations that I know of. Where was I going to fit in? Hell, everyone probably thinks I’m going to shack up with a few men too.”

“Over my dead body,” Max bit out.

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve never really understood the appeal. I love my fathers and my brothers dearly, but I wouldn’t want to put up with that much testosterone in a relationship.”

“I find I’m very possessive where you’re concerned,” he murmured.

She snorted. “You’re possessive of everything you consider yours.”

He seemed to consider that for a moment before he agreed. He nuzzled at her ear and then whispered, “Come on. Let’s shower and then we’ll go eat.”

Half an hour later, they stepped into the crisp morning mountain air and a shiver shot up Callie’s spine. Max frowned and then stripped off his jacket and settled it over her shoulders.

“You should have worn a coat.”

She smiled up at him as he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side. “I wasn’t thinking much beyond getting to you. Besides, it’ll warm up in a couple of hours and there’ll be no need for a jacket.”

He kissed her forehead and then they crossed the street to the busy café that had been a fixture of Clyde for longer than Callie had been alive.

As soon as they stepped inside, Callie could feel the gazes boring holes through her and Max. By noon, it would be all over town, and her mama would be the recipient of no less than a dozen calls all wondering who Callie’s man was.

It didn’t help that Max couldn’t keep his hands off her. He had her snugly tucked against his body and his palm was splayed out over her hip. Anyone with eyes could see that Max had all but pissed on her and marked her.

The bell tinkled over the door as another customer came in.

“Crap,” Callie murmured when she realized who it was.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked.

“My brother.”

“Which one?”

“Seth. The sheriff.”

Max made no move to let her go as Seth approached. Callie recognized the look on Seth’s face as the badass, intimidating freeze-out look he gave people he arrested. Not that he arrested many people in Clyde.