Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,97

months ago. It was entirely possible she was too broken to love, and too stubborn to want to change. For her, safety was in routine, in what she knew. Unless she got past that and out of the dark, she'd never fully be his.

Perhaps he was holding on too tight, wishing for what could never be. He'd told her time and time again he'd wait, wouldn't push. Yet if his past taught him anything, it was that people could be ripped away in a blink. That mangled, brutal life he'd been living the past decade was finally drawing to a close, opening possibilities and promise.

But the cold sensation of numbness settled in his gut and spread like a virus. An inevitable defense. Because there was no future without Raven, and he knew she wouldn't keep him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Raven closed her computer program and flagged Max outside her office door. "Ready for lunch with my mom?"

Her bodyguard's eyes narrowed a fraction, but his lips curved in what passed as a smile. "I'll sit off to the side, Miss Crowne, if it's all the same to you."

She patted his shoulder as she passed him. "Smart man."

He chuckled as they descended the steps. At the bottom, he held the door for her and scanned the sidewalk before falling into step with her.

The restaurant was only a couple of blocks away and she needed the air. By the tension in Max's gait, he didn't like her out in the open, but she wanted a clear head for lunch with her mom. Plus, her recent troubles with Noah were bothering her, so best to walk it off.

After they'd made love last weekend and he'd taken her to incredible new heights, Noah had??hut down. There was no other word for it. He'd mentally vacated and hadn't come back. She had no idea what had spurned the shift, and when she'd hinted at the freeze, he'd retreated more. For three nights straight, he'd worked late, claiming paperwork or an overbooked fishing charter, and had crawled into bed long after he'd assumed she'd fallen asleep. He hadn't even held her. She'd felt like a trophy wife as she'd sat alone at their kitchen table with dinner cooling. Eventually, she'd thrown the meals in the garbage, unable to eat herself.

And two days ago, he'd flown to Mexico for a photo shoot by the Mayan ruins. He hadn't offered to take her along. Not that she could've broken away from the gallery this week, but an offer would've been nice. She supposed with everything going on as of late, he needed to get out of dodge for awhile. He hadn't left Alaska in at least four months. When they'd been friends and nothing more, he'd take little trips every couple of months. She'd always figured it was business, but now she knew it was Hoan's work, not Noah's. All she could do was wonder what model Hoan was using this time and if he was sleeping with her.

Corralling the thought, she shook her head. Noah would never cheat on her. Yet something was off. He was like a cold, remote version of himself.

A car backfired on the street, the loud crack splintering and echoing off the buildings. Before she knew what happened, Max had her back against a storefront and his body molded to hers.

Heart pounding, she tried to force down the nervous laugh bubbling. "Max, I'm flattered, but what would Noah say?"

He frowned at her and turned his head to scan the street. "Just a car."

"Raven? Who is that man?"

Car horns blared as Raven peeked around Max's shoulder.

Her mom. Lovely. Willow Crowne, dressed to the nines, as usual, leaned across the passenger seat of her vintage Bronco and shouted out the window. "Is that your new boyfriend?" Cars lined up behind her mother, honking. Mom was oblivious.

Max must've assumed her mother was a non-deadly threat because he stepped to Raven's side and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Go park, Mom. I'll be right in." When the car pulled into a lot two buildings down, she eyed Max. "She might hit on you. Sure you don't want to sit with us, pretend to be my boy toy?"

He regarded her with no emotion she could decipher. "Miss Crowne, what would Noah say?" he mumbled, repeating her words back to her.

She blinked in surprise. "Ha! You made a joke."

He sighed and warily glanced around. There were more guards posted where she couldn't see, and their route had been secured long before they'd ventured