Burn Down the Night (Everything I Left Unsaid #3)- Molly O'Keefe Page 0,86

the sensation of my skin. Like it was more than he could handle. And I understood that completely, because I stroked my fingers over that beard that made me so hot. Over and over again like he was my wild thing, calmed by my touch.

He groaned in his throat, kissing me harder, letting me know how much he liked being my wild thing.

It seemed like we’d always been kissing. Like his taste was a memory. And his touch familiar and brand-new all at once. He was hard against my leg, and I was wet and hot against the thigh he had pressed up against me—but we did not make this moment into anything else. It just was.

Endless long, sweet kisses. One after another until I felt like I was drowning in him.

It had been years since I’d kissed someone like this. Like I had all the time in the world. Like there was nothing else I’d rather do than make out for an hour. I wondered if he felt the same way and then in the same moment, knew that he did.

Because I knew Max. Whatever else happened. Whatever else went wrong. I knew Max. Just like he knew me.

And that stopped me. Stopped me midmoan. Midstroke.

This was supposed to be goodbye. And this kiss felt like a beginning.

“That.” I made sure not to look in his eyes. “That was a bad idea.”

“Why?” He was lightly stroking my spine. A lover’s touch, so I jumped away. Now when I pushed away his hands, he didn’t fight me. He opened his arms and let me roll right off the bed.

I stood, wiping my swollen lips, straightening my skirt. Putting the frayed pieces of myself back together. Only when I felt myself get back under control did I look at him.

Max watched me with hard, knowing eyes. Because he’d seen this coming from miles away.

“You have to go.” I was proud of my voice. Hard. Uncompromising. “You can take the car. There’s some money leftover.”

“I don’t need your money.” His voice made me flinch because it was equally hard. Equally uncompromising.

“Fine, then take the car and go…buy a boat. Go back to being president of the Skulls. Turn the club around. Make yourself a family to replace the one you ruined.”

That was mean, and I knew it.

But he just sat there, watching me. Chest heaving like he was holding himself back with everything he had.

“What are you waiting for?” I yelled and still he was calm. His face hard. His eyes harder. “Is this about sex? Are you sticking around to fuck me? Fine. Let’s just get that done so you can be on your way.” I reached up under my skirt and pulled down my black panties.

“Stop,” he spat out the word like he’d been chewing on it for a long time.

“Come on, I don’t have a lot of time, but I figure fast and dirty is how people like us like it.”

“Joan.”

“We don’t even have to take off our clothes.” I was yanking the skirt up to my waist and finally he stood up, grabbing my arms in hard hands. Bruising hands.

“Stop. It.”

“No, you stop it,” I tried to fight free but he didn’t let me go. So all I had were my words and I used them like fists. “Stop pretending, Max. Stop pretending we’re people we’re not. Like you’re going to find me when this is all over and we’ve got some future with your goddamn boat. We don’t. I’m going to the cops, Max. And you’re a fucking criminal. Don’t you see how this plays out for you?”

“Of course I see how it plays out. I see how me being around you could fuck all this up for you.”

For me? I sucked in a breath. No. No, he couldn’t be thinking of me now. Not when I was doing everything I could to save him.

He pulled me right up against him, so his breath was on my mouth. A kiss I couldn’t have.

“But I want you to tell me it hurts,” he said. “Stop playing this hard as ice game of yours and tell me that it hurts to push me away. Tell me that this thing between us matters to you.”

We stood there looking at each other and I couldn’t hide my shock. I was slack jawed and limp in his grip.

Of course it fucking hurt. It felt like ripping off my skin to watch him leave. I’d never had anyone like him in my life.