before getting a sendable one.
My phone vibrated a minute later.
Maximo: Christ, you’re gorgeous.
Emboldened by his words, I brought the camera back up and took a picture aimed down my body. And then I took twenty more until I got a good one.
Holding my breath, I sent it before I lost my nerve.
The reply came within seconds.
Maximo: Fuck, are you trying to make me come home?
Maximo: Or just trying to make me come?
Yup, I was right.
This could be fun.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sweet Patience
Juliet
“THIS IS WHAT you want to do?” Maximo asked, his lips tipped at one side as he looked at me.
Clutching the candy I’d pilfered from Freddy’s stash, I nodded.
When I’d researched ideas for our day together, most of the things listed were geared toward tourists, partying, or were super expensive—or all three.
Going to a movie was the best option, but it seemed stupid when Maximo had a media room with recliners, a big projector screen, and a popcorn maker.
Not to mention, I got the feeling he rarely hung out and did a whole lot of nothing. Before I’d come there, I hadn’t either. I’d always had more chores and errands than one person could do in a day. A year of being a homebody—by force and then by choice—had taught me how needed the occasional chill-day was.
“Phase one,” I said. “Well, I guess this turned into phase three.”
Phase one had been Maximo waking me with his mouth. He must’ve been at it for a while because by the time I woke, I was already on the edge. After I came, he’d carried me into the shower where he’d taken his time washing my body and hair before making me come again—that time with his fingers.
Phase two had been breakfast in bed where Maximo had listened to my hem frustrations. I’d listened while he’d told me about the boxer who’d dropped out of a fight with less than two weeks’ notice because he thought he deserved more money. Neither Maximo nor his fight coordinator agreed.
Once we were done with breakfast, Maximo had thrown on a tee and his gray joggers, and I’d…
Well, I’d drooled everywhere.
But once I’d found my brain again, I’d thrown on the non-janky sleep shorts I’d made and the store-bought ripped crop. Then, much to his confusion and amusement, I’d dragged Maximo to the media room.
Grabbing the remotes as he moved, he went to the front and center recliner. I didn’t try to sit in a different one. I dumped my bundle of goodies on the little table next to us before landing on his lap. I knew it was the right move when his arms circled me, hauling me closer.
He turned on the TV, clicked a bunch of buttons to load a list of movies, and handed me the remote. “Pick whatever you want.”
Ultimate power.
I flipped through before landing on Thor.
Action movies weren’t usually my preferred genre, but a Hemsworth made a girl do crazy things.
“Have you seen any of the Marvel movies?” he asked.
“Bits and pieces on TV but never all of one.”
“Then we can’t start here.”
“What? Why?”
“Cinematic universes are made to be watched in order.” He grabbed the remote and returned to the Cs. “We have to start at Captain America.”
A Hemsworth may make a girl do crazy things, but Chris Evans made them do batshit crazy things while he cheered them on and encouraged their individuality.
“Have you seen these?” I asked while it loaded.
“A few.”
“Probably hard to binge a whole series of movies when you never take a day off,” I teased.
As if I’d sent a message to the universe, his phone rang.
Me and my big mouth.
“Shit, I’ve got to get this.” His expression was soft and apologetic as he hit pause.
“Hey, I’m the one who jinxed it.”
I moved to get up, but he held me in place as he took his phone out of his pocket. “Yeah?” Whoever it was talked for a moment before Maximo bit out a harsh laugh. “That was the point.” He was silent a beat. “Miles on it? Good. Get his picture around. I don’t want their asses on my property, or it’ll be worse. Yeah. Call if shit goes sideways.”
When he ended the call and set his phone near the snacks, my curiosity got the better of me. “Everything okay?”
“My lawyers served the boxer who bailed with a breach of contract lawsuit. He called to apologize, trying to get back in. It wasn’t going to happen, but we would’ve considered dropping the suit. Unfortunately for him, his manager