“I heard you two in the hall. Just go.”
Choking back laughter, I murmured, “G’night,” as Max mumbled something, pulling me after him, one hand wrapped around my wrist.
“We only have an hour,” he said.
My eyes widened. “I had no idea there was a deadline.”
“Definitely. Any later and it won’t be birthday sex anymore.”
“That would be a terrible disappointment, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
He backed me into his bedroom door, the one we’d pretended to have sex against last fall by bouncing a basketball while we took turns bitching about our problems. Then he kissed a hot path down my neck. Mmm. Things have changed so much. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head to grant him better access. At this point, Max knew that was the quickest way to drive me crazy.
“Then we’d better hurry.” My voice came out breathless.
“Are you reading my mind?”
Max spun me, hands on my hips, and walked me toward the bed, his lips never leaving my shoulder. His thighs grazed mine, back and forth, with each step. Beneath my T-shirt my nipples tightened, and he yanked the fabric over my head. I didn’t let him look long before I pulled his shirt off, too. Relatively speaking, it hadn’t been that long since I could see him this way, anytime I wanted. Gently I trailed my fingertips down the center of his chest, admiring the way his muscles jumped. His abs tightened when I got there, and a little sound escaped him.
“You’re giving me ideas,” he whispered.
“Good ones?”
“I think so.”
I offered, “We could give them a shot.”
“Quietly.”
“That goes without saying.” Leaning in, I kissed his collarbone. God, he had such great shoulders: lean, graceful and strong from working at the garage. Anytime I saw them, I just wanted to bite him. “So you’ll have to try not to moan. Try hard.”
His throat worked, and his voice came out shaky. “Okay.”
“Tonight’s for you. So I need you naked.”
I didn’t have to say it twice. His pants hit the floor, then his boxers, and Max was on the bed, waiting, so hot I could hardly look directly at him. He crossed his arms behind his head, likely to prove he was leaving everything to me.
What a rush.
When I went for the lamp, he shook his head. “Leave it on.”
Biting my lip, I hesitated. Usually I didn’t because while I was confident I could rock somebody’s world, I felt less assured they’d want to watch me do it. But it’s his birthday. So I shrugged and peeled off my clothes, letting Max stare as much as he wanted. If anything, his erection swelled further, sending a jolt of pleasure through me.
“How do you want me?” I asked, kneeling on the bed beside him.
“All the ways.”
I teased, “But we only have an hour.”
“Then start by kissing me.” An unexpectedly romantic answer, but that was Max.
Taking the lead, I cupped the back of his head in my hand and took his mouth. For a few seconds, he held still, just letting me, my lips moving on his. His breath misted hot and sweet as he opened for me, his tongue touching mine. Sparks shot through me at once, as I registered his moan. We’re kissing. Just kissing. But it felt like so much more.
After that, I forgot whatever plan I had. There was only Max and I couldn’t touch him enough; I had to taste him everywhere. Countless minutes later, I didn’t even know what I was doing, when his hand came down roughly on my head. I was between his thighs, licking frantically, and he kept trying to pull me up.
“Enough.” He sounded dazed. “Or it’ll just be a birthday blow job. I’m pretty close to a happy ending here.”
My hands shook as I rolled the latex on, then he tugged me on top of him. Usually I hated this position, but for him, I’d do my absolute best. And it was no more than a couple of minutes, focused on his face, his dark eyes and the pure pleasure that made him bite at his lower lip, until I didn’t care how I looked moving on him. He held my butt, working me against him. The finish came hard and fast, him first, me a few seconds later. I came so hard that my thighs locked and I was a little afraid I might be hurting him. His groan reassured me when I toppled over. Max just lay there panting, his face soft with pleasure.
Right. This is my show.
After taking care of the condom, I came back to bed. “Were we quiet?”
“Dammit. I have no idea.”
“Me, either.” Wearing what had to be a stupid-looking grin, I passed out with him stroking my back.
* * *
The next day, we met Michael and Uncle Lou for brunch. I loved seeing Max with his family, but it was hard watching them say goodbye later. He hugged them both so hard that I had to look away, wishing I was this close to my folks. But between my dad’s silent shame over my weakness and my mom’s overprotective clutching, it was so hard to talk to them.
“Take care of yourself,” Uncle Lou cautioned. “And Courtney, too.”
“See you soon,” Michael added.
Max nodded. “I’ll visit, I promise.”
After that, they got on the road home. I stood with him on the front walk, waving until Michael’s Scion turned out of sight. When Max turned to me, his expression was layered, a complex mingling of pleasure and regret. Without speaking I twined our fingers together and waited for him to speak. It took a couple of minutes and then he surprised me. Tugging on my hand, he led me toward his bike.
“Let’s go for a ride,” he said.
No particular objections sprang to mind, so I strapped on my helmet and climbed on behind him. Max didn’t say any more as he started the bike and drove away. His turns didn’t strike any familiar chords, giving me no clue where we were headed. This time I was clueless until he pulled into a rutted parking lot, one we’d visited the day before.
“You’re taking me to work with you?” I asked.
“Not exactly.” Gently he pulled off my helmet and took my hand. “This way.”
The body shop didn’t seem to be open on Sunday, and he circled the building to reveal about ten parked cars in various stages of restoration. A couple had FOR SALE signs in the front windshield, but most had parts missing, flat tires or were coated in primer. I faced Max with a puzzled cock of my head.
“What’s up?”
He paused beside a small vehicle that needed a hell of a lot of work, but it was small and adorable, rather like a Corvette, only...cuter, which probably wouldn’t win me any fans with car aficionados. The body had rust spots and the door was crumpled on the passenger side. I walked around it, wondering if my suspicions could possibly be right.