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“I like trouble,” I murmur, closing the distance and kiss him. Is this guidance enough? Pulling back, satisfied with my leadership skills rarely used with Max, I say, “You’re the king of this territory so don’t go soft on me now.”
He laughs to himself. “The fact that you think anything about me is soft is shameful. I’m obviously giving you the wrong impression. Respecting your request to wait to tell our friends, yes… soft, never.” The heat between us expands from his unwavering gaze, a testament to his dominance and I have to turn away for a breath. I focus on the waves rolling up on the beach. “But I’ll let that one go since you said I was king.” I’m met with a cocky smirk when I turn back.
I smile, nodding. “Like there was any question.”
“There’s only one question.”
I tilt my head and take a guess, “Soft or hard?”
“That is usually not a question.” The confidence in his voice makes me shift in my seat, the tone shooting straight to my core. He smiles knowingly, as he waves the waiter over and tells him we’ll be back. Standing, he reaches for my hand and guides me down to the beach. I take off my wedges as soon as we hit the cool sand. There is nothing more romantic than walking hand in hand with the man you love down the beach at sunset. Max stops us when we reach a more private area of the beach and pulls me into him.
“Dance with me?” he asks.
There is never a day I’ll say no to that. I nod and he reaches into his pocket and plays a song. Old Dominion floats out of his phone singing "One Man Band.” The sun is a kiss away from disappearing into the horizon. Our bodies sway to the music. Max sings to me the part about getting tattoos and trashing hotels. I giggle remembering the poor table. His raspy voice is thick with emotion, but he carries the tune and it’s sexy as hell.
“God, I love you,” he whispers into my ear when the next song begins. The honesty in his words is unbounded and raw. I glide my hands up his jaw and stare into his eyes. “I’ve never said those words to another woman.” His admission surprises me. I mean, he’s thirty. “I was just waiting for the right woman to say them,” he says, reading my thoughts.
“Sorry I made you wait so long.” Even though my past pushed me to where I’m at today, I wish I would have been more truthful with myself regarding my needs.
He wraps an errant hair behind my ear and I watch his Adam’s apple move as he swallows. He clears his throat and I wonder what’s making him nervous.
“Max, what’s—”
He covers my lips with his thumb, halting my words.
“I’ve always craved a rush, but you’re the only rush that’s ever satisfied me completely. I was stupid before… but I can’t say things happened the way they did for a reason.” He looks down and shakes his head before finding my eyes again. I nod in agreement but stay quiet. “We both lost someone, and I’d never say anything to lessen your loss because I know you loved him. You have grown and spread your wings so wide on your own, I’m in awe of your bravery. But I can promise you, I will move mountains to keep you mine forever. That river between us has dried up and you’re the only person who can quench my thirst. I need you, every day.” I hiccup through my tears as he drops to his knee and pulls a ring out of his shorts. “This is how I should have asked you,” he murmurs, holding the ring between his finger and thumb. It catches the light and glistens. My heart is overwhelmingly captivated by his words, it’s hard to talk. “Sydney Owens, a.k.a Sky, will you officially be my wife?”
I kneel, the sand cushioning my knees. “It was official hours ago. I haven’t changed my mind,” I sob, holding out my hand. He slips the platinum round cut diamond ring on my finger. I sniffle and take in a deep inhale, blowing it out, trying to calm my racing heart. “Max, you’re the wind that keeps me flying and I’ve never flown so high and it’s all because of you. You have always been there for me, through the worst and now the best. You mean everything to me and I can’t imagine a life without you. But you have to promise to continue to sing to me.”
He chuckles with the shake of his head. “Only for you.”
Tonight, every shadow of guilt or apprehension that ever filled my heart, has been destroyed by Max’s love for me. He does more than complete me, he makes me better.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Sydney
I bite my lip, holding the phone in my hand, staring at the ceiling, the sting of reality invading my dream. After last night, I don’t want to wake up. I’d be fine living here forever with Max.
“What did Graham want?” Max asks, rolling to his side. He pulls my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. I moan, my eyes rolling back, succumbing to his insatiable hunger.
“Did you ask a question?” I murmur.
He growls and yanks the sheet over me. “I can’t help it. Your naked body is too hard to resist.”
“Nobody asked you to stop.” I roll on top of him, straddling his hips, holding the sheet up to my chest.
“Tell me what Graham said…” He yanks the sheet from my hand, pulling it out from between us, running his hands up my bare thighs. “… And I’ll keep going.”
“Graham wanted to know if I was up to doing a country fest type concert in two weeks. Lots of artists, goes on all day and night type thing,” I blurt out quickly, making him chuckle. Despite his promise, he lifts me off of him and covers me again as he scoots over, leaving a good foot between us. His hand props up his head and his expression turns serious.
“Are you ready for that?”
“I was ready for something,” I say snarkily, giving him the evil eye.
A slow cocky smile crawls across his lips, not helping ease the ache between my legs, and he reaches for my hand, holding it between us. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later. Let’s talk about this. I want to know where you’re at too.”
“Fine,” I sigh in defeat. Nerves drown out the desire as my mind replays the fear. Was what happened enough to ruin my career? Does Max want me to stop since we’re getting married? A downward spiral evolves as my thoughts race about our future. Being here, caught up in everything Max, I haven’t considered what happens when we leave.
