Max rose from the ground, pulling Chris up with him. Max looked at me. “Chris, right?”
I nodded.
The front of Chris’s shirt was bunched in Max’s fists. Max shook him and threw him against the wall, then moved to stand in front of him.
I peered around the corner so I could see them again.
Chris said, “You broke my nose.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Who the hell are you?”
Max said, “I’m the guy who’s going to make it my mission to destroy your pathetic fucking life if you don’t leave Olivia alone.”
Chris covered his face with one hand. Blood was running down his wrist. For once, Chris was telling the truth—Max really had broken his nose.
“Do you understand me?”
Chris looked at his bloody hand.
Max raised his fist and drew it back behind his head. “Does this look familiar?”
Chris looked at me. I kept my eyes trained on Max.
“Do you understand?” Max repeated.
Chris said, “Is this your boyfriend or something?”
I didn’t say anything.
Max made a move like he was going to release the punch, but he didn’t have time.
Chris put his hands up in front of him. “All right. Jesus, man! I’ll go!” Chris started to walk away, backwards down the walkway, as if he were afraid to let Max get behind him. There’s nothing like the sight of a frightened bully.
Max watched him as he got to the end of the sidewalk, then walked down there himself and saw to it that Chris got in his car and left.
When Max got back to my door he said, “I’m taking you with me.”
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged. “How did you know he was here?”
“I got out to the parking lot and saw a guy sitting in a car looking at the building. When I drove past, I saw the Ohio plates. Your ex-boyfriend is a moron, Olivia.”
“I can stay here. I don’t think he’ll be coming back after—”
“Please don’t argue with me about this. I want you by my side tonight. Pack an overnight bag and come with me.”
TEN
During the drive to his house, it dawned on me to let Krystal know what had happened. If she was going to be alone in the apartment I had to let her know the details. I got her voicemail and hung up. Ten minutes later, when we were almost to Max’s place, I called again and left a message, then texted her so she’d be sure to get the info.
I mentioned to Max what a strange lifestyle Krystal seemed to have—disappearing for days on end, hardly ever home to begin with, and when she is home she more often than not has a different guy with her.
Max just shrugged it off. “The important thing is, you’re with me.”
I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder until we got to his house.
Once inside he said, “I have six bedrooms.”
“No need to brag.”
He laughed. “I wasn’t bragging.”
“I know.”
I appreciated the gesture. He was letting me know I could sleep anywhere I wanted. “I think it’s very gentlemanly of you to give me the option. So does that mean I can do what I want?”
“Absolutely.”
During one of our talks, he’d mentioned that he had a movie theater in his house. I had laughed at the time, and he said he was serious—it wasn’t a full-size theater, but it sat twenty people and that’s where he watched dailies and screened movies for friends.
“I want to see this theater you told me about.”
He smiled, took my hand, and led me to a door just off the den. We walked down a flight of stairs and, sure enough, there it was: a miniature theater.
“Don’t tell me you want to watch a movie,” he said.
“No, I had something else in mind.”
We were standing between the screen and the first row of seats. My back was to the screen; Max was facing me, with a seat just a foot or so behind him. I put my hand flat on his chest and pushed. The backs of his knees touched the chair, and he sat.
Max’s eyes squinted, like he was trying to figure out what had gotten into me. That, or he knew, and he was turned on by me showing how much I wanted him.
I dropped to my knees in front of him.
“Olivia…” His voice faded out.
I shook my head. “Don’t try to stop me.”
I unfastened his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and unzipped them, all while keeping eye contact with Max. I loved watching the thrill in his eyes.
I slid my hand into his boxers and felt him get harder under my touch. I stroked him, feeling his length and girth growing. He was hard and warm.
“I want you, Olivia.”
I shook my head. “Uh-uh. This is payback for that afternoon in your office, Mister.”
I lowered his pants and freed his erection. It sprang out and stood before me, long and thick, the visible veins flooded to make it so hard.
Without using my hands, I lowered my head and took the head into my mouth.
Max groaned.
My lips puckered and caressed the plump crown. I held the tip in my mouth and made little circles with my tongue.
I put my hand on his chest and felt the vibration when he moaned deeply.
I released the head, and ran my tongue down his impressive length, feeling every contour of his cock. I ran my tongue along the base of it from below, and then around the top, his erection under my chin and touching my neck. I licked up the top side of it, back to the head, where I took him into my mouth again and eased him in as far as it would go.
“Jesus, Olivia. You’re making me crazy.”
I moaned as my sucking picked up speed. My head bobbed in his lap and I felt his hand gently cup the side of my head. He ran his fingers around the edge of my ear, sending a shiver down my neck, making my nipples hard.
Max’s thumb was on my cheek. His cock was halfway in my mouth, and my head was lolling from side to side, a sort of twisting motion. His thumb moved to the edge of my mouth, then traced the outline of my lips. He was feeling his cock sliding in and out of my mouth.
I looked up and watched his facial expressions—his mouth in the shape of an O, his eyes half-closed under lids heavy with the fog of pleasure, and the way he tilted his head to get a different view.
His hand left my face and rested on the arm of the chair. He reclined a little farther back.
“I’m sure you’ve had lots of these in here,” I said, stroking him just with my hand. I purposely said it as a statement, but meant it as a question.
“Never.”
“Never in here, or never…”