I grip her hand tighter.
Laughter.
Holding hands.
Kissing.
Eating.
Walking.
Enjoying a short life with the woman I love.
Telling her the clock is ticking wouldn’t be fair.
I wait until she’s asleep, and then I grab my phone and text Nikolai.
Me: Don’t tell them why. Stop my heart. But it has to be at the exact time I tell you.
Nik: I can do that.
Me: It’s the only thing I want. For her to know that my heart beats for hers until the very end.
I drop my phone and close my eyes, then turn and pull Izzy into my arms and smell her hair; I fall asleep with a smile on my face.
Chapter Eight
“Life is not a matter about holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
Izzy
I woke up to Maksim holding me in his arms. I should have probably pulled away, but I pretended to be asleep a little longer, knowing it was such a typical move that I actually felt embarrassed about it. His body was warm, maybe even feverish, jaw clenched, beautiful super wavy hair chaotically sticking to his pillow and part of his forehead.
Why did every moment feel like goodbye when we’d already established what we were to each other? Why did this feel tragic when he was just a guy with a dick, too many gorgeous smiles, and a perfect body?
I didn’t understand it.
All I knew was that I felt like if I didn’t hold him close, he’d disappear, and him being out of my life, as much as I wanted to throat punch him—felt like a tragedy I wasn’t sure I’d survive.
I wished it wasn’t so hard to beg him to stay by my side when that was all I wanted. I reached out and touched his forehead. His eyes opened immediately, scaring the crap out of me, and I yanked my hand back.
“No,” he whispered. “I liked it.”
“Oh.” I held his hand and squeezed.
My heart felt frozen in that moment, like he was stopping it, holding it hostage. His eyes searched mine, moving back and forth. Slowly, he leaned in, his mouth so close to mine all I had to do was move a few more inches, and I’d be tasting Maksim Sinacore.
The love of my life—the love I could never have—all over again.
Sometimes, I wanted to rebel, to just pin him down on the bed and have my way with him, to be in complete control of every single wave of ecstasy that washed over him.
I’d be a total liar if that fantasy wasn’t something that I thought about on a daily basis, making this man beg.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked, eyes distant.
“Good,” I whispered. “I had a space heater next to me.”
“Very funny.” He laughed. “We should probably get up before my dad threatens me not to touch you again.”
“Probably,” I agreed, not wanting to let go for some reason. “Hey, Maks?”
“Yeah.” His thumb moved across my hand back and forth back and forth.
“Is everything okay with you?”
He froze. His hand stopped moving, his eyes blinked, then looked down. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It just feels like something’s… wrong.”
He went completely still, then leaned over me, his body covering mine. With a smirk, he lowered his head, lips brushed mine.
I wanted more.
My hands gripped his biceps just as a knock sounded at my door. I shoved him off me as the door jerked open.
Serena, with her dyed blond hair piled high in a bun on her head, was standing there, eyes narrowed. Junior was right beside her. He looked like he could be an actor with his smirk, tattoos, and muscles. I could have sworn he was getting more and more jacked.
Ash shoved past them, Annie close on his heels, followed by King, Tank, and Kartini.
“Lovely.” Maksim flopped back down against the pillows. “Was there a meeting nobody told me about?”
Something flew past my face hitting Maksim in the chin.
A shoe.
Serena’s.
Nice.
“They found out what happened,” Ash spoke up first. “At the house.”
I jolted up. “Was it arson?”
Ash nodded his head, eyes weary. “Yeah, looks like it.”
“So, I have to stay here.” I tried not to sound excited at the prospect of being so close to Maksim, but maybe this was our chance.
Our last chance?
Who knew, but I would take it, blindly even, because I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong, even when he said it wasn’t.
“Yup.” Ash ran his hands through his hair. “I think that’s smart; the pool house is still fine; how the hell are you so calm, Iz?”
Maksim.
The first answer that came to my mind.
“She’s a fucking Abandonato,” Maksim said with a snort. “If she wasn’t fine, we’d need to exchange her for a better version.”
I stuck out my tongue and shoved him.
He barely budged, but at least I felt better.
“See?” Maksim grinned. “She’s fine, plus I arrived on a white horse and caught the princess as she fled her castle, so I get points too, right?”
Ash glared. “Question. Does everyone think it’s okay to sleep with my sisters? Have I not made myself painfully clear on this?”
Oh, shit. I glanced between the two and realized it looked like we’d slept together, not slept-slept but had sex.
“Nothing happened!” I said quickly. “I just held his hand.”
Ash barked out a laugh. “Yeah, okay, and Junior’s a virgin.”
“I’m serious!” I held up my hands. “We’re innocent, plus he just broke up with Jenna!”
“The worst,” Tank said under his breath, earning a fist bump from Junior and a nod from Ash.
Maksim groaned into his hands. “Can we not talk about Jenna anymore?”
“And yet you kissed it.” Ash shook his head. “Really, that’s an insult to my sister as much as it’s an insult to me.”
I groaned again.
A fight was coming. I knew it.
“The ring,” Ash said with a smirk. “You, me, King, Junior, and Tank a little exercise will do you good, Maksim. God knows you aren’t getting any action anymore anyway. Isn’t a little release… good?”
I reached under the blankets to grab Maksim’s thigh and came right into contact with his very hard length.
Hand paused; I did nothing while they all talked about when they’d go do their fights, aka workouts.
“Wanna come shop with us?” Serena called over her shoulder.
I was still distracted by Maksim’s dick.
“Huh? What?” I said.
Serena looked down at my hand, at the blankets, and shrugged. “Maybe another time. You’re busy.”
“No!” I was ready to defend myself when they all left.
Twenty minutes later, and Maksim would be sparring with Ash, who’d most likely shout, “You slept with my sister!” about a dozen times before drawing first blood.
I groaned and lay back on the pillow.
“Could be worse.” Maksim grinned, moving over me. His body was so hot, so right as he stared down at me, smirk perfection.
“How?”