“Max…” Casey whimpered.

“Take it easy. I’ve got you.” His hand slid from her belly, sliding downward to stroke her clit.

Her head rolled on his shoulder back and forth. The movement was reflected in the mirror on her dresser, drawing her attention. The sight of Max fucking her had her eyes clenching closed. Then, unable to help herself, she opened her eyes. Max surrounded her, his body gleaming in the bedroom light, his expression fierce with desire as he pounded inside her. The sight of them having sex was erotic, dirty, carnal… and beautiful.

The elusive climax stormed through her, her muscles clenching on Max’s cock, trying to prolong the sensations she never wanted to end. He groaned in her ear as her ass pressed back harder against him. The hands that went to her hips held her still as he came shuddering in her.

The moment he pulled out, Casey wanted him back. Stifling the urge to hug him close, she lay down on the bed as he stood from it, going into the bathroom.

“Hungry?” Max asked when he came back into the bedroom.

“What?” Confused, she didn’t know what she had expected him to say, but asking if she was hungry wasn’t it. “Do you want me to fix you something to eat?” She started to crawl from the bed.

“Lay back down. I’ll be right back,” he ordered.

She went to the bathroom, returning just as he came back with a large pizza and a couple of beers.

Setting the pizza down on the middle of the bed, he sat back down, opening the box. Then he handed her a slice before taking one for himself.

They talked as they demolished the pizza, and she discovered things about Max that she had never known. He could crack a joke one second and then, when he talked about his kids, turn serious. The only part of his life they didn’t discuss was the Predators, both of them avoiding the subject.

Casey knew why she refused to discuss them: she didn’t want to remind him that she had used him the last time they had been together. Curiously, she wondered why he didn’t talk about them. Was he worried she would use the information against them?

“Want to play some cards?” Casey asked, reaching into her nightstand.

“You have cards? Did you and Jayce like to play?”

“No, I like to play solitaire at night; it relaxes me,” Casey told him, seeing the anger in his eyes disappear at her explanation.

“Then deal. I’m always up for a game of cards.”

Casey dealt before leaning back against the headboard and self-consciously pulling the sheet to cover herself. Max didn’t have a shy bone in his body. Lying down, he picked up his cards. The first two games, she lost because she couldn’t concentrate.

“You should stick to solitaire.” The crinkles at the corners of his eyes showed his amusement.

“I can’t concentrate with that thing staring at me,” Casey retorted.

Max laughed, making no move to cover himself.

“Why so many piercings?”

Max picked up another slice of pizza as he looked at his cards. “For the same reason my back is covered in tats: Colton.”

“Colton gave you the tats and piercings?”

“The son of a bitch catches me drunk. The first tat he gave me, I was drunk off my ass. When I woke up the next morning, the bastard had given me a tramp stamp. Had to get someone else to cover the ugly thing. Then Colton decided he needed to learn to pierce—his tattoo shop gets a lot of requests for them—so he caught all the brothers drunk. It became a contest to see who could handle the most piercings. I was drunk and stubborn enough to want to win the fifty-year-old bottle of bourbon he put up as a prize.”

Casey winced in sympathy at the pain he must have felt when he sobered up.

“Was it worth it?”

“Fuck no, especially since I didn’t win.”

“You didn’t win? You mean someone else has more piercings than you?”

“Yeah, I passed out. What really pissed me off was the fucker that won didn’t even share. Said he needed it all for the pain.”

Casey laughed so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s not funny!” Max took another card.

“Yes, it is. I can’t believe Colton suckered you all into getting your dicks pierced, not once but over and over again.”

“He’s an evil fucker.”

Casey laid down her hand, showing Max her cards.

“Bet you can’t win another one,” Max taunted, taking the cards and dealing a new game. It took four more games for him to realize he couldn’t beat her.

“You cheated.”

Casey shook her head at him. “How did I cheat? You dealt the cards. I guess I got over seeing you naked,” she teased.

Max picked up the pizza box and cards, placing them on the floor. “Then I guess I need to show you something new.”

Max lay back on the bed before he easily rolled her on top of him, his cock lengthening. Holding her by the hips, he lowered her onto his cock. “Ride me.”

“You’re not wearing a condom,” Casey protested.

“You on the pill?”

Casey gritted her teeth. “Yes, but…”

“I’m clean, but if you want me to pull out, I will.” He folded his arms behind his head, staring up at her as he waited for her decision. His cock plowed deeper inside her, racketing the heat level up to torture level.

Casey’s hand flattened on his hard stomach as she sank down onto him. “Next time, wear a condom,” she snapped.

“You going to fuck me mad?” His hands curved around her ass, moving her on him faster.

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

“Shut up!” She ground her clit down on him, nearly making herself come.

His eyes were on her breasts as she moved up and down on his cock, fucking herself.

“Slow down or I’m going to come.”

Instead of slowing, she sped up, determined for Max to lose control.

He sat up, gripping her ass harder and plunging into her to the hilt. Both of them gasped as their bodies rocked while they came, and then her head dropped to his chest.

“Why is it that, every time we have sex, I feel as if the world stops, and nothing matters but us?” Casey regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, afraid Max would think she was pressuring him for more than he wanted to give.

He brushed her hair away from her flushed cheeks. “Every time?”

Casey nodded, her eyes shying away from his, becoming even more silent when Max remained quiet.

Lifting her off him to lay her back on the bed, he then stretched his big body, relaxing back.

Casey stifled her hurt at his silence. The last time they had slept together, he had tried to hold her. Now he was the one rolling to his side, obviously going to sleep.

She bit her lip. Bolstering her courage, she curled against his back, placing her arm around his waist. When Max stiffened yet didn’t move away, Casey knew, deep down, Max harbored a lingering hurt. She was willing to put up with the distance he was trying to place between them to heal his broken trust. She was going to prove to Max that he could give that part of himself that he had given before, and she wouldn’t throw it away again. She would have to sacrifice her pride, but gaining Max’s trust would be worth the price.