Chapter 15 - A Little B&E

Emma quietly opened the door to room 1502 and stepped inside. The lights were off so she made her way towards the bedroom in the dark, running her hand against the wall to keep her balance. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was relieved to see he was already fast asleep in his bed.

Good. This would make it a lot easier to just slip out in the morning. Who knows, maybe if she was lucky he wouldn’t even know she had been there. She was fairly certain he would be pissed at her again for avoiding him once more during the past two days. She couldn’t really help it though. Max had started making her feel and think things that were way too dangerous for her to come to terms with. Distance seemed like the only solution...until then.

She sat down in the bed next to him while she discretely studied him. He was positioned in the middle of the bed, so unfortunately that meant she wouldn’t have much space in the bed for herself or would be forced to cuddle up against him. Maybe crashing on the sofa would be a better idea.

She leaned over him to reach for a pillow when a warm hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. Gasping, she looked down at him and sure enough he was looking at her through hooded eyes.

“Am I still dreaming?” he whispered.

“No,” she giggled. She pinched him slightly on the arm. “See?”

He smiled and rubbed his eyes. “Then it must be heaven. You look like an angel dressed like that.”

She looked down at her dress and grinned. Well, she was wearing white. She would give him that much. “You were dreaming about me?” She couldn’t help asking the question.

“I always dream about you.”

Her eyes widened at his blunt response. “What…do you dream about?”

He sat up against the headboard and gave her a knowing look. “You would run away if I told you.”

She was glad it was dark because a huge blush crossed her face at that statement.

“What are you doing here anyway? What time is it?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep. About 1:30am,” she shrugged.

“The bouncy bed isn’t working out for you?” he teased.

“It’s pure torture. It makes so much noise any time I make the slightest movement and it deflates so quickly I end up on the floor every morning.”

He released her arm, which he had still been holding, and ran his fingers through his hair. “So I take it you want to sleep here?” he asked in between yawning.

“Yeah, well you said I could. Remember?”

“Hmm. I don’t remember saying anything about actual sleeping going on. Besides, that offer expired a few days ago.”

“What? Why?” she asked completely confused.

“What can I tell you, sweetheart? This bed is so comfortable I’m really enjoying sleeping in it by myself. I think I want to keep it that way,” he said stretching out a bit.

Was he joking? “Max! You can’t be serious. Please don’t make me go back there.”

“Serious as a heart attack. I don’t know Em…unless you can convince me otherwise I’m going back to sleep. I was having a really nice dream before you sneaked in here and woke me up.”

“Convince you? Max, I promise I won’t make a sound. You won’t even know I’m here.”

“That’s not going to work for me, sweetheart. Think of something better.”

“Better? Like what?”

He looked at her with a huge grin across his face. “I kind of liked the pleading you were doing earlier.”

“Unbelievable. You want me to beg?”

“You better believe it.”

She gasped in shock. Why was he doing this? Ugh, she was so tired and all she wanted was to get some decent sleep for once. Plus, she had to be well rested for her interview tomorrow. The last thing she wanted was to show up looking like a junkie. “If I do it, will you let me stay?”

“If you beg nicely, then yes.”

“God,” she breathed starting to get really frustrated. She kept on eyeing the bed imagining herself in it and how comfortable she would be. All those fluffy pillows and silky sheets were practically calling her name. The last time she had slept here it had been by far the best sleep of her life. If she was being completely honest with herself, she would have to admit it was partly because of Max and not just the bed. This boy really was the devil. How the hell was she going to do this?

“Look, Emma. Not to be rude, but you better get on with it quickly. My dream was a hell of a lot better than what’s going on right now, so I would really like to go back to sleep now.”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” she said through her teeth. Now she was really starting to get angry. Who the hell did he think he was ordering her around like that? Just because he happened to have the most amazing bed in the world now he was going on some power trip because of it? Freaking bed Nazi. Well, two could certainly play this little game of his.

She took a deep breath, moving closer and kneeling before him. As innocently as she could muster, she looked up at him through her long lashes and gave him her best puppy face. “Max?” she breathed, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“Yeah?” he asked.

She brought her hand to his chest and ran it down his t-shirt towards his stomach, before she started tracing patterns and random circles all around his upper body. She felt his stomach flinch and she delighted that her secret plan seemed to be working. Batting her eyes at him she asked, “I was wondering if you…would let me stay here tonight?”

He took a big gulp of air while he silently studied her, but didn’t respond.

Hmm, she would have to step it up a notch for this to work. She brought her body even closer to his and ended up bringing a leg over his and straddling him. “Please, Maximiliano? Will you share your bed with me?”

He closed his eyes at that and exhaled. Still no response, though. She leaned into him, pressing her chest against his and whispering into his ear. “I want to stay with you so badly, Max. Please let me stay. I’ll be a good girl, I promise.”

She immediately felt his chest vibrate with a groan, and he muttered something under his breath. She pulled back hesitantly to look at him. His eyes were filled with so much lust, it made her entire body instantly heat up.

“Can I go to sleep now?” she whispered, trying to ignore his reaction...and her own.

But he still wasn’t saying anything except for his eyes smoldering deeper into hers. “Max?”

“I don’t think you’re ready to sleep yet,” he finally said in a husky voice. He slowly ran his hands down her thighs and under her dress, burning her skin along the way. She gasped as his fingers skimmed the sides of her panties on her hip to finally rest his hands on her waist.

“Max,” she breathed, looking at him in bewilderment.

He tugged on her dress lifting it up and suddenly he was bringing it over her head. Was he insane? This was so crossing the line. Not that what she did before wasn’t…but this? Oh god, she thought as she found herself staring back at him in nothing but her bra and panties. Worst of all, why wasn’t she stopping him?

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m just getting you ready for bed,” he winked at her. He leaned into her ear, his nose sliding down her neck. “You want that, don’t you?” he whispered.

She bit her lip and started breathing hard, her chest rapidly rising and falling, while he simply continued to calmly hold her gaze. After what seemed like forever, he leaned forward and took off his own t-shirt in one quick movement. She was about to protest when the sight of his chiseled chest kept her mouth shut and drooling internally instead.

What happened next completely floored her. He took his shirt and gently put it on her. His arm snuck around her back and unclasped her bra. He then continued up her shoulders and brought the straps down her arms, pulling her bra off and tossing it to the side. Only then did he grab her arms and pull them through the sides of the shirt.

He leaned close to her again and pulled out her hair that had gotten stuck beneath the collar and fixed it for her, running his fingers slowly through it. Just when she thought she couldn’t handle it any longer, he brought his hand to her face and tenderly cupped her cheek.

“I think you’re ready now,” he whispered against her temple.

Her heart was beating in her chest so frantically she couldn’t move. He chuckled and kissed her forehead, before grabbing her by the waist and easily settling her beside him on the bed. He kept his arm around her and pulled her closely to him, showing he had no intention of letting her go.

She heard him sigh deeply behind her as he pulled the covers over them and settled down on the pillow next to her. “Goodnight, Emma. I’ll see you in my dreams.”

She closed her eyes, willing her mind to count black sheep instead of thinking about the man who both held and rocked her world.

She woke up early the next morning, and seeing that he was still asleep, went to quietly use the bathroom. But when she came out with the complete intention of sneaking her way by, he was already up and watching the news on TV. It would have been so easy to run out of there if he hadn’t looked so sexy half naked in bed, staring right at her with those same piercing hazel eyes from last night that completely undid her.

“Hey,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“Leaving so fast? After last night, I thought you would at least cuddle with me,” he teased.

“Um, I uh...have my interview at 10am so I better get going. Thanks for last night,” she said, almost cringing at how that sounded.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No?” she said suddenly feeling uneasy.

He got out of bed and went towards her. Oh god, what was he up to now? At the last minute, he turned to his suitcase and pulled out an H&M bag. He walked back to her and handed it to her.

“Your outfit...for the interview, silly.”

“Right, thanks Max.” She couldn’t believe she had almost forgotten her damn clothes that she had gotten with him.

“There’s also a little something extra in there for you. Maybe you can wear it tonight?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“What’s tonight?” she asked curiously, eyeing the bag.

“We are going out...to celebrate. It’s our last night after all,” he shrugged.

“Oh wow, that’s really sweet Max.”

“Still calling me sweet and cute, huh? I thought I would’ve managed to change that by now.”

She swatted his shoulder and smiled. “Fine. That’s incredibly sexy of you.”

“That’s more like it. Okay so, swing by here...around 8pm?”

“Sure. I’ll be here,” she said, walking towards the door with the bag in her hand.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he said, seeing her out. “Leo and Mia are here, so they’re coming with us, as well as Mia’s sister and your brother.”

“My brother? How did you get him to come?” she said in shock.

“Easy. I just called him.”

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

“Nah, we’re good now.”

“Boys. Well, it’ll be a miracle if he shows up,” she said opening the door.

“We’ll see. Hey, knock them dead at the interview, alright?”

She kissed him swiftly on the cheek, and then couldn’t help but say, “See you tonight, sexy.”

He just grinned at her, the image staying with her for the rest of the day. That and pretty much everything else he had done to her in that forsaken bed.

Later that evening, the last thing she expected when walking back inside the hotel room was to hear another woman’s voice giggling seductively, “Stop moving, Max. You’re messing it up.”

What in the world? She almost stopped and walked right back out to check the room number.

“Emma? Is that you? In the bathroom,” she heard Max call out.

She rounded out the corner of the entrance and made her way slowly inside. She wasn’t sure if she was exactly prepared for what she was about to see.

Max was sitting next to the tub, and a really beautiful girl was practically sitting on his lap and running her hands through his hair. After the initial shock, she noticed that she was apparently styling it.

“Hey,” she said, trying to act as if the scene in front of her didn’t do crazy things to her stomach.

“Doesn’t he have the best fuck me hair? It’s just so thick, all I want to do is pull it,” the girl said, eyeing her up and down.

Emma swallowed, knowing all too well what she was talking about it. She had already done that once to him. Or was that twice?

Max chuckled. “Emma this is Teresa, Mia’s sister.”

“Oh hi, nice to meet you,” she responded.

“Are you almost done here? I think you’ve used enough gel to make me look like one of the guys from Jersey Shore,” Max asked Teresa.

“Honey, you do not know who you’re dealing with. Thanks to me, you’ll be looking like the hottest guy at the place. I mean besides Leo, but we all know that one is off limits.” She ran her fingers through his hair one last time and then leaned over him to grab a towel.

Emma suddenly felt like she was interrupting something and headed back into the room.

“Did you get your hair done too?” Teresa asked from behind her a few moments later.

She turned around to see her inspecting her again and felt oddly uncomfortable. “Curling iron,” she managed to say.

“Don’t you have someone else to pester? Like, Mia?” Max said coming out of the bathroom.

“I’m not going back there. They were doing their whole ‘I love you and I can’t stand to be away from you for more than two seconds’ routine that makes me want to puke,” Teresa huffed.

Max just gave her a look which seemed to make her rethink what she had just stated. It was obvious they knew each other well by their silent communication.

“I think I’ll go check out the bar at the lobby. I’ll see you guys there,” she finally said.

Once the door clicked shut, Max stepped up closer to Emma. “Sorry about that, I probably should have warned you.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Your hair looks great, actually,” she told him. Not just great. He looked ridiculously handsome. His wavy hair was pulled back straight and he was wearing a fitted white button down shirt with grey jeans. He had that clean cut look that was full of British sophistication.

“Well, you look beautiful,” he said, grabbing one of her curls. “Love the dress, too.”

“Some guy got it for me when I wasn’t looking,” she said grinning.

“He has really good taste.” He ran his fingers against the waistband of her dress and her breath hitched. “This is interesting,” he said, noting the separation on her stomach.

“Yeah, I guess it’s more of a top attached to a skirt than an actual dress,” she said looking down at his hands. Why did his touch always have to affect her in some way?

“Hmm. I like it. Easy access,” he winked.

“You did not just say that,” she said poking his chest.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist, sweetheart. You’re just a total bombshell. Can you blame me?”

Before she could answer, he went to grab his wallet and put on his watch from the nightstand. “Ready to go?” he asked, offering his hand.

“Sure,” she said, quickly taking it.

“So how was the interview?” he asked, as they made their way down to the lobby.

“It was okay, I guess.”

“You don’t want to talk about it?”

“It was just one of those interviews that really could go either way. The guy I met with was a bit obnoxious but I suppose they all kind of are. Their headquarters are actually in London so I thought that seemed pretty cool.”

“That’s very cool. You could work there instead,” he said nudging her. “Do you know where the office is?”

“No idea. I’ve never been to London so I wouldn’t know.”

They reached the lobby and he unexpectedly dropped her hand. She instantly recognized Leo, standing out of the crowd with a gorgeous blond tucked underneath his arm. Talk about owning a room, they looked like they could easily be a celebrity couple.

“Emma,” Leo said with a big smile. “Glad to see you. This is my wife, Mia,” he said proudly.

She leaned in to give them both kisses on the cheek. “Of course. Nice to meet you. I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you were going to Marbella?”

“We did,” Mia laughed. “But I started getting nostalgic when I heard you guys would be here, and thought it would be a good time to visit my sister for a few days.”

“Basically, she’s the boss so I do whatever she says. Get ready Max,” Leo chuckled.

“Like I don’t know it already, bro,” Max said punching him in the shoulder.

“Well, I’m glad you could make it,” Emma smiled, laughing at their exchange.

“Are we getting this party started or what?” Teresa said, making an appearance. “I heard they make you wait a while at the restaurant so we better get going.” She grabbed Max’s arm and started pulling him towards the hotel exit.

“I guess that means we’re going,” Mia smiled. “We’ll need to take two cabs since we’re five.”

When they got outside, Teresa had already hailed a cab and was getting in.

“Emma,” Max motioned for her to go in.

“Go ahead. I think I’ll just ride with them,” she said turning towards Leo and Mia.

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry, Max. We’ll take care of her,” Mia said.

“Fine,” he seemed to grumble, getting in with Teresa.

Leo had stopped a cab, and she got in the backseat with them.

“So, how has Max been treating you?” Leo asked almost immediately. He had his arm around Mia and was idly running his fingers down her shoulder, and she had her hand on his thigh. They seemed so easy and carefree with one another. They really looked to have the perfect relationship.

“Good. He’s been great actually. I don’t know why he puts up with me...or why he would want to be a part of the mess that is my life.”

“Of course he does. He’s a big boy. He knows exactly what he’s doing,” Leo responded.

“I just worry about him...that he would be better off with someone that didn’t have any baggage.” Someone like Teresa, she thought. She wondered if they ever had something together. At least, she seemed pretty sweet on him. It would make a lot of sense, actually. Two brothers dating two sisters.

“We all have some baggage, Emma. I think you’re perfect for him, actually. We’ve never seen him like this before...like he has a purpose,” Mia said.

“I still don’t know,” she said shaking her head. “I mean, I have a crazy boyfriend who beat him up like it was nothing. I feel like he should hate me at this point. At least, I would if I were him.”

“Nonsense. I really think it’s the other way around,” she countered. “Look, I obviously don’t know much about your boyfriend and I know every situation is different, but I had a really bad relationship before I met Leo. I know things can be really overwhelming at times, and it seems impossible to get out of the craziness or even picture yourself with someone else who would treat you better because you feel like you don’t deserve it. But when you’re with the right person, you know. It just feels right.”

Her eyes were full of emotion, and she could see there was a huge story behind them. A deeply personal story she had just given her a glimpse of. Okay, so maybe everyone had some sort of crazy in their life. Maybe Leo and Mia didn’t always have the perfect relationship at some point, but they made it through. The evidence was staring right in front of her.

Leo kissed Mia on the temple then and whispered something in her ear, which made her smile and her eyes switch back to normal and then to a vibrant color.

“Thank you for that, Mia. It really means a lot,” Emma said, almost in epiphany.

Maybe things could be different. Maybe she could stop running away from her feelings...or more importantly, from herself.