Lovers at Heart, Reimagined (The Bradens) Read online

  “Will do, Treat.” Maxine leaned in closer to Max and said, “The man is a saint.”

  Treat could feel a million unasked questions from Max as they continued walking along the sidewalk, passing a street performer who looked as though he’d been dunked in thick gold paint, standing still as a statue while tourists threw money into a hat at his feet and took pictures standing beside him. Treat waited for her to ask about Howie and Marcus, and when she didn’t, he fed her unspoken curiosity.

  “Howie lost his health insurance a while ago,” he said as they walked into Shop Therapy, a small retail store that specialized in retro clothing. “I made a deal with the hospital and medical providers here so when he needed care, they’d bill me directly.”

  “That’s so generous of you. Who is Marcus…Maxine? I mean, how do you know him, her?”

  “He’s a friend. I’ve gotten to know many of the year-round residents over the years.”

  “So many people would have trouble embracing a man in drag, and you had no hesitation.”

  “You didn’t seem to have trouble,” he said with a question in his eyes.

  “No, but some guys are weird about that stuff. I don’t know. I guess I’m wrong.”

  “I’m not most guys.”

  “You can say that again. I actually fell for you a little harder when I saw you hug him,” she admitted.

  “I’ll have to remember that,” he teased. They walked toward the back of the shop, and Treat said, “You know, dressing in drag isn’t who he is. It’s what he does for a living.”

  “Oh. No, I didn’t know. I assumed that drag was a way of life.”

  “No, at least not for him,” he said as they looked through a rack of shirts. “He’s a fantastic performer. If you’d like, I’ll take you to a show sometime.”

  She slipped into the space between the clothing rack and his body. “I would really like that. Love is beautiful, and it should be praised, not picked apart. I’m glad we share the same view where that’s concerned.”

  “The more I learn about you, the more I love you.” Love slipped so easily from his lips. He liked the way it felt. He lowered his lips to hers, intending a chaste kiss, but once he tasted her, he didn’t want to stop there. Max leaned into him, putting pressure on all his greediest places. He reluctantly pulled away, knowing if he didn’t, he’d be walking around aroused all night.

  Max laced her fingers with his and flashed a rascally smile. “Paybacks are so fun.”

  He groaned.

  She looked at the staircase where a sign with colorful arrows pointed up and asked, “What’s up there?”

  He guided her away from the steps, which led to an adult toy shop. “Nothing, babe. Let’s go get some gelato.”

  They walked to the Purple Feather Café for gelato and then headed to the beach to eat it. It was chilly, but they cuddled and fed each other tastes.

  “What was upstairs in that shop?” Max asked as she held up a spoonful of tiramisu gelato for him to eat.

  “It was an adult toy shop,” he said uneasily.

  “Oh.” She gazed out at the water. “Do you like to use those?”

  “No, Max.” He set his gelato down and pulled her onto his lap. She smiled, but it was the shy smile that told him she had many more questions in that brilliant mind of hers. “I don’t need toys, or anything besides you. But if you ever want to explore, we can do it together.”

  “It’s a little embarrassing to talk about this,” she whispered.

  “Then we won’t,” he reassured her.

  “No, it’s embarrassing but it’s good. I like knowing that I don’t have to hide my past with you. That you accept me with my insecurities and they don’t make you run away.”

  “Baby, nothing will make me run from you.” That earned a bigger smile. “You can count on me, Max. Always.”

  “What if I never want to explore?” she asked carefully.

  “Then we won’t. I want to help you heal.”

  “You’ve already helped. Just being able to accept and trust you in my life is a healing step for me.” Her expression turned serious. “But what if you want to explore one day? I don’t want to hold you back.”

  “Max, I’m thirty-seven. I’ve explored. I’ve sowed my wild oats. Any further exploration will be because we want to do it together. You can trust me when I tell you that beyond sharing you, there’s nothing sexual I wouldn’t do for you or with you if you wanted me to. On that same note, though, all I need is right here on my lap. When we’re close, it’s not about toys or pushing limits; it’s about intimacy.”

  She lowered her face toward his, and her glasses slid down her nose. Treat righted them for her, and she said, just above a whisper, “But guys need excitement.”

  “My excitement is drawn from the pleasure I bring you, not whether you’re willing to get off on sex toys.”

  “Will it be enough? In the long run?”

  “Max, you’re enough. You’ll always be enough. I’m not your ex, and I’ve never been someone who needed to dominate a woman. That’s not me, and honestly, most of the guys I know aren’t like that either. Real men don’t dominate. They cherish, they love, they pleasure, but it’s mutual, not an ego trip.”

  “I hope you’re right, because I want to believe you.”

  He sealed his promise with a kiss. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go home.”

  Max had asked him about his home, and as they walked back to the car, he knew his answer had been completely honest. His home would be anywhere Max was.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  LATER THAT EVENING, Max sat with her legs stretched across Treat’s lap in front of a roaring fire as he massaged her feet, pressing his thumbs deeply into the arch of her foot.

  “You can’t even begin to understand how good that feels.” She closed her eyes, enjoying his touch.

  “Oh, I think I can.”

  She opened her eyes. “Yeah?”

  “It’s touch, and touch is good,” he said in a husky voice.

  Why does your voice turn my entire body on? She pulled her feet from his lap and sat up, tucking them beneath her.

  “Let me do you,” she said.

  “Why, Max, what kind of man do you think I am?”

  She playfully swatted his chest. “Not like that. Let me rub you and make you feel good.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “You naughty girl.”

  “Seriously, let me give you a massage.”

  “If you insist.” He kissed her, then pushed to his feet and went to a closet by the stairs. He withdrew a comforter, then spread it out on the floor in front of the fireplace. When he pulled his shirt over his head, her breath rushed from her lungs. She’d seen his perfectly sculpted physique enough times that she shouldn’t still react to it like that, but her love for him continued to grow, and she had a feeling her reactions to him would, too. Her grandmother once told her that she would know she was in love because she’d be able to imagine loving the person no matter what they looked like. As Treat stripped off his pants, she imagined him gray and potbellied, and her heart still adored him. She took that further, imagining an even harder thing to think about. What if he was hurt in an accident? If he lost a limb or was disfigured? As he lowered himself to the blanket wearing only his boxer briefs, she knew her love for him was soul deep, and nothing could change that.

  He patted the space beside him. “Sit with me.”

  “This might be more dangerous than I had anticipated.” She was only half teasing. Did he really expect her to touch him without wanting to devour him?

  He opened his hand, revealing a small bottle of oil.

  “You just happen to keep this in the secret closet with the blanket? How much do you pay your friends to say that you don’t bring women up here?”

  He tickled her ribs, causing her to squeal. “I don’t lie, sweetness.”

  “I was kidding!”

  “Good, because I want to be sure you know you can trust me on every level. I’ve n
ever had anyone but Savannah here with me, and I slept on the couch, which is why the blanket is down here. She left the oil here.”

  Kneeling by his side, she couldn’t help teasing him. “I’m supposed to buy the old only my sister routine?”

  In the next second, Treat was on his feet and heading for the kitchen, where he retrieved his phone. He pushed a button and, a few seconds later, said, “Hey, Vanny. Hold on a sec.”

  Max jumped up. “Oh my gosh. No! You know I was kidding!” Mortified didn’t begin to describe the embarrassment she felt.

  He lowered his voice and said, “I’ll never have anything to hide from you, and I want you to know it and believe it.”

  “I know I can. I was teasing!” she said in a loud whisper.

  He put Savannah on speakerphone and said, “Vanny, say hi to Max. I’ve got you on speakerphone.”

  “Hey, girl! I had no idea you were going to the Cape!”

  Max was surprised by Savannah’s enthusiasm. “I wanted to surprise Treat.”

  “Aw, that’s so romantic,” Savannah said happily.

  “Hey, Vanny, I found your Apricot Kernel Oil.” Treat grinned, twisting the bottle between his index finger and thumb.

  Max covered her face. This cannot really be happening.

  “Oh, good. It’s great for aromatherapy. You guys should use it. It’s awesome, and it won’t leave your skin oily.”

  Treat blew a kiss to Max and said, “I’m sure we’ll put it to good use.” He took Max’s hand, leading her back to the blanket, and lowered himself to the floor with another victorious smile.

  “Was that all you needed?” Savannah asked. “I gotta run. I’m with Connor.”

  “I just wanted you to know I had it.”

  Max tried to dodge the mortification bullet as he set his phone aside.

  “You can ask me anything, Max. I’ll always give you an honest answer, and I’ll never blame you for not believing me, because I know people lie and you’ve been hurt.”

  “I was honestly only teasing you. You didn’t have to call her.”

  “I knew you were teasing, but I also know you’ve been cheated on and lied to. I’m not taking any chances.” He kissed her tenderly. Then he flipped onto his stomach and stretched out. “Now that that’s out of the way, I believe you wanted to do me?”

  “You believe that, do you?” She dripped oil onto his back and began kneading it into his muscles.

  “How do you know I didn’t have this preplanned with Savannah?”

  Max’s hands stopped moving as she considered his tease. She cracked a smile and said, “Because she’d never go along with it. She likes me.”

  “How about because I like you, and I’d never go along with it?”

  Swoon! She bent down and kissed his cheek. “That works, too.”

  Max used both hands, massaging along either side of his spine, working the tension outward, urged on by his appreciative moans. She loved knowing she was bringing him pleasure as she followed the lines of his body, kneading slow and steady over the curve of his biceps and across his shoulders. She massaged over the crest of his lats and slid her fingers forward, pushing deeper along the gentle dip on the other side.

  The scent of apricot hung in the air. Touching his slick, hot skin felt erotic, and his sexy noises of appreciation heightened her arousal. She wished she weren’t wearing any clothes so she could slither her naked body alongside of him.

  She closed her eyes just long enough to try and temper that thought, then she dribbled oil on his thighs and kneaded the tension from the muscles twitching beneath her hands. She massaged between his thighs, stroking slow and hard.

  “Your touch is magical,” he said in a guttural voice.

  “Mm-hmm.” She tried to ignore the pulsing sensation thrumming through her as he spread his legs wider.

  She moved between them so she could work each leg with both hands. Getting to know his body so intimately brought waves of deeper desires. She massaged him over his thin cotton briefs, kneading first the right cheek, then the left, taunting them both. She had to take more, and pushed her fingers beneath his briefs, massaging his heated flesh. She was already damp, ready for him, and he hadn’t even laid a hand on her. To think she’d gone her whole life without ever touching or being touched in such a glorious way.

  Every erotic touch made her hungrier for more, and she felt so close to Treat, she didn’t want to overthink, or even hesitate. Without a word—because she couldn’t speak if she wanted to—she removed her clothes. Stripping felt natural, leaving her lace panties on felt naughty and exciting.

  The fire warmed her skin as she lowered herself to the floor and kissed just above the waistband of his briefs. Treat’s responsive groan drew her up his body, her breasts grazing his slippery flesh as she kissed the hard ridges of his muscles.

  “Sweetness,” he whispered as he turned to face her.

  “Shh. Lie on your back.”

  He rolled over and she trailed kisses over his neck and shoulder, along his cheek, and pressed an openmouthed kiss at the soft spot just beneath his ear. Another groan escaped, and his cock visibly twitched. Loving his reaction, she opened her mouth again, and sucked on his neck. She slithered along his body, kissing and pressing her breasts and hips against him. She felt all of his muscles flex against her. Feeling bold, she straddled him, facing his feet. He grasped her hips, his thick fingers digging into her flesh, sending goose bumps rushing over her limbs. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on giving him pleasure rather than the white-hot desire burning her from the inside out. Leaning forward, she used both hands to knead the tension from his calves, ankles, and eventually, his feet, which were just as gorgeous as the rest of him.

  When her breasts brushed over his hard cock, his hips bucked, and he gripped her tighter. In one swift move he hauled her back, bringing her sex to his mouth. Max sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as he pulled the lace to the side, and feasted on her needy, wet sex. She closed her eyes and pushed up, arching as he pulled her deeper against his mouth. Shocks skittered through her body like fire and ice. She’d never felt anything so all consuming, so incredibly hot—and she wanted more. He pushed his fingers inside of her, instantly finding the spot that drew long, surrendering moans from her lungs. She couldn’t think, could barely breathe as he took her up, up, up, until she was hanging onto her sanity by a fraying thread.

  “Oh God, Treat,” she pleaded.

  “You taste so sweet. Tell me you’re mine, Max.”

  “I’m yours. So very yours.”

  He sealed his mouth over her sex and did something incredible with his tongue, winding her up like a top. Electricity arced inside her, and she never wanted the feeling to end. She clenched her teeth as he held her tighter, loved her deeper, until fireworks exploded inside her. A string of indiscernible sounds flew from her lips. She gasped and shuddered, riding the wave of her climax as he licked and sucked, lapped and probed, sending her soaring again.

  When she finally came down from the clouds, her body buzzing like live wires, she lay beside him. The fire reflected off their glistening bodies. Treat reached for her and she shook her head, visually feasting on the heat trapped beneath his briefs. She didn’t question her newfound strength or her lack of embarrassment. She owned her desires, and she wanted to feed the feeling by making him feel as good as he made her feel.

  “Max.”

  He reached for her again, and she shook her head, running her fingertips beneath his waistband, brushing over his swollen shaft. He sucked in air between clenched teeth, and she ran her hands up his torso and circled his nipple with her tongue. He grabbed her head with both hands.

  “Uh-uh,” she whispered, peeling his hands away. “My terms.”

  His jaw clenched, and she kissed the corded muscles in his neck. Her breasts grazed the dusting of hair on his chest, earning another hungry groan.

  “You like?” she asked seductively.

  “You’re driving me crazy.”
<
br />   This time when he reached for her she didn’t stop him, enjoying his raw, needful kisses and the scratch of his whiskers.

  The emotions in his eyes were tangible as he took her cheeks between his hands and said, “Max, I couldn’t love you more.”

  “That’s a shame. I was sort of counting on you loving me more each day.”

  EVERY NERVE ENDING was on fire, and the throbbing between Treat’s legs had stolen the blood from his brain. There was no slowing him down as he pulled Max closer, feeling her precious heart—the heart he wanted to protect and love—thundering against his own. They feasted on each other’s mouths as he stripped off her panties and his briefs, and swept her beneath him. She spread her legs and lifted her hips welcoming him as he entered her tight heat.

  “Sweet Jesus, baby. I swear we were made for each other.”

  “Show me,” she whispered, reaching up and pulling her mouth to his as they found their rhythm.

  It was hell forcing himself to go slow, wanting to savor every second of their joining, to pleasure her until she lost her mind. But every stroke of her slick heat sizzled through him. He gritted his teeth against the mounting pressure, until it pulsed through his veins. He gripped her shoulders as he drove into her time and time again. She clawed at his back, rising to meet every thrust with one of her own, bringing out all his carnal urges.

  “Harder,” she begged. “Faster. Don’t hold back.”

  He lifted her legs beneath her knees, holding them by his hips as he pounded into her. She was so hot, so wet it drenched his balls. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right, so—

  Aw fuck. He pulled out hastily. “Condom.”

  Max’s eyes flew open. “What?”

  “Condom.” Treat rose up on his knees, and dug his wallet out of his pants. “I’m sorry,” he said as he withdrew a condom.

  “Hurry,” she pleaded.

  She giggled as he sheathed his hard length.

  “You’re not doing anything for my manhood here,” he teased.