Rewsna’s voice echoed in my mind as she said, “Passion becomes you Lauren. Tell Max ‘welcome home’ and enjoy your celebration - do not wait too long to fill Max in on the evil all around you. He must be prepared.”
Passion becomes me? I was transformed back to that same dream I had for years of Max before I actually met him. He had prophesized that we would know true passion. My mind at the time equated this to physical passion, but in this moment I could feel passion for Max in my mind, body and spirit; this was true passion.
Chapter 7
The three of us arrived at Max’s house while it was still light out. We sat together telling stories and sharing happy memories. It was several hours later after easy conversation had begun to subside that I noticed the sun had disappeared and darkness had fallen.
Joe announced abruptly, “Well, kids, I’m going to bed. I’ll see you two in the morning.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he was out of the chair, down the hall, around the corner, and we heard the echo of his bedroom door shut. I’m sure his departure was his way of giving us the privacy we both craved.
Max stared at me, his calloused hand stroking my face. His skin felt rough on my cheek while his thumb gently caressed my lips. We sat there immobile for a long moment, neither wanting to break the silence, both knowing this would be a night like no other. We had been given a second chance. I stared into his eyes, the same amazing green with brown flecks; I had missed them for so long and just wanted to keep staring.
“Lauren, I am so sorry I left you…I wasn’t strong enough…I gave up.” I put my hand over his mouth and shook my head.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I don’t care about the last couple years. You’re here and I’m here now. Can we just live in the moment?”
“I never thought I’d have a chance to tell you…I thought you were gone.”
“I’m here, I’m okay – none of this was your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it.”
“I left you alone. I should have known…” Emotion overtook Max. I already knew exactly how guilty he felt.
I could think of only one way to make the guilt go away. “I don’t care about any of it. The last time we were here you wanted to take things slow. I’m ready to speed things up, if that’s okay?” The humor was thinly veiled, as my desire was spinning out of control.
Max slid his hand behind my head and pulled my lips to his. His lips were tight on mine, and electricity pulsed through me. He dropped his hand from my face, sliding it under my shirt. Max caressed the skin on my stomach for a second as if he were apprehensive. I could tell his fingers were lightly tracing the scars from my attack. Before I could get too self-conscious his hand found its way to my breast. He reached around and unhooked my bra so there was no barrier between his hand and me, slowly caressing at first, but abandoning the gentleness in favor of a stronger hold and near painful grip.
The sweetness of his kiss also turned angry. I felt a moan escape my lips, and Max’s other hand found its way under my shirt as well. He lowered his mouth and kissed one of my breasts. When my shirt got in the way, he grabbed it in both hands and effortlessly slid it up over my head and onto the floor.
The scars were deep and might as well have been a neon sign. I could see him stare and was worried he’d put my shirt back on. I laid on the couch as he pressed his weight against me so heavily that I almost couldn’t breathe. Just when I was ready to gasp for air, Max readjusted, his lips making their way all over my exposed flesh; everywhere he kissed might as well have had an accelerant poured over it, because I was on fire.
Max removed his shirt as well and our bodies lay half naked together on the couch. I felt his heart racing, his strong hands taking in every inch of me. My head was spinning so fast I felt like I was intoxicated. All the inhibitions and nervousness I was feeling the last time we were together were completely gone. I wanted only one thing; his eyes told me he longed for the same. We lay sprawled on the couch together, neither rushing the moment, but both our desires screaming for more.
His lips moved to my ear as his labored breathing gave way to, “Lauren, I’m going to take you to our bedroom.” He raked his teeth across my earlobe as I felt the bulge in his pants grinding on me; he had just called it our bedroom.
Max carried me in his arms down the long hallway. With each step the longing in his eyes grew more intense. As he entered the bedroom, he gently placed me on my feet. Max backed me up to the wall, closing the bedroom door absently. Max stepped into me using his body to press me harder into the wall. Our bodies didn’t fit together perfectly; he was significantly taller than I was. I wrapped my arms around him, he slid his hands behind me and hiked my legs up so they were wrapped around him, too. He continued pressing me into the wall, each time further stoking the flames under my skin.
When I believed the inferno couldn’t get any hotter, he whispered, “We need to change venues, and you are far too overdressed for the occasion.” He unwound my legs from his torso, took both my hands in his, leading
