Page 39 of Sloth
He lifted her dress higher, but she slapped him away. “Not my dress.” She pawed at his shirt, popping buttons down the front. “Your clothes. Take them off.”
Before he had a chance to correct, she’d ripped open his shirt, popping buttons off.
“All good,” he murmured. “Didn’t need it anyway.”
As she took the sight of him in, heat burst in her eyes and he received a shock of satisfaction. Shesowanted him. She missed him. He was a fool to think otherwise. No denying it now. He sat up, reaching for her mouth with his, letting her guide the shirt completely off. When her hands began a slow, mesmerizing quest around his torso, he felt his chest swell. From the way she savored, he knew she’d fantasized about their first time too.
She sighed appreciatively. “Okay, Max. I forgive you.”
Every muscle in his body locked cold with rigidity. He swallowed. Forgivehim?“What?”
She rocked against him, and it took every ounce of restraint to put his hands on her hips and halt her movement.
“What do you mean, forgive me?” he asked.
“For walking out on me.”
His jaw tightened. Heat prickled his face. No. Absolutely not. He pushed her off him. “You’re the one who walked out on me, Sloan. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Shock, then denial, then anger flashed in her eyes but he didn’t care. The cold bucket of water had been thrown and his desire was thoroughly doused. With all the too-ing and fro-ing, his brain had turned to mush. He shuffled to the exit. She still had no idea. All these years, all this hurt banging around his chest. When he got to the door, he pivoted.
“For the record, Sloan.Youdidn’t wait forme.”He paused. “And I needed you.”
“I needed you! You came, and then you left! What the fuck was that, Max? Who does that after seeing their girlfriend get wrongly blamed for murdering a building full of innocents?”
He gaped. “I turned up, Sloan. I got called away.”
“You said you’d quit.”
“They needed me. A friend was in danger.”Gale.He’d been taken. Missing in action. What the fuck was Max supposed to do? The mate who’s family had basically adopted him after his parents died. The mate who’d saved his life countless times. The mate who’d taught him to surf and loaned him a stupid old seventies longboard when he couldn’t afford his own. His stupid smiling squinty eyes and stupid beard that wouldn’t grow. A band constricted around his chest, getting tighter by the minute.
Hands on hips, her brow puckered in the middle. “I didn’t know that.”
The deep breath he’d been holding expelled slowly. “Look. I’m tired. It’s been a long day. I don’t want to talk about this right now.” It was the truth. He was tired. She might not be, but he had to get some rest for the big hike tomorrow. Besides, she would ask about Gale, and he just couldn’t. It was too much. His raw heart barely pumped.Fuck. A few quick strides and he was in his room, closing the door behind him.
Sloan’s fist pounded the door. “Max!”
“Go away, Sloan. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“But…” her voice trailed off. Maybe he heard her say she didn’t know. Maybe he heard her say she was sorry, but by that stage, he was already stripping off his clothes and turning the private shower faucet on, setting the temperature to scolding hot. All he wanted to do right now was sleep and forget.
* * *
Fifteen hours later,Max trudged through the wilderness, strapped with his hiking pack and supplies. He followed three tireless Lazarusinhumansalong limestone tipped mountainous slopes. A sprinkling of Aspen and Pine sheltered them from the view of possible roving drones. The trees thickened the closer they got to the encroaching mountain.
Since they’d left the hotel that morning, he’d not said a peep to Sloan, despite her silent attention. He’d kept his distance. Her confession still grated. She believed he’d left all those years ago without a word. But he’d left a message. It was all he had time for. Granted, when he’d found out about Wyatt’s ex-fiancée being the cause of trouble in their lives, he should have suspected she’d never passed on his message, but he’d only learned about that a few months ago when Parker had hired him. Regardless, Sloan had the tech skills and resources to hack into military databases. She could have learned everything about his sudden mission, if only she’d looked. Instead, she’d taken the fact he’d not turned up as the end of their relationship. He’d been ready to marry her.
She knew about Sammie.The thought contradicted every prejudice he’d constructed since their separation. Sammie was nothing to him. A means to scratch an itch, but the fact Sloan knew about that brief moment of his life meant that shehadlooked him up... just at the wrong time. Could it be possible this was all a miscommunication?
“Stop here,” Parker announced as the group made it to a patch of trees. He pulled out his canteen to take a swig. As with the rest of the men, Parker wore just his gray battle pants and a simple T-shirt for the hike. They had protective gear packed away for when they got closer to the site.
Max also took a swig from his canteen, letting the cool water run down his parched throat. When he was done, he surveyed the landscape. More trees. Mores slopes.
“What does the GPS say, Sloan?” Parker asked.
With her hair tied at her nape, black boots, dirty beige singlet and gray battle pants, she was the epitome of one of her favored gamer characters. The cross bow slung over her shoulder also added to the tough, but feminine vibe. Sexy too. After their episode in the elevator, he’d had the most intense hard-on the entire night. Even after they’d fought, and he’d sorted himself out in the shower, it came back. Every time he’d thought of her, which was often, he couldn’t get rid of it. He hated his body for already beingtherewhen his mind was not.
Sloan went to Parker and conferred over the data on her satellite connected iPad.
