She complies, turning and putting her arms around my neck. Her eyes are pleasured and sleepy looking, and her lips are full and swollen. I need them on my mouth if I’m going to come.

“I’m going to make myself come, sweetheart,” I grind out. “If I don’t, I’ll never get out of here.”

Her eyes widen. “Y-y-y-you are?”

I jerk my jean shorts down beneath the water and reach in, grabbing my cock. I start stroking it and Belle’s eyes move down to the water, then back to mine.

“Kiss me,” I pant out between each pump of my cock.

She leans in and starts kissing me, slow at first and then hard and deep. My hand works faster, my cock swelling as I get closer and closer to release.

“Can I?” she whispers, tearing her mouth from mine.

“You want to jerk me off?” I say, my voice tight.

She nods.

I use my free hand and take one of hers, bringing it down between us. I release my dick and then wrap her hand around it. She gasps and her eyes get big. “It’s . . . Max, it’s . . .”

“We can talk about how big it is later, baby,” I grind out. “I need to come.”

Her cheeks are pink, and I fucking love that. I close my hand over hers and start moving it up and down. She bites her bottom lip and meets my eyes, getting the movement on her own. I let her hand go and wrap my arms around her, stopping her from floating away.

“That’s it baby,” I moan into her neck. “Stroke my cock. Fuck. Yes.”

“Max,” she whispers, her voice shaky. “Does it feel good?”

“So fucking good. Keep going.”

She does, moving her hand at the perfect pace. My balls rise up and tighten and I can’t hold it back anymore.

“Fuck, I’m coming,” I grunt into her neck.

My dick explodes beneath the water and strand after strand of come pours out into the sea. Belle keeps moving her hand until I reach down and stop her. I pull her body into mine. “That was fucking amazing, Blue Belle.”

“It was?”

I kiss her, a little hard, a little deep.

“Fuck yeah it was.”

She smiles.

My heart swells.

CHAPTER EIGHT

NOW – ANABELLE

It’s been four days since I’ve seen or heard from Max. He didn’t call and demand to know about Imogen, he didn’t even try to contact me. He just disappeared back into his dangerous little world. That hurt more than I ever could have imagined. I know seeing her would have come as a shock, but for him to turn away like that . . . without even a question.

I never thought he’d do it.

I’ve thought of so many scenarios. Maybe he thought she belonged to someone else and he was hurt. Maybe he doesn’t know how to handle it. Maybe he’s scared. All of those are good theories, but the Max I know wouldn’t have just run from something like this. He always wanted kids, and before everything had gone bad, we’d been trying.

Tonight I’m going out with Pippa and her friends, Santana, Jaylah and Ash. We’re going to a bar downtown, and I very much plan on drinking . . . a lot. Imogen is having a sleepover with Aunty Tina. She’s had a massive week. To keep my mind distracted I’ve taken her to every park, beach and attraction in the town. Poor little girl is exhausted and is probably looking forward to a night off.

Pippa and I are going to meet everyone at her friend Rainer’s bar. We’re all dressed and ready to go, both of us sitting in the back of a cab. I’m trying to push all thoughts of Max from my head, but it’s proving to be harder and harder. A night out with a solid amount of alcohol is exactly what I need. It’s not the best way to forget about someone, but it’ll work for a night.

“So your friend Rainer,” I say, trying to make conversation, “he seems important to you?”

Pippa nods with a smile. “He is. He’s such a great guy. You’re going to love him.”

“If he’s a friend of yours . . .” I smile, “he’s a friend of mine.”

We arrive at the bar and both of us split the fare before jumping out. It’s not a massive bar, but it does have a good amount of people milling around. We make our way to the front entrance and a bouncer checks our I.D. before letting us through. There are a lot of people here, but Pippa finds her friends right away. I’ve met them a few times before, but don’t know them all that well. They are great girls, though. All of them are old ladies to a member of the Joker’s Wrath MC.

“Pippa!” her sister Santana cries, leaping up and running over.

Santana is a beautiful dark-haired beauty who kind of reminds me of Pocahontas. She’s got that dark, mysterious beauty. She looks nothing like Pippa, which is strange because they’re sisters. The two girls hug and I wave to Ash and Jaylah, who are sitting at a curved booth.

“Hey there, Belle.” Santana grins at me. “So glad you came.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty happy to be getting out too.” I smile.

“Let’s get a round of drinks,” Santana suggests.

“I’ll get them,” I offer. “What are we all having?”

“Cosmos! Next round is on me!” Santana beams, hugging me before wrapping her arm back around Pippa and leading her to the table.

I walk over to the bar, and squeeze in a gap. There’s a blond girl working one end, and a gorgeous man on the other. I study him and my eyes widen as he nears. He’s hot. Seriously freaking hot. He’s the kind of man that makes you look twice. Not to mention he’s big, muscled and housing some epic tattoos. God, if I wasn’t so in love with Max still I’d definitely be trying to catch a man that looks like that. He’s like a dark god—even the way he moves is graceful and deadly.

“Can I get you a drink?”

I stare at him, not even realizing he’d gotten so close. His eyes are black, just like Max’s. In fact, a good deal of his looks remind me of my husband. His hair is dark, and longer than Max’s. It sits at the base of his neck, curling slightly on the ends. His face is less dangerous, and scarred, but he’s still breathtaking.

“Ah . . .”

“I’ve got customers to serve . . .” he prompts.

“Rainer, have you got the shot glasses?” the blonde calls.

Wait. This is Rainer? This handsome guy is the man Pippa has told me so much about. I know Rainer has been around to our place, but I always seem to miss him.

“You’re Rainer?” I ask, studying him.

His eyes flick back to mine. “Yeah, you are?”

“Belle . . . Pippa’s housemate.”

His eyes widen and then he grins. Good God, he’s even more beautiful when he grins. “Shit, sorry. I know we haven’t met yet.”

He stretches his hand across the bar and I reach over, taking it. He shakes mine gently, even though one of his hands could cover two of mine. I beam. “No, I always miss you. Pippa brought me along tonight.”

“Well, it’s good to meet you, Belle, and I hope you enjoy my bar.”

“I will,” I say, then turn to look over at the girls. “I’ll get a round of Cosmos, please?”

He nods, his eyes flashing over to Pippa. There they go soft. Oh . . . oh my. Rainer loves her. It’s written all over his face. The poor man—it must bother him that she’s with Tyke. He drags his eyes away from her and gets to work making cosmos in front of me. His hands move quickly. He’s a pro, without a doubt.