Chapter 42: Night Of Passion

It was probably a very bad idea to drink at dinner. With only three glasses of wine in her system, Maryanne was very tipsy. Her vision is blurred around the edges, while her head is light. Although their ride home is for the most part smooth, Maryanne finds herself shifting back and forth, unable to keep herself steady. Max eyes her, concerned, and places his arm around her shoulder in order to hold her upright.
“Are you drunk,” his voice is deep and intense as his hot breath hits her ear.
Maryanne holds back the soft moan that fights its way up into her throat. This is not good. Her willpower to hold back is starting to weaken. She places a hand on Max’s knee in order to help steady herself, but it only causes Max to jump with the sudden movement.
“Maryanne,” he says cautiously.
She is unable to create a coherent sentence so she just hums, “hm?”
“Are you alright?”
Maryanne nods, her head lolling back. She can see the lights of the house down the street. She closes her eyes and forces herself to sober up. She needs to be able to walk into the house on her own. Was she so nervous to have dinner with Max again that she had to really drink so much?
She must have fallen asleep, because Max is now gently rocking her to force her awake, the car parked just in front of the main door.
“Come on, Maryanne, let’s go inside.”
She only nods and in a daze, she forces herself out of the car. Max has a hold of her side, propping her up just incase. Maryanne finds that once she is standing, a wash of soberness comes over her. She is able to walk fine on her own into the house, her vision clearing up.
Max moves closely behind Maryanne, watching her every step as though she might fall at any moment. “Thank you, Maryanne for inviting me out. I had a lot of fun tonight.”
She glances back at him, smiling brightly, “I am glad you said yes.”
Brow dipping low, his face too near, he asks, “Why wouldn’t I have?”
“We haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye on a lot of topics lately.” She simply shrugs as they reach the bottom of the grand staircase and begin to ascend it.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy your company.”
Maryanne forces herself not to look at Max. She knows that if she does, she might decide to do something very stupid. Although her buzz has disappeared partially, she is still not completely sober.
They both near the top of the stairs, Maryanne holding onto the bannister in order to steady herself. They run into Geneva who is walking down the hall.
“Welcome back, Mister Ryder and Miss Maryanne. She is sleeping,” she smiles at the both of them.
“Thank you for watching over her.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure miss. I do enjoy taking care of Riley.”
“Take the rest of the night off, and tomorrow go home and visit your family. I’m sure they’d love to see you,” Max says.
Geneva’s face lights up, “Are you sure Mister Ryder? What if you need help?”
“I think I can manage for one day. Just enjoy the time.”
“Thank you, I will.” She bows her head before hurrying off, a large grin now splitting her face in two.
“That was very nice of you,” Maryanne says softly as they continue down the hall.
“She has been working hard lately, I don’t want her getting burnt out.”
Maryanne slows when she is next to her bedroom door, not sure what to say. She fiddles with her hands, glancing down as Max pauses just in front of her.
“You are really beautiful tonight,” he whispers.
A shiver washes through Maryanne, goosebumps lining her neck and arms. She bites down a surprised gasp at the sensation running through her. She makes eye contact with Max and is lost in his intensity.
“Max,” she releases his name on a sigh, her body heating as he takes a step forward.
He brings his hand up, gently brushing the side of her neck and entangling his fingers in her hair, “Maryanne.”
“I should be getting to bed,” she utters almost absently as her eyes fall to his lips. She bites her own, her body begging for more of his touch.
Max nods absently, refusing to look anywhere except Maryanne. “You should probably do that.” Even as he says the words, his face grows closer to hers.
His other hand moves to her hip, planting her in place. Maryanne wonders if he drank a little too much as well and that is why he is acting so brazen now. She stares into his beautiful eyes, his dark lashes brushing his cheeks as he lowers his gaze.
She knows that she should be pulling away, being sensible, but she can’t help the hot pull in her stomach, wanting to feel the touch of his lips on hers once more.
In heated passion, Max pulls Maryanne in, closing the gap between the two. His gruff beard rubs against Maryanne’s chin and her chest stirs with more butterflies as she moans into his mouth.
Allowing herself to fall into him, Maryanne finds herself moving against Max’s body, causing friction and a need to build in the pit of her stomach. As Max shoves her back into the wall, Maryanne moans into his kiss once more. She grabs onto his hair, tugging and holding him in place at the same time.
In a swoop of passion, Max reaches down and grabs a hold of the back of Maryanne’s thighs, just below her butt and pulls her up. She is forced to lock her ankles around his waist, her dress riding up so there is not much between the two of them. Max supports her weight with his large arms as he fumbles his way through the door to her bedroom and storms over to her bed. With every move Maryanne can feel the heat of Max rubbing against her. She can’t believe this is finally going to happen. After five years.
As Max throws her down onto the bed, she bounces a few times, her eyes roaming his entire body. He yanks off his shirt and Maryanne gulps at the intensity of his gaze roaming her figure.
She finds herself giving in once more as he kneels on the bed and locking their lips once more, passion taking over for the remainder of the night.