“Nina had a rough night,” Max’s gravelly voice explained.

“Oh dear,” Gladys replied and my eyes flew open.

“And you are?” Norm asked.

“Max, Nina’s boyfriend,” Max answered.

“Nina’s boyfriend who left her alone all day yesterday to do nothing but stare at the river like her world had ended and then left her alone last night to have dinner with two old coots like us?” Norm asked, sounding somewhat surprisingly belligerent, and his tone, not to mention what he gave away about me spending the day pining for Max, made me throw the covers back and jump out of bed, ignoring the shot of pain that emanated through my ribs as I did so.

“Norm!” Gladys cried on a gasp.

“Yep,” Max replied, sounding not affronted but amused. “That’d be me.”

On Max’s remark I had made it to the door and I threw it open, rushing out into the living room.

“Is it eight thirty already?” I asked on a smile I hoped didn’t look fatigued.

Max, wearing jeans, his long-sleeved t-shirt but in bare feet, turned to look at me and when he did, his lips pressed together and weirdly, his ear tilted to his shoulder at the same time he was giving short shakes of his head.

Both Norm and Gladys were staring at me, for some reason openly gobsmacked.

Then Norm moved, luckily not quickly for I could see his intent and I was able to cry out “Max!” in time for Max to turn back to Norm and then duck clear of Norm’s flying cane.

“Norm!” Gladys screeched.

I ran forward as Max retreated, his torso swaying back to dodge the swipes of the cane Norm was wielding like a rapier as he advanced on Max.

I got in front of Max and threw my arms out, shouting at Norm, “What are you doing?”

“Missy, your face!” Norm shouted back, swirling his cane in the air before he planted it on the floor, leaned into it, turned to Gladys and ordered, “Go get our cellular whozeewhatsit and call the police!”

Oh dear, even feeling the pain in my body, I’d still forgotten about my face.

“Max didn’t do this,” I told Norm and Norm turned narrowed eyes back to me.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, missy.”

“Damon did it,” I explained quickly and when Norm didn’t look any less disbelieving, I continued, “He’s kind of my mountain man stalker. See, when he was little, Max lived next to Brody who was his best friend and still is. A long time ago, Brody’s Mom and Dad got divorced. Then she got remarried then she had Mindy so Mindy is like Max’s little sister. Then, a few weeks ago, something bad happened to Mindy and she’s not doing too well with it so, since Brody now lives in Seattle, Max was looking out for her then I was looking out for her and, well, Damon is her ex-boyfriend but he was her boyfriend-boyfriend then. And he came to a bar and was mean to Mindy so I pushed him then he backhanded me which Max saw because he was coming to pick us up because he was our designated driver. Max got kind of mad about Damon pushing me and taught him a lesson in the parking lot of the bar which, unfortunately, seeing as it was the parking lot of a bar most of the town saw the whole thing. Damon didn’t like that so he spray painted my car and did other stuff to it too. And then, yesterday, he tracked me down and overpowered me when I was coming into my cabin after dinner. Luckily Max showed up a little while later and took me to the hospital.” I took in a deep breath and finished, “Nothing to worry about, though. Max is here now and I’m okay.”

Norm and Gladys both stared at me but Max’s arm hooked around my chest from behind and he pulled me back into his body. His body, by the way, which was shaking slightly so I knew, even though it wasn’t audible, he was laughing.

I ignored this when Norm noted, “Either that’s the best story ever made up or what you say is true.”

“I wish it was a story but, unfortunately, it’s true,” I confirmed.

“Though, Norm, good to know, I didn’t show last night, you and your cane would have Nina’s back,” Max added and I elbowed him in the ribs, his body twitched but that was mostly it.

“So, you’re her boyfriend, where were you yesterday when Nina was tied up in knots?” Norm asked cantankerously.

“Norm!” Gladys gasped again then looked at me. “Nina, I’m so sorry.”

Norm’s eyes stayed glued on Max. “Got two daughters, four granddaughters and one great granddaughter, son. I’ve had my fair share of experience with pretty boys like you so you best be answering my question.”

Gladys sighed. I pressed my lips together in order not to laugh at Norm calling Max a “pretty boy”.

Max, however, spoke. “We had a fallin’ out, Nina’s prone to gettin’ wild hairs and she took off. I found her a coupla hours too late. So, yeah, Norm, that’s on me.”

I stopped pressing my lips together, suddenly completely unamused, and I turned in his arm.

“What Damon did to me isn’t on you,” I declared.

“I wasn’t talkin’ about Damon, Duchess, I was talkin’ about you bein’ tied up in knots but, now that you mention it, he’s Damon. He spray painted your car. I knew he wasn’t done with you and yesterday, from the minute you left home to the minute I walked in this cabin, you were unprotected so, yeah, that’s on me too.”

“It is not.”

“Babe, it is.”

“It isn’t!”

Max’s hassled eyes went over my head and I knew he was looking at Norm when he stated, “She’s up five minutes and we’re fightin’. Our first date, she fought about how Germans invented beer.”

“I did not!” I cried.

Max’s eyes came to me. “Babe, you did.”

I turned again in his arm, looked at Gladys and announced, “He has the memory of an elephant which you would think is good for, say, anniversaries and birthdays and such, but day-to-day?” I shook my head and concluded, “It’s very, very bad.”

Max’s arm at my chest gave me a squeeze and my neck twisted so I could look at him when he spoke.

“You didn’t think that when I gave you that ring, incidentally a ring you haven’t taken off. You said it was thoughtful and the best gift anyone’s ever given you.”

My gaze swung back to Gladys and, harassed, I declared, “See? He remembers everything.”

I realized then that both Gladys and Norm were smiling at about the time I realized that Max and I were acting like lunatics.

“I don’t think she’s tied up in knots anymore, Gladie,” Norm observed.

“She is, dear, just not ones she wants to untie,” Gladys remarked.

“I should make breakfast,” I mumbled, mortified and to my further mortification when I tried to break free of Max’s hold it just got tighter and then I felt his lips kiss my neck.

“Why don’t we make it lunch?” Gladys suggested, her eyes sparkling, she’d caught the neck kiss but then again, it would be hard to miss.

“No, I can make breakfast,” I told her quickly.

“Lunch,” Norm said firmly, reaching a hand out to Gladys and making a move to the door.

“We can’t do lunch, Nina has to go to the Police Station to press charges against Damon,” Max shared.

“Brunch then, we’ll be back at ten,” Norm put in.

“Works for me,” Max stated.

“Max!” I hissed on another twist of my neck to look up at him.

“Ten,” Gladys affirmed. “See you then, dear.”

Then the door closed behind them. Max let me go to walk to it, he locked it and then he turned back to me.

When he did, I asked, “How bad is my face?”

“Worse than when he backhanded you, better than expected since he connected three times.”

Max said this while stalking toward me. Yes, stalking. Therefore, I didn’t hear his words because instinctively I was retreating.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he kept coming at me.

“Veer right, baby,” he directed and I looked over my right shoulder to see the door to the bedroom.

Then I looked back, noting my mistake immediately for he’d gained significantly and was right on top of me. His hands came to my hips and he veered us right.

“Max,” I whispered.

“I know you’re banged up, honey, so this mornin’ all you gotta do is lay back and I’ll eat you for breakfast before we have brunch.”

My stomach dipped and my hands fluttered to his chest.

“Max,” I repeated but it was breathy this time. “I’m really tired, I was thinking of getting in an hour of sleep before they come back.”

We were well into the bedroom and I knew this because my legs hit bed, I went down and Max came down on top of me on my healthy side. Then his hand slid into my hair at the side of my head and his mouth came to mine.

“You sleep while I go down on you, Duchess, it’s gonna piss me off.”

I felt a quiver between my legs that radiated outward and I felt my lips quiver too.

“I’ll try to stay awake,” I promised him.

His mouth left mine but not before I felt it smile. It slid down my jaw then to my neck.

At my ear, he ordered, “Shimmy out of your pants, baby.”

“Okay,” I whispered and pulled the drawstring of my pajamas as his tongue touched my earlobe then the back of my ear then it slid down and out to the strap of my camisole on my shoulder.

I shimmied out of my pajamas and undies and I barely tossed them aside before his hand was between my legs.

“Wet,” he muttered into my neck then his head came up as his fingers slid around, I saw his eyes had grown hungry and the sight made me wetter. He felt it and his mouth came to mine before he growled, “Fuck. I missed this, baby.”

It had only been two days. It felt like two hundred years.

“Me too.”

His finger slid inside and a moan slid out of my throat.