"Oh, Max… I l-…"
"Shh… don't say it back… I don't need to hear it now… I just wanted you to know… I needed you to know…" Max was quick to interrupt her, even if in all honesty it was more because he feared she would tell him that she didn't feel the same way than because he really didn't want her to reciprocate the words.
Her protest was lost in the fervent kiss he gave her then, and when he was sure he had left her momentarily breathless, he rested his head on the crook of her neck and held her for dear life.
As Liz's fingers threaded through the hair at the nape of his neck, Max was convinced that there couldn't be better feeling in the world.
At least until her next words proved him wrong.
"I love you, too!" Liz confessed in his ear in a breathy murmur, and Max's head snapped up, sure that he had just imagined she had spoken.
"I love you so much, Max!" she reiterated, this time looking him right in the eye, and Max would have to be completely blind to doubt her sincerity.
"Oh, god… I think I'm gonna cry…" he chuckled hoarsely, making Liz laugh herself, which managed to take out some of the tension that seemed to have suddenly fallen over them, but they both knew that none of them was really that far from it.
Her eyes still locked with his, Liz didn't have any problem recognizing the look of pure unadulterated love Max was given her this time, and her heart could only skip a beat as she saw it gradually turn into something… more.
"I think we should celebrate!" Max suggested huskily, pressing a few arousing kisses along her jaw line.
"Yeah." Liz just said as she closed her eyes at the sensation.
"Where were we before?" he demanded, though he had a pretty good idea about that and about where he actually wanted them to go.
"Right about here." Liz replied as one of her feet run up his bare leg, the movement causing Max to shift against her center again.
Almost simultaneously, his lips moved up her cheek, until he was seeking hers again and his tongue plundered her mouth.
It seemed they kissed for hours, and when she just couldn't take it anymore, Liz's hands found their way down to his waist and she was soon pushing his boxers down as far as she could, the silky material being the only and last obstacle between her and what she wanted.
When she had them about half way down his thighs, she let her fingers creep back up his sides, and she couldn't help smiling when she felt Max jerk on top of her when she reached her destination.
"Liz…" he moaned out through gritted teeth, still just as overwhelmed with the sensation as he had been the very first time she had touched him so intimately. "… baby."
Max was sure that nothing could surpass the feel of her hands on him and he knew that there wouldn't be much of her pumping motions he would be able to take. Only this time it wasn't that way he wanted to find completion.
"Sweetheart, wait!" he grunted as he momentarily stopped her hand, and wondered if he was really ready for what he couldn't stop from running through his mind.
"What? Max?" Liz queried, surprised. After all they had been teasing each other for a while now, and if she had found release earlier, she knew that he still needed his.
"I-I don't want to stop." he answered her, but barely could meet her eyes.
"Then why did you?" Liz wondered out loud, confused once more with his behavior.
"No… I mean… I don't want to stop… I want to make love to you, Liz." He stammered out at last and blushed to the tips of his ears, feeling suddenly almost embarrassed to have said as much.
And yet, even as he struggled with the words, he knew he couldn't lie to himself anymore. Or even less to her.
Truthfully, he didn't think he had consciously made the decision to move further with Liz until he had finally mustered enough courage to tell her how he felt about her, but he knew that this was what he wanted more than anything, and there would be no turning back.
"Max? Are you sure?… we don't have… you know we don't have to…" Liz answered back, her own voice trembling as desire coursed through her just at the thought of finally making love with Max.
Yet as much as she wanted him, the last thing she wanted was for him to feel that they had to take that step tonight. So yes, she had not understood him at first, but once she had known about his motivation, she had known that she would be able to wait for as long as she had to and she didn't want Max to feel like he had no choice left now or like anything had changed just because they had confessed their love for each other.
"Okay, I know I have no experience in that department… but isn't that supposed to be my line?" Max joked, which surprisingly managed to calm some of his nerves, though it didn't ebb for one iota his need for her.
On the contrary. Just seeing her so concerned for him and his well-being only made him want her more and comforted him in the thought that he couldn't take a better decision. Liz was truly all he had ever wanted and so much more, why keep torturing them both then. They loved each other and there was only one more thing they needed to do to prove how much. Besides, he had known, even that day in her office when he had tried to explain her his reasoning that it was only a matter of days, maybe weeks, before he caved and she managed to get through his defense. He had just been fooling himself into believing that he could be strong enough against her and what only she could make him feel.
"I'm serious, Max… I know you wanted to wait… and that’s okay… I…" a finger on her lips stopped her from arguing this time and she could do little else but let Max continue again.
"I know that… Liz, I know what I always said… I know what I felt… but the truth is that I love you more… I think I always have… from the very second I saw you… I knew you were it for me… you're the only one for me, Liz… and I've come to realize that I don't need a legal piece of document to tell me that I'm yours already, mind, heart, soul… and soon body… and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you… I don't need it either to tell me that I want you to be mine and mine only…" the last part was barely audible but Liz heard it nonetheless and she felt her eyes brimming with tears again.
Hadn't she thought before going out that tonight would be different? Hadn't she sensed that something life-altering was going to happen? Well, this was even more incredible and amazing than anything she could have conjured up in her mind.
"I feel the same way… and I am, Max… I'm so totally yours… I love you!" Liz voiced out, half crying, half laughing from the pure joy his own declaration elicited in her.
She didn't think she had actually ever felt as deliriously happy as she was feeling right then.
"God, I love when you say that!" Max sighed, kissing the daylights out of her one more time. "So, we… we're really doing this then?" he couldn't help asking though, needing the confirmation that he wasn't just imagining the whole thing.
"Yes… please, make me really yours, Max… make love to me!" Liz invited as her hands caressed his back and caused goosebumps to run up his spine.
Okay, so what she had really had in mind was more something like 'you can bet you're pretty ass we are' but she guessed that her words would have to do for now.
"Let me get you out of this first!" Max remarked once he had gotten rid of his own underwear and he made quick work of getting her out of hers.
It was actually the first time they would both be completely naked since usually one of them always kept some form of clothing for fear they wouldn't be able to help themselves and crossed the line, and Max couldn't wait to finally feeling her flesh to flesh.
That first contact was almost enough to make him come right on the spot however, and he could only pray for the strength to at least go through the first few minutes without humiliating himself and disappointing Liz.
"Do we have to… you know… use something… I mean… not that I think… but… " he stuttered quite uncomfortably, realizing that they had never actually discussed this point before.
Not that they had had any opportunity to before, but if he knew that they had nothing to fear concerning possible diseases, there was always the risk of a pregnancy and he definitely didn't think any of them was ready yet for that.
"No, it's okay… I'm on the pill…" Liz informed him, but found it cute that he could be worried about that. So many guys wouldn't care one way or another about that, as long as they got exactly what they wanted. "Unless you prefer… I don't know… I mean…" she went on nonetheless when she wondered if Max wouldn't maybe feel more comfortable if they did use another form of protection.
"No… no, I want to feel all of you!" he grunted as he felt her juices coating his hard member and he already pictured just how wonderful it would feel to be sheathed inside her warm moist depths at last.
If he could only bring himself to move and do it of course.
"Max? You okay?" Liz found herself asking when all he did was rock against her, and she briefly wondered if he wouldn't change his mind at the last minute.
Not that she could hold it against him, but it would probably kill her to have to stop now that the idea of making love with him was firmly implanted in her mind.
"No… yes… I guess… I guess I'm just nervous." Max admitted, even if he felt foolish for feeling so.
Truth was he didn't care about him, he knew it would be everything he had always wanted it to be. He was just scared out of his mind at the thought of screwing this up for Liz.
"There's no reason to, Max… I trust you… I know everything will go alright!" caressing his cheek tenderly, Liz whispered out reassuringly, seconds before she stroked his length and brought him to her entrance.
And as easy as that, her confidence and the evident faith she had in him was the only thing Max needed then to know that she was right and that everything would go well.
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Max and Liz's first time together had actually held all the awkwardness and shyness that most first times were all too famous for and Max just about castrated himself when he tore through her virginal barrier and he saw the pain reflected on Liz's beautiful face.
Of course he had known that it was bound to happen and that only a miracle would save them from that, and yet he didn't think he had been prepared to see her hurt or tearing up because of him, not even when she had assured him that it was nothing unbearable and that she would be alright.
It had even taken Liz some convincing to make sure he wouldn't pull out completely and make them wait some more, but in the end she couldn't have wished for things to happen differently.
Their second time together had been better, as Max's nervousness had worn some off, and once they had caught their breath, they had been both all too eager to try again, but only after Max had made sure that Liz wanted it as much as he did and that she wasn't suffering from any residual discomfort after having finally lost her virginity. The last thing he had wanted had been to hurt her more than he had already been forced to.
The third time… well, the third time had been simply perfect in every way at last, and Max had never thought that it was even possible to be so in tune with someone, or to feel so many things at once. Being one with Liz had to be the most mind-blowing experience ever, he had concluded once they had both been sated and ready to rest some.
All in all, he could say that his first Valentine's Day with Liz had probably been the most amazing day of his life, and if he was honest he just couldn't wait for her to wake up now, just to see if she was sharing his view.
Not that he had much doubt about that, but after all, what did he really knew about what could be the reaction of a woman the morning after her first real sexual experience?
Despite his own impatience and the fact that he had been awake for a while now, he had not dared coming too close to Liz yet, contenting himself with watching her while she slept peacefully next to him since he knew that she probably needed her sleep after their nightly activities, and that as much as it was killing him to control himself and not touch her.
It felt like hours to him actually, however the second he felt her stir, he was plastered to her side, relishing in the feel of her body against his and the soft satisfied sigh that escaped her lips when she apparently felt him as well.
"Good morning, love." he breathed into her ear and gently turned her to him so he could greet her properly.
"The best so far." he heard her whisper back and his smile matched her own when he joined his lips to hers, both of them knowing that they were thinking about the exact same thing. How much their relationship had changed in a matter of a few hours and how much they both liked it that way.
"Max?" her voice came out barely audible a few seconds after they parted, still heavy with sleep and Max thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world.
"Huh?" he only uttered in answer, nuzzling his nose against her collarbone and making shivers course up Liz's spine.
God, she could wake up every morning like this for the rest of her life. And even more so after last night events.
"Is this a dream?" she couldn't help asking nonetheless, even if deep down she knew it wasn't.
Last night had been too wonderful, it had felt too real for it to be only a beautiful dream. She and Max had finally made love and it was everything and so much more she had imagined it to be. There was no way to describe the onslaught of emotions, of feelings making love with him had evoked in her, but she knew she would cherish the memory of their first times together until the day she died.
"Would you want it to be?" Max inquired softly, smiling slightly when a long silence followed his words, as if Liz was really pondering the thought.
He knew well what would be her conclusion though, so he wasn't worried at all. He felt like he was still dreaming himself and had already had to resist the urge to pinch himself to make sure he was indeed awake many, many times since opening his eyes, but he wouldn't trade the precious moment they had shared for anything in the world.
"Nah… because then it would mean that I'd have to wake up some day." Liz confessed at last, confirming what Max had been thinking himself.
There were no regrets in the morning. No second thoughts. What they had done, what they had experienced together was meant to be. He was sure of it, and apparently so was she.
"You're right! It can't be a dream then… " he concurred easily, before propping himself on one elbow and regarding her with a playful expression that seemed to say he had something special in mind. "… what about making it… a fairy tale instead?"
"A fairy tale?" Liz parroted, feigning to have to consider it even if the beautiful smile she couldn't manage to hide was giving her away already. "… now I like the sound of that much better!"
"Okay… how about… once upon a time in a far, far away Kingdom there was a Prince…" he started when she gave him her go ahead, reminding Liz of her mother when she was little and she would start telling her a very beautiful story.
Not a good comparison, at all, when you were naked and in bed with your boyfriend/slash/now lover, and Liz immediately shook the thought away.
"Oh, now you're a Prince?" she mocked but Max could tell that in her eyes, he could very well be.
"Yep, Prince Charming, that's me… hush… I'm the storyteller… " he replied with a matching and proud smile, before continuing once more. "So… once upon a time there was this Prince who had everything one could wish for… he had the looks… he had the money… he had the popularity… and he could choose any woman he wanted in the Kingdom because they all had the hots for his amazing bod …"
No matter how hard he tried there was simply no way he could keep his seriousness at that moment, and from the look of it, Liz was having as much a hard time herself.
"Yeah, you wish!" she giggled and rolled her eyes exaggeratingly, even if she couldn't say that anything he had said so far wasn't true.
Max definitely had all those things he had claimed to have a second ago, and it only made her even prouder to be the one he wanted to be with in the end. Though she probably shouldn't admit that to his face right now.
"Liz, if you keep talking I'm not finishing this tale!" he warned, but there was no real reprimand behind the words and they both knew it. They were both enjoying this just as much.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" she urged him to continue and covered her mouth with a hand in a promise to keep silent even when she already knew it would be an impossible task.
"Sooo… every girl had the hots for him…" he went on like he hadn't been rudely interrupted and she hadn't already made fun of him.
"I think I got that part!" she informed him in a conspiratorial whisper, and this time it was Max who couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"Elizabeth!" he scolded her like she was a little girl, pinching her thigh in retaliation, though it didn't seem to have much effect on her.
Why wasn't he surprised?
"Okay, go on!" she threw up her hands as if in surrender, but had a hard time fighting the fit of laughter that threatened to erupt from her mouth as she saw him try to plaster on a stern expression on his handsome face.
"Where was I?… oh, yeah the hoooots!" he repeated exaggeratingly which ruined his earlier efforts and earned him a new fit of unsuccessfully muffled giggles again. "… but despite all those things he had or could have, he was utterly miserable…"
"Why?" Liz could tell the instant his tone changed and she couldn't help growing more serious as well.
"Because he believed in true love and soul mates but had yet to find his own and the more time went by, the more he thought he would never find her and that made him very, very sad…" he explained and Liz knew how much of what he was telling her was true.
He wasn't just making everything up, and she didn't doubt that at some point he had truly believed he would never find her. Just like she had thought she would never find someone as amazing as him and who would treat her, cherish her and love her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Yes, it was truly fate if they had finally met that particular day of December.
"Aww, poor baby!" Liz soothed gently, but despite her obvious tenderness, Max thought she was making fun of him and didn't understand just how serious she had been.
"I'm not kidding, Liz… it was really hard for him!" he told her, the way he looked at her then making her heart skip a beat.
"Okay, sorry again, go on… what happened then?" she whispered tenderly, threading her fingers through his hair when he broke their stare and lowered his head into her chest.
"One day he went to some ball, dragged there by his twisted and devilish brother… " he continued his voice taking a playful edge again as he recalled all Michael had been ready to do to force him to attend Maria's party a couple of months ago.
"Max!" Liz immediately exclaimed, smacking his back as she did, but not hard enough to draw any real pain. "Michael is not devilish!"
Granted she couldn't deny that the elder of the Evans had a perverted mind, but that didn't mean Max should insult him in such a way.
"True, but it sounds more fun like that!" Max chuckled and said, the smirk evident in his tone.
What was the point of telling such a story if he couldn't twist the reality some? Besides, his brother's flaws would only enhance the perfection of the Prince, wouldn't they?
"You're so bad!" Liz accused him, thinking that he was definitely having too much fun with ridiculing Michael. But like that would be the first time, right?
Even if she had only been with Max for a few months now, it hadn't taken her long to figure out how his relationship with Michael worked. Those two were always trying to find something else to make fun of the other. Yet in the end it couldn't be denied just how much they cared for each other.
"Yeah, I know… can I continue?" he demanded after a short while, Michael not exactly being a priority in his thoughts right now as far as he was concerned.
"Yes!"
"So, one day he went to that ball and… his life changed forever!" Max pursued, and if she could have had a good look at his face then, Liz would have realized he was still as much in awe at the thought as he had been that day he had first seen her.
Months afterwards, he still couldn't believe just how much his life had indeed changed just because of this wisp of a woman. She had waltzed into it and captured his heart so completely, he knew he would never get it back. Nor did he want to, in all honesty. It was hers to keep and he didn't think anyone would take more or better care of it.
"Why?" it was getting harder and harder for Liz to speak now, maybe because she knew exactly where he was going with this, and she had no doubt that by the end of it she would barely be able to hold it together.
"Because he saw her." Four little words, but uttered with so much emotion behind them that Liz felt her throat clog, making it even more difficult for her to keep breathing normally.
"Wh-Who?"
"His Princess… his love… his soul mate… the only one he would ever love." Max murmured almost shyly, unconsciously caressing her side as he made the statement and only causing Liz to tremble even more.
"Oh, Max…" she croaked out, overwhelmed with emotion herself, even when this wasn't really any news to her, but more a confirmation of what she could think herself.
Everything he said, every description reflected what she felt in her heart as well, Max had just been faster in putting it into words.
"Hush… I'm not finished yet… he saw her and god, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon… she stood across the room… talking to some filthy… peasant…" he cut her off before she could say more and almost spat in a disgusted voice, which elicited a throaty laugh from Liz. She had no problem picturing Sean like that as well. "… and he instantly knew she was the one… and when he eventually approached her and she looked up at him… sh-she literally took his breath away… making him forget how to breathe, how to live and how to be without her… and at that instant he fell madly, deeply, utterly and irrevocably in love with her… " he paused just long enough to place a soft kiss on the swell of her breast before proceeding again, but Liz couldn’t miss the hoarse edge his voice had taken now. "… but the craziest thing was that for some unfathomable and maybe a little… twisted reason she fell in love with him, too… making him the happiest man in the whole world…"
"Max" Liz moaned when he stopped and started to kiss her breast again "Is-Is your story finished?"
"Yeah… almost…" he replied succinctly before darting his tongue to lick at the rosy nipple that had been almost in his face ever since he had started. There was only so much a man could stand before going crazy.
"So… wh-what… ooh… what ha-happened then?" her voice broke half sentence and whatever she had intended to say ended in a throaty purr that only served to fuel his own desire.
"They made lots… and lots… and lots … of babies!" Max breathed huskily as he started to burn a trail of hot kisses on her skin, forgetting all games and moving up until he finally reached her lips and kissed her senseless.
When he left them long enough to go and suck on the delicate and sensitive skin of her neck, Liz asked him breathlessly: "Aren't they su-supposed to… get m-married first?"
"Mmm… I guess they skipped that part… momentarily…" he shamelessly admitted, when he would have been the first to say that it should have indeed been their first logical step a few weeks ago.
Right now though, he wouldn't be able to enumerate to her all the reasons he had had to want to wait before, he was too busy trying to make her lose her mind and make her his again.
"How… how could they skip this pa-aart?" she croaked, getting lost in the sensations. Soon she wouldn't even be able to remember her own name if he kept this on.
"Well… let's just say that making babies… requires lots and lots of practice… and they were too eager to start with it to wait!" Max replied between kisses and little flicks of his tongue, savoring the addictive taste of her skin.
"Ooooh, really?" Liz moaned out, but she wondered how she could even just utter the words when she was barely coherent any longer.
"Yeah… is that a problem?" he asked breathlessly but looking right into her eyes, a mere second before he spread her legs apart and positioned himself at her entrance.
"N-Not at all…" Liz stuttered, the only thing she could do when she felt him grind gently against her moist heat.
"Good!" Max barely groaned himself, fighting against the need to plunge right into her depths and take her hard and fast.
"Let's practice, Max… now!" Liz all but ordered, having taken all the teasing she could, and worked her hips in small circles to force him to take her at last.
Max was all too happy to oblige of course, teasing her always being pure torture for him as well, and as he entered her swiftly at last he whispered in her ear, "And they lived happily ever after."
But what Max forgot in his beautiful story is that in every tale there is always a villain and that even if he couldn't know it yet, said villain would soon have the traits of someone he knew really well.
End of chapter twelve.
TBC…
See brain sis'… he lost the shirt AND the SHORT
