Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(42)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Máax pulled her into him and pressed his warm lips against hers. The kiss instantly dissolved her anger. His touch, his smell, the way his velvety, strong lips slid against her mouth made her forget why she’d been angry. Or worried. Or that he’d asked her to tickle him—weird.

Wait a second!

She pulled back and slapped him.

“Ow. What the diabolus!” he barked.

“You can’t do that kissing thing! It’s cheating,” she hissed.

Máax laughed with that deep, deep seductive voice. “Perhaps. But can I help that our connection is so powerful, my little time kangaroo?”

Time kangaroo? What the— He pulled her back—to his naked, naked, hard body… sigh—once again and seized her mouth. She struggled, but he hung on. Dammit, the man knew it was only a matter of moments before…

Oh, gods, he’s so, so delicious. Can’t resist.

Why did kissing this man, a man she couldn’t see, do this to her? He melted away any spark of resistance and worry, any apprehension and fear, with one lousy kiss. Okay. It wasn’t lousy. It was, hands down, the most elating experience of her life. Being touched by Máax was like being touched by a… by a…

A god?

Yes, her god. All hers.

“Please, Ashli,” he whispered between kisses.

She slid her hands over the hard swells of his, well, perfectly defined pecs, enjoying the sensation of him. Everything about Máax was so fiercely male. He made her feel feminine and delicate, but strong and sexy. But dammit, the man was so infuriating!

And sinfully male.

And so confusing.

And so heavenly!

And so dangerous. Yes, he was a danger to her soul. He was the kind of man who could blind a woman with his raw masculinity, his control and determination. But how could he be a threat to her when he also felt like her center of gravity? Her home.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a paradox?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “I am a god. Comes with the territory. Are you agreeing to my terms?”

She looked down at her feet. She didn’t want to keep fighting with him. It was like constantly trying to swim upstream. Jeez, how did salmon do it?

Because they are swimming toward love, not away from it.

Love? They’re fish, Ashli.

Good point. They are swimming toward hot sex.

Ashli, they’re fish. They don’t have sex.

Good point.

Oh, forget it!

“Yes,” she finally said. “But I’m a salmon.”

“Sorry?”

“Just swimming,” she said. “Nothing more.”

She imagined Máax was smiling and that it was a heart-stopping smile. If only she could see him.

“Would you mind if I remove my clothes for our swim? I happen to be partial to skinny dipping.”

“Har-har,” Ashli laughed. “Sure.” Charming bastard.

An hour later, Ashli emerged from the tepid turquoise-green water feeling a little less, well, like a living, breathing roller-coaster ride. She’d swum out farther than she ever had. Was it her new body? It didn’t seem to tire at all. She’d even made it to the small sandbar about a kilometer from shore where she’d gone snorkeling many, many times but had always gotten there by boat. And yes, it was still there. Just as it had been yesterday, only yesterday was twenty years ago. Then, from the middle of the ocean, she’d gazed out across the hypnotic, jewel-colored waves and magnificent field of billowing clouds. They were no different than the ones she stared at for hours from her porch. No. Not everything you adore is gone, she thought. And on the swim back, she wondered if she hadn’t been too hasty in her reaction.

Yeah. Maybe. But why can’t I let go of the past? Why? She gazed up at the late afternoon sky peppered with dollops of gold-and-white clouds and savored the warm sand beneath her feet. The final rays of the sun warded away a shiver as the wind picked up.

“Letting go isn’t always easy,” Máax whispered in her ear as he wrapped her body in a towel.

How did he know what she was thinking?

She looked to her side where the indentations of giant feet marked the sand. “Exactly how do people let go?”

“I’m over here,” he said from behind her.

Ashli quickly turned toward the seductive, magnetizing sound of his voice. “You scared me.” Then her eyes saw him, the faint outline of his perfect form—stacks of behemoth muscles, broad, strong shoulders, chiseled cheekbones, and that square, masculine jaw. His brows glistened with ocean water, and she saw their shape clearly. They were thick but not too thick. And his lashes were longer and fuller than anything she’d seen on a man. His wet, dripping hair hung past his shoulders. His beard wasn’t long, but she could tell he hadn’t shaved for several weeks.

Oh. My. Gods. She forced the air back into her lungs. He looked so rugged and wild. So virile. What she could see of him anyway.

Her brain went to work and filled in the missing pieces. His expression came into focus, and she held back a gasp. He was so ethereal, so beautiful, but the look on his strong face was subtly tormented. Gods, he was striking, herculean. Yet he looked… vulnerable. Like he was lost, just waiting for someone to rescue him. To love him.

“My apologies. Perhaps it is time for that bell, after all,” he said.

She laughed to mask the depth of emotions crashing into her. Nothing was as it seemed. Was it? Not even Máax.

Ashli continued to stare at that colossal man standing before her, and it felt like she was opening her eyes for the first time, finally seeing everything for what it truly was. Her past. Him. The world. It was a life-changing moment. She realized a future existed, one with endless, magnificent possibilities. The recent changes in her life were proof of that now, weren’t they? And she need only dare to dream, to hope, to let go of the past and open her eyes if she wanted her life to change for the better.

Yeah. She’d been too hasty. She wanted to be there. With him. Her god. Everything about it felt right. She could see that now.

So it was settled; she’d be staying. She’d give living in her new home with Máax a try. She’d make it work.

She let out another little laugh; this time, however, it was genuine. Real live joy.

“You should laugh more often, Ashli. It is truly a beautiful laugh.” His deep, powerful voice jarred her from her thoughts. “But then again, everything about you is breathtaking. I am quite the lucky deity. The Universe chose well.”