Chapter 114: A Punishment

Chapter 114: A Punishment
Max pushed open the door to the bedroom and dropped her onto the bed. Valerie bounced once on the mattress and immediately scrambled up, trying to bolt past him toward the door.
Max was faster. He caught her around the waist with one arm and pulled her back against his chest before she could get two steps away. Her back pressed flush against his front, his tall, toned body surrounding her smaller one.
“Let me go,” she said through gritted teeth, even as she pushed against his arm.
“Not happening,” he muttered near her ear. His free hand came up to grip her hip, holding her still as she kept trying to twist out of his hold.
Valerie elbowed him in the ribs, but there wasn’t much power behind it. She could feel every hard inch of him behind her—his chest, his stomach, the way his arm flexed as she struggled.
“Max, I’m serious,” she breathed, still squirming even though part of her body was reacting to him in ways she hated right now. “Get your hands off me.”
He didn’t loosen his grip. If anything, he pulled her closer, his mouth brushing against her hair as he said quietly, “As your punishment, you’re not leaving this room tonight.”
Max caught her around the waist before she could slip past him. He turned her and pushed her back onto the bed, coming down right after her. He planted his hands on either side of her head, his much bigger body pinning her down with his weight. Valerie immediately started fighting underneath him, pushing at his chest and trying to twist away.
“Stop,” he said, low and rough.
“Get the fuck off me,” she snapped, breathing hard.
“Stop struggling, and I will.”
She didn’t. She shoved harder at his shoulders, then bucked her hips up sharply, trying to throw him off. But all it did was press her body tighter against his. Her breasts rubbed against his chest with every movement, and she could feel the solid muscle of his stomach and the growing hardness between his legs pressing right against her.
Max didn’t move an inch. He just let her wear herself out, his dark eyes locked on hers the whole time.
Valerie kept pushing and squirming, her petite frame writhing under his tall, broad body. Her thighs squeezed against his hips as she tried to find leverage, but every twist and shift only made her grind against the thick bulge in his pants. She hated how good the friction felt.
“I said get off,” she growled, even as her breathing started getting shaky.
“I will kiss you if you don’t stop,” he warned.
Valerie gave a breathless, angry laugh. “That’s supposed to scare me?”
“A fair warning.”
“Well, I’ll bite you,” she snapped.
“Max — ”
He dropped his head fast and pressed his open mouth against the side of her neck. Valerie went stiff all over, trying to hold onto her anger.
His lips were warm, dragging softly against her skin, then opening so she could feel the wet heat of his tongue, dragging it up the length of her neck. He sucked lightly, then did it again.
“Fuck… Max, stop,” she breathed.
She grabbed his shoulder to push him away, but her fingers ended up digging into the muscle instead, holding him there. Her head turned away, but he followed, kissing and licking down the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, then biting down gently.
"Stay still, Val," he whispered.
Her hips jerked up against him without permission.
The more she squirmed, the worse it got. Every time she twisted underneath him, her pussy rubbed right along his hard cock through their clothes. Her skirt had ridden up, and his hand was now gripping her bare thigh, fingers digging into her soft flesh as he held her in place.
Her pushes grew weaker. Her legs slowly spread wider around his hips as she rocked against him, chasing that friction even while she told herself she was still fighting. Her breathing had turned into soft, desperate pants.
A small, needy sound slipped out of her throat before she could stop it.
That sound seemed to encourage Max.
He shifted his weight lower, settling more firmly between her legs, and pressing his hips down harder so she could really feel every inch of him grinding against her. One of his hands slid further up her thigh, fingers brushing higher, teasing the edge of her panties, stroking the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.
Valerie’s eyes fluttered. Her back arched, and her thighs fell open even more, her body melting underneath him as heat flooded between her legs. A soft, needy moan slipped out of her before she could stop it.
Then reality crashed back in.
“Wait — what the hell is going to happen to Lindsay?” she gasped suddenly, her voice shaky as she tried to cut through the thick, dizzying haze.
Max lifted his head and looked at her. His eyes were dark and very close.
"Tell me what's going to happen to Lindsay,” she asked again. “What is Damon doing to her? Is she okay?"
He held where he was for a moment. His weight was still over her, his arms still on either side.
"Damon was able to get hold of me through one of my associates," he said. “So I doubt that she’s okay.”
"Is she—" She stopped. "What is she to you, exactly? You said she's your half-sister, but you talk about her like she's—so is she really?"
He looked at her for a long moment.
"She's not my lover," he said. "If that's where you're going."
"I wasn't—"
"Yes, you were," he smirked. "She's family. It's complicated. But she's not that."
"And what am I?" Valerie said before she could stop herself.
Max looked at her for long enough that she felt every second of it.
"Not complicated," he said.
He pushed himself up off the bed and straightened; looked at her once more where she lay, still catching her breath; then walked out and pulled the door closed behind him.