My bed was empty in the morning.

Amalia was no where to be seen through my tired, narrow glare.

Sun came in through the curtains as I sat up and rubbed my face, smiling because I could still smell her on the pillow case.

I wandered out of the room, taking my shirt off as I went because I needed to shower before work.

I figured Amalia was in the bathroom or getting dressed. But when I walked out into the living room after dropping my shirt in the hamper, I found her in the kitchen.

She didn't notice me at first as she moved around the countertop and scooped French toast out of the frying pan.

That's when I noticed she was wearing a pair of my sweat pants. The cord was as tight as it could go and she swam in them but it made me breathless. It was so beautiful.

"I was meant to make you breakfast," I said and laughed when she jolted with fright.

The aroma in the air was sensational and I watched her, heart thumping as I wandered to her and her gaze swept over my bare torso.

She sweetly accepted a kiss on the cheek and even better than the French toast, was the scent of my shower gel and conditioner. Her hair was still a little bit damp.

"You've showered as well?" I asked, curious as to how long she had been awake for.

She nodded and headed over to the sink to rinse the pan. I wasn't sure what held my attention more, the food or her.

Her obviously. It had to be her. It wasn't even a choice.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd get a head start and organise some breakfast," she dried her hands and found two sets of knives and forks in the draw. "I found the towels and stuff. I hope you don't mind."

My heart expanded as she stared up at me, handing a plate over. I leaned down, cupped her neck and kissed her forehead. "I would kiss your mouth," I said. "But I haven't brushed my teeth."

She laughed and I took the plate from her. We sat down at the breakfast bar and ate together.

I couldn't remember a better morning than this one. She crossed her legs on the stool and tucked her hair behind her ears.

When she ate, her tongue lapped out at her lip and she did this subtle almost unnoticeable dance as she chewed. Her shoulders moved up and down and her knees bopped.

It was so cute.

"Your food will get cold if you don't stop watching me," she said without looking over to where I was staring at her.

She turned her head with a mischievous grin, so I cut a corner of the toast and ate it, giving her an innocent smile while I chewed.

I wasn't surprised to find it tasted delicious. Sweet and spice. Kind of like her.

"So you said you didn't sleep well?" I asked.

"I actually slept really well," she said. "I just woke up early. And I felt really rested. Hence the breakfast. I'm not always this organised."

I laughed.

She turned her body towards me and scratched her brow, lips pursed as she inhaled a deep breath.

"I was wondering if I could hang out here for the rest of the week? I'm just not really ready to talk to dad and I don't know what to tell Berne's. But I'll go back after we've been to California. If you'd rather I didn't, I can stay somewhere el—"

"Of course you can stay here," I told her.

I was more excited for her to stay than I should have been. The truth was, I loved waking up to find her here. I loved sleeping beside her.

Her shoulders relaxed and she gave me a small smile. "Thanks. I know this is all a bit much considering we just started dating. You shouldn't have to deal with this sort of drama so early on."

I put down my knife and fork and turned, opening my legs before I pulled on her hand and stood her between them.

"I'm not gonna bow out just because you're going through something," I held her lower back and she rested her soft hands on my bare shoulders. "I'm in this for all of the good just as much as the bad. Not that it's bad. It's life. It happens."

Her gaze was full of thought as she stared at me. Her fingers toyed with the hair at the base of my neck. "You're such a good man."

Her words meant more to me than she could know. Going into a new relationship with someone is scary. It can be full of intense passion and it's a whirlwind that leaves you breathless.

But when the reason for losing your breath is the same person that provides the air to your lungs, it's intimidating and frightening.

Putting your trust into someone to guard your heart and knowing that any moment, they could shatter it.

I wouldn't do that to her. I couldn't. And I had to trust she wouldn't do that to me either.

She leaned in and I pulled back. But she grabbed my neck and refused to let me budge. "I haven't brushed my teeth," I reminded her.

She laughed, shaking her head a little. "I don't care," her lips met mine for a moment and then she leaned back again, I panicked that my breath was that revolting.

But she smiled. "Tastes like cinnamon."

After I was done showering, I came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of black jeans, a T-shirt underneath a denim jacket with soft sleeves and my timberlands.

Amalia was on the sofa wearing her hoodie, hoops and jeans. Gorgeous.

She was reading her phone but peered up with amusement as I wandered in. "Do you ever read your Instagram comments?"

I shook my head and slid my phone into my pocket.

"You should."

"Why?"

"You are seriously sought after, Max. The fangirls are wild."

I barely paid attention to social media. But I bet that had something to do with Lucas' inflated ego.

Amalia held up a hand and read from her phone screen with her lips turned up in a grin. "Listen to this one. Max is seriously the hotter twin. He's got such a mature vibe and he's so humble. It's big dick energy. Bet he could dick a girl down daddy style!"

I cringed.

"Here's another," she could barely stop herself from laughing in order to read it. "Max is the sort of guy you take home to meet the parents and then fuck in your old childhood bedroom after lights out."

"Gees," I felt a blush creeping up my neck.

Amalia looked at me with hooded lids. "They're not wrong."

I palmed the back of my neck and felt warm all over. She still managed to make me feel flustered. Even after we'd been intimate more than once. "I don't know about tha—"

"Trust me," she stood up and put her phone into her hoodie pocket. "You are the ideal combination of adorable and dominant."

I almost choked.

"Don't ever change. You're perfect. Just the way you are."

I slowly nodded and felt my stomach twist into a knot when she tiptoed, hand pressed against my chest, and kissed me.

A soft kiss. One that had its own language. A language full of reciprocal emotion and trust communicated through the softness of her slow movements.

I knew I didn't need to feel ashamed with her. She was a safe place and we were both able to be open with each other. That's what I felt in our kiss. It was indescribable.

At the gallery that afternoon, after a quiet day, Elias walked in looking exhausted. He tipped his head in greeting and peered around, his gaze swept the area and he smiled.

"It looks nice in here," he said. "Clean and looked after."

"I do my best sir," I said. "How are you this afternoon?"

He sighed. "I didn't sleep well. I kept hoping Amalia would come home and we could talk. But she did not. Was she with you?"

"Yes sir."

"She is mad?"

I swallowed and slipped my hands into my pockets. "She's— disappointed."

He stared at the floor and shook his head. "Kiara is a good woman. If only she would give her a chance."

I really didn't want to weigh in on the whole dispute. It wasn't my place. But I didn't want him to misplace where the problem was either.

"I know Kiara is a good woman," I said. "It's uh more about the fact that Kiara was a secret. I think."

His eyes widened for a brief moment. "Oh."

We stood there for a minute and I really hoped that we could leave the conversation at that.

"Would you talk to her for me?" He suddenly said. "Show her it's not a big deal—"

"I can't," I said, firm but apologetic. "I'm sorry sir. But it's not my job to tell her how she should feel about this. We've barely started dating. I just don't have the right. She'll come around on her own."

He looked regretful. Which was better than anger. I'd been afraid he would be pissed off at my refusal to side with him. "I understand. I respect it. You're a good man, Max."

I wondered if I should tell him she planned to come home next week after we'd been to California.

But I decided that if he was dismissive of what hurt her, he probably needed to sweat over it a little longer. He obviously didn't take it as seriously as he needed to. Or Amalia wanted him to.

The conversation went over and over in my mind until Amalia arrived at closing time.

We needed to get a few things from the store, so I locked up the gallery and we started walking down the bustling footpaths towards the grocers.

We walked hand in hand. It made my chest feel tight, her fingers laced with mine as we weaved through the crowds and talked about our day.

I would have to let her know that Elias came and spoke to me.

I wasn't going to keep secrets from her. But for now, I let her tell me about her clients and the work she'd done.

Whenever she got overly enthusiastic, she skipped beside me. A little skip, her feet barely left the cracked pavement beneath her. She talked about her job with so much passion. It was beautiful.

At the store, I carried a basket and she was more than happy to pick items off the shelf.

She was reaching for a jar of seasoning when I decided I should just get it over with and tell her about Elias. There was no point in putting it off.

"Your Dad came into see me this afternoon," I said, watching her as she dropped the seasoning into the basket. "He uh— he wanted me to talk to you about Kiara. Basically help move along the forgiveness part of the argument."

"Well that's because dad doesn't understand the concept of forgiveness," she sighed, fingers delicately turning the jars on the shelf so she could read the back of them. "He's too forgiving. He doesn't understand that it's not always easy for other people. It's not even something he does on purpose. He just doesn't get it."

I didn't know what to tell her. I couldn't tell her he was sorry. He didn't seem it.

"He looked like he hadn't had much sleep," I offered. She turned from the shelf and fixed me with a small smile.

"We'll be fine. Dad and I," her arm wrapped around mine as we continued down the aisle. "I'm just in two minds about the whole thing. I need a minute to get used to the idea. I won't ice him out forever."

"I know," I kissed the top of her head.

At home, we unloaded the groceries after hauling them upstairs and debated what to have for dinner.

I liked this. Doing our groceries together and deciding what to eat. It didn't feel rushed or strange. It felt right. Like we'd been doing it forever.

Amalia disappeared into the bedroom and came back with her sweats on. A pale pink pair that hugged her curves and cuffed at the ankles.

She had a tank top on as well and it would have been impossible not to notice she'd ditched her bra.

"What did you decide on?" She slid on to the barstool on the other side of the countertop while I laid out three pizza bases on oven trays. "Pizzas?"

"Homemade," I wandered over to the fridge and found what I needed. Cheese, ham, chicken, peppers. "Apart from the bases. And the sauce, the rest will be homemade. We used to do this with mom when we were little."

"There are lot of ingredients there," she commented as I went back and forth from the fridge to the countertop.

"I like flavour. Variety. Not just plain pepperoni or cheese."

"Fair enough," she said. "Can I help?"

"Definitely."

She seemed excited to come and stand beside me and I made sure not to stare at her chest as she skipped. But it was difficult. Especially when her nipples were straining through the thin fabric.

We made a meat pizza. Packed full of ham, bacon, chorizo sausage and smoked chicken with a barbecue swirl.

We made a pizza with a satay base, chicken, onion and little bits of bacon with a satay swirl on top.

We made a chicken, pepper and pepperoni pizza with flakes of chilli in the cheese.

By the end of it, there was food spread from one end of the countertop to the other but it didn't matter, the pizzas looked and smell incredible.

We cleaned while they cooked. When the pizzas were done, we sat beside each other at the breakfast bar and had them spread out on cutting boards between us.

Amalia loved them. She said they were her new favourite flavours. We both checked our phones while we munched on pizza slices.

I had a few emails regarding bills and power. Boring things. Mom text and made sure I would still be going to California this weekend.

Lucas was flooding our group chat with stupid memes and selfies. However, Abby was radio silent.

She'd seen them though.

"Max," Amalia gasped, covering her mouth as I looked over and saw her shocked amusement.

"What's wrong?" I put my phone down.

She handed me hers and stood up so she could read over my shoulder.

It was an Instagram article and there was a photo of her and I walking down the street earlier this afternoon.

We're holding hands, both of us smiling and the shot looks like it was taken from a decent distance.

The headline reads, Max, lucky in love at last?

Max Lahey was spotted on the streets of New York with an unknown beautiful brunette this afternoon. The two of them looked cute and cosy holding hands before disappearing into the grocery store. This is the first time that Max has been sighted with a girl since the passing of his high school sweetheart, Kyla Hilden, last September. While we don't know much about this new girl, we do know that she's gorgeous and judging by those smiles, he's happy. No one was available to comment on the new relationship but we have a feeling that we'll be seeing more of these cuties in the future. Subscribe to our—

"Vultures," I mumbled and handed back her phone. "I'm sorry about that. Usually I'm left alone. Lucas is the one that draws all the attention to himself."

She smiled at the screen before dropping it on to the countertop. "It's okay. I knew about your family's status before we started seeing each other. It's not a big deal."

"You shouldn't have to feel like your privacy is being invaded."

"If I feel like it's too much, I'll tell you," she stood between my legs and draped her arms across my shoulders. "It's weird but you're worth it."

I peered up at her, hands resting on her waist. "You mean that?"

"Of course," she pushed herself closer and I tried to keep my breathing even at the pressure she put between my legs. "It's just a little article and photograph. If it were paps following us in huge groups or threatening our peace, that would be different. Like, the Kardashians for example. Can you imagine not being able to leave the house without security detail because hundreds of people want to get a picture."

I laughed, my hands moved up and down her lower back. "Yeah, no. That'll never happen. Mom and Dad were like that for a bit back in the day. They still get followed but it's not as hectic as it was when we were young."

She smiled. "We did look sort of cute in that photo."

"You look gorgeous in that photo. In all photos. All the time. You're just— beautiful."

Her breath audibly hitched and her gaze moved down to my mouth.

It made me insane when she looked at me like that. Her half hooded lids and lips parted.

But she made it even worse when she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

My hands slid lower and I pushed at her butt so her front pressed against me. And then, when I saw the exquisite pleasure in her expression, I gripped a fistful of her hair and pulled her into a rough kiss.

Her response was immediate. She gripped my shirt and tried to get closer than she was. My heart was thumping along with something else.

(a/n. Mo— yeah you already know the drill
Also this is a little more R rated. Make good choices kids.)

Her little moans as I moved my hands around to her front and slipped under her tank top made me breathless.

The noises she made, the way her hands picked up speed almost the moment our mouths met, her smooth delicate skin beneath my fingertips. I was a goner.

Her tongue lapped around mine and my hands travelled up to her chest, her round firm breasts fit so well in my hand and she buckled as I flicked my thumbs across her nipples.

My hands spread out on her ribs, holding her secure as I kept grazing her nipples with the pad of my thumb.

She moaned into my mouth, whimpering as her hips rolled against me.

It amazed me. She was so responsive to the slightest touch and her moaning became louder and less controlled as I lifted her top and moved my lips from her mouth, down to her throat and then sucked her nipple between my lips. She gasped, loud and tugged on a fistful of my hair.

"Max," her breathing was harsh.

"Louder baby," I murmured, my tongue circling her nipple while my fingers twisted the other one. "Tell me how it feels, beautiful."

"Max," she whimpered again. "Oh fuc—"

Her words turned into a frenzied gasp as I took her hand and put it between my legs, rubbing it across the bulge that was pulsating beneath my pants. "That's what you do to me," I told her, kissing her breast, pulling the skin in between my lips and sucking on it. "You make me so damn hard, baby."

She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back.

I was startled for a second, afraid she wasn't into it, until she pulled me to my feet and dropped to her knees.

Her hands tucked into the band of my sweat pants and she tugged them down, letting me spring free from the confines of my boxer briefs.

Without a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her hand around my base and took me in her mouth.

"Fuck," I hissed, grabbing a fistful of her hair.

She peeped up at me through her long lashes and I almost came all over her face. She looked so spectacular with her lips around me, staring up with sex eyes.

Her tongue licked from the base to the tip, circling the head with light laps that made my legs shake.

She would go slow, licking and tasting and then she would pull me back in and suck rough and hard. I panted.

"Baby," I groaned, pulling her hair as her head moved back and forth. "You're taking me so deep. I'm gonna cum."

Her gaze was so sly as she stared up and picked up her pace. But I wasn't ready for that. "Slow down," I begged. "Baby, I want to be inside of you. Do you want that?"

She slowed, her lips smacked as she let me go and remained on her knees. I was still worried that I'd bust right then and there. But she nodded, so I ripped my pants right off and pulled her to her feet.

"I can't wait another fucking second," I said, slapping her thighs and hooking her legs around my waist.

She gasped and started pulling off her shirt as I walked us into the bedroom. She had a gorgeous chest.

My mattress bounced and so did her breasts as I dropped her back onto the bed and pulled my shirt off.

She wrapped her entire frame around me as I crashed down on top of her and kissed her mouth, her fingernails scratched my back and I groaned when our bare chests touched.

Skin against skin. Hot and without barrier. It was fucking unravelling.

I thrust my hips against her, pressing myself hard on her centre. "Do you want this?" I sucked on her bottom lip and she whimpered. "Tell me you want it baby."

"Yes," she cried. "Max I want you."

I stood up and gripped her sweats, pulling them down her smooth bronzed legs as hard and fast as possible.

She was spread in front of me, naked and so out of this world gorgeous that I could hardly believe it.

I knelt between her legs and lifted one, hooking it around my waist as I drew a line with my finger from her  heel to her inner thigh.

She squirmed and little breaths of moaning left her lips as I leaned down and kissed her leg.

My tongue lapped out at her silk skin as my mouth moved higher and higher. Her breathing was harsh, so was mine. I sunk my teeth into her thigh as my finger met her dripping wet centre.

"Max," she arched off the bed when I pressed the pad of my thumb against her sensitive spot and rubbed. Her whole body jolted.

And then I tasted her and she thrashed. "You're sensational," I murmured against her heat, tongue lapping back out and moving fast from top to bottom. Her legs went over my shoulder and I gripped her ass, my fingers digging into her skin and holding tight as she squirmed and shifted.

Her entire body vibrated and her moans became guttural. I knew she was close. I recognised her sound, I could feel it in her grip tightening on my hair.

So I stood up, kneeling in front of her. I lifted her legs and put them over my shoulder, lining up at her entrance as she watched me with a sheen on her velvet skin.

"You're so beautiful," I slid my tip inside of her and she tensed at the anticipation, her chest rising and falling. I already knew she was on birth control. We'd talked about it.

"Amalia, talk to me baby. Are you feeling good?"

She nodded and I moved further inside of her, her eyes closed and her lips parted.

I gripped her hips. "I'm going to make you feel even better."

I slammed inside of her and she pushed back on the bed, fisting the comforter as she screamed out.

Her legs tried to buckle but I held on to them while I stood straight on my knees and pounded in and out of her. She gasped and cried out and tensed around me so damn tight that I had to keep it together before I let go.

"You feel so good, baby," I panted, rolling my hips as I slammed into her.

"Ay dios mío!"

"Fuck baby."

"Más fuerte, más duro, no pares."

It made me groan to hear the words roll off her tongue in that gorgeous language. I think she was telling me not to stop.

I dropped her legs so they fell around my waist and leaned over her. My arms rested on either side of her head and I plunged my tongue into her mouth as I thrust slow.

Up and down, hips rolling as I pushed deep inside of her and she scratched my back, legs clenched around my torso.

It felt so good. She was pulling me harder against her and digging her nails in hard but I loved it.

My movements remained slow and teasing as I cupped her breast and sucked on her neck.

I wanted it to last and I was having a damn hard time because of how fucking gorgeous she was.

My hand left her breast and I traced the smooth panes of her chest, neck and jaw. She opened her mouth for me and I put my finger in, watching her suck on it.

Her eyes never left mine, her tongue circled and tasted her own arousal on my fingertips.

Her head tipped back and she started thrusting upwards and into me. "So impatient," I murmured, dragging my hand from her mouth and onto her throat.

I cupped her neck, my hand wrapped around it and she moaned her sound of approval as I lightly squeezed the sides.

"You like that baby?"

"Mmm," she thrusted her hips again, showing me what she wanted.

I was willing to oblige. I sped up faster than she was prepared for and her arms tightened around me as I slammed in and out hard and fast.

Her screams became higher and more breathless and I reached down to touch her so she could reach her release.

As soon as her body began to convulse, I let go as well and embraced her as we fell apart.

Our bodies were damp with sweat and our breathing was ragged. I nipped on her earlobe and she shivered.

"Hagámoslo otra vez," I whispered into her ear and she gasped, pushing me so she was straddling my waist.

"Te voy a follar toda la noche."

____

You guys are so funny ! You're so worried that I'm going to tear up their happiness! Hahaha. I am perfectly capable of writing happiness. I mean, unless that's too boring and you want something to go wrong ? I can oblige if that's what you want?