“I can’t breathe.”
He rocked me into his body. “You’re scared. That’s going to make it harder. Copy me.” Maxime modelled breathing—inhaling slowly, holding the air, then exhaling.
The rise and fall of his chest mesmerised me. Steady. Soothing. So, I followed his lead.
“Okay?” He searched my face.
I nodded. “Okay.”
“What else do you feel?”
“I feel dizzy.”
“I’m not surprised. When you can’t get enough air into your lungs, the lack of oxygen makes you lightheaded.” He ran his hand down my face. “You’ll be fine. I promise.” Again, his response was perfectly reasonable.
I nodded, focusing on his soft lips and the dark stubble at his jaw for distraction. In an act of pure cruelty from my brain, the usual image of my brother rocketed into my mind. “Am I red?” I asked, clutching his shoulder.
Maxime smiled, reaching to pull one of my curls through his fingers. “Only in the best way.” He ducked his head and kissed the strand of my hair laying across his palm. “And I love it.”
Damn, this man was glorious. I was probably being irrational, but he talked to me like I was completely sane. I leaned into him, enjoying the slowing of my heart. “Can you check for the stinger? What if it’s still embedded? I think I read somewhere not to pull it out. Or was it the opposite?” I met his eyes. Mine widened. “Do you think you should suck out the venom?”
Maxime shook his head. “Outside of movies, I’m not sure that’s a thing, but I’ll happily take a look. Where did it sting you?”
I got to my feet, legs wobbling beneath me. Gripping Maxime’s shoulder for balance, I lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal my buttock. It throbbed like it needed a root canal.
Maxime brought one hand to my bottom, running his fingers lightly over my skin. Curse my completely depravedbody if I didn’t enjoy his scrutiny—his breath against me and the way his fingers danced, examining every single inch.
“The stinger must have fallen out,” he murmured. “But, just in case…” He leaned in and laid a soft kiss at the curve of my buttock.
If I’d leaned into him earlier, now I was practically a one-woman Tower of Pisa.
“See? You’re still alive,” he said, lifting my shirt a little higher and planting another kiss on my skin. “And…”
“Maxime?”
The deep voice I’d heard in the hallway sounded out behind us, and Maxime let out a curse. I slowly turned my head to see a dark and incredibly beautiful woman staring back at me. This was Valerie? She wasn’t exactly who I pictured my brooding Neptune ever being with. She wore a beautiful dress, had a delicate face, with large, dark eyes—Sophie’s eyes.
Her gaze travelled over me slowly, from my wild hair, to my bare legs, to the shirt bunched above my belly button, and finally, to Maxime’s hand still resting on my buttock.
She shook her head slowly. “Oh, Maxime. What have you done?”
29
MAXIME
Iswallowed, blinking up at Valerie. Her face was all hard lines and condescension. Even without aheight advantage over Chloe, it was like she was staring down her nose at the two of us.
“Where’s Sophie?” I asked, my gaze darting back to the pool. She didn’t need to witness any of this.
“Inside, hopefully. I told her to stay put. I don’t want her dragged into any drama.” She looked directly at Chloe. “And in that spirit, both of you put some clothes on. I think we need to talk.”
Without another word, Valerie stalked off towards the kitchen.
With a hard breath, I stood and pulled Chloe into my arms. She buried her head in my chest.
“Are you okay?” I asked. I recognised her earlier panic attack for what it was.
She nodded, her soft hair rubbing against my skin. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want Valerie to see me, so I went through the lavender. I’m usually pretty good at dodging the bees. Only, not today.”
