2.11 Lie
Alec watched her lie motionless and tense on the bed, poised to bolt like a deer in the headlights. Or strike, like a snake. He wasn't sure which bothered him more - her fear or her anger. Though, for Max he supposed they were often the same thing.
She was scared to hold things, afraid to watch them slip through her fingers, forever lost. She couldn't control that fear, either. It crept up on her when she was least expecting it, and the end result was typically an angry - occasionally violent - outburst.
Alec had his own fears, too. That she would flee, or attack, or worse - think he had some ulterior motives or that he was outright lying. He held her gaze, calmly betraying the wild bunny rabbit his heart had become in his chest.
It may have been a few moments, it may have been a few hours, but Max gradually relaxed, her lithe, powerful body easing more comfortably into the curve of his. Then she kissed him, soft and sweet.
"I love you, too."
Alec grinned like a fool, and kissed her back.
"But if you tell anyone, I'll have to kill you."
"Naturally."