The chapter many of you have been waiting for- The reason for the M rating. Hope it's ok!
*There's a Greggs mention too*
"Maxwell, I need a favour."
The next afternoon, Max looked up from his comic with raised eyebrows. "I'm on a break."
Dylan sighed and shut the door to Max's office. "It's not about work."
"Well, this is a turn up for the books. Can't get 4 down on the crossword? It's-"
"Stop! I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I'm here about Zoe. Connie has asked me to do a double shift, but I'm hesitant to leave Zoe by herself all night, so I was hoping you'd go over."
"If you're trying to interfere in our relationship-"
"I'm not. Please. I wouldn't ask, but Connie still doesn't trust me, and her asking me this is a big step towards me getting left alone at work."
Max studied Dylan's face, aware that he wouldn't speak like this unless he really wanted help. "Ok."
…
"Zoe, I need a favour."
Zoe glanced up from her patient's file to find Max stood in front of her. "What sort of favour?"
"Robyn's mother is coming to stay tonight, and I sort of hate her, so I was hoping I could come and stay at our… your place? Just in the spare room. I'll cook you my special dish for dinner?"
When Max called the apartment theirs, Zoe's stomach flipped and she had to try hard not to grin. "It's not that special."
Max smiled, resting on the counter in front of her. "Is that a yes?"
"…if you bring a bottle of wine."
"Done."
…
Zoe's stomach was in knots for the rest of her shift. She knew Max finished before her, so would be at the apartment by the time she got there, and it would be the first time they'd been there together since the morning of the wedding.
When she reached the door, Zoe took a deep breath and then pushed it open, her nose immediately crinkling. "What is that smell?!"
Max appeared with an apologetic smile on his face. "I forgot how temperamental that oven is and I sort of burnt dinner. But the good news is, I brought with me red wine and a lot of chocolate, so I was hoping you might be ok with having that for dinner instead?"
Zoe gave a slight smile as she slipped her shoes off. "I'm sure I'll manage."
"I thought you might. I've run you a bath and put out some pyjama's for you, and when you're all fresh, you can join me in my pillow fort, if you like."
Zoe let out a soft laugh as she saw the stack of cushions on the couch. "I'd forgotten about your pillow fort. Do I even own pyjamas?"
"Yes, Robyn gave you some as a Christmas present last year. You kept throwing them out and I kept bringing them back in, because I knew eventually they would come in handy, and now here we are."
Zoe rolled her eyes, but after Max had unzipped the back of her dress for her, she turned and gave him a gentle kiss. "Thank you."
…
An hour later Max was reclining against a mountain of pillows, with pillows on either side of him as though he was in a giant fluffy armchair. On top there was a thick, warm duvet, but between him and the duvet rested Zoe, her back against his chest as her eyes focused on the TV. Pulling the duvet a little higher so that only her eyes could be seen, Zoe gave a satisfied sigh. "I love pillow forts."
Max dropped a kiss to Zoe's head before biting into a chocolate and giving her the other half.
"…Max?"
"Mmm?"
Zoe lay still for a moment before rolling over so she faced him. "Thank you."
"You already said thank you." Max smiled, tucking hair behind her ear.
"I mean for everything over these past few days. I know it can't be easy for you, but… I was just suddenly overwhelmed by everything, and I didn't like myself very much. If you hadn't come with me…" Zoe grew silent, lowering her eyes.
After a few seconds silence, Max sighed Zoe's name and captured her lips gently. They were soon so caught up in one another that neither noticed when the movie ended and began playing the title music on repeat.
Desperate to be as close as possible to Max, Zoe began tugging impatiently at his t-shirt, and then their lips parted only for a second so he could pull it over his head. When their lips met again, her hands moved down to his belt but she was soon frustrated by the buckle, so leaving it only half open, she slid her hand inside and tingles covered her body when Max moaned her name.
This was different to what had happened in America. There, Max had taken control and everything was drawn out and loving, but now Zoe wasn't scared of feeling anymore. Now, she wanted to scream and to cry and to moan. She wanted everything.
"Zoe." Max managed as he reached between them to grab her wrist.
"Please." Zoe whispered against his lips, worried he wanted to stop.
"You're wearing too many clothes." Max mumbled into her, nipping her bottom lip as she smiled.
The situation was soon rectified, the pyjamas lying forgotten and a little ripped on the floor beside them. The only thing between them now were Max's jeans, and Zoe gave a frustrated grunt as she tried and failed to undo the belt once more.
"Wait." Max said breathlessly, and a moment later, Zoe was flipped over so she was pinned to the couch by Max. Smiling down at her, he pulled away only momentarily to remove the offending item, both of them giving a sigh of pleasure when they finally met skin to skin.
"Please." Zoe urged again, her fingernails leaving marks of Max's back as she tried to pull him closer still. "I need you."
When he finally entered her, Zoe moaned Max's name and it sent a shiver through his body. Feeling this, Zoe moaned it again, but soon found she couldn't stop, her fingernails digging into his back every time he moved inside her. She could feel a fire building within, and Zoe knew she wouldn't last long. Her attempts to tell Max this were only met with his lips crushing hers as he moved deeper still.
For Max, nothing existed but the woman below him who was slick with sweat, her back arching into him as her lips moved soundlessly and her eyes kept tight focus on him. He knew he wouldn't last long, especially when Zoe wrapped her legs around him and urged him to move even deeper inside "Zoe, I haven't g-got a condom." Max managed to grunt the words between kisses, but whether she heard or not, Zoe gave no response but a moan, her back arching again as she twitched around him.
"Zoe." Max tried again, but it was too late. When Zoe's head fell back and she cried out his name, Max was powerless. As Zoe began to contract around him, he quickly joined her, pleasure pulsing all the way to his toes and making them curl. When Zoe felt his warmth spreading inside her, she peaked again, her body taking over as her mind just focused on the man in front of her, their eyes still glued to one another.
…
Zoe didn't remember falling asleep the night before, but she was woken with a start as light suddenly streamed into the room. When her eyes flickered open, she found she was alone on the couch, wrapped in the duvet with Dylan looking down at her with raised eyebrows. "Good night? I brought you some breakfast."
"Thanks." Zoe managed hoarsely, her eyes scanning the table for something of Max's to prove to her that last night hadn't just been a dream. Instead of spotting anything of his, she spotted the man himself in boxers and a t-shirt returning to the room with a yawn. "Anything for me, Dyllie?"
"It's Dylan or Dr Keough, thank you. And yes, I got you a chocolate croissant from Greggs."
Max raised his eyebrows at Zoe before he sat on the edge of the couch in front of her. "Fancy."
Dylan sighed and put his hands on his hips, looking down at them disapprovingly. "Was he alright last night, Zoe? I only asked him to come because Connie wanted me to work a double and I didn't want to leave you alone."
"You asked him to come?"
"Well, yes, I-"
"I need to have a shower." Zoe stood up, holding the duvet around herself as she rushed towards the bathroom.
Max looked at Dylan.
"..What? It's no my fault you didn't tell her."
With a sigh, Max abandoned his pastry to follow Zoe towards the bathroom.
