New Forever by Yessi Smith Page A

of my life. Now.
    An older couple makes room for me to walk by them and I catch the older man’s grin so I force a smile on my face. He probably thinks this is some sort of foreplay and not a desperate attempt to rid myself of the woman I love.
    “Thanks,” I grunt at them, smacking Hayley’s ass again for good measure while the older couple laughs and Hayley pleads for help.
    Once I reach the bottom floor, I’m pretty sure her nails and teeth have made me bleed in places my muggers hadn’t touched. My girl—no, Hayley is stronger than I ever gave her credit for. My face will probably be torn to bits when I set her down so I come up with a plan that will hopefully leave me with less injuries. I hit her car’s remote until I hear her car alarm go off and after I turn off the alarm and open her door, I shove her inside and buckle her in, taking one last smell of her before I pull away.
    “Why are you doing this?” she asks, putting her foot out the door so I can’t shut it. I’m grateful her tears have completely dried up and have been replaced with anger. I can deal with anger.
    “Just go, Hayley.” I hand over her purse and inch away from her car as she fumbles to unbuckle her seat belt. I need to get away from this fiery, hell-bent she beast before she unleashes on me.
    “Just go, Hayley,” she mimics me. “Did you get hit so hard on the head you can’t say anything else?”
    I begin to smile, but catch myself in time. “I just want you to leave me alone,” I deadpan.
    “Bullshit.” I shake my head at her and although I’m expecting an attack, I’m still taken aback when she launches herself at me and hits my shoulder. Hard. I’d laugh, but the look on her face tells me I’d be a huge idiot to do so and since I’ve already made several idiotic choices today, I decide to keep a straight face. Knowing my luck, her next hit will be to my still sore ribs, that are already yelling at me after carrying Hayley down the stairs. But I’ll be damned if I don’t love this woman to the core of my soul.
    “If you try to walk away from me again, I’ll follow you. You’re not getting rid of me, Max.”
    “Hay-”
    “Do you love me?”
    “Of course I do. You know I do.”
    “Then we’ll figure the rest out.”
    I run the palms of my hands over my face, not knowing what else to do or say.
    “It’s not that easy.”
    “Only because you’re making it hard.”
    “If you knew-” I cut myself off and turn away from her, ready to lock myself back inside my hotel room.
    “Tell me.” She grabs my hand before I can make my escape and I look down at our joined hands. Hers are so small compared to mine. Slender and delicate, yet possess a crippling power over me whenever she touches me. “Talk to me.”
    I’m not deserving of her trust or love, but I keep her hand in mine and bring her knuckles up to my lips for a quick kiss. I look back at her and wish things were different for both of us.
    I’m close to telling her everything, to spilling what I’ve held inside of me for so long. Maybe her love will be strong enough to carry us through it.
    “Stop thinking,” she tells me.
    Stop thinking? Ha!
    “And tell me how you feel. Tell me what you really want.”
    Tell her how I feel? What I really want? I’m not good with words and even if I were, there’s no way to accurately express how I really feel, but she needs to know. I want her to know what’s inside me, how badly I yearn for her every day it physically hurts. So instead of using words, I take her face in my hands and kiss her lips with a tenderness that is strictly reserved for her. When she moans out my name, I caress her lips with my tongue until she lets me in. Within seconds, I surrender myself to her and feel myself become whole once again when she puts her arms around my neck and pulls me closer to her.
    “Show me, Max,” she whispers in my ear when our lips and tongues separate. “Show me how much you love me.”
    I can do that. I can