"Don't." The last thing he wanted to hear her say was that somehow she had been the one to bring this upon herself and that the other man was innocent. She was sounding like a victim and he didn't like that one bit. "He used you, don't try to make that sound any less than it really is." The fact that she seemed convinced that it wasn't entirely the other party's fault had his blood boiling. Whoever the guy was, he had done a number on her and needed to pay.
Even though if felt right to have her in his arms, he couldn't ignore the complexity of the situation. They weren't down by the waterfall anymore and this wasn't a time to be carefree and happy. His spine went stiff when she spoke and he unconsciously held her tighter. "He won't," he said with a determination in his voice. "Regardless of his plans, I won't allow him take you away." It was becoming quite clear that Max was going to have to have a word with this guy and then possibly put a call into some family friends.
"Does it matter if he tried to help you in the end? That doesn't make up for what he did to you in the beginning." While Max wasn't exactly a big condoner of holding grudges, he was willing to make an exception in this case. Especially since he had a feeling that this guy was probably lying through his teeth as a means to get to her. Too bad that just wasn't going to happen.
When she shifted to look up at him, he reached out and cupped her cheek with his palm. "I won't," he replied as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her soft skin. "For now, I'll just have a few words with him. You just need to give me his name." A few words while he looked into what exactly he was going up against and then he could make his move. Funny, all these years he had been trying to escape the path his father had laid before him and right now, he had a feeling that his father would have been quite proud.
"I promise that I will take care of this...take care of you. Okay?" Any other details and well, she didn't really need to know.