Max's hand moved to his chest, his heart pounding under her touch, and Alec was absolutely positive he had never wanted anything so much in his life as much as he wanted her to never quit touching him. The palm of her hand seared him through his clothing. Alec had always been moved by Max, she had always managed to yank some sort of emotion out of him; whether it was angry, guilt, duty, compassion, it didn't matter. Max made him feel things he had buried deeply during his time at Manticore. And she was doing it again. It wasn't that innocent, uncertain feeling he'd had for Rachel Berrisford and it wasn't even the sleazebag attraction he had for the girls at Jam Pony, it was way, way deeper than that. If he didn't know better, if he wasn't quite so cynical, Alec might have even dropped the L-word on the obsessive, overwhelming need he had for Max in that very moment.
He didn't hesitate. The moment she pulled him into the kiss, Alec's hands were wrapping around her and he was kissing her back forcefully. So maybe he had fantasized about her once or twice in the early days of knowing Max, but he had always been adamantly repulsed by the notions in waking life. Alec never thought he would be actually, really in real life kissing Max and clinging to her for dear life. There wasn't enough alcohol and enough drugs in all of Seattle for that to happen. And yet... here he was. And it felt perfect. It was just... so right. The way her lips felt against his, the way her body felt under his hands. She was everything he had ever wanted.
Alec stepped forward, pulling her closer to him while pressing her against the statue she had been perched on when he arrived. It didn't even matter they were in public, in the middle of the city. All that mattered was he couldn't get enough of her.