Wicked Valentine (Sizzling Encounters)

by Angel, April

  “Couldn’t you have picked up a simple pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt? I am naked under this thing.”

  Her complaint only made him smile. “I know.”

  “Oh brother,” she groaned and rolled her eyes.

  He chuckled. “It was last minute. I wanted something for you to wear in case your little dress didn’t make it.”

  She glared at him. “My little dress would have made it if you hadn’t torn the straps off after I put it on to leave.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted you out of it.”

  “Maxwell.” Her voice held an edge of exhaustion. “You had me out of it. A lot of times, in case you’ve forgotten.” She yawned and stared at him with sleepy eyes. “It’s fine, but I really need some sleep.”

  “Wait,” he said, right when she grabbed hold of the door handle. “We’re still on for tomorrow night, right?” He wanted to make sure she hadn’t changed her mind.

  A soft smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, Max. I won’t change my mind.”

  He kissed her. Just a quick taste. Pleasure filled him when he moved away from her, because her eyes had an unfocused aroused look he loved seeing in them.

  “You promise you’ll call me if anything happens to change things?”

  “Yes, but I don’t foresee any issues.” She bit her lip, her eyes taking a faraway look while she thought. “Alex and Andrew are in her cabin this weekend, so I’m not seeing her. And I’m too tired to hit the gym by myself. So, unless you change our plans, we should be fine. Relax.”

  “All right.” He squeezed her hand and let go. “I’ll speak to you later then.”

  She nodded, smiling. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hopped out of the car. When she reached the entrance, she turned, smiled, and waved.

  He grinned and waved back. Glass doors slid open and allowed her entrance. He sat there, watching her greet the doorman. Once she disappeared into the elevator, he smiled and left.

  * * *

  Something was wrong. Max had called Nina earlier in the day, but she’d sounded really sleepy before agreeing to meet him later on. When he dialed her again, it went straight to her voicemail. He tapped his foot on the carpet impatiently while waiting for the elevator to take him to her floor.

  He pounded on her door repeatedly until he heard movement inside. It felt like forever before the door opened and Nina, wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a tank, blinked at him from under drooping lashes.

  “Hi, Max. Is it time to go already?” She yawned, heading back into the apartment.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Fear clutched his gut. She looked ready to pass out. He shut the door behind him and followed her into her living area. Worry grew with every moment he watched her. She dropped on the black sectional, her eyes immediately closing.

  “I’m just a little tired. My CFS got to me.” She yawned again and spoke with her eyes closed. Her pitch lowered as she snuggled into the zebra-striped throw blanket. “I had a lot of work, so I stayed up late last night catching up.”

  CFS? “You mean you didn’t go to sleep when I dropped you off?” He became alarmed.

  She shook her head. “I just need a little nap.” Seconds later her breathing evened in sleep.

  He walked to her kitchen and opened drawers, closing them slowly so he wouldn’t wake her. Finally he found what he needed-a bunch of menus. She’d even circled her favorites out of each. He called one and ordered their dinner.

  Then he looked up CFS on a search engine. “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” he said softly.

  Scanning the information on the screen, he realized their long night of lovemaking, coupled with little to no sleep, had taken a severe toll on her.

  He marched to her bedroom. He noticed she kept everything neat, without the large abundance of knickknacks women usually kept on their dressers. She had a single standing jewelry box and a few bottles of lotions and perfumes, but otherwise the surface of the dresser was uncluttered.

  The bedroom was decorated in soft green tones, to match the bedding and curtains. Back in the living room, he picked her up in his arms. Her head pillowed on his shoulder, and her soft breath caressed the curve of his neck. Carefully, he laid her on the bed and covered her with the blankets.

  It was easy to let her sleep and rest instead of bothering her with a date. They could go out any other time. Her health was more important than tickets to the theater.

  On his way to the kitchen, he bumped a small table by the entrance. When he tried to keep it from falling, he pressed on the answering machine by mistake.

  There was an unheard message, the blinking light indicating it was new, that started to play before he got a chance to stop it.

  “You’re fucking with the wrong person, and you’re going to regret it. This is your final warning.”

  He frowned. The threat was clear in the deep voice. He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

  “JT?”

  “What’s up, Max? Long time no talk.” His friend chuckled. “Well, not since I beat your at poker two weeks ago.”

  He grunted. When he wasn’t working for his security company, JT played poker tournaments, so of course he was going to whip Max’s ass when they played. He didn’t play because he wanted to win, although it would be nice at some point in his life to not lose in such high fashion; he played because it was a great way to spend time with his old college buddy.

  “Can you do me a favor and look into someone’s phone records?” He proceeded to give his friend the information he had and played the message for him to hear.

  “Yeah. No problem, man. I’ll give you a call as soon as I have anything.”

  The thought of someone threatening her made his anger rise. He’d hire JT’s team to take care of her, if necessary. She was not taking the messages as a threat, or she’d have done something about it by now. From what the person had stated, this was not her first threat and she’d not mentioned it to him. He was thankful he’d bumped into the table and heard the message.

  Heavy knocks at the door caught his attention, probably the food he’d ordered for them. He glanced over his shoulder to the bedroom. He’d wait awhile before waking her.

  Something smelled really good. Nina’s stomach rumbled and begged for nourishment. She blinked, sat up, and glanced around the room. Where was Max?

  As if he’d read her mind, he walked in carrying a tray. His sexy grin made her heart trip.

  “Hey there, sleeping beauty. I have food.” He sounded as though the plate held gold. Sadly, with the hunger she was experiencing, she felt as if he was bringing her a treasure.

  “And I’ll give you whatever you want if you pass it over.” She grinned, her stomach grumbling.

  He winked. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  She laughed and stared at the tray on her lap. The aroma of chicken, vegetables, and a buttered biscuit made her groan.

  “Chicken stew,” he said.

  “You are amazing.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to realize that,” he grumbled.

  “I’m sorry about our date, Max.” She dug into her food.

  He shrugged. “That’s nothing. We’re still spending time together.” He scowled. “You should’ve said something about your illness. I could’ve brought you home sooner. We could’ve tamped down some of the stuff we did.”

  She grinned, watched his face flush, and laughed. “I wouldn’t have changed any of it.”

  It became clear to her that Max was not going after her just to get into her pants, which he’d done enough times to make most men move on. Instead, he was focused on making her feel good, getting to know her, and he appeared to genuinely care for her. Emotions clogged her throat.

  “Hey, are you OK?” He sat on the bed next to her and frowned.

  Nodding because she couldn’t say the words, she prayed she wouldn’t make a fool of herself and start crying. Now that she wasn’t fighting it, she realized Max was the man she wanted. Her feelings for him had start
ed way before the Wicked Valentine’s Day Ball. It had taken that night to open her to seeing him not just as a lover, but as the caring, warm man he was…the man that wanted to spend time with her.

  She gulped. “I’m fine. Just tired still, I guess.” She ate in silence for a moment before his voice broke through her thoughts.

  “Why didn’t you mention you’re being threatened?”

  Her head jerked up. “How do you know that?”

  His glare intensified. “You have a message on your answering machine.”

  “Oh. Don’t worry about it.” She pushed the food around, finally gave up, and passed him the tray.

  He put it on the dresser and returned to sit on the bed next to her. “What do you mean ‘don’t worry about it’? A threat is something to be taken seriously, Nina.”

  She bit her lip. “I did. I’m not the kind of person to go looking for trouble, so this is new. I went to the police, but they think it’s just an ex-boyfriend who’s not ready to let go. They don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.” She shrugged. “It’s just been messages so far, so I don’t think it will get any worse.”

  The concern in his gaze made her breath catch.

  “You are important to me. We are not taking chances. I’ve called on a friend, and he’s going to do some research and get back to me. In the meantime, we’ll make sure you’re always with someone.”

  She smiled. “Yeah? Who’s going to take the daunting task of hanging around me day and night?”

  He sighed. “I guess it will fall onto me. I’m known to be a masochist.”

  She glared at him, and his laughter boomed inside the room.

  She gasped. “So that’s how you want to play it, huh? Fine.” She slapped the empty spot on the bed right next to her. “Get your ass over here and snuggle with me.”

  Before she had a chance to blink, he hopped over to the other side of the bed and curled his arms around her. She sighed and closed her eyes. Her heart melted for him all over again.

  “Don’t worry, I got you sweetheart.” Those were the last words she heard before she fell asleep.

  Chapter Nine

  “Are you serious?” Alex asked over the phone line.

  Nina laughed. “Yes. It was so cute. He was so embarrassed I had to reassure him that I’ve watched Star Trek too.”

  Alex snorted. “Yeah. You watched it because you had a crush on Captain Kirk.”

  “It doesn’t matter why I watched it.” She giggled. “The point is that it made him relax, and now we can watch it together.

  “But he doesn’t look like a geek,” Alex complained. “That’s not cool for the poor guys that don’t look as hot as he does.”

  She grinned. “Oh you should see some of the pictures his family showed me of him as a teen. He was all tall and scrawny.”

  “Aw. Did you tell him about how ugly you were as a teen?”

  “Hey!”

  Alex laughed, and laughed. “I’m sorry. We both know you have never been ugly a day in your life. Even when you used to wear glasses before your laser surgery, you had that whole smart-sexy thing going,” Alex groaned. “It was annoying.”

  “You do amazing things for my ego, you know?”

  Alex snorted. “Yeah, OK. I’ll chat with you later. We’re going to buy furniture for the nursery.”

  Nina grinned in delight. “Don’t forget we get to do our own shopping this weekend.”

  “Like I’d ever forget shopping with you. Ok. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” She stared at the phone for a moment before hanging up. She was really lucky she had Alex, or she’d be really lonely.

  Later on, Nina stared at the appointment book in front of her, not really seeing the notes. Her mind wandered to the past few weeks. A smile tugged at her lips, and happiness took hold of her heart. She should’ve listened to her inner voice and given Max a chance long ago.

  “Sabrina!”

  At the sound of Eve’s harsh tone, Nina raised her head from the book, frowning. Eve looked ready to spit fire. Her face was flushed, and there was an angry purse to her lips. If she didn’t know better, Nina would swear Eve wanted to hit her.

  “Is everything all right, Eve?”

  “No, everything is not all right!” She stomped toward Nina’s desk and stopped in front of her, glaring.

  “Well, what’s the problem?” She stood, no longer feeling comfortable with Eve looking down at her.

  “It has come to my attention that you and Maxwell are seeing each other.” She said the words as if it were something dirty.

  Nina’s blood heated, and her anger rose slowly. She knew things would come out at some point, but Eve’s reaction was uncalled for. She and Max had kept their professional relationship separate from their personal life. A personal life she loved and didn’t want Eve or anyone else messing up.

  “We are.” It felt good to finally come out in the open and tell the world. She loved Max and wanted to spend her life with him.

  “You stupid little girl,” Eve hissed. “Don’t you know you’re a nobody for someone like Max?”

  Nina glanced past her glass wall to the cubicles outside her office where people stopped to look at them. Eve’s loud words were carrying outside. She stepped around her desk and stopped in front of a fuming Eve.

  “Eve, I really don’t see how my relationship with Max is any of your business.”

  Eve smiled. A cold, evil twist of her lips. “I’ve been catering to Maxwell for the past five years, little girl. If anyone is getting him, it’s going to be me.”

  Was she for real? Nina’s gaze raked down Eve’s short-cropped raven bob, down her tight, red skirt suit, and ending at the tiger-print pumps. Eve was older than Nina, but she had the style of a woman on the hunt. What Nina never realized was that she was on the hunt for Max.

  “Eve, Max has never shown any interest toward you.” Max had always been the ultimate professional with every one of his employees. And that included Eve.

  “It was only a matter of time before he saw me as something more,” she spat. “But you had to ruin it.”

  “Have some self-respect, Eve! He doesn’t want you!”

  “You don’t know that! We grew closer with each late meeting and trip we took together.”

  Nina shook her head. “Are you blind? Max does not want you.” She softened her voice, dropping some of the anger over Eve’s interest in Max. “He doesn’t want you because he wants me.”

  Eve’s features cleared to a stone-cold, empty look. “You are not going to mess up my chances with Max.” She cocked her head and stared Nina straight in the eyes. “In a few minutes, everyone in this office and each of Max’s clients is going to get an email containing photos and videos of you and Max.”

  The oxygen in Nina’s lungs froze. “You wouldn’t do that. You’d end up hurting Max. I thought you cared about him.”

  “I do. And I’ll be the one here when he sees that the email came from you. I’ll help him clean up the mess you created in your attempt to bring down his business.”

  Nina gasped. “You crazy bitch!”

  Eve shrugged, smiling. “I might be crazy, but you’re not going to chance me sending that email and him losing his employees and clients, will you?”

  If she argued with an obsessed woman, she might do more harm than good. “You’re right. I won’t. I’ll go.”

  “Excellent. See that you get your stuff and are out of here in the next ten minutes. Security is on the way to escort you out.” She turned on her heel and walked out.

  A crowd stared into Nina’s office, looking at Nina with gloomy faces.

  A moment later her assistant walked in, put a box on her desk, and left, tears streaming down her face.

  She picked up the phone to call Max and warn him about Eve when two security officers came through her door.

  “Ma’am. Please put the phone down. You are no longer allowed use of company property,” one of them said. Fine, she’d call him from her cell phon
e.

  “We’ll wait by the elevators to escort you out of the building when you are finished.”

  Clearly Eve, in her irrational world, didn’t think Nina and Max would talk again. Nina would suggest to Max that Eve be mentally evaluated. Something about the dead look she’d given her had chilled Nina to the bone. The word psychopath ran through her mind.

  She’d just put the stuff on her desk in the box when Max marched in.

  “What the hell is this I hear that you’re leaving?” Panic covered his face.

  “Max, calm—” She glanced past him at the open doorway. No longer was anyone attempting to look like they were working, but they all stared with open fascination into her office.

  “No! You can’t leave.” His voice turned demanding, and Nina’s brows lifted in surprise.

  She eyed the doorway again, sure Eve would return and make a big scene. Max’s business would take a big hit if she sent that email. “Max, really you just have to listen—”

  He shook his head “I won’t let you go.” He stepped around her desk. “I won’t lose you.”

  “But I’m not—”

  He grabbed her arms. “I love you!”

  “What?” Her eyes widened.

  “I love you, Nina.”

  She swallowed. “You do?”

  “I do. I love you.” He nodded; a desperate edge sounded in his words. “The time we’ve spent together has been the best of my life.” His soft words seeped into her pores and settled in her heart. “And I’m not letting you go.”

  “I love you too, Max.” She eyed the door again.

  “Let them hear,” he said. Raising his voice, he turned away from her and took steps to the open door. “I love Sabrina, and if anyone has a problem with it they are free to leave this company. I don’t know why I allowed Eve to create that stupid policy to begin with, but as of now, it’s done. Employees may date each other. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your jobs, it will not affect your position here.”

  The floor broke into applause. Nina gaped at the scene. It was unreal. The applause stopped suddenly, and Eve appeared at the entrance.