“Okay, time for you to leave for real now,” she told him. Maymi tried to closing the front door but a huge size thirteen shoe wedged its shelf inside the door.
“Alright, I apologize for teasing you about my brother. I can’t get the best baker in Wyoming mad at me. Can you forgive me?” Big, blue eyes stared at her followed by a crooked, boyish grin.
“God, you are incorrigible.” Maymi laughed, rolling her eyes. “How can I stay mad at you? I forgive you.”
“I knew you would,” Casper bragged then removed his foot and turned, going down the sidewalk towards his job.
Maymi watched her new buddy walk away until his back rounded the corner. Thankfully, Casper hadn’t seen through her lie when she told him she wasn’t attracted to his brother.
She’d wanted him since the first day she laid eyes on him. She just had to make sure she kept a tight rein on her desire. She couldn’t have it go anywhere not what was at stake. Maymi knew exactly how to deal with Jensen and the sooner she dealt with him the better. The only way to make sure he understood was to tell Jensen to his face.
Chapter Sixteen
Slamming his office door behind him, Jensen’s pulse pounded away inside of his ears as he recalled how Maymi’s face had lit up once she saw Casper saunter through the door. He wasn’t used to this feeling eating at him. Not once in his life had he and Casper been drawn to the same woman.
He could still taste her mouth on his and he was seconds away from another sample, but Casper had to pick that moment to barge in on them.
Hell, what was going on with him?
How could one kiss have him turned inside out like this? He had kissed plenty of women before, but something about the short time he had tasted Maymi was different. He hadn’t wanted to stop; if they hadn’t been out in public he would have continued kissing that pretty mouth of hers for hours.
What was it about her that had him twisted up in such knots? One minute all he could think about was making her disappear from his life entirely. However, after the kiss he planted on her he couldn’t help wondering how it would be to have her in his bed.
Jensen stopped cold in his tracks. No! The thought entered his head before he could stop it, just like the kiss, but he wasn’t going to act on it. He had control over his weak willpower. He spent years getting his body in top shape. Yet, he wasn’t able to control his craving for her.
Why she sparked this side of him was something he couldn’t understand. Truthfully, he actually liked how the flame came into her brown eyes when they fought. The sound of her raised voice made his cock hard. So much that he couldn’t think of anything else but taking her to the nearest bed and having his way with her.
His cock grew ever harder and thicker thinking about Maymi’s tight, spunky body as he made love to her for hours until she forgot all about his brother. Being jealous of another man wasn’t in his DNA.
Yet, when he saw how happy Casper made Maymi, the woman who literally hated the sound of his voice, something changed inside of him. For some stupid reason, he couldn’t figure out why he wanted Maymi to look at him the same way. The reaction had to be a sibling rivalry thing. He and Casper were always competitive. Why should this be any different?
Fuck, what kind of body snatchers had taken over his body in the middle of the night? He hated Maymi...Well, hate was too strong of a word, but he was worried about her abilities not to steal his clients away over to her world of delectable pleasures.
He hated he wanted her physically, but he couldn’t control the erection that appeared anytime her tempting body was hovering near his. Taking her wasn’t part of anything he wanted and his mind knew it, but his dick had other plans that his head couldn’t override.
A sudden knock on his office door jarred Jensen from another, unwanted ridiculous thought about Maymi. He walked over to the door wondering who was bothering him this early. He thought he had got everything answered in the staff meeting twenty minutes ago.
“Yeah, what can I do for you,” he asked, opening the door.
His eyes widened from shock when they landed on Maymi standing there. Why did she have to show up now? Smelling like vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and everything sexy to push his sexual drive up another dangerous notch without her even knowing what she was doing.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Jensen asked, placing his hand against the doorframe. He had to do something with his hand or he might break down and give in to his urge to take over her senses with another kiss.
“Yes, we need to talk and I’m not leaving until we get everything out in the open,” Maymi said. She slipped underneath his arm and strolled into his personal space like she owned it.
Jensen moved away from the door and slowly closed it and then locked it for good measure. He couldn’t let anyone walk in on them. Casper had already done it once today and a repeat performance wasn’t about to happen.
He and Maymi needed to hash everything out because this back and forth between them was getting old very fast. She might not realize it but he was a grown man. Jensen had ever been fond of playing games with women. So he wasn’t about to start it now with the package of dynamite standing in front of him waiting to explode.
Slowly, Jensen made his way to Maymi, crossing the distance between them. He liked how he was taller than her five feet two inches. His height gave him some advantage that her sharp tongue couldn’t take away from him. She might be able to fight back with her words, but this one battle she would never win over him.
“Okay, princess. Why did you grace me with your presence again so soon?” he asked, watching how her big chocolate eyes shot up to his. Jensen crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an answer.
“I came to tell you to stop trying all of your head games on me, because they aren’t going to work. I’m a lot tougher than I look and you aren’t man enough to handle me, big boy.”
Uncrossing his arms, he leaned down until he was face to face with Maymi. He wasn’t a man to back down from such a blatant invitation tossed in his face. He had to give her credit for having enough nerve to do it right in his office without batting an eye.
“Princess, I’m all man and if you ever need proof I’ll be more than pleased to give it to you,” he promised, softly.
“Take your ego down a notch, Jensen,” she said, patting him in the middle of his chest.
The soft touch of her hand made his dick throb to the point of being painful. Grabbing her wrist, he jerked Maymi against his chest. The feel of her full breasts against his chest almost made him growl with pleasure, but he caught the sound seconds before it betrayed him. He made a mental note to stay in control when it came to this spitfire.
Chapter Seventeen
“Let go of me,” Maymi snapped, tugging at her wrist. “I came over here to have a conversation, not get into another fight.”
“I never said I wanted to fight with you. I thought we were talking about our kiss. You were going to tell me how much you loved it.”
She snickered. “How could I have loved something that was so dull? I swear after it was over I had forgotten it ever happened. I’ve had better kisses from—
Before Maymi had a chance to insult him again, Jensen spun her around and pressed her back against the closet wall capturing her mouth with his. He realized this seemed to be the only way to stop that tongue of her from mouthing off to him. Running his tongue along the corner of her mouth, he took advantage of her surprise gasp by slipping his tongue inside.
Good God, she tasted so good.
He let go of her wrist and spread her thighs with his knees stepping between them. He never had a sweet tooth before but the honeyed taste of Maymi’s mouth was giving him a bad one!
“You taste like honey,” he breathed against her swollen lips. He couldn’t help but take some pride in her body’s reaction to his kisses.
“It’s from my tea,” Maymi whispered, easing back from him and staring into his eyes.
Jensen’s cock jerked at th
e smoky desire he saw there. He shouldn’t be enjoying this tugging attraction his body felt towards her, but hell he did. So what was he going to do about it?
“Don’t move,” he said, placing his hands on either side of her hips, blocking her against the wall. He liked the feel of her curves. They were a lot different than Chloe’s rail thin figure.
“What are we going? What are you trying to prove?” Maymi asked. “None of this is making any sense.”
“I’m only trying to show you I can handle anything you toss in my direction. Don’t you have anything to say? No sharp comeback...This isn’t like you. Ms. Maymi Monroe is never speechless in my company.” Jensen moved back from her so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to start kissing her luscious mouth again.
He wondered what she was thinking. The air around them was sizzling with white hot temptation, but Maymi was silent as a church mouse. He didn’t know if he should be thrilled he finally got her to stop talking or be pissed as hell his kiss made her completely mute.
****
How could she let Jensen kiss her again?
The second time was even better than the first, but it didn’t matter. Both had caught her completely off guard shattering her self-control. Pressing her fingers against her swollen lips, Maymi gazed at Jensen in a daze of confusion. She couldn’t find the words to discuss how his mouth made her feel.
So yes... She guessed the ‘cat’ did have her tongue and now she was trying to figure out how to get it back from his master—the smug devil standing in front of her with a huge hard-on pressed against the front of his tight jeans.
None of this...Shit!
She couldn’t even form a complete thought because of him. Panic set in...she had to get out of here. She was twenty-eight years too old to be experiencing sexual frustration from a guy she thought about slapping most of the time.
Every time they were together Jensen took over their meeting like he owned it and her. She came over here to best him and the devil ended up getting the better of her. The realization of that didn’t please her at all. She had to get away from him unless she wanted to give up what tiny bit of willpower she had left in order to regroup. That was the only reason she was leaving... the only one.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, girl.
“Mmmm...I need to go. Olivia is probably wondering what happened to me. I only came over here to give the cakes time to cool.”
Maymi eased away from the wall and around Jensen. She stumbled and would have fallen if Jensen’s large hands hadn’t reached out and caught her in time.
“Watch yourself. I can’t have anything happening to you now because if you’re hurt I won’t have anyone to argue with at least twice a week,” he teased.
She shook off Jensen’s touch and then took a step away from him. He was purposely trying to sneak under her defenses and trick her with his hot kisses, roaming hands and deep hypnotic voice but she would continue to fight him.
“Mr. Lowe, you would love for something to happen to me because Sinful’s space would be yours for the taking.”
Sliding his hand behind her neck, Jensen eased her body closer to his. Her breath caught in the back of her throat as Jensen’s gorgeous eyes never left hers for an instant.
“Have you realized since you walked through my office door, I haven’t brought up either one of our businesses? I’ve better things I would rather be doing with you and discussing them isn’t even in the same realm.”
She ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips as Jensen’s thumb stroked her jaw igniting her awareness of his sexuality even more. Instantly, his bedroom brown eyes grew a shade darker as he cupped her chin inside his warm palm.
Her hand moved of its own volition, touching Jensen’s cheek down to his strong jaw line. “This is so crazy,” she whispered. “I can’t explain it, but I’m drawn to you. As much as we fight, our arguments haven’t made it any less intense.”
Jensen’s gaze was riveted on her face, and then moved over her body slowly before his eyes recaptured hers. She tried to push down the racing current pounding through her body, but couldn’t. He was stroking a gently growing flame and knew it.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
Maymi knew her desire for Jensen had nothing to do with reason. It was too easy to get lost in the way he was looking at her; however, some of the things he had spoken to her were still in the back of her mind which made it hard for her to just forgive and forget so easily.
Touching Jensen’s wrist, she removed it away from her face and stepped round his tempting, rippling body again. The power radiating from him was very intoxicating to her weakening senses. Accepting a dinner invitation from him would only muddy her thoughts concerning them even more. She wasn’t ready to stare into his amazing eyes across a candlelight dinner.
“I can’t go out on a date with you,” she answered. “That isn’t a part of the game we play with each other.”
He frowned at her. “I wasn’t aware we were playing any sort of games with each other. I asked you out on a date and I want to know the truth why you won’t accept it. Are you frightened you wouldn’t be able to handle something that wasn’t here or Sinful? I promise to be gentle and walk you through it unless there’s another reason for your backtracking.”
“Like what?” Maymi asked, staring at Jensen with a clueless expression.
Chapter Eighteen
“Casper,” Jensen replied wondering if Maymi would deny it. He was more than enough man to push his brother or any other man out of her mind today or any other day of the week.
“No, your brother wasn’t even on my mind,” she said. “Which means he can’t be the reason I’m turning you down.”
“Are you still trying to make me believe my kisses do nothing for you, baby?” he asked, lowering his voice.
He watched how Maymi’s eyes darted over to the door like she was thinking about making a run for it which wasn’t something he was used to seeing from her. She usually stood toe to toe with him.
“After the way I responded to your kiss again wouldn’t it be stupid of me to lie to you a second time?” she answered.
“Fine, if neither one of those are the reasons, tell me what is. I can’t read your mind. I need something to work with here and only you can give it to me.”
“You hate me,” Maymi blurted out. “We both know it’s true. Unlike you, I can’t allow a few exceptional kisses blind me to the truth right in front of me. We know how to push each other’s buttons because the attraction we experienced the first time our eyes connected at Sinful.”
“Maymi, I don’t hate you,” he instantly disagreed.
Jensen knew he hadn’t been the nicest guy to her, but he didn’t hate her. He wouldn’t admit it to her, but her toughness was very impressive. No matter what he had thrown at her she had given it right back to him. She was proving to him that she was more than a pretty face.
Maymi’s quick wit kept him on his toes and looking forward to what would come out of her pretty mouth next.
Her comments had them in a war of words which Jensen found to be a complete turn-on from his end of things, but it seemed like Maymi’s interruption of the events was totally different than his. She thought he hated her, but hate was too strong of a word to use in trying to figure out their relationship.
Sometimes when she wouldn’t listen he felt like shaking some sense into her or kissing her senseless, but he didn’t hate her at all. She was probably the most intoxicating distraction that he had met in a very long time.
“Maymi, you have misunderstood me,” Jensen said. “We may fight, but I don’t hate you.”
“I know you aren’t fond of me, and if you had three wishes, you would use one of those to send me and Sinful far away from you way across town. Don’t deny it,” she said.
Without warning, Jensen’s hand wrapped around Maymi’s waist gently tugging her to him until they were only inches apart. He noticed a strange, faintly eager look flash in her eyes as she watched
him and waited.
“You’re right. I would use one of the wishes but not like you’re thinking. I would wish for you to stop being so inflexible with me and agree to a date. I mean, if you can handle my brother’s nonsense, going out with me should be a piece of cake. Just think how it could be if we found out we might actually become friends.”
Maymi shook her head. “The problem isn’t Casper, it’s you. The two of you are like on totally different ends of the scale when it comes to how you treat me. When your brother first met me and told me his last name, I thought I had misheard.”
Enough was enough!
He was done wasting his time with Maymi talking about his charming little brother. He wasn’t blessed with that characteristic and he was done wishing that he had been. He had his own traits that were equally or more attractive to draw Maymi over to his side.
“I know my brother isn’t me and I’m proud of that fact. Casper is still a boy while I’m a full grown man. You look like a woman who likes having a man around her, so what is your answer. Are you ready to test our ability to have a date?”
Maymi tilted her head to the side and Jensen could read the interest in her eyes. He saw that she wanted to take him up on it, but wasn’t sure. He had to make her agree or he wasn’t using this golden opportunity to the fullest.
“How about I promise not to talk about either one of our businesses on the entire date? We just can try to have a good time with each other. I’m game if you are unless you’re scared that you might actually have a good time with your enemy. What’s your answer, princess?” he asked.
Jensen smiled when Maymi’s chin went up and her eyes glared at him. Finally...the determined, feisty look he had actually liked getting from her. The meek Maymi wasn’t his favorite. She had too much fire inside of her to be backing off from one date with him. He wasn’t afraid to pursue their intense reaction to each other.
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