by Calista Fox
“Wait, I’m sorry.” She swung an arm in his direction, with the remainder of her sandwich still in hand. “Sexual component?” Both eyebrows jumped this time. “Are we talking about lab rats here, or actual human beings with raging hormones?”
Ryan pushed at the bridge of his glasses to hitch them up his nose a notch. Not dismissing the fact that he was muddying waters by bringing intimacy into their exchange, yet unable to stop himself. Maxi easily ignited his inquisitive nature. Stimulated it beyond all belief, to be exact.
“We’re discussing people, of course.”
“Huh,” she mused with a playful smile. “’Cause you’re making me think in scientific terms here, Doc.”
“Hilarious,” he deadpanned at the moniker she’d used. “Point being, at the intervals I’m utilizing for this hypothesis, you might end up spending approximately twenty-six hours a week with someone you’re romantically interested in—not married to, living with, or seriously dating, mind you—versus the fifty hours you spend with someone you’re not romantically involved with. Which would conclusively indicate that you are more attuned in a more in-depth capacity at concentrated levels to the person you work with versus the person you have dinner and occasional sexual relations with—correct?”
Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment. Then flew open. Her mouth worked vigorously like a fish attempting to dislodge a hook stuck in its throat—or maybe she thought she had a rebuttal, but couldn’t quite form the full concept in her head.
Ryan waited patiently as she grappled with her internal ruminations.
“I’m sorry,” she finally repeated, pinning him with an intent look. “I’ve completely forgotten what we were originally discussing.”
“The theory of platonic friendship.” His gaze swept her office, landing on the framed whiteboard mounted to a portion of one wall. He stood. “Let me diagram it out for you—”
“No!” she blurted.
His body jolted at her forcefulness. Jolted in a good way. “No?”
“No.” She set her sandwich aside and got to her feet, gazing deep into his eyes. “No diagramming, extrapolating, analyzing. No low-hanging fruit here, Doc.”
She rounded the desk. Planted her hands on her hips. “Carnal compatibility isn’t about studies and measurements and quantum-fucking-physics. When two people are hot for each other, Ryan, they’re just that—hot for each other!”
Gripping his lapels in her slender fists, she insisted, “It’s sexual chemistry, Einstein. Raw, insane, vibrant, explosive! In its very purest, utterly basic, most fantastic form, it makes you completely irrational and urges you to tear off clothing and give in to every raging desire clawing at you. Clawing at you!”
Ryan’s pulse skyrocketed. Lust flashed through him.
Maxi wasn’t done. “And there is no Gantt chart in the world that can predict it, graph it, keep it on track, or promise that it won’t wreck you to the core of your being. But when it happens? Holy hell! Just let the firestorm burn you through and through!”
She tugged him roughly to her and kissed him deeply, madly, passionately.
Ryan let her. Responded vehemently, in fact, all physical restraint fleeing. In a heartbeat.
His arms encircled her narrow waist and he hauled her up against him. As her tongue thrust farther into his mouth, brazenly and sexily, one of his palms splayed over her ass cheek, gripping her firmly.
A moan caught in her throat at his aggressive move, coming out a strangled sound of desire. Her tongue swept over his, twisting and tangling. Teasing and taunting.
Years of pent-up passion burst free of its confines, and Ryan took charge of the kiss, turning it scorching hot. Maxi wrapped her arms around his neck as though holding on for dear life. Not just giving in to the firestorm, but helping him to make it a five-alarm blaze.
Her breasts pressed below the ledge of his pectorals. His cock strained against his zipper. He felt the tremors run through her body as acutely as the pounding of his heart.
She tasted incredible. Felt even better.
All he could think of was backing her against the desk, hoisting her on top of it, and pushing her skirt up. Burying himself deep inside her. Pumping fast. Making her scream. Making her come. Driving her wild and—
“Oh. My. God.”
Ryan instantly broke the kiss and his head snapped up at the female voice filling the room that was obviously not Maxi’s.
“What the hell did I just walk in on?!”
Chapter Three
Maxi shoved away from Ryan and leapt back at Avril’s shocked comment. Way back. Too far back. She stumbled on her tall heels, and Ryan had to lurch forward and wrap an arm around her waist again. He jerked her to him in order to steady her.
Unfortunately, their bodies sealed once more, and all the fiery sensations ignited by their sizzling kiss intensified tenfold, searing her from the inside out.
“Thanks for the save,” she said in a breathless tone. “I almost landed on my ass.”
“I wouldn’t want that,” he told her, his own voice equally low, his breathing labored. “It’s a rather nice one.”
“Ah-hem!” Avril’s less than subtle interruption had them hastily detangling limbs and stepping away from each other.
“What on Earth is happening in here?” Avril asked, clearly too stunned to make a discreet retreat and leave them alone.
Maxi ran a hand over her skirt to smooth it, returned to her chair, and settled in. Her tone was breathy and sultry as she said, “We were just conducting a little research that didn’t involve chart-filled booklets and PowerPoint presentations.”
“Or lab rats,” Ryan caustically added as he sank into his seat.
“And what, exactly, was the research topic?” Avril inquired, still aghast.
“Hmm.” Maxi grinned—and knew it was a cat-that-ate-the-canary one. She crossed her legs in hopes of staving off the thrumming between them. “You know, I don’t recall.”
Ryan chuckled, with a slight edge to the sound. A very sexy edge, to be precise.
“Something along the lines of splitting the atom,” he told Avril. Then turned his gaze on Maxi. “I have to say, Miss Shayne, your conjecture was quite brilliant.”
“Why, thank you, Dr. Donovan,” she said, her chest still heaving. “It was an extremely educational experiment.”
Honestly, who would have guessed Einstein could deliver a core-shaking kiss that left her reeling?
And hot.
So very, very hot.
Those beads of perspiration from earlier in the morning sprang to life at her nape. She’d gotten more than she’d bargained for with that little stunt of hers. She’d hoped to make the point that theory versus practical application was much too mind-bending, what with all the statistics and data he could likely spout on any given topic.
Then she’d gotten caught up in the moment. Severely, wholly, lustfully caught up in the moment.
Now she suffered the physical, rather than the intellectual, effects of Dr. Ryan Donovan.
As her clit throbbed with scorching arousal and need, she tried to regroup. But even with a shell-shocked Avril shooting laser beams into Maxi’s brain, her nipples remained taut enough to cause a hint of discomfort and a huge amount of distraction.
Thoughts of that red-hot kiss, Ryan’s strong arms around her, and his brick wall of a chest that she’d been plastered to refused to leave her head.
Avril finally came out of her shocked disbelief and said, “Maxi, you have a one o’clock with Shipping.”
“Right.” She focused on getting her bearings. Remembered that she was at work. Working. To solve a very complex and potentially detrimental problem.
Concentrate!
Avril added, “I’ll clean up your lunch.”
“You should come to the meeting as well, Einstein,” Maxi said to Ryan.
He smirked at her.
And her nerve endings flamed.
“Do you insist on calling me that?” he asked in a glib tone.
“For the time being, yes.”
Christ, the way her heart thundered, she needed to remind herself that he was the brainiac invading her turf. Unfortunately, Maxi suddenly had the intense craving to sleep with the enemy.
That set off all kinds of warning bells. None of which overpowered her desire.
He said, “Fine. I’ll go collect my iPad for notes and meet you—where?”
Avril told him, “The conference room by your office.”
“Fantastic.” He stood and tugged the hem of his suit jacket, as though…
Whoa!
Hold the phone!
It had occurred to Maxi while Ryan had been kissing her that he was hard. But somehow when Avril had interrupted them—busted them—she’d buried the thought. Now it came back to her on a rush of holy crap—I did that to him!
She bit back a sassy grin. He seemed to take note and gave her a slight scowl. A behave! look.
He sounded perfectly composed as he told Avril, “Thank you for directing me to the appropriate location.” He turned and strode to the doorway.
Maxi watched him go, wishing like hell his jacket didn’t cover his ass. She was dying to get a good look at it.
Well, that was an understatement. Looking wasn’t all she wanted to do…
“Maxi!” Avril all but barked.
Maxi let out a long-suffering sigh. Tore her gaze from Einstein’s stealthy retreat. And those impossibly broad shoulders, tapered waist, long legs.
Her assistant demanded, “Again…what the hell did I walk in on?”
“I’m not really sure,” she confessed now that Ryan was out of earshot. “It started with pastrami Reubens and morphed into When Harry Met Sally…—you know, that orgasm scene in the deli—”
“I love that scene.”
“I know, right? Who doesn’t? Then Ryan was just sort of going on and on about sexual components in relationships, and I couldn’t take another second of it. I snapped. I grabbed him. I kissed him. Then…he kissed me. Wow.” She pressed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. “Oh, shit, did he kiss me. Like he’s been saving up since junior high or something.”
“You corrupted him!”
Maxi laughed. “Hardly. That man knew exactly what he was doing. I’m telling you,” she continued as she stood and rounded her desk. “Our Einstein is a ticking time bomb full of passion. I’m talking full-on, raging, knock-you-off-your-high-heels passion.”
“Unbelievable.”
“No kidding,” Maxi said on a sharp breath. She had the still-hard nipples and damp panties to prove her point.
Avril shook her head. A total shame on you to Maxi.
Who ignored the silent admonishment.
She gathered up her notepad and pen, then headed toward the door. Yet her thoughts lingered on Ryan.
“There’s a volcano waiting to erupt there,” she announced.
“And you want to be the stick of dynamite that sets him off?”
Maxi pulled up short. “Um. No…?”
What did she want with Ryan? Because there was a little tickle in the back of her brain that made her think she was interested in a repeat performance of that unexpected kiss.
But that was way, way wrong.
Right?
He was so not her type. And they had a professional relationship. Talk about two negatives that would never equal a positive.
Ha! She laughed inwardly at her own little nerdy joke. Then got serious. “Does our employee handbook say anything about not dating coworkers?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Avril told her. “But I’m pretty sure HR—and Staci—would frown upon you hooking up with your new director.”
“I kind of like the idea of him being beneath me.” She winked.
Avril grimaced. “Funny. But come on, Maxi. Really. Seriously. You’re his boss.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “What was I thinking? He just temporarily scrambled my brain. No doubt because I haven’t had a decent date in like, forever.” Just a few mediocre ones after her third split from Kev.
Yes—three times the fool she was!
“I loathe to think of the last time a guy kissed me.”
“That long ago?” Avril asked with notable sympathy.
“No, I literally loathed it. Horrible. Wet and sloppy. Just…eww.” She shuddered. “Absolutely nothing like Ry—”
“Maxi.” Her assistant shook her head again. “No.”
“Right,” she repeated. “Totally off-limits. Einstein is here to help save our asses. Not grab them. But…Holy. Cow. Does he know how to palm a cheek and squeeze! Rough, demanding. Like there’s a hint of Dom in him just dying to come out and play.” Her shudder turned to a tremor of delight. A sizzling one, similar to all the tremors Ryan had sparked in her from the moment he’d crashed her meeting to the sizzling minutes before, when he’d held her so tightly, so possessively.
No man had ever embraced her like that. As though he couldn’t get close enough to her. Kind of along the lines of how he’d kissed her—like he couldn’t get enough of her.
Her skin tingled once more at all that virility radiating from him. And confidence. He hadn’t held back. He’d known precisely what he was doing when he’d taken charge.
She resisted the urge to fan herself with a hand. No need to incense Avril further.
Maxi left her office and crossed the vast fishbowl that was the Operations division. Her people. Some of them had been with her since the inception of the company, six years ago, when Maxi had been a college intern. Some were new additions.
All were as dedicated to growing the brand and business as she, and helping Staci Kay Shoes become a household name the world over.
It was too bad the former VP and director hadn’t been equally committed. Hadn’t been true believers in the power of the pumps.
But then again…their lack of faith now paved the way for Maxi and Ryan to do whatever they could, whatever it took, to elevate Staci Kay Shoes to the pinnacle the company and its employees deserved.
Maxi thought of how Alex had sparked Lola’s creativity when Lola had joined Marketing, and had to admit that she now understood how lightning zapping every erogenous zone was not only good for the libido, but also awesome for the mind and soul.
For there was extra pep in Maxi’s step this afternoon.
Thank you, Dr. Donovan.
She stopped along the way to her meeting and chatted with those who’d just returned from lunch. Then she took a few deep breaths and marched down the hall to the smallest of the division’s conference rooms.
At first, she was relieved she hadn’t scheduled this meeting in her office. No way would she be able to get her mind off of Ryan with his arms around her, and his lips pressed to hers. It would have taken greater effort to home in on the enthusiasm she suddenly felt over the prospect of getting production back on track—ASAP!
But then she entered the room and there he was. Already situated at the table, his iPad and wireless keyboard set up, all prepared to document each passing moment of this meeting, she suspected.
Every fiery sensation returned.
Actually, they’d never diminished. Had only simmered below the surface. Yet one look at Ryan and she was practically melting in her stilettos.
What was that all about?
Sure, as she’d told Avril, Maxi had not had the good fortune of being the recipient of a stellar kiss in some time. A highly stimulating kiss. A deeply arousing one.
That didn’t mean she should be so wrapped around the axle about Ryan’s kiss.
Except…everything about their brief encounter had been arousing. Insanely so.
And how nerve-wracking it was to find they were the only ones who’d arrived for the meeting thus far, so she had nothing to divert her attention from him.
She took her spot at the head of the table and laid out her folio and pen, along with her iPhone to keep tabs on any emergency e-mails or texts that might come through.
Then she forced herself to make eye contact with Ryan. “Nice to see you again.”
He gave her that half-assed grin that could only be described as a Billy Idol sneer—the bad boy one that had left millions of wet thongs in its wake. Maxi felt the moisture pool and it wasn’t even Billy delivering the sexy look. It was Einstein.
His sexual potency was downright lethal.
“Try not to gloat too much,” she told him. “I was just using human nature against you earlier.”
“Is that how you’re justifying it in your mind?”
“Well, to be fair, you were the one to—”
“Hi there, Maxi,” Ben Overton said as he came through the door. He was a thirty-something with sandy-brown hair and friendly hazel eyes. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Not at all,” she said, relieved at the chance to jump off the trail of what had happened in her office. “You remember Dr. Donovan from this morning? I’ve asked him to join us.”
The two men shook hands. “Ryan is fine,” he informed Ben. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I read your e-mail on delivery solutions, with Maxi’s suggestion of offering free shipping to online consumers, which would delay fulfilling the order by three days, thereby giving us a little extra breathing room on those particular shipments.”
“She’s been a visionary from the start,” Ben said. “Most of us around here always wondered why she was just a manager when she should have become a senior executive years ago.”
“Ben.” Maxi shifted in her chair, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
She wasn’t sure if it was because Ben was singing her praises in front of Ryan. Or because she had never made a bold move for an executive position. Had been thrust into it, instead.
She didn’t lack ambition. There’d been other factors at play. A major one only Staci knew about.
“I’m just saying,” Ben asserted, a tinge of awe in his voice, “that you’ve proven to be the lifeblood of this company as much as Staci has.”
“I had to get my feet beneath me, Ben. I was still in school when Staci launched corporate operations. I couldn’t even decide on a major, much less what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”