“I’m not saying he’ll beat you up or anything.” Geena said in a way that told Ally she thought it could happen. “But you never know what someone can do when you push them.”
“He’s going to find out who I am eventually. I need him to hear it from me, so I can explain why I did it and try to make him understand…”
“I’m not saying not to tell him. Just wait until you’re safely home.”
Ally sighed. Then she nodded slowly, though her sister couldn’t see her. “Okay, I won’t say anything yet. And I’ll be back tomorrow with your ten grand.”
She said goodbye and hung up, feeling terrible. Was she really going to have to make a choice between betraying Max and letting her sister lose her store?
Maybe she could ask Max for the money Geena needed?
Yeah, she could picture that conversation. “Max, I’m not really a dominatrix, I’m a journalist who came to write smutty stories about you. And by the way, could you pay me an extra couple of grand so I don’t have to betray you even more than I already have?”
She groaned, and sunk her face into her hands. How had she gotten herself into this mess?
10
Ally had been too quiet all morning, something obviously bugging her. Max thought he knew what was wrong. Friday had arrived too soon, and in half an hour the limo would pick them up to take them back to the city. Their time together was almost at an end.
Sure Ally was a professional, but Max was pretty damn sure their connection these last few days hadn’t just been in his head, and what they’d shared had been deeper and more intense than any normal paid encounter. Dammit, she meant something to him, something real and honest, and it had nothing to do with the money in his wallet. He only hoped she felt the same way about him.
They’d already packed their bags, and now they were running through Mastery’s final scenes while they waited for the limo. They were the scenes after Thomas and Cora had been arrested for murder, and the most difficult part about them was not getting to run his hands over Ally’s curves while she read her lines. She was becoming quite an actress, but he was too distracted to get fully into character. Instead he found himself admiring her lips while she read, and fighting an overwhelming urge to kiss her.
But it was crazy to act this way. What kind of future could they have together? Besides the fact that he was going to spend the next few months in another country, he’d promised Walter he wouldn’t be caught with her. It would be the worst possible time for him to get any bad publicity, and Walter had made it clear that being seen with someone in her line of work could kill his ambition to be a serious A-lister.
The last thing he needed was the kind of publicity Hugh Grant had barely survived when he was caught getting a blow job from a prostitute and had to go on his so-called apology tour before any studio would give him another role. Max would never let himself be humiliated like that.
Still, the closer it got to noon, the more convinced he was that he needed to keep seeing her. After the Mastery shoot wrapped, he could return to Sydney so they could meet in a safe location where the media wouldn’t find them… but that wouldn’t be enough. He refused to be just another client in her appointment book.
“You missed your line,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
He glanced down at his script. He wasn’t in the mood to run lines. He wanted her to give him a real smile, as though there was nothing wrong and they had all the time in the world. He wanted to be able to plan what movie they’d watch together tonight, and to hear her laugh her way through There’s Something About Mary, or The Hangover. He wanted her to taste his shepherd’s pie that was better than the one he’d had at The Ivy in London, though theirs was supposed to be famous. Dammit, he should be able to take Ally to The Ivy, or anywhere, without being afraid that someone would be snapping photos.
What if she wasn’t a dominatrix?
If she gave up what she did for a living, it would make things easier. She could go with him to L.A. and move into his place while she decided what she wanted to do instead. Sure it wouldn’t solve everything, but her job was the biggest obstacle, and giving it up would give them a chance to figure out how they could be together.
He smiled at her, and she frowned.
“You’re not supposed to be happy,” she chided. “Thomas is watching his lover being dragged to jail, and he’s next.” She pointed at his script. “Are you looking at the right place?”
Max put his arms around her waist and drew her to him. He’d wanted to kiss her all morning, and now he did, thoroughly and deeply. She parted her lips for him, and pressed her body against his, instantly making his blood pound. She felt so good in his arms. So right. He didn’t care about the movie, or the fact that the car would be here any minute. He’d planned to drop her back at the hotel and pay her before heading to the youth center to do a workshop with the kids, but now he wanted her to come with him. If he was thinking about making her a part of his life, then she should meet Mrs. B. Besides, it would give him a chance to suggest she give up her job and move to L.A., and he had no idea how resistant she was going to be to the idea.
He pulled his lips from hers to look into her eyes. She was beautiful. He wanted to kiss every one of the freckles on her cute nose.
“Our arrangement is officially over,” he said. “And your cash is waiting at the hotel. But first, why don’t you come with me to the youth center? I’m doing a workshop for the kids. It’ll be noisy and chaotic, and you’ll probably be bored. But I’d like you there.”
Her face lit up with the first genuine smile he’d seen all day, and his heart lifted. Surely she felt the same way he did. Perhaps they really did have a chance to make this work.
“I’d like that.” She kissed him deeply and passionately, and when she finally pulled away, it took him several moments to register that he’d heard the limo outside.
Max took their bags out and locked the front door. They settled into the back seat, and she glanced over her shoulder at the house.
“I’m sad we’re leaving.” She turned to him, her face serious. “I’ve had a really good time the last few days.”
“I have too.” Funny how he’d been reluctant to come. He’d been so afraid of having to submit to someone, he’d never have believed it would turn into the best five days of his life.
“Max, I…” She swallowed. “Well, I never expected it to be as wonderful as it has been. The thing is…” She hesitated again. “No matter what happens next, I want you to know you’ve come to mean a lot to me.”
He reached out and took her hand. “That’s okay, I feel it too.”
She blinked. “Feel what?”
“The last few days we’ve been in a bubble, and now we’re going back to the real world. You’re uncertain how that’s going to change things. And to be honest, so am I.”
“You mean, change things between us?”
“I’m flying to L.A. tomorrow. I could try to get back when I can, but I won’t have as much time as I’d like. Or I could fly you to the States, but I’ll be busy shooting most days. I’d hate for you to feel trapped in a strange city like you were with your ex.”
She stared at him with a look of hope that sent a pang through his heart. “Are you saying you want to try to make things work, after the week is up?”
“I’m not sure if we can.” He had to be honest, and not give her false hope. Dammit, he couldn’t afford to get too hopeful himself. There were too many obstacles to kid himself that this was going to be easy. “If we were two normal people, then that’s what I’d want. But my work makes things difficult. And then there’s what you do for a living.”
How many other clients did she have anyway? Did she do the same things with them that she’d done with him?
“About what I do…” She broke off, then squeezed her lips together and shook her head.
“Ally, I have a serious question to ask. Would you be willing to give up being a dominatrix and find another career? I’d l
ike you to come to L.A. with me, but I can’t date someone in your line of work.”
Silent for a moment, she chewed her bottom lip. Her gray eyes were dark, and his heart contracted. He’d hoped she’d be enthusiastic about the idea, not visibly reluctant.
When she spoke, her voice was hesitant. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“What is it?” But he already knew what was bothering her. She might want to keep seeing him, but she wasn’t willing to give up her other clients. Perhaps what they’d done together wasn’t special at all, but something she regularly shared with other men. The thought made his tone harsh. “Forget it, I don’t want to know.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t want to give up your job.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
He pulled his hand from hers. “I don’t like secrets,” he growled.
“Neither do I.” Tears were suddenly glistening in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head wordlessly and his heart contracted. He pulled her roughly into his arms. “Tell me.”
“I’m sorry.” She swiped at her eyes. “I’m just emotional because we’re heading back to real life.”
Maybe she was upset because she’d been hurt, and she was uncertain about starting a new relationship. If he ever got his hands on her ex, he’d make him wish he’d never laid a hand on Ally.
He smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed the wet trail where a tear had tracked down her cheek. “We had to go back to reality sooner or later.”
“Later would have been good.”
Max gave a low laugh. He had a hundred tasks waiting for him before he caught the morning flight to L.A. and he should be making sure nothing urgent had cropped up while he was away. He hadn’t checked his messages once since they’d gotten to the mountains, and it wasn’t like him to neglect work for even an hour, let alone days. But one look at the beautiful, tearful woman in his arms, shadows shifting in her gray eyes, and nothing else seemed important.
“I feel the same way,” he agreed.
“Oh god, Max. I wish things were different. That we were two normal people, and we’d met on the street, or in a bar or something. I wish you were… I don’t know, a construction worker. And I was a nurse. And we’d gotten to talking in a bar after work, and you asked me out on a normal date, and there were no complications to mess things up for us.”
“A nurse?” He pulled back so she could see him raise his eyebrows. “You mean in one of those tight white uniforms?” His gaze roved over her body. “I like that idea.” She gave him a tentative smile, and he grinned back, trying to ease some of her tension. “Are you sure you don’t have a nurse’s uniform in that magic bag of yours? Because if you have, I’m going to tell John to turn the car around.”
Her smile got wider, but she cast a pointed look to the front seat, where John was concentrating on driving. “Be good, Max.”
“How can I be good when you’ve put a picture of you in a nurse’s uniform in my head? Now all I can think about is you putting me to bed and treating me for my aches and pains.” He glanced pointedly at his lap. “And believe me, I’m starting to feel very achy.”
She gave a warm, real laugh. Good. He didn’t like seeing her upset. She hadn’t answered his question yet, but he’d wait until they got back to the hotel to push her on it. And he’d make sure she had enough money that she wouldn’t need to keep working while he was away. Forget ten thousand dollars, he’d add another zero, to make sure she wouldn’t need anything. To make sure she wouldn’t sleep with other men.
“Maybe I have a construction worker’s outfit for you in that bag of mine, you ever think of that?” she asked. “Oh no, wait. One of the other Village People would be better. You could be a cowboy in leather chaps.”
“How about a policeman’s uniform?” he asked with a pretend scowl. “I think it’s about time I put the handcuffs on you.” He’d meant it to be a joke, but now he was thinking of Ally fastened naked to the bed. Damn, that was an image guaranteed to drive everything else from his mind.
He ran one finger down her throat until he reached the top button of her blouse. He popped it open. The sight of her lacy black bra peeping out made his breath catch. “In fact, you’re under arrest. I need to hold you for questioning.”
“A strip search?” she murmured. She brushed her hair back off her shoulder, then moved her hand slowly down to the front of her shirt and popped the next button, arching her back to give him an enticing view of creamy flesh swelling from black lace.
Max hit the button to activate the privacy window between them and John.
Ally looked startled when the dark window slid closed. “What’s he going to think?” she whispered. “He’ll know what we’re doing.”
Max yanked the rest of her buttons free and slid his hand under the lace of her bra so he could caress her hardening nipples. “Can’t be helped. Besides, I’m an officer of the law on official business.”
He slid her bra straps from her shoulders and pushed the lace down, then bent his mouth to one breast. He took her nipple in his mouth and she gasped. His tongue circled it before he sucked gently.
“This is standard procedure for interrogating a suspect,” he assured her, moving his mouth to her other nipple.
She sighed, parting her thighs so he could stroke her. She was already beautifully wet. She put her lips to his ear and bit his earlobe before breathing out a ticklish stream of warm air that gave him goose bumps all over.
“I’ll come quietly, Officer,” she murmured.
He laughed softly with his mouth against her skin. “Oh you’d better believe you’re going down for your crimes.” He moved lower so he could kiss her belly. “Right after I do.”
* * *
It had been a few months since Max had last visited the youth center, but nothing had changed. Maybe the old red bricks were a little more weathered than he remembered from his teenaged years, and the wooden front door a little battered, but arriving here always felt like returning home. He stepped out of the limo, adjusted his clothing, and then smiled as he helped Ally out too.
When he opened the front door for her, the heavy wood swung with a familiar weight. The center’s lobby was a small, enclosed space, where the sound of laughter and chattering was muffled. He put his hand on the inner door that led into the big hall. “Ready?”
He opened it, and the noise hit them like a breaking wave. A shout rang out over the rest when a young boy spotted him, and a moment later he and Ally were surrounded by a sea of short bodies, all clamoring for attention.
Max knew most of the kids, and he greeted them with hugs, or fist bumps and high fives, before solemnly introducing each one to Ally. There were some new kids hanging back, and he called them over so he could learn their names. All were from underprivileged backgrounds and some came from big group homes, like the one he’d been forced into. They’d all suffered in different ways. Some had never known love. Others had seen more violence and heartbreak than anyone should ever have to. If they acted up, like he had when he'd first come here, it was only because they’d been hurt so badly.
It could have ended very differently for him. If it hadn’t been for the youth center and Mrs. B, his anger, guilt, and hatred might have set in and poisoned him. But it was in this hall that he’d first stepped on a stage. His bit part in The Importance of Being Earnest had turned into the much bigger part of Dr. Chasuble when the other boy had come down with the flu.
He’d marched across the stage in a doctor’s coat that was far too big for him, his hands sweaty with nerves. The large room had been filled with chairs, and all the foster parents and everyone else they’d foisted tickets on had been watching. He’d been sure he’d mess up.
Then he'd delivered his first line. “And how are we this morning? Miss Prism, you are, I trust, well?” He didn’t
stumble, or forget the words, and his next line had come even more easily. When he’d gotten to, “I spoke metaphorically.—My metaphor was drawn from bees,” he’d seemed to know exactly what inflection would make the audience laugh.
After that, he’d spent every spare minute at the youth center, immersed in Mrs. B’s drama program. There'd been no time for anger or hatred when he was busy learning lines, painting sets, and helping construct costumes from whatever bits and pieces Mrs. B could scrounge up. He’d finally discovered a way to be happy.
Now he could share that discovery with these kids who needed it as much as he had. Seeing their joy bought back his own, and helped keep him centered. He owed a lot to these kids.
A small girl with flaming red hair tugged on Ally’s hand, and she crouched so the girl could whisper in her ear.
Ally beamed up at Max. “I know, he’s very handsome,” she stage-whispered back to the girl, who covered her mouth with both hands, giggling uncontrollably.
Max grinned back at them. Ally had won the kids over in record time. The sadness from before had disappeared and her gray eyes were sparkling, her cheeks a little flushed. So gorgeous, so alive, he could stare at her for hours.
“There you are, Max.” He’d been so engrossed in Ally, he hadn’t noticed Mrs. B approach. She barely came up to his chest, and he had to bend down to hug her. She smelled like orange juice and buttered toast: the familiar smell of home. He took a long breath of it before putting her down.
“Mrs. B, this is Ally.”
“Lovely to meet you, dear. Oh yes, you’re a pretty one.” She nodded approvingly at Max while Ally flushed.
“Thank you for having me. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve come to watch Max with the kids.”
“You’re welcome any time, dear. Now, I can’t leave them be for too long. Idle hands and all that.” She clapped her hands and raised her voice. “Come on you lot. Get your costumes on so you can impress our guests.” Then to Max, “The children have been busy making their own costumes. They’re very proud of them.”
The Rich List Series: Contemporary Romance Box Set (Millionaire, Billionaire, CEO) Page 14