Maxie (Triple X)

by Kimberly Dean

  Blinking fast, Lexie sipped carefully. As graceful and elegant as she was, she threw an elbow into Roxie’s side. “You could have killed me.”

  Cam rubbed his lover’s back. “I told you she was the evil one.”

  Zac grabbed all the coffees before anyone else dared a sip. “No use risking assault charges.” He tossed the lot into a nearby garbage can.

  “The pastries aren’t bad, though.” Cam stole a bite of Roxie’s funnel cake and backed out of reach before she could pinch him. “I’ll go get everyone some tea.”

  “Orange juice for me,” Roxie called. “And see if you can do something to restructure her business plan before she kills someone.”

  “That’s not such a bad idea,” Maxie mused.

  Zac pushed at the crumbles that were left on his plate. “Her muffins are the only thing that got me through all that bad java.”

  “Really, Sheriff.” Lexie clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You shouldn’t be talking about other women’s muffins when you’re dating my sister.”

  Maxie laughed. It was so nice to be sitting here with people she felt affection for. The upheaval in her life had caused stress, but now that things were righted again, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun.

  “I’m going to miss you guys,” she said.

  “Stupid work,” Roxie muttered. She stuffed another bite of powdered-sugar deliciousness into her mouth.

  “You’re going to come down for our grand opening, aren’t you?” Lexie asked.

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Maxie caught Zac’s hand underneath the table. “We want to see this company you and Cam are building.”

  Roxie’s face lit up. “Charlie and Skeeter down at the bar would get a kick out of meeting you. They nearly flipped the first time Lexie walked into the Ruckus. The place would overflow if word got out that there are three of us.”

  Maxie toyed with her tea. That brought up something she wanted to discuss with them but hadn’t quite known how to bring up. “Know who I’d really like to meet?” She took a deep breath. “Our mom and dad.”

  Roxie looked at Lexie sharply. Surprise was clear on both their faces.

  “Are you sure?” Lexie folded her napkin and settled it in her lap. “I thought you didn’t have any interest in that.”

  Under the table, Maxie squeezed Zac’s hand.

  “I do,” she admitted. “I’ll always love the parents who adopted me and the grandmother who raised me, but…”

  “But blood is blood,” Lexie surmised.

  “And… Well, I found something.” Maxie’s heart began beating faster when she picked up her purse. “It was in my grandmother’s treasure box, the one where I found the adoption papers.”

  She pulled out a heavy-duty paper picture folder. That hadn’t been in the box, but she’d wanted to protect what she’d found. She opened the folder with care, and her heart squeezed just like it had the first time she’d seen the delicate paper inside.

  “What is it?” Roxie asked.

  Maxie turned the frame around and slid it across the table. Her fingers shook as she did so.

  Lexie inhaled sharply. “It’s a sketch.”

  Roxie leaned in for a closer look. “Of you when you were little!”

  The drawing had been a surprise. When Maxie had first found the old keepsake, she hadn’t been able to process what she was seeing. The paper itself wasn’t that large, only notebook sized. The medium was simple, paper and pencil, but its impact was huge.

  She was laughing in the sketch, delight showing in her sparkling eyes. She was still a baby, but even then she’d had a good head of hair. The dark strands swooped down from a bow atop her head, and her grin made her cheeks look even chubbier. The sketch had been done by someone with talent, but it was more than that. The work had been personal. Feelings and emotions radiated from every line.

  Roxie clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw the writing down in the bottom right-hand corner. “Maxie,” she read aloud. “Love, Mom.”

  Lexie ran her fingertip across the plastic covering the signature. “Mom.”

  “This made her real to me,” Maxie said huskily.

  Her mother, Mary, hadn’t been able to draw a box. The tightness in Maxie’s throat dropped into her chest, and she leaned into Zac. He settled his arm over the back of her chair.

  It was only a few days ago that she’d learned she was adopted, and she hadn’t spent much time thinking about her birth parents. They’d just been shadowy figures in a story that was only starting to unfold. One look at that sketch, though, and they’d come to life. Another mom and another dad. Real people with emotions, pressures and dreams.

  Roxie’s chair rocked on its front legs when she leaned over the table, trying to get a better look. “Do you think she drew that? Was she an artist?”

  Cam returned to the table and set down the drinks. His head tilted when he saw the sketch that had everyone’s attention. “It doesn’t look commissioned.”

  “Our mom did it,” Lexie said throatily. She caught his hand, and the emotion that passed between them was thick and heavy.

  “She loved you,” Lexie said, eyes blinking fast.

  “She loved us.” Maxie snuggled more tightly against Zac. That was the question she’d held deepest within her heart, but with that sketch she had her answer. “I want to learn the truth. I want to know why we didn’t grow up together as a family.”

  “They kept us until we were two,” Roxie defended. “They went through all the sleepless nights, the diapers, teething and learning to walk. Something must have happened.”

  Maxie stared at the sketch, even though it was upside down. They’d been kept together long enough that she’d formed bonds that had carried with her even after they’d been separated.

  “Maybe it was just her.” Lexie pulled her hand away from the picture frame, but curled her fingers as if she didn’t really want to. “Maybe the three of us were too much for a single mother.”

  Zac nodded at Cam. “Have you checked into this?”

  Cam sat down again and wrapped his arm around Lexie’s shoulders. “I’ve got a PI poking around, but he’s not making much headway. The records are sealed.”

  “Is this the guy you used to find Maxie?”

  “Same one.”

  “He’s good.”

  “But he’s been too slow,” Roxie said with disappointment. “I want to know where we get our hair color, our eyes and our smiles.”

  “Are they even still out there?” Lexie sent a regretful look across the table. “Or did our parents have an accident too?”

  Maxie caught Zac’s leg under the table. Oh God, she hadn’t even thought about that. She couldn’t take a loss like that again.

  “Are they still together? Do they think about us at all?” Roxie muttered. “Does our mom still smell like lilacs?”

  “I can add my resources to the mix,” Zac offered.

  “Between all of us, we should be able to shake something loose,” Cam agreed.

  Roxie’s expression became determined. “So are we all in? Are we all agreed that this is our next step?”

  “It has to be.” Lexie stopped fighting herself and reached for the sketch.

  Maxie didn’t even hesitate. She laid her hand over her sister’s, and Roxie piled hers on top. Cam and Zac joined in. This was her family now. There might be more to add or there might not. The truth may not be something any of them wanted to hear, but they had to have closure. They had bit and pieces. The Underhills, Mrs. Shimwell, and the adoption papers had provided different sides of the story, but they needed to end the mystery.

  “Let’s go find our parents.”

  About the Author

  Kimberly Dean is an award-winning romance author of over twenty books. Her work has been sold around the world and translated into French, German, Thai and Japanese. She enjoys the freedom and creativity allowed in writing romance, especially with all the interesting cross-genres that have been explodin
g on the scene. When not writing, she enjoys movies, sports, traveling, music and sunshine. You can learn more about Kimberly and her books at www.kimberlydean.com and follow her on Twitter at @KDean_writer.

  Look for these titles by Kimberly Dean

  Now Available:

  Blade of Moonlight

  Triple X

  Lexie

  Desire is a double-edged dance.

  Lexie

  © 2012 Kimberly Dean

  Triple X, Book 1

  Lexie Underhill works her tail off in hopes of winning her adoptive father’s approval. It’s never enough. The stinging proof? He’s brought in a reorganization expert. As if the prospect of losing her job in the family business isn’t enough, Cameron Rowe’s sexy, intimidating presence makes her palms sweat.

  When Lexie’s face appears on a scandalous freeway billboard, her protestations of innocence go unheard. With orders to save the family name—or else—she marches into the bar the billboard was advertising and comes face-to-face with an identical twin sister. Roxie is wild and free, everything Lexie isn’t. Before the night is out, she welcomes the chance to explore her own sensuality.

  As she dances wantonly on the bar, suddenly Cam is there, kissing her as if he has the right. The sizzle between them breaks out in four-alarm desire, but Lexie has recalibrated her life plan. And the equation doesn’t factor in Cam—until she’s sure where his loyalties lie. With her…or her father’s company.

  Warning: Not all business relationships are formal and stodgy. Suits and ties (actually, all clothing) are optional.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Lexie:

  Uncertainty made her face fall, and she glanced back to the bar. “You said our eyes were different.” The uncertainty turned into a frown. “Is she prettier than me? Was that it?”

  “No, that wasn’t it.” He cupped her chin and brought her attention back to him.

  He sighed when he saw the glaze in her eyes. She wasn’t a sloppy drunk. She didn’t slur her words, and she didn’t get belligerent. Well, not that belligerent. Alcohol just seemed to break down the walls she constantly kept erected around herself. Let loose, her emotions were fighting over which could show itself first. Hurt, joy and confusion were all there for the world to see.

  With her, alcohol brought out honesty.

  Cam took a deep breath. He had to get her out of here. Sober her up and help her get things straight in her head. The misunderstanding with the Underhills needed to be cleared up as soon as possible—for her sake as well as the company’s. They’d hurt her this morning and without cause. She deserved an apology, and he was going to make sure she got one.

  This newfound sister, though. He glanced over his shoulder to the bar. She was a different issue entirely.

  He watched as Roxie flirted with a particularly ugly biker, checking out the tattoo on his shoulder. He didn’t like coincidences, and he didn’t like surprises. This woman was both, and he didn’t want Lexie around her until he had the opportunity to check her out.

  And he had the resources to do a really close check.

  He brushed his thumb against Lexie’s waist and pulled back. “Let’s go straighten things out with Julian.”

  Her breath caught audibly. Face paling, her gaze flew to the door. “Is he here?”

  Cam sighed. Damn that man. “No. We’ll go find him after you’ve had some coffee.”

  “Is anybody else coming?” She rubbed her bare arms. Without her jacket, she seemed vulnerable. Ten minutes earlier, she’d been dancing around and having fun. At the mention of her family, though, she needed her armor.

  He stroked her waist, trying to get her to relax. “You got me. Just me.”

  “Oh.”

  The emotions in her eyes tumbled again, and confusion won the battle this time. She glanced around the bar almost forlornly. Cameron braced his hand against the jukebox, wanting to punch it. She was so easy to read this way, but it was a painful read.

  “Do you really dislike me that much, Lexie?”

  “I don’t dislike you.”

  Could have fooled him. “Then what is it? You’ve been avoiding me ever since I first started working at Underhill. Are you afraid of me?”

  She shifted uneasily. She’d ventured into a biker bar and had made it her own, yet looking him in the eye seemed to be too much for her. “Kind of.”

  Cam nearly winced. That honesty was a double-edged sword. “Why?”

  “Why? You want to gut my family’s company.” Her brow furrowed. “I mean, Underhill Associates.” She shook her head, the confusion too much. “I have good workers. Smart people. They should know their jobs are secure. My job should be secure.”

  “I’m not talking about work here,” he said bluntly. “And I think you know that.”

  Her lips parted. “But work is all we…” Frustration colored her cheeks. She lifted her hands and pressed her fingers against her temples. “Argg. You’re doing it again, confusing me and twisting everything up. I couldn’t sleep last night after you did what you…and firing me…and, and cleavage…”

  He could look at her cleavage all he wanted right now, but things were suddenly getting interesting. “You couldn’t sleep because you were thinking about me?”

  She rocked her foot back onto its heel, and he instinctively positioned himself closer so she couldn’t kick him. The move put his body a hairsbreadth away from hers. She was warm from all that dancing. Her skin glistened with perspiration, leaving it damp and kissable. Lickable.

  She flattened her hands against his chest again, but this time he didn’t budge. It flustered her. She shifted against the jukebox, but he wasn’t letting her get away now—not when he finally had her talking to him.

  Her lips pressed into a straight line. “I wasn’t thinking about you, I was thinking about my proposition…purpose…my proposal.”

  Interesting choice of words.

  But the alcohol she’d consumed had her on a roll. “You made me late today. I kept wondering what you were going to do. What were you going to think? How were you going to smell?”

  “I smell?”

  “Not you. It’s just…” Her cheeks went red. “Your aftershave smells nice.”

  Her words died away, but all thoughts of taking her home to Daddy left Cam. Taking her home, though, wasn’t such a bad idea. His body felt hard and hot. He’d been stressed all day, but the tension gripping him now was another sort entirely. “What do you think of me, Lexie? Really?”

  Her gaze locked with his, and he saw something new in the dark depths. Something that made his heart rate slow down, and the thick pumps sound loudly in his ears.

  “You make me uncomfortable,” she said, her voice low.

  “Uncomfortable, how?”

  She bit into her bottom lip, and her gaze skittered away. “Just…uncomfortable.”

  The awareness he’d felt on the elevator came back, heavy and deep. It was the first indication he’d had that she saw him not as a threat, but as a man.

  He wanted another.

  But he didn’t know when he’d ever get it.

  She was skittish around him. Guarded. The closest he could get to her was in meetings. Stuffy, mind-numbing meetings. Right now, her defenses were down. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t, but he wanted to know…

  He reached for her.

  Ever so gently, he ran his fingertips down her bare arm, all the way from shoulder to elbow. As he watched, goose bumps popped up on the warm flesh. She shivered and her breath caught. When she looked at him, her gaze was a little wild.

  “You make me uncomfortable too,” he said gruffly.

  They stared at each other, the music throbbing and the air hazy around them.

  “Really uncomfortable,” he muttered.

  Closing the distance, he sank into her. He watched her closely as their bodies pressed from chest to knee. The heat was intimate, the contact electric. For a moment, she was stunned still. Then all those emotions she’d kept tempered for so long rushed forwa
rd to meet him. Her anger. Her heat. Her sweetness. He felt it in the way her body melted. He heard it in the catch in the back of her throat.

  “Lexie.” He kissed her. Firmly, fully, mouth locked on mouth. He sealed their lips tight, and the sensation was so good, it damn near made him groan aloud.

  Her lips were soft, velvety and they clung. The kiss deepened, their mouths opening wider for more contact. For a woman who was as strapped in and lashed down as she was, she knew how to kiss.

  And then some.

  That hard-on he’d gotten when he’d seen her dancing atop the bar came roaring back to life. He kissed her harder, letting his tongue slide over hers. A sound left her throat, and her fingers bit into his shoulders. He did it again, loving her heat, loving the way she responded. She moved restlessly, her body grinding against his. Softness against hardness. Heat against heat.

  Cam wanted to pick her up and carry her right out to his car. He could feel her nipples poking him and her hips rolling sexily. Her arousal was like every other emotion the alcohol had freed. Hot, immediate and right on the surface.

  What had started as an exploratory kiss was quickly turning into a blistering-hot make-out session. They were hidden together in the corner. Music pounded around them and bodies shifted nearby. They were in public. Anyone could see them.

  And he didn’t care.

  He moved closer, rocking his hips into her. She let out a soft whimper as her hands glided from his shoulders to lock around his neck. Their bodies fit together like yin and yang. Her breasts pressed tighter against his chest, and he settled his growing erection right where it wanted to be, in the warm nook at the top of her legs.

  He tangled his fingers in her hair as he nuzzled the feminine curve of her jawline. God, her hair… He clenched his fist in the dark curls. If the rest of her was this silky, he’d never last. Hungry for more, he sent his other hand down her side. His blood thundered hard when he found the not-so-professional slit in her oh-so-professional skirt.

  “You want the truth?” he whispered into her ear. “The billboard wasn’t pretty enough.”