by Judy Angelo
Well, of all the nerve… “You know what? You’re right. I’ve changed my mind. I really did come all the way down here to apologize but now that you’ve confirmed what a jerk you really are, I see I’m just wasting my time. Even if I did curse out the wrong man, you probably deserved it.” She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eyes. “Maybe even more than he did.”
She could see him gritting his teeth and then his nostrils flared as he sucked in his breath. “Is that right?” His voice was soft, almost menacing, and when he uncrossed his arms and lowered them to his sides she could see the tension in the way he clenched and unclenched his fingers.
But she wasn’t scared. If he’d thought she’d tuck in her tail and make a dash for the door he’d better think again. She’d come here to apologize but he’d gone and rubbed her the wrong way and now she was ready for a fight. “Yes, that’s right. Jerks come in all shapes and sizes, and obviously you’re one of them.”
The man’s face darkened and she could see from the vein throbbing at his temple that she’d touched a nerve. Whether what she’d said was true or not, she’d obviously pissed him off big time. He looked just about ready to throttle her. God, why did she have to be so perverse, forever daring to goad the devil himself? Even when it didn’t make sense…
But there was just something about this man that brought out the worst in her…and she had no idea why.
She could feel a serious pout coming on and suddenly she felt the weird irony of her situation. It was just like the first grade when she’d fallen hopelessly in love with Timmy Pickett in the front row. She’d called him names and acted so mean when what she’d really wanted to do was grab him and kiss his fat cheeks till he begged her to stop.
And now it was happening all over again. Holy crap.
Except that this man’s cheeks were the polar opposite of fat. And he was nowhere near as cute as Timmy Pickett. No, this man was what she would call ‘craggily’ handsome. Almost like James Bond.
“Want me to show you what a jerk’s really like?” His voice was little more than a whisper but it was cold, so cold she felt a shiver run through her.
But, contrary creature that she was, she would not back down. “I dare you.” Where his voice was cool, hers was hot and defiant.
“Sure you can handle it?” Almost imperceptibly he moved closer and before Silken knew it they were mere inches apart.
She was tempted to step back but she didn’t. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he could scare her. She didn’t have a black belt in karate for nothing.
“There is nothing you can do,” she said, her voice soft and challenging, “that I can’t handle.”
At her words the tension in his face slid away and in its place was a look even more frightening than his rage…because it was a look of supreme confidence, made even more worrying by the wicked smile on his lips.
“Why don’t we put that to the test?” His voice, deceptively soft, slid over her like liquid silver, freezing her blood in her veins. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d tried.
But she didn’t try. She could see the promise in his bold gaze, the daring in the twist of his lips, the desire in his intake of breath. He was going to kiss her. And, God help her, she wanted it.
Maximillian Davidoff stepped forward and, bold as you please, he reached out and cupped her chin in his hand. Then slowly, mercilessly, he drew her face to his, closer and closer, until all she could do was close her eyes tight and wait in breathless anticipation.
And then she felt it, his lips on hers, so firm and demanding, so masterful, just like she’d expected. He kissed her close-mouthed, taking his own sweet time as his lips roamed over hers, exploring, tasting, teasing. Then, inexplicably, his mouth softened, expertly caressing, seducing until, of their own accord, her lips parted on a soft sigh.
It was then that he moved in for the kill. Her guard down, her body pliant, he dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her into him, molding her hips to his, pressing her against his hardness.
And he was hard…like rock.
The shock of it, his manhood pressing into her belly, made her gasp. It was so forward even for her, seeing this man for the second time in her life and having that most intimate part of him branded into her, body and mind.
But then he swept all thought from her brain. Even as the arm around her waist tightened, he slid the other up her back till his big hand was cupping the back of her head and then he tilted her face, ever so gently, giving himself total access to her.
When the leather strap slipped off her shoulder and her bag slid to the floor, Silken was past caring. All she could do was cling to the broad shoulders of the man who was kissing her like she’d never been kissed before. At first he’d taken it slow, teasing her lips with soft kisses and nibbles. But now as she yielded to him, all resistance melting away, he took full control, his lips opening her to him, his tongue boldly searching, exploring then plundering, stealing her air, leaving her helpless in his arms.
Finally, when she had no more strength and lay limp in his arms, he lifted his head to gaze down at her with hooded eyes. He drew in a slow, deep breath, and she could tell he was not as unaffected as he would probably like her to believe. Still, he gave her a satisfied look and a slow, enigmatic smile. “You handled that pretty well,” he said then gave a low chuckle. “Now as long as you don’t go chameleon on me, we’re good.”
Silken frowned. Go chameleon? What the beeswax was he blabbing…oh, yeah. The mix-up with her and Suave. She dropped her eyes and bit her lip. Then she stepped back and out of his arms.
“I have something to tell you,” she said, her voice coming out slightly hoarse. “I’m not who you think I am.”
***
Oh God, not again. Was this woman, Suave or whatever her name was, going batty on him again? Max gave her a long, hard stare, glad she’d put some distance between them so he could have a really good look at her. Thankfully, she didn’t look ready to curse him out or slap his face. For the moment, at least, she looked like she still had a grip on her fiery emotions, if not her sanity.
Finally, he spoke. “Meaning?”
She gave a little laugh and actually looked embarrassed. “Meaning, you think I’m Suave, but I’m not.”
Oh, Jesus. She’s losing her grip again. This was one crazy woman for sure. He certainly knew how to pick ‘em. “I’m one hundred percent certain,” he said slowly, not wanting to trigger her anger, “that’s what they called you back at the sports complex.” His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “So who do you think you are today?”
She laughed. “I’m Silken,” she said, her eyes flashing with what looked like amusement. “I’m her sister.” Then, as if that cleared up everything, she bent down, picked up her bag from the floor then straightened and looked back at him with a satisfied smile.
He cocked his head to one side, trying to figure her out. “Your sister, you say. So you’re not Suave…” Of course, he didn’t believe her but he didn’t want to come right out and say it. You never knew what set these people off. He had to take it slow. “You’re not the woman who chewed me out two days ago.”
“Of course I am,” she said with another laugh, looking like she was enjoying this little game she was playing.
“Okay.” He dragged the word out. And as he watched her he folded his arms across his chest. The woman was making not a lick of sense but he’d be patient. He was sure she would come up with some sort of explanation. He could only hope it would have some semblance of reason.
“Can I…” She looked around then back at him. “Oh, I forgot. You don’t have any furniture. I was going to ask if I could have a seat.” Then she frowned. “What kind of a place is this, anyway? Not planning on receiving visitors?”
Max unfolded his arms and slid his hands into his pockets. He shrugged. “Just moved in. I don’t even have staff yet.”
That seemed to pique her curiosity. Brows raised, she tilted her face
up to him. “What kind of business are you setting up here?”
He was about to say, but then he paused. She was a curious one. Right after dropping a big bag of mystery into his lap she’d moved on to a totally different topic. He shook his head. “I’ll answer your questions as soon as you answer mine. If you’re not Suave, who the hell are you?”
The dark-haired beauty rolled her eyes. Crazy or not, she was damn easy on the eyes. She gave an exasperated sigh. “I already told you. I’m her sister. We’re twins.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Things were finally beginning to make sense. “So Suave was the one the guy hit on.”
She nodded. “She came out to the tennis court and told me what happened.”
“And you tore back inside and blasted the man sitting at the bar,” he said finishing the sentence for her. “The man who happened to be me.”
She had the grace to give him a rueful smile. “Sorry.”
He couldn’t help but smile back. “Well, I’m glad about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not insane.” He shook his head. “For a while there you had me convinced you’d lost more than a few screws upstairs.”
“What?” She jammed a fist on her hip and gave him an indignant glare. “You thought I was crazy?” A mischievous smile tickled her lips. “Now I wonder what gave you that idea?”
“Probably when you marched in with fire in your eyes and proceeded to lambaste an innocent man.” He laughed. “For a moment I thought I was in the twilight zone.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I really am. It’s just…I tend to fly off the handle pretty quickly…especially if it has to do with my little sis. I don’t let anybody take advantage of her.”
“Your little sis? I thought she was your twin.”
“She is, but I got here first.” She lifted a hand to push a curly strand away from her face. “So anyway, she insisted that I find you and apologize, so here I am.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “So this apology, it was her idea.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well. I came, didn’t I?” It sounded like she was done with apologies. Apparently, once she’d said her piece, that was that. “So what’s your answer to my question? What kind of business are you running here?”
Max almost smiled. The more he listened to this woman speak – and now he’d have to stop thinking of her as Suave and remind himself that she was Silken – the more intrigued he was by her. Within the space of mere minutes she had moved from defiant to crazy to seductive to apologetic. And now to demanding. He could see she wasn’t going to give up till he’d given her an answer. “This is my brand new office,” he said. “I’m here in Cupertino to finalize the building of a racetrack.”
Silken’s eyes opened wide. “Shut up. You’re not serious, are you?”
Now his face broke into a smile. He couldn’t help it. So he was supposed to shut up and answer her question at the same time? “I’m serious as a judge,” he said. "The project is already underway. Half completed, in fact.”
She frowned. “Hey, now that you mention it, I did hear something through the grapevine about some big construction taking place just outside of the Cupertino city limits. That’s your project?”
“The same. I think the city could do with some NASCAR Racing.”
“NASCAR,” Silken repeated, her eyes full of wonder, “in my very own town?”
“You like the idea?”
She turned eager eyes on him. “Are you crazy? I love it. Cars are my life, especially fast ones.”
Max almost did a double-take. So far he hadn’t found a woman who got excited in the least about his latest project. Finally, here was one who seemed to share his passion. An idea came to him. He didn’t even think twice before he threw it out to her. “Hey, want to come see the racetrack? I can take you there right now.”
Her eyes sparkled and she gave him a toothy grin. “Take me to it.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“You’re going where? Silken, are you crazy? You don’t even know this man.” Suave’s voice was so high pitched she was almost shrieking into the phone. “You get out of that car this instant, do you hear me? You’ve got to stop acting on impulse. You’re a grown woman, Silken, not a little kid.”
Silken held the phone away from her ear, looked over at Max and grinned. “My sister,” she mouthed to him as the wind whipped her hair around her face. Her very able driver smiled back at her then turned his attention back to the wide-open highway as his Benz sports convertible sped past car after car. He was going at a healthy clip but she didn’t mind. She could see that he was an expert driver. She had no doubt that she was in good hands.
Silken put the phone back to her ear. “It’s okay, sis. I’m just going to look at the site with him and then I’ll head right back. I’ll even take him to the office so you can meet him and see that he's harmless.” She glanced over at Max. He’d raised his eyebrows but he hadn’t said a thing. Actually, she hadn’t asked him first but she guessed he wouldn’t mind it if she dragged him off to meet her sister. That way he’d know for sure that she had a twin and wasn’t just making it up. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”
There were more grumbles from Suave but eventually she calmed down enough for Silken to be able to hang up without worrying that her sister was going to have a heart attack. Suave was such a worrywart – unlike her, always quick to try something new.
Sliding the phone back into her purse, she turned to Max. “How much farther?” She had to yell to be heard over the wind whipping at their faces.
“Ten minutes and we’re there,” he yelled back. “Everything all right?”
“Perfect,” she said and settled back in her seat to enjoy the rest of the ride.
Within minutes they were pulling into a massive parking lot, now totally empty except for Max’s car that was pulling up to the entrance to a stadium that was still under construction. He swung the car into a nearby parking spot then hopped out to open the door for Silken.
“Welcome,” he said with a dramatic flourish. “My latest and greatest project – NASCAR racing at its finest. Coming soon to your town.”
She laughed. “Your latest but surely not your greatest. What about your Davidoff cosmetics empire? I checked you out, you know. I know who you are.”
For a second his eyes narrowed and the smile on his lips hardened. Obviously, he wasn’t thrilled that his identity was no secret, at least not to her. But what did he expect? She’d found him so, of course, she would also have found out who he was. She stared up at him, ready to douse him with a cold dose of reality if he questioned how she knew about him.
But he didn’t. As if he realized she was no threat to him, the tight lines in his face smoothed and he relaxed visibly. “Okay,” he said, the smile returning to his eyes, “you got me. It may not be my biggest project but it’s the one I’m most excited about right now. Come on.” He jerked his head. “Let me show you.”
He held out his hand and Silken took it, surprised at how eager he seemed. One minute he was stern and suspicious, the next he was like a kid showing off his new bike.
She put her hand in his and his hand swallowed hers up, making her feel uncharacteristically fragile and small. She wasn’t used to feeling like this and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Silken McCullen was a ‘take-charge’ kind of girl who always set the pace. In the company of this man she didn’t feel quite so in charge.
Before she could ponder further he’d pulled her to her feet, slammed the car door shut and was heading for the entrance with her in tow. “Hang on a sec,” she said, pulling her hand from his. “I’m in high heels, remember? I can’t go dashing across the gravel like you can. I'll trip and fall flat on my face.”
He slowed down and gave her a wry grin. “Sorry. Forgot how challenged you females are when it comes to balance.”
“Yeah, because of you men,” she grumbled, giving him a mock glare. “It’s because of you that we wear these things, uncom
fortable though they are.” She shook her head. “The things we do to look sexy.”
He looked over at her. “You don’t have any problem in that department. Trust me.”
At his words Silken’s body went tight and her breath caught in her throat. She bit her lip and looked away. It wasn’t so much what he said but how he said it…like he would take her right there in the parking lot if she’d let him.
She was impulsive and she was daring, she’d be the first to admit. But she wasn’t that crazy…as much as she would love to feel his lips on hers again.
“Uh, so when did you start construction?” she blurted out, desperate to divert his attention, to get him to look at anything but her.
To her relief, it worked. Raising a hand, he waved it in the direction of the massive structure. “We broke ground over eight months ago,” he said, his voice tinged with pride, “long before I moved to Cupertino. I got tired of flying in from New York to check on the progress so I decided to set up a home here.”
She glanced over at him. They were right inside the entrance now and he’d slowed to a halt. “But why Cupertino? Why leave New York to come all the way here?”
He shrugged. “My brother. He runs a software engineering firm here and I’ve been visiting for years. When I mentioned wanting to get into the auto racing business he was the one who suggested I set up shop here.” He smiled. “I guess it helps that I kinda like the place.”
Silken nodded. "The place is teeming with young professionals so Suave and I thought it would be the perfect place to start our business.” She cocked her head to one side so she could look up at him. “Just like you.”
“Great minds think alike.” That was what he said, but from the look in his eyes she had a feeling it wasn’t her mind he was thinking about. But then he jerked his head toward the open field ahead. “Time for the grand tour,” he said and set off ahead of her.
To say that Silken was impressed was an understatement. Although not yet completed, the latest NASCAR racetrack was stunning in its colossal size. She felt like an insignificant speck of dust in the vast open space before her, a gigantic oval-shaped stadium with a tilted racetrack in the middle.