by Alexa Davis
"Max?" I called out as I stuck my head around the corner. There was no response, but on the counter I found a plate with four bacon wrapped figs dripping with a mystery sauce. Next to the plate was a note that read, "Eat one now and bring the rest to the balcony." I popped a fig in my mouth and was overwhelmed by the delicious combination of sweet and savory flavors, then I grabbed the plate and walked out to the balcony.
"Max?" I called again before I saw him standing against the far railing, his back to the city with the lights outlining his body. He was wearing light-colored shirt and pants, which set off his toned body. His hair was down and messy, the way I liked it, and was blowing in the light breeze that passed over the upper floor of the building. He held out a glass of wine and smiled as walked toward me.
"You look stunning," he told me as he offered the wine. I took it as I smiled up at him. "But then, I think you'd look stunning no matter what you put on."
"You're such a charmer, Mr. Malin," I said as I held his gaze. There was something different about him, something softer. I wasn't sure what had happened while I was away for the afternoon, but I was pretty sure I liked it.
"How was the audition?" he asked as he took the plate of figs from my hand and set it on the table he'd set up outside. It was covered in a pristine white cloth and set with what appeared to be dinner. He motioned for me to sit down as he pulled out my chair and helped me get seated. Then, he took his place across the small table and lifted the silver covers on each of our plates. I inhaled sharply as I saw the perfectly prepared individual paellas full of rice, vegetables, and a wide array of seafood.
"Did you make this?" I asked, stunned at the beauty of the dish and its intoxicating scent.
"I did, indeed," he smiled. "I'm more than just a ruthless businessman, you know."
"I never said you were ruthless!" I protested laughing. "And, I knew you could whip up a simple meal, but this?"
"I am a man of many talents, fiancée," he said. I looked across the table and saw that he was watching me closely with those mesmerizing blue eyes, and I smiled as I dropped my gaze to the plate in front of me, picked up my fork, and began to eat.
"Apparently, gourmet chef skills are included in those skills," I said as the delicious flavors exploded in my mouth. "This is delicious. Where did you learn to make something like this?"
"Thank you, my Babi taught me to cook, and she encouraged me to experiment with lots of different types of foods," he said as he chewed. "I particularly like Mediterranean food because it's light and healthy, and it looks so beautiful on the plate. But enough about me, you didn't tell me about the audition."
"It went quite well, I think," I said as I continued eating. "They want me to come back tomorrow and read with the actor who will be playing George."
"That's good!" He smiled and then suddenly, his face fell. "Wait, I'm going to have to let you go early again?"
"That's correct," I nodded, hoping that he wouldn't get mad about it. Then, I grinned at him, "I mean, I could ask for the whole day off, but I won't."
"A whole day off?" he said incredulously. I caught a glimpse of the smile that flitted across his lips and decided that two could play at this game.
"Yes, most normal people get two days off per week," I lectured in a prissy tone. "I haven't asked for any days off yet, so I think you could grant me an afternoon. I mean, unless I need to go to the labor board and file a complaint or something."
"You are one smooth negotiator, lady!" Max burst out laughing and dropped his fork on his plate.
"Thank you, I think," I said as I grinned and kept eating.
"Yes, you can have tomorrow afternoon off, but don't make it a habit," he warned. "We've got a lot of work to do between sales and the wedding plans, and I need you in the store."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" I said as I offered up a mock salute. A dark look crossed Max's face, but was quickly replaced by a smile as he offered me more wine.
We spent the rest of the meal discussing our wedding plans and setting the date so that we could choose various vendors and order things like flowers and the cake. There was a part of me that felt a little confused as we talked about guests and the venue, but I quickly swept my confusion aside as I reminded myself that this was a business deal and that my role was to play the bride. We decided on the first weekend in August, which gave us less than two months to plan the entire event. Max wondered if we shouldn't hire a wedding planner, but I nixed the idea, telling him that I didn't think it was the best idea to involve an outsider in planning a faux wedding.
"Besides, we don't need the added expense," I tossed out.
"Lexi, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you this, but money is not obstacle here," he said as he spooned up the last of his meal.
"I keep forgetting that, sorry," I said, shaking my head. "Why don't you act more like a billionaire?"
"I can't," he said as he cast his eyes downward. "It's not something I can do. Just try to understand that."
"I'm sorry," I repeated quietly. I stood up and started gathering the plates to take them back to the kitchen.
"Lexi, stop, I have a staff who will do that for us," he said, resting his hand on my arm.
"I'm never going to get used to this," I sighed as I set the plates down and followed him to the far end of the balcony, where we stood looking out over Lake Michigan and enjoying the cool evening breeze.
"Max, why are you doing this?" I asked. We were standing so close, I could feel the heat radiating off of him. He smelled of spices and musk, and I wanted very badly to lean against him and feel his arm around my waist.
"Doing what?" he asked.
"Why are you setting up a fake wedding with a complete stranger, instead of marrying a woman you actually love?"
"Oh, that," he replied quietly. "It's a long complicated story, and I don't want to bore you with it."
"I seriously doubt you could ever bore me," I said as I turned and looked up at his profile. His jaw was flexing as he stared out at the water and I knew he was trying to decide what to tell me. I didn't push; instead, I lifted my arm and lightly rested my hand against his cheek. He leaned into my touch for a few moments before he turned and looked down at me.
"You are so incredibly beautiful," he said as he reached around behind me and slipped his fingers into my hair. He quickly located the few pins I'd used to pile my hair on top of my head and with nimble fingers, he quickly pulled them out, causing my hair to fall down around my shoulders. "I've wanted to do that since the first day."
"Why didn't you?" I whispered.
"I wasn't sure you'd let me." He leaned closer running his fingers through my hair until he was cupping the back of my head and could pull me close enough to feel his breath on my cheek. "I also wanted to do this."
Then, Max Malin lightly brushed his lips across mine before he pulled me to him and kissed me, and I melted.
CHAPTER THRITY-THIRTY ONE
Max
All through dinner, I'd fought back the urge to touch Lexi, and now as we stood on the balcony high above the city, I stopped fighting. I could feel the softness of her body through the fabric of her dress as I pulled her tightly against me. I ran my fingers through her hair and cradled the back of her head as I kissed her deeply, afraid that at any moment, she would stop and push me away.
Instead, Lexi wrapped her arms around my neck and began moaning softly as I slowly ran my tongue over her lower lip before gently nipping it with my teeth. I heard her sigh as her tongue darted out from between her lips and found mine. She teased me as the kiss intensified and my hands began to wander.
"Max," she whispered as she pulled back from my mouth. "Are we…is this…"
"I've wanted this from the moment I first laid eyes on you," I told her as looked into her eyes and caressed her cheek with my fingertips. She was looking up at me and her eyes sparkled with desire as she nodded and then pulled me back down into another deep kiss. With my fingers, I traced a path down the deep v i
n her dress and was rewarded with a soft moan as she shivered. I was torn between wanting to draw things out for as long as possible and wanting to tear off her clothes and feel every inch of her naked skin pressed against my body.
Afraid of moving too quickly and frightening her, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her over to the large chaise lounge in the far corner of the deck. I gently laid her down and starting at her feet, began pushing the silky layers of fabric up her body exposing her skin with every inch. I stopped to run my tongue up the inside of her leg and was rewarded with a deep sigh before I continued my ascent. I was surprised to see that she wasn't wearing anything under the dress, and I smiled at her as she sat up and raised her arms so I could pull it up over her head leaving her completely bare.
"You're exquisite," I whispered as I leaned forward and kissed her neck. "And, I want to explore every inch of you. Slowly and deliberately."
"Max," she moaned as she ran her fingers through my hair. She ran them across my shoulders before whispering, "I want you…please."
She reached down and grabbed the bottom of my shirt and tugged until I was forced to lift my arms up so she could remove it. She gasped as she leaned forward and ran her lips over the skin of my bare chest. I could feel my own need building as my shaft swelled inside my pants. Lexi dropped one hand and began massaging it through the fabric as I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back so I could kiss her harder.
As I held her hair in one hand, I ran the other across her breasts, stopping to tease each of her nipples into erect points as our tongues darted and danced. She moaned into the kiss as she unzipped my pants, slipped her hand inside them, and began stroking. I groaned as I felt her fingers close around my shaft and begin to squeeze as she slid her finger across the slippery tip, where evidence of my desire was already leaking out.
She teased me until I whispered, "Two can play at this game, lady," and ran my hand down her body until I reached the center of her need and slid my hands between her thighs. I leaned back a little and held her gaze as I lightly stroked her outer lips. She squeezed me tighter and stroked a little harder. In response, I dipped one finger between her lips and massaged the wet, velvety folds between them. She gasped, and then let go so that she could bring her hand up to her lips and run her tongue across the palm, coating it in her saliva before reaching back down to grasp my turgid erection. Now, it was my turn to gasp as she began stroking me with her slippery wet hand.
"You're evil," I grinned.
"You like it," she replied with a wicked smile as she stroked a little harder. For a moment, I lost track of what I was doing as I gave in to the rhythm of her hand. My fingers were still buried between her legs and her warmth reminded me I still had an edge. I slid two fingers down to her wet, waiting entrance and then slowly slid them all the way in, earning a long low moan in the process.
"I told you, two can play this game," I whispered into her lips as I leaned forward and kissed her again. I followed her rhythm as I stroked her inner walls and together, we drove each other to the edge of desire. I wrapped my arm around her lower back and held her firmly as I slid my fingers in and out again and again, applying my thumb on the swollen flesh of her clitoris. She moaned loudly and picked up her pace as she stroked me harder and faster. I groaned as I felt the wave of orgasm approaching and I stroked her harder, trying to bring her under with me.
"Max, Max, Max," she panted into my mouth as I pressed my fingers deeper into her and stroked her harder and faster. I could feel her tensing around my hand and I wanted to feel her go all the way and cede control. I tried to hold back as I felt the warm slick pressure of her hand sliding up and down on my shaft, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer.
"Do it, Lexi, let go and do it for me," I whispered into her lips. "I want to see your beautiful face as you let go and climax for me. Do it for me, Lexi. I need it."
The words pushed her over the edge, and I felt her clamp down on my hand as she screamed and thrust her hips up to meet my fingers. The sound of her orgasming set off my own release and I groaned loudly as I let go and climaxed with her. She continued gripping my shaft as she pumped her hips against my hand, and I throbbed as I felt the last of my release dripping from the tip.
"What was that?" she whispered many minutes later when we'd both regained our breath. She groaned softly as I pulled my fingers from between her legs and then lay down next to her on the chaise. I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms around her as I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent.
"Whatever it was," I said as I stroked her skin. "I want more of it, much more."
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Lexi
As Max held me, I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating. It was strong and steady, and as I lay next to him, feeling his arms encircling me, I wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. I worked for him, and now, I'd crossed a line and become something entirely different. The question was what that was.
I shifted a little and pulled back so that I could look at his face. When he didn't move, I realized he had fallen asleep on the chaise. I shook my head as I extracted myself from his embrace and then covered him with a blanket draped over the end of the lounge. It was warm enough to sleep outside and the sky looked clear, so I knew he would be fine. I leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek, then stood up, grabbed my dress and wrapped it around me as I walked back to my room. I looked for Anna, but when I couldn't find her, I assumed she was still fast asleep in Max's room, so I left the door cracked and went to bed.
I lay there in the darkness thinking about everything that had happened and my head spun with the mix of images and sensations. I'd landed a second audition for a major role, and then, I'd ended up having sex on the balcony of my boss's penthouse with him. As I turned it over and over again, I feel a growing unease in the pit of my stomach.
Rationally, I knew that there was no way on earth that a man like Max Malin saw me as a potential – anything. I was a young actress he'd hired to help him build his business, and the fact that he and I had hooked up was simply a bonus in his estimate. I was a support system, in much the same way I'd been for Josh, and I held back a small sob as I thought about where that had gotten me.
I began replaying all of the interactions and conversations Max and I had had since I'd begun working for him. I looked at it all through the lens of being the hired help and flinched as I recalled that he had people who washed his sheets and did his dishes. He wouldn't flinch at having a sales girl who performed other duties, and the shame of having been willing to believe that there might be something else to it all made my cheeks burn. I was a fool. Just like with Josh.
The problem was that I'd bought my own act. Max had hired me to play a role and I'd played it so well that I'd forgotten it was a role. I'd forgotten that it wasn't real. And yet, I couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't at least a tiny bit of real mixed in. He couldn't have done what he'd done had there not be some kind of real feelings. The memory of his soft lips pressed against mine, and the sensations that his hands had drawn out of my body were real to me. They were still very real. And, the fact that I wanted more of him proved that what I'd felt was real.
I shook my head as I thought about how a man like that didn't want for female company and that I was fooling myself if I thought he'd choose me, an out-of-work actress, over some rich socialite who understood his world and what it would take to live in it. In Max's business, there was no room for this girlish romantic fantasy. He had an empire to build and I was simply a stepping-stone in the process.
The longer I thought about it, the more agitated I became as I compared the situation to the one I'd just left. Josh had used me, too, and then discarded me when I became a burden, and he didn't have anywhere near the resources or connections that Max Malin had. And, I'd been with Josh for over five years! If he could so quickly discard me after that, then there was really nothing stopping Max from doing it after a few weeks
or months, and I wasn't going to become disposable again.
I breathed deeply as I fought back the tears of rejection and told myself that I didn't have time for all of this personal drama, anyway. I had an audition for a major role scheduled and a major part to land. This role with Max would be over once we'd figured out an ending to this fake wedding and generated publicity for his business. After that, I would be on my own again, me and Anna, and I needed to prepare for what would happen. Max Malin had no intention of becoming a permanent part of my life, so I needed to stop mooning around like a love struck schoolgirl pretending like he did.
I set my jaw as I pulled the covers up tightly around me. I was not going to allow myself to be blindsided twice – not when I could see the ending from a mile away.
CHAPTER THRITY-THREE
Max
I woke up alone on the chaise lounge the next morning with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon and light up the sky. For a moment, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there, then I smiled as the memory of the night before came flooding back. I turned over expecting to find Lexi fast asleep next to me. I frowned when I saw that the space was empty and wondered if she'd awoken early and gone in to get breakfast started.
"Lexi?" I called as I opened the balcony door and went inside. There was no response, so I headed back toward my bedroom, wondering if she'd already started getting ready for work. "Lexi? Are you up?"
The door to her bedroom was cracked open, so I peeked inside and found her sound asleep in her own bed with Anna curled up next to her on the pillow. The kitten opened one eye and looked at me, then stretched a little and laid one paw on her owner's head and went back to sleep. I backed up and closed the door, wondering if I'd imagined the night before.