Annie, Get Your Guy & Messing Around with Max

by Lori Foster

  Annie had claimed Max would be perfect—in that she was correct. Except that he was too perfect.

  Maddie looked at his profile as he drove. The wipers worked double time clearing the windshield, but still the rain was blinding. Thunder rocked the truck.

  Maddie felt oblivious to it all.

  The man was too attractive for words. Just thinking of the things he knew, the things he could do to her, teach her… Her skin tingled into goose bumps that had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with Max. She had expected to be attracted to him; she hadn’t expected to like him so much right off the bat.

  Despite her innate timidity, Maddie would have brazenly sat close to Max, and had intended to do just that. But when they’d dashed through the rain to his truck, Max had left her to fend for herself while he strapped Cleo into a doggy seat, located right between them. And anytime she tried to lean closer, to see him better, Cleo snarled. The dog was already so upset by the turbulent storm, Maddie couldn’t bring herself to cause the poor creature more distress.

  She understood Cleo on a gut level. The dog’s defensive attitude was similar to those of the women she dealt with in her job, and her heart just naturally went out to the canine. Not that Cleo needed Maddie’s understanding when she had Max fawning all over her.

  Cleo watched her with a jaundiced eye, curling her lips every so often in what might have been a silent threat, though Maddie thought that was just the dog’s way of mumbling, since she hadn’t actually done anything vicious.

  Cleo was about the ugliest dog Maddie had ever seen.

  Yellowish fur with streaks of white and gray, a head far too small for such a corpulent body, and squat legs, made her look like some botched scientific experiment—something between a dog and a pigmy sow, maybe a furry ball with a head and feet.

  The whiter fur circled the dog’s tiny head, making it appear that her head had been morphed on in the wrong spot. Maddie thought the dog’s tail was long, but because it stayed curled up between her hind legs and glued to her belly, it was impossible to tell for sure.

  “Why is your dog so mean-tempered?” she asked cautiously, and watched Cleo show a few more pointed teeth.

  Max glanced at her, but gave most of his attention to the road, which now resembled a large puddle with the rain water pooling on it. “Whoever had her before me didn’t treat her well.”

  Maddie nodded in understanding. The dog tried to fend off all friendly overtures, rather than trust anyone and risk more hurt, just as Max traveled the world, searching for meanings he couldn’t find at home. When Annie had told her of Max’s penchant for traveling, especially during the holidays, she’d naturally begun ruminating on his psyche.

  Her specialized education and work experience made it easier for her to understand others.

  Understanding herself hadn’t been quite so easy. It had taken her friends to point out the obvious to her, that she was now determined to arm herself with specialized knowledge so no man could ever humiliate her or take advantage of her again, due to her naiveté.

  Looking at Max now, seeing the tender way he smiled at Cleo, her heart thumped. Though she knew she was getting in over her head, she still insisted to herself that it was a good plan. “How long have you had her?”

  “I found her in the middle of the road about a month ago. She was just lying there and I thought she was…” He dropped his voice to a whisper, and spelled, “D-E-A-D.”

  Horrified as she was by the picture he painted, Maddie bit back a smile. “I gather your dog doesn’t spell?”

  In all seriousness, Max said, “Just a little. There are some words I can’t say, hint at, or spell without her going nuts on me.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like another word for inoculation, if you get my drift. Or the professional who might give her that inoculation.”

  “Ah. She hates medical personnel?”

  Cleo howled. Obviously, Maddie had used words she recognized.

  “That’s about it,” Max confirmed.

  “So how do you get her there?”

  “I speak to her in French.” He sent Maddie a devilish grin, and added, “All females are partial to having French softly crooned to them. Makes them mellow.”

  Maddie snorted. “I don’t understand French, and if a guy was going to croon to me, I’d darn sure want to understand what he was saying.”

  Why that made Max laugh, Maddie wasn’t sure. His reactions left her confused as to whether he found her to be laughably odd, or appealing.

  “She used to hate baths, too,” Max said around his chuckles, “but I changed all that.”

  At the word bath, the dog’s pointed ears lifted off her skull and she barked. Max laughed and rubbed her head.

  “Should I ask?”

  His grin was pure wickedness, but all he said was, “She especially loves bubbles.”

  Another bark.

  Maddie found herself grinning, too, charmed by Max and his eccentric dog. So what that things weren’t working out quite as she had meticulously planned? Annie had said nothing about a dog being at the shop, but then maybe she hadn’t known. Perhaps Max only brought the dog along, as he’d said, because of the storm.

  The unplanned rip in her jeans and the unfortunate transparency of her T-shirt had certainly gotten his attention.

  She cleared her throat as they neared her street and said, “I’d like to repay you by cooking you dinner.”

  Max skipped another look her way. His eyes were so dark, so intense, they made her shiver.

  “Not tonight.” He answered slowly, as if coming up with an excuse—or because he didn’t really want to say no. Maddie wasn’t sure which but she hoped it was the latter. “I need to get Cleo home and out of the storm so she can settle down.”

  “Exactly. My apartment is close and quiet,” Maddie urged. “Why make Cleo ride farther when you can come in for a spell and relax, eat a little, and maybe by then the rain will have stopped.”

  Max looked undecided, so Maddie worked on Cleo. Leaning close to the dog, she asked, “Would you like to come in, girl?”

  Cleo snarled at the invasion of her personal space. Her lips rolled and undulated, her teeth dripping as growled threats escaped.

  “There, you see,” Maddie said, not the least put off by the surly dog. Cleo’s reaction this time was based on jealousy, Maddie was sure. She had things all worked out and there was no way a possessive pooch would thwart her. “She likes the idea.”

  Max chuckled. “You really aren’t afraid of her, are you?”

  Maddie shrugged. “I think I understand her. She doesn’t dislike me so much as she’s afraid to like me.”

  “It took me two weeks,” Max admitted, “just to get her to trust me enough to let me pet her.”

  Hearing that, Maddie felt tears at the back of her throat. No wonder Cleo was possessive! On impulse Maddie threw her arms around the dog and hugged her tight. Both Max and Cleo looked stunned.

  “Well,” Maddie said in a slightly choked voice, ignoring them both as she pressed her nose into Cleo’s soft, clean fur, “she certainly loves you now.”

  Had Cleo been abandoned and ignored, Maddie wondered, much like the ladies she worked with?

  Max interrupted her thoughts. “So why are you set against marriage?”

  Startled, Maddie blinked at him. “That was a quick change of topic.”

  “You looked ready to cry,” he explained with a shrug. “I can’t abide whimpering women.”

  “I never whimper.” Maddie sniffed, wiped her eyes, and said, “I’m not exactly against marriage, not really. It’s only that I’m in no rush to get tied down any time soon. I tried that and it was humiliating in the extreme.”

  Max perked up. “Humiliating? How so?”

  “You really want to hear this?” She no sooner asked the question than she had to instruct him to turn onto her street. Within minutes she’d be in front of her apartment building. It was either gain his interest now, or possib
ly lose the opportunity.

  Max turned the truck, then said, “Yeah, I want to hear it.”

  Drawing a deep breath and doing her best not to blush, Maddie confessed, “I came home early one day and found my fiancé tied spread-eagle and naked to my bed while a woman I’d never met tickled him with a feather.”

  Choking, Max said, “You’re kidding?”

  “Turn here. This is my apartment building.” Maddie felt the heat in her face, the remembrance of deep humiliation, and lifted her chin. “Nope, I’m afraid there’s no joke. The feather was a huge lemon-yellow one.”

  “So what did you do?”

  Maddie smiled. If he was curious enough, perhaps she could use that against him. She’d already sensed that his male pride was a good lever as well. When she’d teased him about being clueless on the book, he’d all but vibrated with sensual menace. It had made her heart pound.

  “Come inside,” she offered slyly, “and I’ll tell you.”

  “Said the spider to the fly?”

  Maddie gave him a cocky grin. “Afraid of getting eaten?”

  His eyes heated, grew even more intense. “A double entendre if ever I heard one.”

  “I’m surprised you realized it, after all your admitted confusion about things sexual.”

  His teeth locked with a snap. “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “So it is.” Annie had sworn to Maddie that forced seduction worked quite well on men. It certainly had worked for Annie! Guy had been resisting her for years, but once Annie got him alone and she could have her way with him…

  Maddie grinned at the thought of having her way with Max. After she got him in the door, she’d make her move.

  Max pulled into her parking garage and turned off his truck. Cleo was none too happy with the situation at all, and her menace was aimed at Maddie. The thick fur around her miniscule head bristled and stood on end. Maddie patted it back down, knowing good and well how important styled hair was to a female, even a mean female dog.

  Through the impromptu grooming, Maddie continued to grin. Or was a grin considered a leer when one had lascivious thoughts on her mind? And how could her thoughts be any other way when Max was sitting beside her? He smelled good, his hot scent detectable even over the heavier smell of wet dog. And he looked good, his dark hair clinging to the back of his neck, his damp shirt showing off an impressive array of chest and shoulder muscles.

  He was surprisingly kind for a Lothario, strong and gentle and understanding with Cleo, patient with Maddie herself.

  Max smiled at how silly Cleo looked with her fur parted in the middle and brushed to the sides. Then he sighed in resignation. “So tell me, Maddie. What are we having for dinner?”

  Maddie thought about saying beefcake, but curbed herself in time. Her mind moving a mile a minute, she climbed out of the truck while Max unlatched the dog and hooked Cleo’s leash onto her collar. “How about chicken? I can cook that pretty quick.” And then they could get onto better things.

  “Chicken is fine.”

  Cleo woofed, for once in agreement. Her vocabulary, Maddie thought, was surprisingly varied.

  “We’ll have to debone yours, girl. I wouldn’t want you to strangle on a bone.”

  Max paused with Cleo held high in his arms. “You intend to feed Cleo, too?”

  Appalled that he would suggest otherwise, Maddie said, “I certainly wouldn’t eat in front of her!”

  “And you’ll even debone her meat?”

  Maddie shuddered. “Can you imagine how she’d look gagging on a chicken bone?” She shuddered.

  “Please Max, it’s not a pretty picture.”

  Max smiled. Then his smile spread and the next thing Maddie knew he was laughing.

  “What?” His laughter had a curious effect on her, warming her from the inside out, making her toes curl. She led the way through the parking garage to the building entrance, while Max continued to carry Cleo rather than let her walk. Cleo looked as if it were perfectly natural for him to cart her around in such a grand style.

  “Maddie.”

  His voice was so soft, so compelling, Maddie froze, then shivered. If he could do so much with just a word, she could only imagine what he’d do with his hands, his mouth.

  “Are you sure you’re against marriage?”

  Looking at Max over her shoulder, Maddie saw his teasing smile, the sexy twinkle in his dark eyes, and she waved off his comment. Everything his sister had told her proved Max was a confirmed bachelor who intended to remain that way.

  According to Annie, women chased Max daily, beautiful women, young women, mature women, wealthy women and women of lesser means. He’d traveled the world and everywhere he went, women wanted him.

  Yet Max was still single.

  That said a lot. And it told her that if she wished to gain her education, she’d have to keep things casual.

  “Oh, I imagine I’ll make a fine wife someday. But not for a long, long time.”

  “So if you don’t want marriage, what do you want?”

  Keeping her back to him, Maddie said, “To understand the attraction of a feather. To understand the lure of sex.” She took a deep breath. “To notch my bedpost.”

  There was a pause behind her, no footsteps, no breathing. Even Cleo was silent. In a rush, Max again caught up. He didn’t say another word.

  She reached her door on the second floor, well aware of the fact that Max had carried fat Cleo up the stairs and still he wasn’t breathing hard. He was in such superb shape.

  She could barely wait to get a bird’s-eye view of his body.

  “Here we are,” she said, trying to sound cheerful instead of triumphant. She stepped inside and waited, ready to pounce the moment she had the door closed behind him, barring his escape.

  But Max hesitated on her doorstep.

  “It just occurred to me,” he said, looking down at Cleo who stared back in unblinking worship. “I should let her take care of business first. I wouldn’t want her messing your apartment.”

  Maddie nearly panicked. Was he trying to escape already? And she hadn’t even tried anything yet! Maybe she had come on too strong, maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned that part about notching…

  But then Max said, “You should change out of those wet clothes. We’ll be back in five minutes or so.”

  Some of the tension eased from her muscles. He sounded sincere enough. “All right. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “As soon as I get back, you can start explaining.”

  He made it sound like a threat, but Maddie was just glad he’d promised to come back.

  The second he was down the stairs, she ran into her bedroom and shuffled through her closet, wondering what to change into. Not another pair of ultra tight jeans, she decided, unwilling to take the risk of a new rip. Tearing her clothes had not been part of the plan.

  Of course, slamming into a closed door hadn’t been on the agenda either. Still, she was working with what she had.

  For late April it could still get cool, so she decided against a sundress, and instead pulled out a snug, long sleeved dress of beige cotton. It fell to midcalf, but hugged her bottom and her breasts. Across the bodice was a colorful mauve rose and the words In Full Bloom. And on the back, Freshly Plucked.

  She rushed to the mirror, then gasped at her bedraggled appearance. It was a toss up who looked worse—her or Cleo. She grabbed a comb and attempted to get the tangles out of her hair in record time.

  She heard the front door open and close. “Maddie?”

  “Be right there.” Quickly, she creamed off her ruined makeup and opted not to bother with more. She’d heard sex, when done right, was a hot, sweaty business. Surely Max would do it right, so perhaps makeup would be useless anyway.

  Trying to look sexy and tempting, she floated out of the bedroom toward where Max stood at her picture window overlooking the main street. Both he and the dog were now more wet than ever. Cleo saw her first and got so outrage
d at the sight of her that she began bouncing as well as barking.

  Max turned and attempted to calm the dog. “Cleo.” Then he caught sight of Maddie and whatever else he’d intended to say never came out. She was sure she saw him gulp.

  Cleo subsided, but not without a lot of grumbling. Almost defiantly, she went to Maddie’s old, floral couch and climbed up—with a lot of effort—to spread out full length on the cushions. Even as her eyes closed, she continued to snarl.

  Max cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I’ll get her down…”

  “She’s fine.”

  “She’s wet.”

  Maddie shrugged. “The cushion covers are washable.” Maddie looked at the dog, so worn out from all her nastiness and her fright of the storm. Even in her exhaustion, with her eyes closed and her round body looking like a boneless pile of scruffy fur with a head, her teeth showed in a low warning growl.

  Maddie’s heart softened. Speaking softly so as not to disturb Cleo, Maddie asked, “Do you think she’s cold? I could get her an old blanket.”

  Looking a little bemused, Max walked toward Maddie. “She’s got plenty of fur to keep her warm.” Max stopped about a foot in front of her, well within range, she decided. Doing her best to repress all her old inhibitions, Maddie thought of what she might learn tonight. Never again would a man take her by surprise with his sexual preferences—like yellow feathers. She looked at Max’s mouth for added courage, took a couple of deep breaths, then launched herself at him.

  Taken off guard, Max fell back a step with the impact of her body. “What the—”

  Maddie clasped his face, held on tight and found his mouth with her own.

  Not bad at all, Maddie thought, and scoffed at her initial hesitation. He tasted even better than she expected. He tasted of experience, of sin incarnate, of a man who knew what he was about. A man who loved women and his dog.

  He tasted hot.

  Maddie waited for raging lust to take control of Max’s body. She waited for his sexual instincts to kick in. Her ex had always told her that men could only take so much provocation, which was why he’d been driven to cheat.

  So she waited.

  Then she felt Max’s smile against her mouth.