“His loss is my gain,” Maximus responded. The man was a fool if he didn’t realize what a gem Tahlia was. “And to answer your question, yes, circumstances have changed for me and I’m suddenly interested in extracurricular activities.”
Tahlia blushed, and Maximus made a gallant effort to eat the meal in front of him and dug into the meat loaf. It wasn’t the worst meal he’d ever had. And he’d do it for Tahlia to show her he wasn’t some overprivileged rich kid who couldn’t eat with those less fortunate.
“How’s the meat loaf?” Tahlia asked with a smirk.
“Not bad.”
“C’mon, Max,” she said and laughed. “I know you’d much rather be at some fancy restaurant having a chef-prepared entrée along with a bottle of expensive wine or something.”
Maximus put his fork down. “Of course I would, but tonight was your pick. Next time, it’ll be my choice.”
“Next time?” She raised a brow and tried to hide a smile. “Who said there’d be a next time? I don’t recall being asked.”
“Then allow me to remedy that.” Maximus reached across the table and laid his hand over Tahlia’s. A surge of heat bloomed between them, and he could almost feel her skin heat up along with his. “Tahlia, will you go out with me on Saturday night?”
She gave him a genuine smile. “I’d love to.”
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked, not removing his hand. He noticed that she was shifting in her seat because he hadn’t let her go.
“N-no, it wasn’t.” She tried unsuccessfully to slide her hand from his grasp, but instead, he linked his fingers with hers, without a thought to where they were or who was looking at them. He leaned across the table and did what he’d been wanting to do since she’d walked into the family estate for the reading of his father’s will: he brushed his lips softly across hers and kissed her in the middle of the dining hall.
It was the lightest of kisses and it didn’t last nearly as long as he would have liked, but eventually he sat back down across from her and looked at her. Her eyes were hooded with desire, making Maximus rethink his decision to take their relationship slow. But he didn’t have time to think too long, because the room erupted with clapping.
Apparently, his little kiss had caught everyone’s attention. Tahlia was embarrassed, and he watched her cheeks flush pink. There was a certain innocence to Tahlia that beguiled him. A woman of her age had to be experienced, but yet she appeared so sweet and genuine. Would his plan ruin that spark in her?
* * *
Tahlia had been unprepared for their first kiss. Sure, she’d wanted it from the moment she’d laid eyes on Maximus at the crowded gallery opening a year ago, but the reality was so much more than she could ever have imagined. She’d reacted strongly to his whisper of a kiss, and it hadn’t even been a full-blown attempt. What would it feel like when Maximus lost control and kissed her with abandon?
Since she didn’t like being the center of attention, Tahlia rose from the picnic table and reached for Maximus’s plate. “You ready to go?” she asked. She didn’t like that several people were openly staring at them. Perhaps ready for more of a show?
“Are we done?” he queried.
“I’ll check with the director, and if we’re no longer needed, we can scoot out.”
It turned out they were needed and ended up staying another hour to finish up dinner service, and to her surprise, Maximus helped with some of the cleanup in the kitchen. It was well after 10:00 p.m. when they returned to the director’s office, where she’d locked up their coats and her purse. Maximus helped Tahlia into her coat.
“This was really awesome,” Maximus said. He spun her around and, to her surprise, began buttoning her coat.
“I can do it,” Tahlia said, halting his hands with her own.
“I want to make sure you’re warm,” Maximus said, brushing her hands aside as he continued his task.
Tahlia looked down. Didn’t he know she was not only warm, but she was also on fire from his touch? She hadn’t recovered from his earlier kiss, and being in this confined space with Maximus was playing havoc on her senses. Her heart was already beating an erratic rhythm.
“Tahlia, look at me.” Maximus’s voice was husky with desire.
She met his eyes with hers, and they scanned her face slowly and seductively. And when his gaze slid downward to her lips and he lifted his thumb to caress them, her pulse quickened. Maximus tilted her chin upward with a finger to inch her closer to him. Tahlia knew what was coming next, and there was no hesitation on her part. She twined her fingers into his curly hair at the back of his head as she’d been longing to do. Sweet relief flooded her as he hauled her against him, bent his head and closed his mouth over hers.
This kiss was different from the one in the main hall. That had been a chaste peck in comparison with this one—his mouth claimed hers with skill and precision. His mouth possessed hers fully and deeply, so she kissed him back with all the passion she’d held inside her for this man. She didn’t care that she was revealing her deep-seated need for him. Tahlia only knew that in the moment she had to give her desire free rein. She allowed him to push her against the office wall so he could have his way with her. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue to access the warm recesses of her mouth.
It was impossible to fathom the tumultuous emotions that he aroused in her. Maximus was an attractive and powerful man, and he easily swept away any barriers she had around herself as he intently discovered every sensual part of her mouth. His was a mission of discovery. But could he know that he’d been the man of her secret dreams and whom she’d fantasized about kissing?
She ran her hands over the bunched muscles of his upper arms that strained against the fabric of his shirt as he kissed her again and again, over and over. His lips were warm and firm in an unhurried exploration that drugged Tahlia’s senses and apparently his, too, because she heard a groan from deep in his throat. She was no longer herself either, but a mass of needs wrapped around this one man.
When he lifted his head and stared down at her, his eyes were clouded. “Christ, Tahlia!” he whispered. “You’re so darn eager. Do you know what a turn-on that is?”
Tahlia shook her head, and her cheeks flooded with color. She was equally as turned on. No other man had kissed her with quite the same intensity or fervor that Maximus had just now, not even Paul.
Slowly, he released her, and Tahlia had to right herself to keep from falling. She felt weak in the knees from his kisses. She watched him suck in a deep breath as he, too, tried to get a hold of his senses. After a few minutes, she dared to look at him and saw a look of blatant hunger lurking in those brown depths.
“I should walk you to your car.”
She nodded. “All right.”
They left the shelter and within a few moments were outside in the blistering cold. The chill would certainly help cool Tahlia down after Max’s heated kisses. He grasped her hand, and they held hands all the way to her car. When they reached it, she turned to him. “I had a good time tonight.”
“So did I.” Maximus nodded. “And I’m looking forward to Saturday night. But first I need something to hold me until then.”
And before she knew it their kiss had resumed, and this time his mouth not only searched hers, he conquered it. His mouth crushed hers, holding her firmly in place. The kiss was deep, raw and all-consuming. When he finally let her go, he had to open the car door and help her inside. She needed the assistance because she trembled with blooming need inside her for more. But Maximus didn’t push. Instead, he seemed content to take it slow. Tahlia just hoped she didn’t go up in flames in the meantime.
Chapter 6
Kisses. Sweet kisses. Tahlia. That, or should he say she, was all Maximus could think about last night. Thinking of her had kept him up half the night. How she’d tasted, how
she responded, how much further he could have gone if...
“Maximus, darling, where have you been hiding yourself?” his mother inquired the next morning at the kitchen’s breakfast nook. He had a place in town, but since his father’s death he’d been spending time at his mother’s mansion. She said it made her feel better.
“I’ve been busy, Mother.” Why did she have to interrupt his most delicious daydream?
“I hope finding a way to overturn your father’s will,” she responded. “I mean, really? I can’t believe he gave away half the company to Lucius. The rumors are already starting to get out, you know, that you’re not solely in charge.”
“And how would those rumors get out, Mother? Have you been talking to the gossipmonger friends of yours at the country club?”
“Don’t speak ill of my friends, Maximus,” Charlotte Knight said. “They’ve been nothing but supportive of me throughout this entire mess. You’ve no idea what I’ve had to face—the press reporting your father’s affair, the media constantly hounding me, my friends being harassed for details. All the while you get to go to work with no repercussions.”
Maximus sighed. He had been in his own world and internalizing how his father’s will affected him and his dreams of expanding Knight Shipping, so much so he’d been neglecting his mother. She’d been hurt by all this, too, and deeply embarrassed by the scandal. Though some of it was of her own making. “I’m sorry you feel you’re facing this alone. I know this must be hard on you.”
“It is.” His mother sniffed, and he reached inside his suit jacket for a handkerchief and handed it to her. “I never thought this revelation would ever see the light of day, much less that your father would betray me, betray you in this fashion. He promised me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t know about Jocelyn until nearly five years into our marriage. I’d always thought Arthur married me for love, so imagine my surprise when I found out there was another woman, another son.”
“How did you find out?”
“He’d gone away to Europe one summer, and when he returned, something was different. I could see he’d changed. He was happier and lighter somehow. I’d thought the time away had done him some good and he’d returned reinvigorated for our marriage, but he wanted a divorce.”
“What?”
She nodded. “The thing is, I was already pregnant with you. Arthur was torn between doing the right thing for one son and the right thing by me, his wife. He chose me, us—” she pointed at Maximus “—but I suspect he stayed with me because my father had died and I’d inherited a large sum of money. Arthur’s ambitions got in the way of his ultimate one true love, Jocelyn.”
“So he hated you, me,” Maximus stated, “because he was forced to stay with us.”
“Maybe he did.”
“So he punished me because I wasn’t Lucius? Because he gave him up?” And his mother punished him by not sharing Lucius’s very existence with him. She’d never told him he had an older brother. Who knew what relationship they could have had if the adults in their lives hadn’t been so selfish.
“Maximus.” His mother reached across the table. “You mustn’t think that way. Your father loved you. If there was anyone he hated, it was me because I threatened to take it all away from him and leave him with nothing if he ever left me.”
Maximus rose from the table. Now he was angry with both his parents. “Give it whatever spin you like, Mother. Arthur Knight was not only selfish, but he was a coward for choosing the easy way out and not going after the woman and son he loved. Maybe if he had, we all would have been better off.” He strode toward the door. “I’m going to work. Thanks for the chat.”
All it had done was remind him that he deserved Knight Shipping. After all Arthur had put him through, it strengthened his resolve to get what was due him: Tahlia’s shares. Knight Shipping was rightfully his. He and his mother had paid their entire lives for the privilege. He just hated that the only way to that end was through Tahlia.
* * *
“Someone is on cloud nine. What gives?” Faith commented when Tahlia drifted through the gallery throughout the day as if she were walking on air. Even though there was a lot of work to be done for an upcoming exhibit Bailey already had in the works before her ownership, Tahlia was ecstatic.
She wasn’t even the least bit put off when one of their top customers had railed at her for getting the framing wrong on an order. It hadn’t been one Tahlia had taken, but she’d promised the woman they’d have it corrected and couriered to her home. Her resolution had brought a smile to the customer, and she’d finally left satisfied about her purchase.
“I am happy,” Tahlia finally said. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know.” Faith shrugged. “Maybe it has something to do with the enormous arrangement that came for you today.”
Tahlia smiled, thinking about the large bouquet of roses and calla lilies that had arrived earlier that morning from Maximus. The card had read Can’t Wait for Saturday. Neither could Tahlia. She’d been so giddy last night after sharing not one, not two, but three kisses with Maximus at the shelter.
She’d been so sure he would hightail it and run once he realized their dinner date was at a homeless shelter, but he’d surprised her with his fortitude. She’d received a call from the shelter director that Maximus had a sizable check delivered to the shelter just that morning. He also hadn’t been as stuck-up as she’d thought and had been willing to lend a hand, including washing dishes. Just thinking about his large masculine hands in the hot bubbly soap, hands that roamed her body when he’d kissed her, caused Tahlia’s skin to get heated.
“You’re blushing,” Faith said.
“Stop staring at me, then,” Tahlia countered.
“Are you going to share details?” Faith asked. “You used to not mind sharing news about your dates.” She followed Tahlia into the back office.
“This is different. Those men were merely warm-ups for the main attraction.”
“Because it’s Maximus Knight?”
Tahlia spun around. “How’d you know?”
“I saw the card. But you’ve never been this jumpy or secretive before.”
Tahlia let out a sigh. “That’s because I’ve never liked a guy as much as I like Maximus.”
“The feeling is apparently mutual,” Faith surmised. “Those flowers are gorgeous.”
“Aren’t they?” Tahlia couldn’t help gushing. She felt like a teenage girl.
“When do you see him again?”
“Saturday night.”
“I’m so excited for you, Tahlia,” Faith said. “I know you’ve had a crush on him for a while now. I’m glad to see it’s not one-sided anymore.”
“No, it’s not. It’s definitely mutual.”
* * *
“You’re certain of this?” Maximus asked the highly recommended probate attorney he’d hired to go over his father’s will. “There’s no way I can contest its validity?”
The attorney shook his head. “Everything is in order here, Maximus. Robert Kellogg is a fine attorney. He would have made sure of it.”
Maximus nodded. He knew it was a long shot, but he’d had to try to see if there was anything he could do before he continued taking drastic measures to get his rightful inheritance. His mind wandered to Tahlia and how happy she’d sounded when she’d called him a couple of days ago to thank him for the flowers he’d sent. He typically didn’t do the flowers-and-candies thing with women he dated.
Usually, his female companions were on his arm for just one night to attend a function or an important dinner. But for Tahlia, he was willing to pull out all the stops and be her Prince Charming. Yet it had continued to niggle him that he had to use her for his own means, kind of like Arthur had used his own mother to start Knight Shipping. And as mu
ch as he hated his father’s actions, in this instance the old adage applied. Like father, like son.
“Thank you again.” Maximus stopped his pondering long enough to shake the attorney’s hand and walk him to his office door. “I appreciate the effort.”
“Wish I could have done something for you.”
Maximus shrugged. There wasn’t anything anyone could do, which was why he would continue his quest to seduce and ultimately bed Tahlia.
* * *
“I have great news,” Tahlia said when she called Kaitlynn late Friday afternoon.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” her sister asked from the other end of the line.
“I just scored VIP tickets to the Bruno Mars concert tonight.”
“Get out. That show has been sold out for months!” Kaitlynn exclaimed. “So how did you... No, let me guess. The illustrious Maximus Knight got you tickets?”
“No.” Tahlia shook her head even though Kaitlynn couldn’t see her. “We’re not scheduled to go out until tomorrow night.”
“Well, how, then?”
“One of my clients was so happy with his pieces that he gave me tickets. Can you believe my luck?”
“I sure as heck can’t. So I hope this call means you’re taking me as your date.”
“Even better,” Tahlia replied. “I have four tickets. So you and I can bring a plus-one.”
“Seriously? That’s great, Tahlia. I’m just finishing up here and I need to call Jonathan to see if he’d like to come.” Jonathan Baker was Kaitlynn’s pseudo boyfriend, or in Tahlia’s opinion her friend with benefits, but who was she to judge? “And you? I assume you’re bringing Max.”
“Maybe. I haven’t asked him. What if he’s too busy? It’s short notice after all.” They were just getting to know each other, and he could have other plans, even another date.
“How will you know if you don’t ask him?”
“I don’t know...”
“Don’t be a wuss, Tahlia. You want the man to come don’tcha? So just call him up and see if he’s free.”
Taming Her Billionaire Page 7