“Oh, she’s fine,” Miss Maddy answered, slapping Max’s back like she had a chicken bone lodged in her throat.
Still draped in just the towel, Lucas ventured farther into the room.
“I’m—fine, really,” Max managed between coughs, inching away from Miss Maddy’s cast-iron fists. “Really, I’m good now.”
The old woman dusted her hands together and winked at Max. “Don’t forget what I said now.” The door shut firmly behind her.
Lucas arched a brow. “What was that all about?”
“She brought cake.” Bad enough she couldn’t seem to get sex off her mind to begin with, she didn’t need to share Miss Maddy’s wisdom with the man at the center of every sinful thought running wild in her head.
“I’m starving.” Instead of grabbing up his own piece he leaned forward and stole the bite off the end of her fork.
“Hey.”
His mischievous smile tugged at her heart, and she picked up her plate, ordering herself to focus on the dessert and not the six-foot-plus male standing inches away.
She took a bite, giving a little sigh of pleasure as her taste buds drowned in the rich chocolate flavor. She broke off another piece with her fork and all but inhaled it.
“What?” She paused as she finished off the last bite.
“Hold still a sec.” He ran his thumb across her bottom lip, sliding it back and forth. “You had some frosting there.”
The last bite of cake seemed to stick in her throat. “Thanks.”
His hand dropped back to his side and he pivoted around. “I’m going to finish my shower. Try not to eat all the cake.”
“I was raised not to make promises I can’t keep.”
He laughed and closed the bathroom door, leaving her with the cake, something that wouldn’t come close to satisfying her real appetite.
Max was asleep on her side by the time he finished his shower and emerged from the bathroom. Her face was relaxed, peaceful. He leaned in the doorway, watching her for awhile. Every now and then a ghost of a smile would curve her lips.
Was she dreaming about him, about the same insanely wild and hot things he was driving himself crazy thinking about? Things like her body curled around him, on top of him, her spine arching as she took him deep inside her. Or all that silky hair teasing the inside of his thigh as she went down on him.
Yeah, that one in particular was burning a hole right through the back of his head and making him contemplate another cold shower.
Christ. She wasn’t even his type. He preferred to date easygoing women who had their lives figured out, who had steady, predictable non-life-threatening jobs. Predictable worked for him. Predictable with no strings and zero complications worked the best.
There wasn’t a predictable bone in Maxine Walker’s body. If she felt the least bit threatened, she’d run and do her best to ditch him in the process. Which meant he had no business screwing around with her and giving her another reason to bolt. Except they weren’t just screwing around, were they?
He hadn’t paid the least bit of attention to his predictable, no strings, zero complications policy where Max was concerned, and the worst part was he couldn’t drum up even a little bit of regret.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he brushed aside the strand of black hair on her cheek. She was so much more beautiful than he’d first realized, more…everything. Predictable was suddenly looking boring and unsatisfying next to the woman lying next to him.
Reluctant to awaken her, Lucas carefully stretched out beside her. She murmured something, then rolled against him. He breathed deeply, inhaling the combination of fruity soap and Max’s own natural scent. Draping one arm across her waist, he drew her closer, relaxing more than he had in days.
As his eyes drifted shut he couldn’t recall the last time simply holding a woman while she slept had felt so right.
Darkness greeted Lucas when he opened his eyes awhile later. The clock on the bedside table read five fifty p.m.
He turned on the light, and nudged Max’s shoulder. “Time to wake up.”
She groaned, but she didn’t open her eyes.
“Max, it’s time for dinner.”
Groggy, she cracked open one eye, then scowled at him. “I’m sleeping,” she mumbled before turning onto her stomach and burying her face in the pillow.
“Dinner is supposed to be in ten minutes.” Tempted by the sight of her thigh peeking out from under the robe, he forced himself to get up.
“Ten more minutes.”
He laughed and checked the hall, picking up the basket with their freshly laundered clothing. “Ten more minutes and we’ll be late.”
Her sigh lasted forever. “Fine.” Looking sleepy, she grabbed her clothes and shuffled into the bathroom.
Dressing quickly, he waited for her in the hall and they walked down to the foyer together. He tried not to stare—at her eyes, her mouth, the small half-moon scar on her chin—and was clearly failing judging by the curious look she slanted him more than once.
Thankfully she never called him on it, and he didn’t have to scramble to come up with a reason for gawking at her that didn’t involve admitting how pretty she was.
Jesus, how old was he? Eighteen?
Miss Maddy was waiting for them in the foyer and ushered them into the dining room. She gestured for them to take a seat, and Max slid into the chair opposite him.
Candles flickered in the middle of the table, casting a soft glow around the room decorated in rich shades of burgundy and emerald green. A door to the left swung open as Maddy disappeared through it, delicious smells wafting from what he assumed was the kitchen.
“Bet you never expected to wind up here with me when you rolled into Riverbend.”
“You mean Passion’s Penthouse didn’t cross your mind when Blackwater’s men walked through the door waving your picture?”
Miss Maddy strode back into the room. She held out a small cylinder to Max. “This fell out of your pocket in the laundry, dear. I forgot to put it in the basket earlier.”
“Thanks.” She slid it into her pocket and took the glass of wine Miss Maddy offered her.
When their hostess poured Lucas’s wine and retreated to the kitchen once more, Max met his gaze. “Just mace.”
He laughed and relaxed in his chair, determined to enjoy dinner. Eli would arrive before long and this surreal break from reality would be over.
Tonight Max’s hair had a soft tousled look, her lips on the sexy, pouty side and her eyes—damn they just kept sucking him in. He didn’t know how long they just sat and stared at each other. The silence wasn’t awkward or tense, but natural, as though they’d known each other for a long time.
“Dinner is served.” The swinging door flew open again and Miss Maddy glided into the room carrying a silver platter. She deposited the tray with a flourish, lifting the dome to reveal two large lobsters.
Lucas eyeballed the red crustaceans staring back at him with black glassy eyes. Any second he expected an antenna to twitch before the damn thing scuttled across the table and snapped at him with one of its monstrous claws.
Max, on the other hand, admired the lobster the way he would a juicy, charbroiled burger.
Miss Maddy darted back into the kitchen, returning seconds later with another tray. This one carried two small bowls of melted butter, two wooden cutting boards and two miniature mallets.
A time or two he’d enjoyed prepared lobster rolls, but had never eaten lobster meat straight from the shell. It was hard to work up an appetite when the damn thing wouldn’t stop staring at him.
Unruffled by the lobster’s empty stare, Max snagged one of them and set it on her cutting board. At their elbows, Miss Maddy set two side salads and finally puttered out of the room, leaving them alone.
Mallet poised in midair, Max paused. “You don’t like lobster?”
He’d like it a whole lot more if it wasn’t watching him. “Just taking my time.” He took another drink of his wine for courage and th
en reached for the remaining lobster. His fingers grazed the still warm shell and he forced himself to grab it.
Picking up the mallet, he mimicked Max’s actions until he had separated the claws, legs and tail from the body. Miss Maddy returned just long enough to cart away the excess and hover over his shoulder as he dipped his first bite in the butter and popped it into his mouth.
The rich flavor all but melted on his tongue. Still chewing, he dug another piece of meat from the tail.
Miss Maddy nodded approvingly. “Just watch out for the poop shoot, dear.”
Poop shoot? The last bite of lobster caught in his throat. He coughed, reaching for his glass of wine, but Miss Maddy was on him in a heartbeat.
The first slap snapped his teeth together, and he bit the tip of his tongue. If she’d been beating him with a frying pan, he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
Across the table, Max smiled knowingly.
“Thanks,” Lucas mumbled when he finally stopped gasping for air.
Seeming satisfied that she wouldn’t need to perform the Heimlich, Miss Maddy trailed back into the kitchen.
“The claws are the best part,” Max said between mouthfuls.
“No poop shoots there, right?”
She laughed and shook her head.
God, even the soft sway of her hair against her cheeks was sexy.
He finished off another glass of wine and refilled both their glasses. Already a pleasant warmth crawled through his system, and he knew he’d just about reached his limit for the evening.
“So did you always want to work for the government, or did you secretly want to be a rock star when you grew up?”
“Is that who you told those kids I was yesterday, some musician?”
She gave him an I’ll-never-tell smile. “Don’t change the subject.”
“I went into the military after my parents died. My brother was headed off to college on the other side of the country and I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.”
“How did you meet Caleb?”
“We were on the same Special Ops team. He got out before I did, though. He went to work as a private contractor then approached me with a job offer when we ran into each other while I was on leave a few years back.”
She cocked her head. “How many times have you been shot?”
“Shot or shot at?”
Taking a sip of her wine, she shrugged, but her expression was anything but indifferent.
“A few,” he ventured, testing the waters. He’d never talked about the gritty side of his line of work with anyone outside of his team. Even though Max wasn’t unfamiliar with violence, he found himself not wanting to talk about the kind of things that had gotten them both to this point.
He leaned back in his chair. “So aside from your family, is there anyone else back in New York wondering what’s happened to you?”
“Like…”
It was his turn to shrug. “Friends. Girlfriends…”
“Boyfriends? Is that what you’re getting at?” A smile played across her lips. “Don’t tell me it was just my professional background that you investigated?”
“Things get missed.” Things that he was realizing he wouldn’t like hearing. Would hate hearing actually.
Max polished off the last of the wine in her glass. “No boyfriend. No one in a long time.”
“Not since you were engaged,” he guessed.
She pursed her lips, and for a second he wanted to kick himself for going there. “So you did do your homework. But to answer your rather personal question, no. No one serious since Wade the asshole.” She played with the stem of her glass. “Anything in particular you’d like to know aside from the number of ways I dreamed of castrating him?”
“Ouch.”
Lifting a shoulder, she leaned forward. “Since we’re on the subject of exes,” she prompted.
Lucas reached for the second bottle that was already a third gone. “More wine?”
“Changing the subject twice in one night?”
He was saved from answering as Miss Maddy bustled back into the room bearing cheesecake. Although they both insisted they were too full, the woman talked them into sharing a piece.
Lucas offered the first bite to Max. Her lips slid over the end of the fork, and he couldn’t help but imagine her lips sliding over him the same way. His cocked hardened at the thought.
Max closed her eyes on a deep sigh, then licked her lips. “Mmmm. That is fantastic.”
Her mouth against his would be fantastic, and if they were naked at the time it would be even better.
He broke off another piece and offered it to her. They only made it halfway through the cheesecake before she insisted she couldn’t take another bite, and the only bite he was interested in taking involved baring the sweet curve of her shoulder, or maybe the inside of her thigh.
Too uncomfortable to sit, he was relieved when Miss Maddy motioned for them to go. Max walked ahead of him, laughing as she raced up the stairs. He wasn’t sure why Miss Maddy insisted on accompanying them upstairs, but he ushered her into the room ahead of him too.
“Such a gentleman.” She smiled approvingly. “My Earl was a real gentleman too.”
Max leaned against the desk as Miss Maddy pulled back the covers on the sofa bed she must have set up while they were eating. He didn’t pay much attention to her—he was too occupied with watching Max.
Her eyes flared when she realized he was staring at her. She sucked at her bottom lip, trapping it between her teeth. Lucas swallowed a groan. If Miss Maddy didn’t finish up in the next ten seconds he might have to toss her out.
“Did I tell you two that this was my Earl’s favorite room?” Miss Maddy stared at the bed with another wistful expression on her face. “I guess it was fitting that his last night on earth be spent in that bed. You kids sleep tight.” She spun on her heel and left them, closing the door soundlessly behind her.
He looked at Max and together they glanced at the bed.
“You know, Lucas, I was thinking. You were right about my cheating. It’s only fair that you have the bed to yourself.”
“And what happened to enjoying every inch of the mattress?”
Grinning, Max moved closer to the sofa bed. “Earl happened, or died rather.”
The sight of her smile left him a little dazzled, and every attempt to remind himself that Eli could be rolling up any time, ended with, so what? They could figure it out tomorrow, or in a little while.
He didn’t really care as long as he got to put his mouth on Max now.
He’d been thinking about the taste of her since that first bite of cheesecake. Thinking and anticipating, and if he didn’t make it happen soon, he was going to lose his freakin’ mind.
Since he couldn’t easily reach her with the bed between them, he fluffed one of the pillows. “Do you want the left side or the right?” He could take the big bed and they both knew it, but he didn’t want to and he was hoping like hell he wasn’t misreading the wicked glimmer in her eyes.
“No hogging the covers.”
“Scout’s honor.” Before he could crawl across the sofa bed, she disappeared into the bathroom.
He dropped onto the springy mattress, his eyes never leaving the bathroom door. Seconds ticked by. He pushed to his feet, too anxious to sit still. How was it he had taken part in countless ops that required waiting until the right moment to strike, and he couldn’t manage to keep his butt planted for more than twenty seconds to wait for Max?
Taking a breath, he perched on the edge of the mattress just to prove he could, which was all well and good until the bathroom door finally opened, and he almost fell off the bed.
The pale glow of the room’s only lamp illuminated every inch of her naked body, catching every delectable curve and made him hot all over.
“Wow,” he mumbled, deciding he was better off staying on his ass for another second or two.
She took a slow step toward him. �
��I think I had a little too much to drink.”
He shook his head. “Or maybe just the right amount.”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me to hear that?” She offered up a secretive smile, and he noticed something in her hand.
“That’s not mace, I hope.”
Max glanced at her hand. “Miss Maddy left us a little present in the bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah? I like surprises.” Especially when they involved Max naked and walking toward him without a hint of insecurity.
“Then I’m betting you’ll like this one.”
She stopped in front of him, and he settled his palms on her hips, tugging her closer. Her skin felt warm and soft, and he pressed his lips to her abdomen. He heard her swift intake of breath before she leaned into him. Opening her hand, he saw a small bottle of oil and a rolled up pink scarf.
Max slid into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and fitting snug against his cock. His eyes crossed for a moment, all the blood in his body rushing straight to his groin.
Her lips brushed his ear. “It would be a shame to let this stuff go to waste, don’t you think?”
It took longer than it should have to process her words. Maybe if he couldn’t feel the warmth of her sex straight through his pants.
“I agree.” He caught her around the waist and rolled her beneath him, slipping the bottle and scarf from her hand. “I think it’s time you let someone else be in charge, Mad Max.”
Chapter Eleven
Someone else?
The meaning of the words seemed to hover just beyond Max’s comprehension, her body buzzing from a little—okay, a lot—of wine. She was pretty sure it wasn’t the alcohol, though, that left her skin hypersensitive. The faintest sensation of his breath teasing across her neck sent scorching waves rippling over every inch of her body.
It had been so long since she’d indulged in anything that hindered her response to a threat, but right now the only threat was losing this moment with Lucas.
Maybe it was crazy to think they could pretend nothing else mattered but how they felt right this second. Maybe she was down-right insane to believe the way he’d been looking at her at dinner—the way he was looking at her now—meant he felt it too, that fierce pull between them that was more than adrenaline or circumstance.
Trust Me: The Lassiter Group, Book 1 Page 16