Chapter 12
12
I ’m too warm and relaxed to be overly embarrassed about returning downstairs after our brief tryst in the bedroom. Max wouldn’t let me shower again, saying he needed the knowledge that I was covered in his scent. His exact words were slightly more crude, but not unwelcome. I kind of like knowing his cum is marking my skin, too.
I suck in my breath though when I see Diana, of all people, standing in the kitchen frowning at Javier, who is still calmly sipping coffee. Kiki is nowhere to be seen.
Max’s hand tightens on my shoulder from his position behind me. If he could, I’m sure he’d whisk me behind his back, but then I wouldn’t be able to see anything, so I ignore his hints.
“I didn’t think you would want to be interrupted,” Javier mentions calmly, albeit with a slight smirk when he glances our way.
I roll my eyes, which only deepens his expression. Max sighs behind me. “Diana, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Maxim! Oh, there you are, darling. I came to rescue you from my former scheming assistant.”
“Is that so?” Nobody but Diana could miss the ironic skepticism in his voice. Max is not amused.
“Yes. I feel so guilty for sending her to you. I didn’t know at the time, of course. This woman is a thief.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Max’s fingers clamp down painfully on my shoulder.
“She is,” he agrees mildly. “She stole my heart without even trying.”
Diana’s annoyance almost breaks through her mask of solicitude. Javier has no such worries. His snort of derision at Max’s corniness breaks the unease.
“What is it you think I’ve stolen from you, Diana?” I ask with a sigh as I stride confidently into the kitchen and reach for a fresh cup. If I’m going to be falsely accused, I need extra caffeine.
“Oh, not from me. You remember your former boyfriend, Jeremy? He stopped by the office looking for you and his missing ten thousand dollars.” Her face expresses shock and embarrassment for having hired such a loser.
“Who’s Jeremy?” Max and I ask simultaneously. Javier sits up straight, as if the day is finally getting interesting.
Diana’s snide face falters ever so slightly. “Jeremy. The guy whose picture was on your desk for two years?”
Max goes still behind me, almost frozen in place. I reach my hand back, but he doesn’t take it.
“Diana… Why are you really here? You know as well as I do that picture was part of a fake boyfriend set. I’m not ashamed to admit it. It kept the idiots in the building from thinking I was available.”
Javier’s right eyebrow quirks in surprise. I can sense Max moving from frozen to tense behind me. “If he came looking for me, he must have left his number? We can call him right now,” I suggest sarcastically.
Diana blinks. “No. He left an email address. By all means, reach out to him for more information, Max.” She deliberately turns the tables while holding out a slip of paper. Javier snakes out an arm and snatches it first. He glances at it, taps a few times on his phone and then mutters, “Amateurs.”
He shakes his head mildly at Max. “It’s using her work email as the security backup.”
Diana flushes red. She’s a handsome woman in her early forties that has spent a good chunk of her salary on her body. Sometimes surgery, sometimes insanely expensive but good looking fitness coaches, and she pops supplements like candy.
Max has moved to the side of the room. He takes his phone out and taps a few buttons before setting it on the counter. “I think it’s time this conversation was recorded. Did you have more to add, Diana, or were you leaving?” The suggestion is hard to miss, but Diana still doesn’t move to the door.
Instead, she swivels to stare at Javier. “Who are you and how did you access my email? Hmmm? I want that recorded for the judge.”
Javier simply smiles gently. “I’m sorry?”
Diana growls and this time jerks upright and stomps out of the kitchen and toward the front door like she’s spent a lot of time here. Max shrugs at my inquiring glance. “I told you she’d been here, but she certainly never stayed the night. Now why don’t you explain this whole fake boyfriend thing?”
I wait until I hear the sound of a car engine receding down the drive. “Shouldn’t you be more worried about what she’s up to?”
Max shakes his head. “Javier will look into it. Now explain, Jenna.”
Sighing, I sit down and stare into the depths of my coffee cup. “There are really only two kinds of single men in publishing. Gay ones and the kind that stutter when talking to a woman. Those guys start working up their courage after staring at you in the supply room every day. But they still think a woman should be grateful to go out with them. Not exactly my type. So I bought a fake boyfriend set off the internet. It came with a framed photo and similar shit. Silly, but enough of a barrier to make the cowards slink away.”
Max is silent for a brief moment before announcing, “Then it’s a good thing you aren’t going back there. Javier? What was Diana really here for?”
Javier shrugs lightly. “Beyond what you saw? No idea. I would suspect intelligence gathering, but she didn’t ask very interesting questions.”
My gaze bounces between them. “Now what?”
Max shrugs. “The same plan as before, little one. You edit, while Javier and I make arrangements.”
I scowl, but I don’t have any arguments for the logic of that. It’s not like I know anyone in this town, or have secret government connections. Reluctantly, I drag myself off to Max’s office and the new manuscript.
Curled up in his comfortable armchair, I’m just at the beginning of the end when Max appears in the doorway. “Lunch, Jenna.”
I frown up at him. “Surely not. What time is it?”
“Two. You need to eat, baby.” His possessive growl sends shivers down my spine.
My stomach wakes up and starts reminding me it’s hungry, so reluctantly I set the manuscript aside on a nearby table. I cast longing glances back at it as Max ushers me from the room. “I’m almost done. Surely I can eat later?”
His snort says it all. There’s a lonely plate with a ham sandwich and a banana sitting on the table.
Sighing, I sit and begin eating. Max watches me like a hawk, as if worried I’m going to get up and run away. I scowl at him. “Well? Where’s Javier? And why didn’t you call me when you ate?”
Shaking his head, I can see the smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “Javier is in town. I’m sure he can find food on his own.”
The sandwich disappears faster than I expected. Peeling the banana, I decide to tease Max a little, closing my mouth around the tip and hollowing my cheeks. His eyes narrow, making me want to laugh, but instead I slow my movements, licking the fruit until it practically disintegrates on my tongue.
Max watches silently until I can’t hold the giggles in any longer. “Are you done teasing me, little one?”
I nod, grinning.
“Then come tell me what your terms are for editing. I assume you like the manuscript?”
Sitting up straight, I nod again, this time in a completely professional manner. “What are you offering?”
Max’s beautiful lips purse thoughtfully. “Five cents a word and your name on the cover.”
Frowning, I mull that over. It’s a generous amount, given that I don’t have an established business, but once I take off for business expenses, there won’t be much left. “You won’t give me grief if I take on other clients?”
Max places his hands on the table and leans down. “You don’t travel without me, and my books always take priority. We can negotiate the rates independently.”
“Hang on, if I can’t travel without you and you refuse to go anywhere…”
Max smirks. “We can go further if you are along to do the check-in at the hotel. Provided, of course, it’s where I can still keep an eye on you.”
“So we can fly to New York?” I ask hesitantly.
He shrugs. “As long as you can keep any travel and being out in public to daylight hours, yes.”
“Fine.” I extend my hand for a businesslike shake. Except Max doesn’t let go of it at the end. Instead, his grip on my fingers intensifies as he reels me in.
“I really think we should seal every deal in a more personal manner, little Jenna,” he murmurs, pulling me towards the staircase.
In his, our, bedroom he looms over me once again, trailing a finger down my cheek gently. “You are mine now, Jenna, yes? As a woman and an editor?”
I nod hesitantly. Max’s smile is wolfish. “Then let me show you what that means.”
Efficiently, he removes my clothing one more time before I have a chance to say anything. The next thing I know, my face is buried in a pillow and his tongue is laving my lower back. It makes me shiver with need, the way he licks and then lets the cool air of the room dry my skin. He continues working his way up my spine. I’m an absolute puddle by the time he pauses near my shoulder blade. He nips it lightly and then flips me over.
The heat in Max’s eyes has me spreading my legs in anticipation. He moves over me, one hand reaching for his belt. I lick my lips, craving his invasion.
There’s a faint knocking sound, followed by a louder pounding. Max growls. “Don’t you dare move,” he orders, moving off me and the bed. I pout in disappointment, but Max has already turned and left the room.
I consider my options. I could stay here as instructed or… I could get dressed and return downstairs, find out who’s here, and maybe enjoy Max’s punishment for disobedience later? Licking my lips in delight, I realize there’s no real decision to be made. Dressing quickly, I sigh at missing the big culmination of Max’s attentions, but it’s more delayed than revoked.
Downstairs I don’t hear any voices. It takes me a minute to realize that Max is outside, talking to a sheriff’s deputy in the driveway. I quickly throw on my coat and grab Max’s quilted shirt thing that he uses as a light jacket.
When I hand it to him with an inquiring look, he frowns down at me but still tucks me into his side. “Jenna, this is Dwayne. Dwayne was sent out here to explore a report of a young woman being held against her will.”
I stare up at the apologetic young deputy. “Who the hell told you that?”
His frown turns serious. “That’s not important. Are you the only person staying here?”
“Well, me and Javier. I’m the only woman and I’m not here against my will.”
“So you have transportation if you decide to leave?”
I shrug. “There’s the taxi. I don’t have a car, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He makes a few pen strokes against his pad. “Please step away from Mr. Behr if you would, ma’am. I simply need to confirm a few things with you.”
Max grimaces and his hands briefly tighten on me, but he lets me go. I’m the reluctant one. I don’t like the way this is going. But the fastest way to resolving it is to comply, so I move twenty feet closer to the deputy’s patrol car.
I refrain from rolling my eyes as I confirm over and over again that I’m not being held against my will. I haven’t ingested any strange substances or intoxicating ones. And so on.
By the time he turns to leave, I’m feeling flustered and annoyed. Max pulls me tight against him once more as we walk back into the house.
“I need chocolate,” I announce, glancing around the entry as if expecting giant bars to descend from the ceiling.
Max huffs out a laugh. “Good thing I stocked up on your favorites when I went into town the other day.”
Surprised, I turn to study him before beaming at him in delight. “You did? So you weren’t trying to escape spending time with me? The wicked editor of the west?”
Max’s expression indicates he doesn’t see me as that much of a threat. “I was trying to avoid throwing you over my shoulder in order to ravish you. Much as I am now. But Javier will be back soon and clearly something is brewing in town.”
Frowning in disappointment, I follow him to the hall closet, where he pulls a sack down from the top shelf. He really does know all my favorites. I pull the crunchy toffee chocolate bar out first. Offering a small wrapped bon bon to Max, he laughs while shaking his head. “Those are all for you, Jenna. My addictions have nothing to do with food.”
I raise both eyebrows, but he merely inclines his head in understanding. He knows I have questions, and he’s not going to answer them right now.
“Fine,” I huff before biting into the buttery chocolate goodness. “We could make out in the kitchen until Javier gets here. Might remind him he’s a third wheel,” I suggest gleefully.
Max tugs me towards his office. “That would only make him stay longer. The two of you have a surprising amount in common,” he adds dryly.
That sounds like an insult. I’m opening my mouth to object when Max surprises me once again. He sits in the big armchair and pulls me down on his lap. “Now, why don’t you give me your feedback on the first part of the new book?”
Well, given that opening, I can hardly resist. In fact, I can’t. At all.
“I love it. Which is why I was trying to finish it and I’ll have better notes when I have. For now, I think there needs to be more foreshadowing of their secrets earlier in the book. Things that a reader can go back and say ‘Oh! It was so clear and obvious if only they were looking.’ And maybe change their ages a bit. They both sound older than you have them and five years won’t change the marketing, really.”
Max looks thoughtful, also slightly obstinate. “I’ll consider it. When do you think you can have a final writeup for me?”
I roll my eyes and run my hand against his scruffy jaw. His beard has grown out since I shaved him, but just enough to look sexy like he’s been up for days writing the Great American Novel. “When am I going to have some quiet time to finish reading and go through it again? Add a day to that and there’s your answer.”
The corners of Max’s eyes tilt up.
“Children? I’m home!” Javier’s cheery tenor rings out from the front hall.