CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Maximus
Maximus spent the afternoon before the Frisky Sixty drinking in his bedroom.
By the time he was secluded in the library, he was in no mood for company.
At least, not the company of most of the women beyond the door.
There was only one woman he wanted to see, and he had already resolved to call her in last. The final spot was special.
It was the only spot that offered an opportunity for time beyond the allocated sixty seconds.
All the other girls would be forced to leave when the hourglass ran out and the next girl was called in.
But not the last girl. There would be no one waiting to come in, no one moving the line along. That spot was reserved for Daphne.
Maximus sighed and poured himself another wine. He had to get this over with.
“Bring me Constance,” he told the butler.
She was wearing a silk slip that fell from her shoulders the moment the butler closed the door.
Maximus turned the hourglass over and watched as the flakes began to fall.
There was a naked woman before him, yet he was barely interested.
The thought of spending sixty seconds with anyone who wasn’t Daphne made him ill.
Yet Constance was here, and she was waiting expectantly, and if Maximus didn’t do something it was sure to get back to his father one way or another. So he stepped forward.
Constance’s eyes widened as he crossed to her, took her face in his hands, and kissed her.
He did not care how she tasted; he did not care how she felt.
He kissed her just enough to make it seem like he cared—just enough to feel her body press against his and her tongue enter his mouth.
The moment he couldn’t stand it any longer, he pulled away.
She was breathless before him, and he couldn’t have been more bored.
He didn’t even bother touching her breasts, which were objectively beautiful, or her ass, which was the same.
Instead, he said, “We are nearly out of time.”
Constance nodded, pulling on her dress eagerly. Had they even said a word to each other besides when they’d been introduced? Maximus had no idea, and he couldn’t have cared less.
“Your Highness.” She curtseyed, then left.
The rest of the girls passed in quick succession with little event.
Maximus hardly knew half of their names—he simply signaled to the butler to grab the next girl at the table.
Every time the door opened, he tried to get a glimpse of Daphne, but she was out of view.
He saw body after body, kissed mouth after mouth.
Technically he didn’t need to kiss them all.
But there was an ache in his abdomen that was becoming painful at the thought of not kissing Daphne.
Somehow he knew he needed to get it where he could.
By the time he was nearing the end, he’d had quite a lot of wine and the fire seemed to be burning brighter than it had before.
Veronica was second to last. The moment she entered, her dress fell to the floor, and Maximus almost sighed in exasperation.
Before he exhaled fully, her lips were on his.
He could hardly blame her for her eagerness; they both knew she had only sixty seconds to make an impression.
And make one she did. Her hand found his cock immediately, palming it with unreserved enthusiasm.
Maximus was nearly all the way hard—he could only look at so many breasts without feeling something—but Veronica took it as her personal mission to get him the rest of the way there.
She gasped and moaned and pressed her body against his in a manner that was surely meant to be tantalizing.
His body reacted. His heart did not. Maximus found himself with one eye open, watching the hourglass as the golden flakes fell.
The moment it was empty, he took her by the shoulders and held her back.
“Our time is up.”
Veronica bit her lip in what he assumed was supposed to be seductive behavior. “Don’t you want me to stay longer?”
Her hand was still on his cock. He removed it gently yet firmly. “No.”
Veronica pouted, and he ignored it. She took her sweet time putting her dress back on, bending over and making it an entire affair.
Maximus stared resolutely at the wall. Could she hurry up?
After what felt like hours, she pressed a final kiss to his cheek, wiggled her fingers at him, and flounced out of the room. Finally.
The butler needed no instruction; there was only one girl left.
A moment later, Daphne was before him. Whereas the previous girls had made their minutes drag on, she made time stop.
Maximus tried to control his heartbeat at the sight of her but couldn’t.
Her dress was a complicated tangle of straps that looked impossible to remove, although Maximus was up to the challenge.
Tantalizing strips of skin showed through the fabric, accentuating her curves in a diabolical way.
Maximus was considering how best to compliment her when she said, “Really? Last?”
Despite her tone, Maximus smiled. She looked particularly angry tonight. He loved it when she looked like that. It made her radiant.
“Last is a coveted position. Now we have more time together.”
“What makes you think I want more time with you?”
She crossed her arms, providing an ample view of her cleavage.
Maximus’s cock throbbed. It had already been hard, but it was borderline painful now.
Nothing Veronica did could possibly compare to everything he wanted to do to Daphne.
A quick fumble over the trousers was completely inadequate to alleviate the ache between his legs.
He needed to fuck Daphne, and he needed to do it right now.
“You called Constance first. What about our arrangement?”
“I had to call her first.”
“Why?”
“Because my father—”
“I don’t want to hear about your father.”
He could hardly blame her for her stance; he didn’t want to hear about his father either. “Then what would you care to hear about?”
Daphne’s eyes traveled over him in much the same way his eyes had just traveled over her. Maximus savored the way she assessed him. It was a pleasure to be judged by her.
“Tell me you’re sorry for making me wait.”
“Close the door, and I will.”
Daphne raised a single, incredulous eyebrow. Maximus knew she didn’t take positively to commands. So it wasn’t a surprise when she said, “No.”
Instead of reacting in anger, as she no doubt expected him to, Maximus merely smiled.
They were not in his bathroom; she was not in his bathtub.
This was a different situation entirely, and if he played it correctly there might be a different outcome.
He stepped forward, crossed to her, and put his palm on the door.
He closed it slowly, looking her dead in the eye as he did so.
By the time it clicked shut, they were inches apart.
The urge to kiss her was so strong, but he knew he would have to do it slowly.
If he kissed her now, he would scare her away and ruin everything.
Instead he stood silently, allowing his gaze to drift from her face to her neck.
He swore he could see her heartbeat beneath her skin.
“Well?” Daphne said. Her lips were still pursed into a scowl.
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you going to apologize? I just had to watch every single girl stumble out of here giggling like an idiot.”
Maximus frowned, momentarily shaken from his focus. “Giggling?”
“Yes. Giggling.”
He shifted. “Why would they be giggling?”
“Don’t be self-deprecating.”
“I’m not. I’m just wondering why eight women would be giggling after spending sixty seconds with me.”
“You know perfectly well that they were happy giggles.”
“Happy giggles?”
Daphne stepped to the side, extracting herself from the cage of his arms. She stomped over to the desk and turned the hourglass on its head.
Maximus crossed his arms. “You’re not supposed to do that. That’s my job.”
“Well, you weren’t going to,” she snapped.
“Of course I was.”
Even as the words were coming out, he knew they were a lie. He never would have turned the hourglass over because to turn it over would mean that their time had an end. Maximus never wanted this moment to end, even if she did.
Daphne whirled around to face him, crossing her arms in a perfect mirror of his own position. Whereas before she was fighting with words, now she seemed to favor silence, staring at Maximus expectantly. He knew what words she wanted to hear.
“I’m sorry I made you wait.”
Silence. Daphne tapped her toe.
Maximus thought about how stunning she was in her defiance. If there was anyone in this world who could look beautiful while annoyed, it was Daphne. “Do you accept my apology?”
He couldn’t care less if she accepted it since he hardly meant it. He was simply casting lures, hoping she would bite. The hourglass was already a quarter of the way empty, the tiny flakes of gold flowing downward in a flurry. Maximus wished he could freeze them in place.
Daphne shrugged. “I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”
“I’d like to see you tomorrow.”
She frowned at him, and he only smiled wider. The wine was getting to his head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Daphne snapped.
He didn’t bother asking how he was looking at her. He knew how he must look: hungry, desperate, turned on. It was exactly how he felt. There was only so long he could stare at everything he wanted without having it. So he said, “Because I want to kiss you.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“Don’t you want to kiss me?”
She pursed her lips.
Maximus laughed softly. “No retort? Hm. Is that because your answer is yes?”
Her lips pursed even tighter. She was adorable when she was ruffled. And he knew he was ruffling her right now. Daphne hated being proven wrong. She hated it even more when Maximus was the one doing it. He might as well enjoy the process.
“I suppose there’s no use in asking you to undress, is there?”
Daphne raised her chin. “No.”
“Didn’t think so.”