Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
This was Violet's first attempt at seduction, and she thought it was going very well, so far.
Much better now Max had stopped questioning everything.
She wasn't a novice when it came to sex, but generally when she went to bed with a man, it was all planned out and she knew what to expect.
Not so with Max. She felt as though he'd blindsided her.
No matter how hard she tried to keep her distance from him, he still managed to get close—even to the point where he was somehow getting her to sleep on top of him.
The whole thing was strange and confusing, and tempting and exciting.
She wanted to touch, wanted to explore, wanted to figure out why he attracted her so.
And the wanting was making her crazy because she should have been more focused on protecting his ass.
They were in the middle of a dangerous op and instead of doing her job, she was rubbing herself all over her client, like a cat in heat.
It wasn't professional. It wasn't even on the same planet as professional. And yet, she couldn't stop doing it.
Worse.
She didn't want to stop doing it.
She broke the drugging kiss to remind him of a few things. "Don't get too carried away," she said. "We need to keep an eye out for danger. Remember, I'm still your bodyguard."
"Don't get too carried away?" He sounded both confused and amused.
Violet feared he was already too far gone and couldn't think straight. "Never mind, I'll stay alert for both of us."
"You'll stay alert for both of us?" he repeated.
Yep, he was definitely past the point of thinking clearly. On the one hand, she pitied his inability to stay aware of their surroundings. On the other hand, she felt quite smug that she'd managed to kiss his ability to reason right out of his head. This seduction was going very well indeed.
She slid her hands under his T-shirt, feeling the muscles of his abdomen ripple. "You work out," she said.
"No need to sound surprised," Max said. "I thought we weren't allowed to talk."
"We can talk, you just can't ask any questions, or analyze anything, or go digging for motive or story."
"So," he said. "I'm only supposed to be your sex toy, is that it?"
Oh, she very much liked the sound of that. "Yeah, that works for me."
He chuckled. It was low and sexy and made her privates tremble. "Then what do you want me to do first? You're the boss."
Violet felt quite giddy at the thought. "We need to get out of these clothes," she decreed. "Now."
He sat up in one smooth motion, taking her with him until she was sitting on his lap. With a twist of his body, they were perched on the edge of the bed. Strong hands placed her on her feet in front of him. Fast as lightning, he whipped off his T-shirt.
This wouldn't do at all. "We need more light," she said. "I can't see a thing." She reached for the lamp, but his hand clasped her wrist.
"Let's open the skylight instead," he said.
She nodded and hit the button to retract the blind from the skylight. Moonlight flooded the room, painting everything in a seductive silver light.
"Better," Violet said as she stepped back to look at Max. "Pants off." She gestured to his pajamas.
With a wicked smile, he stood and slid them down his legs.
Oh my.
"Do I meet your requirements for a sex toy?" he asked in a low drawling tone that made her stomach clench with need.
Violet nodded. "I don't have the words."
"That's because most of them freak you out." He stepped close to her and started unbuttoning her pajama top.
"I can do it," she said reaching up to move his hands.
He gently swatted her away. "Allow me. After all, a good sex toy is a full-service sex toy."
"I don't know what that means," Violet's eyes were still on his impressive erection. "You have very nice privates," she said.
Max's head fell back as he laughed. She felt the sound vibrate through her and stared at him in wonder. How could something so masculine be so beautiful? She traced the column of his throat with her eyes, and promised she'd do the same with her tongue as soon as they were back in bed.
When he looked at her, he was beaming. "Never change, Vi," he said as he spread open her pajama top. His breath hitched and he suddenly became deadly serious. "Stunning," he said, sliding the top from her shoulders and letting it pool on the floor at her feet.
To her surprise, Max got to his knees in front of her and, placing a hand on each hip, slid her pajama bottoms down to join her top.
"Gorgeous," he whispered before pressing a kiss in the spot between her breasts.
She couldn't resist threading her fingers through his hair. When his mouth moved to her breast, and then her nipple, her fingers made fists in his hair, holding on tight.
"I could make a meal of you," Max whispered against her flesh.
Yes please.
Violet swayed in place as Max licked and sucked and played. Teasing her to distraction. Safety, she reminded herself, stay alert. You're the bodyguard. But her concentration kept slipping. It was very unprofessional.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted, and then settled onto the bed. She expected Max to follow her down and anticipated his weight pressing her into the mattress.
Instead, she felt gentle hands on the inside of her thighs, pressing them open. Then she realized her legs were still hanging off the side of the bed, and Max was kneeling between them.
Oh my.
When his mouth covered her, she let out a low groan that reverberated through the bungalow. Her fists curled into the sheets beside her as her back arched. Sweet ecstasy set her body on fire. Flames flickering over her skin. She gasped for air, desperate for it.
"Max," she moaned.
There was only the feel of his tongue, pressing, probing, seeking her pleasure as though it was his own.
"Please," she gasped.
His hands slid beneath her, cupping her backside and angling her up toward him for a kiss so intimate it made thinking impossible.
Violet wasn't sure where she was, or what was happening.
The room was spinning out of control. Above her, through the skylight, stars seemed to dance in delight.
She was losing herself. It was being taken from her by the man between her thighs.
With one last flick of his tongue, Violet left the planet entirely. The room was gone, the hotel a memory. All that was left was sensation.
And Max.
He'd never seen anything so beautiful. It hurt to look at Violet, creating an ache so deep inside of him, a longing so great, he wasn't sure it would ever be satisfied.
As Violet moaned and gasped on the bed, coming down from the heights of his kiss, he gently moved her further onto the mattress and climbed on beside her.
Damn it, he was nowhere near done with her. His hand covered one of her breasts, it fit perfectly. As though it had been made for him alone. Lying beside her, he leaned down to nuzzle her throat, delighting when she arched to give him space.
The taste of her night flower perfume still on his tongue, he set about kissing his way down her body. He wanted to feel every inch of her with his lips and tongue. Caress every inch with his hands, molding them to her, memorizing her.
Violet reached out, grasping his shoulders, her fingers digging into him as she clung on. As though she was falling, and he was her lifeline.
"My turn," she bit out.
"Not yet," he muttered as his tongue dipped into the glorious little dent at the base of her throat.
Catnip.
She called out to every one of his senses. Stimulating his mind and body. Making him want more. She was a question he was determined to answer, no matter how long it took.
"Max!" It was a sensual wail of complaint.
"You're a flame, Violet Lee," he told her. "Everything about you burns so bright. I feel like I'm being consumed by your fire, and I love it. I'm burning for you, Vi, can you feel it?"
Her legs came around him in a scissor motion, then he toppled, finding himself on his back with Violet on top of him.
"On fire," he whispered. "You're on fire."
Her delighted smile rendered him incapable of thought. It was the kind of smile that would make a man do anything, give anything, just to see it one more time. And it was directed at him. He reached up, with trembling fingers, to trace the miraculous smile. His, he thought.
His Violet.
Cheeks flushed, eyes dark with sensual promise, she pinned his arms above his head.
"My turn," she declared.
Max didn't have a chance to argue because she angled her hips, lining his hard length up with her wet heat, and plunged down onto him.
A primal roar erupted from him, and before he could even register what was happening, she was moving to her own sensual rhythm. With great effort, he opened his eyes and found Violet staring down at him.
Lightning shot between them. The air charged with need.
He half expected to see her hair take flight around her face.
She was magnificent. Completely without artifice, just raw sensuality that made no excuses.
This was pure Violet. Unapologetic and uninhibited.
Taking what she wanted and giving everything in return.
He'd never seen anything so sexy in his entire life. Never wanted anyone more.
She humbled him.
He felt his body clench, his heart race, his breath come in bursts. Still, he held her gaze. The challenge in her eyes was meant for him. She dared him to look away and he refused to succumb to temptation. Her lips parted as her rhythm faltered. He felt her tense and knew she was close. He was too.
"Kiss me," he said, unsure if it was a plea or an order.
Her eyelashes lowered as she considered his request. And then she granted it, her mouth covering his. Max's hips surged up to meet her as their tongues tangled with desperation. And, with one loud groan, they met in a final explosion that tore them both apart.
Violet collapsed on top of him. In much the same position they'd started, only this time they were naked and joined in the most intimate of ways.
Max flattened his palms on her back, feeling her heart thud under his touch.
He caressed her with long, soothing strokes, comforting her.
Comforting both of them. Reassuring himself this was real, and she was still there.
In one of those rare moments that always shocked him, he didn't know what to say. Then he realized it didn't matter. Because Violet was already asleep.
Smiling into the night, he joined her.