“Yes, it happens all the time. In fact, it’s so commonplace I don’t even think about it anymore. It’s not important. I didn’t do anything.”
“Then why are you on a paid leave of absence?”
“Because some entitled client didn’t get what she wanted.”
“Why would they believe her?” Mallory drove out of the parking garage and down the driveway, past the penis bushes, to the golden gates.
Hank at the gate waved them through with a small shake of his head.
“Are you going to be allowed back on the premises to get your things?” Mallory asked.
“I don’t see why not. Your sister isn’t being a jerk about this—she’s just got to cover her ass.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“I’m going into work. I’ll take an extra shift. I just don’t want to think about my screwed-up life.”
“I don’t like the way you’re talking. You’re freaking out for no reason.”
“Don’t tell me there’s no reason. I can let you out now.” She slowed the car down and eyeballed him.
“I’m here for the long run.”
“This is a really shitty day after.”
“Makes you wish you didn’t get out of bed.” Max leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You were fantastic last night.”
“Don’t,” she said.
“Still pissed off?”
“I’m not sure what I’m feeling. I didn’t like hearing about some chick with her hands all over you and accusing you of something you didn’t do. I should have heard it from you.”
Now that she was out on the road with a plan and Max was sitting next to her, she was starting to calm down. Maybe she’d overreacted a bit. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the other part that was bothering her.
I feel inadequate and not good enough to keep your interest.
Mallory winced. That was harsh and not entirely true.
“You’re right,” he said, and turned to look out the window. “I didn’t think it was important. But now I can see it was important to you. I’m sorry. I promise to tell you in the future.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling small and petty. That miserable ball of poisoned words sat low in her heart. David would have been out the door by now. He sure as hell never apologized.
“Are we okay?” he asked.
“We’re getting there.”
They drove in silence for a few miles.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I freaked out without thinking things through. I’m sorry I became a drama queen. You’re the one facing losing his job and I made it all about me. It’s just that I’m falling in love with you and it’s really serious this time. I’m worried that I won’t be what you need. I was scared that I was imagining all of this. I know it’s dumb, but there it is.”
“You know when I knew I loved you?”
Mallory shook her head.
“When you didn’t make fun of me when you saw the sewing machines. One little snide remark, one joke, and it would have been fun. But I wouldn’t be here in this car right now.”
“You are incredibly talented. Why would I tease you? This isn’t high school.”
“It’s always high school. People can’t help themselves,” Max said. “So when you accepted the fact that I sewed and that Anya was still beautiful even though she wasn’t a size zero, I knew you were the one for me. What about you?”
“Max, it’s been crazy. I’m pretty much head over heels for you. But it could also be that I haven’t had this much magical sex in my entire life.”
“What have you got to lose by giving us a try?” He held up his hands in entreaty.
Mallory rubbed the center of her chest where the clenching pain made it difficult to breathe. “I had a relationship. It didn’t survive my job. I don’t want to stop doing the emergency room work. I’m needed there. I’m useful and I like it.”
“I’d never ask you to.”
“David didn’t ask me to either.”
“David and my father should’ve been in the same Asshole League.”
Mallory giggled and wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “Then to make matters worse, I’m thinking of volunteering at a battered women’s shelter. Dr. Strauss agreed it might be a good step in my healing.”
“Isn’t that going to be too much for you?”
“For me? No. I’m used to the pace. For us? I don’t know, and that scares me.”
“Take a chance.” He caressed her cheek with his knuckles.
“I wish it could always be like this for you and me.” She turned her head and kissed his hand.
“You throwing a hissy and me chasing after you?”
Mallory rolled her eyes. “No, you know. Sexy. Happy.”
“If you let me, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Tell me about that chick who put in a formal complaint.”
“I’m assuming it was Misty. She was in my tantric class,” Max said.
“I knew that class was trouble.”
“You do know that the class I took over was about abstaining from orgasm, right?”
“What’s the fun in that?”
“Your sexual energy gets rerouted back into your body as a positive energy force and you leave the class feeling refreshed and wide awake.”
“Thanks, I’ll have a cup of coffee instead.”
Max sighed. “I could start lecturing you on the perils of too much caffeine.”
“But I can’t see how that would be conducive to getting you laid.”
“Point taken,” he said. “Anyway, as I was leading them through the meditations and visualizations, Misty wasn’t feeling the serenity. She was expecting more of a Kama Sutra experience than one that denies the orgasm.”
“Something tells me Misty isn’t good at denying herself anything. Was she pretty?”
“I didn’t notice.”
“Bullshit.”
“Mallory, I’m surrounded by fashion models every day. If she were ugly, she’d stand out. Otherwise, all the T&A I see starts to look alike after a while.”
“What about me?”
“I told you. You’re a special beautiful.”
“What the hell do you see in me that’s so damn special that no one else in my life has ever seen?”
“I like your smile. Your pretty eyes. I like that you talk to me like a person instead of a potential fuck toy. I like your sass. And your ass. Not to mention those gorgeous tits.”
“I get the picture,” she said, but she was smiling and the pissed-offness was starting to fade. “All right, hotshot, so what happened with Misty?”
“Well, after class she stayed behind and did her damnedest to get me horizontal.”
“What did she do?”
“She tried being subtle, coming up to me and touching me on the arm.”
Mallory glared.
Max held up his hands. “I was polite, but firm. I told her I wasn’t interested.”
“Then what happened?”
“She took off her shirt and jumped me.”
“Whoa!” Mallory banged her palm on the steering wheel, wishing it were Misty’s face.
“Yeah, that was a little much. I got her off me and told her I was flattered and all that, but I had a girlfriend that I loved and wouldn’t cheat on.”
“What did she say?”
“She shrugged, said it was my loss, and headed to Sam’s massage class next,” Max said. He toyed with her hair, tucking an errant lock behind her ear.
“I thought Sam wasn’t working there anymore.”
“He was off last week. He’s back on the schedule.”
“Then why couldn’t she just wait for Sam and make him the same offer?”
“I guess I’m just that irresistible.”
“You are, you know.” Mallory smiled at him. “So why didn’t you tell me this?”
“It never occurred to me. I figured it was over. But a few hours later I was getting my walking papers.” He brought
her hand up to his lips and kissed it. They held hands for a while until Mallory needed to turn off the exit.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
Her stomach grumbled. “I did skip lunch. I know a nice place we can go to. Are you in the mood for pizza?”
“I should watch my carbs,” he said.
“Great, you can have the salad and I’m going for pepperoni-and-mushroom pie.”
“That’s an interesting combination.”
“The mushrooms are my vegetable.”
“Broccoli would be better. Mushrooms are nutritionally void.”
“I’m pretty sure the beer you’re going to have with your salad isn’t low on the food pyramid either,” she said.
“Beer is food. Just ask the sixteenth-century monks.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
In the end, Max ended up sharing his antipasto salad in exchange for a few slices, which made her believe that there could be something more to their relationship than thrilling sex. She knew she was staring at him, but she couldn’t believe he was here with her.
“My life’s a mess,” she told him. “I’m still not one hundred percent.”
“No worries.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Max was still there sitting on an uncomfortable chair in the ER’s waiting room and playing with his phone when the two hours she had promised him she would be turned into six.
“I’m so sorry,” Mallory said, stripping off her gloves. “They were swamped, so I gave them a little help.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “You look tired.”
“Exhausted. What a day.”
“Let’s go have some fun.” Max kissed her on the cheek.
“I’m going to fall dead asleep on you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was an easy decision. She wanted to be with him.
“Let’s head on back to Couture.”
“Weren’t you just fired?”
“Technically it’s a leave of absence. I still have my apartment and I’m still a member. You could hit the Jacuzzi and we could cuddle up on your waterbed. Then, in the morning, I’d fuck you silly.”
Mallory found she didn’t have an argument after all. “All right,” she said.
“I’ll drive. Do you need anything else here?”
“No. Let’s get out of here before they put me back on the schedule.”
Max’s hand was warm on her aching lower back. The promise of one more night in paradise was too much for her to turn down. Sure, Max was understanding tonight when she worked late. But would he be when she missed dinner for the third night in a row or worked through their dinner date? David had turned to drugs. Max had Couture. He could turn to any number of distractions.
“What are you thinking about, honey?”
“Bad stuff,” Mallory admitted.
“No room for that. Our relationship isn’t a jug of milk. We don’t have an expiration date. You’ll see. You’re just tired. Why don’t you rest your eyes until we get back?” He helped her into the car and buckled her in.
Mallory was asleep before they got out of the parking lot.
She woke up when Max was maneuvering her out of the car. “I’m awake,” she said. “You don’t have to carry me.”
They were in the parking garage.
“I like carrying you.”
“Put me down,” she said, smacking him on the shoulder. He eased her to the ground. She buried her face in his chest. “I could go back to sleep right now.”
“Did you have a nice nap?”
“My headache’s gone,” she yawned. “But I’m still pretty beat.”
“I’ve got just the thing for that.”
“You certainly do.” Mallory hugged him one-armed.
They rode up in the elevator kissing and touching each other. Mallory was getting her second wind as he pulled her shirt out of her pants and started working on her bra. They headed toward her room, stopping every minute or so for long, passionate kisses against the wall. She had his slacks unbuttoned and was trying to worm her hand down his underwear.
“I wish you weren’t wearing jeans,” he muttered as he pulled his mouth from hers.
“This way,” she said, pulling him along to her room.
Fumbling with the door, they spilled inside. Max shut the door behind them and fell with her onto the waterbed.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting seasick?” he asked, kicking off his shoes.
“It’s too much of a trip to adjust the mattress.” She pulled off her shirt and shimmied out of her jeans.
“I’m going to start the Jacuzzi,” he said.
She pushed down his pants and pulled him all the way out. “In a minute.”
“Whatever you say.”
Mallory took him in her mouth and reveled in the firm flesh against the back of her throat. The guttural moan Max let out had her bobbing her head on his thick cock fast and hard. She reached inside her panties and slipped a finger inside her to up the feelings of need that were cascading over her.
“Oh honey, what you do to me,” he said.
The knock on the door startled both of them. Max leapt away and nearly tripped on his shoes. Mallory clutched the bedspread to her chest.
“Who is it?” Max snarled.
“It’s Colleen,” came the amused reply.
“I’m going to start the tub,” Max said and then in a lower voice, “Get rid of her.”
Mallory shimmied back into her clothes and shut the bathroom door before opening up to her sister.
“What?” she said. “I’m a little busy.”
“You leave here with your panties in a twist and then come back without a word.”
“It does sound bad when you put it like that,” Mallory said, feeling sheepish.
“I’m used to it. It’s all good.” Colleen smirked. “What’s going on with you and the Boy Wonder in there? Are you pissed at me?”
“The Reader’s Digest version!” he yelled through the door.
“We’re two consenting adults who don’t work for you. Although I am grateful for the free room.”
“Look, I’m sorry about Max’s job.”
“We knew the risks.” Mallory shrugged. “Can we talk later? I’ve got plans for the evening.”
“All right, all right. I know when I’m not wanted,” Colleen said, but she was smiling. “See you tomorrow. Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That leaves things pretty open.”
“Yes, yes it does.” As Colleen was walking away, Mallory realized that she was wearing a diamond guardian angel pin. It was a donor’s pin that the Charity Hub gave to large contributors. Alfie had been very generous with his money and Colleen followed suit in his memory.
“Colleen?” Mallory said just as she was about to close the door on her.
She turned back and raised an eyebrow.
“The MMA fight you sponsored was for Yale Children’s Hospital, right?”
“I thought you were busy.”
“She is,” Max called.
“You like funding hospitals and clinics?” Mallory pushed.
“I can’t believe my tax shelters are keeping you from a naked man in the tub.”
“Huh,” Mallory said. “Good point. Can we do breakfast tomorrow?”
“Only if it’s after twelve.”
“Wouldn’t that be lunch?”
“Are you going to stand me up at Shira’s again?”
“I’ll be there,” Mallory said. “I’ve got an idea.”
“This ought to be good.” Colleen shook her head and walked away.
Mallory closed the door and locked it. She flung open the door to the bathroom. “I’m a genius.”
Max was lounging in one corner of the tub. “You’re overdressed. Strip for me.”
“Is this where I say, ‘Yes, Master’?”
“If you want, but that means you have to obey me for the rest of the night.”
Mallory’s knees went
weak at his tone.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered.
“Take off your shirt, slowly,” Max said.
Mallory lifted her shirt on one side, then the other before teasingly lifting it up, exposing her midriff. She eased it over her breasts and paused, wiggling her chest a bit.
“Very nice,” Max said.
Pulling it over her head, she tossed it in the corner.
“Take those damn jeans off,” he said. “From now on, when we’re in Couture you can only wear skirts. And no underwear.”
“Why is that?”
“So when I get the urge, I can pull it up and fuck you right then and there.”
Mallory quivered at his tone and the frank, sexual look in his eyes. She unbuttoned her jeans and stepped out of them as gracefully as she could.
“Now the bra,” he said.
Mallory slid one strap down her shoulder, then the other. She leaned forward, giving him a view of her cleavage.
He licked his lips. “You’re amazing.”
Turning her back on him, she smiled over her shoulder as she unclasped the bra and let it fall to the floor.
“Turn around,” he growled.
She did, putting her hands over her breasts. “Do you want to see, Master?”
He nodded, staring at her hungrily.
Mallory took one hand away and then the other.
“Sexy. I can’t decide if I want you to take off your panties or if I should tear them off you.”
“Tear them off me.”
“I give the orders,” he said. But then he cocked his head. “Come here.”
She stepped into the tub, sighing as the nice, hot water caressed her toes. A few more steps and she was in his arms.
“You take my breath away,” he said. “Now, I’m going to show you that I’m not fucking you for a paycheck or for any other reason other than you make me so hard, all I can think about is being inside you while you scream my name.” Max tangled his fingers inside her underwear and yanked, shredding it into two pieces.
“Oh,” she said, holding on to his shoulders.
“Now then,” he said. “We were rudely interrupted before. Are you interested in taking up where we left off?”
“Yes, Master.”
He grinned. “I love to hear you say those words.”
“I love what you do to me when I say them.”
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