by Jaci Burton
More than she wanted to give. She couldn't do this, couldn't give up her soul to him.
"Max, please," she begged, knowing what he wanted, and also knowing she couldn't do it. Not again.
"Give it to me again, Shannon," he commanded in a voice that would normally piss her off. But this excited her, this mastery he had over her senses. Relentlessly he moved against her until she felt it build within her once more. Her eyes widened as the shock of realization swept over her.
"I'm coming, Max. Oh, sweet mercy, I'm coming!"
He kissed her, hard, deep, plunging his tongue inside her mouth to match the rhythm of his still-rigid cock. And he came again with her, grinding his mouth against hers until she couldn't tell which of them was groaning.
Breathless, she dropped her head onto his shoulder, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart. He released his hold on her buttocks and let her legs drift down, keeping his arms around her until he was certain she was steady on her feet.
Yeah, right. Like she'd ever be steady on her feet again after what just happened.
He held her like that for awhile, stroking her back, running his fingers over her skin and pressing light kisses against the top of her head. She wanted to stay in this position forever, without words, without reality creeping in and stealing away what had to have been the best sex she'd ever experienced.
The most emotional sex she'd ever experienced.
Which was precisely why she needed some distance from him. This had been way more than she'd expected and too much to handle.
Now would come the part she hated the most. That awkward, not sure what to say after the sex part.
Already, the realization hit that this had been a huge mistake, that having sex with Max would cause nothing but trouble. She barely knew him, they were supposed to be working together, and the last thing she needed was the constant embarrassment of being reminded what had transpired tonight.
What was even worse, deep inside her lurked the theory that he'd done this, had gotten so close to her, because of some need to wriggle his way into her family, to get close to her brothers, her sisters, and her.
She was certain this whole fucking thing had been business to Max.
Well, she'd played that game before and wasn't going to again. Never would she allow a man to trample her heart on his way to the top.
Trying to be as cool about it as possible, she fixed her dress and her hair, wishing she could summon up a cold bite of air right now to cool her aching flesh. Although she knew she'd just made an error of epic proportions with Max, her body was still flushed with the aftereffects of hot and fiery lovemaking.
No, not lovemaking. Sex. Fucking. That was all it had been.
Too bad it had been with someone she'd never want to be with. Max was too controlling, and she liked to reign over her own world. No, they definitely would never make a viable couple.
"Well, that was fun. Thanks," she said, hoping she came off relaxed and unaffected.
Just treat it as casual sex, and it'll be fine. Close your heart, keep things business-like and cool. Then, maybe it won't hurt.
Max had been adjusting his pants and glanced up, a confused frown on his face. "Huh?"
"I said, this was fun. But I really have to get back inside."
"That's it? It was fun? Thanks for the fuck, gotta be going now?"
She refused to even consider the hurt look on his face. He was just annoyed because he didn't get to say it first. "Um, yeah, that's pretty much it." When he didn't respond, she continued. "Come on, Max. You know as well as I do that this was nothing more than two people with great chemistry who mutually scratched their sexual itch. Now it's over. I hope you don't think I intend to let this affect our business arrangement."
"Business arrangement," he repeated, as if she was speaking some foreign language.
"Yeah. You remember? Business? The reason we're here tonight?"
"I know why we're here tonight. I also know that what just happened was a helluva lot more than a sexual itch. And I think you know that, too."
"Do I? We're adults here, Max. I'm a big girl. Don't feel like you have to bring me flowers or take me to dinner just because you fucked me." She tried for a light laugh, hoping she succeeded. "You were fantastic, really. But I don't need a man in my life. Well, except for the occasional...you know."
"Are you actually buying all this bullshit you're spouting?"
No, but she hoped he would. She blinked, trying to look innocent. "I don't know what you mean."
"I admit that most men would fall for the let's-just-have-sex-but-no-relationship line, and in fact would be grateful for the out. But I'm not that kind of man. We're no way near to being finished, Shannon. In fact, this was just the beginning."
Okay, he may have been a fantastic lover, but really, did his ego have to be as huge as his dick?
"No, Max. We're finished." She turned, intent on making her exit through the doorway, except she forgot that she'd slammed the wrought iron loveseat against the door and couldn't possibly move it without using her powers.
Powers, now that she recalled, Max had clearly seen. And hadn't batted an eyelash over. Well hell, if he wasn't going to ask about them, she sure wasn't going to offer any explanation.
"We're a long way from finished, Shannon." He stepped over and easily moved the loveseat out of the way, opening the door for her. She smoothed her dress, hoping she didn't look near the mess she felt like, and sailed through the doorway.
The evening had been winding down when Max had danced her onto the balcony earlier. Now, it appeared as almost everyone had left, with the exception of her parents and Kaitlyn, Logan, Melissa and Aidan.
They looked at her and she read the knowledge in their eyes. Well she'd be damned if she'd offer any explanation. In fact, let Max explain to her brothers what he'd been doing to her out on the balcony. But she wasn't going to stick around for the inevitable third-degree.
"Night, everyone!" She smiled and waved as she strolled past them, grabbed her bag and walked out the door, desperately hoping that Max wouldn't follow her.
The late-night air had cooled as she walked outside and gave the valet the ticket for her car. Blissfully relieving cool air.
Which swept right up her dress, reminding her that her panties still resided in Max's coat pocket.
Screw it. Let him keep them as a souvenir. She snorted. Yeah, right, like he'd even give a second thought to what they'd just done.
But it had been fabulous. Admittedly, the best sex she'd ever had. And more. But the more part was nothing more than a flight of afterglow fancy. There was no connection between them. Never would be. Max was a driven businessman, and she was equally driven.
They'd just be driving in opposite directions.
"Are you all right?"
She whirled around at the sound of her mother's voice.
"Of course I'm all right. It's just been a long day and I'm tired."
"What happened with Max?"
"Nothing." The last person she needed grilling her right now was her mother. "Why aren't you inside giving Max the third degree, instead of me?"
"Max doesn't need to provide this family any explanation. He's talking business with Logan and Aidan right now, and that's all."
Leave it to her mother to tell everyone to mind their own business. "Well, that's fine. I'll get an update from him tomorrow, then."
Her mother lifted a stray curl off Shannon's shoulder and said, "I'd say you got something else from him tonight."
She'd never get used to discussing her sex life with her mother, even if they did have an open communication nearly unheard of in most families. "Really, Mother, I don't want to talk about it."
"He cares for you."
"No he doesn't. He doesn't even know me."
"He knows more about you, about us, than you think."
"What do you mean?" How could he know? Then again, he hadn't blinked twice when she'd summoned the wind to close the door and move
the furniture. Most men would probably want an explanation for how that happened. Max hadn't asked.
"He has powers of his own, ma douce."
"What kind of powers?"
"That is for you to discover on your own."
Well, hell. Nothing like being completely in the dark about things. Now her mother knew more about Max than she did. "I don't want to know any more about Max Devlin than I already do."
Angelina laid her hand over Shannon's heart. "Your heart and soul speak louder than your denials. You feel something for him."
"I swear if one more person tells me that tonight, I'm going to scream."
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't run from your heart, Shannon. You know that. Give Max a chance."
"No." Where was her damn car, anyway? She did not want to have this conversation with her mother, and absolutely refused to think about Max anymore tonight.
"He is your destiny."
"I'll decide what my destiny is."
"Mon dieu, are all my children as thickheaded as their father?"
Shannon laughed at her mother's frustration, and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Probably. I'm sorry, Mama, but I don't buy into that destiny stuff. I make my own choices. Always have, always will. Max doesn't fit into my life. He never will."
Patting her daughter on the cheek, Angelina gave her one of those I-know-something-you-don't-know grins. "We'll see, won't we? Your car is here now. Get some rest. Je t'aime, ma belle."
"Je t'aime, Mama."
After Angelina stepped back inside, Shannon shook her head and headed to her car, more confused than ever.
Try as she might to ignore what happened tonight, her body still burned for Max, her heart squeezing her chest in a funny way that she'd never experienced before.
No. She would not feel for him. She was stronger than her emotions. She'd prove it to herself and to her family that she was going to create her own destiny.
Right now, she needed a bath, a stiff drink, and her bed.
Where, with any luck, she wouldn't be dreaming of Max and wolves.
Chapter Seven
"You've been avoiding me. I wanted to talk about the party, but I didn't see you at all Sunday. And today you've been holed up in here with your door closed. What's going on?"
Shannon looked up at Kaitlyn, who leaned casually against the doorway to her office. Damn. She'd managed to avoid her family the entire day. Hell, she'd even managed to steer clear of Max, who fortunately had been busy with Aidan. "I was tired Sunday. I ran some errands, then I went to bed early."
Kaitlyn walked in and sat in the chair across from Shannon's desk. "Tired, or didn't want to talk about what happened with Max?"
"Nothing to tell."
"That's not what I saw. Or felt."
Sometimes having magical family members was a royal pain in the ass. "Butt out, Kait."
Jeweled bells tinkled against Kaitlyn's wrist as she shifted in the chair. "Now, you know me better than that. How can I butt out when I sense something special between you and Max?"
The pounding headache she'd awoken to this morning intensified. She rubbed her temples and glared at her sister. "There's nothing special between Max and me. We had sex. That's it."
Kaitlyn's eyes widened and she leaned closer. "Sex? Really? Out on the balcony?"
"Yes."
"How exciting! And then what happened?"
"Then I went home."
"Shannon!"
"Really, Kait. It was nothing. Obviously, Max and I have chemistry. We had great sex. End of subject."
"So what happens now?"
"Now we get back to work and try to forget what happened." And if she was really lucky, she'd actually be able to do that.
"I don't think it's that easy."
"Sure it is. What? You've never fucked a guy and promptly forgotten about him?"
Kaitlyn stared at her fingers. "No. It's not in my nature to be that callous. And neither are you, despite what you say."
Okay, that one stung. But Shannon and Kaitlyn were different. Like night and day, spring and fall. Where Kaitlyn was warm and nurturing, Shannon preferred to bury anything emotional under layers of cool indifference. Safer that way. "Much easier all around if you'd quit taking these kinds of things so seriously."
"And I think you'd be much happier if you opened your eyes to the possibilities of love."
She tossed her pen on the desk and leaned back in her chair. "I don't love Max Devlin."
"But you could, if you gave him half a chance. I feel it, Shan. And you do too. You're just avoiding the inevitable."
"Now I know how Aidan felt when we ganged up on him about Lissa."
"We were right, weren't we?"
"Yes, but that was different. A blind man could have seen what was between those two."
Kaitlyn nodded. "Exactly. And maybe you should remove those blinders from your own eyes, Shan. Max feels for you. Something deep."
What a load of crap. They barely knew each other. Love at first sight just didn't happen in real life. What Max felt for her was physical attraction, and nothing more. Same thing she felt for him. And now that they'd gotten the sex out of their systems, they could concentrate on business.
"I see fine. I just don't want it."
"And what is it that you don't want?"
Shannon's throat went dry at the sight of Max in her doorway. Lord, he looked delectable in his black suit, white shirt and blue tie. He'd loosened the tie and undid the buttons on his collar. Crisp, dark hairs peeked out from the top of the shirt, making her wonder if his chest was covered in that dark pelt.
Hell, he'd seen plenty of her the other night, while she'd never even glimpsed a portion of his naked body. All she'd had was the feel of his enormous cock pounding her pussy.
Her pulse raced as the images came flooding back to her.
Yeah, she'd forget about him all right. When hell froze over.
Time to cool things down. "What I don't want is to be disturbed."
Undaunted, he walked in and sat in the unoccupied chair. "She always this cranky?" he asked Kaitlyn, pointedly ignoring her.
Kaitlyn grinned. "Frankly, yes. But more so when she doesn't get enough sleep."
"I'm in the room here, guys. Quit talking about me as if I'm invisible."
"Paranoid too, I see," he added.
"Yes. Really pathetic, isn't she? How we'll ever find a man willing to put up with her is beyond me."
"Knock it off, Kait," Shannon warned.
"Would take one helluva man, wouldn't it?" Max winked at Kaitlyn, and she laughed.
"How did the meeting go with Aidan?" Shannon asked, hoping to turn the conversation away from them teasing her.
"Fine. The marketing and PR angles merge perfectly, and I suggested a few things to Aidan and Melissa about taking their marketing to a national and international level. We've got a good start."
"Good. I've got the announcements and community specials set up to go out to all the newspapers this week, plus the regional print publications."
"We're set then. So, what time are you two cutting out of here?"
"I'm finished for the day," Kaitlyn said. "As a matter of fact, I'm outta here. Promised Mom I'd do a little shopping with her today. She's got some ideas about revamping the kitchens at the original Rising Storm, so I'm off."
Shannon knew damn well that Kaitlyn didn't have to rush off. Once again, her manipulative little sister was trying to give her and Max some alone time. As if they needed it. "See ya, Kait."
"Bye Kaitlyn. Say hello to your mother for me," Max said.
"Will do."
After Kaitlyn left, Max turned to her. "Got any plans for tonight?"
"No," she replied, then cringed. What if he asked her to go out with him? Why didn't she say she was busy? Idiot. This is what happened when she didn't engage her brain before her mouth opened.
"I have a line on a house, and wanted someone who lived here to come with me. If you're available, I'd love it if you would com
e with me to take a look."
"A house?"
"Yeah, you know. Frame structure, some rooms inside, walls, that sort of thing."
She rolled her eyes. "I know what a house is. Why are you renting one?"
"I'm not. I'm going to buy one."
Her headache began to thrum incessantly. "Buy one? Here?"
"Yeah."
"Why?'
"Because I'm moving here."
There was no way he'd said what she thought she heard. Fighting the rising panic, she tried for calm. "You're what?"
"I'm moving to New Orleans. Permanently."
"No you're not."
His lips curled in a smile. "Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?"
Hell yeah, she had a problem with it. She stood and paced behind her desk, trying to fathom what that would mean. Max, here in New Orleans, permanently. Oh no, that wouldn't do at all. Much easier to fuck him and forget him if she were actually allowed the opportunity to forget him. Domiciled a thousand or so miles away was a perfect way to get a man out of your thoughts. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
"Why do you want to move here?"
"My family wants to expand the Devlin business ventures nationwide. I'm taking care of the south, and figured New Orleans was as good a place as any to set up shop."
"I've heard Georgia's really nice," she suggested, hoping he'd grab the hint.
He arched a brow. "You're not in Georgia."
"No, of course I'm not. I'm right...what do you mean?"
"It means you're one of the reasons I'm staying."
No. She would absolutely not have an emotional reaction to that. "You don't even know me."
He stood and approached her. With each of his steps forward, she took one back until she ran out of space, the back of her legs hitting the credenza.
"I do know you. And you know me. And it scares you."
As if she didn't have her mother and her sister to contend with, now Max was joining the let's-tell-Shannon-how-she-really-feels club. "Save the full-court press for someone who can appreciate it, Max. The only thing you're succeeding in doing right now is pissing me off."
"You want me." He leaned in, his breath caressing her temple. He inhaled swiftly, then let out a whispered sigh.
Her nipples hardened. "Back off, Max. I mean it."
"You mean you haven't thought about the other night at all? Haven't thought about what it felt like to have my hard cock driving in and out of your pussy until you screamed?"
