Sean and Brian shook their heads.
“Dessert sounds good,” Jackson drawled. Wow, had she ever heard him drawl before? It sounded wonderful and sensual and damn she was getting hot again.
“Something sweet.” As he said the words, he put his hand on her knee, crossing his arm over hers, his fingers sliding between her legs. He wasn’t aggressive or lecherous but there was no mistaking the sexual aspect to his touch, the way his fingers whispered on her skin, warning they weren’t going to be content with the modest caress to her knee for long. She squirmed and looked over her shoulder, begging Gideon to appear and thank God, there he was.
He stepped forward, stopping beside Jackson, looking poised and calm—gorgeous.
She tried not to stare at the two men but it was more than her feminine hormones would allow. They were striking together. Gideon with his dark eyes and dark hair, long enough that she could imagine trailing it through her fingers. Jackson’s strength and heat. A small flutter teased her pussy and fought the urge to squirm in her seat.
Between Jackson’s hand on her leg and Gideon’s smile she was going to have an orgasm right here.
Gideon winked at her, not in a sexual way, but as a friend. She smiled back. She didn’t know Gideon well but Jackson trusted him. That’s why they’d picked this restaurant. A little backup if they needed it.
“Have you had a chance to look at the menu?” Gideon directed his question to Jackson, one side of his mouth pulled up like he was fighting a smile. He blinked his eyes and Mandy saw the laughter twinkling in his dark gaze. “See anything that looks good?”
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Maxwell’s Fall
The grip on her knee tightened for a moment and Jackson lifted his chin, daring Gideon with his stare. What the heck was going on? Jackson was behaving like a thug, which was probably appropriate but not what Sean and Brian were expecting. They were looking for a mild-mannered accountant.
And what the heck had happened to her mild-mannered accountant?
Not wanting to startle Jackson by squeezing his leg, though the urge to pinch him almost overwhelmed her, she rubbed her fingers up his thigh, distracted by the hard muscles beneath the black denim he wore. Her subtle touch captured Jackson’s attention and he pulled his insolent stare away from Gideon, directing the power to her.
The irritation faded and it was lust and hunger that flowed from him.
“What would you like, honey?”
You on the floor, naked, now. Or even better, me, naked, on the floor, hands tied—
She opened her mouth, praying that those words didn’t actually slip out. The sexual tone of his voice curled through her core, her pussy clenching with anticipation, as if he invited her to debauchery with every word. Weird. Jackson and debauchery were not two words she’d ever thought of together. Until tonight.
His fingers did another little slide beneath her skirt and she sat up a straight.
“Honey?” This time there was laughter.
She glared at him and smiled at Gideon. “I’ll have the key lime pie.”
“Excellent,” Gideon said with the perfect precision of a longtime restaurateur.
“Gentlemen?” He looked to Sean and Brian.
As Gideon turned to Sean and Brian, Jackson shifted, the movement pushing his fingers a little deeper between her legs, inching her skirt up until her thighs were visible. Warmth from his palm curled over her skin but he didn’t stop. She snapped her knees together. The corner of his mouth bent upward and with seemingly no strength, he slid his hand higher, leaving her knees and teasing the inside of her thigh.
She heard him speak, vaguely aware he’d ordered the Chocolate Indulgence, his voice lazy and smooth, even as he continued to stroke her, the movements subtle but determined, inching higher. What the heck was happening? Jackson had his hand under her skirt. In public. And if she didn’t do something soon he was going to get close enough to know her panties were drenched.
Mandy pulled her shoulders back and nudged her chair forward. Surely that would stop his teasing. Instead he just moved with her, adjusting the tablecloth to cover her lap.
Feeling as if she’d been doing nothing but taking deep, calming breaths all day, she tried another one. She had to stop him. It just wasn’t right for him to—he twirled one finger, rubbing a hot little circle.
She froze, her mind blanking for a moment. When her thoughts reengaged, it took a moment to remember what she’d been thinking. Oh right. Making Jackson stop. Except that she wasn’t sure she wanted him to stop. She hadn’t been this hot since…okay, she 19
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couldn’t remember but surely it had taken more than fingers on her thigh to make her ready to pounce. Or even better, be pounced on.
Still, it wouldn’t do to make a scene. Not in front of Sean and Brian. She and Jackson had to appear a unified team.
She blinked and realized Gideon had left and the conversation had stalled. All three men were looking to her.
“Have you given my idea any thought?” she started, leaving the floor open for
“Uncle” Sean or Brian to begin.
Brian looked at Sean and there seemed to be a silent communication between them.
Brian was definitely the one in charge. Sean just seemed to be carrying out his instructions.
“Not that we don’t trust you,” Sean said. He raised his hands to stop her protest.
“We do. I knew your father too long not to trust you. But him.” Sean lifted his chin toward Jackson. “We’ve had so many problems, we just want to be sure that’s he’s not, you know, working for the cops.”
“Cops?” Her voice squeaked next to Jackson’s snarl.
“Cops? What the hell?”
“Cops. Feds. Can’t be too careful.” Brian nodded his weaselly little head. “You’re family. He’s not. We want to check to make sure he’s not wearing a wire.” He caught Mandy’s stare. “It’s happened before.”
She knew that from personal experience. Her father’s indictment had been based on a recorded conversation.
Jackson’s fingers twitched against her skin but he didn’t remove his hand from between her legs. She’d warned him about this. It would be a simple thing. They could slip into the bathroom and prove that Jackson wasn’t—
He sat forward, the movement slow and predatory. Sean and Brian seemed to recognize the animal strength and they both leaned back. Not enough to be called a retreat but the movement acknowledged the other male’s power. It was like watching an episode of Animal Kingdom.
“You want me to go into the bathroom and strip so you can prove I’m not wearing a wire?” Jackson’s words were more threat than question.
Brian’s lips got white around the edges. “Yes.”
“No.”
“Jackson—”
“I’m not stripping for these guys unless they’re willing to do the same,” he announced. “And frankly, I’m not that interested in seeing you two naked.” He paused and Mandy realized the power at the table had shifted to him. “We’ll just have to trust each other.”
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Maxwell’s Fall
Mandy had no choice but to sit quietly and add her support to Jackson. It wouldn’t look good for her to nag or contradict him, not in public, but as soon as they were alone, they were going to have to talk.
She offered a weak smile and shrugged.
Brian gave another speaking glance to Sean then turned back to Jackson.
“Okay, we’ll let it pass but you know what happens to people who cross us.”
Max listened to the barely veiled threat and didn’t know what the hell to think—
either he should be worried about his brother or worried that the two wiseguys sitting across from him were walking, talking clichés. Either way, what the hell had Jax gotten himself into?
A server appeared beside the table with Gideon approaching from the other side, a bottle of wine resting against his forearm. It was an excellent wine, a perfect compl
ement to the desserts being placed on the table.
“I thought this would go well with your desserts.”
The one Mandy called “Uncle” Sean—Max thought of him as Baldino—grimaced as if irritated by another interruption.
Max did what he did best and took control. “That would fine.”
Gideon eyes widened for a moment, laughter twinkling in his dark eyes, and he bowed his head. “Very good, sir.”
Asshole.
Gideon moved around the table, pouring wine into the glasses of the other three.
He pulled back when he came to Max’s seat, pausing. A spicy scent flowed from Gideon, a flavor that had nothing to do with the food in the room. It was his natural scent. And fuck, it blended perfectly with Mandy’s sweet perfume. He licked his lips imagining the two tastes on his tongue.
“Wine, sir?”
Needing something to mute his senses before he dragged the tablecloth away and buried his face between Mandy’s legs, he nodded. Gideon paused a fraction of a moment before pouring the deep red wine into Max’s glass. The bouquet filled the air, combining with the sexual scents from Mandy and Gideon and invading Max’s head, making him drunk just from breathing.
His cock throbbed, needing to be released. It made no sense. He’d never been attracted to another male before but something about Gideon not only pissed Max off, it made him hard. And Mandy…when she’d walked into the bar, he would have classified her as no-fun, too uptight to hold his interest. Now he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
The knowledge that he was behaving out of character not only for him but for his brother didn’t help much. He kept his fingers firmly fitted between Mandy’s thighs and used his free hand to reach for his wine. He moaned as the slightly cool liquid slid 21
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down his throat. His cock twitched. Fuck, good wine, chocolate and a sexy, aroused woman. Damn, the only thing better would be to have her cunt juices on his tongue as he sipped the wine.
Heat radiated from her pussy invading his skin. If she hadn’t been wearing underwear, and he was pretty damn sure she was, he knew she’d be wet, smearing her cream down her thighs as she sat there so properly.
Not wanting to scare her or push her too far too fast, he left his hand where it was and turned back to table, his attention captured by the chocolate cake before him.
He reached for his fork, thankful that he was functional with his left hand because he had no intention of taking his right away from Mandy’s thigh. If nothing else, it kept her off balance and he had a feeling she didn’t allow many people to see her in that state.
The fork slid through the cake like it was heated. He carried it to his mouth and groaned. He tipped his head back and savored the flavor as it slid down his throat.
Mandy’s eyes widened as she watched and a soft, almost inaudible hitch caught her breath. He licked his lips and stared at her mouth. Oh yeah. The cake and Mandy, naked, licking the thick chocolate off her breasts, sucking on her pretty nipples as he fucked her.
Every sense came alive until he was surrounded by sex.
The wolf howled in his head. Max crushed the hungry noise and tried to focus on the obscure purpose for this meeting. There would be time for fucking later.
Allowing the first delicious bite to settle, he glanced at the two men across the table.
Definite lowlifes. Possible crooks. What was Jackson doing meeting with these people?
And what about Mandy? She’d set this up. His heart did a little jump that she might be a crook but his dick didn’t seem to mind. And his wolf had no problems with women of questionable morals. The more of a slut she was, the more his wolf would like her.
Unfortunately, Mandy didn’t come across as a slut. Too controlled. The edge of Max’s mouth pulled up as he thought about how much fun it would be to bring out the inner slut in Mandy. Seduce her until she was begging to be fucked. Needing his cock.
The wolf’s impatience came forward, the animal eager to move on to the fucking.
But first Max had to figure out why his brother was meeting with thugs. Mandy obviously knew them well enough to call one Uncle Sean. Surely Jax wasn’t so desperate for money or God forbid, entertainment, that he’d decided to work for The Mob. Not that these guys were part of The Mob. It was Alaska for God’s sake.
He let his mind circle as he ate his cake. Every bite was perfection. No wonder this was Jax’s favorite restaurant. They had different tastes in a lot of things—women, alcohol, clothes—but one thing they agreed on was chocolate.
Everything seemed to settle and Mickelson sat forward.
“I have to say I was surprised when you contacted me.”
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Maxwell’s Fall
Mandy nodded and her cheeks pulled up in a strained smile. “It seems a little strange, I know.” She looked at Max. He tipped his head forward, trying to give her whatever support she needed. He didn’t understand what was going on but until he could figure it out, he was on Mandy’s side. “It’s just with everything that’s happened, our business…” She inhaled through her nose, the sound strained. “Has suffered.”
Mickelson sat back, his eyes squinting down at the corners. He crossed his arms over his chest.
Mandy’s thigh jumped beneath his hand and he tightened his grip, willing her to breathe. She seemed to hear his silent command and gave a weak shrug.
“No one wants to hire the daughter of an embezzler.” Tears filled her eyes. The wolf howled and Max struggled to keep the sound from entering the world. His soul demanded he distract her from whatever was causing her pain. He slid his hand higher up her thigh. Red stained her cheeks but she didn’t pull back.
Baldino and Mickelson sat forward, their eyes sharp and still cautious.
“People are still looking hard at our company,” Mickelson said in a low voice.
“Federal indictments are coming down all over the place and we need to make sure we’re clean as a whistle”
Max fought the urge to roll his eyes at the cliché and focused on the cryptic conversation. He didn’t track Alaska politics much but he knew there had been several businessmen and government officials accused of bribery.
“If there’s a chance something like that might happen, I’m not sure I want Mandy involved in this.”
The tablecloth he’d used to cover his hand between legs also camouflaged the swift kick to his shin, a hard thunk that hurt, damn it. The clunky heels she wore left a dent in his flesh.
“We’re thinking of starting a family soon so Jackson is worried about me working too much.” She fiddled with the crust of her key lime pie. “I don’t think it should be a problem. And we will need the extra income with a baby on the way.” Her voice came out confident, a touch hard. She kicked Max again, this time more warning than punishment.
Max didn’t allow himself to smile. She had a bit of fire in her. He liked that. Didn’t mind prickly women at all. Made them more fun to dominate in bed.
“Do you understand your father’s accounting system?”
“Oh yes. He trained me.” She laughed. “He used shortcuts and abbreviations that no one else is going to understand.”
Mickelson nodded, an irritated grimace on his face.
“Yeah, we had another bean counter look at it and he couldn’t figure out what your dad had done.”
“He was very cautious. Diligent.”
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Baldino blanched but nodded. It took Mickelson a little longer to agree but finally he nodded as well.
Mandy sighed, her relief a little too obvious. His hand still lodged between her legs, he gave her thigh a squeeze. The movement put the starch back in her spine and she sat up straight.
“I’ll do my best to finish what my dad started.”
Max listened for tears or pain in her words but they were calm and confident.
“I was sorry to lose him. Despite what they said, I never believed a word of it,”
This time, Max caught Mandy’s reaction. It was small, just the merest tightening of her lips.
“Thank you.”
“When can you start?” Mickelson asked.
“Monday? I’m still going through my father’s old papers. He kept books on all his clients and I want to be up to speed when I show up.”
Mickelson and Baldino looked at each other—their little rat ears practically twitching with interest. They turned back to Mandy.
“Papers?”
“Books?”
She nodded, smiling angelically at their response. “My father liked to keep a copy of his clients records.” She paused and he could hear strength behind the serenity of her voice. “In case something happened to him or something damaged your records.”
Damn that almost sounded like a threat. Fuck, he wished he knew what was going on.
More meaningful looks bounced between Mickelson and Baldino. This time it was Baldino who spoke—obviously playing on Mandy’s “family” connection between them.
“Maybe you should bring them with you on Monday,” Baldino said.
She forced another smile. “I’ll have to see if I have them. I still have boxes of my father’s business things to go through.
“I could stop and help.”
Something about Baldino’s offer made Max’s stomach turn.
Her mouth opened and a soft “uhh” slid from her throat.
“No.” All three heads turned to him. Time to retake control. He didn’t know what he was blundering into but there was no way Mandy was going to be alone with these guys. “Mandy’s still going through her father’s things. It’s very emotional. You understand.”
“Jackson…”
“No.”
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Maxwell’s Fall
He waited for Mandy to protest. Dani would have ripped his lips off right there in the restaurant if he’d made that sort of announcement. Mandy blinked and offered another half-smile and a shrug.
Disappointment lodged in his chest. He really did like a little heat, a little confidence in his women. The flicker of attitude he’d sensed earlier was gone.
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