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“You’re a good doctor, Mallory. And you don’t deserve to lose what you worked so damn hard for.”

“Thanks.”

Mallory cried for a bit after the phone call. It wasn’t all happy tears, though. She was scared. It was an hour commute to the hospital from Couture. It was doable. But she should let Colleen know. What was she going to tell Max? He was going to worry and he needed to focus
on his recovery.

Colleen was in another meeting, so she went up to Max’s room, but he was asleep. Feeling out of sorts, she wandered around looking for Nefertiti or Anya. She found Chrissie instead.

“I
thought
that was you,” Chrissie said. She had just come from a makeup class, by the look of the heavy coloring on her face. It was definitely not for everyday use. She looked like a cross between a hooker and a mime. “David said you were in Nevada.”

Mallory couldn’t go through the story again. “I’m back,” she said with a shrug.

“What are you doing here?”

“My sister owns the place. I’m visiting with her.”

“Yeah? How’s your mom doing? David said she was hit by a bus.”

“She made a miraculous recovery,” Mallory said dryly.

“I’m so glad,” Chrissie gushed.

Mallory felt like a traitor when Chrissie gave her a hug. “Well, I’m off to the next workshop. I’m taking a design class. You tell that brother of mine to set some time aside. We need to get together soon.”

“About that …” Mallory began. But Chrissie bustled down the hall.

The last thing she wanted was to be alone right now, so Mallory went back to Max’s room and turned on the television. Max woke up after a couple of hours and kissed her on the forehead. Instead of telling him her news, she remained curled up in a ball on the couch. Two more episodes of
Project Runway
later, Mallory was ready to stab a pair of scissors into her own eyes if she had to hear one more whiny designer cry that she was misunderstood and everyone was jealous of her. Luckily, Max wasn’t like that. More often than not, he was diligently working on sewing and matching pieces together.

“You work too hard,” she told him, coming behind him to rub his back. “How’s your head?”

“I’ve still got a dull headache, but it helps when you’re here.” He turned around in his seat. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

He asked that question every night. Each night, she wavered a bit more as she saw him getting stronger. But he pushed the envelope every day. Unfortunately, he was almost as much of a workaholic as she was. Yesterday, he’d donned a black executioner’s mask and posed nude for her drawing class. It pushed the envelope for the fashion side of Couture, but no one complained. She spent the entire two hours staring at his naked body and imagining what she wanted to do with it. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been alone.

“Maybe,” she said, stroking the hair over his ear as he lifted her shirt to press kisses against her stomach. She had to tell him.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He flicked his tongue across her belly button.

“That’s the thing. I want to. You’re not healthy enough, though. Not yet.” It was hard to step away from him, but she did. She opened her mouth to tell him about her job, but he didn’t let her get a word out.

“What’s a few more days? You and Doc Parks are going to clear me for normal duties on Saturday.”

“It could mean the difference between a full recovery and a relapse.”

“That sounds like bullshit to me.” He pulled her back into his arms.

“You think one week of bed rest is hard? Try a month.”

“I’m going stir crazy. The line is almost done.” He gestured toward the sportswear he had spent most of his recovery time putting together. “Then, I’ve got to put on a suit and see if I can get one of the tourist boutiques to order.” He stood up and hugged her to him, his hands roaming across her bottom. “How does my face look?”

“Even in a suit I would think you’re a pirate rather than a clothes designer.”

“So it’s more waiting, then. Whatever can we do?” Max dipped his head to nibble on the taut flesh in the crook of her neck. Mallory felt the sweet longing right down to the tips of her toes.

“What are you going to do if you get an order for fifty pieces?” she gasped out and pushed away from him.

Max grinned. “I’ll have to hire a team of tailors or seamstresses to finish the work.”

“Even with the tourist markup, I don’t know how you’re going to break even.”

“It’s enough that I get my brand name in the stores. Then I can parlay that to the local gyms and hopefully a local athlete will get onboard.”

“Too bad I decked Chase.”

“I don’t know. It’s a great video. The look on his ugly mug …”

Mallory covered her face with her hands. “I don’t want to think about this.”

“Me either,” Max said. “What
do
you want?”

Mallory had a list and most of it was X-rated. But before she could enjoy herself, she had to bring him up to date. “I have to tell you something.”

“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like it?”

She shrugged. “I called my boss today.”

“Honey, that’s great.” He kissed her and she tensed. “What?”

“I have to report back to work tomorrow or I screw up my seniority.”

“Tomorrow?” Max said. “That’s a little soon.”

Mallory laughed. “It’s been two and a half months.”

“Are you ready to go back?”

“I’m not sure.” She crossed her arms and rubbed them, suddenly cold.

“You’re worried about David?”

She nodded. “He’s been telling people that I went home to Nevada because my mother was in the hospital.”

“Have you called him yet?”

Mallory shook her head. “I just don’t want to. I don’t want to hear his voice. I don’t want to deal with the emotions. I just want to forget he ever existed.” Her voice rose at the end, and she tried to calm down.

“It’s all right,” Max said. “You know you have to deal with him eventually. But it doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow.”

“Unless he gets wind of my return and shows up.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you if he does, but chances are he’s not going to find out for a while.”

“You can’t. Your head …”

“Is healed up.”

“Not completely. No shenanigans until Sunday.”

“How about we ease into the shenanigans?” He hooked her into his arms. “I promise. No fighting or straining myself. I’ll just be there for moral support.”

“You’re going to sit in an ER waiting room for eight hours?”

“You bet your ass I am. Whether you like it or not.”

“I think that’s going above and beyond the call of babysitting me.”

“It’s not about babysitting you anymore,” he said. “It’s about making you comfortable in your own skin.” He smoothed his hand down her back and then down to her ass to bring her up against him.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Control.”

Mallory shivered.

“I bet you feel like you’ve been brave enough for one day.”

She giggled. “Exactly.”

“So give up control to get control.”

“That’s an oxymoron.”

He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I want to touch you.”

“Your head,” she said weakly. She wanted him too. Wanted the oblivion of an orgasm to shake her back together.

“Take off your clothes.” He pulled off his shirt and started shucking off his pants.

“Whuh?” Mallory said, dry-mouthed as he stood naked and erect in front of her. She cleared her throat. “What part of no sex and taking it easy was unclear?”

“No sex,” he said, innocently. “Just no clothes. Unless you’re uncomfortable?”

“I’m not uncomfortable with the human body.”

“Then strip.”

Mallory glanced at the door.

“It’s locked.”

She bit her lip and then grinned. They had been touching each other all week, light kisses and kind caresses. Not anything to add fuel to the building fire between them, but just enough to fill her with an aching, itchy buzz. Mallory kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her pants. Max was there to help pull her shirt over her head.

“You can stay in your bra and panties if you want,” he said. His voice was husky and he stood so close to her, she could feel the heat of him though their bodies weren’t touching. She looked into his glittering eyes and reached around to unhook her bra. It drifted to the floor. Easing her panties down her hips she lithely stepped out of them, while Max lent her a gentlemanly arm to lean on.

“You are exquisite,” he breathed in her ear. He still wasn’t touching her, but he was standing so close that if she swayed just a bit, she’d be in his arms. “I want to make you feel good.”

Mallory felt her nipples pebble and her breath go a little shallow. “Okay,” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “You can’t strain yourself.”

“I promise,” he said and nipped her ear.

Her intake of breath was sharp and sounded harsh in the suddenly still room.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, and her eyelashes fluttered shut.

He pressed close to her. She felt his erection at her back. He stood there and the silky, hot feel of him felt like a brand. He gathered her hair up at the back of her neck and blew cool air on it, and she shivered. Kissing her exposed skin, he wound her hair around his hand and tugged back so she was arched against him. When his hand moved around to clamp on her breast, she let out a soft moan.

“Max, you said …”

“I’m the one with the concussion, not you.”

“It’s not …”

He pulled back on her hair, not enough to hurt but enough to jar her so the words she was about to say remained unspoken.

“If you tell me it’s not fair, I’m going to spank you.” There was a deliciously evil tone in his voice that almost dared her to take him up on it.

“Not sure I’m ready for that.”

“You know it’s nothing like what David did?”

She nodded, and the thrilling feelings faded a bit. But it was Max who was around her now. His hand at her breast. His erection at her back. His mouth on her ear and cheek and his other hand pulling her hair. It was hard to think of anything else.

“Do you know what I want to do to you?”

“I have an idea.”

His fingers toyed with her nipple. “Do you?”

“But we can’t.”

He pulled back on her hair again. “No more talking. Keep your eyes closed. If you disobey me, you will be punished.” He bit down on her neck and sucked hard for a second. She went up on her tiptoes as she fought not to say anything. It was like eating a chocolate-covered pretzel. The sensation of the tugging was the sweet and the slight pressure of pain, the salt.

“Nod if you understand me.”

Mallory nodded.

Max kissed her shoulder. His hand released her breast to slide down to her stomach. She moaned as he kissed down her spine. He nipped at her butt cheek and she swallowed a yelp. He caught her hand as she went to swat him and kissed the tip of each finger, before moving to her palm.

Mallory shifted from foot to foot, feeling like her nerves were on fire. He circled to her front, gliding his body up so she felt only a slight movement against her. Max kissed her and she hugged him tight. Pressing her stomach against his hard erection, she slid her hands up and down his back. Frenzied kisses shook her and just about the time she was having second thoughts about what they were doing and where they were liable to end up, he broke off the kiss. When he stepped away from her she was feeling ragged, and the cool air failed to bring her temperature down.

“Do you trust me?”

She jumped at the voice in her ear. She hadn’t heard him move back behind her.

“Don’t speak. Don’t open your eyes. Just nod.”

Mallory nodded. She did trust him. The clink of the handcuff on her wrist had her eyes flying open, but she crunched them closed before he noticed. He cuffed the other bracelet on so her hands were secured behind her back.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You can cuff me later, if you want. Right now, we’re going to play a little game. I’m going to touch you and kiss you. Is that okay?”

Mallory almost gave herself whiplash nodding so hard.

“You’re going to guess what I’m touching you with. You’re only allowed to speak one
word. If you guess correctly, you get rewarded. If you guess incorrectly,
I
get rewarded. Sound good?”

Mallory cocked her head to the side. She wasn’t sure how this was going to end, but she was pretty sure she was going to like it. She rotated her wrists, testing the strength of the cuffs. She wasn’t getting out of them. Her toes curled into the carpet.

“And if you’re a good girl, I’m going to make you come.”

Mallory smiled and listened to his footsteps as he moved about the room, opening drawers and taking items out.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded.

The first touch was petal soft and silky. He brushed it over her cheekbones, down her neck, and across her chest.

“Feather,” she said in a voice she didn’t recognize as hers.

“Good.”

He took her nipple in his mouth and lavished his tongue over the peak. He sucked on it. Mallory’s hands clanked as she tried to move them to hold his head there. She twisted her wrists, but she had no give against the soft, padded leather lining the cuffs. Her body reacted as if he had hooked her up to an outlet. Her heart hammered, her knees went weak, and a hot wetness gathered in her core. He slid his mouth off with a loud pop. Blowing on the hot tip, Max kissed it and backed away.

The next one was easy. She felt the scarf trail over her breasts and down her stomach.

“Silk.”

“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” Max asked as he brought his head down to her other nipple, giving it the same, slow torturous suck.

By this time Mallory’s knees were shaking and she twisted in her handcuffs. The need to just throw him down on the floor and have her way with him was slowly eating away her control.

His fingers traced her lips, then he took them away. He put two wet fingers across her mouth.

“Open,” he said, and pushed them into her mouth.

“Suck,” he commanded, and she hollowed her cheeks as she tasted the sweet burn of rum. “Tell me what’s on my fingers.”