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Max put his hands on the wall and stretched back. “Holy shit.” He straightened, shaking his head like he was disoriented. “I think I need a shower. Or a drink. Or a cigarette.”

“It was pretty fucking good, right?” I grinned. “You were amazing.”

“
You
were amazing.”

On impulse, I threw myself at Max. His body tightened in surprise and after a minute he wrapped his arms around me.

Even though we didn’t have an answer from Harmon, we couldn’t have done much better. The feeling of relief after this morning, after everything that’d gone into it, washed over me.

I couldn’t resist pressing my face into his shoulder, feeling him against me through the thin t-shirt. I could’ve sworn his fingers tightened on my back, and I sucked in a breath.

“Max?”

“Yeah.” I felt the word reverberate through his chest to mine.

“You’re not a mistake. Not your parents’, not anyone’s. You’re exactly who you’re supposed to be and I’m so glad I met you.”

When I finally pulled away I saw something fire deep in his eyes. The feeling of satisfaction and warmth dissolved into something else.

"Do you need anything else or can I walk you out?" Greta's voice chirped from the doorway.

"Oh. I think we're fine, thanks." I grabbed my computer and files and tucked them under my arm, still flushed and feeling Max’s eyes on me. I focused on the marble floors as we followed Greta to the front doors of the building.

"Want to get lunch?" I asked when I dared to look up at him.

"Yeah," he replied smoothly, his expression giving nothing away. "Can I sell you on Denny's?"

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope. Stress makes me crave a Scram Slam.” He held the door for me as we walked out.

“We just worked a hundred hours in the last week and I gave up my vacation time and you’re buying me scrambled eggs?” I hailed a cab and slid in first.

“You’re welcome.”

“Fine. I guess I could go for a Scram Slam. But first we need to go back to the hotel and I need to clean up.”

My whole body was humming. This morning had been incredible. Epic. Not only had I conquered my angry presentation butterflies, but I was on a high that couldn’t have been any better if Harmon had written us a check then and there.

Max had been…damn.

And Max and I together…

We really did make a good team when we got past the shouting-at-each-other part. Whether he meant to or not, he was letting me in. Letting me see parts of himself.

That meant more than anything else.

I was practically humming as I stepped out of the shower.

Wait—that’s my phone.
I dried off my hands first, standing naked as I checked my texts. There were three from Dawn, the girl I’d met at the demo. I read them and groaned.

“Seriously?”

I sent off an answer to Dawn before hitting Max’s number on speed dial.

“Hey. You’re going to kill me, but you might be going to Denny’s on your own. There’s something I have to do.”

Silence came down the line. “For how long?”

I traced wet circles on the tile floor with my toes. “Until six. Maybe longer. Rain check on celebrating?”

The silence that followed made me wonder if he’d hung up. Finally he asked, “Can I come with you?”

“Um. I don’t—” My head fell back as I stared at the ceiling. “Sure. Gimme thirty minutes.”

Chapter 18

They can play with themselves

The knock came sooner than I expected.

“Hey, I’m nearly ready.” On the other side of the door stood Max, looking clean and distractingly good in dark jeans, a cornflower blue t-shirt fitted to his lean body, and the Converse sneakers that seemed like they were melted to his feet. My eyes couldn’t linger on the view because Max’s face was taken over by shock, the barbell in his eyebrow receding dangerously close to his hairline.

“Payton?” he asked, his voice an octave lower than usual.

“Yes, Max?”

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

“None of your business.” I turned on my heel and let him catch the door. I crossed to the floor-length mirror and Max stopped just behind me, meeting my eyes in the glass.

“It
is
my business. You are literally wearing my business.”

I shifted, pulling up the sides of the top that was part of the outfit Dawn had dropped off. It just covered my breasts.

Well, my nipples anyway.

Self-consciousness be damned. I’d just pitched Harmon today. With a virgin. And killed it. I was invincible.

“I’m still waiting for an explanation.” His voice was rough and his eyes fixed on mine, like looking anywhere else might cost him.

“I met this girl while you were playing the demo for Oasis. She works for Rufus but just got sick and asked me to cover for her.” I reached for my lip gloss and dabbed it on while Max fumed behind me. “You can stop giving me that look. It’s Comic-Con, Max, not a convent. Oasis is your game. You practically designed this costume.”

“I did not,” he grumbled.

I adjusted the “skirt”—a few scarves that pretended to cover more leg than they did—and said a silent prayer of thanks to my grandmother as I turned in front of the mirror.

Max rubbed the back of his neck. “Come here.” I blinked as he stepped into me, reaching around my waist. “The buckle goes on this side.” He reached around and adjusted the belt that slung low on my hips around the bottom of the corset top. I felt his hands through the thin, silver-blue fabric.

“Thanks.” I looked over my shoulder at his face, the dark eyes and spiked hair looking a little dangerous and more than a little sexy.

“You don’t feel weird?” he asked, his voice low and his mouth just inches from mine.

Dawn had told me how to do my hair and it fell in waves and loose curls past my shoulders. I was wearing more makeup than usual, layers of soft blues and greens that made my hazel eyes pop, and a pink gloss on my mouth. The corset pushed everything up, making my boobs look bigger and my waist look smaller. Fake sword at my side, I could almost pass for a real warrior chick.

“No,” I said slowly, realizing as I said the word that it was true. “I feel powerful.”

Max’s expression softened. He rubbed his hands over my arms, releasing ripples of sensation that had me swallowing, before he released me. “In that case, let’s do this, Coyote.”

Somehow just when I thought he couldn’t surprise me any more, he did. “You don’t have to tag along. It’s six hours, Max.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

I followed Max out the door and into the elevator. He hit the button for the lobby that would take us to the trade center floor. He leaned casually against one side while I parked against the other. Glancing down I saw my bright pink toenails show through the sandals that roped up my legs, and I chuckled. “The toes may not be authentic.”

“They’re authentic Payton.” Max caught my eye.

I barely noticed the other man get on the elevator because I was too busy losing myself in Max’s gaze.

“Honey, who are you supposed to be?” The other guy had a southern accent and a gut as big as his smile.

I grinned back at him, on a high from this morning’s meeting and the way Max’s attention seemed stuck on me. Maybe it was the costume, but right now I didn’t care. “Ilyana, from the game Oasis.”

“Do you come with purchase?” he flirted.

I shook my head. “Sorry. But you get unlimited access to the game version of Ilyana when you buy it. She’s way better.”

“I find that hard to believe.” His eyes lingered on my legs but today I didn’t mind. It wasn’t like when Banks checked me out. This gig was all about the characters and the costumes.

“So what’s your name?” I asked as the bell dinged, signaling our arrival on the ground floor.

“Troy.”

I took his arm. “Well, Troy. If you want to follow me, I’ll show you how to get a copy of Oasis.”

We chatted the whole way to the booth, where I gave him a promo card. He went on his phone and bought the game in front of me, and then took a picture with me.

“Payton?” Rufus did a double take when he saw me.

“I’m filling in. Dawn wasn’t feeling well.”

“Yeah, you are. Damn, girl.” He grinned, but the smile faded a few watts when he saw Max behind me.

“So what do I need to do?” I asked Rufus, ignoring Max stalking me like a shadow.

“Just keep…doing what you’re doing.”

Max disappeared after only a few minutes, mumbling something about checking out the other displays.

“Don’t buy any of the competition’s games,” I warned him. He sent me a withering look.

An hour flew by as I talked and joked with people. Mostly guys, but the odd girl. It was surprisingly fun—especially when I made a sale.

I stood up to get a drink and stretch, making a lap of the trade floor to hunt for something for Charlie.

Some of the costumes were way more revealing than mine. The best was an X-Men bodysuit made to look like the character Mystique. The girl wearing it had killer curves, but she was perched on a table with a line of guys in front who looked ready to wash her feet if she asked them. I studied her for a moment before resuming my post at Titan.

This time, instead of taking a seat in the chair or standing in front of the display, I boosted myself up on the table by the demo booth. I crossed one thigh as high as I could on the other and fluffed my hair behind my shoulders, giving my biggest smile at the guys my age across the way.

A group of them came straight over. Before they made it, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me off the table. I stumbled, regaining my balance only to find myself behind the demo booth curtain.

Max was close enough I could feel the heat coming off his body.

“Max, what’s wrong with you? I’m trying to do my job. Those guys were coming over to play.”

“You did your damn job this morning. And as for those assholes…they can play with themselves. I’m sure they’re used to it.” The bite in his tone caught me off guard.

“You’re grumpy. Go get your Scram Slam, I’ll be fine.” I patted the side of his face but he shoved my hand away.

“I don’t want a fucking Scram Slam, Payton.” He stabbed a finger in the direction of the bustling trade show beyond the curtain. “You think those dicks see the woman who’s going to get Phoenix produced? No. They see legs and ass and boobs.”

“That’s kind of the point, Max. This wasn’t built for comfort.” I gestured at the bodice, which was doing an admirable job of halving my lung capacity.

“It wasn’t built for
you
. You’re better than this.”

Max’s words stung like a slap.

I looked toward the crack in the curtain, where the guys who’d been on their way over were still visible.

Then one of them caught my eye and pointed at me. His friend looked too and they grinned, winking.

The image in front of me blurred at the edges and I blinked.

“Payton, what is it?” Concern tempered the irritation in Max’s voice.

I rounded on him, stabbing my finger at his chest as I blinked back the tears that threatened. “I’m pissed, Max.”

“At me?”

“Yes! Because I thought you had my back.”

“I do.” Max reached for my arms but I pushed his hands away.

“More than that, though, I’m pissed at myself. Because a month ago you could’ve said anything and it wouldn’t have mattered to me.” I shoved a chunk of curled hair out of my face. “You can’t do that to people, Max. Crush them with just a few words.  Even though it’s really my fault, because I let you do it and I
hate
that. I don’t know why I even give a shit what you think…” I trailed off, mortified to find myself sniffing.

“Hey.” Max captured my chin in his fingers, cursing under his breath. I tried to twist away but he held tighter. The alarm was gone from his expression, replaced with something I couldn’t read through my blurry eyes. “I don’t know why you give a shit what I think either. But as long as you do…there’s nothing wrong with the way you look. You’re beautiful in that costume. You’re beautiful in the jeans you wore on the airplane. You’re beautiful in that green dress you wear when everything you like is dirty.”

I frowned through the tears that were starting to fade. “How did you—”

“I notice everything about you, Payton.”

I blinked up at Max, surprised by the expression I found when my vision cleared.

A new feeling came over me. Not shame, not anger. They slipped away as quickly as they’d come, replaced by something bright and warm. My heart hammered in my chest as I peered up into his face.

“You know why I did this?” I lifted a few pieces of the skirt and let them drop against my thighs. “Because I made a promise.”

“To a girl you don’t know,” Max’s tone was dubious.

“Exactly,” I murmured. I didn’t look to see if the guys outside were watching us and I didn’t care. “I wouldn’t have done it if she was a girl advertising some game. But it’s not some game, it’s
your
game, Max. I didn’t do it for her. I did it for you.”

Max’s expression warmed as his gaze dropped to my mouth. His smell, mint and something headier, took me over, sending tingling sensations between my thighs.

When his thumb stroked up my side through the thin fabric, my breath hitched.

“Payton, come on. You don’t want this. I’m not cut out for it. I’m a cynical asshole.” Impatience colored the longing in his voice, but it was the longing that thrilled me.

My heart raced against my ribs. It wasn’t true but now didn’t seem like the time to argue. Instead, I whispered, “I can work with that.”

I knew the second he gave into it. His hand slid back, fingers weaving in my hair. Max’s gaze was half-mast and when his mouth brushed mine, electricity shot through me. Almost like I’d been imagining it every day for weeks.

Oh wait, I had.

His mouth returned. Light but searing. This time I wanted to grab him and hang on.

“Jesus, you taste good.” He sounded irritated, with me or him I didn’t know.

I needed more. I reached up on my toes to pull Max down to me.

His mouth opened over mine on a groan. A thrill shot through me when his tongue brushed mine, another when he pulled my hips against him.

The second his knee wedged between my legs, our actions went from PG to 18A.

This was what I’d been aching for. What every stolen glance, every casual touch, had been leading to. Even as I could feel the hardness through his jeans on my stomach, it wasn’t enough. I hitched my leg around his hips to pull him closer.

He wouldn’t be close enough until we’d gotten rid of everything between us. I needed him and me and hours to make sense of whatever the hell this was.

Game on, Max Donovan
.

His eyes were stormy when he pulled back. My breath was coming in gasps, my fingers digging into the muscle of his arms.

Max found his voice first. 

“Let’s get out of here.”