Sexy/Dangerous (9 page)

While Max and the others sat at the table and pretended invisibility, Benny introduced Gretchen to Kaitlin, and Kaitlin stiffened like a piece of wood. “This is the waitress from the place we had dinner at last night,” she said.

Gretchen didn’t look the least bit ashamed, and Max saw no reason for her to. “Nice seeing you again,” Gretchen said to Kaitlin with a smile.

Kaitlin obviously felt differently. Seething, she gave Benny a stony look then stormed out to the patio. If Benny felt any remorse, he didn’t show it. Instead he cracked open the new deck and the game began.

An hour later Max looked at the useless cards in her hand and cracked, “You know, if my grandmother Loreli were here, she’d be kicking your butts.”

Benny tossed back, “Well, until your granny rises from the dead, we’ll just keep kicking yours.”

The other men around the table chuckled good-naturedly.

Max stuck out her tongue at her ex, then decided she’d lost enough money for one night. She put down her hand. “I’m out. I’ll settle up later.”

Benny grinned. “You sure?”

“Yes, Ben, I’m sure. Only thing I have left are the dogs, and you are not getting my babies.”

While the men set up for another hand, Max left them and went out to the patio to check on the dogs and to get some air.

She was surprised to see Kaitlin seated at the table. She assumed the young woman would be in her frothy pink room sending her daddy poison e-mails about Benny. The dogs were lying in their spot by the edge of the patio.

“You come to gloat?” Kaitlin asked her.

Max took up a position with her back against the patio railing. “Nope. I usually don’t kick other women when they’re down.”

Kaitlin stared out at the water for a few silent moments then turned back to say, “This is that tank you were trying to warn me about, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Max replied softly, “it is.”

Kaitlin sighed.

Max told her, “At least you didn’t marry him.”

“Was it bad?”

“For me, yeah, because I got tired of smelling perfume that wasn’t mine, seeing lipstick that wasn’t mine, and hearing him yell out names that weren’t mine when we were making love.”

“I really thought he liked me.”

“He probably still does. His problem is he’s never met a woman he didn’t like.”

For a moment there was silence.

Kaitlin said, “My father wants me to marry Adam.”

Max fought to keep her voice neutral. “Really? Why?”

“He thinks we’d be the perfect couple.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think Adam’s feeling it, and my father isn’t going to understand that it’s not going to happen.”

Max studied Kaitlin’s face. “I’m sure once you explain—”

“No. My father thinks whatever he wants he should have, even if it means pimping his daughter to get it.”

Max was surprised by the bitterness of her tone. “Sounds like you and your father need to do some serious talking.”

“I wish.” She sighed again, then slowly got to her feet. “I’m going to my room. Thanks for listening.”

“Any time.”

She went back into the house.

Max looked over at the dogs and said, “Stay tuned.”

Ruby barked.

If Max found her encounter with Kaitlin surprising, what she found upon entering the kitchen startled her even more. Seated at the table with the poker players was Adam Gary. The stack of chips in front of him was high enough to build the Empire State Building, and the cigar he had stuck in his teeth was fat and lit. Max stared.

Benny grumbled, “Next time, remind me not to invite Rain Man here to the table.”

Max chuckled and flashed the pleased-looking Adam a smile. “You losing, Ben?”

Benny studied his cards. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Adam spread yet another winning hand on the tablecloth. “Read ’em and weep, gentlemen.”

Howls of disbelief filled the kitchen, then they threw in their cards.

In the end it was the last hand. The clock showed it to be past ten, and the contractors needed to get home. Benny walked them to the door, then he and Gretchen left in his car to spend the rest of the evening together. Max was left to clean up the kitchen.

To her delight, Adam pitched in without being asked, and it made the work go faster. Once they were done, Max turned from the sink and said, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You weren’t lying when you said you could play poker.”

“Don’t tell Benny, but I hustled my way through undergrad playing poker.”

“He’s going to want to play again. He hates losing.”

“If I have the time.”

Max flicked off the kitchen lights and plunged the room into darkness. As if they’d talked about it, the two walked through the silent house and outside to the patio. Night had fallen. The lake sparkled like ink under the pale rays of the moonlight, and the breeze was soft and refreshing.

“Are the dogs put down for the night?” he asked.

She nodded. “They’re out in the car. The carpenters promised to start the pen tomorrow.”

“They don’t have to.”

Max searched his face in the moonlight. “Excuse me?”

“I know that isn’t what I said before, but penning them up isn’t going to solve my problem.”

Max waited for him to explain.

“I need to face this head-on.”

“So what’s that mean?”

“Not sure, but I think I want to take them with me when I do my run in the morning.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. My version of immersion therapy.”

Max remembered his reaction to the video, and she wasn’t sure if this idea was good or not. “Okay,” she said, hoping to keep the skepticism out of her voice. “Just tell them where you’re going running and they’ll follow.”

Adam looked out over the water. He wasn’t sure if he could approach the dogs so directly, and yes, the thought of doing it kicked up his anxiety, but he refused to
spend the rest of his life cowering in a corner every time a dog crossed his path, so this had to be done.

“You’re really going to do this?” Max asked, looking up at him.

“I’m going to give it my best shot.”

In spite of her misgivings, Max admired anyone with the guts to take on their inner fears. “Then you go, Doc. If there’s any way I can help, just holla.”

He smiled. “Will do.”

The silence rose between them once again. They were as aware of each other’s presence as they were of the night breeze flowing in off the lake.

He finally said, “There is something you can do for me.”

“And that is?”

He reached out and very slowly and gently traced a finger over the curve of her lips. “This…” he whispered. Slowly lowering his head, he touched his mouth to hers, brushing his warm lips over hers. “…if that’s okay.”

Max knew this was a bad idea, but she whispered in turn, “It’s okay….”

Then she was in his arms and learning firsthand that his kisses were as gloriously intense as he, and that, lord, the man could kiss. He kissed her as if she were treasure, precious; as if the only reason he drew breath was to hear her sigh, make her feel. Desire began to creep into her blood like the heated aftermath of an expensive cognac, and she wanted more.

Adam met that need. He wanted her to remember these opening notes, wanted her to remember him above all others, so he ran his palm up and down her pliant back and placed kisses against the edges of her
mouth. He tasted the soft skin behind her ear and took in deep draws of the faint scent of her perfume clinging to her throat. It had been some time since he’d made love to a woman, but it wasn’t something a man forgot, so he continued in his quest to make the night memorable by cupping her small breast and feeling the hard nipple burn like a brand against his palm. He dropped his head and bit her gently, savoring the groan she gave up and the way she trembled so sensually.

Without a word he worked the thin strap of her green halter top down her arm, exposing her breast to his eyes, his worshipping finger, and to the moonlight.

Looking down into her eyes, he played slowly; circling, lingering. The heat now claiming Max was so sweet she had to close her eyes. Almost instinctively, she knew that if she didn’t get away from the man, she might never be whole again, but she couldn’t move, didn’t want to; not with him enticing her this way.

Adam couldn’t resist. When she closed her eyes, his desire climbed. Bending his head to the nipple he’d prepared so thoroughly, he slid his tongue over the point then took her into his mouth.

Max groaned aloud. The sensations vibrated through her like a harp. There was something about trysting outside in the dark that had always turned Max on, but adding him to the equation seemed to make it that much hotter.

Max had no memory of her shirt being tugged all the way down, but it was somehow around her waist and she was nude to her neck. He was taking full sensual advantage, too, slowly teasing his tongue around her breasts, sucking on her nipples like erotic pieces of hard candy, and all she could do was let her head fall
back and stand there on shaking legs that were being caressed by his strong possessive hands.

He recaptured her mouth and filled his palms with her hips. Pulling her forward so she could feel how much he wanted her, he let his heat say all.

Max understood each and every word, and when he blissfully moved the crinkly fabric of her long cotton skirt over the skin of her behind and then up and down the backs of her thighs, she knew she was in the hands of a master. And when that masterful touch slid her skirt to her waist and found its way to her thong, she was pulsing, wet and well on her way to orgasm.

It took all Adam had not to throw her down on the cement and take her like a caveman. Not having had a woman in such a long time, coupled with the hot wet beauty pulsating beneath his touch, was a recipe for disaster, especially since all of his condoms were upstairs in his room, but he held on. She deserved better than the patio. He promised himself that next time he’d make sure they were near his bed. That in mind, the pleasure tonight would be all hers. His could wait; he’d waited this long.

So he slid to his knees and kissed his way to the heat between her thighs. Max spread her legs without shame, relishing his tribute, and because he was so good, a minute later the orgasm crackled through her like lightning and she let the world know with a hoarse, night-piercing shout of joy.

She came back to herself holding her skirt up and leaning against the table for support. He kissed her mouth, mumbled something about seeing her in the morning, and was gone.

Alone now, she slowly dropped her skirt, fell into
one of the chairs and put her head on the tabletop. Nothing in Adam Gary’s file had prepared her for what just happened. Nothing. With the echoes of her orgasm pulsating like a faint drumbeat, and her breathing still uneven, Max Blake realized that even though this was only his opening volley, he had the touch of a man who could make a woman crave that pleasure for the rest of her life, and that admission scared her to death.

Max awoke to the sound of the dogs barking.
Concerned that they’d treed another intruder, she tossed off the sheet, stuck her feet into her green boots, reached for her Glock lying on the nightstand and hurried to investigate. Ossie and Ruby only barked for good reason. She remembered Adam talking about taking them running with him this morning, but the barks she heard didn’t sound like fun.

This time there was no treed Robinski but an irate older Black man yelling at the dogs from inside his late model BMW. “Get the hell out of here!”

Max could only wonder who he was and why he was here at such an ungodly hour. The sun was just coming up. Ossie and Ruby were prowling around the car, making sure he stayed inside. Shaking off the fuzziness of sleep, she called out to the dogs, “Okay, you two, I’ll take it from here.”

Gun raised, Max told the man, “You can get out of the car, sir, but keep your hands in sight.”

He stared at her. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Step out of the car.”

He did as he was told, but demanded brusquely, “Where is Dr. Gary?”

“Right here.”

Max turned. Seeing him made her wonder how many times she’d have to tell tell him to keep his butt in the house during situations like this one before he obeyed.

He seemed to interpret her thoughts. “He’s harmless. He’s Kaitlin’s father.”

Max lowered the gun. So this was Daddy. Dr. Sylvester Kent was bald, about five-foot-seven inches tall, and slightly built. He was wearing an expensive-looking blue and white jogging suit. His large head and thin build reminded Max of a cricket. Jiminy Cricket to be exact.

Kent asked Adam, “Who the hell is this?”

Adam was enjoying Kent’s pompous rage, but he was enjoying Max’s surprising attire even more. She was quite a sight for this early in the morning in her thigh-high Cowboys jersey and green boots. The golden legs seemed to go on forever, and he could see the nipples of her small breasts pressing against the jersey’s fabric. When he thought back on how she’d responded to his pleasuring those same nipples last night, he decided to put his mind on something safer. “Max Blake. Sylvester Kent.”

Max nodded a greeting, but noticed that Kent didn’t respond. She assumed it stemmed from his daughter’s e-mail and from the fact that politeness didn’t seem to run in the family.

Adam explained, “Ms. Blake is just being careful. We had an uninvited guest the other day.”

“Who?”

Adam shrugged. “Some man claiming to be a computer repairman. FBI took him away.” He had no intention of telling Sylvester the full story.

Kent turned a withering eye on Max. “Do you have a permit for that thing?”

“Yep.” Then ignoring him, she called out, “Ossie and Ruby, go play on the beach, I’ll be there in a minute.” They took off.

She turned to Adam. “Thought you were going to run this morning.”

“Hard night, so I slept in.”

His eyes said it all. Memories of last night rolled over her, and she shook her head. Still ignoring the glaring Kent, she said to Adam, “Let me put on some clothes and I’ll get your breakfast.”

“Okay,” he replied, trying not to ogle those gorgeous bare legs.

“How do you want your eggs?”

“Bare—I mean scrambled.”

Max gave him an odd look, then said, “It’ll be ready in a bit.”

She shot Kent a glance over her shoulder then walked off. Adam watched the sway of her hips and the way the motion played with the edges of her thigh-high jersey.
Damn!

“Adam, who is she, really?”

He cleared his mind of the vision that had him so entranced and the recurring memories of last night. “She’s my new housekeeper. I’m sure Kaitlin e-mailed you about her.”

Kent hemmed and hawed as if he didn’t want to reveal the truth. “I thought you didn’t like dogs?”

“I don’t, but Ruby and Ossie are a unique breed.”

“They’re a menace,” Kent corrected, and ran a hand over his bald head. “Vicious dogs like those shouldn’t be running loose.”

Adam saw that Kent was sweating. “Naw. They’re okay.” Smiling to himself, he thought maybe the dogs weren’t such a bad addition to the household after all.

When the men entered the house, Kent looked around and the first thing he said was, “What have you done to the place?”

“Decided to make it a home,” Adam lied. “Max has been in charge, and she’s doing a good job. Kaitlin’s helped out, too.”

“So Kaitlin is proving her value, just as I predicted.”

“If you mean with my mail, yes.”

Kent walked around, looking displeased at the mess. “You know I’m hoping you and Kaitlin will still hit it off.”

“I know you do, but I told you a year ago it wasn’t going to happen, and you sending her here to play secretary won’t change things.”

“She’d make you a perfect wife, Adam. She’s poised. She knows how to entertain.”

“Even if I was looking, which I’m not, Kaitlin wouldn’t be it. She’s too young and she’s not my type.”

“I still say she’d be perfect.”

“You have your opinion, and I have mine.”

They were at an impasse, but Adam knew Sly would keep pressing his case, no matter what. In the beginning of Sly’s academic career such single-mindedness had been necessary to propel him to the top of his field. Back then Dr. Sylvester Kent was one of the most
highly sought after researchers in the country. But when hubris took over and he began to believe his own press clippings, his world started to unravel. Scandal replaced scholarship. Colleagues became witnesses for the prosecution in cases involving malfeasance, questionable use of university funds, and child support. He lost his tenure, then his job, then his fame. For the past eighteen months he’d been teaching an intro physics class at one of the state’s community colleges, and instead of being grateful to be working at all, he had nothing but contempt for the students, the other members of the faculty, and for the everyday, ordinary life he was now forced to lead. Adam didn’t feel sorry for him. “What brings you by?”

Kent shrugged. “Just wanted to see how you and Kaitlin were doing.”

Adam watched Max cut through on her way to the kitchen. She had on a pair of snug red capris and a thin black halter top. Her flip-flops showed off purple toenails. The male in him preferred the short jersey.

Kent’s voice interrupted Adam’s reverie. “Where’d you find her?”

He turned his attention back to Kent. “She was recommended by a friend.”

“Woman like that could distract a man from his work.”

Adam didn’t reply.

Kent added hastily, “I’m not insinuating anything, of course. I know how serious you are about the prototype.” He then cast a glance around at the remodeling. “Who’s paying for all this?”

“The DOD.”

“Really?”

“Have you had breakfast?”

“No. I drove straight through.” He lived in Grand Rapids, the state’s second largest city.

“Then join us.”

“I’d like that.”

Adam knew he would.

“Good morning, everyone,” Kaitlin called out cheerily as she sat down. No pearls this morning. She had on an old pair of green sweats and sneaker mules on her feet.

Her father apparently wasn’t feeling the sweats, because he said, “Morning, Kait. I trust you are usually better dressed most mornings.”

“I am, Father. It’s pretty early. I haven’t had time to get it together.” She helped herself to the carafe of OJ on the table and poured herself a glass. After taking a dainty sip, she set down the glass and gave her father a fake-looking smile.

“The early bird always gets the worm,” he said with amused solemnity. “Isn’t that right, Adam?”

Adam toasted him with his cup of coffee but didn’t reply.

Max was in the process of putting eggs, grits, and the rest of breakfast on the table when Kent said, “I prefer my eggs sunny side up.”

Max looked at the bowl of scrambled eggs and said, “I’m sorry. You must have this place confused with a restaurant.”

That said, she went back to the fridge, pulled out butter and orange marmalade for her toast, then took her own seat. “Adam, will you pass me the eggs, please.”

With amusement on his face, he picked up the bowl, and on that note breakfast began.

Over the course of the meal, Max didn’t say much. In fact no one said much because the pompous Sylvester Kent apparently loved the sound of his own voice. When he wasn’t chastising Kaitlin about her posture and correcting the way she handled her silverware, he was berating everybody and everything, from the President to the janitors who swept his classrooms after hours. “Laziest bunch of misfits I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

Max wondered whether he’d been born with all that arrogance or if he had grown into it over his lifetime. She’d heard her share of windbags, but this cricket-looking character took the cake.

He then asked Adam, “So how’s the prototype coming?”

“It’s coming.”

“I’d like to look at it. I hear you’re having problems. Maybe I can help.”

Adam shook his head. “You don’t have the clearance anymore, remember.”

Kent leaned back and waved a well manicured hand dismissively. “Oh, who cares about that. I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“DOD cares, so, no.”

Kent leaned forward and stated, “Surely a quick peek isn’t going to compromise national security. You’re taking this entirely too seriously.”

“Yes, I am,” Adam replied over his raised coffee cup.

Max saw Kaitlin’s eyes flash with quiet satisfaction. The girl seemed pleased that her father was not getting his way on the issue.

Kent then declared pompously, “Well, maybe I’ll just have to sneak in and find out what’s going on on my own.”

Max drawled, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My dogs don’t like folks sneaking around.”

He tossed back, “If those dogs come anywhere near me, they’ll be in the pound.”

“If they catch you sneaking around, there isn’t going to be enough of you left to call the pound.”

He began to sputter.

In no mood for a discussion, Max picked up her plate, walked it the short distance to the sink, then went outside to play with the dogs.

She was tossing them pieces of driftwood when Adam came down to the beach about thirty minutes later.

He said, “You okay?”

“Just fine.”

The sky above was gray, and the sun was hiding behind the clouds. Max had all kinds of emotions flailing around inside her, the least being her unabated attraction to yon tall, dark, and handsome scientist. She’d hoped that a bite of the dog would mellow her out and free her to concentrate on something else besides jumping his bones, but it hadn’t quite worked out that way. The man’s hands were magical, and any woman in her right mind would want more. “Is Kent always so pompous?”

“Always.”

“How long is he staying?”

Adam shrugged. “No clue. Depends on what he’s after, and he is after something. He always is.”

“Interesting man.”

“I almost choked when you told him you weren’t running a restaurant.”

“The help probably don’t speak wherever he comes from.”

“And that would be Gary, Indiana.”

Max was surprised. “How long has he been using that faky jakey supposed-to-be British accent?”

“He’s talked that way the whole ten years I’ve known him.”

Max shook her head. “Well, keep him away from me.”

“Do my best.”

Adam wanted to kiss her good morning but he was sure Kent was up in the window watching, so he had to content himself with just looking at her; studying the bones in her face, watching the way the wind ruffled her short spiky hair, looking down into her eyes.

“You know,” Max said softly, and she had to force herself not to touch his bearded cheek and feel the warmth of his skin, “that was very good last night.”

He smiled a smile that had probably been breaking hearts since the sixth grade. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

“I didn’t hold out very long, did I?”

“I wasn’t going to bring that up.”

“Such a gentleman.”

“My mama raised me well.”

Chuckling, she bent to take the stick from Ruby’s mouth then handed it wordlessly to Adam.

He looked down into Ruby’s intelligent eyes, then back at Max. He tossed the wood a short distance down the beach and Ruby took off like the athlete Max knew she’d truly be in time. She was just over two years old now.

“They love to play,” Max told him. “If they had their way, they’d do nothing but this all day every day.”

Picking up a nearby Frisbee, she sailed it down the beach in Ossie’s direction. He leapt into the air and brought it down. “This and swim.”

Ossie brought Max the Frisbee, and she sailed it again so he could go after it. Ruby trotted back with the stick in her teeth and waited for Adam to free it and throw it.

Adam hesitated. Throwing a stick was one thing, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to get near Ruby’s teeth just yet. The dog waited patiently. Adam could see Max watching him from where she stood a few feet away, but she didn’t say anything. Steeling himself, he reached down and gave the wood a gentle tug. Ruby released it and took off. Grinning, Adam threw it as far as he could, and she chased it excitedly. When Adam looked Max’s way, he saw that she was smiling, too. She nodded her approval, and a pleased Adam waited for Ruby to race back so he could throw it to her again.

The workmen began arriving at nine and effectively put an end to the morning’s playtime. The quietness of the beach was replaced by a cacophony of whining saws, pounding hammers, and the footsteps of men and women going in and out of the house. To Max’s displeasure, Kent announced he would be spending the day, ostensibly to catch up on things with Kaitlin, but she was convinced he was hanging around just to be nosy. Adam, on the other hand, planned on working all day.

“Coward,” Max accused him playfully as she walked with him down to his lab. “You’re trying to duck Kent.”

“Bingo.”

“Don’t leave me with that man,” Max warned teasingly.

He chuckled. They were now by the lab door and alone.

“How’s your back?” Adam asked, fishing for a way to make her stay as long as he could.