Something Wonderful (4 page)

I
T
HAD BEEN A
week since I was released from the hospital. Max came over every single day to take care of me, even though I was perfectly fine on my own. I also had Becky if I needed anything. Max threatened to hire a full time nurse if I didn’t cooperate, which would have been a waste of money, so I agreed. My sweet Max; he was too good to be true, but sometimes too much to handle.

Matthew came over on several occasions to discuss work, but somehow Becky always managed to have scheduled a meeting or something. I had a strange feeling she was purposely avoiding him, and I was sure I knew the reason why. I was assuming she had a crush on him, since I had never seen her act this nervous around a guy before.

Max and Matthew decided that I should transfer to Matthew’s department, which I was thrilled about. I would be helping him with the layout of the magazine and I couldn’t wait to get back to work. Since I would be under Matthew’s supervision, Max agreed that I could start as soon as he felt I was ready. I was one hundred percent ready to get out of this apartment and get back to reality. Now I just needed a car.

“Ready for car shopping, Jenna?” Max asked, standing against the doorframe, looking as handsome as ever.

Max dressed casual today—a pair of jeans and a V-neck brown sweater that hugged nicely on his firm chest. Since Max hardly wore a jacket, the fact that he wore one today indicated how cold it was outside.

As if time were standing still, I took a moment to stare at this gorgeous man, taking a mental picture of him in my mind. He was too good to be true; not only did he have the most generous heart; he was so good to me. Occasionally, I would wonder if this was a dream or if I had made him up.

Perfectly combed, Max’s hair was never out of place. His smooth, clean-shaven face made me miss that gruffly, sexy, I-don’t-give-a-crap appearance, but then again, he looked delicious either way. Every time I looked at him, I saw a man that was respectable, genuine, powerful, possessive, and sexy. To put it in easy words, Max was hot, and I could never help the direction my thoughts took when he was around. I loved the way he made me feel when he kissed me, touched me and especially when he was inside me. I could already feel that electrifying sensation by his mere presence and he hadn’t even touched me yet.

“Ready as ever,” I cheered, breaking out of my thoughts.

Max helped me slip into my long coat. After grabbing my purse, I shouted good-bye to Becky, though I didn’t know if she heard me since she hadn’t come out of her room.

Several days ago, I had explained to Max about what kind of car would fit my budget. He had agreed, but somehow we ended up at the BMW dealer. Was he looking for a car for himself? Surely, he remembered we were supposed to be shopping for me.

“Max, what are we doing here?” I asked, taking a step out of the car. Extending his hand, I gladly took it.

Without answering, he wrapped his arms around me, and tried to block the freezing wind that whipped around us while he led the way. An employee held open the double glass door for us as we entered. Talk about customer service.

“Good morning, Mr. Knight,” a salesman greeted, coming toward us with a huge warm grin. He offered his hand to Max. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Kenny,” Max said, shaking his hand, then he turned his attention to me. “This is Jenna.” From their friendly greeting, I could assume Max had been here many times before.

“Hello, Jenna.” Kenny took my hand and gave me the biggest grin. After the polite professional greeting, he led us toward the back.

“Max, where are we going and why are we here?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He was up to something and he didn’t let me know what that was. Lacing his fingers through mine, we followed behind Kenny.

“I’m leasing a car for work…for you,” he whispered in my ear.

I halted, but my body weight did nothing to anchor him. Pulling me to his chest, he tried to calm me down by caressing my arm as we continued to follow Kenny.

“I can’t take the car.” My tone was intense, but soft. I didn’t want to make a scene.

“It will belong to the company. You’ll be driving around for meetings. It’s the company policy. We’ll be paying for your gas and insurance too.”

Though I liked the sound of everything he was telling me, I wasn’t sure if it was really the company’s policy or his. “Then why didn’t you let me know?”

“Would you have come if I told you?” He planted his lips on my forehead when he saw a frown.

“No.” I pouted as we stepped out to a lot full of cars.

“Don’t pout, Jenna. You make me all crazy inside and if you don’t cooperate, I’ll make a scene.” He winked, giving me that wicked sexy grin.

Already weakening from his wink, I didn’t say a word.

“Here is the beauty,” Kenny exclaimed, opening the passenger door, and giving us space to peek inside.

“What do you think, Jenna?” Max asked. He looked so proud; I couldn’t break his bubble.

“It’s beautiful,” I replied, and it was. “It’s perfect.” It was sleek, black with black leather interior.

“Come sit inside with me,” Max ordered politely, forcing me into the driver’s seat. “You need to feel the car.”

I never knew what it was about men and their cars, but for me, all I needed was something reliable and I’d be perfectly happy. After admiring the inside—the dashboard, the high tech gadgets, and the smooth steering wheel with wood trim, Max asked me to turn on the engine and we went for a test drive. I had to admit, I didn’t want to let go of this car. The ride was smooth, sturdy, and it turned the corner as if it were gliding on air. Yup, I liked this car way too much.

If I were to compare this car to a woman the way most men did, I would say the curve of her luscious body would make any man stop dead. Just one look would be enough to greedily wish for one. The engine purred softly like a kitten, but roared like a lion when at full speed. The tantalizing package could make one explode with hunger and want.

Max never took his eyes off me as I drove. I think I know why. I knew for sure I had the happiest grin on my face. I must have looked like a little girl who just opened up a brand new beautiful doll and it wasn’t even Christmas. After I parked the car back at the dealership, we headed to Kenny’s office.

After pulling out a chair for me, Max pulled out his. I thought about how we were still at the dating stage and wondered when or if Max would stop pulling out chairs for me like a perfect gentleman. From what I had observed, most guys stopped acting charismatic when they officially became a couple, but I hoped Max never would.

“We just need to take care of some little details. We can finish the rest of the paperwork with your secretary, Mr. Knight, if that is what you prefer.” Kenny muttered, shuffling papers in front of him.

“Thank you,” Max said. “We do have things to do.”

“Great. I just need to know what color.”

Max looked at me for an answer, but instead of giving him one, I kept my lips sealed. Feeling somewhat annoyed at him for not letting me know about all this before we came, I decided to be a little naughty and playful.

“What color would you like, Jenna?” Max asked.

“Orange,” I said, crossing my arms.

He raised his brow at me while the corner of his lips curled, and his expression stayed there longer then I had expected it to. Turning to Kenny, he said, “Black.”

“Black,” Kenny repeated, typing something on his computer, then turned to Max again. “How about the color of the interior?”

“Lime green,” I sputtered.

Max tilted his head and gave me a hot evil grin, as if he was going to punish me. “Black,” he said to Kenny.

“Black,” Kenny repeated. Then he asked a bunch of other short questions like windows tinted or not, navigator and other requests I had no desire to pay attention to. Since I wasn’t cooperating, Max stopped asking me what I wanted. I couldn’t believe I was acting like a child, especially in front of Kenny.

After they completed the deal, Max and I shook Kenny’s hand; he held the most amusing grin on his face, as if he had just watched a comedy show.

When we got to Max’s Porsche, he opened the passenger door for me, and then walked around to get into the driver’s side. “I hope you like your orange car, babe,” he said, chuckling lightly.

I wanted to thank him, but at the same time, I felt so guilty. “Max, I can afford my own car. Was it because I told you I could only get a specific kind? You’ve already done so much for me. I can’t take this, too. I feel awfully guilty.”

Max cupped my face with both of his hands. “Don’t feel that way. I want to take care of you. Let me make you happy; that makes me happy too. Don’t take it away.” Sighing, he placed his forehead on mine, then his lips tenderly stroked mine. It was so soft and gentle, yet powerful, making me want more. When he pulled away, I slowly broke out of my daze and watched him do the same, as his eyes set on mine with lust, waiting for my reply.

After what he had just said, how could I refuse? I wanted to make him happy and if this were one way, then I would have to let it go. “Okay,” I sighed, but I barely got the word out. Max was already devouring me with his lips again. Shortly after, he let go with the pull of his teeth on my bottom lip. A soft, sensual growl escaped his mouth while his hand ran over my breast, and then stopped.

“I don’t want to give them a free show,” he said. “Let’s get out of here before I really give them one.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, feeling electric tingles throughout my body.

“Back to our place, Ms. Mefferd. You’ve been very naughty today. You have no idea how turned on I am right now. I’m going to have to punish you until you can’t take it anymore.” Then he drove off with the thunderous roar coming from his car.

Holy Jesus! I think I’ve just combusted from his hot words and the anticipation of what he was about to do to me.

M
AX AND
J
ENNA HAD
gone car shopping so I had the apartment to myself. I didn’t mind having Max over, but it was nice to have some solitude.

I hadn’t planned on going out today, so I stayed in my PJs and didn’t even bother to brush my hair. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw my hair was wild, kind of sexy, and made me look like a hooker. Laughing, I grabbed my empty water glass from last night and headed toward the kitchen. The aroma of my favorite thing to eat for breakfast filled my nostrils, and suddenly my stomach panged deeply with hunger.

Wow, how strange! Someone was cooking. Had I misunderstood Jenna? I could’ve sworn they’d left. Feeling groggy, I didn’t even bother to reply back when she had said she was leaving. I figured she would assume I was asleep since I didn’t answer.

“Jenna?” I murmured. I started blinking my eyes, wondering if what I was seeing was real. Seeing a stranger in front of me, I was just about to scream when I realized I knew that masculine figure. I was taking in how good he looked. He was wearing dark navy slacks and a pin striped, black and blue dress shirt. He had the sleeves rolled midway up his arms. The shirt clung nicely to his upper body, and he was way too sexy for my eyes. Matthew was cooking. He was using my kitchen utensils and my food without even asking.

“Wh…wh…what are you doing here and h…how did you get inside?” I stuttered. Then suddenly, the glass I was holding slipped out of my hand, crashing onto the floor, splattering glass shards around me. Thankfully, it was empty.

After he flinched from the sound, his vision went straight to my top, then down to the floor. Shit! I wasn’t wearing a bra and the T-shirt I had on was form-fitting, cutting in midriff, and showing more than enough.

“Sorry to scare you.” He reached for the broom that was in the space between the refrigerator and the stove. “Max and Jenna let me in. I stopped by to bring you a cup of hazelnut, and since I hadn’t eaten breakfast, I assumed you hadn’t either. I thought I’d cook some for us.”

He brought me a cup of my favorite coffee and he cooked me eggs? No guy had ever cooked for me before. No guy ever bothered to find out my favorite coffee either; recalling when he smelled my coffee at our last encounter…that was smooth.

When he came towards me, I crossed my arms and retreated, uncertain how much of my breast he saw. That’s when I jerked my leg up and yelped in pain. I had stepped on glass while barefoot.

Matthew’s expression on his face turned from boyish grin to a look of concern. “Don’t move. Let me help you.”

I wanted to refuse, but seeing blood pool under my foot made me so nauseous that I had no other choice. Planting my hand on the cabinet door for support, I waited for Matthew’s help. Quickly he swept the floor so he could get a clear path. With one effortless move, he picked me up and headed for my bedroom.

As he carried me, I held my breath in fear that somehow I would let him know that I was attracted to him. I could feel his bulging muscles against my back as he held me steady. When he laid me down on my unmade bed, I thought about pulling him on top of me and making it look like I had accidently done it, but I resisted by looking away. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, certain I would never want to look away.