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“Yes!”
“So I’ll pay for your Ubers before I teach you to drive and buy you a car.”
“Not happening.”
Slap! Slap!
Eventually, it would happen. But he understood it was too soon. Maybe after a week or two of dating, she’d begin to understand how serious he was.
When a Malone fell . . . they fell hard.
And they dug in deep.
16
The man was nuts!
Completely and utterly crazy.
And the thing was . . . she had to be equally as insane. Because all she wanted was more of him. His touches, his smiles, his comebacks. The way he never backed down, how he didn’t let her put up barriers between them.
No matter how much she tried.
Although she’d stopped trying to push him away a while ago.
Now, though, as he smacked her ass until she knew she wouldn’t sit comfortably tomorrow, she wondered how smart that had been.
Because the man could spank.
Holy. Fudge. Balls.
A sob broke free from her mouth and that was when he finally stopped. He hadn’t pulled down her panties, but they also hadn’t provided much protection.
Maxim didn’t try to soothe the pain this time. When she tried to move, he just held her there.
“Let me up,” she demanded.
“We need to continue our chat.”
“And I have to be lying over your lap while we do that?” she asked.
“I think it’d be easier.”
“Easier, how?”
“Well, if you say anything naughty, I won’t have to move you. Easy access.” He patted her ass lightly.
Grr.
“Maxim Malone, you are not spanking my ass anymore. It hurts.”
“Then stop saying bad things about my girl. I’m going to pay for your Ubers.”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “Hard no.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“And do you really think it’s safer for me to be in a stranger’s car on my own than on a bus filled with people?”
There was silence and she knew he’d gotten her point.
“Fine. I can see that. You can take the bus during the day, but not at night. If you need to go somewhere at night, you call me. If it breaks down, you call me. You get a bad feeling. Call. Me. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said quietly.
“And we’ll start driving lessons.”
She sighed. “I can’t afford a car and you’re not buying me one.”
“We’ll tackle that hurdle when we get to it. Lessons are happening.”
“All right.” She agreed to that as well because it would be helpful to know how to drive.
“If you need anything, I want you to tell me. I don’t want you holding things back.”
She huffed. “And if I tell you, what will you do?”
“Get you whatever you need.”
Yeah, that’s what she’d thought.
“You can’t get me whatever I need, Maxim. Life doesn’t work that way.”
To her surprise, he helped her sit up so she was straddling his lap and facing him again. Then he cupped her chin in his hand. “Sure it does.”
“Maybe when you’re Maxim Malone. But when you’re Aston Symonds, you don’t get whatever you need or want.”
“Ahh, but Aston is now Maxim’s girl. So her life is going to change.”
And then he kissed her.
And that kiss . . . it was everything.
The knock at her door had her jumping, even though she was expecting it. She got to her feet and quickly walked over to the door.
Taking a deep breath, she opened it.
Before she could even greet him, her breath caught in her throat.
Maxim was half-hidden behind the hugest bunch of red roses she’d ever seen. There had to be at least three dozen, which must have cost a fortune.
He peeked at her around the flowers. “You going to let me in, Rainbow?”
“What? Oh! Yes, of course.” She stepped back. Yesterday, he’d taken her out for brunch and a walk around the French Quarter. Tonight, he was here to take her to dinner.
She hadn’t really known what to wear, as she’d been worried he might be taking her to a fancy place. So she’d quickly gone shopping at lunch today and bought this simple black dress. The sleeves were sheer, which was about as daring as she got. It was tiered with little sequins sewn into the bottom of each tier and ended mid-calf.
It wasn’t super fancy, but she’d added a lot of pretty silver bangles, a delicate necklace, and dainty earrings. Still, she was always going to pale next to him anyway.
“Are those for me?” she asked in amazement.
“Yeah, baby, these are for you,” he said softly. He was nice enough not to point out what a silly question that was.
“I don’t think I have a vase. I should get a vase.”
“Why don’t you find something to put them in now, and we can get you a vase tomorrow?”
“Right, right,” she said, flustered.
She ended up filling the sink and putting them in. It was the only thing big enough to hold them.
“Maxim, they’re beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you.” He drew her away from where she was admiring the roses and pulled her against him. He cupped her cheek with his hand. “Hello, baby.”
