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Damn, he was strong.
And sexy.
And that ass . . . wowsers.
He was also bossy and demanding.
“I’ll, um, I’ll meet you upstairs.” She turned toward the stairwell.
“Get in the elevator, Rainbow.”
She shook her head as he put his foot out to stop the doors from closing.
“Baby. Elevator. Now.”
“I didn’t think it was possible for you to get bossier. Turns out, I was wrong.”
“Elevator.”
“No. I’m taking the stairs.”
He sighed and put down the box. Then he stepped out of the elevator, leaving the box inside.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he walked toward her.
“Getting you into the elevator.”
“But Maxim, I don’t want to go. Oh shit! The doors are closing. The box!” She ran to the elevator and pressed the button, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors opened immediately and she saw it was still there. “Maxim! It could have gone to a different floor and someone could have stolen it.”
“Well, it wouldn’t have if you’d gotten into the elevator.”
“And it wouldn’t have if you hadn’t left the elevator! I could have been down fifty bucks.”
He frowned. “You paid for it?”
“Yeah, but Mrs. Strowan will pay me back.”
She hoped.
“Let’s go make a delivery and get your fifty bucks.”
She shook her head.
“Baby, you’re clearly exhausted,” he told her gently. “I’m worried you won’t make it up the stairs. Which means I’m going to have to walk up the stairs with you. With the box.”
“All right, I’ll take the elevator.”
“Good girl,” he told her.
Without warning, he picked her up in his arms and stepped into the elevator.
She wrapped herself around his torso, her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. And she clung to him like a monkey.
“Maxim.” Lord, she hated what a wimp she was being. Hated that she had a weakness like this.
“I have you, Rainbow.”
“Don’t let me go.”
“I won’t.” He shifted her to press the button for the seventh floor before pushing her against the wall and tugging on her hair tie. Her hair fell down around her shoulders.
“Maxim.”
“Hush, baby. I’m taking care of you. All you gotta do is hold on, understand?”
She nodded and buried her face in his neck, breathing him in and letting his familiar scent comfort her. Lord, he smelled good.
All she wanted was to fall into his embrace. To ensure that he never let her go.
Because she’d never felt as safe as she did in his arms.
When the elevator dinged, he stepped forward before putting her on her feet.
“Hold the doors open for me, Rainbow.”
“Sure,” she replied. Her stomach still felt ill from the trip in the elevator, but she held the doors and watched him easily carry the box out. “I’m really sorry you had to take time out of your day to do this.”
“We’re going to have a chat in a moment, you and I.”
“A chat?”
“A chat,” he said firmly.
She attempted to tie her hair back, but he sent her a look. “Don’t even think about it.”
Uh-oh.
She left her hair down and directed him down to Mrs. Strowan’s apartment. She knocked on the door. It opened immediately.
“Aston? Hi.”
“Hi, Mrs. S. Delivery of one bookcase.”
“Oh, thank you, dear!”
Happiness filled her at the look of pleasure on her neighbor’s face.
“Oh, it isn’t made up?” the other woman asked.
“Um, no. It’s not. I suppose I could do that for you.” What she really wanted was to go home, have a shower, eat some carbs, and watch TV. But yeah, putting a flatpack bookcase together sounded like fun too.
Not.
“That would be wonderful, dear. Come in. My, what a strapping young man you are.”
Maxim just grinned at the older lady and put the box in her living room.
“Oh my, if I was twenty years younger,” Mrs. Strowan murmured, watching Maxim’s ass as he bent over.
Aston had to hold in a giggle.
Mrs. Strowan had to be in her midseventies. But she obviously knew perfection when she saw it.
Both of them sighed at the same time as Maxim straightened and turned. He raised his eyebrows at them, grinning wickedly. “Like what you see, ladies?”
“Goodness, yes,” Mrs Strowan replied. “My Fred, God rest his soul. He never had an ass. Flat as a pancake back there. But you sure do fill out a pair of pants nicely, don’t you?”
“I try my best,” Maxim demurred. But she saw the wicked glint of amusement in his eyes. “Now, did you get your money, baby?”
“Oh, um.” Awkward.
“Oh, money! Of course, how forgetful of me.”
“That’s okay. We can figure it out later.”
Maxim gave her a strange look.
“I’ll find it while you’re making it up, dear,” Mrs. Strowan said.
“Sure.”
“Actually, Aston can’t stay,” Maxim said. “She’s worked all day and then carried that home on the bus, so she’s exhausted. But I’d be happy to come and do it tomorrow.”
“That would . . . that would be just fine.” Mrs. Strowan looked thrilled at this.
