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Max was in her bed. She’d been sober enough to remember falling asleep with her head on his chest, the steady beat of his heart lulling her to sleep. But the reality of Max snuggled against her back sent panic racing through her. Jesus, what had she done?
Okay, Anna knew what she’d done. She’d slept with the one man she shouldn’t have slept with. Max was okay to lust after secretly, in her dreams, but she couldn’t handle him in her bed. He was reserved for her fantasies because having him in her life was more important than a fling. If she let him into her bed again, it could ruin their friendship. Anna just hoped it hadn’t been damaged by her actions last night.
She closed her eyes again and swallowed. Every caress, every lick, every little sigh replayed in her mind. Anna had never been a prude about sex, but last night, Max tilted the axis of her preconceived notions about men. She’d suspected Max would be good in bed. But given the women he’d dated in the past, including Cynthia, she had been positive Max would be bland in his sexual tastes. She shivered. He was anything but.
He’d been into control. She could tell it was a preference for him. And she had expected it, but not to the extremes he’d exercised over her. The way he performed in bed, and out, made her think he might enjoy a little bondage. And Anna didn’t like controlling men. Really, she didn’t.
Yeah,her bitchy inner voice said.Then why are your nipples getting hard just thinking about it?
She shifted again. His arm snaked around her waist, anchoring her to him. His hardened shaft prodded the cleft between her ass cheeks.
“If you don’t quit moving around, Anna, you’ll make us both late.” His rough morning voice curled around her, into her heart.
“Hmmm.” It was all she could say. Anna couldn’t think of anything else, because she was thinking it would be nice to be late for once. To spend all morning snuggled against Max’s big, warm body.
“But then again, I don’t have any meetings until after ten, so that should give us a few hours.” His voice had deepened, and his shaft grew harder against her bottom. All her thoughts dissolved as his hand slid across her stomach, and then between her legs. He parted her lips and two fingers dipped inside her.
Already wet, another gush of liquid filled her sex. As Max continued to thrust his fingers in and out, he rubbed his erection against the cleft between her buttocks. Anna really shouldn’t allow him to distract her. She knew they were destined for disaster if they continued, but as his lips nibbled her earlobe, she forgot her arguments.
“Max.”
“Hmmm.” His mouth vibrated against her lobe, and she shivered. He moved from her ear, back to her neck, nipping at her skin, then licking. “We’ve got time.”
“But I have to get to the restaurant.”
“Why? You don’t usually open on Friday mornings, do you? Usually Steve and John open, don’t they?”
Dammit, she wasn’t used to her lovers actually knowing her habits. And knowing Max, he had her schedule down pat with that computer brain of his.
“Yes, but…”
She lost her ability to talk as his fingers slid out of her sex and he moved down her back, placing kisses along the line of her spine. Her blood thickened and her pulse doubled. The man had a lethal tongue.
“But what, Anna?” he said against her skin.
Oh God.
As Max continued down her back, his hands slid to her hips, and he rolled her over.
Anna looked up at him, his hair disheveled, his jaw dark with a day’s worth of whiskers, the sexy smile curving his lips, and her heart slid to her stomach. Lord have mercy, she wanted this. Anna wanted Max in her bed, in her life, in her heart forever.
This wasnotgood.
No way was this anything she should be feeling. Men, even Max, didn’t think of forever when they thought of Anna. Hot, steamy sex, no commitments; that was Anna Dewinter. There would be no happily ever after.
Her thoughts must have shown on her face because his smile faded. His lips turned down in a frown. He leaned closer, placing a hand on each side of her head. “Anna, is something wrong?”
His voice washed over her like a physical caress. The panic clawing at her stomach eased. Max rested his weight on one elbow and ran the backs of his fingers along her jaw. The tenderness in the action and darkening of his eyes shifted through her, sending a rush of warmth flooding her senses.
The sunlight, filtered through the blinds, cast a golden hue on his skin. Her breath tangled in her throat. Max was more than a man in good shape. He was a finely sculpted David. Of all the men she’d seen naked, she’d never witnessed such blatant male beauty.
Max would never be considered a pretty boy. He was much too hard for that, too serious. His crooked nose, the one she broke when she was six and he, ten, the strong dominant jaw, the thoughtful frown he usually wore made him too powerful to be in that category. She’d always thought of him as a warrior.
“Anna?”
Anna swallowed. It would never last. She knew it. Max needed a woman like Cynthia, pleasant and quiet, with no strange piercings or tattoos. They lived in small-town Park City, Georgia. Conservative businessmen, even in the twenty-first century, didn’t have wives like her. Outspoken and liberal to the core, Anna would never fit in at the functions he had to attend. She never had with her parents, and Anna knew she wouldn’t with Max. And changing, well it would kill her. But she could push aside her reservations. Being with Max, living in the moment, would be enough, would have to be enough. Because if she wished for more, she’d end up with a broken heart.
She needed some distance. “That’s a sweet idea, Max, but I need to get there early today. I’ll hop in the shower. Coffee should be ready if you want to grab a cup before you go.”
