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Not to her. To Anna—now that was another thing. As soon as the thought popped into his mind, he knew the rightness of it. Max wanted Anna forever. Not just for a night, or a month, or even for a year. He wanted marriage and kids and the whole nine yards. Somewhere in his subconscious he must have known that, or he would have never gotten in bed with her. By taking that action, Max knew he’d meant forever. His heart smacked against his chest. He’d known he loved her, but he had no idea it was past friendship and lust. It had evolved into the all-encompassing connection that could bring a man to his knees. He didn’t like it one damned bit, but he didn’t think there was much he could do about it. No, there was one thing to do about it. He was going to ensure he would have Anna in his bed and in his life from this point forward.
The problem would be convincing Anna.
“Max?”
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and refocused on the subject at hand and the woman giving him an assessing look.
“What?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. He realized it was a common reaction he’d gotten from her over the last few months. It hadn’t been that good of a match if she was already irritated with him before the wedding.
“IsaidDaddy was furious and is insisting on a wedding.”
He settled back in his chair, comfortable with this subject. “Oh, well, he can insist all he wants. We will not be getting married. I like you, Cynthia, but you don’t want to marry me any more than I want to marry you.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Max cut her off before she could utter a word.
“No. We can still do business. I have no problem with that. I told you and I will tell your father, I don’t want to get married.”
Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. He regretted his harsh tone. Despite everything, Cynthia wasn’t a bad person; she’d just never done anything against her father’s wishes. She was weak and unsure of herself. Max understood how scary something like this was for her. And although he understood and pitied her for her life, it didn’t mean he would spend his life married to her.
“Listen, we had those tickets to Bermuda for next week. Why don’t you take yours and go have a good time? Figure out what you want to do, and then, if your father is still giving you trouble, I’ll talk to him.”
Cynthia nodded, her perfectly lined lips turned down in a frown. “I guess if I can’t change your mind…”
“Cynthia, you don’t want to change my mind.”
“I guess I better go pack. Daddy said he’d call you to straighten it all out. But it won’t be until later, since he just left for New York.”
“Okay.” Max took her hand, waited for her to stand, and led her to the door. “I’ll take care of it, and you avoid his calls. By the time he gets back, he’ll have cooled off and seen the rightness of our decision. And even so, it will be another week before you return. That will give him more time to settle his temper and accept that we’re not getting married.”
She kissed his cheek, then opened the door and left without a word. He thought about calling her father in New York himself, but he had other things to do first.
“I could ruin your life, if you slam the door in my face again.”
Max turned and laughed. Jeanine’s blue eyes narrowed, and she frowned. She’d been his father’s secretary, knew more about the company and how to run it than Max and maybe even his father.
“Jeanine, you know better than to eavesdrop on the boss.”
She leaned back in her leather chair, the one he’d gotten her for her last birthday, and gave him an evil smile. “You should know better than to piss off the secretary.”
He cocked his head to one side as if considering her comment. Then, he straightened and nodded. “Yeah, I should.” He allowed the slow, satisfied smile that he had every time he thought about the night before to curve his lips. “But then, I’m learning to take chances.”
Max left Jeanine with her mouth hanging open and stepped into his office to start making plans. He needed to make sure that everything was perfect, and that by the end of the “four-week factor”, Anna understood how much she meant to him. A plan would help him control the situation. As long as he was the one in control, everything would move smoothly and work out just fine.
* * *
Anna looked down at the figures on the spreadsheet and tried to concentrate. But for the fifth time in as many minutes, her thoughts wandered back to Max. The way he smiled at her, the way he looked at her when he knew she was full of bullshit, the way it felt as he shoved his—
“You must be thinking about something very naughty.”
The object of her thoughts stood in the doorway of her office, that sinful smile curving his lips. Every nerve ending bounced to attention and saluted. Anna repressed the shudder of need rolling through her. She doubted Max was the type who would go for an office quickie.
This was so not good. Not good at all. Lust, passion, that was fan-fucking-tastic. But this overwhelming need to possess, to be possessed in return, was a bad, bad idea. Like right at this moment. She’d love for him to take her on her desk, the bustle of her business sounding just beyond the closed door. She cleared her throat and tried to clear her mind of the image of Max naked in her office.
“What’s going on?” She kept her tone as light as possible.
Max shrugged. That enigmatic smile deepened as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. With long, deliberate strides, he walked to her desk, grabbed her hand, and yanked her out of the chair. His arms enveloped her, pulling her closer, his hands resting on her ass.
