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Pulling on the rope at her midsection, he brought her over to the four-poster bed.

“Get on your hands and knees,” he ordered, using her disorientation to maneuver her to the center of the bed. Her hands tied at the top and her feet at the bottom, Mallory balanced on her elbows and knees. She heard the rustle of clothes being removed, and then he was between her knees. He thrust inside her without warning and she shouted his name.

Raking short nails down her back, Max held her hips firmly against him when she arched to take him deeper. He spanked her with greater intensity and she slammed her hips back against him, wanting more, wanting him to stop. Not knowing when pain shifted to pleasure, but needing both as much as she needed to breathe.

Max gripped the ropes and used them to control her body so he was pulling her back against his cock. Mallory went limp and enjoyed the ride. He was cursing in satisfaction, his words filthy and exciting. She would never be bored with him, with this, and she would rush home from work to be in his arms.

Mallory nearly shook apart as a second crashing orgasm enveloped her. His soon followed, and his final lunges inside her scraped her cheek against the soft pillow. She was barely aware of him untying her and flipping her over on her back. He positioned her so the ropes’ ends were coiled neatly beside the knots.

“Hello, beautiful,” he said, reaching for the massage oil.

She looked her fill of him, all rock-hard muscles cast in the reddish glow of the light. He was thick and hard still. His cock was gleaming from their shared passion. It twitched as if it could read her mind, and he moved so his heavy cock was closer to her face.

The oil was warm on her breasts when he slid his cock into her mouth. One hand guided the back of her head up and down his shaft. The other slid over the slippery surface of her chest,
pulling on her nipples.

“We’re going to work up to nipple clamps, I think,” he said, pinching and tugging.

Mallory moaned with him deep in her throat and he held her there while he did it again and again. She closed her eyes and went with the warm cascade of emotions that wafted over her. She was no longer frightened, but content. She was satisfied as well as excited, and she felt that same anticipation when she heard the vibrator click on. Max let her head go to rub the large massager between her legs.

Reaching up with her tied wrists, she clenched her hands on his muscled backside and started to suck on him with enthusiasm. She wanted to make him as out of control and sex-crazed as he was making her. His hand was rough on her breasts, the wand rubbing ruthlessly against her clit. The wet sucking sound of her mouth taking him as far down her throat as she could warred with the hard buzzing pulsing through her core. He came first, his knees buckling. Max removed his hand from her breast to clutch the sheet to keep his balance.

“That’s right,” he said, as she arched into the wand.

“Max,” she moaned, twisting in her bindings. The sensation of bliss washed over her, leaving her gasping and twitching from each intimate touch. Max switched off the wand and ran his fingers over the rope.

“Are you okay with this?”

Mallory had no words. She nodded. He climbed in bed next to her and gave her a full body hug. Mallory was still whimpering and twitching against him as he caressed up and down her spine in long strokes.

Outside the room, she could hear the sounds of sex and cheering. One woman screamed so loud, Mallory could have sworn she was in the same room as them. They kissed for a long time, listening to the moans of desperation and cracks of the whip. At some point, Max began sucking on her breasts, and she spread her legs and wiggled so he was inside her. They made love slowly. A light show had started outside and she could see flashes of it from the door cracks. It was like fucking to a strobe light. Mallory felt drunk on desire. Max’s body was so much a part of her that when he pulled out after they had finished another successful round, she missed his warmth. Mallory rolled on top of him so she had it back.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked mildly.

“Just making up for lost time.”

“I told you, Mallory, we’ve got all the time in the world.” She sat astride him and held her arm ropes while she rode him hard.

Mallory floated facedown on her waterbed, sore and happy in all the right places. She could still feel Max inside her and taste him on her lips even though he’d gone to his nine o’clock class this morning. She was rethinking her stance on the whole tantric thing.
Wow
.

The scene in Club Inferno had been the wildest time she’d ever had. If this wasn’t love, it was the best case of lust she had ever had. Her life was so crazy and his life so much different, Mallory wasn’t sure they could make it work.

Her nipples were a little sore from all the attention Max paid them last night, so she rolled over and sighed happily at the ceiling. This was what she needed. A kind, considerate man at her side. She could do anything—except make it to the shower without hobbling.

She dozed on and off the rest of the morning before finally hitting the shower and getting dressed. She had a lunch date with Colleen. The funeral and its aftermath weighed heavily on her mind, now that the giddiness of the night before was starting to fade. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jessie’s studied indifference that masked the hurt. Or of Chrissie’s need for her brother to be the father they’d never had. David. That awful scene in the restaurant. He had been unrecognizable as the law student she fell in love with. His drug use had started so small and escalated so fast. He had thought he could handle it. And she’d thought she could fix him. Mallory shook her head. She knew better now. It was time to talk to Colleen about building a battered women’s shelter in the area.

When she got to Nefertiti’s desk she heard voices coming from Colleen’s office. She raised her hand to knock on the door when she recognized Max’s voice, but what he said made her pause mid-knock.

“If you want me to go quietly and not fight this, I want the money you promised me.”

“Absolutely,” Colleen said. “You earned it. You deserve it. I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

“I didn’t do it,” Max said.

“For what it’s worth,” Colleen sighed, “I believe you. But you know the rules.”

“Rules,” Max said scornfully. “No one follows them.”

“If they’re caught soliciting sex they have to go. I can’t risk losing everything because someone got greedy.”

Mallory’s eyes grew wide.
What the hell is she talking about?

“I didn’t get greedy and I wasn’t soliciting sex.”

“I’m not saying I don’t appreciate what you did for Mallory. She needed someone to get over that asshole David. But your jealous admirer wanted her share, too.”

“If you tell me who it is, maybe I can smooth things over.”

Mallory held a hand to her heart that was suddenly aching. She knew who it was. It had to be Angie.

“I’m sure you could. But what happens if she decides it’s not enough? She doesn’t know about Couture’s members-only side.”

Well, that leaves Angie out
.

“She’s accused you of sleeping with your women students for money. She doesn’t care about that. She cares that you said no to her.”

Mallory’s brows knit together.
Who the hell does this woman think she is?

“I am not a gigolo,” Max insisted.

“I know that,” Colleen said impatiently.

“Misty made the complaint, didn’t she?”

Colleen didn’t answer.

Who the heck is Misty?

“It has to be her, because she’s the only one who’s propositioned me lately.”

Lately? And how come this is the first I’m hearing of it?

Mallory frowned as the pain shifted to her stomach. Was this the too-good-to-be-true part of the morning after? Doubts crashed into her. She could never be anything but an ER doctor. How could she compete with all these fashion models and kinky submissives? Tears threatened and she scrubbed them with the back of her hand.

“I don’t want to lose my job,” Max said.

What? Colleen couldn’t fire Max. That wasn’t fair
.

“I didn’t want to lose you either. You’re good with the newbies. You were good with Mallory. I’ll be forever grateful to you. I added a little extra in. You can always use me as a reference.”

Great, that makes me feel defective again
.

“Thanks,” Max said.

Their chairs scraped back across the rug. “I’m sorry it had to be like this.”

“Yeah.”

Max opened the door and did a double take at seeing her. “Mallory?”

“What the hell is going on?” she asked, her hands on her hips.

“What? Why? What did you hear?”

Suddenly, this was all too much. Max looked so rugged, handsome, and completely
bewildered. She immediately felt ridiculous, but then anger washed that out when Colleen rolled her eyes.

“I’m out of here.” Mallory stomped away.

“Mallory, come back here,” Colleen called.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Max said. “We need to talk about this.” He grabbed on to her arm. “Look at me.”

“You’re hurting me.”

Max let go and Mallory stormed off down the hall.

“I don’t know what you think you heard,” he said, following her. “But I just took a paid leave of absence because one of the models saw us and got the wrong impression about me.”

“We took the risk. We knew it could happen.” Mallory went to the elevators and jabbed the button several times. She laid her forehead on the cool steel door.

The doors slid open and Mallory jumped inside the elevator. Max was right behind her. She pressed the garage level.

“Then what was with the check she handed you? Severance pay with a little extra for giving me screaming orgasms?”

A muscle clenched in his jaw as Max smoothed his hand over his face. “The money was my paycheck for the next month.”

Mallory’s ears roared with the silence. “But the bonus?”

“Your sister is very generous. I took the extra because it was on the same check, and let’s face it, there’s a good chance I’m going to be let go because some jealous bitch thought I was for sale because she saw us coming out of Club Inferno last night half dressed and wrapped around each other.”

“What did you tell her when she propositioned you?”

“I told her you were my girlfriend and that I loved you.”

“Max!” A sob hitched out of her. If he had said that this morning before all of this, she would have been the happiest woman in the world. Right now, her head was spinning. “I can’t think about this right now. I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Let’s go together.”

Mallory jangled her keys. “I don’t even know where I’m parked.”

“Let’s take my truck.”

She shook her head. “No, I need my own car. My own space. You’ve got to leave me alone right now. I’m all pissed off and I don’t know why.”

“I can’t let you go alone. I’ll worry about you. Running away doesn’t solve anything, Mallory. You know that.”

“There it is,” Mallory said, seeing her economy car boxed in between the Mercedes and
Beemers. She buzzed the alarm off and the doors unlocked. Getting into the driver’s side, she watched Max scrunch into the passenger seat.

“You don’t have to do this anymore. It’s not your job.” She winced as he jammed his arm easing the seat back. The empty coffee cups under the seat crunched. “Sorry about the mess.”

“If you’re not going to stay here …”

“I can’t.” Mallory shook her head. “I have to get out of here. Do a lot of women come on to you?”

“Yes, it happens all the time. In fact, it’s so commonplace I don’t even think about it anymore. It’s not important. I didn’t do anything.”

“Then why are you on a paid leave of absence?”

“Because some entitled client didn’t get what she wanted.”

“Why would they believe her?” Mallory drove out of the parking garage and down the driveway, past the penis bushes, to the golden gates.

Hank at the gate waved them through with a small shake of his head.

“Are you going to be allowed back on the premises to get your things?” Mallory asked.

“I don’t see why not. Your sister isn’t being a jerk about this—she’s just got to cover her ass.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I’m going into work. I’ll take an extra shift. I just don’t want to think about my screwed-up life.”

“I don’t like the way you’re talking. You’re freaking out for no reason.”

“Don’t tell me there’s no reason. I can let you out now.” She slowed the car down and eyeballed him.

“I’m here for the long run.”

“This is a really shitty day after.”

“Makes you wish you didn’t get out of bed.” Max leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You were fantastic last night.”

“Don’t,” she said.

“Still pissed off?”

“I’m not sure what I’m feeling. I didn’t like hearing about some chick with her hands all over you and accusing you of something you didn’t do. I should have heard it from you.”

Now that she was out on the road with a plan and Max was sitting next to her, she was starting to calm down. Maybe she’d overreacted a bit. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the other part that was bothering her.

I feel inadequate and not good enough to keep your interest
.

Mallory winced. That was harsh and not entirely true.

“You’re right,” he said, and turned to look out the window. “I didn’t think it was important. But now I can see it was important to you. I’m sorry. I promise to tell you in the future.”

“Thanks,” she said, feeling small and petty. That miserable ball of poisoned words sat low in her heart. David would have been out the door by now. He sure as hell never apologized.

“Are we okay?” he asked.

“We’re getting there.”

They drove in silence for a few miles.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I freaked out without thinking things through. I’m sorry I became a drama queen. You’re the one facing losing his job and I made it all about me. It’s just that I’m falling in love with you and it’s really serious this time. I’m worried that I won’t be what you need. I was scared that I was imagining all of this. I know it’s dumb, but there it is.”