Lovers at Heart (5 page)

Max hadn’t been on a date since she’d left Nassau. She’d been denying her sexual urges for years—literally—because of a frightening scenario that had unfolded in the bedroom years earlier. Maybe it was time she broke that wretched streak and forgot Treat altogether. It wasn’t in her nature to pick up a man, and even the thought of it petrified her. But on another level, maybe having a one-night stand was just what she needed to get over him.

“Maybe that is what I need. A distraction.” She hadn’t even had a reason to dress like a woman since Nassau, much less feel like one.

She went heavy on the makeup. Swinging her hips to the music on the radio, she stepped into one of the few lace thongs she owned, and then slipped into the skintight dress with the plunging neckline. She spun around as the tunes escalated and slipped her bare feet into her efficient black heels. She stood before the mirror, surveying herself from top to bottom. Her dark eyeliner said,
Take Me
, her body screamed,
Touch me
, and her crimson lips whispered,
Now
, but the total package, including the efficient heels, shouted,
Faker!

She kicked off her heels and stared at her other footwear options with a frown. Efficient, efficient, efficient. No matter which dress she chose, she’d feel like a fake.
How on earth did I make it this far?
She snagged her phone from the bed and texted Kaylie, who had become one of her closest friends since she and Chaz married.

Can I borrow your high black heels?

Her phone vibrated.
High black heels lol. U mean the fuck-me heels? Lol.

Max rolled her eyes and texted back.
I guess.

Kaylie’s text came through seconds later.
Who’s the guy?

She texted,
Festival after-party. Yes or no?

A minute later her phone vibrated.
Yup. Babies R sleeping. Will leave on porch.

Max spritzed on her sexiest perfume, put on her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed for Kaylie’s.

Twenty minutes later she was walking up Kaylie’s front steps. As promised, the black stilettos were on the front porch.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Treat!”

Max started. “Kaylie, you scared the crap out of me.”

Kaylie came out of the dark garage and into the light of the porch. She wore a nighty that barely covered her underwear—at least Max hoped she was wearing underwear—and fuzzy slippers beneath one of Chaz’s winter coats, which hung open and dwarfed her thin frame.

“I’m not seeing Treat. I’m going to the after-party because your husband wanted to spend time with you,” Max snapped, trying to get her pulse to settle.

“Chaz said Treat showed up today.” Kaylie brushed her blond hair away from her face. “Did he call you? I knew there was something going on at the wedding.”

Max heard a faint ringing. “There was nothing going on at the wedding, and he didn’t come to see me. He’s in Weston to see his dad, and it was just a coincidence that he was at the festival.”
I wish he’d been there to see me
.

“There are no coincidences in life. Hey, is that your phone?” Kaylie asked.

“I thought it was the house phone,” Max answered.

Kaylie shook her head. “We turn off the ringers when the kids go to bed.”

Max ran for her car and tugged the door open. Her phone had already stopped ringing. She checked the missed call log and saw the restricted number had popped up again. She let out a breath and felt the confidence she’d bolstered begin to deflate.

“Sorry, Max. Were you expecting that he might call?” Kaylie asked.

Max turned to her and couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Not really. He asked for my number, but you know how that goes.” She feigned a smile.

“Oh, Max. Look at you. I didn’t even notice how hot you look. Girl, if he is at that after-party, he won’t be able to keep his eyes—or his hands—off of you.”

“Thanks, but he won’t be there.” Max shook her head. “I’m not like you, Kaylie. This is all so easy for you. I had to talk myself into dressing like this, and I still feel like I’m playing dress up.”

“Well, you sure fooled me. Listen, this is all there is to it. It’s all a game. It’s them against you, and usually you both have the same agenda—to get the sexiest one into bed.”

“Kay—”

“Save it, sister. And trust me, okay? I know what I’m talking about. The next time you see Treat, you act as if you’re the sex-starved man, like you can’t keep your eyes or hands off of him. That’ll knock him off his game, and you’ll start to see the real him.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”
Can I? A sex-starved man?

“If you want to win him over, then you have to. Then, when he thinks he’s gonna get you into bed, you pull back. Remember, you control the strings. Think of him as a marionette and yourself as the puppet master.” Kaylie looked up at the dark sky. Her blond hair cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes held a mixture of innocence and excitement. “Hey, that’s good. I just made that up.” She looked at Max with pride. “Anyway, you’re in control. You’ll totally knock down his defenses and it’ll be more comfortable—for both of you.”

Max shook her head.

“Listen, Max. At that point, you don’t have to do anything. You pull away and you’re the queen of seduction. You follow through and you’re a sexual tigress. Win-win.” Kaylie shrugged.

“What if I want to be with him and he turns me down?”
Again
.

“Any man who turns you down isn’t worth it.” She must have seen Max cringe, because Kaylie quickly added, “Oh my God. Did he turn you down at the wedding?”

Max shook her head. Then she nodded. “Sort of. Not really. I don’t know.”

“Oh, Maxy.” Kaylie pulled her into a hug. “Trust me. He won’t hesitate after you do this. Win-win. You remember that.” She shook her head. “What on earth was he thinking?”

“Win-win,” Max repeated.
Maybe I can do this
.

HUGH AND HIS date, Nova Bashe, a comically tall, impossibly skinny Swedish swimsuit model, were flanked by photographers as they made their way into the party. Hugh looked back with a shrug and a wave. Treat was glad to be out of the limelight. Max didn’t strike him as an after-party type of woman, and the last thing he wanted to do was hang out with drunken celebrities. He planned to hide in the shadows and keep an eye on his sister.

“Thanks for coming with me. I knew I could count on you,” Savannah said, looking gorgeous in her gold minidress.

“Why aren’t you with Connor Dean?” Treat asked, swirling the liquor in his glass.

“Are you kidding? He’ll have a whole entourage. I’m off duty when he’s out drinking. I can’t be held responsible for his liquored-up state, even if that’s when he gets in the most trouble. He gave me tickets, of course, but I gave them to the girls in my office. Now, they’re the kind of girls who love this stuff.”

“So, why did you want to come then?”

Savannah looked around, and then pointed across the room.

Treat followed the line of her finger and there, in the dim light of the nightclub, stood Max.

“See you later, big brother.” Savannah kissed his cheek and disappeared into a crowd of people off to his left.

Treat couldn’t take his eyes off of Max. There she was. He’d blown it once, and he wasn’t going to blow it again. His heart started that thunderous dance again, and he took a step in her direction just as she lifted her eyes and connected with his.

Damn, she was gorgeous. Her hair looked so full and sexy. He wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers through it.
What does it smell like? What does she smell like? What does she taste—
He stopped himself from taking that thought any further. The muscles in his legs tensed as he crossed the dance floor. He ignored the gyrating bodies, never taking his eyes from hers, afraid that if he did, she might not be there when he looked again.

She held a drink between both hands. She bit her lower lip as he approached, and his body reacted instantly when she released her lip and ran her tongue along the corner of her mouth.

Two more steps and he’d be close enough to touch her. One more step, and the same rush of perfume she’d worn at the resort assaulted his senses, sending a thrill through his chest.

“Max,” he said.

She didn’t lower her eyes the way she had at the resort. She narrowed them in a heated stare.

He drank in her revealing dress, the way it hugged her hips and plunged so deeply between her firm breasts that it made him want to lick all the way from her neck to her belly button.
Stop. That’s not what you want with her,
he reminded himself.

“Treat.” She ran her eyes seductively down his body, then brought her drink to her lips. She took a sip and licked the alcohol from her lips while dropping her eyes to just below his waist, where they lingered.

What happened to the shy girl who couldn’t hold my gaze?

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes trailed slowly back up.

His pulse raced and he grasped for words. “Um, I…My brother.” He took a drink and then began anew. “My brother had extra tickets. I came with him and Savannah.”

She looked around the room.

“She disappeared into the crowd,” he explained.

“Who’s your brother?”

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Hugh. Hugh was far closer to her age, a subject Treat had been trying to ignore. Not only did Hugh have the Braden looks and wealth, he also loved the thrill of living on the edge and ran with a fast crowd—and women flocked to him.

“Hugh Braden.”

Her eyes lit up. “The race-car driver?”

Damn it
. He nodded.

She took a step closer to him and ran her finger down his chest. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Holy hell, she was killing him. He had to touch her, had to feel that silky skin. He wanted to pull her body against his and kiss her right then and there. Hell, he wanted to do so much more than kiss her, and he had the hard-on to prove it.

She tugged his tie playfully, and Treat swore it had a direct line to his penis from the way his body reacted. She was more than a foot shorter than him, and when she stood that close to him in that delectable dress, the curves of her breasts beckoned him. He wasn’t going to make it. He hadn’t planned to sleep with her tonight, but his body heated up in a way that he might not be able to cool down.
Damn it
. He wanted to take it slow, get to know her better; and most importantly, to clear the air about what happened in Nassau.

“Max,” he said quietly.

The way she looked up, with those innocent eyes, made him want to take her in his arms and take care of her, never let anyone hurt her. He’d never felt such protective urges before toward any female besides Savannah.

“LET’S GO SOMEPLACE.” Max couldn’t believe what she was doing—from the seductive glances to the words that expertly slipped off her tongue. She felt like an entirely different person, and she liked it. When she looked at him, those hurt feelings fell away. She’d planned on finding a stranger to take away the memory of him, but now that he was right there before her, she knew a stranger wasn’t the answer. There was no forgetting Treat Braden.

The minute their eyes connected, she’d known it was now or never, and she still couldn’t believe she was pulling off all the things that Kaylie had suggested.
And they were working!
He was putty in her hands. The problem was, she would be putty in his the minute the tables were turned.

Treat put a hand on the curve of her lower back and guided her toward the exit. That simple touch sent adrenaline soaring through her veins.

Max tried to ignore the jealous stares from women as they passed. Treat was undeniably handsome, and his height alone demanded attention, but taking in the whole picture—gorgeous, thick black hair, smoldering dark eyes, set off by richly tanned skin, a broad chest, and slim waist—made her heat up in all the right places. Her heart swelled with pride to be with him tonight, and for a minute, she took the fantasy even further. What would it feel like to be in his arms, to have his hands on her naked body? She shivered with the thought.

When they stepped through the doors and into the cool night air, Max crossed her arms over her body. She’d hurried to Kaylie’s and had forgotten to bring a sweater. Treat wrapped his arms around her. They felt so safe and strong, and his masculine smell sent her mind reeling.

“Shall I drive?” he asked.

Shit
. She hadn’t thought this through.
Where are we going? How will I get my car back?
How could efficient Max have forgotten so much? She nodded, hoping she’d figure out the rest on the way.

His Lexus SUV had leather seats, which were cold when she sat down. He started the truck and leaned over the console.

“Let me warm you up.”

He reached across her lap and she readied herself for a kiss. And, boy, was she ready. Her eyes were at half-mast; she slowed her breathing and parted her lips.

He pushed a button on the door. “Heated seats,” he said, then sat back up.

Max thought her heart might explode in her chest.
Jesus, really? I should have leaned in and taken the kiss. Next time
…