Carina shivered at the memory. He had some serious skills. Those elegant fingers skimmed across buttons and levers like a lover, coaxing the best from the machine. After the first hour, he actually relaxed and seemed to be having fun. Those white teeth flashed as he smiled and engaged with the crowd, his muscles bunching and rippling with each twist and turn of his body. She found herself staring at his ass way too much—the soft fabric cupping his rear and making her want things. Bad things. With Max.
Carina closed her eyes. Dio, she had to stop thinking about him like that. Tonight, she intended to get to know Edward better and hopefully engage in some hot foreplay. This was her first official date in America as her own woman, and she wasn’t about to screw it up by salivating over Max.
Not anymore.
She finished her makeup and grabbed her designer sandals. The crisscross straps wrapped up her legs and shimmered with sapphires. God, she loved shoes. When she battled her weight problem, she discovered her passion for footwear. They never made her look fat, and it was a great way to raise her self-esteem. Her scarlet red toenails matched her lips.
Carina slid on some bangle bracelets and swishy silver earrings and grabbed her shawl and beaded bag. Then headed out the door.
Showtime.
• • •
Max looked at his companion and wondered why he felt nothing.
He’d been attracted to her for a while. After her bold comment in his office, he realized she wanted to take their relationship to the next level. The conversation with Carina burned in his ears, and it was time he proved her wrong. Laura exhibited everything he’d been looking for, and this time Carina couldn’t taunt him about snagging the wrong woman.
He ordered Laura a glass of wine and found a seat in the corner. Scanning the room, Max kept one ear on her comments and his gaze on the other guests. As the minutes ticked by, he wondered if Carina changed her mind and canceled her date. He almost longed to cancel his own. The long hours at the fair gave him a slight sunburn, a sore back from bending over, and a hard-on that wouldn’t go away. Not that he cared. He enjoyed Laura’s tinkling laugh, along with the generous show of cleavage from her black dress. His odd reaction toward Carina concerned him, and he admitted it had been a while since he pleasured a woman. Too much work and too little play, Max joked to himself.
She walked in.
Odd, she’d been a part of the seams of his life for so long, he never noticed her back home. Here, her presence burned bright, as if the sun peeked out from stormy skies to tempt beachgoers with a taste of heat. The past years changed and ripened both her body and mind, until the result stormed past him like a pack of racehorses toward the finish line.
Max surrendered and stared.
She favored color now. She used to cloak her body in olive greens and grays in an effort to hide. Tonight, she tossed caution and seized a spotlight in pure temptation.
Thank God her legs were finally covered. The filmy, draped royal blue fabric flowed and stretched over those generous hips and breasts and swished to the floor. He caught a glimpse of matching stilettos as she walked, her head thrown back in a laugh. Her heavy mass of dark chocolate curls was pinned up and bared the vulnerable curve of her neck.
Edward held her elbow in a possessive gesture and whispered something in her ear. She laughed again and turned.
The air rushed out of his lungs. Her naked back gleamed in the dim lights, her rich olive skin beckoning for him to run his tongue down the line of her spine for a taste. The fabric gathered at her waist and left far too much skin available for view. How could she wear a bra with a dress like that? His gaze sharpened as she moved across the room.
The tight thrust of her nipples shadowed the delicate fabric. A punch of savage lust rippled through him and left him reeling. Confirmed. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Those heavy breasts swayed freely and teased every damn man in the room with a game of hide and go peek. Ignoring the crowd and seemingly in a world of their own, the couple took directly to the dance floor. Edward held her tight, way too tight by the looks of it, his hand roaming over the thrust of her hip to settle at the top of her ass. What the hell? They just arrived and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself? They didn’t even look around to see who was here. This was a dinner party for Christ’s sake, not a nightclub. What happened to proper introductions?
“Darling? What has you so distracted this evening?”
He shook his head. Hard. Then forced a smile. “I’m sorry, I just saw a friend of mine. Do you mind if I leave you for a moment?”
Her teeth flashed blindingly and gave him a headache. Whose teeth were that white anyway? “Of course. As long as it’s not too long.” The deliberate pout spoke volumes. He could definitely take her to bed tonight. He filed the thought away and crossed the room.
The moody strains of Adele rushed past his ears. He weaved his way through tangled couples and reached them. Her head moved an inch. His gaze caught hers.
An endless depth of black pulled him in and sucked deep. Awareness flared and burned as those eyes widened. He recognized the attraction—was experienced with the push and pull of arousal. His skin prickled. The primitive need to pull her away from Edward and claim her rocketed through him. He reached over and—
“Max. What a surprise.”
Edward swung around and grinned. “Hey boss. Thought you weren’t coming.”
“Plans changed.” He gave a tight smile. “Mind if I cut in?”
“Sure.” Edward bowed and elicited a giggle from Carina. “Milady, I will claim you in a bit.”
Her face broke open in delight and pissed him off. “Thank you, kind sir.”
Max grasped her fingers, brought them to his shoulder and pressed his body against hers. The tight tips of her breasts brushed against his shirt. His temper rose as fast as his dick to full attention. “Have I stepped into the fucking Middle Ages?”
She blinked. “What’s wrong with you? Cranky from working too hard at the festival?”
His brows snapped down. “No. Just never pegged you for the cutesy type.” Well, at least not now. The old Carina reminded him of giggles and whispers behind cupped hands about boys. The one he held now bespoke a woman in need of being tamed and taken.
“You never pegged me for a lot of things.”
He tightened his hold and eased an inch closer. The scent of clean female skin and fresh cucumber teased his nostrils. How can something so innocent and pure create such a primitive rush of lust? Crap, he felt as if he was falling into frikkin Wonderland and scrambled for escape. “Nice dress.”
“Thank you.”
“A bit provocative, don’t you think? You’re not even wearing a bra.”
She stopped dancing. Tilted her chin all the way up to stare back at him with a shocked glint in her eyes. Spots of pink dotted her cheeks. “You did not just say that to me.”
He slid one arm down to the base of her spine and flattened his palm against naked flesh. The silkiness of her skin only tightened his temper another dangerous notch. “Do you think Edward is the type not to take that as an invitation? I’m trying to look out for you. Be a friend.”
She lowered her voice a furious whisper. “Seems you’ve been quite focused on my wardrobe lately, and who I’ve got my eye on. You’re trying to run my life and hate the fact you can’t anymore. What I wear or don’t wear under my clothes is not your concern. Why are you even dancing with me? Where’s Laura?”