Chapter 3

“Is that what you think? The world stops for Maximilian King?” he said with a glitter of amusement, erasing the annoyance he felt earlier.

She shrugged, “Always seems that way when you walk in a room.” She mumbled. “The men suck up like there’s no tomorrow, and the woman do everything shy of stripping off their clothes in a public place to get your attention.”

“God Lily, what an exaggeration!” He chuckled while turning on the car and pulling back out onto the road. “If that were true, you would have made a pass at me a long time ago. I’ve spent more time with you than any other woman in my life.” He said absently choosing not to look at her to see her expression because she would see his. If Lily made a pass at him, he certainly wouldn’t turn her down. He hadn’t seen her in over a month and if it was possible that she’d grown more beautiful in her absence, she did. She must be about twenty now, and she had developed into a gorgeous woman. Of course he always thought she was, but with his plans coming into focus on his real intentions for her, she was even more appealing and not in the little sister of a best friend way.

He wanted her.

Lily thought her heart just tripled its pace at that confession and she turned away and looked out the side window so he couldn’t see the vulnerable expression on her face. First of all she wouldn’t know how to make a pass at him and it certainly wasn’t for lack of wanting to. She’d never had a steady boyfriend, and beyond a simple kiss here or there, had no idea of flirting or intimacy. It seemed that whenever she mentioned something to Luke about a potential beau by coincidence Max would walk into her life and the beau would turn into an ass kissing puppet. Yet, that confession, as brief as it was, nearly liquefied her internal organs.

“Are we okay?” he slanted her a look after he hid his expression of desire. In the past, he’d always kept an emotional distance from Lily treating her as his friend’s little sister, but this summer things were going to change, especially if she was with him every minute of every day. There was no way in hell he could ignore her.

“Sorry.” She said sheepishly, I don’t know what got into me.” He gave her an easy grin and turned his attention back to the road. Max was a naturally dominant male through to the bone. To a man, he was intimidating, but to a woman, his demeanour screamed sexual perfection. He was confident, arrogant and highly intelligent so it was justified. Lily knew from an early age that God made him to torture her sex. Even now, while concentrating on the road in front of him he was appealing. His masculine features were perfection, a strong square jaw, straight aristocratic nose, sensual masculine mouth and those bloody eyes that could drag a confession from a corpse. Also, he had a body that you could fathom on a triathlon competitor. She would know, she’d been at his house when they’d used the pool, thankful that someone had invented sunglasses to stop her eyes from flying out of her head. If Adonis walked the earth, he would be a spitting image all beautiful and muscular, and moving with a confident virile grace.

Just thinking about that day sent an odd heat low in her pelvis. How could that happen so easily with him? Never did an image illicit such a physical response like it did with Max. She sighed heavily. She was hopeless.

“I could offer David a job, if you like, and then you could spend the summer together.” He said cutting off her thoughts.

If it weren’t for the teasing look in his eyes, she would have blasted him for such a suggestion after what she’d just told him, “Yeah, sure.”

“Then I could fire him because he wasn’t as good as you. Revenge can be sweet.”

She actually laughed, “You really would wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.” He gave her a lopsided grin, “Anything for you button.”

She had to force herself to breathe after that statement, “As mad as I am at him, I just couldn’t subject him to that. I would feel too guilty.” If he says button one more time in that deep voice, I’m going to faint, she thought.

“Ah, there’s the sweet Lily I know.” He flashed her another smile and his eyes went to her mouth again.

Sweet? Blood rushed into her cheeks at his flattering tone, “Okay…enough.” She held up her hand in surrender causing him to chuckle.

About ten minutes passed before she found her voice again, “Is it true that you’re dating that model Cybil Dawn?” He gave her an unreadable expression.

“Dating, yes.” His eyes roved over her with his expression not giving anything away, “Why?”

“She’s not your type.” She heard herself say wishing she’d just kept her mouth shut.

He chuckled, “No? Then what is my type honey?”

She shrugged trying to hide the shiver that just ran through her, doing her best on trying to act indifferent, “Someone who is down to earth, yet challenges you enough to keep you on your toes. “ She cleared her throat, “You know, someone who’s witty—” she nearly said intelligent, but that was an unfair judgement because she didn’t know Cybil and for all she knew the woman had a two hundred I.Q.

“How do you know she doesn’t?” he said casting a careful look in her direction searching her expression for a betrayal of her indifferent tone. It was subtle, but he did see it. Her eyes glanced off of him and he didn’t miss the vulnerability that was displayed in them. A sense of satisfaction washed through him.

“She’s a model.” She said nonchalantly.

“There’s the stereotype.” He gave her a slanted grin, “And you’re one to talk. Didn’t you get offered a modelling job?”

“That’s different and I turned it down.” She cast him a shy sideways glance. It was embarrassing to be categorized along with the women he’d dated. She’d met quite a few of them over the years and they were mostly shallow and self absorbed. She never understood why an intelligent man like him was interested in them. Years later, she began to understand that it wasn’t their intelligence he was after. Yet, to know that he desired women like that made her feel insignificant modelling offer or not. There was no way on God’s green earth that she could compete with those women.

“Turned it down? I thought Luke threatened to disown you.” He offered watching her cheeks pink up.

“Oh God….he told you?” She groaned. “Just the same I turned it down. Luke said that lifestyle would ruin me. Geez, don’t you guys keep secrets?”

“Luke’s right.” He added, “And no, he’s my best friend.” It was actually Max that told Luke not to allow Lily to go into modelling. Luke was almost willing to let her do it until Max reminded him of the lifestyle. Both of them had extensive experience in dating women like that and he didn’t want Lily to be ruined. She was special to him. More than she knew.

“Regardless, you’re one to talk. You’re dating a model.” She defended, “And you tell me I shouldn’t choose that career.”

He grinned, “That’s different. I didn’t know her before she was a model. What I see is what I got. With you, it would destroy that sweet quality you have.”

She stared at him, sweet, he thought she was sweet? He’s said it moments ago, but hearing it twice made her catch her breath. Max was always good to her, but he never really complimented her before.

“And then there’s the dieting, the late nights, long hours…”

“Dating rich fabulously handsome men like you…” she added without thinking. She held her breath hoping he didn’t hear her, but he caught it.

“Handsome?” his eyes glittered when he tossed her a look, “You think I’m handsome?”

Trying to recover she began to babble just making things worse, “You think your handsome enough for the both of us with all that arrogant charm and sex appeal.” God shut up, she thought to herself. It was his fault! If he hadn’t had her all senseless with the ‘sweet’ comments, she might be able to control her big mouth.

He threw back his head and laughed, “Now I’m handsome, charming, and I have sex appeal. Honey, you do wonders for my ego.”

“That came out wrong.” She groaned and put her face in her hands knowing he didn’t need any help in that aspect. His poise alone wrote the book on ego.

“I would love to hear more on the subject of my sex appeal, but we’re at your brother’s building.” He said with clear amusement.

She could still hear the laughter in his tone and wanted to crawl into a hole. Feeling a tug on a lock of her hair she faced him still thoroughly embarrassed. He actually was playing with the strand between his fingers that had escaped her French twist, and his expression was no longer amused. It was something different that she hadn’t seen before.

‘How long is your hair?” he said guiding his eyes to hers.

Tilting her head in question, she said, “To my waist. You’ve seen it down. Why?”

“Actually it seems like years that you wore it down around me, so I wasn’t sure if you cut it.” He frowned, “Don’t ever cut it. I’ve never seen this shade before…It looks like copper.”

Bewildered she just stared at him.

“And wear it up like this at work. I don’t want you to attract attention.” He added in a terse tone.

“Max…?” what on earth did that mean?