Sexy/Dangerous

  She shrugged. “Who knows? I’m just the housekeeper, and I don’t have a clue to what the doc’s been doing down in that lab.”

  He smiled. “I understand. Well, tell him congratulations.”

  “I will.”

  He touched his hat and stepped back out into the sunshine.

  When Max closed the door, Kaitlin was standing there and she gushed, “Now that was some serious eye candy.”

  Max grinned. “Oh, yeah!”

  Both women laughed.

  Adam slept away the day. With the phone unplugged and the sheriff on patrol outside, Max’s afternoon was an uneventful one until she heard the dogs barking out front. With her Glock strapped to her thigh and hidden beneath her ankle-length T-shirt dress, she hurried to the door. Ruby and Ossie were barking ferociously at a three-man camera crew standing in the gravel driveway in a tableau that could only be described as Frozen Fear. All three looked too scared to even breathe, and the dogs were making sure they stayed that way.

  Max walked out and called them off. Ruby and Ossie heeled but their brows remained furrowed, their eyes keen. “This is private property, gentlemen,” she told them. “Please leave if you don’t want to be interviewing the sheriff.”

  “Uh, and your name is?” one of the men asked in a shaky voice. He kept shooting wary glances at the dogs.

  “In five seconds you are going to be racing the dogs back to wherever your vehicle is parked, so I suggest you get a head start. One!”

  They stared.

  “Two!”

  Ruby and Ossie stood up, bared their teeth and began to growl. The eyes of the newsies widened and the men began backing away.

  “Three!”

  They were now running as fast as they could while carrying all their equipment, and Max fought to keep a straight face. “Four!” she yelled.

  She heard one of the men wail, and saw them run faster and disappear around the bend in the drive. “Five!”

  She gave the dogs the command to go and they took off at lightning speed. In the distance she heard fear-fed screams and then car doors slamming, followed by the sound of screeching tires and a vehicle taking off down the road.

  A few moments later the dogs came trotting back into view, and Max said with affection. “I think Kaitlin brought back some doggie treats just for you two.” And she gave each an affectionate scratch behind their ears. “These people must think we’re playing with them.”

  Ruby barked.

  Max said, “I don’t think so, either, girlfriend.”

  Adam awakened around eight that evening. Groggy but feeling better, he got out of bed and padded to the windows that looked out onto the lake. The sun was going down in its signature blaze of oranges and reds, tinting the surface of the water with the same vivid hues. He stretched and yawned. Yesterday he’d still been searching for a solution to the prototype’s problems, but now, he couldn’t suppress his grin. Picking up the remote, he clicked on the television and punched up one of the cable news channels. He wanted to see what, if anything, they were saying about him. He didn’t have long to wait. A beat later he saw a picture of his face flash onto the screen, and turned up the volume.

  “Dr. Adam Gary, an African American scientist Time magazine picked as one of this country’s brightest minds, has reportedly invented a revolutionary energy device that may wipe out our dependence on foreign oil forever. Rumors of the invention’s potential sent oil stocks plummeting to record lows. In other news, Vice President—”

  Adam clicked off the TV and went to the shower.

  Downstairs in the kitchen, he found his dinner warming in the stove, but didn’t see Max. Too hungry to do anything but eat, he sat down and filled himself with a salmon fillet glazed with lemon pepper sauce, coleslaw, and a foil-wrapped baked potato. The ubiquitous green Kool-Aid was in a pitcher in the fridge, and he poured himself a brimming glass to wash it all down. When he was done eating, and feeling fat and satisfied, he put his empty dishes in the sink and went in search of Max.

  She was seated under the umbrella, working on her laptop in the fading light. At his approach she looked up. “Did you sleep?”

  “Yes.” He liked the thin sleeveless T-shirt dress she had on. The yellow color showed off the burnished beauty of her neck, shoulders, and arms. His desire for her kept rising and there didn’t seem to be a way to make it stop.

  She went back to pecking on the keyboard. “You’re are all over the net and the TV.”

  “I saw one of the CNN reports. Supposedly, oil stocks dropped.”

  “Big-time. I talked to Myk. He said he’ll try to get the media to go away and has a call in to the Defense Department about moving you to a more secure location. He said it may take a couple of days. He also said not to give any interviews, and to say congratulations.”

  “That brother is on it.”

  “Amen. I’m glad he’s on our side.”

  “What are you up to?” he asked, taking a seat and indicating her laptop.

  “Downloading some new Portia toys.”

  “Ah.” Adam wondered if he’d ever have the opportunity to meet the techno talented Portia. He asked, “What kind of software is it?”

  Max shrugged. “No idea. Portia says it’s a surprise.” In response to a prompt, Max keyed in the required actions then watched the program come to an end. A picture of Jesse and James, siblings of Ruby and Ossie, came on the screen. Their faces represented Portia’s trademark. Max shut down the OS and closed the top.

  “I haven’t seen Kaitlin,” Adam said. “Is she here?”

  “No, she went to Lansing to hang out with her girls. She’ll be back tomorrow night sometime. She said she knew another way to the highway, so getting past the TV trucks wasn’t going to be a problem.”

  “What TV trucks?”

  “I didn’t tell you?”

  “No.”

  So she told him about the trucks, the sheriff, and the TV crew the dogs had chased away.

  “Wow. I didn’t think it would blow up like this.”

  “I don’t think anyone else did, either. Except maybe Kaitlin’s daddy.”

  “She hear anything else from him?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  It seemed they had run out of things to talk about because silence fell between them and then grew. When she glanced his way, he was watching her, and Max hastily but smoothly glanced away again, even as she mentally chided herself for still wanting more of his magic kisses.

  Twelve

  Hoping that putting some distance between herself and him would bolster her weakening resolve, Max stood and walked over to the railing. The moon was rising in the darkening sky. Against the silence, the rhythmic sound of the waves was like a sonata composed by Mother Nature. When he rose silently and came to stand next to her, she could feel his presence as well as she could feel her own heart beating.

  “We need to resolve this,” he said softly.

  Max knew he was right. The barrier she’d tried to erect around her desire didn’t seem to be working. If anything, it was making her want him all the more. Last time they’d come together he’d given her only a taste of his wizardry and she’d been left panting, pulsing and wet. Would a full dose of his loving cure her craving? Would it satisfy her so that in the morning she could shower, dress, and go back to concentrating on doing her job? Max had no idea, but knew of only one way to find out.

  She turned her head his way and was again struck by how fine he was, even in the gloom. Whoever thought she’d be wanting to do the wild thing with a brother who spoke chemical equations as a second language? Feeling mesmerized, she lightly traced her finger down the long thin stripe of his moustache to where it merged into the hair dusting his lower jaw. The skin was warm beneath her touch, and she could hear him taking in slow measured breaths. Her finger rounded his chin, then slowed as it encountered the ridges and irregularities where his skin had been repaired after the mauling. An odd sadness tightened her heart. Leaning up, she kissed the spot
, wanting passion to replace the painful memories. She flicked her tongue against it softly, then pressed her lips against the spot. In response, he pulled her roughly into his arms, and the kiss that followed made her soar. He was such a master. He seemed to know exactly how long to place his lips against hers to ignite the flame, and how to fit his body ardently against her own. The feel of his lips moving over hers infected her with his heat, and as the kiss deepened and her hands began to move over the strength in his arms, she wondered if he’d taken a course in a school somewhere that showed him the perfect way to mate his tongue with hers.

  She had no answers, however. She was too busy melting under the lips now moving slowly up her jaw to her ear, and ripening under the hot hand weaving spells over her back in the thin T-shirt dress.

  Adam’s long celibate manhood was demanding to be satisfied. Now. It wanted to take this sweet-tasting woman. Now. But he forced himself to go slow; she was too beautiful to treat badly, too fiery not to want to linger over and savor. He sampled the soft skin beneath her ear and knew he hadn’t gotten enough of her last time and sensed that she felt the same, so he planned to make up for it tonight, even if it took him until sunrise.

  Recapturing her lush mouth, he moved a hand over her tempting breasts, plying the nipples until they hardened, teasing them until she moaned. The knowledge that he could make her respond this way pleased him, fueled him. Wanting more, he lowered his head and loved the buds through the fabric of her dress.

  Max was on fire. His hot mouth had her nipples pleading for mercy. He sucked and nibbled and plucked until she was breathless and shimmering. She let him play a bit longer then stepped back. With her body pulsing wantonly and her passion-lidded eyes holding his, she reached down and slowly pulled her dress up and off. Tossing it aside, she stood there in the moonlight wearing nothing but her black transparent bra, black thong, and short-heeled sandals.

  As the moonlight illuminated her lean form, he whispered, “God, you’re beautiful….”

  Entranced, he lightly circled an expert finger around her bursting nipple. Treating its twin to the same silent stroking, he continued until the sensations made her head fall back and her lips part in response. As before, he knew just how to touch her, how to make her moan. His tongue wantonly entered the fray then, and she gasped sensually. He played her with his mouth, fingers, and tongue, filling her with pleasure until she was brimming with desire and her tissue thin bra was damp from his loving. She was damp, too. His hand wandering over her hips and between her thighs wantonly confirmed it, and she scandalously parted her legs for more.

  Like most men, Adam thought thongs the sexiest bits of froth ever invented. Something about the thin strips of lace running between a woman’s thighs and then teasingly outlining her hips made him want to touch, slide, and fondle; made him want to ease the lace aside, drop to his knees and kiss his way to paradise. Fitting thought to action, he did just that.

  Max just knew she was going to die. She was no prude, she’d been loved like this before, but he was good. His technique staggered her, and when he parted her and slid a bold finger inside, the orgasm buckled her, shattered her, then became all the more intense because he didn’t stop. He kept up the carnal conquering, pleasuring her erotically, making her widen her stance so she could feel him everywhere, and as he bit her passionately, Maxine Loreli Blake came again with a strangled cry.

  Then the dogs were beside them barking furiously. They’d been summoned by her screams and had come racing from their beds in the car to aid her, only to find her standing with her thong in tatters, her legs spread, and Adam on his knees. “Go away!” she commanded in a voice that held no authority at all. “I’m fine.”

  Ruby and Ossie were still barking, though. A chuckling Adam kissed her navel and stood. A month ago, the dogs appearing out of thin air would have scared him to death, but now he told them affectionately. “Your mama is fine, go back to bed.”

  Every cell in Max’s body was vibrating sensually. The idea of the dogs coming to her rescue was amusing, and she appreciated their devotion, but four was a crowd. “We need to be behind locked doors,” she said to Adam. “Your bed or mine?”

  “Definitely mine.”

  The sureness of his tone made Max’s desire rebloom. Already anticipating the slide of his body against her own, she said, “I’ll take them back and meet you upstairs.”

  “You might want to grab your dress.”

  Max shook her head. He’d made her so brainless she’d paid no attention to her nearly nude state. It took her a moment to find it under the moonlight, but once she did, she slipped it on and escorted the dogs away.

  Upstairs, Adam was so engorged he could hardly move, yet somehow managed to drag fresh sheets on the beds before she arrived. When she entered, he was seated against the headboard, needing her like an oasis needed rain. Under the dim light of the far side of the room, she peeled off her dress again and joined him on the bed.

  “The dogs shouldn’t bother us now,” she told him.

  Adam’s eyes glowed at the sight of her golden nudity. He was nude, too, and had no way of hiding how much he wanted her.

  “You look real glad to see me,” she said with quiet amusement.

  “That’s what happens when a man’s been celibate for two years.” He reached up and grazed a bent knuckle over the soft skin of her cheek. “I’m apologizing in advance if I get a little wild.”

  “Sometimes wild is good.”

  Grinning, he eased her in against him, and then his mood turned serious as he looked down into her beautiful face. His opening kiss was tender, gentle. This was going to be their first real time together, and even though he was hard and hurting, he wanted to relish her, taste her, and hear her sigh as he made her his.

  They slid down to the sheet and he left her sweet mouth so he could adore his way over her silken form with lingering, humid kisses. The small breasts drew him like a moth to flame, and he spent an inordinate amount of time coaxing the cinnamon brown nipples to ripen just the way he liked. As she arched temptingly in response, he kept up the play until each bud was hard and damp.

  Max groaned with pleasure. She definitely took back the crack about his loving being cold as ice water. He had her at a low boil. Dr. Adam Gary could make love to her until Christmas and she’d greedily want more. To that end, she rose up and began to work her way over his body in much the same way he’d done her. Treating him to kisses, licks, and passionate nibbles, she slowly and deliberately toured her way down his planes and angles to the mahogany prize that made him male. No shame in her game, she flicked her tongue over the soft velvety head and heard him draw in a loud measured breath. Max knew a thing or two about pleasing a man, so using her hands and mouth, she showed him just how much.

  Adam was sure he’d died and gone to heaven. Max Blake was scandalous and he was glad as hell that she was. He could think of no better way to end his celibacy than to be with a woman who enjoyed giving pleasure as much as she did receiving, but after a few more minutes of glory he growled deep in his throat and backed away to keep himself from exploding.

  Pleased, Max licked her lips like a contented lioness and whispered heatedly, “Let’s put you out of your misery, then we can enjoy ourselves.”

  She rolled on the condom he handed her, then straddled him. A delighted Adam put his hands on her waist and eased his way into paradise. The sheer sensations made his eyes close, the heat of her enfolding him almost more than he could stand. The tight warmth threatened to push him over the edge, and he wanted to thrust his way to completion then and there, but held on. Lord, she felt good. She then leaned forward and gifted him with kisses so enticing he began to move inside her with a rhythm as old as time, and she answered with ancient female response. Soon they were casting shadows on the wall that erotically mirrored their movements. His hands guided her hips in the cadence of his loving and she rode him in tune. Because of his celibacy, it didn’t take long for the orgasm to grab him, and when it did,
his body exploded and he began to thrust as if his life were hanging in the balance. Out of control, he let his body have its head while he shouted and roared and shouted some more.

  Caught up in his storm, the bursting Max came a heartbeat later, and she hoarsely screamed her joy into his shoulder so that the dogs wouldn’t kick in the door.

  They moved their lust fest to the shower, where Adam, relieved by their first coupling, worshipped her, adored her, and impaled her under the stream of water. Max came with her long legs wrapped around his waist and her back arched, supported by his strong hands. She was limp by the time they returned to the bed, and he dried her so slowly and deliciously, it wasn’t long before they began again; exploring, kissing, licking, loving. After two years of celibacy Adam had a wealth of passion to bestow, and Max was glad to be his beneficiary.

  Eventually they had to stop because neither of them could move, so Adam clicked off the lamp, snuggled up against her beautiful warm body, and they slept.

  The next morning Adam awoke alone. Concerned, he sat up and looked around, but when the smell of bacon frying drifted to his nose, he fell back on the bed. The memories of last night came back with the sharp clarity of a DVD, and he found himself grinning like a twelve-year-old kid waking up at Disney World. Wow! He didn’t need a graduate course to know that women like Max Blake were rare, and that few men were lucky enough to have such a jewel cross their paths. In the bed, in the shower; lying down, standing up; turned this way, leaning that way, they’d sexually explored each other to the limits of their endurance, and Adam considered himself the luckiest brother in the world.

  Downstairs, she had her back turned when he entered the kitchen. The CD player was bumping Anthony Hamilton. Adam stood in the doorway for a moment checking out her loose-fitting white halter and short denim skirt that showcased her legs. The memories of those fine brown limbs wrapped around his waist made him as hard as he’d been last night.

  Finally noticing him, she stopped and smiled. “Mornin’.”