Page 40 of Forbidden Hawaiian Nights
‘You must have had guys asking you out?’
‘When I thought about dating again, my mind went blank. It became a habit to be on my own. I enjoyed it.’
‘Everything becomes a habit after a while.’ He stroked her hair from her face.
‘What’s become a habit for you?’
Max hesitated. Out here, being with this woman, was like being in a temporary bubble and, from within it, his life back in London seemed gilded but jaded. Was that because work had become a habit? He shifted uncomfortably at the thought of that because he was defined by work. Where would he be if it became no more than something that filled the days? Something he had grown accustomed to, without any merit of its own?
Of course, he had women, but if her habit had become avoiding the business of dating, then surely his was avoiding the business of dating for longer than two months?
‘There’s a certain tedium attached to the business of making money,’ he eventually murmured.
‘But you don’t have to do it, do you? Surely you have enough?’
He grinned at her. ‘You’d think.’ He frowned. ‘It’s not so much the business of having cash in a bank account. If it were simply a matter of money per se, then you’re right. I have enough. It’s the enjoyment of how that cash gets made that’s addictive.’ He grinned again at her silent scepticism. ‘And maybe…’ he added thoughtfully.
‘Maybe what?’
‘And maybe…’ His voice lightened. ‘We should grab some sleep. I have a packed itinerary for tomorrow and the crutch will have to be left behind. I’ll carry you if needs be.’
Maybe the habit of having to make money because his siblings depended on it had become too ingrained to break, but really, was there any need to drive himself for the sake of James and Izzy? He’d done his bit. James, certainly, was incredibly successful in his own right, contributing to the family empire while also running his own highly profitable computer software businesses, and Izzy was clearly a big girl now, even if he hadn’t seen it coming.
So what was with the pressure to keep earning?
And what did he think would happen if he kicked back?
Would he have to re-evaluate his priorities? He dismissed any such thought with consummate ease.
Mia kissed his chin. There were times, few and far between when something happened between them, when she glimpsed a vulnerability inside him that roused feelings in her, far removed from sexual feelings, that were oddly tender.
He’d confided in her, but then he’d stopped, and she wasn’t going to press him to tell her anything he didn’t want to.
He was proud and he was arrogant but not because he set out to be that way. That was simply the way he was, nothing to do with trying to impress or instil fear. She loathed all forms of arrogance but she’d come to see that, with Max, it was a trait that was intensely appealing, and very, very sexy, because it was so utterly unconscious.
She began to sit up, scouting around for the dress and her underwear.
‘Where do you think you’re off to?’ he drawled lazily, running his finger along her spine and then tugging her back so that she fell against him, laughing.
‘Off to my room,’ Mia told him, wriggling so that she could look at him.
‘No way.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I might want you in the middle of the night, and then what am I supposed to do if you’re not in my bed?’
Mia laughed. Inside, she was thrilled—too thrilled. She wanted to keep reminding herself that this was a fling and nothing more, no castles in the air waiting to be built.
She opened her mouth to remind him that he was her boss, and if they had temporarily suspended common sense then that didn’t change the reality of the situation, but she didn’t go there. She knew, almost immediately, that she didn’t want that untimely reminder to spoil anything.
She’d just had the most incredible experience of her life. Why would she want to give him the wherewithal to end it? Like a thief in the night, she wanted to grab whatever more there was to come, steal those experiences so that she could hoard them inside her for the rest of her life.
On the other hand, there was such a thing as pride.
‘Who says I would want to be awakened at some ungodly hour in the morning to…to…?’
‘To make sweet, passionate and unforgettable love with me?’ He kissed her, a long, slow-burning kiss that had her weak with wanting more.
