Page 10 of A Love So Sweet
“If you want to win him over, then you have to. Then, when he thinks he’s going to get you into bed, you pull back. Remember,youcontrol the strings. Think of him as a marionette and yourself as the puppet master.” Kaylie looked up at the dark sky. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “Hey, that’s good. I just made that up.” She looked at Max and said, “Anyway, when 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. “I don’t know if I can play games, Kaylie.”
“Listen, Max. At that point, you won’t have todoanything. You pull away and he sees you as 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?”
“Any man who turns you down isn’t worth it.” Kaylie must have seen Max cringe, because she quickly added, “No way. Did he turn you down at the wedding?”
Max shook her head. “No, but I turned him down when he asked me to go back to his room, and then we had a misunderstanding the next morning when he saw me with Justin.” Kaylie had been in the elevator when Max had gotten on the next morning wearing the same clothes as she’d had on the day before. Kaylie had teased her about her walk-of-shame outfit, but she hadn’t known about Max and Treat’s evening together. She’d only assumed, as Treat had, that Max had slept with Justin.
“Oh, Maxy. You said you didn’t hook up with Justin.” Kaylie pulled her into a hug.
“I didn’t, but Treat assumed I did.” She’d never told Kaylie about Ryan, or what she’d been through with him, and she didn’t want to get into that now. It was too private, too embarrassing.
“Well, trust me. He won’t hesitate after you do this. Win-win. You remember that.” Kaylie ran her eyes over Max and said, “More importantly, remember that you are in control of your own emotional state. I learned the hard way that misunderstandings can spread like weeds if you let them. So if you really care about Treat, you might bring some Emotional Roundup with you, so you can nix any more of them.”
“Emotional Round Up,” Max repeated.
Maybe shecouldpull this off after all.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Six
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 at Treat and Savannah. Treat was glad to be out of the limelight. 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,” Savannah said as he handed her a drink. “I knew I could count on you.”
“Why aren’t you with Connor tonight?” 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’rethe kind of girls who love this stuff.”
“Then why did you get all dolled up in that gold minidress and want to come so badly?”
Savannah looked around and then pointed across the room.
There, in the dimly lit nightclub, outshining all the other women with her natural beauty, was Max.
“See you later, big brother.” Savannah kissed his cheek and disappeared into the crowd.
Max was gorgeous no matter what she wore, but she looked stunning with her smoky eyes, her hair sexily framing her face, and a little black dress that hugged all her curves. His fingers itched to touch her, his body ached to discover how she felt lying beneath him. He stopped himself from taking that thought any further. He wanted much more than sex with Max. He’d blown it once, and he wasn’t going to blow it again.
She lifted her face, and their eyes connected like metal to magnet. The air sizzled and popped as he crossed the dance floor, eating up the space between them. He ignored the gyrating bodies and seductive glances from women. The only woman he wanted was right there in front of him, and he never took his eyes off her, afraid if he did, she might not be there when he looked again.
She held a drink between her hands, her gaze flitting nervously away, then skittering back again as he approached. She was breathing harder, and she bit her lower lip. His body heated up when she released her lip and ran her tongue along the corner of her mouth, exhaling a ragged breath. He remembered those ragged, nervous breaths as they lay on the sand kissing, their hands roaming over each other’s bodies.
Two more steps and he’d be close enough to touch her. In the next breath her sweet scent permeated his senses. His body thrummed as memories of their steamy night came rushing back. It had been years since Treat had spent time only kissing a woman, and with Max, he’d wanted to savor every second. It had been enough all those weeks ago. At least it had been when he’d imagined they’d have many more nights to find their way to darker pleasures.
“Hello, Max.”
She didn’t lower her eyes in the tentative way she had in Nassau. Her eyes narrowed enticingly behind her glasses, which gave her a smart appearance. He drank in her revealing dress, the way it hugged her hips and plunged so deeply between her breasts it made him want to—
“Treat,” she said with a sultry tone. She sipped her drink, then licked the alcohol from her lips, holding his stare. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
What happened to the shy girl who couldn’t hold my gaze?
He had adored the careful woman he’d spent time with in Nassau. She’d been a refreshing change to the women he was used to being with, but the hungry look in Max’s eyes, and seeing her sweetness all sexed up, made him want to forget his good intentions.
