Page 24 of A Love So Sweet
“I made one mistake with you, Max, and I’ll spend the rest of our time making it up to you. I don’t want to make you nervous, but I don’t want you to think that you can’t be the woman you are beneath the proper professional when we’re alone. I got a taste of the passionate woman you are, and one day I hope you’ll feel comfortable enough to let those feelings come out without embarrassment, without worry of judgment or fear of the unknown.”
“I want that, too,” she said just above a whisper.
“I don’t want only a sexual relationship with you, Max. I hope you know that. I adore who you are, and have since the first time we spoke on the phone. You were confident and smart, and it was clear that your primary concern was that your friends’ weddings came off as perfectly as they’d hoped. That spoke to me because friends and family come before anything else in my life. It didn’t hurt that you had the sexiest voice I’d ever heard in my life. Even without seeing you, I knew you were special.”
She lowered her eyes, and he lifted her chin again, falling heart first into her. “When we finally met, when you didn’t respond to me immediately, you then stood taller, pushed your glasses to the bridge of your nose, and told me you had jet lag.” He lowered his face closer to hers and whispered, “I wanted to take you back to my room, tuck you into my bed, and let you rest just so I could have all of your energy when I wore you out later that night.”
“I knew you were special, too. But why didn’t you push me to come back to your room later that night? When I said I wasn’t ready?”
“I didn’t want to coerce you into my bed. I would never do that to anyone, especially you. I thought we’d have the rest of that weekend together, and eventually, when you were ready, we’d come together naturally.”
A rush of air left her lungs. “And then we had the misunderstanding.”
“It made us stronger,” he said, and touched his lips to hers.
“I felt the same way, Treat. That’s why, for the first time in forever, I didn’t want our night to end, and I didn’t want to say good night at the door.”
“Because we’re meant to be together, Max.”
EVERY PART OF Max wanted to drag him into the bedroom and love him until the sun came up. She was nervous, and he’d feel her trepidation no matter how much she tried to hide it, but how could she get over her fears unless she faced them? She slid her arms around his neck and went up on her toes, but all she could reach was his chin, so she pressed a kiss there.
The second her lips touched his skin, he shifted, capturing the kiss and taking it deeper for a long, heated moment, leaving her breathless.
“Max.” Her name came out strained. “You do remember why I sent you this cake, don’t you? I can’t have you freak out on me again. It makes me feel guilty.”
She buried her face in his chest, her heart beating wildly. “I didn’tfreak out. I just got nervous, and I would have gone through with it if you hadn’t stopped us.”
“We moved too fast for my girl, and I will never,everignore your well-being.” He kissed her lips. “We’re going to be very careful about not going too fast tonight.”
“Why do you have to be such a gentleman?” Would this be easier if he were pushy? One look in his caring eyes and she knew the answer.I wouldn’t be with you if you were.
“Because it’s how I was raised, and I care about you too much to let you rush into us. Waiting a day, a week, a month won’t make or break us, Max.”
“It might break me,” she mumbled, earning a devilish grin.
“If you still feel this way tomorrow, maybe we’ll revisit those sinful promises you mentioned seeing in my eyes.”
He held her so close, it was impossible not to notice his arousal. Her pulse spiked as they stared hungrily into each other’s eyes. She swallowed hard.Hard. Oh gosh, don’t think about that.After going years without intimacy, then finding a man she adored, not thinking about him in that way was pure torture.
It wasimpossible.
His eyes turned dark as night, and she wondered if he could read her mind.
“Cake!” She reached for the fork, stabbed a hunk of the decadent dessert, and shoved it into her mouth. Treat’s deep laughter eased the pulsing knot that had formed inside her. She shoveled another forkful into her mouth.
“Does that work?” he asked.
She piled more cake on the fork and fed it to him.
“Mm. That is good. But um…” He glanced down at his groin. “Apparently it’s not a remedy.”
“Trust me, thiswillwork. I’ve relied on chocolate cake many times in my life.” She fed him another bite. “Of course, I’ve never tried it with the object of my desire standing a few inches away.”
A rumbling, growling noise climbed up his throat, and it was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. He took the fork from her hand, shoveled cake onto it, and fed it to her. Crumbs tumbled down her chin, and he kissed them away.
“There’s not enough cake on the planet,” he said, and pressed his lips to hers. Sweetness exploded into their kiss.
Sometime later, after too much cake and not nearly enough kisses, they made their way to the door to say good night.
