Maximum Witch: That Old Black Magic, Book 3 (10 page)

Max moved closer, his arm transferring to the rear of her headrest. “Why?” His fingers feathered along the side of her cheek, and it took everything she was not to melt into his touch.

“Because…”
There’s something wrong with me
. “I’m not in a position right now for a relationship.”

“Okay. I guess in the meantime I could settle for a bunch of hot, intense sex until you’re ready to become more serious.”

His wicked grin made her consider the idea of diving for his zipper. The very fact that he could do that to her with one smoldering look doubled her resolve to end it between them before things got even more out of hand. “I’m not going to lie. I’m fiercely attracted to you.” That was putting it mildly. “But my life is…complicated right now.”

“Are you seeing somebody?” he demanded, his voice tight.

“No.”

“Good.”

“Max, you’re not listening to me. You and I can’t happen.”

“What if you’re pregnant?”

She swerved into the next lane and received an angry horn blare from the driver behind her. “
What
?”

“Keep your eyes on the road.”

Easy for him to say after hitting her upside the head with that doozy of a previous comment. “Why would you insinuate that I could be pregnant?”

“We had sex without a condom.”

Oh, yeah. She relaxed her grip on the wheel. “I’ve been on the pill for half of my life. They help regulate my periods.” Okay, that’d probably been more information than he’d needed to know. Sheesh.

“Ah. Good.”

She risked a peek at him. “Is that why you came after me? Because you were worried I might become pregnant?” The notion that he was a decent and gallant man made her fall for him a bit harder, even while it also made her feel like an even bigger jerk for running out on him and making him worry.

“Partly, yes. But I also wanted to make sure you were okay. Boone gave me strict orders to watch over you, remember?”

She did. One more thing to make her feel two inches tall. “I’m perfectly fine. The bite’s not even there anymore.” She’d been more than a little surprised about that turn of events when she’d inspected her backside in the large mirror hanging in the women’s restroom at work.

“It’s not?” Max sounded as stunned as she’d felt.

“Nope. So see? There was no need to check up on me.”

“You damn well know that isn’t the only reason I tracked you down.” His thumb traced the sensitive hollow beneath her ear, and she shivered.

“I told you this can’t ha-happen between us.”

He inched closer, his warm breath fanning her cheek. “I’m going to change your mind about that.”

Damn him.

They’d arrived at Lafayette Square, and she sucked in a deep breath, peering around frantically for a parking space.

“There’s a white convertible leaving over there.”

She glanced toward where Max was pointing and spotted the vacating vehicle. Swinging a hard left, she screeched into the empty slot. One corner of Max’s mouth tugged upward. “Anxious to get dinner?”

More like desperate to get it out of the way. The sooner she put some distance between her and Max, the better.

She jumped out of the Taurus and banged her door shut with a tad more force than necessary. Max joined her before she could dash across the street, his arm slipping around her from behind. The heat of his palm cupping her hip and the solid press of him against her entire right side was a constant, heady reminder of his presence. She curled her fists, sinking her fingernails into the fleshy heels of her palms to keep from nestling into Max and licking the tanned column of his throat. Without thinking, she made the mistake of eyeing the spot where she’d nibbled him the night before. Sure enough, an incriminating red patch that looked suspiciously like a hickey rode just beneath the underside of his jaw. She grimaced.
Great. Apparently my inner slut has the smooth moves of a horny teenager.

They joined the small queue of people gathered in front of the deli’s takeout window. The delicious, tantalizing smells of roasting meat wafted in the sultry air. Her stomach rumbled. Man, she was starving. Ravenous. Odd, since she hadn’t really noticed being particularly hungry before now. It was almost like the instant the deli’s scrumptious aromas surrounded her they stoked this powerful need to eat everything in sight. The sensation reminded her of how she’d hungrily gobbled her steak last night as if it were the only meal she’d ever partake in. It also made her uncomfortably aware of how that ravenous need had spilled over into her desire for Max.

Oh goddess. She definitely didn’t need her horniness meter to skyrocket while scarfing down a pastrami on rye in the middle of a public square. Max’s fingers meandered a little farther inland on her hip, brushing over the thin wool of her dress slacks. She squeaked. Feeling like an idiot, she lifted her head and met his innocent smile.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but the line’s moving.”

She shifted her attention and noticed he was right. So he hadn’t been looking for an excuse to grope her. Embarrassed, she shuffled forward. Two minutes later they reached the window and placed their orders. While they waited for their number to be called, Max led the way to an empty bench beneath the shade of a towering oak. She obediently took a seat and tried her best not to stare at his groin as he stood in front of her.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said. About the bite vanishing.”

Okay, not exactly the topic she’d been expecting him to rehash. “You have?”

“Yeah, and I think I know what triggered it to disappear.”

She blinked up at him. “Wasn’t it the antivenin?”

“Doubtful. I’ll have to double-check with Boone, but I’ve never heard of an antivenin actually making puncture wounds disappear.” He dropped onto his haunches and cupped her cheek. “Sweetheart, if you and I hadn’t had sex, I don’t think the bite would have cleared.”

Max’s preposterous insinuation forced a strained laugh from her throat. “That’s ridiculous. How could that have anything to do with it?”

His thumb brushed over the dip in her bottom lip, his eyes following its path. “The way I see it, you accepted my energy into you and used it to help you heal.”

From seemingly nowhere, a remembered phrase shuffled into her mind.
He possesses what you truly need
. No. The notion was beyond fanciful and just plain absurd. “There must be another explanation.”

“Willa, I saw the light show that erupted from you when you came. It was our energies merging.”

“I’m a witch. Sometimes my magic manifests at inopportune times.”
Such as when I’m screwing my brains out, apparently.

“I don’t think that’s it.”

She glared at him. “Oh, you know me better than I know myself now, huh?” She shoved aside the annoying voice reminding her that lately her psyche was a big honkin’ mystery. Probably he
did
know her better than she did.

“Like it or not, there’s something drawing us to each other. A force bigger than both of us.”

His choice of words echoed her own worried suspicions, stirring her panic. She bolted to her feet the same moment their number was called over the speaker. Max stood and gently coaxed her onto the bench again. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

She didn’t miss the firm warning in his tone. It seemed he didn’t fully trust her to stay put. He might be sort of justified with that assumption. She watched him stride to the pick-up window and collect their sack of food and beverages, her trepidation coiling like a tight spring. Her life was slowly unraveling around her, and she didn’t know how to stop it. How to make things normal again.

It seemed incomprehensible that a little over a week ago none of this had been an issue. Her head had been blessedly void of seductive voices whispering things she didn’t understand. Sure, her job had been stressful as always, Domino demanding as ever. But she could handle all of that stuff. It was this total lack of control that was driving her closer and closer to permanent residency in the local loony bin. At first she’d assumed it was a form of early life crisis. Her thirtieth birthday was less than three days away. Not exactly life altering, but the date also marked the anniversary of her parents’ death. More than ever, she felt the fragility of life and how easily it could all be ripped away. It also drove home one indisputable truth—she was more alone than ever.

Max pivoted in her direction, and her heart gave an odd squeeze. He represented hope, the promise of a future that didn’t have to be solitary. But how could she trust her thoughts when they weren’t her own? How could she drag Max into this craziness when she didn’t even want to be there? The best, kindest thing she could do at this point would be to walk away from him and never look back.

Too bad her feet seemed to be cemented in place. Forcing a pained smile, she scooted over on the bench, making room for Max. He sat next to her and handed over her lemonade before fishing her sandwich from the bag. Accepting the package from him, she crumpled back one side of the waxed paper and sank her teeth into the rye and pastrami, a happy groan leaking free. As he’d done last night, Max watched her with unabashed appreciation. She licked the corner of her lip, catching the tangy essence from the dressing. His eyes darkened.

She finished chewing and swallowed. “Aren’t you hungry?”

His focus never veered from her mouth. “Yes. For you.”

Oh boy. “Max, I told you. We can’t—”

“I want to peel your clothes off and lay you out for my own personal all-you-can-eat buffet.”

She gulped. Her pussy clenched, her clit tingling. She attempted to combat her raging arousal with sarcasm. “That’s a little scary coming from a shark.”

“I can be very good with my teeth when given the proper inspiration.”

“Would you please eat your sandwich and stop staring at me like I’m dessert?” Grumbling, she squeezed her legs together and took a sip from her lemonade. She relaxed a fraction when she detected the crinkling of waxed paper as Max unwrapped his Philly cheese steak.

They ate in companionable silence for several minutes, until her belly was full and she couldn’t imagine indulging in another bite. But despite having the edge taken off her hunger in one respect, the lusty cravings that kept her on the brink of jumping out of her skin only worsened the longer she was around Max. She harbored no doubts that if she didn’t get some much-needed space between them soon, she would gladly be flat on her back and offering herself to Max for his amorous snacking pleasures.

Crushing the remnants of her meal into a compact ball, she rushed to the nearby trash receptacle and pitched everything inside. Max followed suit and slid his arm around her waist again, snuggling her close until she had no choice but to walk along weakly, drunk and woozy on his delicious pheromones.

The drive back to his car was going to be a damn nightmare.

He escorted her into the Taurus, even going so far as to lean across her and buckle her seat belt. She gave him a peeved scowl, which he instantly sent packing when he angled his head and kissed her. It was barely a brushing of lips, but it still short-circuited the few functioning brain cells she had left. He straightened, his smile more than relaying the fact that he knew precisely how much he was affecting her—and that he was likely to use the knowledge to his full advantage.

Humming a vaguely familiar tune, Max strode to the passenger side and climbed in. She lasered him with a hot glare. “I am
not
going to fall into your bed.”

“Okay.”

Okay
? That was all he had to say? And why did he have to sound so damn calm and reasonable, as if he was only placating her? “I mean it, Max. Last night was—”

“Mind-blowing.”

She gnawed the inside of her cheek to keep from growling. “I was going to say a one-time deal.”

“I like my description better.”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. You were saying?” The bastard didn’t sound the least bit contrite.

Despite knowing she would most likely regret looking at him, she did anyway. Oh yeah. Definitely a big mistake. Why did he have to be so yummy? “Are you always this aggravating and single-minded?”

His smoky look provoked decadent shivers across her skin. “I’m not afraid to go after what I want, Willa. If that makes me single-minded, so be it. But you better believe I’m going to do whatever it takes to convince you to let me rock your Kasbah into the next week. Hell, the next lifetime.”

Her breath abandoned her like air from a popped balloon. “It’s very sneaky bringing up Kasbahs at a time like this.”

“I told you. Whatever it takes.”

Goddess, give me strength.

She slammed the gears into reverse and backed out of the parking space. The ride was every bit as excruciating as she’d suspected it would be, made all the worse when the devious radio station decided to start playing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”. She recognized it as the song Max had been humming earlier.

I am so screwed.
She grimaced.
Ugh, bad word choice.

Finally they arrived outside the Alliance headquarters, and she pulled into the small lot, stopping beside Max’s Jeep. She shifted into park but left the engine idling in case a quick getaway was required. Max released his belt and lowered the volume on the radio before turning toward her. She figured her face must have displayed her sizable panic as he leaned close, invading her personal space. His nearness forced her to tip her head sideways, making her glasses slip. He removed them and set them on the front dash. A purposeful gleam lit his eyes as his focus dipped to her mouth. She swallowed. “Max—”

His hand cupped the nape of her neck, lightly stroking. “There’s no way you didn’t think I was going to kiss you.”

“B-but you already did.”

“That was nothing. This time it’s serious.” And with that preemptive warning, he claimed her mouth, his tongue easily coaxing past the barrier of her lips and meeting hers in a hot glide. There was no hesitation or fumbling in his kiss. Only the skilled determination of a male intent on making her melt into a quivering puddle of desperation. He sucked on her bottom lip, his teeth scraping gently.