Page 18 of Maximum Risk (The Andrades 3)
Tara was a powerful distraction. For her, he was about to attend a family function he’d spent the last month vehemently saying he wouldn’t. And he wasn’t dreading it.
“Are we moving forward with Slater Island? The permits came through. We are clear to demolish the three existing homes. We should be set to tear down the one to the west. The owner accepted our offer. The rest is paperwork. Say the word, and we’ll clear the lots.”
“Hold off a bit longer. I haven’t decided what I want to do there yet.”
Dale made a surprised sound. “Are you waiting for better weather? The team says the first phase doesn’t need to wait for the ground to thaw. Or is the problem with the plans? You signed off on the first draft, but if the final is missing something I can have modifications made by the end of the week.”
“It’s not an issue with the weather or the plans. Table Slater Island until I bring it up again.”
“Okay. I’ll tell the team. They’ll ask me why.”
“I don’t need to explain my decision to them or to you. Nothing further will be done with that property until I request it. Subject closed.” He couldn’t explain to himself why he wasn’t plowing ahead with the project. He wasn’t about to try to explain to Dale why he didn’t want to move forward with the Slater resort. It wasn’t something he understood himself.
“Yes, sir,” Dale said. Dale was quiet a moment, then sounded concerned when he asked, “Is everything okay, Mr. Andrade?”
Max’s thoughts drifted again to how Tara had looked as she’d ridden him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wild with abandon. Every touch, every taste of her was torturously vivid. Wanting her was scrambling his thoughts. He didn’t want to think about work. He didn’t want to think about anything.
He wanted to see Tara again. That’s all that mattered. He had to have her again. He had to know if making love to her would be as good as he remembered it being. He told himself his fascination would wane. It was probably the game, more than the woman, that was exciting, but either way, it felt good.
Too good not to pursue.
“Everything is fine, Dale. Consider this the vacation I never take. We’ll regroup in a week.”
After hanging up, Max showered and put on a casual suit. He told himself a little time off was exactly what he needed.
He deserved a vacation.
Even if his destination of choice was a woman.
One amazing brunette with the ability to make everything that normally bothered him fade away each time he thought of her. A week in a city he hated? Not a problem. Dinner with family that normally drove him nuts? Absolutely worth it.
As long as the night ended with Tara in his bed.
Chapter Nine
“I’m so glad you came,” Maddy said as she bounced her young son on her lap, despite the sleek black dress she wore, which probably cost more than Tara’s yearly rent. Richard followed behind their toddler son as the boy greeted each new family member when they entered Gio’s apartment. Julia had told Tara she and Gio were waiting until they were married before they bought a house. Tara could only imagine the size of a house they would purchase, considering their apartment was larger than most normal homes.
The living room had seemed enormous an hour ago, but as more and more people arrived it was quickly shrinking. So far Gio’s “dinner” was nothing like Tara had imagined. When she’d heard the guest list she’d assumed it would be a very formal sit-down affair. Certainly the thousand-dollar dress Maddy had bought her for the event implied as much. But there Tara was, dressed to the nines, holding a pacifier little Adam had dropped to the floor moments earlier, while herds of children ran through the rooms and adults steadied plates of food each time a child knocked into them.
Maddy stood and waved her hand at the entering guests. “That’s Abby and Dominic coming in. I hope they saw me. Oh, good, they brought Judy. Wait until you see their little girl. She is a doll. Makes me want to try again for a girl.” Maddy waved again, then smiled when Abby waved back.
Tara couldn’t contain her surprise. “This isn’t at all how I envisioned tonight.”
Maddy laughed and pointed toward Gio and Julia, who were standing in the middle of a large crowd of animated relatives. Gio looked a bit shell-shocked by the experience. “I don’t think Gio expected as many people, either, but he invited my parents and Stephan’s parents. It grew from there. The women in our family are really close, and Abby has become family. Julia will be so happy she came.”
Abby and Dominic Corisi were the closest to American royalty as any couple could be, and a general hush spreading across the living room revealed that Tara wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As much as the couple had been in the news, it wasn’t their reputation that held the crowd temporarily mesmerized. Dominic was holding the most adorable baby, who looked about eight months old. Little Judy was unsure when she saw the large crowd, and Dominic was whispering something to comfort to her. A powerful man, coaxing his shy daughter as if making her smile was the most important thing in the world to him, was a sight not many could look away from. Whatever he said worked because his daughter began clapping happily. Abby looked over her shoulder at her husband and smiled with approval. Dominic bent down to say something to Abby that brought a blush to her cheeks.
Tara couldn’t have looked away if her life had depended on it. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. And, for just a moment, Tara felt an emptiness she tried to deny. Take away everything from that couple—the fame, the money—and Tara was sure they would be happy because they had each other. Will I ever have anything close to that?
Tara shook her head to clear it and tried to refocus on her reason for being there. She was supposed to pay attention to details, watch for problems. “Who is the redhead behind Abby?”
Maddy craned her neck to see. “That’s Alethea. Does she have Marc with her? Yes, see the man to her right? They are Dominic’s power security team. Dominic can be a little paranoid when it comes to protecting his family, but when you’re high-profile like he is, I guess you have to be. Alethea is a little intense. Try to avoid her. She knows Abby’s sister so she’s in my circle of friends, but I wouldn’t say she likes me much. At least she brought Marc with her. Who could complain about adding him to a party? Can you say man candy?”
Alethea looked up and her eyes narrowed in their direction. Maddy wasn’t kidding. Note to self: Stay away from the redhead.
Just before Tara looked away she caught Max entering the room. Their eyes met and held, and for a moment everyone and everything else faded away. He greeted Dominic with a handshake and said something to Abby that made her smile. As Max moved through the crowd, he stopped to say a word or two to various people, but then he’d look at Tara with a fire in his eyes that had Tara practically squirming in her seat. The room was full of good-looking men, but none of them made her heart race like Max did. His eyes held a promise of pleasure she’d already decided she wouldn’t deny herself.
Still, she forced herself to stay seated and pretended to listen to Maddy. Max had admitted he enjoyed the chase. Tara hadn’t been sexually daring with her previous boyfriends, but she was enjoying pushing out of her comfort zone with Max.
She licked her bottom lip and watched his reaction closely. He sucked in a breath, and his nostrils flared. Tara ran her eyes slowly over him, pausing deliberately on his crotch, then raised one shoulder as if unimpressed. She caught just a glimpse of his expression as she turned away, and it was priceless. The game was definitely on.
Tara stood and arched her back slightly as if stretching; she knew the move pulled the material tightly across her breasts, and she glanced over to check Max’s reaction. He was walking through the crowd with a curl to his lips that said he knew exactly what she was doing.
“Maddy, I need to use the bathroom. Do you know where it is?”
Maddy’s attention was divided between Tara’s question and Abby approaching with Judy. She waved toward one corner of the room. ?
??There’s one around the corner, but there’s another down the hallway if that one is occupied.”
Tara didn’t have to look over her shoulder to see if Max would follow. She knew he would. She rounded the corner and started walking down the hallway, not slowing her pace even though she heard footsteps behind her.
A strong hand swung her around so her back was against the wall. Max held her arm with one hand and placed his other on the wall beside her head. “I’ve been waiting all day to do this.”
As he lowered his lips to hers, Tara turned her face away, biting her lips to hide her smile. He chuckled, his hot breath caressing her cheek. “So, that’s how it’s going to be, is it?”
With her face still averted, Tara glanced at Max from beneath her long lashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Andrade. I came down here in search of the bathroom. Now, please unhand me.”
He let go of her arm and placed his hand on the wall on the other side of her head. He kissed her shoulder, long hot kisses that set Tara’s skin on fire. He grazed his teeth gently across her collarbone then ran his tongue lightly back across that path. He blew softly on the arch of her neck, and Tara was never so happy to have worn her hair up. His mouth was sinfully skilled. He kissed and nipped at her neck playfully until Tara’s breathing was shallow with desire.
She lost control, took his face between both of her hands and kissed him deeply. Her tongue met his with no hesitation. They kissed like lovers who had done this a hundred times before and would gladly do it a hundred times more. Tara writhed her body against his, loving that she felt him hard and excited for her.
Passion licked through her. Tara imagined giving herself to him right then. All it would take was for him to hike up her dress, push her thong aside, free himself, and plunge into her. No. Not yet. Not here.
Tara broke off the kiss and stepped out from beneath his arms in a move that took him by surprise. She gave him a cheeky smile as she retreated, saying, “That was nice, but I think you can do better.”
The smile he gave her was a promise of its own. He let her go but said softly, “Oh, I can. I hope you slept last night, because you won’t tonight.”
Tara slipped away and returned to the party. She deliberately didn’t look at Dominic and Abby. Comparing what they had to what she was doing with Max threatened to kill Tara’s excitement about how she planned to spend the night.
I’ll have love someday.
If it’s not with Max, that’s okay. Not all relationships are forever.
And not everyone gets the fairy tale.
