Baddest Bad Boys(78)

From the first moment Max had met Ellie, he’d known she was special. Unfortunately, he’d been too dumb to act on it. Given his parents’ track record to the altar—they’d had eleven marriages between them at the time—Max hadn’t been in any hurry to settle down. His father’s demands that he produce an heir—the firstborn son of the firstborn son—fell on deaf ears.

The biggest mistake Max had ever made was telling Stefan how he felt about Ellie. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think love at first sight was true,” Max had admitted.

Sadly, the two men rarely got along. Stefan had later taken perverse pleasure in telling Max that he’d only married Ellie to thwart Max. “I’m grateful you never told Ellie how you felt about her,” Stefan had laughingly thrown in Max’s face. “You made it easy for me.”

But Max had come close to telling Ellie once, on her wedding day. Another big mistake. The bad blood between the half-brothers had grown worse after that. In fact, the last words they’d exchanged had been heated.

Max had confronted Stefan on his infidelity, had threatened to warn Ellie. The two men were on their way to a board meeting in the Alps. Stefan had been driving…and looked away from the road. He had died instantly when the car plummeted off the road. Max had escaped with only cuts and bruises. And enough guilt to keep him away from Ellie.

Until the court battles erupted over Stefan’s estate, that is. Max was executor and everything, rightfully, had been left to Ellie, with Max as temporary overseer. But then there had been claims of illegitimate children, which DNA proved false, followed by palimony suits filed by four mistresses. He had previewed their depositions, knew each promised a scandalous trial.

That’s when Max pulled the plug. It had taken a gargantuan effort to make it go away, but he did it. Unfortunately, he hadn’t acted soon enough to save Ellie’s public reputation. The production company that had been publicly wooing Ellie with a lucrative television and designer magazine offer abruptly backed out.

After that it seemed all her clients bailed as well. She’d quietly closed her offices and started doing work privately under her maiden name.

He pushed the memories away. At some point he and Ellie needed to discuss their past. Their future depended on it. For now, though, he simply wanted to let the week unfold. She’d made the all-important first move. He’d countered. Next move was hers; his balls were in her court…

He took a sip of wine, wondered how Ellie had reacted to his gift. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned the part about her wearing only the emeralds. After all she’d been through at the beach house yesterday, the last thing he wanted was for her to feel pressured.

In another part of the house, a clock chimed. He counted seconds, waiting, then turned and strode back into the library. He’d find her and apologize—

He found her standing just inside the door.

Wearing the emeralds with a short, white sundress that barely skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her hair was tousled and curled, pinned up to fall down her back, affording him an unimpeded view of her lush curves. The halter top plunged low, nearly to her navel. And no bra…

His reaction was sudden. His cock turned to marble and strained against his trousers as he moved toward her.

Her eyes lowered, widening as she took in the bulge at his crotch. She raised her gaze, her cheeks pink.

“Take it as a compliment, Ellie. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. And thank you for these.” She touched the emeralds. Then her eyes darted down again. “After reading your note, I worried I’d be overdressed.”

We’ll fix that shortly. “You’re perfect.”

Understatement. The dress was clingy in all the right places. Her breasts were magnificent—two large, firm globes. Centered high on each was a small, pink nipple. Tightly drawn and pointed, they strained against the shimmery fabric. He remembered the taste of them, the way Ellie had responded the first time he’d suckled them.

Part of him wanted to pick her up and rush over to the plush sofa on the far side of the room, losing the dress along the way.

Instead, he took her arm and escorted her outside, to the patio. “Let me get you a drink.”

Ellie scarcely heard his words. She was still processing the evidence of his erection. Right before her eyes he’d grown hard. Witnessing his reaction had been heady. She sat on one of the cushioned benches and shivered.

“Cold?” Max’s gaze raked over her once again.

She decided to play it honest. “No. I’m…nervous.”

“Don’t be.” He filled a wineglass and handed it to her before picking up his own. “A toast. To our week ahead.”

“Our week.” She sipped her wine, grateful to have something to do with her hands.

“The emeralds match your eyes.” He sat next to her and stretched an arm along the back of the seat.

“The jewelry is exquisite, Max.” She touched the necklace. “You shouldn’t have.”

“A beautiful woman deserves beautiful baubles.”

“That makes it sound like you think I can be bought with shiny rocks.”

“Hardly.” He moved closer, touching one of her earrings. His fingertips skimmed down her shoulder to her arm.

Butterflies danced in her stomach.

“I want to hold you, Ellie,” he said. “Feel you in my arms again.”