Baddest Bad Boys(86)

He still wanted her in his life. But only if it were her choice. Which meant giving her the freedom to walk away. His feelings for Ellie weren’t simple. Or neat. Love never was. That self-admission had been difficult.

As expected, there was an outcry of resistance at his corporate headquarters over his decision to release her stock. “What if she sells out?” his attorney, also a good friend, had asked. “You could be saddled with a partner with different goals. Or worse, a hidden agenda.”

“I’ll deal with it. No matter what, I’ll always be the majority shareholder,” Max had replied.

What he didn’t tell his attorney was that Ellie had given him an envelope last night, containing their original signed agreements. “It’s part of our deal,” she’d said. The deal. Well, he planned to hand those papers back to her today, along with his new ones.

Then he’d offer her a totally different proposal.

Which reminded him: he wanted to leave early and stop by a jeweler, too.

Ellie couldn’t stay in bed after Max left. He had woken her the same way every morning, coaxing her up from sleep with his body before driving her crazy.

This morning had been different. Their lovemaking had been so excruciatingly slow and tender, she had gotten tears in her eyes. The tears returned now just thinking about it, making her glad she was alone.

Last night she’d been upset to learn Max had a business meeting scheduled for today. But after he’d explained how important the Japanese merger was, she’d felt bad for, well, pouting. That’s when she’d decided to go ahead and give him the stock documents.

She’d gone to her room and returned with a thick envelope. He’d set it aside, unopened, refusing to discuss it before their week was up. She knew he assumed the envelope held the signed copies of the business proposal he’d sent weeks ago. How shocked would he be to learn she’d reworked the papers? That she intended to sign over all her shares of DSI to him?

Their deal had nothing to do with it. It’s what she’d intended all along. The problem was that now she felt bad using the shares for sexual exploitation. She loved Max. And while that particular self-acknowledgment hadn’t been too shocking, admitting it had uncovered a bigger truth. This morning, when Max had made love to her so gently, she’d realized she’d never stopped loving him.

And one day, one week, would never get Max out of her system.

What the hell did she do now?

Ellie checked her e-mail, relieved to note that the stalker-creep hadn’t sent any new missives. Had Max’s presence at the beach house that night scared him off for good? She hoped so. Being here had certainly put the incident far from her mind.

Since Max was off working, she decided to follow suit and tried to work on the design proposal for Peter Fourakis’s hotel chain. But everything she came up with felt canned, forced. Which was frustrating, considering what a job like this could do for relaunching her career. A nod from a job this large, with Peter’s backing, would go a long way toward erasing her social stigma. And guaranteed opportunities like this were rare. This job was in the bag, Peter had told her.

She frowned. That was part of the problem, wasn’t it? Peter would accept anything she came up with. And for all the wrong reasons. While he was one of the few people not interested in her wealth, he was interested in her stake in DeLuca Shipping. Max and Peter had been intense rivals since their college days.

Damn it, she was weary of people wanting—and in some cases, not wanting—to do business with her because of the DeLuca name. Couldn’t anyone understand that she wanted to make it on her own merit?

Maybe it was time to put her money where her mouth was. Sitting forward, she deleted the proposal. She would send Peter a note of explanation later.

Restless, she changed into a swimsuit and went for a walk on the beach. The weather was perfect, the sun bright. Seagulls marched along the sand, moving in unison as she approached. Then, when she got too near, they’d flap away, landing behind her. If only her problems could be sidestepped as easily.

She bent down to pick up a seashell. The sound of a boat motor caught her attention. She held a hand above her eyes, and saw the telltale white breakwater of a large powerboat headed to the island. Max! She felt a rush of warmth low in her abdomen and headed to the dock to wait.

Then she had a better idea. He had remarked last night that the only place they hadn’t made love yet was in the swimming pool. She intended to fix that.

At the house, she went to her room long enough to brush her hair and grab a towel. She had time, as the boat hadn’t docked yet and had to be moored and secured.

On the patio, she angled one of the lounge chairs closer to the library doors, wanting to make certain that if Max went to his office first, he’d spot her. As she spread her towel out, she recalled their lovemaking from this morning. Max had said he couldn’t get enough of her. Did he mean that?

She stretched out in the chair, then impulsively stripped off her top. If he came in with business still on his mind, she intended to distract him.

It seemed like hours passed before she heard one of the doors open. She had her eyes closed, and imagined Max looking at her. Her nipples tightened. Unable to stand it any longer, she sat up and smiled.

Then froze.

Bridgette St. Regis stood in the opening, her finger pointed at Ellie. Beside Bridgette was a man with a camera, busily snapping photographs of her. Ellie realized she had left the front door unlocked, thinking of Max walking in.