MAX
Her heart is roaring beneath my palm, racing, thudding, throwing a fit.
My heart is doing the same.
I gather her nearer, closing my eyes and inhaling her.
Damn. I could devour her for hours.
I am.
I will.
The kiss stretches on to eternity.
Perfect.
Sweet.
Her lips—
I’ve fantasized about what they’d taste like, feel like against mine.
Nothing I could have imagined lives up to the real deal.
She’s so soft against me. So delectably sensual.
I knew we had chemistry, but I didn’t expect the strange, crushing surge that’s sweeping through my chest. An indescribable feeling that tells me I would burn Stinton Group to the ground for the woman in my arms.
It’s the most frightening thing I’ve ever felt in my life.
Even as I realize it, I can’t let her go. Shadows move around us as I crush her mouth with the pressure of my kiss, needing her to feel just a taste of the chaos she’s inflicted on me.
Her moan filters through my ears.
Music.
A glorious rhapsody.
It leaves me breathless, numb, like the entire length of my body has been plucked and is vibrating at a frequency that only Dawn Banner can hear. A quivering heat that floods me from my head to my toes.
She curls her fingers into my shirt, dragging me closer as if she wants me to smother the rest of her body the way I’m smothering her lips.
I answer by rolling over her, pressing the weight of my body into her and pushing her deeper into the blanket.
Holy crap.
Lightning explodes between us, an electricity that threatens to singe every tree within a ten-mile radius.
I ease back to look into her eyes. Make sure I’m not dreaming.
Her sultry gaze drips over me like honey. Wet and inviting.
I’m trapped in this woman.
The way she makes me feel alive.
The way I want to protect her and Beth with everything in me.
The way my entire world is ripping open.
How the hell did I resist her this long?
I smirk when she wraps her arms around me and pulls me down again. Our lips meet in a slow, exploring kiss. But I quicken the pace of it as a buzzing starts in my veins. It’s passion. And it’s whipping around, wreaking havoc in my body and on my mind.
I tilt her head forcefully. Trapping her to the blanket, I pin her down with my leg. My hands hold her face in place as I ravish her.
Gorgeous.
Breathtaking.
She’s more beautiful than the stars lighting up the sky tonight.
Dawn places her hand on my chest when I try to shrug her shorts down her legs.
I pause, not rolling off her.
Hell no.
Desire is eating me alive.
Would need a crowbar to pry me off this woman.
She pins her lips together, gazing into my eyes. “Max.”
I draw a deep, shaky breath as her tongue curls over my name. It’s a raw and vulnerable sound.
My body hardens.
There’s no resisting her.
It’s a lost cause.
I’m absolutely screwed.
“I can’t make the same mistake again.” She shakes her head. “I can’t afford to. I have a child to consider.”
My body runs cold. Is she rejecting me?
She plays with the hem of her shirt. “This is… we…”
“What?” I push up on my hands so I’m hovering over her.
“The two of us aren’t good… I mean, we aren’t…”
“If you can’t finish the lie, then don’t lie at all,” I growl.
Her eyes flicker away.
I curl my fingers into fists. “We aren’t the same, but we both know that. It hasn’t stopped us from being drawn to each other. And I love Beth. I haven’t known her long, but I know enough to say she’s incredible.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters.”
“You’re her uncle,” Dawn hisses the word like it’s scandalous.
I shrug. That’s not something I can change. And it obviously bothers her more than it bothers me.
“It’s not like you and I are related,” I tell her, running my fingers over her forehead. The fact that she’s clear-headed enough to have this conversation reveals how stubborn she is. I can barely keep my thoughts straight. “It’s not illegal.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
She nibbles on her bottom lip.
I press my thumb there and free her savage mouth from her teeth. “Dawn, I can’t change that I’m Trevor’s brother.”
“I know.”
“Then?”
“We don’t make sense,” she says.
Laughter rumbles in my chest. “Since when does love make sense?”
Her eyebrows arch.
I realize what I’ve said and my cheeks burn.
It’s too late to walk it back.
I’ve said it.
It’s the truth.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Max.”
My eyebrows thunder together. “You challenge me. You force me to consider a new perspective. I respect you. Everything you’ve accomplished on your own. Everything that you are. What else should I call it?”
“What if this is just a temporary passion?”
“Oh come on, Dawn.”
“I’m not a supermodel, okay? I’m not the belle of the ball. I don’t do schmoozing and hosting parties. I can’t fit into your glitzy world.”
“The hell? What does hosting a party have to do with us?”
“If all you want is a pretty little thing on your arm, then let’s not play this game.”
“What game? You’re the one who kissed me first.”
She opens her mouth to argue, realizes I’m right and then her eyes glitter. “Fine. Then let’s call this a mistake. You can go and sweet-talk one of the women in your social circle. Go ask Vanya to introduce you to her supermodel friends—”
Frustration makes my voice low and brash. “Why would I want a supermodel?” I lift her fingers, trace my thumb over the stains that can’t quite leave her hands. “No one looks half as sexy in a pair of over-alls as you. And watching you work on cars is enough to make my blood boil. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted you while you were bent over the hood of a truck. And these hands.” I capture them. “These are the most beautiful hands I’ve ever—”
I’m gone before her mouth clamps on mine.
Damn.
There’s nothing gentle about this kiss.
It’s as aggressive as every argument we’ve ever had since we met, and yet so much deeper—lips tangling, nipping, warring and charging between desperate breaths. I’m bruising her with my bites, with every desperate sweep that makes me intimately acquainted with the inside of her mouth.
The more I taste of her the more I want to sample.
She moans again.
My brain explodes and my blood turns to molten lava.
She steals my breath.
This woman.
My hands slide over her hips as my world turns buttery and warm.
Tongue.
Teeth.
Fireworks.
Joy.
Any bit of doubt that lingered in my head is obliterated by the taste of her, by the fingers that dig into my back like she’s trying to leave an imprint in my skin. By the heat of her body that meets mine in a roll of temptation and desire.
It’s way more than just wanting her.
It’s wanting her to the point that I would give up everything for her.
Dangerous.
I knew she was dangerous from the moment our eyes first met.
Oh, but it’s worth it.
I take control of the kiss and let the howling storm of need turn my touch a little rougher. I nip at her neck and she scrapes my back with her nails, taunting me with a pain so delicious that I almost can’t handle it.
I’m thinking of what body part I should start kissing on next, when I feel two hands pressing into my chest insistently.
I don’t ignore it.
Easing back, I look down at Dawn.
Her eyes are two shining jewels in a face kissed by the sun, the moon and all the stars. So small. So soft. So fragile.
My heart is crashing in my chest like I’m falling off a sugar rush.
“Slow. I want to go slow,” she mutters.
It takes me a minute to realize she’s not asking me to go slowly in bed, which I would do in a freaking heartbeat.
I tilt my head to the side.
She’s addictive.
I’m obsessed with her.
Slow? Can I do that?
“Beth is…” She presses her lips together. “You’re saying all the right things, but I can’t take chances anymore. I can’t just jump into this blindly. There’s a lot to consider.”
I play her words over and over in my mind. Hear the fear in them. See the way she’s holding herself back.
It makes me want to fight harder.
I get that she’s scared.
Trevor broke her trust.
Maybe the men after my brother did too. I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.
Nothing else matters but the future I’m going to build with Dawn Banner.
Everything. I want everything from her.
She ignites a desire I’ve never felt before and I’m not going to give it up for anything.
Dawn breathes out slowly. “I mean that, Max. I don’t want to rush anything. If that’s a problem, then tell me right now. Nothing… nothing’s changed between us. We can get up and pretend this never happened.”
If I didn’t know her so well, I’d be offended.
But I know she’s just protecting herself. I know why she’s protecting herself too. She didn’t get this far by being weak and caving to every pressure. She didn’t turn into the genius mechanic because she jumped into situations that might be dangerous for her.
I’m not dealing with an ordinary woman.
If I were, she’d be naked and purring for me already. She would have been bawling my name to the moon and begging me and the stars for mercy.
But if it were any other woman, my heart wouldn’t have been moved.
I’ve gone crazy for her because she’s Dawn.
She’s the rough-talking female mechanic who has no problems putting me and anyone else in their place. She doesn’t fit in my world of subordinates and people-pleasers. She’s not interested in me because of my money or my status. Hell, she’s probably wrestling with her feelings because of who I am.
It’s a cold slap to the face to know I can’t go any further than kissing tonight. But it hurts so freaking good because it’s Dawn.
And she’s already got me wrapped around her little finger.
I’ll take anything she dishes out.
I’ll do whatever she wants.
“Max?”
“I understand.” I slide my fingers over her dark face.
She starts to tremble. Those vicious lips are begging for a harsher punishment and I’m just the man to dole out the lesson. Within her boundaries, of course.
I take her bottom lip in and nip it with my teeth. “You don’t want me to gobble you up on the first night that I confess my feelings for you.”
“That’s not…”
“You don’t want me taking off your clothes,” I slide a finger down the zipper of her shorts, “until you’re sure that I’m not just playing around with you. You have a daughter to consider. You don’t have room to fool around.” I slide my thumb against her inner thigh. “Even if you want to.”
Her little hiss of need rips open a piece of me that I thought had gone dead a long time ago.
My lips arch up in what I know is a primal smile. “Fine, wolverine. For tonight, all we’ll do is kiss.” To confirm it, I press my lips to her forehead. “It’s enough that you know how I feel about you.”
Her fingers slide over the back of my neck. “When exactly did you start feeling this way about me?”
“I’m not sure.” I squint at the moon. “Was it when you tried to kill a man with a spanner?”
“Kill?” She lets out a disbelieving laugh.
“Or was it when you tried to slap me in the elevator?” I rub a circle into her hip.
“It sounds like you have a thing about violence.”
I smirk. “No, I think it started from the moment Hills called me and told me a crazy female mechanic locked them in a room and fixed my car in ten minutes when other professionals couldn’t do it in ten months.”
She flutters those thick lashes and I forget my own name. “I am pretty impressive, aren’t I?”
“Toot your own horn, darling. I don’t mind.”
She laughs and then gets serious.
I gaze down at her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
My heart pounds as I stare at her. She’s not exactly shouting her love for me from the rooftops, but she’s not pushing me away either. That’s a start.
“Max.” Her voice is an intimate thrum between us. “Max.”
“Keep saying my name like that and I won’t have a shred of self-restraint left, wolverine.”
She arches her back like someone yanked a string and wraps me in a hug. It takes everything inside me not to put my hands on her and maul every inch of her body.
Her eyes meet mine.
She smiles.
Siren.
Witch.
Maybe it’s written on my face.
Or maybe she’s trying to test me.
But I can see that she trusts me.
She trusts that she can push and tease and prod at me. She can moan into my neck with the ferocity of an exploding rock concert. She can run her hands down my chest and over my body like she owns every inch of it. She can kiss me and part her lips wider and fuse her tongue to mine, attacking me with savage delight.
And she knows I won’t do anything more.
I won’t push my hands down her pants or take any of her clothes off.
I’m not going to go beyond the pace that she set.
Never.
Because I care about her more than I care about my own lusts. More than I care about my schedule. Maybe even more than I care about Stinton Group.
I’ve given her that much power over me.
And she’s reveling in it.
When we’ve both run out of breath, we stop kissing and hug on the blanket.
I watch her smile more than I watch the stars and I promise myself that I’m never going to lose that trust, not if I can—
“Talking about Beth, you being her uncle and all, there’s something I want to ask you,” Dawn whispers, her head tucked against my side, “it’s about eight years ago, after I told Trevor I was pregnant.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
Ice crawls through my veins.
“Eight years ago?”
She rolls on her side and props her head up with her elbow. “Some lawyers knocked on my door in the early days of my pregnancy. They said they were from Stinton Group. They tried to get me to ‘take care of the problem’. Said that Trevor didn’t have any room in his life for a child and that I would be better off if I took their money and terminated my baby.” Her eyes get hard as flint. “They offered me cash to end Beth’s life.”
It hits me like a ton of bricks in that moment.
This is why she hates Stinton Group.
For some reason, I thought Trevor’s irresponsible behavior played a part in her hatred. Or maybe it was because our company had screwed her family over in one way or another. I thought there was a story about a business crumbling because we’d acquired it. I thought someone had lost their job or their house.
I didn’t know it was about Beth.
I didn’t know it was this personal.
My mouth falls open. Shut. Open again.
A pulsing horror sweeps through my veins and makes me speechless.
“From the shock on your face, I’m guessing you didn’t know about this.” She grits her teeth. “I knew it. It was Trevor who sent those lawyers, wasn’t it?” Her lips curl up in a snarl. “If he ever comes back, he better stay as far from me as possible.”
“Why?” I blink rapidly. My face is as pale as the moonlight and I inch away from her.
Guilt crawls into the space between us and lies down next to me, cold and slimy.
“Why?” She scrunches her nose.
“It was eight years ago. He might not be the same person he was then. He might not make those kinds of decisions anymore.”
“The fact that he might have changed does not rid him of the blame. I got the feeling those lawyers had done that before. It means Trevor’s been going around making those despicable offers to frightened, vulnerable women for years.”
Each word that flies from her mouth is a nail in my coffin.
“I could never forgive him for doing that. I couldn’t forgive anyone for doing something like that. It’s evil…”
I flinch.
“… It’s despicable.”
I cringe harder.
She looks up at me with her dark brown eyes. “You didn’t know anything about that, right?”
Panic builds in my throat.
I’m not the type of man who tiptoes around the things I’ve done for Stinton Group. I’ve always been proud that, under my management, the company saw growth at a breakneck speed. It proves that I’m not the failure the family would like to paint me out to be. It proves that I heeded mom’s advice. I’m taking everything that belongs to me.
“Max?”
This time, when she says my name, it feels like a surprise gunshot to the chest.
How is it that Dawn Banner’s turned me inside out?
How is it that I’ve changed so much I’d spend every cent in my bank account to capture the moon for her if she asked?
But she’s not asking for the moon now. No, those dark brown eyes are asking if I’m the type of man who would pressure her into getting an abortion just so I didn’t have to deal with her baby having ties to Stinton Group. Just so Beth… so my niece, wouldn’t be alive.
My chest rises and falls rapidly.
“No.” The word jumps out of my mouth before I’ve thought it through. “I had no idea.”
I’m glad when Sunny calls and says that Beth wants to go home, cutting our night short. Glad when Dawn drops me off at a pass as she hurries to get her daughter. Glad when her truck gets smaller in my line of sight.
Although ‘glad’ really isn’t the word I want to use.
More like gut-punched.
I lied to her.
I looked the woman I’m crazy about in the eyes and I couldn’t even fathom telling her the truth.
It’s not like I’m a saint.
I’ve done much worse in my stint to keep Stinton Group above water. I’ve bluffed my way through M&As and played hardball with investors. I’m well acquainted with bending the truth to my own will if it’ll help me in business. But I always brushed it off to the game before. I could remain detached and unmoved.
That’s impossible in this situation.
Dawn is barely giving me a chance, and my first act in our relationship was to pull the wool over her eyes.
If that’s not the dirtiest thing…
No, the dirtiest thing was sending those lawyers in the first place.
Damn. I can’t imagine the way she’d look at me if she knew.
I run my hands over my face.
They’re shaking.
I call Hills to pick me up because I don’t want to catch a cab right now. I don’t want to go home either.
Evil.
Despicable.
Those were the words Dawn threw at me.
She didn’t know they were meant for me. Didn’t know she was slicing a knife through my gut with every insult.
Trucks go by.
The wind blows.
I see none of it. Feel none of it.
Hills pulls to the side of the road and blows his horn.
I startle.
He opens the car and jogs over to me. Reaching out, my best friend shrieks, “Did you get stabbed?”
“What?”
“Gun shot? What is it?” His eyes rove over me. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t.”
“What?”
“I’m fine,” I growl. Pushing him back, I lumber to my feet and stomp to his car.
Hills watches me with a surprised expression. “You were hunched over, looking like death. What the hell was I supposed to think?”
I grit my teeth and stare straight ahead.
Hills gets into the car and angrily grabs his seatbelt. “Enjoyed playing hooky today? I hope you know that I barely got the board off your scent. You’ve never taken a day off. Ever. Everyone kept asking if you had a terminal illness.”
“I told Dawn how I felt about her tonight,” I blurt.
Hills’s eyes pop out of his face. His fingers slither over the steering wheel as he processes. “Okay… did she reject you? Is that why you look so terrible?”
“No, she didn’t reject me. Not outright.” I roll a hand over my face. “She asked me if I was the one who sent the lawyers eight years ago.”
He jerks on the wheel and the car goes flying into the next lane.
A car zooms toward us, beeping like crazy.
“Hills!”
He rights the vehicle, his chest heaving. Slamming on the brakes, he glances over at me. “What did you say?”
“What could I say to that?” I roughly pop the top button of my shirt. “I couldn’t admit it.”
He curses under his breath.
My gut churns.
Scum.
Yeah, I deserve that label.
“Maybe you should break up with her.”
My eyes narrow sharply.
Hills lifts a hand. “Think about it. You’ll always be nervous about her finding out. You’ll never be happy tiptoeing around a bomb that could go off any minute. Better to cut your losses and find someone else.”
That’s impossible.
If I could have moved on that easily from Dawn, I wouldn’t have let her know my feelings in the first place. She snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking. Got under my skin before I could build a defense against her.
Giving her up is not an option.
“No.” I curl my fingers into fists. “That’s not going to work.” Inhaling deeply, I let my mind settle into a comfortable, problem-solving rhythm. I’ve been handling Stinton Group for years. When you’re steering a huge conglomerate, there’s no such thing as smooth sailing. I’ve handled everything that comes my way. This is no different. Squeezing my eyes shut, I mumble, “I’m going to tell her.”
Hills arches both eyebrows. “You are?”
“But not now.” I relax my fingers. “I’m going to show her who I am. Show her that she and Beth are everything to me. That they have nothing to fear from me. When I’ve convinced her that she can trust me,” I jut my chin down, “I’ll tell her then.”
Hills scoffs. “That’s sounds like a terrible plan.”
It might be.
But it’s the only one I’ve got.
I don’t sleep that night.
My insides curdle with guilt when I get a goodnight text from Dawn.
When unease haunts my dreams, I get up and start plotting out all the things I’m going to do for her.
I have a spreadsheet, project timeline, and email drafted to my accountant by three a.m.
By four a.m., I’m at the gym, gripping weights and trying to convince myself that lying to Dawn will totally work out.
At five-thirty, I’m outside the most famous cafe in the city, waiting for the doors to open so I can snag Dawn and Beth croissants and piping hot strudels.
At six, I leave the breakfast on their door and send Dawn a text.
She didn’t like how grand breakfast by Chef Aimsley was.
Fine.
But she can’t refuse a homemade meal that costs about fifteen bucks.
I’ve got an early morning meeting with the board of Stinton Investment, so I don’t have a free moment until the afternoon.
“Hills,” I stride into my office and snag my keys, “does Dawn have any promotions today?”
“She’s supposed to be doing a photoshoot for that luxury toolbox brand. After that, she’ll be on the Shane Johnson Garage show.”
“Perfect.” I scoop my keys up and stride past him.
Hills stops me with a hand. “Max, I really don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“She’s not gonna find out.”
“She’s a distraction. And a liability. If the board finds out you two are together—”
“There’s no rule against me dating Dawn.”
“It’s not about you dating her. It’s about how they’ll try to tear into her if they find out how much she means to you. Dawn has a daughter. It means she’s got a really big weakness.”
“My niece isn’t a weakness.”
“Anybody you love that much is a weakness.” He gives me a pointed stare.
“Just come out and say it, Hills. Dancing around the point has never been your strong suit.”
“Fine.” He spits. “Look, this is all starting to feel like a game of Jenga and the whole thing is about to come crashing down.”
“I have it under control.”
“Like hell you do! I’ve never seen you act this way, Stinton. You’re obsessed with this woman. She’s taking over your life, and it shows. You’re not thinking rationally. You’re desperate. It’s unlike you. You don’t second-guess yourself. You barge in. You get it done. You leave without apology. Seeing you act this way worries me. It’s only a matter of time before you make a mistake.”
“I appreciate your concern, Hills, but I plan on having Dawn and Stinton Group. I won’t give either of them up. So relax.”
“How can I relax when you don’t even have a decent plan?” Hills mumbles.
He’s got a point.
But I’ll never admit it.
I steer him aside and head to Dawn’s photoshoot because I need to see her. Need it like I need air.
Jefferson is there on the sidelines. Since he has a soft spot for Dawn, I assigned him to accompany her to these events. I know that he’ll look out for her if she’s put in a dangerous position. Although I don’t like the way he looks at her, he hasn’t done anything untoward, so I haven’t mentioned it yet.
“Mr. Stinton.” Jefferson glances up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”’
“Just checking in.”
The director glances at me and then doubles-back. “Stinton, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Not here to interrupt.” I wave at Dawn who narrows her eyes in my direction. I gesture to her. “Carry on.”
She rolls her eyes.
Seeing that attitude makes me smile. My gaze runs over her as the photoshoot continues. She’s wearing her jumper halfway. The arms are tied around her waist along with a plaid jacket. Her top is a clingy white vest that shows off her curves. A curly ponytail swings with every toss of her head.
She’s a vision.
I dig my fingers into the chair, watching her work in front of the camera and marveling at how natural she is as she poses.
When the photographer stops to refresh the set, I notice Dawn touch her throat and cough a little.
My eyebrows draw together and I frown. “She’s thirsty.”
No one hears me.
I raise my voice. “Someone get her some water.”
The crew members stop and stare at me.
Dawn does too.
Confusion sweeps across her face.
“Hey! Get her some water!” The director yells, gesturing to one of the crew members.
A second later, someone flies across the room and hands Dawn a bottle of water.
She takes it with a dip of her head and then sends me an annoyed look that seems to say what’s with you?
I jut my chin in her direction what are you going to do about it?
The director glances at me. “Can we start, Mr. Stinton?”
I nod. Fold my arms over my chest. Watch Dawn intently until the shoot is over.
When it’s done, she slants me a dark look and then pulls out her phone.
I get a text a second later.
DAWN: Stop staring at me like that.
ME: Like what?
DAWN: Like you’re going to bite off the head of anyone who talks to me.
I lift my gaze to hers.
She mouths, “Relax.”
Warmth explodes in my chest. Just like that, in a freaking second, she flips a switch.
All the anxiety, all the tension, the tightening in my chest—it goes away.
She’s the antidote to all the poison. What the hell am I going to do without her?
My phone pings with a message.
DAWN: What are you doing after this?
I’m about to text her back when the screen shifts to green and a phone icon starts dancing in front of me.
Every muscle in my body pulls tight when I see that it’s the police calling.
I grip the arm of my chair, debating whether I should answer.
The phone goes quiet.
Then it starts ringing again.
I head outside to take the call. Something tells me I’ll need the privacy.
“This is Max Stinton,” I bark, staring out at the trees just beyond the warehouse.
“Mr. Stinton.”
The air pressure gets hotter. Makes it hard to breathe.
“We have some news about Trevor Stinton.”
“What… happened to him?”
“He was located on an island off the coast of Madrid. He was involved in a bar fight and got arrested by the local police.”
I stumble back.
I can’t think.
Can’t breathe.
I shake my head. “Where is he now?”
“In the custody of the international police.” He pauses. “Mr. Stinton, they’re bringing your brother home.”
