Page 38 of Contracted and Claimed By The Boss

It was almost a relief to leave each morning with Reg and Amanda, just so Paige could take some time to breathe, to unwind, before coming home and being alone with Max.

Their routine had even managed to push thoughts of her parents’ book from Paige’s mind—almost completely. There was still the odd moment when it burst into her brain, the knowledge that it was now published, on shelves, being read by people, and she would feel a visceral pain radiate through her chest, so she would clutch at her breast and breathe deeply until it passed and she remembered that she was here, that she was safe, far from the influence of the people who’d given her life and some of life’s toughest lessons.

Here, there was just Max.

At first, they’d spent the days out. Doing things. Swimming. Exploring the oyster farm, so that Max could teach her about something that was so new to Paige. She’d known that pearls came from oyster shells, but hadn’t understood quite what a laborious and careful process harvesting them was, particularly when done humanely, and, watching Max talk about it, she couldn’t help but perceive his passion for the art of it.

But as the days went by, and the pressure between them built, eventually they reached a point where it was harder and harder to leave the house. Yes, the farm was fascinating and compelling, but it involved seeing other people and being out in public and neither relished that. Not when they could be alone.

The moment Paige returned from the school run, and the front door was closed, Max was there, pressing her against it and kissing her, his hands roaming her body as though they hadn’t seen each other for years and years, as though a drought had been building and this, finally, were the storm come to quench the land. In reality, it had only been hours, and it shouldn’t have been physically possible to want and need like this but, oh, how they did! She yearned for him on every level, and evidently he felt the same, because there was no restraint in their lovemaking. They were each as desperate as the other.

They often didn’t make it upstairs to a bedroom. His office was closer, or there was the floor in the hallway. It didn’t matter. So long as they found their way back to each other, the location didn’t come into it.

Each day passed far too quickly. Paige had set an alarm on her phone, just so she didn’t let time get away from her and forget to collect Amanda—a very real risk given the level of distraction Max presented.

Ten days after their new routine had begun, on a startlingly hot and humid afternoon, Paige went with Reg to collect Amanda, glowing from the inside out, pleasure bubbling inside her as anticipation built already, for later that night.

But when Amanda got in the car, slamming the door behind her, and burst into tears, every single thought of Max and romance fled from Paige’s head.

‘What’s happened?’ Paige asked, but Amanda sat there silently, staring out of the window, arms crossed, tears leaking from her eyes and rolling slowly down her cheeks. It felt like a torturously slow drive home but finally Reg pulled the car into the drive and Amanda bolted out the moment he came to a stop, running up the steps and inside without a backwards glance.

‘I—Thank you,’ Paige murmured, face pale as she stepped from the car and walked towards the house, tossing over possibilities in her mind, trying to imagine what could possibly have happened.

Max stood in the door to his office, and even then, when their eyes met, Paige felt a crackle of electric energy fire through her blood. She ignored it.

‘Amanda—’

‘I saw. Why?’

Paige shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

He sighed heavily. ‘I’ll go talk to her.’

Paige put out her hand. ‘I’ll go.’ She squeezed his hand with her own. ‘Let me try. I just have a feeling this is something I can help with. Do you mind?’

He looked uncertain but, after a few moments, nodded. When she went to pull away though, he flipped his hand, easily capturing hers in his. ‘She can be fierce when she’s in these moods. Don’t let her get to you.’

Paige’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Max Stone, are you actually being protective of me?’

Something shifted in his eyes—surprise? And then guardedness, as he lifted one shoulder half defensively. ‘Just a warning.’

‘Consider me warned,’ she said gently. Again, she tried to move away but, instead of letting go, he pulled her closer and pressed the lightest of kisses to the tip of her nose.

After everything they’d shared, all their intimacies, it was this kiss that had the power to take her breath away and make her toes and fingers tingle, to steal her breath, all her breath, and give her knees the shakes.

‘Good luck.’ He pulled back then, putting physical space between them but also changing his stature completely so he was somehow stronger, more imposing, less familiar to her.

Paige simply smiled, careful not to show any of her thoughts. ‘Fingers crossed.’

Much later that night, having eaten a quiet dinner alone with Amanda in the downstairs play area, and shared a real, meaningful conversation with her about what had been going on in Amanda’s life, Paige finally understood, and knew she needed to explain to Max.

‘She’s being teased,’ Paige said gently, curled up on the daybed on the veranda, so close to Max she was practically in his lap. It was late. Amanda had been asleep for over an hour, and Max and Paige were in their favourite place, outside, staring up at the starlit sky accompanied by the orchestra of night birds and the rolling, crashing waves of the ocean. Every sense came alive inside Paige out here; being this close to Max supercharged it all.

‘Teased?’ He responded quickly, loudly, his body tensing in a way Paige felt. ‘What the actual hell? By whom?’

‘Just some girls at school,’ Paige murmured. ‘It’s not uncommon at this age. I’ve emailed her teacher and headmistress. I’m going to meet with them to discuss it, but it sounds reasonably benign—’

‘Benign, my ass. You’ve seen her moods. Are you telling me that’s because some awful girls are taking their own self-esteem issues out on Amanda?’

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