Page 15 of Maximus

“A dog? Not a cat?” Max asked, surprised.

“No, why? Are you a cat person?” Elena asked.

“I’m not, but I thought all women loved cats.” He frowned. His sister and mom sure did.

“That’s lumping all women into a category. Would you do that with all paintings or all … computers?” She took a sip of tea as she watched him.

He frowned even harder and then made a face. “No, I wouldn’t, and I’m not sure what led me to do that now. I guess that kiss must have short-circuited my brain a bit.”

The blush on her cheeks grew deep, and she smiled. “It was very nice.”

Max clutched his chest. “Nice? Oh, that’s the death sentence of relationships.”

Elena laughed, and so did he. He took another sip of his tea and almost choked when he saw Malice and Reaper walk into the café.

“Would you excuse me? I’ll be right back,” Max asked and wiped his mouth.

Elena’s face fell. “Did I do something wrong?”

He settled back into his chair and put his hand on hers. “No. I want to obliterate the person who made you feel so insecure. I need to use the facilities.”

She ducked her head. “Oh, sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ll be right back.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it before standing and making his way to the front of the café. Reaper looked up and saw him. He elbowed Malice, who frowned and glanced up from the menu he was reading.

Max went into the bathroom and washed his hands. When he came back out, the Shadows were gone. He didn’t need Elena to recognize either of the men. They enjoyed their dinner and talked of nothing of consequence, but the conversation never dulled. He enjoyed the way her brain worked. She wasn’t predictable, and he didn’t get bored talking to her. He was mentally present at all times like he was with his family. The connection he’d made with her was rare.

When they left the café, Max paused on the sidewalk. “May I call you a car tonight?”

She smiled and shook her head. “I walk home every night. Sochi is safe, the promenade is well-lit, and people here walk everywhere. Thank you for asking.”

“Some night, you’ll allow me to see you home safely.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, not the metal card he’d given her when they first met. “This is my cell phone number. Please call me when you get home.”

Taking the card, she put it in her pocket. “I will.”

“Dinner tomorrow?” As he put his hands on her hips, her soft form charged the electric bolt he knew would land in his gut and linger far past when she left.

“I’d like that, but let me call you with the time. The preparation for the show has started to turn, and I’m not sure when the workers consigned to re-foam the crates will be done.”

“Then I’ll say goodnight.” He lowered for a kiss, and yes, that bolt of electricity damn near jolted him to the moon. He teased her lips with his tongue, and she folded into his embrace, opening for him. The taste of her filled his senses, morphing that bolt of electricity into a nuclear power plant sucker punch to the gut. He wasn’t the one to move away first that time. She pressed her hands against his chest lightly, and he groaned, hating the thought of leaving the amazing deliciousness of her kiss. Herelented and dropped his forehead against hers. “Dear God, tell me you feel what’s happening here.”

“Feel it? Oh, yes. I feel it. I do.” She moved and looked up at him. “Maybe tomorrow night you can walk me home?”

Max stared at her. “Please don’t play with me, Elena. I’m on foreign ground here.” Hell, he was in the wilds of an uncharted universe’s vast cosmic ocean. What was happening now wasn’t foreign; it was impossible, yet there he was—lost without an anchor to stop his star and hers from colliding.

She nodded. “So am I. Perhaps we can find a way forward together. Tomorrow night.”

He dropped for a light taste of her before stepping back, trying to break whatever magic she’d cast over him. “Call me when you get home.”

She nodded and bit her bottom lip, which did some crazy things to his already on-edge body. Then she smiled and turned, walking away from him. He watched until she turned and waved at a bend in the promenade that would take her from his view. He lifted his hand and turned around. He made it about thirty feet before laughing. “Can you be any more obvious?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide,” Mal said as he walked out of the shadows. “This is why we need you to wear your comm device.”

“What? A run-in at the café? I think we managed just fine without comm devices.” Max glanced at Malice.

“Avoidable if we’d known you were there, and Con could have told us.” Mal made his point again.

“I’m not going to have Con in my ear, but I’ve something for him to run to the ground.”

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