Page 14 of Her Reclusive Beast

And something about that sends me over the edge. My body bucks in his hold and I cry out as wetness floods my pussy, soaking my panties and I’m sure extending to my jeans. The suddenness of it has me slightly panicked until Max pulls me close once again, his hands going back to running soothing paths up and down my back even as my pussy spasms at its very emptiness. I whimper into his chest, slightly embarrassed and yet knowing there’s no reason to be. That was, after all, exactly what he wanted.

“So very beautiful, Jenna. I knew you would be. Now I promised an answer for every orgasm, didn’t I? So what question would you like to ask?”

His voice is soft and gentle, but the reminder of a transaction has me stiffening again. Why does he feel the need to mete out information instead of simply sharing in a conversation?

In a fit of rebellion, I ask him that very question, half expecting him to clam up and set me down again.

He does go very still before a chuckle begins to work its way up beneath my cheek, eventually erupting for a brief moment.

Max kisses me gently on the forehead, seeming to linger for a long moment with his firm lips pressed against my skin, before responding to my question. “Words are precious, aren’t they, Jenna? You’re one of the few people who truly understands that. I’m not hoarding my answers so much as protecting them from uninterested parties. Oversharing is a little too common in the world today, yes?”

I nod reluctantly. It’s true. I know far too much about my roommates’ personal lives, considering we only cross paths for a few hours a day.

“I’d rather not overwhelm you, baby. To be so busy rushing to some imaginary finish line that the two of us are moving at different speeds. If we are both equally invested in the outcome, then we will arrive in tandem.”

Suddenly, what seemed coldly transactional a few minutes ago feels like a cherished gift. I snuggle into his embrace, inhaling his warm male scent. He smells of security and pine needles. “Guess I’d better make a list then,” I mumble.

Max chuckles again, running his hand slowly down my back. “I expect nothing less,” he murmurs before tilting my chin up with a firm finger and claiming my mouth once again.

Melting. That’s what my body feels like doing as his tongue teases the tip of mine. He’s not overpowering me. If anything, he’s holding back, giving me just a taste of what he’s thinking about. I want to know it all.

A moment later and Max sets me on my feet again. “Enough of that temptation, Jenna. It’s time to get to work.”

I blink in consternation. “I just quit my job,” I remind him.

“And started a new one. Why don’t you look over your new client’s manuscript and then we can discuss terms after dinner?”

My mouth falls open. “You have another manuscript?”

Max smirks before inclining his head ever so slightly. “I do. You can read it now or stay for another orgasm.”

My head spins. I don’t like those choices at all. Frowning, I place my hands on my hips.

Max bursts out laughing with surprised delight. “My Jenna, you are an absolute treasure. It’s a good thing my ego is soothed by either choice. Your inability to choose is priceless. So I will make the decision for you. Read the manuscript while I take care of some correspondence. Then we’ll renegotiate around lunchtime.”

He doesn’t wait for my acknowledgment, simply leading me back downstairs to the sunny office. This time, he takes me to the large leather armchair in the corner with the matching ottoman practically large enough to sleep on. I settle into the luxurious upholstery with a nervous twitch. New manuscripts can go so many different ways and something tells me Max went out on a limb with whatever this is.

A typed manuscript secured in the upper left corner with a purple binder clip lands on my lap. I stare up at him in astonishment. “This one is typed?”

He nods. “If you hadn’t come, then it would be going out with my agent to new houses. Since you’re here… we will decide its future together.”

Max turns and settles behind his desk, instantly moving his intense focus to the contents of the screen, leaving me to stare at him in bemusement. Eventually, out of sheer curiosity, I glance down at the pages on my lap. It’s not his usual beginning. Infact, it’s nothing like it. It’s gentle, with just a hint of stronger emotions beneath the surface.

Flipping the first few pages, I scan quickly. This is a romance. Not extra drippy and certainly not a romcom, but… sweet. I go back to the first page and begin reading more carefully.

Just as the two thirty-something characters are sizing each other up with some intensity, a large hand waves in front of my face. Irritated, I glance up to Max’s smirking face. His eyebrows arch. “It’s noon, baby. You should at least get up and move around a little. Do you want lunch now or later?”

Again, my heart is torn. But he’s right, I’ve been sitting completely still for at least an hour. “Okay, lunch,” I acquiesce with a sigh.

Max nods. “I thought we’d do a picnic.”

Flummoxed by the lack of formality in that suggestion, I follow him out of the office and down the hall. There’s a picnic basket already waiting on the kitchen counter, along with a folded blanket. I can’t remember the last time I went on a picnic, but I was probably around eight? And we didn’t do it in the backyard.

Max strides purposefully down a faint path in the grass leading towards the back of the property. I stare back at the kitchen door I’ve just closed behind me. “Shouldn’t we lock it?” I call.

He turns his head to smile back at me. “No need. We aren’t going far.”

And this isn’t New York, I remind myself, scurrying to catch up with him. Across a small meadow and up the rise on the other side, Max finally sets down the basket while I stare in wonder. We’re standing on a slight bluff overlooking a protected cove of a lake. Water was this close the whole time, and I had no idea. It’s completely still except for the graduated ripples as two loons glide past, eyeing me suspiciously with their eery red eyes.

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