Page 78 of The CEO's Revenge

“Where’s Daddy?” I asked them.

“He’s collecting seashells,” they chorused, in their sweet little voices.

I woke up to the warm sensation of soft lips on my skin and smiled sleepily. Only the wisps of my beautiful dream remained. With a sigh I rolled into Max’s embrace. “Their mouths were very red. They must have been eating cherries,” I mumbled.

“Who?” Max asked.

“Our children. I dreamed of them. Twins. A boy and a girl,” I whispered.

He stilled, and his voice became serious. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“No, but I might be soon.”

He nodded slowly. “Good, because there’s nothing I’d like more than a boy and a girl.”

I grinned up at him. “Yeah?”

He grinned back, only his grin was very, very wolfish. I knew what happened to me when he smiled like that.

“I’m hungry. Is it time to go down for dinner?” I asked.

“Yes, but you smell like sex. We can’t have all the cabana boys swarming over you.”

“And whose fault is it I smell like that?”

“Mine,” he agreed readily, his eyes speculative. I knew what he was thinking.

“If you feed me well, I’ll love you long time tonight,” I said in my fake Bangkok accent.

He laughed and unpinned me from under him. “Off you go to the shower before I change my mind.”

I vaulted out of the bed and hurried to the gorgeous marble bathroom. I let the warm jet flow over me as I marveled at how lucky I was. Wrapping a large towel around me I went back to the bedroom. Max was nowhere in sight, but I could hear him on the phone in the living room.

I dressed carefully. The dress I had selected was a gorgeous silk wrap around with a halter neckline. It ebbed and flowed around my calves in a mixture of browns and blues. The bronze high-heeled slippers matched perfectly. Gold earrings and a delicate bracelet completed my ensemble. I kept my make-up minimal as usual and was just spritzing on perfume when Max called out to me.

“Ready, babe?”

“Ready.”

I stepped out into the living room and Max was waiting for me. He whistled softly when he saw me. He held out his hand. “Come on, my little Thai Princess. Food awaits.”

Downstairs, I was stunned into silence to find the entire outdoor seating had been reserved by Max. The whole area was awash with candles and hurricane lamps. I could see that one table had been set for two. Smiling waiters hovered.

“Heck, I didn’t smell that bad, did I?” I mumbled.

He looked down at me with a smile. “I wanted you all to myself tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Well, since I want you to myself all the time, I don’t mind at all.”

He laughed as I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow.

It was a beautiful night full of stars and we feasted like royalty under them. Max had left no stone unturned in the sumptuous five-course meal we were served. The waiter left us with an array of desserts and an additional bottle of wine. When at last we were alone, I reached across the table and put my lips to his, but he pulled back and smiled.

“If I followed your lead, we’d be heading to bed right now. And we will get there. Just not yet. The night is far from over.”

“No?”

“No. Do you remember five years ago when you sat in that restaurant waiting for me before all hell broke loose?”

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