Page 59 of The Torturer's Target

Get a hold of yourself, she snapped at herself. You’re here to apologize not to eye-fuck the man, for crying out loud.

Max returned to her side and nudged her toward the bed. They sat facing each other. Gently, he cleaned the wound with antiseptic, then applied a fresh bandage.

Tesiera watched him silently, her face devoid of emotion, but her insides were molten. Maximilian Kingston was a work of art and she was very attracted to him.

“Are you a lesbian?” he asked quietly. When she glanced up at him, he gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“You overhead me with Bose.”

It wasn’t really a question, but he nodded. “Every damn word.”

Silence descended again—a surprisingly comfortable silence that seemed to stretch on forever.

“I don’t care for labels, but if I was to throw one on, I’d say that I was bisexual,” she responded at last. “In general, I’m more attracted to men than I am to women.”

“You are attracted to men?” He was surprised, and it showed not only through his words but also on his face.

She looked up and their eyes met. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“But you said— “

“I know what I said.”

Max pulled back and looked at her. “All done.”

Tesiera looked at her freshly dressed wound and then back at him. “Thank you, Doc.” She got up and arranged her shirt before walking to the door.

As she reached the door, she stopped and turned around. “Doc?”

“Yes?” he said from the bathroom door.

“A lesbian probably wouldn’t notice your broad shoulders and toned arms. The way your muscles ripple under your skin as you handled that first aid kit, and those chiseled abs that slide under your towel. They wouldn’t notice the natural sex appeal you exude and the way you carry your powerful physique with ease and poise. And they wouldn’t find all of that so goddamn appealing either,” she said firmly, looking him in the eyes. “You’re a very attractive man, Maximilian Kingston.”

Then she walked out of the door and closed it behind her.

CHAPTER 24. LETHAL BARBIE

“I really hope that son of a bitch shuts his mouth, because I’m more than ready to beat his brains out this morning,” Clinton growled, his voice dripping with anger.

Clinton was leading Max towards the basement the next afternoon. Max half-listened, his mind preoccupied.

After the bomb Tesiera dropped last night, he barely got any sleep. Her boldness had taken him by surprise, and that she found him attractive had left him reeling. It was probably a new record for most of the words she had said so far.

Her detailed description of him had replayed in his mind all night, leaving him with a non-stop boner and distracting him throughout the day.

He had barely paid attention when Valerie told him she was pregnant, and barely noticed when she had left with Hazel two hours earlier. Thanks to Tesiera, he couldn’t focus on any of his tasks for the day.

Did it mean she was attracted to him? And if she was, did she want him to do something about it?

From any other woman, Max would have taken it as a blatant invitation to act. But Tesiera wasn’t like any other woman he had met. He wasn’t even sure she’d meant it as a compliment, or if she was simply telling him the way she saw it. Stating facts.

It took all of his self-discipline to not go after her and kiss her until they were breathless. He had come dangerously close to inviting her to bed. Damn the consequences.

“Boss, are you listening to me?” Clinton’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He looked at his confused bodyguard. “Sorry about that. What did you say?”

“I was telling you about the weak points I found during the perimeter check today. There’s a spot where someone could climb over, and the overgrown vegetation at the south end could provide cover for an intruder to hide while attempting to gain access to the property,” Clinton repeated as they came to a stop at the basement door. He held it open for Max. “We’re already fixing it.”

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