Page 73 of The Torturer's Target

“Wow,” he breathed, and a sudden stillness seemed to permeate the air. A tangible silence settled between them.

Max was rendered speechless by Tesiera’s words. He had never met a woman like her before—so unapologetically bold and blunt. He had always thought that women were more subtle in their approach to sensitive issues like their feelings, but Tesiera had shattered that assumption with her straightforwardness.

He was at a loss for words. The thought that she couldn’t stop thinking about him floored him. Max had always prided himself on being unflappable, but Tesiera’s boldness had thrown him for a loop.

“Are you there?” she asked.

Max cleared his throat. “I’m here. It’s just…um, I don’t know what to say.”

“You sound shocked.” Tesiera’s tone was calm and collected, like she didn’t just drop a bomb on him.

“For a number of reasons,” he replied. “First and foremost is that no woman has ever said anything like this to me before.”

“I’m not most women, Doc.”

His lips played at the corners of his lips, amused by her firm tone. With a deep breath, Max made his way to the edge of the bed and sank onto the soft mattress. “Right, you’re not. That is incredibly obvious.”

“I don’t know if you mean that as a compliment or not—”

“I do. I mean it as a compliment. You’re an extraordinary woman, Tesiera Anderson,” he said in admiration. “The truth is, I don’t know how to answer to your questions. Do you even know what you’re admitting to? Confessing to?”

“I’m not admitting or confessing anything. I have a problem and I was hoping you’d have some sort of solution for it. This has never happened to me before, Doc,” Tesiera replied, lowering herself onto her sofa.

Max's lips curved into a smile. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised about what she was saying. “I don’t know what to say to that. But since we’re being honest with each other, I need to tell you something.”

Tesiera leaned forward, her expression serious. “What is it?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you either, Tesiera.” Max's voice rumbled low in his throat, like a primal growl that echoed through the room.

The admission hung in the air between them, heavy with a raw intensity that left her speechless. “I… Oh.” He’d caught her off guard too, her mind was blank, and she couldn’t form a response.

“Are you there?” he drawled, the corners of his lips twitching into the hint of a smirk.

A strange, fluttery sensation danced in Tesiera’s chest—a sensation that she struggled to put a name to. Excitement? Yep, that was preferable to the alternative.

“I thought I was the only one with the problem,” she said at last.

Max chuckled. “It’s not a problem, Tesiera. Well, not in the way you think.” A pause. “Most people would say that we are attracted to each other or we’re in love.”

Her excitement fled. Tesiera’s expression hardened at the mention of the “L” word. “The latter is the wrong reason,” she began firmly. “I don’t love, Doc. It doesn’t exist. A man uses it to lure a woman he wants to fuck or keep fucking, while a woman uses it to lure a man she wants money from or wants to keep getting money from. Either way, there’s always some ulterior motive they disguise under that word, but in the end, it is merely someone using someone.”

“Wow. For someone who isn’t much of a talker, you have quite a bit to say on the topic,” Max said playfully. “Don’t worry, Tesiera. For what it’s worth, I agree with you that the latter is also the wrong reason. We don’t love each other.”

“No, we don’t,” she agreed matter-of-factly. Then paused. “Attraction though…” She relaxed back on the couch, relieved that they weren’t in love. “I’m very much attracted to you, Doc. I’ve told you before.”

Max's lips curled into a grin as a wave of excitement washed over him. He rose from the edge of the bed, still clad in his towel, and laid down on the bed. “You said that I was an attractive man, Torturer. But you never said anything about being attracted to me.”

“Potatoes, potahtoes, Doc.” A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she gazed into the empty space before her.

“Indeed. I thought about it for days, you know. I was going to ask you about it, but—”

“But your girlfriend came asking for you,” she finished for him, her voice neutral.

“Mira is not my girlfriend. Not for a long time. And yes, I am very much attracted to you, too, Tesiera Anderson.”

“So, what are we gonna do, Doc?” she drawled, her voice dropping an octave.

He loved the way she called him ‘doc’. It sounded particularly sexy coming from her. “I say we remedy the situation. I’ll take you out for lunch tomorrow.”

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