task any more than she had.
Down the hallway, past a bathroom and two guest bedrooms, until they arrived at their old room. Three years later, the brown silk spread still adorned the bed, looking brand-new. It could have been a mausoleum preserving a slice of her life that had been both happy and filled with anguish.
‘I can’t believe it’s all still here.’
That seemed to stop Max for a moment. He looked around as if seeing it all for the first time. ‘I haven’t been here in ages. I always meant to change things, but...’
He hadn’t been able to any more than she had.
‘Let’s not think about that right now.’ She wrapped her arms around his waist, unwilling to ruin what had been building between them ever since they’d come face to face in the corridors of Teddy’s. It seemed as if every tick of the clock had been leading to this.
Whatever ‘this’ was.
He cupped her face in his hands. ‘Let’s not,’ he agreed before moving in to kiss her once more.
Again and again, his lips touched hers until the fire was back and this time there was nothing to hold them back.
Annabelle pushed his tuxedo jacket from his shoulders, moving to catch it when it started to drop to the floor.
‘Leave it.’ His knuckles dragged up the length of her neck, smoothing along the line of her jaw until he reached her ear. He toyed with one of her chandelier earrings, making it swing on her lobe in a way that made her shudder. He’d always known exactly how to make her melt like a pot of jelly that had been exposed to a heat source.
And he was the ultimate heat source, his body generating temperatures that threatened to scorch her until nothing was left but smouldering embers.
And she was fine with that.
He reached around and found the zipper on her dress—began edging it downward.
‘Wait!’
She wasn’t sure quite why she said that word, other than the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra under the gown, and if he got her dress off—well, she would be standing there in only her underwear while Max was almost fully clothed.
He evidently misunderstood because he went very still. Too still.
‘Max?’
‘Do you want me to stop?’ He leaned back to look at her face.
‘Yes. I mean no.’ She shook her head, trying to form her words in a way that wouldn’t sound completely off the wall. ‘I’m not wearing...um...anything under this. I was hoping to even up the odds a little bit first.’
‘You’re not wearing anything?’ He took a step back and dragged a hand through his hair. ‘I am very glad I didn’t know that while we were out on the dance floor. Or driving over here. Or in the lift.’
‘I’m not totally naked. There was just no way to wear a bra with the back of the dress the way it is.’
He moved in again, his fingers trailing up the length of her spine and then walking back down it. ‘Very glad I didn’t know that, either. But now that I do...’ His fingers again reached for the zipper and tugged it down, while Annabelle scrambled to hold up the front of her dress.
‘What happened to evening up the odds?’
‘I kind of like the odds the way they are.’
‘You mean when they’re in your favour?’
Max grinned at her but took a step back and began undoing the knot of his bow tie. ‘You want even? You’ve got it.’
Not fair!
‘But I wanted to do that.’
‘It’s much safer this way.’ He pulled the tie through the starched white collar of his shirt and let it drop on top of his jacket.
‘Safer for whom?’
‘For me. And for you.’ His fingers went to the first button of the shirt.
This time she groaned. Then a thought came to her. He’d done this on purpose. If she was holding up the front of her dress, she wouldn’t be able to touch him, which meant...
That the thought of her doing so was making him as crazy as he was making her.
Well, two can play at that game, Max Ainsley!
‘Oh, Max...’ She let his name play over her tongue.
His hands stopped where they were, his brows coming together.
With what she hoped was a saucy smile, she let go of her dress, glad when it whispered down her body and pooled at her feet, instead of just staying put and forcing her to awkwardly push it to the ground.
His reaction was more than worth it. A blast of profanity-laced air hissed from his mouth as he stood there and stared. And when she started to move a step forward, he lurched backwards.
Annabelle was glad she’d decided to wear her laciest underwear ever, the red matching her dress to a tee. They rode high up on her hips and, while not quite a thong, they’d been advertised as Brazilian cut, which meant there was only a narrow band of fabric that covered her behind.
She peeled one of her gloves off in a long smooth move, and then the other, letting each of them land on top of her dress. ‘Now the odds are even, don’t you think?’ She moved forward again, and this time Max stayed put. Maybe he was just incapable of thought right now, which had been her exact intent. She pressed her palms against his chest, gratified to feel the pounding of his heart beneath her touch. ‘Let me help you with those buttons, since you seem to be having trouble.’
He still didn’t say anything as she somehow managed to flip open one white button after another, until she reached the one at the top of his cummerbund. Pressing herself against his chest and gratified to hear yet another gust of air above her head, she reached around him to find the fastening at the back that held the wide satin band in place. It too hit the floor.
Evidently, Max had had all he could take, because his hands wrapped around her upper arms and eased her away from him. ‘You’re a witch, you know that?’
‘Mmm-hmm. Be careful, or I might cast an evil spell on you.’
‘A spell? Yes. I think you already have.’ He swooped her up into his arms and dumped her in the middle of the bed, the brown silk rippling out from her landing spot. ‘Although whether it’s evil or not is yet to be seen.’
Max backed up several paces and made short work of the rest of his buttons, undoing the fastening on the front of his black trousers. And this time it was Annabelle who got to enjoy the show, as his strong chest appeared along with those taut abs. Off came his shoes and black socks.
The man made her mouth water. Even his feet were sexy.
Then he hesitated, and her attention shot back to his face.
‘What are
