Heir's Affair E-Book

Scarlett Finn

• Herausgeber: Moriona Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

“Your father wants to meet you.”
 
Tallulah Taylor values her job with the Stretton family more than anything else in her life.
Max Flynn couldn’t care less about Theodore Stretton, even after the hot brunette on his doorstep tells him the f*cker is his long-lost father. His long-lost billionaire father.
Tally has a job: to unite father and son. Except the son seems more interested in uniting with her over and over again every time they’re alone.

Their affair is against every rule. 

Max is about to become heir to billions and if the truth of what they’ve done is revealed, Tally’s world will fall apart. 
But his touch is difficult to resist. Every time she tries to say no, it comes out as a yes.
 
Tally has to decide if she’s willing to sacrifice everything for the man who’s about to have it all.
 
 
Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery. Suitable only for ages 18 and over.

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2018 Scarlett Finn

Published by Moriona Press 2018

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

First published in 2018

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

www.scarlettfinn.com

For other titles from Scarlett Finn, please read on after the story.

Click here if you’d like to leave a message for Scarlett.

Enjoy!

Copyright © 2018 Scarlett Finn

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

First published in 2018

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

www.scarlettfinn.com

For Katie

Contents

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

ONE

Tallulah Taylor had knocked on the apartment door when she arrived, but no one had answered it. She’d been told not to return to work until she confirmed they’d found the man they’d been searching for over the last three months and this was where he was supposed to be.

Tally had worked for the Stretton family since leaving college and knew their official story almost as well as she knew the unofficial one. Staff at the Stretton Estate, and those at the corporation of Stretton Chemicals, loved to share gossip and rumors. Patriarch and CEO Theodore Stretton had been married only once and believed above almost everything else that it was important to keep up the appearance of respectability. Teddy was good at it. But he prided himself on being good at everything he did.

In her role as the family liaison, Tally worked mostly at the Stretton Estate, and had been asked to do all sorts of unusual tasks for the family.

But this mission was a first.

It all started three-and-a-half-months ago when Teddy and his wife, Laura, were involved in a vehicular accident. The limo they were travelling in was hit at high speed and Laura was killed. Her death changed a bunch of perspectives.

The couple had a daughter together, Kimmy. But because of his old-fashioned views, Teddy had made sure that his daughter was raised as a spoiled princess. Kimmy grated on her father, but a lot of people did, he wasn’t a patient man.

Though Tally did recognize that Teddy was proud of his daughter, not because of any immense achievements on Kimmy’s part, but because she was exactly what she was supposed to be: shallow, materialistic, and subservient.

But there was one thing Teddy Stretton lacked… he had no male heir.

Teddy Stretton liked to rule whatever room he walked into and didn’t like to take second chair to anyone. Ever. Although there were people at the company who were capable, Teddy didn’t trust them enough to pass his life’s work to them. He wanted to hand down the company to family, male family, meaning there was a gaping hole in his will.

And that’s what had brought Tally here. To this apartment.

A thirty-two-year-old rumor that Teddy had never spoken of was proven to be true in the form of Max Flynn. It turned out that the illegitimate son of Teddy Stretton was a real person and not just conjured up by gossipmongers.

At least, she’d been told that the rumor was true by the PI who’d been on the case, chasing up leads, for three months. That rumor was supposed to live in the apartment that she’d been standing outside of for two hours. But the longer she stood there, the less hopeful she became that this night was going to end well for her.

It had been her role to stay on top of the PI, to bring his reports back to an impatient Teddy who was not likely to take bad news well. Tallulah was only there because she’d been tasked with putting the proposition to Max. She wasn’t the most persuasive person, but she’d been called unthreatening, so she guessed it made sense that she should explain what was going on to the man who may, or may not, even know his father’s identity.

In other circumstances, a person may be nervous to approach a stranger about the father who’d abandoned him. But Tally was confident that she had nothing to worry about. She was inviting this Max guy to meet a father who was going to bequeath him a multibillion-dollar company and make all his dreams come true. Who would argue with that?

Since arriving at the rundown apartment block, Tally had begun to build an impression of the man she was here to retrieve. The light in the corridor at the top of the stairs was broken and the one at this end was blinking. There was a weird smell too, and enough suspect stains on the floor that there was no way she was going to sit on it even though her shoes were starting to sting her feet.

Teddy didn’t accept failure and she didn’t feel like being reamed out, as she would be if she went back to the estate to say she’d given up for the night. Her boss had been known to reduce assistants to tears. But because she was a personal assistant to the family rather than the company, she usually avoided facing his intense wrath. Tally wasn’t involved with the big bucks deals done by Stretton Chemicals. Those deals had a tendency of stressing Teddy out; the assistants who were part of those negotiations were the ones who really had to be on their toes.

Tally couldn’t go back or call and say she hadn’t pinned this guy down. But she was beginning to worry that he might have no intention of coming back tonight. Maybe he was spending the night with a girlfriend or maybe he’d moved. This place did suggest he might be a bit of a nomad, he sure didn’t seem to care about curb appeal. And according to the PI reports, Max had gone through a phase in his twenties of moving around all the time, as revealed by his several previous addresses. Could it be that he’d moved on again?

What else could she do? How could she salvage this night? Just as she was beginning to think of contingencies, Tally heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.

A masculine cough.

A grumble.

“Yeah, dude,” a deep husky voice said. “Yeah, man, I’m there. Don’t worry about it.”

In the darkness at the far end of the corridor, a broad man measuring approximately six-four emerged at the top of the stairs, but Tally couldn’t decipher his features.

His long strides ate up the floor. She only got flashes of his dark eyes and scruffy jaw in the flickers of distorted illumination pulsing from the broken light. Tallulah hadn’t expected her heart rate to jump up, or to feel intimidated by her boss’ son. She worked around powerful men every day and didn’t blink when they walked into the room. But something about this guy was different… more oppressive… dangerous.

The phone at his ear wasn’t his focus anymore. When he was within ten feet, there was no denying that his attention was on her.

“Yo, dude, I gotta go, there’s a hot little brunette at my door.” The guy on the other end of the line must have said something funny because the stranger smiled, and the sight of its sinister glow dazzled her. “Nah, I don’t think so, Rob, I’d remember banging this one… yeah, see ya.”

He hung up the phone and stopped in her personal space, crowding her against his door. “Am I wrong?” he asked. “You’re not here to tell me I knocked you up, are you?”

Oh God, this guy couldn’t be any less like Teddy Stretton if he sprouted wings and horns. Maybe this wouldn’t be as simple as they’d all thought it would be. Why hadn’t it occurred to Teddy that maybe his illegitimate son wasn’t going to be easily moldable?

“Uh, no,” she said, having to clear her throat twice when her voice cracked. “You are Max Flynn… aren’t you?”

Intrigue lit his keen eyes. “Yep.”

Relief. Good, at least she knew she was in the right place and had already managed to do half her job. “I have a proposition for you.”

Taking a half step back, his brow rose as he examined her body. “Oh, yeah? For a babe like you, I’ll listen,” he said, leaning past her to unlock the door. “But we better make it quick. I’ve got somewhere to be tonight.”

He gave the door a hard push, forcing it open, and she spun around. Max squeezed past her, forcing her to inhale when his jacket made contact with her shoulder.

Tally scanned inside.

The apartment was a mess.

There were dirty clothes on the couch. Empty beer bottles on the coffee table were punctuated by open pizza boxes and Chinese food containers. As she tiptoed over the threshold, she was assaulted by the scents of stale food and rugged man.

Minding her manners, Tallulah tried not to cringe when he reached over her to shove the stiff door hard, closing it with a startling thud. On the plus side, she got the chance to note that he didn’t smell bad. In fact, he was wearing an intoxicating deodorant that she wouldn’t mind smelling more of. For some weird reason, Tally was pleased to learn that his slobbish ways didn’t extend into his personal hygiene.

He lumbered to the right into the open-plan kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge. Holding one toward her, he only shrugged when she shook her head.

“I don’t drink,” she said.

He looked her over again, which he seemed to do a lot. “Alcoholic?”

She didn’t want to be outraged, but he smiled and she guessed he’d read her reaction and found it funny.

Holding on to her composure, Tally remembered her manners and explained. “No… my employer doesn’t allow it.”

There was a bottle opener attached to the side of the fridge with a bucket beneath it. He used it to pop open the bottle and slugged down some beer. “Bummer,” he said, propping himself up against the fridge on one broad arm. “Guess you’re here on the clock… you don’t look like one of Tony’s girls. But if you are, you trot back and tell him he owes me cash not barter.” He moseyed over, entering her space to whisper just above her ear. “If you wanna come back when you’re off duty, I’ll leave the door open for ya.”

Taking another hit from his scent, Tally was dazed. “I… I thought you had a prior engagement tonight,” she said and was immediately shocked by her words.

Whatever that was she could smell on him had to be a solvent or some other mind-altering substance. She was usually demure and almost meek, especially when on Stretton business. Respect, that was what it was all about, and women were supposed to be modest. Except she’d just spoken out like she was a hussy who’d take him up on his lurid offer if it wasn’t for his alternative plans.

His lips twisted. He examined her body again. “Want me to cancel, sugarlips? We can get right down to it. Bedroom door’s on the other side of the TV over there.”

He slid a fingertip down her jawline and began to bend down like he might be going to kiss her.

Regaining her senses, she stumbled as she retreated. “No,” Tally stuttered. “I… I came here to… Your father sent me.”

His whole demeanor changed in a snap. He tensed, and took his own step away from her. “What the fuck? I never had a father. Never knew the bastard.”

Okay, yes, she could do this. Business. “We know,” she said, having not considered what she’d do if he got angry because it was such an unlikely scenario. “It took us quite a while to track you down.”

His scowl was intense. “What the fuck?” he said again.

It was a surprise to find that Teddy’s son was so coarse and that he lived in this squalor when the Strettons were multibillionaires. But the why wasn’t her business; she had a job to do.

“Your father wants to meet you. He wants to build a relationship with you.”

She expected a positive response. Instead, his frown deepened. “And who the fuck are you? His old lady?”

Uh, she’d swear herself if it wasn’t against another of Teddy’s rules. “Your father is sixty-five,” she said. “I’m twenty-eight.”

“And that fucking matters? My mom said my father was some rich fuck who ditched her. That true?”

“Oh.” She blushed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about their relationship. I was sent here to retrieve you.”

His brow went up. “Yeah? Well come on, Sugar, retrieve me.” When she said nothing, he lunged forward, pinning her to a post that stood between the kitchen and living room, his hand landed on it high above her head. “What kind of fuck sends a little thing like you to a place like this? You know we had a murder in this building last week?”

Tally inhaled through her nose because she feared if she opened her mouth that her heart would leap out of her throat. “No, I… I didn’t know that.”

His anger was aimed at her, at Teddy, at everything. “Do your research before you walk into any place, little thing. If you thought I was like him, you’re wrong. I’m nothing like him.”

“How do you know that if you don’t know him?” she asked, adrenaline giving her gumption. “Your father is a serious man, he’s thorough, and intelligent… you could do worse than be like him… He also just lost his wife; he could’ve lost his life too. You could’ve lost him. But you have a chance to get to know him.”

“Thanks,” he sneered. “But no thanks.” Dropping his attention, he grumbled at the floor before making eye contact again. “I’d love to toss your butt into the hallway and slam the door in your face, but your skinny ass won’t see the street if I don’t walk you out.” Seizing her arm, he slammed his beer onto the kitchen counter, then dragged her to the door. “You parked somewhere around here?”

Pulling back, Tally wasn’t ready to give up. “Mr. Flynn, please,” she said, trying to free herself, but he got her out of the apartment and tugged her down the hallway. “Please, hear me out. I have so much to tell you! Please! Let me explain!”

“Where’s your car, kid?”

Fighting him was as effective as the fly fighting the spider. Tally was powerless and weak in comparison to this predator who was on a mission. Throughout their descent of the stairs, she kept trying to pull away. But when he did stop, it wasn’t because of her efforts, it was because of what they came across at the bottom of the stairs. Between them and the door were a group of guys wearing gang colors. Max’s grip got even more serious… she’d thought it was serious before, but she’d been wrong.

“Flynn!” The guy at the head of the group said while checking her out. “Nice bitch.”

“Bored of her now,” Max said in a deep grumble. “I’m getting rid of her, Strap.”

The guy laughed and ran his tongue along his upper teeth. “She looks high class.”

“Out of your price range,” Max said and tried to keep going, but the group closed in.

“You hand her over and the first time is free, right?”

With one step, Max put a forearm on Strap’s chest and thrust him to the wall. “You don’t put your hands on this bitch, none of you, get it?”

“It like that?” Strap asked. “She yours?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Max said. “Now get your asses out of my way.”

Strap held up his hands. “We don’t want no trouble with you, homie. You say she’s yours, she’s it.”

The guys parted like the Red Sea. Tally staggered along beside Max when he strode through the leering group. And though she tried her best not to look at the men who were curious about her, she couldn’t believe Max had just stood up to what had to be ten men in that narrow space.

“Mr. Flynn,” she said when they got to the street. It took her that long to be able to breathe again. “Oh, my God, if I’d run into those men alone—”

“Yeah, Tiny, think about that next time you rock up to strange guy’s places.”

“Thank you,” she said because he’d stepped up for her.

Tally was still in a daze, stumbling as she trotted along behind him until he came to an abrupt halt.

“Where’s your car?” he asked and she looked around to see they were on the corner of the block.

If that’s what he was looking for, he’d be looking for a long time. “I don’t have a car,” she said. “I was dropped off by a company driver.”

Pierre lived in the same section of staff quarters that she did at the Stretton Estate. He helped her out whenever he could, but tonight he had other places to be and couldn’t hang around.

“Company car? Nice. My old man must make out all right.”

That answered her question about whether Max knew who his father was. “More than all right,” she said, thinking his attitude would change when he learned the scope of what she was presenting to him. “Theodore Stretton is worth a few billion…” For the first time since she’d identified herself, Max lost his scowl. “And he wants to bequeath it to you.”

A second later he laughed a short, sinister sound that had no resemblance to amusement. “Not interested.” What? Tally didn’t even know how to… What? Stepping into the road, Max stopped a cab and opened the back door. “Hop it, girlie, don’t come back.”

Casting off her surprise, Tally refused to get into the back of the car. “Please let me explain,” she said. “Let me tell you what he wants.”

“No,” Max said, trying to wrestle her into the car.

This was her job. Panic was making her fingers shake. All she was supposed to do was identify that he was Max Flynn and bring him to his father. If she couldn’t do that…

She couldn’t keep fighting him, he was stronger than she was, but she tried her best to resist. Already her muscles were aching as she battled his attempts to push her down, and he wasn’t even really trying.

“Please!”

“No!”

Desperation was making her frantic. The Stretton’s were all she knew, if Teddy got mad, that was it, he’d fire her and life as she knew it would be over. “Please!”

“Get in the damn cab!” he demanded.

“Just let me explain!” she begged.

“Get the fuck outta here!”

“He’ll fire me, Max!” she exclaimed. The words just tumbled out of her. She didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t have the Strettons. Max stopped pushing her and frowned again, but this one wasn’t angry so much as it was curious. “I’m sorry but… this means a lot to him. A lot of time has gone into finding you and… Teddy’s not the most patient man. If I go back there and tell him we talked, but I didn’t tell you everything… he’ll fire me and… I live at the house, Mr. Flynn. I’ll be homeless, jobless, and he’ll never give me a reference. Please… you have to hear me out. I’ve worked for your family for years. I’ve never seen it like this. Please…” Taking a breath, she tried to find a thread of composure. “How bad can one conversation be? Will it kill you?”

His jaw worked side to side as he ground his teeth. “Fine. Tomorrow night, meet me at Fitzpatrick’s a block over… I’m buying you a drink.”

Shaking her head, Tally had to refuse. She’d been teetotal for years. The idea of picking up a glass scared her. “No, my employer—”

“Yeah, you gave me that line upstairs. ‘Cept now I know who your employer is, I don’t give a fuck. How’d you like that? Drink with me or no conversation.”

Max liked to be in control, just like his father. Which was the lesser of the evils? Agree to have a drink or get fired from the only respectable job she’d ever had?

To get what she needed, Tally had to acquiesce. “What time?”

TWO

What was she doing here? Tally shouldn’t have dressed up like this was a date. Though to be fair, she’d worn this dress to the last SC event. A professional event. It wasn’t a dress designed to allure, it was meant to be worn on a social occasion… and this was, technically, a social occasion.

Except she’d forgotten that a social occasion with a billionaire wasn’t the same as one in a dive bar in a crappy neighborhood.

God, she was out of practice.

To say she was drawing attention to herself was an understatement and she’d only gotten out of the car ten seconds ago. The gang on the corner were loitering, whispering as they checked her out. It was too dark to read their expressions, but she’d bet they weren’t simply speculating on who’d designed what she was wearing.

Tally had no choice but to cross the sidewalk and go into Fitzpatrick’s.

Keeping her head down, she moved past the curve of the bar and picked a central spot on the straight edge. It wasn’t busy, only a few tables were occupied, but the back of the room was gloomy, meaning she couldn’t pick out any features. There could be a whole football team back there and she wouldn’t be able to tell.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling, everywhere was painted black. Furniture was sparse and shabby. This wasn’t just a ramshackle place, it was ominous.

The curious bartender was almost mocking her with his sneer when he came over. Examining her sequined clutch and the diamonds dangling from her ears, he couldn’t hide his smile.

“Uh…” she said, trying to hold her posture. “Club soda, please.”

“Fuck that,” Max’s booming voice vibrated behind her and she turned to see him striding over. He tossed some words to a table he passed, then laughed, and came to her at the bar. He must have been here already, sitting at a table somewhere, and she hadn’t even noticed him. “Usual, Trey.”

Tally was almost afraid to ask. “Wha…? What’s the usual?”

Max didn’t even look at her, he just rested an expectant hand on the bar. “Tequila.”

“Oh no,” she said as the bartender nodded and disappeared. “I couldn’t—”

“Leave us the bottle, Trey,” Max called to the bartender who sauntered back over while pouring out a measure. “Put it on my tab.”

“Oh, yeah?” Trey sniggered. “And when you think you’ll pay that tab, buddy? Huh?”

There was a smile on Trey’s face, but it wasn’t one of humor. This guy had to have a store of smiles and she’d yet to see one that was happy.

Max took her by surprise when he turned and unhooked her earring to slap it onto the bar. “That should cover me for a while.”

The bartender’s intrigue made him pick up the jewel to scrutinize it. The diamond must have passed inspection because Trey slid the bottle onto the bar in front of them.

“Oh no, wait,” she said, but the bartender was already walking away.

Max ignored her too. He stood up and leaned over the bar to snag another glass from a lowered shelf. Straightening again, he poured out the second drink that Trey had neglected.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Max said, picking up his glass to toss back the shot before refilling it with a more generous measure. “You’re out of your comfort zone here, so let me give you a few tips.”

“Tips?”

He shoved her glass to her. Tally touched it with her fingertips, but didn’t want to drink. “First, drink,” he said, picking up the glass to put it in her hand. She sipped, but he sniggered. “Drink it all.”

Oh, God, she hadn’t had a drink in years and he was asking her to down this potent liquid all at once? Closing her eyes, Tally took the biggest mouthful she could and tried not to choke as the liquor scorched her throat. She covered her mouth with the back of her fingers to stifle a cough.

“Good, now lose the sparkle,” he said, turning her hand to unclip her tennis bracelet. “I’m surprised you didn’t get mugged on the street out there.”

She unhooked her other earring and opened her clutch to slide the jewelry inside, not that keeping it safe mattered; she wouldn’t be able to wear those earrings again since Max had just bartered the other one for their drinks.

“I was dropped off by—”

“A company driver, sure,” he said. “How come they drop you off but never pick you up or wait? Take your hair down.”

Pulling the slide from her chignon, Tally put the accessory in her clutch too, then pulled the pins from her locks. His question was probably rhetorical, but she answered it anyway for lack of anything better to say.

“Pierre is nice to me, he drops me off when he’s on his way to official jobs… he’s not really supposed to drive me,” she said. “I’m just an assistant, I don’t warrant official attention. Your father and Kimmy are going to the ballet tonight and she—”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Tally gasped when he grabbed her dress at her waist and tugged it down with such force it almost ripped. “Mr. Flynn!” she exclaimed, looking down to see that her breasts were now heaving over her neckline with the lace of her bra cups peeking over the top of the conservative fabric.

But he didn’t slow down, he licked each of his thumbs in turn and cradled her head to smudge the make-up at the corners of her eyes. She was still stuttering when he slid one of her dress straps off the ball of her shoulder.

“Sit up on your stool, baby, nice and straight,” he said, putting his arms around her to direct the seat under her ass and closer to him. “Cross your legs toward me.”

Without much of a choice given his proximity and actions, Tally perched herself on the high stool and did as he said. He pulled her even closer so that her crossed legs were nestled between his wide thighs.

“What are you—”

“Good girl,” he said and drove his fingers into her hair. Tally wasn’t used to any man being so rough and brazen with her. His hands were so big, his wide fingers tangled and tugged as they rumpled and messed her hair. He tilted his head. “Hmm…” If she was reading his scrutiny right, something still wasn’t meeting his standard. Max landed on some idea and leaned forward with her chin pinched between his curled forefinger and thumb. “Open up for me, sweetness.”

Tally did open her mouth, because she was going to ask what he was planning. But that opening gave him the opportunity to slip his tongue between her lips. She was too shocked to even respond; he forced his mouth over hers to kiss her more thoroughly than she’d ever been kissed.

He tasted of bitter liquor and dangerous man. Max was powerful and his lack of propriety proved how he felt entitled to dominate her, even though they were still practically strangers and sitting in public.

Tally was still in shock when he leaned back and picked up his glass to toss back his tequila. “That’s better,” he said, rubbing a thumb over the corner of her mouth before sliding two large hands up the front of her thigh and under her skirt. His brows rose when he touched lace. “You wearing something fancy for me, babygirl?” No, she wore thigh-high stockings every day. They weren’t for him. “Show me.”

But he didn’t wait for her to do anything, he gathered up her skirt, bunching it above her stockings, exposing a line of flesh on her thighs and he grumbled something that sounded like appreciation.

“Mr. Flynn,” she said, trying to push his hands away when he began to stroke the bared skin of her legs. “Please.”

“Listen, baby,” he murmured, sliding his elbow along the bar so he could cup her face under her hair and stroke her cheek. “The only way you get out of here without trouble is if you fit in. And the only way you fit in is if you belong to me, got it?”

“Belong to—”

“That’s right,” he said, the corner of his mouth tilting as his eyes fell to her lips. “Now show me you understand.”

How was she supposed to do that? This was beyond out of her element. Tally touched her naked earlobe and cleared her throat. Suddenly she was aware of the other patrons, and how they might view her as a stranger coming in here wearing diamonds and designer clothes, and then she remembered those men in the entryway of Max’s building and those on the corner outside. The necessity of fear made her play along.

She wasn’t usually forward and hadn’t been on a real date in… forever. Tally was too busy to date. Yeah, she often went to social functions, but she was only there to be on hand for her employer.

The men who accompanied her were usually other Stretton employees who had their own reasons for being present. She was a good cover for security or for lawyers who wanted to be close to Teddy. For men who didn’t necessarily want to declare themselves as anything other than the innocuous date of an insignificant assistant.

When she dropped her hand onto Max’s knee, he smiled. “Gotta give me more than that,” he murmured.

More, okay, pushing her shoulders back, she arched into him like she wanted him to notice her cleavage and, with a sly smile, he did.

“Nice,” he muttered. “More… make them really believe it, Sugar.”

Geez, how far was she going to have to go with this guy for appearances? Leaning in, Tally touched her lips to his and that was when she noticed it. Here in these close quarters, she saw the light of interest in his eyes. She couldn’t usually read men, but this guy was more unashamed than others and it was there. Definitely there. He was attracted to her, without a doubt.

Instead of worrying her, a heat clenched in Tally’s belly and her constricted breasts grew heavy. Awareness tingled through her. Why did it kick her hormones into overdrive to know she’d caught the attention of this uncivilized animal?

Skimming her lips over his stubble, she kissed his jaw then parted her lips to rasp her teeth against him. If he wanted more, she was going to give it to him. Did he have a limit? How far would he let her go?

Her hands moved higher up his legs and Tally used that point of contact as a lever to rise. Pushing her body into his, she ran her tongue along his lower lip and then opened to give him the kiss she’d been too shocked to give him before.

It started slow and sped up until they reached a kind of fever pitch. Grabbing her hair in an unyielding fist, Max gripped her so tight that her scalp burned, but it was enlivening. The sheer possession of that masculine hand lost in her mass of loose hair made her feel primal.

Holding her head back at a sharp angle, he forced her to stay under his mouth, under his domination, beneath his need.

Her hands skimmed to the top of his thighs and her thumbs trailed up each side of the thick erection pulsing in his jeans. God, she shouldn’t be touching him like this, this wasn’t “more,” this was beyond the line, far beyond the line. But the next time her thumbs pushed down, they were more insistent, rubbing harder, making it clear she had found his arousal and wasn’t afraid of it.

The hand that wasn’t in her hair left her thigh and closed around her breast. Tally gasped when Max squeezed her hard, but the sharp inhale just drew his tongue deeper into her mouth, intensifying their kiss.

An abrupt whistle to her left interrupted their mouths and both of them turned to see that the bartender was right there. “Yo, that’s what the alley out back is for,” Trey said, glaring at them both with mischief. “Cool it or split.”

Oh God, what had she done? She’d been making out with Max Flynn in public! More than making out! She’d touched his…

Twisting away from him, Tally put both elbows on the bar and grabbed up her glass to down the last of her tequila. This time the burn of the liquor was welcome. She needed that cleansing wash in her mouth, to slide over her tongue and down her throat to the want that was still softening her core in preparation for slaking her surprising desire.

The bottle came into view. She was so happy to see that the next measure Max poured for her was more liberal than the last and she was grateful to gulp it down.

Max leaned in at her side, losing his mouth in her hair until it was pressed against her ear. “Now you’re getting it, baby,” he murmured and slid his hand to her inner thigh, massaging the flesh between the top of her thigh-high and her panties.

It went higher until the edge of his finger touched the lace of her crotch and that was when she grabbed his wrist to pull it back down to her knee.

“Don’t,” she whispered. Lowering her glass to the bar, she turned her head toward his, which was only an inch away. “I’m sorry I touched you, that was… rude.”

But his heavy eyes weren’t offended; he leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth. “You’re good at being rude, angel,” he said and picked up her hand to put it back on his thigh. Pressing his palm against her knuckles, he slid her hand all the way up until it was covering the bulge behind his fly. “And you got my attention in all the right places.”

“I don’t want that attention from you,” she whispered.

The most shameful part of that statement was its dishonesty, because some secret, naughty part of her did want it.

“Too bad, gorgeous, ‘cause you’ve got it… and it ain’t going anywhere.”

“Can you just pick a pet name and stick with it?” she snapped in an uncharacteristic burst of anger.

Every time he used a different one it made her think that he did this with every woman; tossing out different names, showing no commitment to any, like their identities were interchangeable. It was insulting to be lumped in with every other female who’d ever crossed his path.

Except, she shouldn’t care, didn’t care before they’d kissed and now…

Tally felt off-balance and sick. Not disgusted, just confused, and aroused, and angry at herself. The impatience itching under her skin wanted to grab his hand and drag him out to that alley the bartender had mentioned, proving what a disappointment she was to her employer and to her gender.

He eased back a little. “Okay, Boss, you got it… I’ve got no problem following your orders. You like to be in charge, baby? Like to keep your guy in line?”

She hated the way his hand was stroking her lower back. It was making her relax in all the wrong ways. Her lungs were getting tighter as her sense began to dwindle.

“You’re not my guy,” she whispered.

“Okay, casual, you got it, Boss… whatever you want.”

Gulping more liquor, Tally surprised herself by being the one to pick up the bottle this time. “You said I had to belong to you to survive. It’s a show, right?”

Marginalizing what had happened was supposed to ensure that it didn’t happen again.

“Sure, baby,” he murmured and pushed her hair away from her shoulder, but he didn’t get the message. He used her locks to force her head aside so he could close his lips over the side of her neck.

She was supposed to be here to talk business, to tell him about his father, and put the proposition to him. She wasn’t supposed to be here to seduce him or be seduced.

“Mr. Flynn,” she said, struggling to find her voice as his lips caressed her neck and found her shoulder to follow her collarbone. “Please, we have… business.”

“We sure do,” he said and his hand tried to move higher again. “You tell me what you want, Boss. Where do you wanna be touched?”

She yelped and had to brace when he suddenly spun the seat of her stool. Tally found herself facing away from him. He yanked her back, pulling her between his legs again. One powerful arm curved around her and he slid her to the back edge of her stool, pulling her ass into his erection and her back to his chest.

He kept on kissing her neck, and she exhaled when he sucked lightly and sent a skitter of needles from her throat to her breasts that weren’t neglected of his attention. When Max grazed his hands over her chest, she quickly combed her fingers through the ends of her hair to cover up the action.

The bartender had threatened to throw them out the last time he’d touched her there and she didn’t want to get into trouble. But Max took her action as encouragement.

His warm laugh on her shoulder loosened her further. “Nice,” he grumbled into her. “You like that, Boss? Like it when I play with your cans? You’ve got some set, they feel real good. I bet they taste even better.”

His squeeze got more insistent. In an involuntary move, she pushed her hips back hard, showing her appreciation by wriggling against him. But he liked it and anchored himself to give her security in her grinding.

Tally curled her fingers into his thighs, digging her nails into him through his jeans. “God, you’re good at this,” she whispered without meaning to say anything.

But her senses weren’t working on full capacity. For some reason, her entire being had been reduced to her erogenous zones. Tally had become little more than a raw, eager hormone. But she was struggling to fight his appeal. It had been so long since she’d had any male attention, and the intensity of Max’s attention was unique in her experience.

Lifting her arm, Tally coiled it around his head and clenched her fingers in his hair. Max curled further around her to kiss her throat and upper chest, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she used her tight grip to pull him up so she could fumble her mouth over his.

Kissing him was the end of her resolve.

Something about the way his tongue took control of hers made her forget everything about who she was and how she was supposed to behave.

“Get a room!” someone hollered.

Blinking open her dazed eyes, Tally turned to see she was in prime, central view of the whole room. Everyone in the place was watching her and Max here at the bar acting worse than a couple of horny teenagers.

Shit.

This was bad.

Except…

She wasn’t as self-conscious as she should be. In fact, she smiled.

Oh, God, this was one of those crazy moments in life. Those once in a life time opportunities to say to hell with consequences. Tally hadn’t been crazy in a long time. In truth, she’d never been this crazy.

Man, she wanted to be crazy.

Insane, crazy.

Right now.