“You will not.” Max sounded so sure of that fact.
But then, as Romi had already acknowledged, he always did. Uncertainty wasn’t in Max’s repertoire any more than love was. Since calling Maddie was on the very bottom of the list of things Romi wanted to do right now, she wasn’t going to argue regardless.
“Tomorrow night, I eat dinner alone. I think about what you are offering and what you are threatening and if I can reconcile the two.”
Or if she could live with the consequences of not doing so. Romi was pretty sure that didn’t need saying.
Apparently Max agreed with her, because he merely nodded. “We will have lunch again the day after.”
“You can bring your little blue box. It will either get opened, or not.”
He shifted so he was very much in her personal space, his body surrounding hers as one arm slid around her waist and the one on the back of the couch moved to rest behind her head. “You show very little curiosity regarding a piece of jewelry you will be wearing for some time to come.”
“Jewelry isn’t going to sway me.” But his nearness might.
“No more than the salvation of your father’s company.”
“Right.” But the salvation of her father?
That was something else entirely. It was everything. And Max had set it in motion, no matter what his supposed motivations for doing so were.
“You’re taking this delay really well,” she breathed, his face almost close enough to kiss. Realization came over her slowly. “You knew I would ask for time.”
“I had hoped you would make a quick decision, but I was prepared to give a week.” However, he had expected her to open the ring box.
He would learn that for all the trappings of wealth that surrounded her, Romi wasn’t all that interested in them.
“And I only asked for three days.”
“A decent compromise.”
She almost laughed at the idea of Maxwell Black compromising with anyone, but the truth was that he considered the entire marriage idea a compromise. And he had allowed a counteroffer.
For time at least.
Max hadn’t said no about the sex. From the way he was sitting and the alpha male pheromones saturating the air around them, she didn’t think he was going to, either.
Romi wasn’t sure why that was so important, but it was. She needed to link with him intimately before making a decision.
At this point, she wasn’t looking for logic or reason. Romi’s instincts were telling her she needed the physical connection and she wasn’t going to ignore them.
Maxwell did not need convincing when it came to giving in to Romi’s desire to give herself to him fully.
No, she clearly did not see it that way, but she had never allowed another man the same level of intimacy.
Maxwell could not figure out why she was offering the gift to him now, without things settled between them. But then, that was no new situation for him with her. Her mind worked in ways his did not.
Perhaps it was as simple as her needing a sense of some control over the situation.
He wasn’t averse to giving her that.
Was in fact ridiculously eager to do so. It was just that she had looked so damn vulnerable when she’d found out about her father’s rehab.
Maxwell had not cared for the feeling that he was doing something wrong. He knew he was not.
Maxwell had not put Madison’s shares up for grabs as a bargaining tool. His willingness to use that situation did not make him a villain. It made him smart.
And he had not led Harry Grayson down the path of functioning alcoholism. Maxwell had in fact convinced the older man to go somewhere he could get help with his addiction.
Was he willing to follow through on his threat to back out of the deal? Yes.
Had Maxwell ever considered, even for a moment, it would come to that? No.
He wasn’t the monster Romi seemed to think him.
No matter what she might think, Maxwell wanted her to accept the terms of his deal, not simply give in to them.
If his successful years in business had taught him one thing, it was that voluntary partners worked harder to make the venture work. It wasn’t always a luxury he could afford himself, but when possible, Maxwell maneuvered his rivals into wanting the mergers he chose to pursue.
Something niggled at considering his marriage proposal just another business merger, but that was essentially exactly what it was. Right?
Pushing aside the uncomfortable thoughts, he considered his next move. No question it involved making love to Romi, but did he start here and take her to the bedroom?
Considering his hair trigger where she was concerned, if they began here—even with the most basic of kisses—chances were, this is where Romi would gift him her virginity.
She deserved more ceremony than that.