Blackmailing The Billionaire(24)

"Later," he promised. Not if she could help it, she thought. She took the pills, then sat with him, awkwardly.

"I'll go grab you some toast and juice, then you can take a bath," he  said, before leaving the room. She took a few deep breaths, gave herself  a pep-talk, and waited for his return. She was grateful when the pills  kicked in. Max returned with a tray and she quickly ate the toast. She  figured the sooner she finished, the quicker he'd leave her to bathe and  dress.         

     



 

"Ready?" he asked.

"For what?" She looked at him with confusion. She certainly wasn't going  to let him help her bathe. She absolutely had to put her foot, even the  hurt one, down at some point.

Max just rolled his eyes before flipping back the covers and lifting her  in his arms. She was getting tired of his cave-man tactics, but  protests didn't do her any good. He once again set her on the edge of  the tub, then turned on the faucet. She watched as he added some vanilla  scented bubbles to the tub. He carefully unwrapped her bandaged foot  and looked it over.

"I'll be back in ten," he told her before slipping from the room. She  stared at the door, wondering if he thought she could finish bathing in  ten minutes, or if he really did think he was going to help her. She  didn't want to find out the answer.

She quickly placed her hair atop her head, brushed her teeth and  stripped, then gingerly climbed into the tub. She wouldn't admit to him  how hard it was to get into its luxurious depths. She broke out in a  sweat before she managed to sink below the bubbles. As she laid her head  against the cushioned back, a sigh escaped. The temperature was  perfect, and a bath had never felt so good.

There was a tap on the door, then Max was walking in, heading straight  for the tub. She sunk down a bit deeper, even though the bubbles were  covering her from the neck down.

"I'm fine, Max. I don't need a babysitter," she said, eyeing him warily.

"The pills you took have a sleeping aid in them. I don't want you  falling asleep in the tub. Plus, I'm sure your neck and shoulders are a  bit tense, since you've been sleeping so many hours," he said.

He knelt next to the tub and brought his hands up to her neck, gently  massaging the area, before he moved down to her slick shoulders. She let  out a little moan as he applied pressure. She hated to admit he was  right, but she was tense. She didn't know if it was from sleeping so  many hours, or because he was next to her as she lay naked in the tub,  but his massaging fingers felt incredible, especially with the hot water  surrounding her body.

He smoothed his hands along her neck, putting her into almost a trance.  She shut her eyes and let herself enjoy being pampered. He was being so  good to her, how could she possibly be angry about that?

"Cassie, wake up," she heard Max say, but it was through a thick fog. She ignored him and let her mind shut down.

Max continued to kneed her shoulders for a moment as she fell asleep in  the hot water. He figured he was going to deserve a medal for keeping  his hands above the water line. She was so beautiful, and knowing she  was naked underneath the thin layer of bubbles was playing havoc with  his painful arousal.

He stood up and pulled the plug on the tub, before grabbing a towel and  laying it over his chest. He reached down and easily lifter her into his  arms, quickly wrapping the towel around her glistening form. He was  breathing as hard as if he'd just finished running a marathon. She was  intoxicating in her innocence. He laid her on top of the covers, quickly  drying her, before covering her with another of his oversized t-shirts.

Concealing her body from his view did nothing to lessen his raging body.  He knew her every curve, and he wanted to sink deep within her folds.  He once again lifted her into his arms so he could move the covers, then  laid her gently in the bed. She made a sighing sound, before flipping  on her side and snuggling deep into the bed. He grabbed the extra wrap  the doctor provided him, and made quick work on her foot, then covered  her. His next stop was an ice cold shower, which did nothing but turn  him blue, and have him curse his honor.

A couple hours later Max stepped into the bedroom and found Cassie  sitting up in bed, looking more alert than she had in the past  twenty-four hours. He was glad to see she didn't seem to be in as much  pain.

"Are you ready to come downstairs for a while?" he asked.

"Yes, I think I'm going a bit crazy lying in bed for this long," she eagerly answered.

Max bent down and picked her up, thinking he could get used to carrying  her around. He loved the feel of her in his arms. He was beginning to  think he wasn't going to let her go. Never had he thought of happily  ever after with one woman, but the more time he spent with Cassie, the  more the thought appealed to him. He couldn't imagine letting her go.

"It looks as if you've been swept off your feet, Cassie," Amy said, surprising them both as they walked into the inviting den.

"Looking like a Knight in Shining Armor, Max," Lucas said with a chuckle. Cassie felt her cheeks warm.

"I hurt my foot," Cassie said with embarrassment. She was sure the  situation looked a lot worse than what it was. Max had just carried her  from upstairs, and she was wearing one of his old shirts and way  oversized sweat pants that were barely hanging on to her hips.         

     



 

"Oh, darling, there's no need to hide our love," Max said with a wink, which had her face flaming even more.

"Max, quit teasing her," Amy came to her rescue. Max set her on the  couch and immediately pulled up a footstool and propped her foot.

"What are you out doing?" Max asked.

"We were stopping by to see if you wanted to join us for dinner, but it  looks as if you're a bit busy at the moment," Lucas answered.

"Cassie came out to the Habitat site and was in the wrong place at the  wrong time. A piece of wood fell from the roof and landed on her foot.  Luckily, it's not broke, but she can't put any pressure on it for at  least a few days," Max told them.

"I'm sorry, Cassie. As soon as you get better, we'll have to get  pedicures," Amy said, sitting next to her and giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Amy. I would love that," Cassie told her.

"Dad wanted us to stop by and make sure you're coming to Mom's party next weekend," Lucas said.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss my aunt's birthday. I know Joseph would hunt me down for sure," Max said with laughter.

"Are you going to come, Cassie. You'll love it, I promise. Before you  start shaking your head, realize the house is always over-crowded for  these parties. My father-in-law doesn't consider it a success unless  half of Seattle is there to worship his wife," Amy said with enthusiasm.  How could Cassie say no to that?

"I suppose I could stop by, but I'd feel out of place," Cassie hedged.  She could take the opportunity to speak with more of the Andersons about  Max, though, and justify being there by having it be a working thing.  As if Max could read her mind, he poked at her.

"The house will be full of people who know all kinds of things about me.  You'll be able to write an entire book by the time the evening is  over," he told her with his signature wink.

"Ah, you know just how to convince me," she said with a smile. She had  enough information to write an article about him unlike anything else  that had ever been written, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity.  She was now getting in far deeper than she should, but she felt a bit  trapped at the moment.

"Good, that's settled, so why don't we change our plans, order pizza,  and play Uno," Amy said. Cassie was thrilled with the thought. Her heart  couldn't take any more alone time with Max, plus she enjoyed Amy's  company.

"Sounds great to me. I'm going to make some calls and see who else can come over," Lucas said, walking from the room.

Within an hour the pizza was delivered, and several of Max's cousins and  siblings arrived. They turned the den into game central, setting up a  large table and pulling out several board games. After a few rounds of  Uno, Max pulled out Pictionary, and then laughter reigned as everyone  fought to win.

Cassie had to smile as she looked around at the close family. She was in  a room of very alpha males, who jabbed one another, and tried their  hardest to win, even if it was only a board game. The women all laughed  at their antics. It was all done in good humor, though, with a lot of  ribbing, without anyone getting upset.

"Time for Charades," Max called out, which had the group of people  groaning. If they'd been competitive before, it would be nothing  compared to how they'd be playing charades.

"Girls against guys," Emily called, making the men groan.

"Okay, but no cheating," Mark said as he quickly bent down and kissed his wife.

"We wouldn't even think about it," Jennifer defended with a wicked smile.

Soon, the real competition was on, and Cassie found herself laughing so  hard, her stomach was in pain. The women were ahead by three points and  the men were huddled together as if it were a game of football. They  broke apart and the deep concentration on their faces caused the women  to go off in another round of laughter.