When his tongue dipped farther into her mouth, tasting her, he felt hot, needy sensations curling through him.
She moved her hands over his back, and he stroked her, too, his fingers gliding over her ribs, then the sides of her breasts.
When he found her nipples, they were rigid, poking out against her shirt.
But he saw her eyes were squeezed tightly closed.
“Did he touch you there?” he whispered.
“No. I did it. To get his attention.”
“Good thinking.”
“But…”
“Let’s get that out of your mind.”
He kissed her again, trying to show her how much he loved her, how much he wanted her.
And when she tangled her hands in his hair, holding his mouth to hers, he smiled against her lips.
Still kissing him, she eased a little away so that she could slip her hands under his T-shirt and stroke his chest, finding his nipples, circling them with her fingers, making them tighten.
“Why did you put your clothes on when you got up?” she whispered.
“In case someone knocked at the door. My mistake.” He pulled the shirt over his head and reached for the button at the top of his jeans. But he left on his briefs as he kicked the pants away.
She was wearing a knit top and twill pants. He pulled the top over her head, waiting to see her reaction. When she smiled at him, he reached around to unsnap her bra and get it out of the way so that he could lower his mouth to one of her breasts.
Her breath caught as he licked at her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth, loving the pebbled texture.
“Yes,” she murmured as she clasped her palms around his head.
He was burning with the need for her, but he went slowly, making sure she was with him every step of the way. He removed her slacks but left on her panties for the time being as he took her down to the surface of the bed, then gathered her close, still a little worried that he might be going too fast after what had happened with Masters.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Good. Really good.”
He continued to stroke her and kiss her, thrilled as he sensed her passion rising to meet his.
They both got rid of their remaining clothing, and when she whispered, “Do it now,” he parted her legs and eased inside her.
Her eyes met his, and neither of them moved for a long moment. Then she raised her hips, and he responded, losing himself in the joy of making love with her. He held back, waiting for her to climax. And when he felt her contract around him, he let go, coming in a burst of intense feeling and emotion.
Shifting to the side, he held her close.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“A pleasure.”
They drifted in each other’s arms for a while, until he said, “I’d like to stay in bed with you all day, but the guys are going to want to talk about yesterday. And probably Shane wants to share more of his research.”
“I know.”
“We’ll make it quick,” he promised.
They got dressed, and Max was about to call his partners when he heard a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” he called out.
“Jerry Ellison.”
“Who?”
Olivia stepped up beside him, a stunned look on her face. “My agent. The guy you talked to on the phone.”
“What do you want?” Max demanded.
“I want to talk to Olivia.”
Max glanced at her. When she nodded, he opened the door and a short, balding man wearing a gray turtleneck and dark slacks stepped into the room.
This was the famous Jerry Ellison? The guy who had been so important in Olivia’s career for ten years? If you passed him on the street, you wouldn’t give him a second look.
Still, Max felt his nerves twang like banjo strings as he waited to find out what Ellison and Olivia were going to say to each other. The man was looking at her, taking in her mussed hair. He probably had a pretty good idea of what they’d been doing a little while ago.
“How did you find me?” Olivia asked.
“Not too hard. There’s a crowd of reporters down there chomping for red meat.”
She made a sound of distress. “I thought they hadn’t figured out where we were.”
“Think again.”
“What do you want?” Olivia asked.
“You can take a few days off, but this kidnapping thing is huge. We can use this, baby. Top model abducted. You can sell that story for big bucks, and you can name your price for any job you want.”
“Can I?”
“Yeah.”
She glanced at Max, who was now standing with his breath frozen in his lungs.
“You had a lot of power over me because you knew how to influence a naive girl. But you don’t have that kind of power over me now. If I come back to New York, it’s on my own terms,” she said.