Maximum Witch

chapter Eight


“Willa, have you listened to a single word I’ve said?”

Domino Blanchard’s familiar nasally whine hammered through Willa’s thoughts and jerked her blank stare from the blinking cursor on her monitor. She gaped at Domino. “Er…what?”

“I said I’m leaving for my yoga class and I’ve set my calls to transfer to my cell phone.”

It was on the tip of Willa’s tongue to ask why, since she’d be there to field any of Domino’s messages, but then she remembered the head matron from the San Francisco offices was due to call. There were at least four other guild leaders in attendance today and available to speak with the woman, but no doubt Domino—in her infinitely controlling and paranoid wisdom—had decided it would be far better to huff and puff her way through a conversation with the head matron while doing the downward-dog pose.

“Do you think you’ll have the rest of the notes from this morning typed and ready before you leave tonight?”

Probably not. “Yes.”

Domino nodded before swinging her purse over her shoulder and trotting through the entry. Exactly three minutes later, Marabella Blanchard slunk through the front door. Willa narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “Were you hiding in the bushes again waiting for your mom to leave?”

A pink stain crawled along Marabella’s fair skin. “How much of a pathetic loser will it make me look like if I say yes?” Sighing, she plunked her fanny on the edge of Willa’s desk. “Sorry, I know you’re sick of hearing me bitch and moan about my problems with my mother. So I promise I’ll keep my lips zipped about her at dinner tonight.”

“Dinner? Tonight?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot.” Marabella frowned. “You know, you’ve been doing a lot of that lately. Forgetting, I mean. Is everything okay?”

No. I’m going crazy and forcing gorgeous strangers to let me play naked cowgirl with their penises. “Yeah. Absolutely hunky-dory.”

“Maybe I should talk to my mom. Tell her not to overload you with so much work.”

“That would require you leaving the bushes.”

A stubborn look crossed Marabella’s face. “I mean it. My problems aside, I’d do anything for you. If that means taking my mom on, so be it.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but unnecessary. I-I’m fine.”

Marabella’s expression turned accusing. “You just stuttered.”

She tried for flippancy. “Excuse me, didn’t realize it’s illegal.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Willa fidgeted with the space bar on her keypad. “You’re imagining things.”

“Spill it.”

She took one look at the stubborn slant of Marabella’s ash-blonde eyebrows—so similar to Domino’s, in many ways—and knew the only option was coming clean. After a quick scan to make sure no one else was within earshot, she scooted closer to Marabella and swallowed, trying to work the shameful admission past her throat. “I attacked a guy.”

Marabella’s mouth dropped. Shaking off her obvious shock, she stared at Willa. “You mean you got into a fight or something? But…but you’re so…tiny. Why would you do that? Unless…” Her eyes widened before taking on a fiery rage. “Did the bastard try to hurt you? Who is he? He’s going to pay—”

“Not that kind of attack,” Willa assured.

Marabella gnawed her bottom lip, her nose twitching. “I don’t understand.”

Damn, this was more difficult and embarrassing than she thought it would be. “I—I jumped him. You know…” When Marabella only continued looking at her with that innocently expectant expression, Willa moaned and hissed the damning word between her teeth. “Sex. I attacked him with sex.”

Marabella’s eyes grew larger than dinner plates. It would have been funny, if it weren’t all so damn awful fessing up to her shameful behavior. “Would you please stop looking at me like that? I already feel bad enough about what happened.”

Marabella dutifully lowered her gaze and cleared her throat. “Wow, that’s so…not like you.”

“Tell me about it.” That was the problem. For the past week or so, she hadn’t been acting like herself in any way. The prospect of what she might do next was damn scary.

“Well, what happened?” The unabashed curiosity sparkling in Marabella’s eyes made it clear she wouldn’t be happy with anything less than a blow-by-blow of the dirty details.

“There isn’t much to tell.”

“You are such a liar.” Marabella stacked her arms over her chest, her left foot giving an impatient tap. “I can tell from the way you’re blushing that it must have been amazing and hot and something I should be insanely jealous over, except I’m so happy for you, I’ll keep my sulking to a minimum.”

“Um, did you not hear the part where I said I attacked Max? Trust me, it wasn’t one of my finer moments.”

“Max who? Do I know him?”

Leave it to Marabella to tune out the unsavory parts. “No, I don’t think so. You guys don’t exactly run around in the same circles.” Unless Marabella had developed a habit of taking a daily dip in the Atlantic.

“Tell me about him.” A conspiratorial smile hugging her mouth, Marabella wiggled closer. “How did you two meet?”

Now there was an interesting story. She hadn’t filled Marabella in on the strange episodes she’d been experiencing lately. It wasn’t that she wanted to be secretive or anything, but she also didn’t want Marabella to worry, since her friend had enough on her plate with the little feud going on with Domino. Best to just leave out the section about being bitten by a leviathan and almost drowning. “Max is a…cop. It was purely coincidence we ran in to each other last night.” At least that wasn’t a total fabrication.

“Wait a minute. You attacked a cop? With sex? Ooh, this is getting good. Did you use his handcuffs on him?”

“Uh, I think you’re missing the point.”

“Come on, don’t hold out on me. I need details, Willa. Details.”

She opened her mouth, fully intending to come up with a reasonable story that would both satisfy Marabella and not completely mortify her, but snapped her lips shut with a hard snap of her teeth when the topic of their conversation strode through the doorway, looking huge, gorgeous and thoroughly pissed.

Max. What the hell was he doing—?

Oh shit. She’d told him where she worked. Brilliant, Willa. So much for moving to Outer Mongolia. His gaze slammed into hers and they stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. The rustling of Marabella’s trousers announced that she’d turned to see what had captured Willa’s consuming focus. A second later Willa detected Marabella’s hard swallow. Not surprising. Max had that kind of affect on a person.

He strode toward her desk, his gait purposeful and predatory. “We need to talk. Now.”

“This isn’t a good time. I’m working.” She glanced toward the corner of her desk where Marabella’s butt was still parked. She sent her friend a silent transmission, hoping Marabella would back her up.

“You must be Max.” Her grin wide and dazzling, Marabella hopped down and extended her hand.

Willa bit back a groan. Traitor. She watched in bemusement as Max and Marabella exchanged introductions. Under different circumstances, she would have felt incredibly rude not to have been the one to initiate them, but at the moment she was too busy trying not to hyperventilate herself into a full-scale panic attack. She could barely look Max in the eye. Oh goddess. What he must think of her.

It got eerily quiet and the fine hairs on the nape of her neck let her know Max was staring at her again. Probably Marabella too.

“Willa, you have to look at me sometime.” Max’s husky baritone managed to be both stern and sexy.

Damn him.

Reluctantly, she tore her attention from her computer monitor and became lost in the azure depths of his irises.

“Why did you run out on me, sweetheart?”

Once again Willa became aware of Marabella’s heated interest. She squirmed in her seat. “Could we please not discuss this here?”

“All right, then come to dinner with me.”

“I can’t. I promised Marabella—”

“We’ll do it another time,” Marabella interjected, her smile crafty as she glanced at Max. “She’s all yours.”

Willa garbled an irritated noise that made Marabella’s smile widen. Her angelic features suitably devilish, Marabella chirped a cheery, “Have fun!” before whispering, “Call me later” in Willa’s ear.

Something landed in Willa’s lap, and she looked down to see that Marabella had kindly handed her purse over. “I can’t leave now. Domino is expecting those transcribed notes in the morning.”

“Oh phooey. My mom can wait. Now skedaddle.”

Willa gifted her friend with a proper glare. “This bossy side of you is very unattractive.”

Laughing, Marabella tugged Willa from her seat and shoved her toward Max. His big hands settled around her upper arms, and it took every ounce of control Willa possessed not to plaster her body against him while she tested exactly how long she could kiss him without coming up for air. Smothering a silent groan, she extricated herself from his grip and headed for the exit.

Outside, he followed her to her car and waited expectantly by the passenger door. He returned her frown with a shrug. “You don’t mind, do you? We’ll go somewhere in the city, and then you can drop me off back here on your way home.”

She wasn’t too keen on that plan, since it’d mean being trapped within close proximity of Max and having to breathe in all that testosterone he exuded while trying to battle the urge to rip his clothes off and lick every inch of him. “Fine,” she gritted out between her teeth.

Ducking inside the Taurus, she watched Max fold his considerably larger frame into the passenger seat. She situated herself behind the wheel and buzzed down the window, both to allow the stale heat to escape and hopefully some of the aforementioned testosterone marauders. It was no use, Max’s addictive blend of musk and ocean flirted with her nostrils, instantly making her panties wet.

Max buckled his seat belt and draped his arm across the back of his seat. She tried not to notice the fine dusting of hairs sprinkling his forearm, or the way his shirt stretched taut along his torso, accentuating his sculpted pecs and ridged abdomen. Against her will, her scrutiny drifted to his lap and the distinct bulge beneath his fly.

Max’s free hand grazed along his thigh before settling in place very near the source of her fascination. “Where do you feel like going?”

How about where your hand is, only a little higher and a little more to the left? Giving her inner slut a stern warning to knock it off, Willa bit the inside of her cheek and considered the possible options. Her usual Savannah hangout was Champions, but there was a ninety percent chance of running into people she knew there. People who would want to know who Max was and would undoubtedly drill her with a million questions later on. “I hear there’s a new deli that opened up over by Lafayette Square.”

“Sounds good. I could go for a nice, thick juicy sandwich right about now.”

Nice and thick. Oh jeez. The bastard was killing her. Tightening her fists around the steering wheel, she drove as fast as she could toward Lafayette Square without actually breaking any speeding laws. The interior of the vehicle remained uncomfortably quiet for a long stretch. Just as she was about to reach for the knob on the radio to alleviate the strained atmosphere, Max cleared his throat.

“Don’t you think we should talk about what happened?”

“I’d rather we pretend that it didn’t.”

Max fell into a broody silence for a moment. “Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought you enjoyed it.”

She could feel her cheeks burning from the inside out. “You would have to bring that up.”

His gaze slashed in her direction. “Willa, it’s all I can damn well think about. Every time I look at you, I picture your face and the sounds you made while you were coming all over my cock. I’ve been rock hard for the past six hours.” As if to verify his statement, he shifted in the seat, his hand adjusting the position of his zipper.

She ripped her focus away from the tempting sight and stared out the windshield. Okay, so he wasn’t exactly put out that she’d pounced on top of his hot bod and had her wicked way with him. It lessened her guilt somewhat, but it didn’t solve the core crisis of her problem. There was something driving her to do things that were out of her control. It was as if another entity held the reins to her body and was having a jolly good time at her expense. She didn’t like it. Not one damn bit. And for whatever reason, the entity that’d weaseled inside her head had set its sights on Max. She couldn’t allow it. Couldn’t let it manipulate her or Max any more than it already had. “I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I—I did enjoy what happened. A lot. But I don’t think it’s a good idea if we see each other again after today.”

Max moved closer, his arm transferring to the rear of her headrest. “Why?” His fingers feathered along the side of her cheek, and it took everything she was not to melt into his touch.

“Because…” There’s something wrong with me. “I’m not in a position right now for a relationship.”

“Okay. I guess in the meantime I could settle for a bunch of hot, intense sex until you’re ready to become more serious.”

His wicked grin made her consider the idea of diving for his zipper. The very fact that he could do that to her with one smoldering look doubled her resolve to end it between them before things got even more out of hand. “I’m not going to lie. I’m fiercely attracted to you.” That was putting it mildly. “But my life is…complicated right now.”

“Are you seeing somebody?” he demanded, his voice tight.

“No.”

“Good.”

“Max, you’re not listening to me. You and I can’t happen.”

“What if you’re pregnant?”

She swerved into the next lane and received an angry horn blare from the driver behind her. “What?”

“Keep your eyes on the road.”

Easy for him to say after hitting her upside the head with that doozy of a previous comment. “Why would you insinuate that I could be pregnant?”

“We had sex without a condom.”

Oh, yeah. She relaxed her grip on the wheel. “I’ve been on the pill for half of my life. They help regulate my periods.” Okay, that’d probably been more information than he’d needed to know. Sheesh.

“Ah. Good.”

She risked a peek at him. “Is that why you came after me? Because you were worried I might become pregnant?” The notion that he was a decent and gallant man made her fall for him a bit harder, even while it also made her feel like an even bigger jerk for running out on him and making him worry.

“Partly, yes. But I also wanted to make sure you were okay. Boone gave me strict orders to watch over you, remember?”

She did. One more thing to make her feel two inches tall. “I’m perfectly fine. The bite’s not even there anymore.” She’d been more than a little surprised about that turn of events when she’d inspected her backside in the large mirror hanging in the women’s restroom at work.

“It’s not?” Max sounded as stunned as she’d felt.

“Nope. So see? There was no need to check up on me.”

“You damn well know that isn’t the only reason I tracked you down.” His thumb traced the sensitive hollow beneath her ear, and she shivered.

“I told you this can’t ha-happen between us.”

He inched closer, his warm breath fanning her cheek. “I’m going to change your mind about that.”

Damn him.

They’d arrived at Lafayette Square, and she sucked in a deep breath, peering around frantically for a parking space.

“There’s a white convertible leaving over there.”

She glanced toward where Max was pointing and spotted the vacating vehicle. Swinging a hard left, she screeched into the empty slot. One corner of Max’s mouth tugged upward. “Anxious to get dinner?”

More like desperate to get it out of the way. The sooner she put some distance between her and Max, the better.

She jumped out of the Taurus and banged her door shut with a tad more force than necessary. Max joined her before she could dash across the street, his arm slipping around her from behind. The heat of his palm cupping her hip and the solid press of him against her entire right side was a constant, heady reminder of his presence. She curled her fists, sinking her fingernails into the fleshy heels of her palms to keep from nestling into Max and licking the tanned column of his throat. Without thinking, she made the mistake of eyeing the spot where she’d nibbled him the night before. Sure enough, an incriminating red patch that looked suspiciously like a hickey rode just beneath the underside of his jaw. She grimaced. Great. Apparently my inner slut has the smooth moves of a horny teenager.

They joined the small queue of people gathered in front of the deli’s takeout window. The delicious, tantalizing smells of roasting meat wafted in the sultry air. Her stomach rumbled. Man, she was starving. Ravenous. Odd, since she hadn’t really noticed being particularly hungry before now. It was almost like the instant the deli’s scrumptious aromas surrounded her they stoked this powerful need to eat everything in sight. The sensation reminded her of how she’d hungrily gobbled her steak last night as if it were the only meal she’d ever partake in. It also made her uncomfortably aware of how that ravenous need had spilled over into her desire for Max.

Oh goddess. She definitely didn’t need her horniness meter to skyrocket while scarfing down a pastrami on rye in the middle of a public square. Max’s fingers meandered a little farther inland on her hip, brushing over the thin wool of her dress slacks. She squeaked. Feeling like an idiot, she lifted her head and met his innocent smile.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but the line’s moving.”

She shifted her attention and noticed he was right. So he hadn’t been looking for an excuse to grope her. Embarrassed, she shuffled forward. Two minutes later they reached the window and placed their orders. While they waited for their number to be called, Max led the way to an empty bench beneath the shade of a towering oak. She obediently took a seat and tried her best not to stare at his groin as he stood in front of her.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said. About the bite vanishing.”

Okay, not exactly the topic she’d been expecting him to rehash. “You have?”

“Yeah, and I think I know what triggered it to disappear.”

She blinked up at him. “Wasn’t it the antivenin?”

“Doubtful. I’ll have to double-check with Boone, but I’ve never heard of an antivenin actually making puncture wounds disappear.” He dropped onto his haunches and cupped her cheek. “Sweetheart, if you and I hadn’t had sex, I don’t think the bite would have cleared.”

Max’s preposterous insinuation forced a strained laugh from her throat. “That’s ridiculous. How could that have anything to do with it?”

His thumb brushed over the dip in her bottom lip, his eyes following its path. “The way I see it, you accepted my energy into you and used it to help you heal.”

From seemingly nowhere, a remembered phrase shuffled into her mind. He possesses what you truly need. No. The notion was beyond fanciful and just plain absurd. “There must be another explanation.”

“Willa, I saw the light show that erupted from you when you came. It was our energies merging.”

“I’m a witch. Sometimes my magic manifests at inopportune times.” Such as when I’m screwing my brains out, apparently.

“I don’t think that’s it.”

She glared at him. “Oh, you know me better than I know myself now, huh?” She shoved aside the annoying voice reminding her that lately her psyche was a big honkin’ mystery. Probably he did know her better than she did.

“Like it or not, there’s something drawing us to each other. A force bigger than both of us.”

His choice of words echoed her own worried suspicions, stirring her panic. She bolted to her feet the same moment their number was called over the speaker. Max stood and gently coaxed her onto the bench again. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

She didn’t miss the firm warning in his tone. It seemed he didn’t fully trust her to stay put. He might be sort of justified with that assumption. She watched him stride to the pick-up window and collect their sack of food and beverages, her trepidation coiling like a tight spring. Her life was slowly unraveling around her, and she didn’t know how to stop it. How to make things normal again.

It seemed incomprehensible that a little over a week ago none of this had been an issue. Her head had been blessedly void of seductive voices whispering things she didn’t understand. Sure, her job had been stressful as always, Domino demanding as ever. But she could handle all of that stuff. It was this total lack of control that was driving her closer and closer to permanent residency in the local loony bin. At first she’d assumed it was a form of early life crisis. Her thirtieth birthday was less than three days away. Not exactly life altering, but the date also marked the anniversary of her parents’ death. More than ever, she felt the fragility of life and how easily it could all be ripped away. It also drove home one indisputable truth—she was more alone than ever.

Max pivoted in her direction, and her heart gave an odd squeeze. He represented hope, the promise of a future that didn’t have to be solitary. But how could she trust her thoughts when they weren’t her own? How could she drag Max into this craziness when she didn’t even want to be there? The best, kindest thing she could do at this point would be to walk away from him and never look back.

Too bad her feet seemed to be cemented in place. Forcing a pained smile, she scooted over on the bench, making room for Max. He sat next to her and handed over her lemonade before fishing her sandwich from the bag. Accepting the package from him, she crumpled back one side of the waxed paper and sank her teeth into the rye and pastrami, a happy groan leaking free. As he’d done last night, Max watched her with unabashed appreciation. She licked the corner of her lip, catching the tangy essence from the dressing. His eyes darkened.

She finished chewing and swallowed. “Aren’t you hungry?”

His focus never veered from her mouth. “Yes. For you.”

Oh boy. “Max, I told you. We can’t—”

“I want to peel your clothes off and lay you out for my own personal all-you-can-eat buffet.”

She gulped. Her p-ssy clenched, her * tingling. She attempted to combat her raging arousal with sarcasm. “That’s a little scary coming from a shark.”

“I can be very good with my teeth when given the proper inspiration.”

“Would you please eat your sandwich and stop staring at me like I’m dessert?” Grumbling, she squeezed her legs together and took a sip from her lemonade. She relaxed a fraction when she detected the crinkling of waxed paper as Max unwrapped his Philly cheese steak.

They ate in companionable silence for several minutes, until her belly was full and she couldn’t imagine indulging in another bite. But despite having the edge taken off her hunger in one respect, the lusty cravings that kept her on the brink of jumping out of her skin only worsened the longer she was around Max. She harbored no doubts that if she didn’t get some much-needed space between them soon, she would gladly be flat on her back and offering herself to Max for his amorous snacking pleasures.

Crushing the remnants of her meal into a compact ball, she rushed to the nearby trash receptacle and pitched everything inside. Max followed suit and slid his arm around her waist again, snuggling her close until she had no choice but to walk along weakly, drunk and woozy on his delicious pheromones.

The drive back to his car was going to be a damn nightmare.

He escorted her into the Taurus, even going so far as to lean across her and buckle her seat belt. She gave him a peeved scowl, which he instantly sent packing when he angled his head and kissed her. It was barely a brushing of lips, but it still short-circuited the few functioning brain cells she had left. He straightened, his smile more than relaying the fact that he knew precisely how much he was affecting her—and that he was likely to use the knowledge to his full advantage.

Humming a vaguely familiar tune, Max strode to the passenger side and climbed in. She lasered him with a hot glare. “I am not going to fall into your bed.”

“Okay.”

Okay? That was all he had to say? And why did he have to sound so damn calm and reasonable, as if he was only placating her? “I mean it, Max. Last night was—”

“Mind-blowing.”

She gnawed the inside of her cheek to keep from growling. “I was going to say a one-time deal.”

“I like my description better.”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. You were saying?” The bastard didn’t sound the least bit contrite.

Despite knowing she would most likely regret looking at him, she did anyway. Oh yeah. Definitely a big mistake. Why did he have to be so yummy? “Are you always this aggravating and single-minded?”

His smoky look provoked decadent shivers across her skin. “I’m not afraid to go after what I want, Willa. If that makes me single-minded, so be it. But you better believe I’m going to do whatever it takes to convince you to let me rock your Kasbah into the next week. Hell, the next lifetime.”

Her breath abandoned her like air from a popped balloon. “It’s very sneaky bringing up Kasbahs at a time like this.”

“I told you. Whatever it takes.”

Goddess, give me strength.

She slammed the gears into reverse and backed out of the parking space. The ride was every bit as excruciating as she’d suspected it would be, made all the worse when the devious radio station decided to start playing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”. She recognized it as the song Max had been humming earlier.

I am so screwed. She grimaced. Ugh, bad word choice.

Finally they arrived outside the Alliance headquarters, and she pulled into the small lot, stopping beside Max’s Jeep. She shifted into park but left the engine idling in case a quick getaway was required. Max released his belt and lowered the volume on the radio before turning toward her. She figured her face must have displayed her sizable panic as he leaned close, invading her personal space. His nearness forced her to tip her head sideways, making her glasses slip. He removed them and set them on the front dash. A purposeful gleam lit his eyes as his focus dipped to her mouth. She swallowed. “Max—”

His hand cupped the nape of her neck, lightly stroking. “There’s no way you didn’t think I was going to kiss you.”

“B-but you already did.”

“That was nothing. This time it’s serious.” And with that preemptive warning, he claimed her mouth, his tongue easily coaxing past the barrier of her lips and meeting hers in a hot glide. There was no hesitation or fumbling in his kiss. Only the skilled determination of a male intent on making her melt into a quivering puddle of desperation. He sucked on her bottom lip, his teeth scraping gently.

Panting, she sank her nails into the softness of Max’s T-shirt, fascinated by the marked contrast to the hard muscles hidden beneath. “I—I meant it when I said I’m not falling into your bed.”

“Then take me home to yours.” His bristly jaw scuffed softly along her chin as he dipped his head and sucked the side of her neck. Sharp, pleasurable tingles burst beneath her skin, pebbling her nipples and throbbing within her *. She squirmed and trembled, her body pulling tight. It was no mystery to her that the sensitive area Max had zeroed in on happened to be one of the most erogenous zones of her body, but how the hell did he know it?

“I…I—” She almost passed out from the devastating pleasure of Max’s mouth when his suction intensified. Her aching * felt like it was going to explode. “Oh goddess.”

His thumb flicked over her distended nipple, using the friction of her blouse and bra to drive her higher. He lifted his head. “I want to make you come. Over and over. With my tongue, fingers, my cock. Until you lose count of the number of orgasms you’ve had. Say you want that too.”

“Max…” Her plea turned into an embarrassing mewl as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and index finger. She grabbed onto him, trying to drag him closer and increase the teasingly light pressure on her breast, but the bastard refused to budge.

“If you don’t tell me now, Willa, so help me I’ll stop. It’s all of you or nothing.”

She stared into his eyes, looking for evidence that he was bluffing. Passion flushed his face, but his rugged features were set with unmistakable determination.

Oh hell.