Bedding the Bachelors Box Set (Books 1-3) (35 page)

When she made it to the lobby, Max was nowhere in sight so she contented herself with sitting and thumbing through a few magazines. The selection was truly sad. A body-building magazine held no interest, and neither did a magazine on triathlons. She was thinking
Cosmo
and one of those “How To Be Fearless In Bed” articles would do her good. Instead, she found a magazine on parenting, dog-eared and well-worn and looking like it rolled off the printing press when flip phones were still in fashion.

It stunned her for a second. Made her realize for all her talk with Melina and Lucy about moving on to what was important—a family—she’d been easily and thoroughly sidetracked to the point her sole focus was once again on sex. Granted, it was sex with Max, which was particularly distracting given the select samples she’d been treated to, but she needed to be more careful. Hopefully her time with Max would be fruitful, so she could pursue her goal for a baby with a truly refreshed and clear state of mind, but she couldn’t forget two things. First, despite Max’s undeniably talented hands, mouth and body, she still couldn’t erase
herself
from the equation, and that meant actually achieving an orgasm with him was still a long shot. Second, either way, she needed to keep focus on the true prize. While she was staying in Vegas to spend time with Max, he’d be plenty busy doing other things. She needed to do the same, starting with touching base with the surrogacy agency about the interview scheduled for tomorrow. She’d do that as soon as she and Max finished whatever they were going to do next today. It couldn’t take more than a few hours.

The thought of doing anything more with Max—and doing it for a few hours—made her tremble with delighted anticipation. Taking a deep breath, she determinedly opened the parenting magazine. Inside were glossy photos of drooling babies, giggling babies and babies sloppily eating, food in their hair and grins on their faces. Deep in her body something tugged—as if her womb had responded to the images. One article featured insight on how to get a baby to fall asleep. The sleeping baby boy in the photo was cuter than a speckled pup and reminded Grace of how Max had looked when she’d caught him in that brief moment at the club two nights before, when he’d thought no one was looking. The same vulnerability on the baby’s face had been present on Max’s.

It reminded her of something her mama had used to say before she’d give Grace’s daddy a kiss. Something about a man being a little boy just grown bigger. Max hadn’t always been the confident, sexy man he was today. At some point, he’d been a child. Defenseless. Innocent. Craving love. As an adult, he certainly wasn’t defenseless or innocent, but could she really say he didn’t crave love? It was obvious his family was important to him. Melina was important to him. And Melina, who’d known him since she was fourteen years old, believed Max would make a wonderful father.

Who was the real Max Dalton, then? If what she’d seen the other night was him letting down walls, then how high did those walls go? How much of himself was he hiding from the world? And how hard was it for him to keep those parts hidden? She kept parts of herself hidden, too, and she often struggled with the need to be seen for her genuine self. Unfortunately, she wasn’t always sure who that was. The woman who pole-danced and had one-night stands? Or the university counselor who rarely swore and enjoyed nights at home in front of the TV with her friends Ben and Jerry. Oh, she knew she was both those women, just like Max was both bad boy and good guy, but it was where the line was drawn that was the question.

All Grace truly knew was she was lonely. Her parents had both been only children, whose own parents died before Grace was born. No parents, no grandparents, no aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins—nothing.

From an early age, she made life decisions. She provided for herself. She pushed forward every day because she had no choice. In the meantime, except for Melina and Lucy, there’d been pitifully few people she trusted. And even then, she never shared everything about herself with her friends.

That wasn’t Max’s problem. He was surrounded by people who adored him; family, fans and strangers alike. He seemed to truly love his life. The stage. The women. The fame.

Whatever she’d seen in that moment in the club when he’d looked vulnerable, it didn’t mean he felt alone. It didn’t mean he was yearning for love. Not the way she was. And it certainly didn’t mean she’d ever be the woman that could give it to him.

She looked once more at the picture of the sleeping baby and that yearning she’d been thinking of tore through her. She wanted a baby.
Needed
a baby. She wasn’t going to wait until she was older to find the perfect man and hope she survived long enough to see her child grow into adulthood. The others might think she was being foolish, but regardless of what she gave up to Max in bed, she was a woman in control and she had a plan.

Max first, but not forever.

Her baby, her family—that would be something different.

She cast a quick glance at the doorway to the men’s locker room. Still no Max. Tapping a toe impatiently, she thumbed through the rest of the magazine, then reached for the one on triathlons. She was reading about various ways to prepare for a race, and idly wondering if the same rules would work when preparing for a marathon sex session when…

“Ready?” The steady and deeply male voice came from behind her.

She whipped around, dropped the magazine and perused Max. Tight jeans that cupped him just right, a white button-down Oxford shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbows and deck shoes. Yummy. He slid an arm across the chair back, his body now angled slightly closer, and his all-male scent wrapped around her. Briefly, she closed her eyes, imagining that scent all over
her
body and all the awesome ways it could get there. With a silent groan, she popped her eyes back open and gave him a bright smile.

“Ready,” she said, then immediately spiraled into panic mode. He looked good. Good enough to eat. To kiss. To caress. To take. But he’d made it clear he was the one going to be doing the taking.

What if I’m not ready? What if he wants to do something truly kinky? Am I going to let him? Am I going to let him see how much I enjoy it?

Suddenly, Max squatted down in front her and took her hands in his. “Breathe, Dixie,” he said.

She hadn’t even known she was holding her breath, but at his gentle command, she exhaled, then sucked in a healthy dose. He grinned and asked again, “Ready?” But this time he did it in a dark, husky, near-whisper filled with promises that almost made her sigh out loud. She nodded instead and they stood at the same time.

On the ten-minute ride back to her hotel, they chatted about mundane things, like whether the 49ers had a chance of winning the Super Bowl this year, how round Melina had grown, and the magic show. Although the stunt he’d pulled with Elizabeth increased sales, neither Rhys nor Max was confident that would continue. He was right in the middle of telling her about a new trick Rhys was working on when he paused and cursed.

“What is it?” she asked.

He pulled up in front of her hotel, put the car into park, but kept it running and his seatbelt on.

“I’m sorry, Grace, but dammit… I just remembered Rhys asked me to do him a favor. Today. As in right now. Between you showing up at the gym and dancing for me and me looking forward to what was going to happen next… I forgot what I promised Rhys, but it’s important.” He closed his eyes and groaned dramatically. “God, why couldn’t I have been born an only child?”

Despite the disappointment swelling inside her, she laughed. It was so obvious he was joking and would do anything for his brother. “It’s no problem. I’m here for the week, remember? We’ll have plenty of time for—” she waved her hand “—all that.”

Max laughed. “You do know you make that hand gesture whenever you’re talking about sex, right? It’s gonna get to the point all you have to do is wave your hand and I’m going to get hard.”

She crinkled her nose. “Kind of like a magic wand? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?”

His eyes unfocused, as if he’d suddenly gone somewhere else, and his smile disappeared. “Yeah. Kind of like that.”

She frowned. Why did he suddenly look like she’d slapped him? Her hands twisted together in her lap. “Max—”

“Anyway,” he said. “Can I come by later tonight, after the show?” He pulled her left hand from her right, lifted her palm to his mouth and kissed it. “Then you’ll have my full attention.”

She nodded, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“We’ll continue what we started at the gym. I can’t promise we’ll finish it, but I can promise the continuation will be amazing.”

A thrill ran through her at the thought. She tried to imagine him focusing even more attention on her. Would she be able to handle it? Giving him total control?

Because from what he’d said earlier, he was absolutely certain that’s what it was going to take to get her off. And by her body’s response at that very moment, by her escalating pulse and hardening nipples and weeping core, she was pretty close to believing it herself.

Odd, how it had taken only a couple of conversations between her and Max—granted, one discussion had happened with her straddling his hard-on—for him to have learned so much about her. She wanted to know more about
him
.

What was it Max Dalton considered an “important” favor?

“What is it you have to do?” she asked, hoping he didn’t think she was being nosey.

“Drive to Cedar City, Utah. Then get back in time for my show. The whole trip will take about five or six hours.”

He traced the lines of her hand with his thumb, and although she enjoyed the soft caresses, her hand still tingled from when he’d kissed it. She stared at his mouth, wanting it under hers. Wanting it to explore every crevice and dip on her body.

“What’s in Cedar City?” she asked, almost wincing at how husky her voice sounded. He released her hand, touched the edge of her mouth with the pad of his thumb, smiled briefly, then let his hand drop before answering her.

“My parents. They’re leaving for a trip—a second honeymoon. We already had a family dinner to send them off, but Mom, well, she’s been working on something and she just finished, sooner than expected. It’s important to her that Rhys and Melina have it before she goes.”

The answer startled her and surprise must have shown on her face.

Max frowned. “What did you think I was going to say?”

“I—I have no idea…” she said, stammering. “I just didn’t think it would be… that.”

Grace had only met his parents once, at Melina and Rhys’s wedding, but it had been plain to see how much they loved each other and their sons. So much it had surprised her they no longer helped with the magic act and hadn’t followed their sons to Vegas. Melina said she was surprised, as well, but thought it had something to do with them wanting to give their sons space, which they’d missed their whole lives thanks to all the touring the family had done.

“Do you wish they lived closer?” she asked.

“They’re close enough that we get to see them often. They’ve never taken a lot of time for just the two of them, and they probably wouldn’t be going on this trip except that Rhys and I surprised them with it before we knew Melina was pregnant. Mom’s wanted to cancel several times, but we talked her around. Once the babies are here, nothing’s going to tear them away from their grandkids. I know I won’t be traveling anywhere far, that’s for sure.”

Grace was thinking how nice it must have been to grow up with doting parents and how much she missed her own, who’d been loving if not exactly doting, when Max’s last sentence penetrated. The knowledge that he’d not only stay close to spend time with a niece or nephew, but relish doing so, once again had her thinking there was more to Max than she’d given him credit for.

Then again, it wouldn’t exactly be a hardship for him to stay in Vegas. He’d have his family close. His magic show. And he could build on his reputation by continuing to date one woman after another after another.

The knowledge that she was just one in a long line made her stomach drop, and she swiftly shoved the thought aside. She knew what she was getting into with Max; she couldn’t complain now.

“You mind if I tag along?”

He looked surprised and she wanted a hole to form and swallow her. Had he said he wanted company? No, Grace, he hadn’t. But she’d still been reeling by his comment about wanting to stay close to the babies. She wanted to spend more time exploring
that
Max and she’d spoken without thinking.

“Not so we can—” She waved her free hand, returning Max’s sudden grin. “—squeeze stuff in or anything like that. Lucy’s gone, and Melina’s home with Rhys. I just thought… You know what? Never mind. Looks like you’re going to be busier than a moth in a mitten. I don’t have to—”

“I’d love for you to come with me.”

She studied him closely. “You sure, honey? Because maybe you’d enjoy the ride by yourself…”

He was looking at her strangely, eyes blazing.

“What is it?”

“You’ve never called me ‘honey’ before.”

“I haven’t?”

He shook his head. “You’ve called me ‘Sugar,’ but like I said, you do it to distance yourself. Plus, I’ve heard you call others that. I haven’t heard you call anyone honey before.”

“Do you… like ‘honey’?”

He grinned. “I love it. And Dixie, I absolutely guarantee you, I would far prefer your company than driving by myself.”

She was still glowing at the fact he liked her calling him honey. “Great then. I just need to run up to my hotel. Take another shower so I can wash my hair and then change. Do my make-up. Is that okay?”

“Sure. But why go to that trouble? You always look great and now’s no exception. My parents won’t care if you’re wearing make-up or not.”

His statement that she always looked great made her feel even more warm and tingly inside. “Thanks, but I care. The only time I met your parents was at Rhys and Melina’s wedding. I don’t want them to see me with no make-up, ratty hair and in casual clothes. I just wouldn’t feel right.”

“You mean you don’t want them to see you without your armor on. But you’re letting me see you that way.”