Ignite: a Billionaire Second Chance romance (2 page)

S
he stood
and allowed her eyes to become accustomed to the low light in the garage and gasped when she saw Max standing by the old truck taking his shirt off. The chill in the air might have been responsible for the sudden delicious tingle down her spine but she knew it was the sight of his broad chest.

His body had starred in her naughtiest dreams and all she needed to do was step forward and see if the dreams could come true all these years later. But his reality was a woman named Brooke she reminded herself, bracing against the temptation he presented.

Max placed his hands on his hips and her eyes moved to the dangerously low waist of his jeans. The heat in the garage increased tenfold. She knew the bulge beneath that denim fabric was the best she’d ever had. She placed a hand lovingly against the hood of the truck to steady herself, its cool metal grounding her.

Max took a step toward her and Cyn wanted to run. She wanted to be back inside with Mrs. King in the middle of a manicure away from the overwhelming presence of her son.

But first she’d have to put him on notice.

“Max, while yesterday was exciting, I expect there will be no repeat performance. I don’t believe Brooke would appreciate old friends getting cozy, do you?”

Max took her by the hand and pulled her deeper into the shadows, pinning her body against the truck.

“Brooke doesn’t appreciate a thing, Cyn. What my mother thinks and the truth are two very different things. What I want, what I need, is right here in front of me.”

His lips found hers and he cradled her face in his hands. The kiss was long and deep with a much sexier technique than his teen self had possessed.

Cyn ignored the part of her brain that screamed
trouble!
and allowed herself the pleasure of caressing his muscular chest. Max moaned and ground his hips into her abdomen. Cyn could feel the throbbing need of his erection and scraped her fingernails over his back. Max broke their kiss and whispered against her lips.

“There is no woman like you Cyn, hell, they can’t hold a candle to the Cyn of ten years ago.”

He laced his hands in her long, silken black hair and pulled her head back gently. Cyn moaned as he kissed a fiery trail down her neck and pushed down the fabric of her sundress.

“Max,” she sighed, her voice deep and sultry from his lovemaking. “We can’t do this, not now.”

His lips found her breast and Max tugged at her taut bud with his teeth. He hastily unzipped his jeans and Cyn wrapped her legs around his waist, desire burning like a wildfire through her heart.

She felt the throbbing insistence of his manhood against her thigh as Max eased a finger inside her lace panties. She turned his face to hers and stared at him as he gently flicked her clit with his thumb.

“There better not be a fiancee, Max King. I want this,” she whispered before biting his lip.

The rain grew heavier outside and Cyn thrilled to the smell of Max’s skin. He thrust inside her and the world stopped for a moment before she whispered words of love in his ear, words that echoed from all those years ago.

Max held her gently now but increased his strokes. He was so close to the edge and the taste of her skin, the feel of her long hair across his arms as he held her undid him. All the years he’d been gone seemed far removed and he was once again a delirious young man buried inside the best love he’d ever known.

The sound of a car engine startled them and Cyn was grateful for the grove of trees that hid the garage from view. Max lowered her gently to her feet. His heart was thundering beneath her hand and Cyn turned away to the front of the garage while he slid his tee on and ran a hand through his hair.

He took her hand and they decided to make a run for the back door since the rain had eased. The limo in the front drive sat with its wipers beating lazily. The driver got out and held up an umbrella.

He opened the back door and Cyn glanced over to see one decidedly feminine leg step out, the foot encased in the sexiest high heel shoe she’d ever seen. That footwear choice was going to turn out to be an unfortunate decision in this weather.

Max pulled her along and they stood beneath the shelter of the back porch. He bent and kissed her gently on the lips, teasing her. She pushed him away, the vision of that leg exiting the limousine etched in her mind.

“Your fiancee has arrived,” she said and hurried into the kitchen.

Max followed, his anger rising at Rhys for bringing Brooke here in the first place. They’d had words over this on the phone the night before. Brooke wasn’t going to get him down the aisle simply because they had been friends with benefits in New York. He’d been too casual with her, accepted her encroaching ways into his life. He’d never proposed to her nor mentioned marriage in the two years they had known one another.

His thoughts were interrupted when Cyn stopped short in front of him. He collided with her lush backside and resisted the urge to place his hands on her hips. Their hot lovemaking in the garage had sparked something in him and he knew he was done with New York and Brooke.

Jo ordered them to stay in the mudroom until she brought two towels.

“About time the two of you came back inside. Amelia was asking after you. I believe she is in the sun room with Rhys and that
young woman,”
Jo paused for effect before continuing.

“Rhys introduced her as your fiancee, Max. When were you going to tell the rest of us?” Jo asked as her eyes flickered to Cyn.

Max shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter what Rhys or Brooke say. I’m not marrying her.”

“I know I didn’t just hear what I thought I heard, darling. We are going to be married.”

The trio turned to find Brooke standing in the kitchen doorway, one well manicured hand on her hip.

C
yn handed
her towel to Jo, prepared to leave the conflict right there in the kitchen.

“Amelia is waiting. I think I’ll go do what I came here for.”

She walked past the blonde at the door feeling like a giant wallflower, her dress bedraggled by the rain. Brooke stared at her calmly, not the least bit ruffled by her presence at the King residence.

“I might have you touch up my mani later if you have time…” the girl said in a dismissive tone.

Cyn ignored her as she continued her exit from the kitchen. She’d be damned if she’d cater to Max’s fiancee in his parent’s home!

Miss City Slicker might not be worried now, but if Cyn decided to pursue Max and ignore the air of ownership the other woman radiated, she wouldn’t lose him to the likes of Brooke.

Their tryst in the garage was all the proof of that she needed. His arms, the way he held her, and his lips on her skin was so right, so instant between them. The flame from years ago hadn’t died at all. Her heart soared at the remembrance of their shared ecstasy and Cyn forced her feet forward to find Mrs. King. Behind her, Brooke crossed the distance between herself and Max.

“Reliving old memories, are we?” she asked as she glanced over her shoulder, wishing to be certain the dark-haired woman had gone.

Max sighed and managed a smile even though his heart had left the room with Cyn.

“Cyn and I were high school sweethearts, Brooke. It’s nice to see her again.”

Brooke placed a hand on his arm, noting the smile on his face. It certainly wasn’t as warm as she expected. She leaned against his body, her head finding it’s resting place against his chest. She caught a lingering scent that had tickled her nose only moments before when Cyn walked past her through the kitchen door. So, he was doing more than reliving memories. Brooke turned her face up to his and pulled his chin down.

“I’ve missed these lips,” she whispered as she kissed him deeply.

Jo made a noise in her throat and Max pushed Brooke away.

“Jo, do we have any brunch left? Brooke is likely famished,” Max said as he pulled out a seat at the counter for Brooke.

“If that’s what you call it,” Jo mumbled before setting a basket of croissants and a bowl of fruit on the counter. She turned away and stalked from the kitchen, unwilling to be a witness to the young woman’s possessive behavior.

“What made you come all this way Brooke?” Max asked when they were alone.

“I wanted to be introduced to your mother, Max. I believe we should meet before the wedding, don’t you?” Brooke said as she broke one of the still warm croissants and took a small bite.

Max sat beside her and put his hands on his knees.

“You know as well as I do that there isn’t going to be a wedding. I haven’t proposed and my mother has no particular need to meet you in person.”

Brooke stared at him, her green eyes piercing in their examination of his face.

“You don’t think she wants to know her own grandchild?”

Max shook his head. This was seriously getting out of hand. He would see that she had a return flight on the King private jet come morning and personally escort her to the airport.

“Brooke, stop. This is going too far. I’m sorry you got the wrong impression, and I fully accept the blame in this situation. I never should have allowed you to believe that you and I had a future.”

Brooke took his hand in hers and placed it on her flat abdomen.

“Our child is growing right there, right now Max. I wanted to tell you but then your father died and you rushed home. Now we’re here together and what a wonderful surprise it will be for your mother. Something to give her hope.”

Max felt the wind leave his lungs as if he’d been punched in the gut. She couldn’t be pregnant, not now. Not after he’d found himself in love with Cyn again.

Brooke smiled at him, her future now secure.

“I think I might join your mother and your old flame for some girl talk. I won’t say a word about the baby. Not yet. That news should be shared with family only, don’t you think?”

She rose from her seat and kissed him again, not noticing the pain in his eyes nor the lack of warmth in his kiss.

Max pounded a fist into the counter top after Brooke had gone. He jumped from his seat and fished the keys to the pick up from his jeans pocket.

Damn it all to hell! How in the world had she become pregnant now? Two years of an on again off again relationship and there had never been the hint of a pregnancy.

He slammed the back door behind him, angry at the way he’d left himself open to Brooke’s manipulation. He hopped in the old truck and revved the engine. He needed space and time to think.

The rain had stopped and he drove over the glistening pavement, his heart aching as he recalled the feel of Cyn’s body in his hands. He wouldn’t let Brooke mess that up. He was meant to be with Cyn. He’d traveled the world, had the most beautiful women, played at the top of his game in the corporate world. None of that compared to the way his heart sang whenever he was with Cyn.

He’d take Brooke back to New York and they’d go to the doctor together. If she was pregnant with his child, he would set her up in her own penthouse apartment with all the trappings. That was all she really wanted. His money. When the baby came, he would demand a paternity test. But he would never marry her.

Max felt at peace with his decision. He didn’t know how he would explain to Cyn about returning to New York with Brooke. And there was no use in mentioning a baby until he knew it was true. If she thought for a second that he would leave his own child for her she wouldn’t give him that chance.

He turned the truck around and sped back home, hoping against hope that Brooke would keep her word and not mention the baby before he got her out of town.

C
yn frowned
when she heard Brooke enter the room. If she thought Cyn would stop her massage of Mrs. King’s feet to look at her manicure she was dead wrong. Amelia King welcomed the young woman into the room and asked her to have a seat.

“Brooke, this is Cynthia, the woman I told you about when you first came in with Rhys.”

Brooke took in the cowboy boots and the sundress and lifted her chin a bit. It was obvious the woman had no sense of style and Brooke wondered how she’d managed to own a salon, even in this small town. It must have been by the good graces of the King family.

“We met in the kitchen,” she said, smiling at Mrs. King.

“Cynthia, is it? I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Max. I imagine he’s invited you to our wedding?”

Cyn focused on Amelia and refused to even glance at Brooke as she spoke.

“I had no idea you two were engaged until today, actually,” Cyn said. In her head, a most devilish conversation continued.

And if I believed it for a moment, Max and I wouldn’t have made hot love up against his old pick up truck during a rain storm right before you arrived.

Cyn smiled at Amelia King as she applied soothing foot cream and put her feet into a pair of the softest socks.

Brooke watched the two women, realizing the bond between them. Cyn was more than someone who catered to Mrs. King, she was almost like a member of the family. She probably thought she would be, sooner or later. Too bad Max was off the market. She’d have to keep doing hair and nails for a living, poor dear. She would throw her a bone, just to keep her future mother-in-law happy.

“Well, now that you know, it would be wonderful to have someone who used to be close with Max help with the wedding, don’t you agree Mrs. King?”

The older woman smiled gratefully at Brooke. She hadn’t felt the young woman was the friendly type when they met but maybe she had been mistaken. Not many women would ask their future husband’s high school sweetheart to help with the wedding ceremony.

“That is an excellent idea, Brooke. Cynthia, what do you think?”

Cyn shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Amelia King. “Anything for Max, you know that.”

Brooke sighed. She could see this woman would come between her and Max given the chance and so she’d have to be certain to have a sit down, just the two of them, and warn the poor woman away. Surely the long list of her faults didn’t include home wrecker? Then again, any woman who wore a sundress with boots to a home as grand as this couldn’t be expected to have any common sense or decency.

Jo entered the sun room and frowned at the sight of Brooke lounging peacefully while Cynthia pampered Mrs. King. The girl was dismissive, assumed a lot for someone they barely knew, and looked as though she was certain Cynthia would wait on her next. She turned her attention to Cynthia and Mrs. King, a cellphone in her hand.

“Has anyone seen Max? He has a call from New York and he left his phone on the kitchen counter.”

Brooke stood and held out her hand.

Jo placed the phone in the pocket of her apron and shook her head at Brooke.

Cyn held back a laugh at the two women as she packed her bag and stood to leave. She turned to her favorite client and smiled.

“Amelia, I hope you feel as good as you look! I haven’t lost my touch.”

Mrs. King smiled brightly, a blush creeping over her cheeks. “You are too good to me, Cynthia. Like the daughter I never had.”

Brooke made a tiny noise in her throat and sat back down. If Max had only returned to New York after his father’s funeral she wouldn’t have to sit and watch this love fest between Cyn and Mrs. King nor deal with the rude housekeeper.

Cyn breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the house and hurried to her car. Her emotions were a jumbled mess and all she wanted was to go home and soak in a hot bubble bath.

The bliss of Max’s lips and hands, not to mention the heated pace of their lovemaking, still lingered on her skin and in her mind. How could he take her there in the garage if he truly loved Brooke and wanted to marry her? It didn’t make sense but they’d been apart for a long time. What you wanted as a teenager rarely turned out to be what you wanted as you became an adult.

She’d known he was a playboy through the years. Amelia King had spoken of how she wished he would settle down and Cyn had seen pictures of him at hot spots around the world, a different woman on his arm in each one. Yet he never brought any of them home to meet his mother. Until now.

She slammed the trunk shut and turned as he pulled up the drive in that damn pick up! She was taken back to that summer when he’d come by and they’d go riding off the main roads all day, the evening spent fooling around in the cab.

He stopped beside her, his arm on the window, his hair windblown. Cyn longed to trace the outline of his jaw, to lose her hands in his thick, dark hair. His blue eyes shone with appreciation as he slowly looked her up and down.

She stepped forward, pulled by his bright blue gaze and placed a hand on his arm. He kissed her forehead and tipped her chin up and moved to her lips. Cyn stepped back, remembering where they were.

“Max, what if someone sees us?”

“Then someone might understand that I love you.”

Cyn shook her head and turned to walk away. “Come see me when you aren’t engaged, Max King. Then we’ll see how much you love me.”

She opened her car door and held her head up as she slipped the car into reverse. He slowly moved the truck forward to let her go.

Cyn fought the tears until she was off King property. Her heart had always belonged to Max. The years hadn’t changed a thing, except that now there was another woman standing between them. His fiancee.