TAKE IT SLOW

 

We arrive at the basement parking lot of Foxx-Tech Global. Max hasn’t spoken much at all since we left my flat. Every time I’d glanced up at him, he seemed to be deep in thought.

He doesn’t waste any time removing my bags from the car, and then we head toward the lift.

I reach out to take one of my bags from his shoulder. “I can carry one of those.” His tall, solid frame with those broad shoulders could carry ten times more bags, but I feel silly just carrying my piddling little handbag.

Regarding me with a contemptuous frown, he waits for me to enter the lift. It’s probably a man thing.

“F-One. Three. Zero. Zero. Three,” he says, nodding toward the keypad. As I hit the last button, the doors glide shut and we ascend in silence.

“I’m quite capable of carrying my own bags.” When he doesn’t respond to my grumbling comment, I glance up and see him frowning and chewing his lip. Something’s bothering him.

“Where does Mike live?”

“What? Why?” I know exactly why he wants to know.

He shrugs, keeping his eyes on the display. “I just want to talk to the guy, that’s all.”

I don’t believe that for a minute! “Talk? Really?” I roll my eyes. “I’ll talk to him, and if it was him—”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Max turns to face me with a serious frown. “I don’t want you talking to him, or seeing him ever again, are we clear?”

Stunned into silence, I stand there open mouthed. He sounds just like Mike.

A surge of anger stiffens my resolve. “And what about what I want?”

He regards me for a few seconds. A hurt expression replacing the adamant, serious one. “You want Mike?”

I shake my head in confusion. “No. Of course not.”

His face relaxes, as a small smile curls his lips. “Good.”

The soft ding announces our arrival at F1. As we approach the door to the penthouse, it opens by itself. The tall, elegant lady I saw earlier this morning in the kitchen, walks toward us wiping her hands on her apron.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Foxx,” she says, in a crisp, British accent, her smile warm and inviting. “And you must be Vivienne. I’m Janice, the housekeeper, but please, call me Jan.”

I offer her a shy smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Any calls?” Max asks, walking toward the stairs.

“Yes, Sir. The hospital called to say your father is doing extremely well, and that he needs a fresh pair of pyjamas. Vincent’s delivering them as we speak. I’ll have lunch ready in a jiffy.”

After they exchange an affectionate smile, she wanders back to the kitchen. Max nods toward the stairs. “Let’s get you settled in.”

Walking straight to the master suite, he deposits my bags on his bed then walks through to the huge walk in wardrobe and pulls open a few drawers, removing the contents and placing them in other drawers. I watch him quietly as he slides along some of his suits and shirts, making room.

As he walks back into the bedroom, he falters when he catches my expression.

“…What?”

Looking around his bedroom, I take a moment to gather my words. I’m scared. If the last two disastrous dates are anything to go by, I don’t want to go jumping straight in at the deep end. There’s too much at stake, my heart, for one thing.

It’s true, I’m in love with him, but I can’t just ignore the niggling doubts. I can’t help it, I’ve always been cautious.

If my flat hadn’t been ransacked we would be dating, like normal couples. Living separately and getting to know each other slowly, properly. This is too fast. I’m genuinely concerned that he’s taking too much for granted.

“I just think… maybe we should take this down a notch and get to know each other. Don’t you?”

I can’t believe I just said that. He’s the most sexy, handsome, gorgeous creature I’ve ever met. I literally combust with desire whenever he touches me and his smile alone can render me wanton and needy.

I am attracted to him, it’s impossible not to be, but I hardly know anything about him. They don’t call me ‘Cautious Viv’ for nothing. I need to be sure I’m not making a huge mistake.

He walks toward me, reaching down for my hands. His sparkling blue eyes gaze lovingly into mine.

“Vivienne. I know it all seems too fast and maybe even a little reckless, but I’m absolutely sure of my feelings for you. You’ve stolen my heart. I couldn’t do anything about that even if I wanted to.”

His eyes do their worst and render me speechless. My breathing hitches and the familiar pulse in my sex alerts me to the tantalising effect he has on my body.

His eyes lower to my mouth as he leans down, grazing his lips over mine, before devouring me in a hungry, passionate, toe-curling kiss. I do what comes naturally. Rising up on my toes, I throw my arms around his neck pulling us closer to deepen the kiss. His hard erection nudges at my lower belly sending a frizzle of electricity through my blood.

Breaking the kiss, he leans back to look at me with scorching hooded eyes. “Your body tells me how you feel, Vivienne. But I understand. I promise, we’ll take it slow.” He smiles, then kisses me chastely on the tip of my nose.

I’m still swaying from the intensity of his kiss when he releases me and picks up my bags from his bed.

Walking out of his room, he takes them over to the room I’d stayed in before.

Me and my big mouth.

On a reluctant sigh, I wander out of his room and into my new one.

“When you’re ready, come downstairs. Jan’s making lunch.” With a wink and one of his melt-worthy smiles, he leaves the room.

Dazed and still boneless from his kiss, I flop down on the bed and gaze around at my well designed bedroom. My new bedroom, at least until my flat is sorted out.

Images of my ransacked home invade my brain and I wince at the thought that Mike could be responsible.

But Max was right, there was no forced entry, and the cash in my bedroom stash was left lying on the floor. It had to be Mike.

Shit. What a mess.

I decide to call Lucy, she needs to know what’s happened and that I’m okay.

“Hey, Viv. So?…How was your date last night?”

Oh, God, was that only last night? It feels like ages ago now, since everything else that’s happened.

“Lucy. I’ve been ransacked.”

She bursts into a giggle. “Really? That good, hey?”

I roll my eyes. That girl’s got a one track mind. “No. I mean my flat’s been ransacked.”

“Fuck! When?”

“As you know, I went to meet Mike at one o’clock today, but Max turned up unannounced and Mike freaked out and ran off crying. It was awful. And then, when I got home, the door was open and all my stuff was literally everywhere. It was carnage, Luce.”

Tears prick my eyes at the memory of how it felt to see it.

“Jesus! That’s terrible. Are you okay? Do you want to stay at mine?”

“Er. No, it’s okay. Max is putting me up until it’s all sorted out.” I can sense her big grin through the phone. “I’ve got my own room,” I add, before she whips herself up into a frenzy.

“Oh?”

I can even hear her brain cogs whirring now.

“Luce, he’s got to prove himself first. There was another Monica incident last night, but I’ll tell you all about it when I see you.”

“Do you think it was Mike?” Her tone is flat and accusatory.

I do think it was Mike, but I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t want to get him in trouble.

“I don’t know.”

“That fucking shit-bag! You wait till I see him. Oh, bollocks. Sorry, Viv, I’ve got to go, my next appointment just walked in. Call me if you need me okay?”

“I will, see you soon. Bye.”

As I wander into the kitchen, I see Jan stirring a pot of something on the hob. She’s an elegant woman with striking features and her blonde hair is immaculately styled in a chignon.

“He’s out on the terrace,” she says, turning to face me with kind smiling eyes. “Oh, while you’re here, Vivienne. Do you have any special dietary requirements?”

“Er, no. I eat pretty much everything, except fish. I ate it as a child but then I became allergic to it so I don’t touch it now.”

“Okay, that’s fine, I’ll make a note of that.” Wiping her hands, she takes a notepad from her apron and scribbles something in it, then looks up at me with a warm smile.

“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Vincent’s told me all about you. It was kind of you to let him come back to our supper last night, I was tempted to eat all of the dessert myself.”

The penny drops. She and Vincent are dating. Wow, I would never have put those two together. Lucky Vinnie.

“If there’s anything you need, Vivienne, just ask.”

“I will, thanks.” Turning away, I head for the terrace to find Max.

The wide glass panels leading to the terrace are open, and I see Max sitting at a big round table. My eyes linger on his gorgeous profile as he sits alone reading his newspaper.

He has an elegant poise about him, even at rest. His self-assured grace could easily be misconstrued as arrogance, but the more I get to know him, the less arrogant he becomes.

Stepping out onto the terrace, I clear my throat to announce my arrival. I feel awkward being here.

Max tosses the paper to one side and stands, pulling out the chair next to him. “Please, sit.”

I join him and gaze at the mouth-watering array of salad and chicken and bread atop the table.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” he asks, lifting the bottle from the ice bucket.

“Yes, please.” I notice he doesn’t pour one for himself, he has water instead. “You’re not drinking?”

“No,” he smiles wryly. “I think my liver has suffered enough in the last twenty-four hours.”

From what he’d told me last night, I should think it’s already shot to pieces.

Max picks up the plate of chicken, offering it to me. I take a couple of pieces then return the gesture with the salad. Buttering a piece of bread, I add some dressing and croutons before tucking in.

“Mmmm, this looks delicious.”

In my peripheral vision I can see him shaking his head and smiling. I don’t look up, I know what he’s thinking. I can’t help it, I love my food.

“I have to go to the hospital this afternoon, would you come with me?” he asks, resting his knife and fork on the sides of his plate. His hopeful expression makes me smile.

“Erm. Yes. If you like.”

As he returns my smile, the warm afternoon sunshine bounces wildly off his crystal blue eyes. “Have you any plans for tomorrow?”

He’s caught me mid chew, so I wait until I’ve swallowed my mouthful before answering.

“I was just going to go home and clean up the mess.” As I prepare another forkful, I notice him giving me a swift sideways glance before picking up his glass of water.

“Well, there’s no rush. You have your room for as long as you need it, and I’d like to take you out tomorrow.”

I’m intrigued. “Where?”

Placing his glass back down, he rests his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers, tapping them together. “Somewhere I think you’ll enjoy.”

I frown and stop chewing. “But, you’re not going to tell me?”

His roguish grin lights up his face, he’s looking very pleased with himself. “I’ve decided our first two dates are now officially cancelled, totally erased, and never to be spoken of again. Tomorrow will be our first date. A memorable one. For all the right reasons this time.”

Raising my eyebrows, I resume chewing. Can’t wait!

It would be nice to erase our first two dates, then I would never have to think about Monica. But sadly, she pops up quite a bit in my thoughts. Niggling doubts creep back into my brain. Monica said he could be impulsive. Is he doing all this on impulse? Has he really stopped loving her? If so, why did he call her name out last night?

“Max… You seemed so distressed by something last night. What did you dream about?” I watch the confident smile drain from his face. My question has caught him unprepared. But, as if well practised, he looks me straight in the eye, reinstating his smile.

“Have you ever been so drunk you just can’t remember shit?”

I know he’s referring to me at Jamie’s launch. A clever way to swerve the question by answering it with another.

After a very satisfying lunch, I excuse myself to go and change into something a little more appropriate for our visit to see his father at the hospital. The tight white t-shirt and skinny jeans are probably not best suited.

As I packed in a hurry, most of my outfits could do with an iron, but luckily my grey shift dress is wrinkle free so I put that on and my black heels.

After brushing my teeth, I reapply my mascara and lip gloss then brush out the knots in my hair.

Upon inspection in the full length mirror, I decide I’ll do. Grabbing my cream coat, I head downstairs.

Max is sitting on the sofa in the cavernous living room. I stop on the bottom step to gaze at his sexiness. He looks gorgeous in jeans and a soft, v-neck sweater. With his unruly dark hair and natural tan, he looks positively dreamy. The man has style that’s clear to see, but with his incredible looks and sinfully hot body, he could make anything look sexy.

Looking up, he drags his admiring eyes all over my body until they end up back on my face. I can almost feel them physically sweeping across my skin. “You look beautiful.” On a swift movement he stands. His long, powerful legs striding toward me. He has a predatory walk, it’s sexy as hell.

My admiring eyes drag up and down his body until they land back on his face, which is smiling at me in that knicker-scorching way of his.

“Ready, baby?”

I nod. My power of speech now lost to his potent smile. Placing his hand on the small of my back, he leads me from the room.

I glance into the kitchen to thank Jan for lunch, but she’s nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Jan?”

He smirks, waggling his eyebrows. “She’s got a hot date with Parker.”

“Oh?” I smile, secretly whooping it up for Vinnie. “Why do you call him by his last name? It seems so formal.”

He shrugs, holding the penthouse door open for me. “I loved Thunderbirds as a kid. I always thought it was cool to have a driver called Parker.”

I smile and roll my eyes. “You don’t have a pink Rolls Royce by any chance?”

He laughs, cocking an eyebrow. “Hardly. Mine is silver grey.”

Rolling my eyes again, I exhale loudly. “Silly me, of course it is.” He ignores my sarcastic comment. “I like Vinnie. He seems like a very nice man.”

“He is… He’s like the brother I should have had.”

I can tell by Max’s expression that he means every word.

“You really love him don’t you.” It’s more an observation than a question. Other than a sideways smirk he doesn’t respond, but I can tell they care about each other very much.