What Maxi Needs (Leave Your Shoes On 3)

She plopped a dollop of strawberry cream cheese on her plain bagel, then tossed a flirty look over her shoulder as she said, “Gotta tell you, Einstein, that’s the way every woman wants to be greeted first thing in the morning.”

He all but salivated as he continued to admire her long, bare legs and her luscious ass, yet managed to say, “It’s a shame we’re wasting what has the potential to be a mammoth hard-on.”

She laughed softly as she straightened and turned to face him. “I’d tease you about having an inflated male ego, except for the fact that I’ve seen the goods.”

Leaning in close, he said, “You’ve done more than see the goods—and you’ve done more than sample.”

“Mm, so true.” A sultry moan fell from her parted, glossy lips. “Damn, that’s a visual that’s going to stick with me all day.”

“And you think I can simply erase from my mind the memory of you bent over a table with your ass in the air?” His expression turned intent as he added, “Primed just for me.”

Maxi took a tiny step closer, effectively closing the gap between them. “That’s a pretty big assumption.”

In a low, intimate tone, he asked, “Is there anyone else bunching your skirt around your waist and fu—”

“Ben.”

Ryan’s brow jerked up. “Huh?”

Maxi shot Ryan a be good! look and stepped around him. “Nice to see you, Ben.” She extended her hand to the VP, and they shook. “Sorry to spoil your Sunday.”

“It’s fine,” Ben told her. “This is important, Maxi. A definite all-hands-on-deck scenario. Besides,” he added with a wink, “it gets me out of Sunday brunch with my bickering sisters.”

“Yes, there is that,” Ryan interjected. And steered Ben away from Maxi. A purely territorial move. An unexpected one. Ryan had never been the possessive sort. Then again, he’d never laid eyes—or a claim—on a woman like Maxi Shayne.

And Ben seemed to always be one of the first to arrive at a meeting to chat her up.

While Ryan felt compelled to shoo away the vultures, Maxi appeared grateful he’d stepped in so that she could eat her bagel before the meeting started.

The session lasted most of the morning, then everyone was off to their departments to keep the forward movement from slowing.

Ryan followed Maxi into her office, and they spent the better part of the day on their own operational issues—while Ryan tried to keep the image of her bent over the conference room table from his mind.

As the clock ticked toward seven, he finally suggested, “How about dinner?”

“Great idea. I’m starving. More Chinese or should I call the deli?”

Flipping the cover on his iPad, he said, “I was thinking it’d do us good to get the hell out of here for a few hours.”

She hedged, her shoulders bunching.

“Maxi.”

“Ryan,” she challenged. “I thought we agreed—”

“We didn’t agree to anything. You dictated, I let you. But now I’m saying that I want to have dinner with you. Away from this place. It’d do us both wonders to recharge the batteries.”

She let out a long sigh. Rolled her head as though working out kinks in her neck. “You’re right. No offense—because I find all of your charts and graphs hugely helpful in the grand scheme of things—but my eyes

are pretty much crossed at this point.”

He grinned. “At least you’re woman enough to own up to it.”

Snapping her notebook closed, she stood and walked over to the coatrack. “I have a gorgeous pork loin about to go to waste because I forgot to freeze it when the shit hit the fan here at work. I can pop it in the oven and whip up a salad and baked potatoes. Sound good?”

Ryan groaned. “As hungry as I am, McDonald’s would probably suffice. But the pork loin is much more appealing.” He couldn’t resist adding, “Even more appealing if you cook in nothing but an apron and stilettos.”

“Ryan.” She smirked—not at all chastising. Seductive was more like it.