All I've Ever Wanted - Adrianne Byrd [43]
“You must work out a lot,” she said, accepting the bottle he offered.
Max cocked his head. “Were you checking me out?”
Heat blazed up her neck and scorched her cheeks. “I…uh…”
He nodded, then winked. “Yeah. You were checking me out. How did I score?”
Belatedly, she shrugged and tried to lie convincingly. “Maybe a six.”
“Tough crowd.” He laughed and returned to his seat.
Her embarrassment lingered as she watched him blatantly assess her.
“I think I’ll give you a nine. I’m not so hard to please.”
She took a deep gulp from the uncapped bottle. A low rumble of laughter met her ears.
“It sure doesn’t take much to embarrass you,” he noted.
She shifted.
“What’s the matter? Surely you’ve had plenty of guys tell you that you’re beautiful.”
She shrugged but said nothing.
He cocked his head again. “No?”
“I suppose so.”
“You suppose so?” He shook his head. “Go figure. A beautiful woman who doesn’t know she’s beautiful. Hats off to you. You’re a rare one, Kennedy.”
“Thanks.” She laughed. “I think.”
They fell silent again, but she could still feel his gaze.
“What is it now?”
“Just thinking,” he said.
“About what?”
“About when was the last time I had a woman here—at this time of night—wearing my clothes.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you flirting with me?”
“Only if you’re not offended.”
She laughed, probably a bit too loud. “Oh, you’re good.”
“You think so?”
Kennedy nodded. “Tell me.” She leaned forward and he followed suit. “Is seducing me part of the job—overtime maybe?”
Hurt stabbed his expression, as he answered in a clipped voice, “No.”
She straightened. “It never hurts to ask.”
“Is that right? Okay then, let me ask you something.”
Warning bells chimed in her head. “Shoot.”
“Would you like me to seduce you?”
Chapter 20
Kennedy didn’t respond. In fact, she practically forgot how to breathe as she drowned in the liquid pools of Max’s eyes. Sensations spread through her body, each wondrous in their own right.
“Excuse me?” Had she heard him right?
Max’s eyes never left hers. “I asked if you wanted to be seduced. I’m only asking because you’ve been acting odd ever since you’ve arrived here.”
“I have not,” she denied indignantly.
“No? Who was jumpy when I mentioned being shown to the bedroom? You’ve been blushing excessively, not to mention, gawking at my butt.”
Color drained from her face. How did he know she’d been staring at him? A wave of humiliation wiped out the wondrous sensations. Had she subconsciously given him mixed signals throughout the evening? She looked at the bottle she was holding. Or couldn’t she handle her alcohol?
“I’m sorry,” she said, placing the half-empty bottle on the coffee table. “Maybe it’s time for me to go to bed.”
His gaze finally deserted hers and, for a brief moment, she could have sworn that she’d read disappointment in his eyes.
“Aren’t you going to answer my question?”
His intense gaze returned to her.
Yearning bloomed, confusing her even more. It would be all right to admit a mild attraction, the small voice in her head encouraged. What was the big deal? He was a man and she was a woman.
“It’s a ridiculous question,” she said instead.
“Of course it is.” He winked, and then took another swig of beer.
Unable to shake the feeling of being the butt of some untold joke, Kennedy crossed her arms and asked her own question. “What would you have said if my answer was yes?”
“Race you to the bedroom.” He winked again, his face exploding in a smile.
She laughed, mainly because it seemed like the right thing to do. When she leaned over to retrieve her beer, her gaze returned to the manila folder that held the details of her life.
“Find anything interesting?”
Max followed her gaze. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Oh? Like what?”
He shrugged. “Like, you’ve experienced quite a bit of tragedy for someone your age.”
It was her turn to shrug and rely on a quote her grandmother had often said. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
“No one could