Emma Darcy - The Master Player

He watched her process this information. The initial relief gave way to a narrow-eyed re-assessment of her own situation with him. He knew she was thinking of how her mother and husband had interpreted his actions on her behalf, that he was motivated by carnal desire, not keeping his television show on track. There was no more fondling. She drew her hand away from his groin and separated her body from his, sliding to one side, an elbow propping her up as she studied his face, her mind obviously whirling with questions.

They were still on an intimate footing, Max told himself. She hadn’t flounced off the bed to grab her robe and cover herself. She didn’t want to separate herself from him that far. Nevertheless, he knew the next words spoken could have a critical impact on where they went from here. He didn’t try to pull her back to him, respecting the space she’d put between them. He didn’t move at all but there was a shift inside himself, adrenaline pumping through him, relaxation obliterated by the growing tension of battle readiness.

He wasn’t about to lose now.

Chloe decided she wanted the truth, whatever it was. There’d been no gossip about Max breaking up with Shannah Lian, so the break had to be very recent. The big question was when? The gorgeous redhead had not been with him at the launch party. Was that an indication the relationship had ended before then…before the revelation of Tony’s and Laura’s betrayal, which had made her so vulnerable to Max’s escape route?

Chloe fiercely hoped so. She didn’t want her mother and Tony to be right about Max. He’d been so good to her…good for her. On the other hand, she couldn’t bear to live with lies. Her whole life felt as though it had been false. Above all, she needed to get it straight now, not be fooled by anything anymore.

There was no guilt in Max’s eyes. Not the slightest flicker of evasion, either. He was watching her intently, his dark brilliant gaze very steady and direct, waiting for her to tell him what was on her mind, why she had moved aside, breaking the intimate togetherness. There was waiting in his stillness, too, and the uneasy thought flashed across her mind that it was the stillness of a predator waiting for the right opening to attack.

He’d certainly seized the right opening at the launch party, moving in at the precise moment of absolute vulnerability, taking her into his keeping when she was too shell-shocked to be aware of it. But she wasn’t shell-shocked now and she wasn’t going to be weak, letting him steam-roll her into an affair that could distract her from what she should be doing.

Another question popped into her mind. She couldn’t imagine any woman dumping Max, though it seemed relevant to the main issue so she asked, ‘Did you end it or did Shannah?’

‘I did.’

No surprise in that admission. Chloe couldn’t see Max not being in charge of everything to do with his life. She had to ask the big question now. ‘When, Max?’

‘The day you came here. I had a dinner date with Shannah that night. I couldn’t relate to her. I kept thinking of you.’

Relief swept through her. It sounded reasonable. Yet it didn’t really answer the accusations made by her mother and Tony. ‘Do you mean wanting me instead of her?’

‘Yes.’

She took a deep breath and blurted out, ‘Has everything you’ve done for me been about…about wanting me?’

His mouth quirked into an ironic little smile. ‘Chloe, I doubt there’s a man alive who wouldn’t find you desirable, but if you’re asking if it was lust driving me to take you into my protection that first night, no, it wasn’t.’

A flush of embarrassment burned her cheeks. Of course, it was a ridiculous assumption. He’d whipped her away from a nasty scene because he hadn’t wanted the whole focus of the launch party to be diverted into a gossip-fest that had nothing to do with the show.

‘I spoke the truth to you,’ he quietly assured her. ‘Protecting the star of my show, ensuring its success was my top priority. I moved straight into damage control. And I’d have to say I quite enjoyed doing it.’

Going into battle, she thought, not attaching his relish for it to anything personal to her until he added, ‘I’ve always liked you, Chloe. I didn’t like the way your mother handled you. I didn’t like your husband who was riding on your coat-tails. But that was none of my business until you gave me the go-ahead to act on your behalf to free you from both of them. Only then did I start thinking…she is now free to be with me.’

Having just reasoned away his actions, this statement came as a shock. Chloe didn’t know what to think of it and Max moved, startling her into rolling onto her back as he propped himself on his side, his eyes glittering with dark, ruthless purpose, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek and keep her attention fixed on him.

‘I wanted that, Chloe. I wanted that immediately. And proceeded to do everything possible to make it happen. For you to be with me,’ he said without the slightest hint of apology. ‘But it could only happen if you wanted it, too. If you chose to be with me.’

Choices…yes. All along he had presented her with choices; tempting choices, seductive choices, reasonable choices, everything possible that would appeal to her state of mind. And heart. She couldn’t call it a trap when she had walked into it willingly. Even though she had sensed that her white knight had a dark side, it hadn’t stopped her going with him, wanting to be with him.

He hadn’t interfered with her marriage. Tony had done that, not Max.

He hadn’t taken her over, as her mother had put it, colouring him with her own using mentality.

Yes, he had dumped Shannah Lian for her, and Chloe was glad she was the more desirable woman to him and he had been honest about it, acting honourably, ending one relationship before pursuing another.

He had done nothing wrong.

And everything right for her.

What more could she ask of him?

The frantic pumping of her heart eased.

He smiled, as though he knew the cloud of troubling concerns had lifted from her mind. ‘I think I’m good for you. Tell me if I’m not.’

The last of her inner tension dissolved in a gurgle of laughter. He was a beautiful man-an infinitely desirable man and she was enormously fortunate that he desired her. She raised her hands to cup his wickedly handsome face, smiling as she drew it down towards hers. ‘I like how good you are for me, Max.’

He laughed, his eyes twinkling delight in her response. Their kiss started with a sense of mutual joy in each other but quickly escalated into passion. Excitement fizzed through her body, re-energising it into a wild craving for more intimacy with him. He was ready for it, too. She reached down and stroked him, marvelling again at how hard and powerful he felt, elated that she stirred such strong desire in this marvellous man.

‘No more feeling passive,’ he murmured against her lips, then lifted her to sit astride him as he rolled onto his back, grinning a wicked invitation as he said, ‘Take me.’

She did, loving the sensation of slowly sinking down on him, feeling him filling her inside. Her grin back at him was pure blissful pleasure. He reached up and started caressing her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples, his dark eyes simmering a challenge for her to be as active as she liked. Chloe had never thought of herself as an exhibitionist, yet she revelled in rolling her hips, swaying her body in an intensely sensual and tantalising rhythm, watching him watching her, seeing the simmer in his eyes flare into a blaze of urgent need.

He whipped her onto her back, seizing control, plunging fast and furiously, driving her excitement to the same shattering peak as before, both of them crying out as they climaxed together, both of them subsiding into a languorous state of sweet satiation afterwards. Chloe lay in his embrace, savouring a sense of perfect happiness. She didn’t care if it was only ever going to be a temporary thing with Max. It was good. Better than anything she’d known in her entire life.

A questioning whine from the bedroom doorway snapped her head up from Max’s chest. Luther! He was standing quite normally on his sturdy little legs, his eyes bright, his head cocked to one side, observing the fact there were two people on the bed instead of one and looking not too sure that he wouldn’t get kicked again.

‘It’s okay, Luther,’ Chloe promised him. ‘See-’ Max obligingly raised his head ‘-it’s Max.’

‘Come on, little fella. Want to join us?’ Max crooned at him, throwing out a welcoming arm.

Luther happily scampered over to the bed and Max gently scooped him onto it, whereupon the little dog darted from one to the other, licking their faces in exuberant pleasure that all was well in their world. Clearly he’d suffered no damage from Tony’s kick, and they finally settled him down between them, stroking him into blissful contentment.

‘I’m glad I gave him to you,’ Max said in a fond tone. ‘If he hadn’t been barking his head off this afternoon, alerting me to trouble, I’d still be wondering how long I’d have to wait before you felt comfortable about admitting the attraction between us.’

She sighed over the needless tension she’d put herself through. ‘I thought I kept it hidden from you.’

He shook his head. ‘You can’t hide sexual chemistry, Chloe, and it’s always been there between us. It was why you never felt comfortable in my presence. You clung to your mother or Tony, using them as safety barriers because you didn’t feel safe with me.’

His perception shamed her in a way because she hadn’t faced up to the truth in the past, her mind instinctively shying away from examining the feelings he stirred in her, labeling him dangerous-to be avoided whenever possible, kept at a distance when he was unavoidable. ‘Well, I feel safe with you now,’ she said decisively.

Although she wasn’t safe from falling in love with him.

And he would move on from her, just as he’d moved on from Shannah Lian. That was his well-documented reputation with women, as her mother had pointed out. She couldn’t expect it to turn out differently with her. She still had to keep Max at a distance…from her heart.

He frowned at her. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘I’m thinking I’ll take all you want to give me of yourself for as long as you want me with you, but I mustn’t get too addicted to it because it will come to an end sooner or later.’

Max instantly thought, I might not want it to come to an end, but he pulled himself back from saying it. He’d never held out even the suggestion of a lasting relationship to any woman and it would be wrong to plant the idea of it Chloe’s mind. He didn’t know the future. He knew this woman was different to the others who’d passed through his life, knew she evoked feelings that were not usually touched in him, but this was all very new and it was happening now. Next month…next year…sooner or later…the feelings might wane.

‘All I want to give you of myself,’ he repeated musingly, his eyes teasing hers. ‘That’s a sweeping statement, Chloe. You might want to draw limits. You can, you know. You’re free to make whatever choices you like. I don’t own you. I hope you won’t ever let anyone own you again.’

It was good advice and he saw it sink in, saw her shedding the kind of ownership her mother and husband had inflicted on her, saw the realisation that her life was hers to shape any way she liked, saw the will to do it being born, saw her slipping away from him.

Which gave him the weird sense that he’d just cut his own throat and might end up bleeding to death from caring about her too much.

But it was still good advice and he wouldn’t take it back.

He didn’t want to be selfish with her.

She deserved to flower into the person she could be, freed from the suppression of her past life. He would enjoy watching her become that person-a survivor like him, moving forward, finding her own sunshine, opening up to it, seizing the opportunities that appealed to her. The husk of her mother’s Chloe would be left behind and the Maria in her mind would emerge.

Maria…

Mary…

CHLOE did set limits. She would not go out in public with Max. First, it was bound to create a frenzy of gossip, bringing the paparazzi down on her like a cloud of bees, just when they’d lost interest since nothing juicy had eventuated from her move to Max’s guest house. Second, the cast of the show would inevitably treat her differently. She’d already had a taste of that and decided that it would be much easier working with them if their suspicions about her relationship with Max were not confirmed. Third, she didn’t want to give Tony any nasty ammunition to fire at her, nor give her mother the smug satisfaction that once again she’d known better than Chloe. Which she hadn’t, but she’d think it.