Vivian Arend - Turn It On

Another mouse scrambled across the floor and Max threw a can of soup at it in frustration. She’d been emptying traps for the past week and there seemed to be no end to the mouse hoard.

After putting away her final purchases, Maxine collapsed into her favorite couch in the living room with a cup of tea and tried to relax. All the strange occurrences jumbled together in her brain. The water damage, the phone calls—first the fax machines and now some prankster. Junior had told her he thought whoever put up Gramma’s shelf should be shot, since they’d used smaller screw sizes than building code called for. Even the mouse invasion seemed wrong.

The rest of the house repairs were complete, but there was a sense of unease hanging over her like she’d never felt before. Like something watching her. Waiting.

She snorted into her teacup at her overactive imagination. There was no reason to feel like this. The security system was going in. The police were alerted so if she did have any disturbances she’d be on the quick response list. She lived in Thompson, not New York, for heaven’s sake. This was small-town America, where people looked out for each other.

Still.

She made a face at herself as she wandered down to the basement, looking for where the game equipment was stored. She’d just pulled a baseball bat from the pile when the scent of something rotting hit her. Following the aroma, she ended up at a stack of boxes near the furnace. It took a few minutes to check through them all, but when she opened the right one her eyes watered and her stomach turned over in protest. Whatever had been in the box was in the advanced stages of decomposition, and the stench made her gag. Maxine quickly tossed it into a plastic bag and sealed it tight.

It took another hour to get the putrid stuff to the garbage, and the remaining boxes back in order. She picked up her bat and headed up to her bedroom. She propped the solid wood club in the corner of the room, feeling a little silly. Then she crawled into a tub full of bubbles to try and rid herself of the sensation of the filth that clung to her. Thank God she’d found the box before the furnace had turned on and sent the smell throughout the whole house.

Time to make some plans. The weekend approached and she swore she’d get to see Ryan. No one in her family was going to mess it up this time. Chatting on the phone with him daily was nice, but getting to see him in person? She relaxed into the warm water and sighed. A dose of Ryan was totally what she needed right now to chase away the rest of the gloom and doom hanging over her.

“Boss, all the final checks are done on the second-level windows. Did you want me to link the last relays or do you still plan on completing the hookup?”

Ryan watched through the living room window as Maxine pulled into her driveway. He gave a distracted wave to his foreman. “I’ll finish up, Keith. Thanks, and thank the boys for putting in the extra energy. I appreciate it.”

Keith grinned at him. “I bet you do.” He flicked his head in Max’s direction. “She’s a nice-looking girl, boss. She got a sister?”

Ryan slapped the man on the shoulder and pushed him toward the door. “Cousins only, and even the oldest is too young for you. Besides, I think she’s called Maxilla or some awful thing.”

Keith snickered. “She could be called Godzilla for all I care if she’s got legs like her cousin.” He pulled open the door to admit a smiling Maxine. “Ma’am. Have a great evening.” He slipped out, shooting a thumbs-up at Ryan behind Max’s back.

Ryan shook his head. Damn crew. Usually he had no troubles with the ribald comments from his blunt-spoken employees, but today he could have done without the smart-ass remarks. The discussion as the guys worked the wiring on the master-bedroom windows—suggesting the bedroom calisthenics possible on the football-field-sized bed—had driven him crazy.

Probably because he had the same fucking thoughts running through his mind.

“Hi, Ryan. Long time no see.”

She lit up the room and he couldn’t resist. It had been too damn long since they’d touched, and hearing her sultry voice day after day made his desire for her rocket. He dipped his head to kiss her, soft and gentle, on the cheek before brushing his lips over hers. She leaned into him, her sweet lips clinging to his as she wrapped her hands around his torso to mold them together. He licked her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth, brushing his tongue over her teeth. She made a tantalizing little noise deep in her throat that shot a thrill through him. He cupped her neck in one hand, tugging her hips closer with the other as he continued to consume her mouth, slowly and yet completely. One thumb touched warm, satiny skin where her blouse separated from the top of her slacks, and he rubbed back and forth, teasing her.

Tormenting him.

She was submissive under his touch, curving her body against him, She lifted her head to ease his tongue’s path, allow his lips to glide down her throat as they shared the heat growing between them. A distant buzzing broke through his desire-clouded mind.

Fuck, the oven timer.

Ryan kissed her once more before retreating, pulling away from her taste and her touch and the thundering need ripping through him. He smiled down at her. “Welcome home.”

She flicked her gaze to the floor before tilting her chin up in a determined fashion. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re here.”

They stared at each other for a moment and Ryan’s heart thumped hard. Concentrate. Finish the system first, then dinner, and then see where this goes. Oh Lord, he hoped she was finally ready, and that there were no Turner emergencies to interrupt them.

Max licked her lips. “I need to change out of my work clothes.”

Ryan held himself back. Fuck, did she know her husky voice sounded like an invitation to join her? He took a deep breath—after waiting this long he was not going to ravish her before he fed her. After? All bets were off. “I need to finish hooking up a few things on the system and I promised I’d provide dinner. The cannelloni is nearly ready. You go ahead, I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”

Her eyes glinted as she backed away, teasing him with her smile. “I love Italian food.”

Ryan waved a hand at her. “You love all kinds of food. That’s why we get along so well.”

She made her way up the stars and he stared after her, admiring the sway of her hips, his body tightening with need. She turned at the top and winked at him. “I knew you’d still be watching me.”

Ryan held up his hands in defeat. “What can I say? You’ve got a great…staircase.”

Maxine laughed. One of the many clocks in the house sounded the top of the hour and her laugh died away. She grasped the banister so tightly her knuckles changed color.

“Maxine, what’s the matter?” He was on the stairs, racing up them two at a time to reach her, pulling her back into his arms.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to answer when the phone rang and her face went white. She stared at him like a deer in headlights.

“Is it the damn fax machine again?” he asked, pointing to the phone on a writing desk adjacent to the window. “I’ll get them to stop.”

She mumbled something so quietly he barely made out the words, but it sounded like an apology. She buried her face against him.

The answering machine kicked in.

“…one-nine-seven is not available. Please leave a message.”

Following the beep, a stream of foul curses carried over the line, calling Maxine by name and threatening her with horrible, crude words. Ryan grabbed the phone. “Who the hell do you think you are, asshole?”

The line went dead.

Ryan swung on Max. “What the fuck was that all about?”

Her complexion was paler than before, her eyes huge in her face and Ryan swore under his breath at his stupidity. She was scared to death. The last thing she needed was him going apeshit on her.

“Damn it, this has happened before, hasn’t it?” He forced himself to speak calmly, quietly.

When she nodded he wrapped his arms around her and held her close until the blood pounding through him slowed enough he could hear normally again. He tugged her down the hall toward her bedroom. While he wasn’t sure what else was happening, he knew this.

He protected his own.

It took mere seconds to find a bag in her closet shelf and toss it on the bed. She looked at him, a silent question in her eyes. “Pack enough things for a couple days. You’re coming home with me,” Ryan said firmly.

“But—”

He held up a hand, restraining his temper with an iron grip. “Max. Trust me, you don’t want to argue with me right now. Pack the damn bag and meet me downstairs in five minutes or I’ll carry you out of here with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

Ryan caressed her cheek to reassure her—hell, to reassure himself—then turned and made his way to the kitchen, pulling out his cell phone to place a few vital calls.

Whatever the fuck was happening, it stopped now.

The silent ride to Ryan’s house tortured her already jangled nerves. The dark expression on his face worried her more than if he’d been loud and angry. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the rest. She’d never seen a man switch so quickly and completely from lust-filled to furious, and it scared her a little, even though she knew the anger wasn’t directed at her.

Yet she had to be honest—as horrible as she felt right now, the fear that had increased each time she received another call faded mercifully with the knowledge her secret was out. She’d managed to keep the prank calls from her whole family. For some reason, she had wanted to tell Ryan, wanted to confide in him, but she’d thought it was too small of an issue to bother him with. It was only a few prank calls. The police had assured her there was nothing anyone could do to deal with the situation other than screening calls. According to them she wasn’t unsafe, just being annoyed. She didn’t think she should mention the calls to Ryan.

Obviously she’d thought wrong.

Max sat quietly until the door beside her opened. Ryan hoisted her bag over his shoulder before holding out a hand. Wordlessly, he led her to the entrance of a tall apartment house. By the time they were in the elevator, tears had begun to form.

He punched the button for his floor with more than adequate force before pinning her to the back of the lift with his body and taking her lips in an assault that left her breathless and needy. She closed her eyes and tangled her fingers in his hair, accepting his silent chastisement for not sharing with him, answering with powerful desires of her own. The bell rang, the elevator doors slid open and Ryan pulled her out, his lips hovering over hers. He walked only far enough to press her back against the hallway wall before dropping his mouth on hers again, binding her wrists together in his clasp. Max kissed him fiercely, needing his touch to chase away the rest of her anxiety.

Ryan dropped his head on her shoulder and slowed his breathing. His hand rose to cup her cheek. Max remained still, welcoming the warmth of his body against hers, the gentle caring in his touch.

“Don’t keep secrets that hurt,” Ryan said quietly. “I’m here for you. Not just for coffee and laughing and Italian food. You should have told me. Understand?”

Max nodded, meeting his gaze as he lifted his head. He brushed away a tear lingering in the corner of her eye. “Good.”

He hurried her into his apartment. Max glanced around curiously until he blocked her view, caging her against the hall closet. “Ryan, are you planning on hanging me up for the night? Or gluing me to the wall?” she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He tugged at her light jacket. “I’ll tell you what I am planning, so there’s no further confusion. First, I’m sending you to my room to unpack while I reheat the dinner I made at your house. After we eat, I’m taking you to bed and making love to you until you forget everything else and sleep like a baby. And I’m planning on waking you in the night to make love again.” As he spoke he removed her outer layer and slipped opened the top buttons of her blouse. Her heart pounded as the back of his knuckles brushed her skin.

She stared at him, blood rushing through her as she considered his words. Considered the proprietary expression in his eyes and on his face. The day had turned out to be an emotional roller coaster. She’d longed to see him since his call, longed for his kiss and his embrace. The past days she’d thought hard about what getting involved with him would mean. He was more than she’d imagined and everything she wanted. It wasn’t because being with him wiped away the fear right now. She wanted him in spite of the fear clinging to her soul.