4. Max

Iwatch her beautiful face brighten with the light of clarity when Anton says my name.

‘Max,'she says, her mouth twisting in an amused smirk that tells me she's heard far too much about me. ‘Got it.'

I don't take the bait.

‘How do you do?' I ask as I lean in to kiss her on both cheeks, allowing my free hand to brush her upper arm as I do. She smells like fucking roses and her skin is velvety.

‘I should caveat this entire introduction,' Anton says with a nervous glance over his shoulder, ‘by saying Gen's already warned Max off you. And if she finds out I've facilitated your meeting, there'll be hell to pay.'

Darcy cocks her head as she openly surveys me once again. ‘I bet she has.' I suspect she knows all about my previous encounters with her older sister, but even I have enough emotional intelligence not to rub Anton's nose in the fact that the love of his life has, in fact, shagged his best friend. Even if he was the Master of Ceremonies for that little party.

‘Yeah.' He looks over his shoulder again. Bloody hell, Gen has truly pussy whipped this powerful man beyond all recognition. ‘Unfortunately for me—and you—Max is very persuasive.'

‘I am.' I grin at Darcy. ‘And I always get what I want.'

‘Is that a fact?' she asks before taking a sip of her drink through her straw. I watch her lips close around the paper and marvel at how seductive that little gesture is.

‘Mate,' I say to Anton, suddenly impatient for an opportunity to work my charm on her. ‘You can clear off now.'

‘No.' He looks from me to Darcy and back. ‘I?—'

‘Go,' I tell him. ‘I'm sure Gen's wondering where you are.'

That does it. He begins to back away. ‘Okay, well'—he waggles a finger at me—‘behave yourself. All right? There's an entire garden full of women to fuck. But don't. Touch. Darcy.'

I roll my eyes at him and wait until he's disappeared off to find his paramour before turning my attention back to Darcy. I take a couple of steps closer, effectively caging her in at the bar.

Fuck, she's stunning. This little black dress is a fucking joke—I can see her pert nipples outlined in the centre of her perfectly round tits. The stretchy fabric showcases every spectacular curve, and her chestnut hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders. She has the same big blue eyes as her sister, but facially they're quite different. Darcy's face is more elfin.

‘The problem with being told not to do something,' I muse aloud as I look down at her, ‘is that it always, without exception, makes me want to do it even more badly.'

She releases her straw and gazes up at me through her lashes.

‘Yeah, I get that. I have the same unfortunate wiring. And what is it you want to do?'

‘Not what.' I trace a light, but deliberate, fingertip down her bare arm. Her ensuing shiver is gratifying. ‘Who.'

‘You're too old for me.' She sounds like she's trying to convince herself.

I scoff. ‘I'm forty.'

‘From where I'm standing, that's not exactly a great defence.'

‘I'm not old,' I insist. ‘I'm experienced. There's a difference.'

‘Yeah. I bet you're just crawling with experience,' she says, and I have a sudden urge to dip my head and sink my teeth so deeply into the luscious skin of her shoulder that it knocks every brattish thought right out of her head.

‘I'm not crawling with anything, you insolent girl.' I tell her sternly. ‘I get tested once a fortnight.'

Her eyebrows fly up. ‘Once a fortnight? You must be having a lot of sex.'

‘I am. Your sister and her friends run an amazing outfit at Alchemy. I'd be stupid not to avail myself of it. My point is, you'd be safe with me. Actually, let me rephrase.' I close the last remaining foot between us and trail my fingertips back up her arm, up the creamy column of her neck, and along her jaw. ‘You'd be completely safe with me where STDs are concerned, and very, very unsafe in every other way. Do you get my meaning?'

Her rose scent mingles with the scents of this beautiful Mediterranean evening, and it's heady beyond belief. Her breath is coming faster now, tits heaving.

Message received loud and clear.

She licks her lips. ‘Sadly for me, I'm not supposed to fraternise tonight. They just brought me in to get everyone hard.'

‘I bet they did, you little tease. Well, you certainly did that. Every single man in this place wants to fuck you. And probably most of the women, too. How does that make you feel?'

‘Pissed off beyond all belief,' she says with a pout, and I laugh. I suspect she's just like me.

Used to getting what she wants.

‘Who imposed this little non-fraternisation policy?' I ask, and then I answer my own question. ‘Genevieve, of course. And do you always do as you're told?'

‘I do when she's given me a job and her very nice flat,' she says. ‘For now, anyway. I don't want to fall at the first hurdle, you know? Anyway, I'm not interested in fucking you.'

What a bare-faced little liar.

‘Bollocks,' I say, affording her pointed nipples an equally pointed glance.

‘I'm not. When in France, you know? French guys are so hot. It'd be a shame to waste this evening on a crusty old Brit.'

I spit out a surprised laugh. She really is a piece of work. ‘I'd like to put you over my knee and spank that insolence out of you. And I think you'd like that, too. But it'd be a waste of my time, because there are lots of gorgeous women here who want my cock tonight—and a good number of those hot French guys too, probably. Whereas it sounds like you're not getting any cock tonight. Of any nationality.'

She sets her jaw like a pissed-off teenager, and I lean in to her ear. ‘It was an absolute pleasure to spar with you, Darcy. Enjoy your evening of enforced celibacy and excruciating frustration.'

I pull back enough to shoot her my dazzling signature smile before turning on my heel and heading out into the throngs of beautiful people.

I got the last word, naturally.

I always do.