Baby Under the Christmas Tree. Teresa Carpenter
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you’d help me.”
Elle stopped and spun around. “Are you serious?”
She didn’t know whether to applaud his decision or be worried for Troy’s welfare.
“Dead serious.” He glanced around to where Troy squirmed around under the covers. “Will you help?”
“A custody battle will be a public nightmare.”
“I have custody. But it’ll still be a nightmare. Amber won’t make this easy. But I have to think of Troy. This isn’t the first time she’s not returned when she said she would. She’s done it to me, to her mother and a few others. But this is the first time she’s left him with someone I don’t know. I’m not okay with that.”
Elle bit her lip and reluctantly nodded. For Troy’s sake she’d help Max. She really had no choice if Ray had already committed her.
“I’ll talk to Ray. We’ll put together a plan. But first I need to go home to shower and change.”
“You can do that here,” he insisted. “I’m sure I can find something for you to wear.”
“No, thank you.” She continued on her journey toward freedom. “I’ll think better in my own clothes.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I highly doubt that. I’ve heard some of what’s said in the locker room.”
His hand wrapped around hers, derailing her escape. And suddenly hard arms surrounded her, pulling her close to all that exposed skin, and his mouth, warm and inviting, settled on hers.
Immediately her arms came up between them and her head went back, breaking the lip-to-lip contact.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
“Huh.” He didn’t seem to hear her. His pupils were dilated and his gaze held an odd flare of anticipation, as if he’d found something fascinating. “Kissing you. And I want more.”
His head dipped and he claimed her mouth with his as he shifted her so she rested in the crook of his arm. She stiffened, ready to fight, but oh, he felt good. And sleep deprivation must be getting to her because he seduced her by softly deepening the kiss, by rocking her gently against him, by disarming her with pleasure.
With a bold sweep of his tongue he shared his taste as he sipped from her in turn. The man tasted better than coffee and was just as potent. She wanted to melt into him and absorb all his heat, savor the passion he sent rushing through her blood. Which was exactly why she pushed him away again.
“Max! Stop it.” She pushed at his shoulders. “Are you insane?”
His sapphire eyes focused on hers. “Apparently, because I liked that a lot. I was hoping to change your mind about leaving.”
“Well, you haven’t.” She tried to step back, but his arms tightened as he stared into her eyes.
“Come on, Elle, we both know the animosity between us is a defense against an inconvenient attraction.”
“What I know is we already made this mistake and you found it easy enough to walk away, which means you’re only using me now. And my answer is no.” She refused to accept that the sizzle between them held any depth. Or that it was mutual. He’d already proven he found her totally resistible.
“Is that what you think?” He lifted hungry eyes from her lips to her eyes. “That was me running from trouble.”
“Yeah? Well, nothing has changed. Let go, Max.”
This time he released her. She immediately stepped back, but he grabbed her arm, holding her in place. And she saw why when she glanced down and saw Troy standing underfoot.
“Daddy.” Troy tugged at Max’s sweatpants, and Max swung the toddler into his arms. He appeared unaffected by the embrace, except for the color riding the sharp lines of his cheekbones.
Troy instantly held his arms out to Elle. She shook her head.
“What should I do while you’re gone?”
“Change him, feed him.” She turned to leave. If he could pretend to be unmoved so could she. “If you’re going to be a full-time dad, you’d better get used to it.”
Max stepped into her path bringing her face-to-face with father and son, an innocent and a beard-shadowed ruffian. What a mismatched pair, and Max wanted her to bring them together.
“I’m not messing around,” Max snapped, snagging her gaze with an intent stare. “I can change a diaper. That wasn’t what I was asking. Don’t try to blow me off, Elle. If you’re not back here in an hour, I’ll personally see to it that your next job is ticket-taker. Are we clear?”
“Too clear.” She pulled free and hurried down the stairs. When she made the turn at the bend he still stood there watching her. Emotions seething, she stopped. “I know you’re used to violence on the ice, but intimidation isn’t going to work in this situation. It’s going to be about the law and what’s best for Troy. It’s going to be about appearances and using professionalism and persuasion to get what you want.
“This is my arena,” she reminded him, “where I’m the stud. You’ll need to do what I say, when I say, how I say. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with Ray.” She waited a beat and when he simply scowled at her, she demanded, “Are we clear?”
His eyes flashed his displeasure, but he gave a sharp nod.
“Good.” She offered him a smile that was all teeth. “The first thing you should know is I don’t respond well to threats. I’ll be back when I’ve showered and changed.”
Pleased to have put him in his place, she hid a real smile and continued down the stairs.
“Pick up some breakfast, will you?” He tossed the directive down at her. “I don’t keep food in the house.”
She ground her teeth together, aware he’d put her in her place. Miserable man. He needed help all right, but not her. They were oil and vinegar; it would be a mistake to work together. She needed to talk to Ray, to fix this.
* * *
As soon as she got on the road, Elle called her boss. She wanted to hear it from him that she was to give her time to Max.
“Elle,” he greeted her briskly. “What’s the status on Max’s situation?”
She gritted her teeth at the clear indication Max had been telling the truth. “I wanted to talk to you before I got too far in my planning. Are you sure the team wants to get involved in Max’s private drama?”
“Ordinarily I’d say no, but the press is going to be all over this and I’d prefer to be ahead of the game. A press conference might be too overt,” Ray speculated, voicing one of Elle’s concerns. “Max is trying to do the right thing by his son. We need to get that out before Amber can make him out to be the bad guy.”
“Ray, a bandage isn’t going to fix this. It’s going to take a full-scale plan to rearrange his life on a personal front and a strategic campaign to change the public’s persona of him.”
“Exactly. So what’s the problem?”
She cleared her throat. “Are you sure I’m the best one for the job? There’s the Jaden incident I should be working on.”
She couldn’t tell him she disliked The Beast, that would be unprofessional—true but unprofessional—and she wasn’t going there.
But she didn’t want to risk any more close encounters with Max either. She’d melted like wax when he put the lip-lock on her. Just like last time.
Clearly she couldn’t trust him. Or herself.
Running from trouble! As if that was an explanation for ditching