Only in Her Dreams by Christina McKnight Read Free Book Online

across the shifter, Lucessa flipped on the switch and cold air pummeled her face. Once the car warmed up the heater worked great.
    They pulled into traffic with Maxim sitting stiffly behind the wheel. He wasn’t lying about his lack of driving experience, sweat beaded on his forehead as he made the right turn on H Street heading toward her house. This didn’t instill confidence in his skills. She sat in silence, not wanting to distract him while he drove.
    Maxim cruised into her driveway and cut the engine, forgetting to put it in park. As the car slid slowly back down the driveway, Lucessa flipped the shifter forward. He quickly exited the car and opened her door.
    She took the keys from him and pressed the lock button on her key fob until she heard the replying beep. The walkway that led to her front door was lined with trimmed shrubs and they preceded single file up to the house. Lucessa could feel those steel blue eyes of his boring into her back. She sped up the pace and hurriedly unlocked the door.
    Pushing it open, air swooshed under her feet. Pokey shrubs hit her back. Her purse continued over the shrubs and landed on the lawn.
    “Good girl!” Maxim said behind her.
    Is he seriously talking to me? She’d taken a back flip over her shrubs and the man said ‘good girl’?
    “Someone has been cooped up in the house way too long,” he continued in a childish voice as she rolled all the way over the bushes and planted her feet solidly on the ground to heft herself back up. As her eyes leveled with the top of the bushes, she saw that Goosey had vaulted out the door. Right into Maxim’s arms. She’d forgotten about Goosey’s routine leap into her arms at the end of the day. Why am I so distracted?
    “Down Goosey!” Lucessa shouted. She walked down the lawn and around the bushes. She headed up the walkway for the second time and ran her fingers through her hair to catch any stray leaves or twigs that were snagged in her fall. Satisfied that her hair was, at least, leaf free, she trudged through the front door, ignoring the smirk on Maxim’s face as he petted her dog.
    How freaking embarrassing! She felt like she was making the ‘walk of shame’ down the hall of a crowded college dorm.
    She dropped her purse on the hall table and headed up the stairs to her room. “Make yourself comfortable,” she called to him.
    Comfy clothes and a glass of wine were in order, this was going to be a long talk. Looking over her shoulder as she entered her room, she was glad Maxim hadn’t followed. Goosey opted to stay downstairs. Traitor.
    She ripped off her t-shirt and threw it into the laundry basket. Her jeans followed. She grabbed a fresh pair of pajamas from her dresser, threw them on and hunted for her purple slippers. She was on her hands and knees rifling through shoes, dog toys and other miscellaneous stuff that had found their ways under her bed when an odd thought struck her. She hopped up, her hip protesting from the fall outside, and surveyed her pajamas.
    They were the warmest she owned, they were blue, green and red plaid...and she couldn’t wear them around Maxim. They were almost grandmotherly. What do I care what he thinks anyways?
    Still, Lucessa stripped the pajamas off and returned to her drawer for a more suitable ‘entertaining’ outfit. She grabbed a pair of yoga pants and one of her college sweatshirts. She pushed the earlier thought of her ‘walk of shame’ from her mind and headed back downstairs.
    As she reached the bottom step, she paused. Maxim’s back was to her as he poured two glasses of wine. Her breath hitched in her throat and a shiver inched down her body. His muscles showed through his black t-shirt and his pants hugged his slim hips.
    He grabbed both glasses and with Goosey hot on his trail, they met Lucessa in the living room.
    Maxim’s eyes traveled the length of her body, head to toe. Lucessa couldn’t tell if he was appraising her outfit or telepathically eating her