Sexy/Dangerous by Beverly Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page B

he concentrate with the bedlam going on upstairs. He’d asked her to keep it down, but apparently she had a different definition for the phrase because the noise sounded louder. Disgruntled, he slid from the stool and took off his lab coat. He’d never had anyone call him a pain in the butt before, and he wondered if her military training was responsible for her fearlessness or if she’d been born that way. From her point of view, he supposed he was acting like a pain in the ass, but she didn’t seem to understand he had no room in his life for upheaval. And she’d only been around a day. He couldn’t imagine what things would be like in a month. The dogs were bad enough, but now he had to contend with wheelbarrows, drills, and dust. To make matters worse, every time he looked at her, his memory kept flashingback to her in that towel; the droplets of water on the edge of her neck, the imprint of her nipples pressed against the damp towel, the sleek firm muscles of her legs and thighs. He ran his hands over his eyes. He had to stop. If he didn’t get those images of her out of his mind, his commitment to celibacy was going to crumble around his ears just like his old house.
    To do something with his restless energy, he changed clothes and went to work out on the weights he had set up in one of the basement’s other small rooms. He pumped iron for a good thirty minutes, but it didn’t help; all he kept seeing was Max.

Four
    Max took Adam Gary’s grumbling about the noise into consideration, but because no one in the work crew spoke drill or saw, it was hard to tell the machinery to hold it down.
    By five o’clock that evening the workers were packing up for the day. They’d all be back first thing in the morning. Although the house was still torn apart, the various projects were proceeding well. According to the electricians, the wiring was so old and substandard the place was a potential fire trap, but they’d made good headway pinpointing the areas needing to be worked on first. Max was pleased because Benny, with his fiber-optics equipment, would be coming tomorrow to lay in the cameras. The plumbers had also given her a report. They’d turned the water back on and their diagnosis of the pipes had something to do with air chambers and ratios. Since Max didn’t have a clue as to what they were talking about, she simply nodded and told them to take care of it, and they had. The faucets were fixed in her shower, and when she turned on the water, the pipes protested for a moment but then wentsilent. A new shower head had been installed as well. When she stepped in to wash off the plaster dust and the rest of the day’s grime, the experience was blessedly drama free.
    After the shower she dressed and, refreshed, went went on a search for Kaitlin. Max wanted to know if there was a decent restaurant nearby that didn’t involve clown’s crowns or paper bags. She was hungry and in need of a good meal. However, she hadn’t fully explored the house and so had no idea where Kaitlin’s office might be. “Ruby, find Kaitlin, please.”
    Ruby stood still for a moment, then moved her head a few degrees to the right and left as if listening. When she seemed satisfied, she began walking up the hall. Max could have just as easily yelled out Kaitlin’s name, but every opportunity she had to work the dogs kept them keen.
    Ruby made a turn and led Max and Ossie into a hallway Max had never seen before, and then up an old rickety staircase. Max asked, “You sure this is where she is, girl?”
    Ruby kept going. At the top of the stairs was a landing. Set back a few feet stood a large wooden door bordered with carvings of mathematical equations and chemical symbols. Ruby walked to the door and sat down. Max, confused, stood on the top step. “Okay, if you say so.”
    Just as she raised her hand to knock, she heard Adam Gary ask, “What are you doing?”
    Max turned and stared into his suspicious eyes.
    “Looking for