To the Max by Elle Aycart Read Free Book Online Page B

work? I thought you were a stuntman for action movies. You telling me you moonlight as a porn stuntman?”
    He cocked an eyebrow. “You mean a stunt dick, right?”
    “You’re a stunt dick?” she all but yelled.
    He barked out a laugh. “Of course not. Beside the job as a stuntman, I work as a graphic designer.”
    “And you work for Penthouse ?”
    “Nope. I work for a company that, among other things, Photoshops pictures for adult magazines. You know, to make the models’ bodies more in tune with American men’s tastes.”
    She looked flabbergasted, her eyes round as plates. “Oh my God! You’re a boob enhancer.”
    “Excuse me, I’m a boob and ass enhancer. It seems we Americans are fans of big butts too.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me. I had no clue such a job even existed.”
    “Sure it does. Usually Photoshopping is just a very small part of a graphic designer’s duties, but I travel a lot, so this is perfect for me.”
    Annie moved inside, scanning the premises. She picked up several pictures.
    “They send me the magazines regularly,” Max continued, feeling the weird need to justify himself, “so I can check the final result. I just finished doing a batch for them, and I haven’t had time to tidy up yet. Sorry.”
    He was waiting for the reproving glare, but it never came. One side of her mouth quirked up.
    “I guess for a man, this is a dream job, but how come you’re doing it? Isn’t working as a stuntman in Hollywood lucrative enough?”
    “I don’t really do it for the paycheck.”
    Now she looked scared. “No?”
    “No. It bugs the shit out of Cole that I earn money like this. And I love bugging Cole. Every time he comes over, he goes on and on about me being the only person in the world paid for looking at porn and how I should quit. So I can’t stop. Come on. Let me show you the man cave.”
    “I’m not sure I want to see it.”
    Her grimace was so cute. She must have come straight from work, for she had a power suit on, pearls and a tight bun included.
    He took her by the hand, dragging her along. “Come on. Be brave. It’s just an average man cave.”
    “I’m sure there’s nothing average in a boob enhancer’s man cave,” she muttered.
    Boob enhancer. Ha. That was such a funny name. Much better than graphic designer. He was so asking for the title on his business cards to be changed. Cole was going to have a cow.
    “You see?” he said when they arrived. “Big flat screen, a soft, old couch. A dartboard, a bar, and a billiard table. All standard man-cave equipment. Nothing weird.”
    She looked around. “Well, I stand corrected. This is something of a letdown. After your office, I was expecting… I don’t know. A red room? A dungeon?”
    “A what?”
    “Never mind. I need to stop letting Christy recommend books to me. This is really nice. Cozy,” she said, taking in the surroundings. “Lots of windows. All the man caves I’ve seen have been in basements.”
    “I thought about it, but I live alone. No need to separate the man cave from the rest of the living area.” There were too many bedrooms in this house for one person, and the basement was occupied by his weight-lifting setup.
    She walked to the framed map near the bar, the one he’d gotten when he’d been shooting in Australia. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right. “What—”
    He’d done the exact same thing the first time he saw it. “It’s a world map from Down Under’s perspective. Australia is in the middle.”
    “Wow. It’s difficult to even find where we are.”
    “I like to see things from a different perspective. And I love maps.”
    “Your whole house is great,” she complimented as she sat on the couch.
    He joined her. “Thanks, Ace. I can’t take all the credit for myself. Cole has great professionals working for him.”
    “The decor is yours.”
    “Work in progress, as you can see,” he said, pointing at the empty wall at the far end of the room. They sat in