Janet Evanovich - Full Speed

She just stood there for a moment, staring at Max and thinking he had never looked so good.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just glad to be home. Well, you know, here."

"Glad to see you, too, Swifty."

Fleas got up and crossed the room. Jamie petted him, and he nudged her with his nose. "Hello, boy," she said.

"Actually …" Max paused and glanced at his watch. "I was starting to wonder where you were."

Jamie raised her eyes to his. "I'm sorry I worried you." He didn't know the half of it, she thought.

"I've also been waiting for Dave to call." Max scratched the back of his head as though he didn't know what to say. "I was, uh, just about to make coffee."

"At this hour?"

"I really should wait up in case Dave calls."

Jamie tried to move, but Fleas had her pinned to her spot. "Excuse me, please." He raised his head and gave her a sad look.

"I think he missed you," Max said. "I tried to entertain him, but, well, I can only sit in the back of the truck with him for so long." He smiled.

"You haven't been feeding him junk food, have you?"

"No, we both had a nice garden salad for dinner."

Jamie regarded the dog. "You ate people food," she accused.

As though realizing he'd been caught, Fleas slid to the floor and covered his face with his paws. Jamie stifled a grin. "I knew it."

She and Max exchanged smiles. She took a deep breath. She knew she had to come clean with him. "I have something to tell you."

"Uh-oh. You didn't wreck Bennett's truck, did you?"

"No, nothing like that," she said quickly. "Uh, Max, I should have told you this earlier, but I was afraid you'd get involved in it and—"

"Involved in what?"

"Well, one of the reasons I've been seeing this Michael person is because—"

"Oh, great, you're about to tell me you like this guy, is that it?"

Jamie shook her head. "No. Michael had something I wanted, Max."

Max's gaze slid from her head to her toes. "Maybe it was the other way around."

"Information, Max," Jamie said. "I thought Michael could give me information on Santoni."

"What?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Tell me anyway."

"I think I may have seen Santoni or one of his men tonight."

Max gaped at her. Finally, he crossed his arms over his wide chest. "You've got some explaining to do, Jamie."

"Promise not to get mad?"

"Start talking."

Jamie told him everything, about meeting Michael, his insinuations that someone from the mob was trying to extort money from him, everything. Max's frown deepened with every word. "I knew Michael was meeting the person tonight, so I made it a point to be nearby. I wanted to get a license tag number. I figured we could get Muffin to run a check on it and find out more. Only the guy caught me writing down his tag number and took my notepad away from me."

"Dammit!" Max yelled the word so loud that Fleas skittered beneath the kitchen table.

"Now look what you've done!" Jamie cried. She started for the table.

"Oh, no, you don't." Max grabbed her wrist and brought her to an abrupt halt. "Fleas is going to be OK, but you're in a shit load of trouble."

"I knew you wouldn't take this well," she said.

"Are you crazy! Why would you take a chance like that?"

"I wanted to help."

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you'd do something so … so insane!" Max released her and began to pace. "God, Jamie, what if something had happened to you?"

"I'm sorry, Max. I know it sounds dumb, but I thought maybe—"

"What did you think, Jamie? That you could take on the mob by yourself?"

"Of course not. I was very careful. But I got a look at the guy, Max. It could have been Santoni himself. He's dark, and he's got long black braided hair. I know it's not much, but it might be something."

"I don't care," Max said, his tone still loud. "It wasn't worth the risk." He raked his hands through his hair, then paused as though just remembering he'd had most of it cut off.

"I was just trying to follow a lead," Jamie said. "I'm sorry that I don't have more for you."

"That is the absolute least of my concerns. This is exactly why I didn't want you to come with me." He turned away from her.

Jamie stepped closer. "I'm sorry."

Max kept his back to her. "How do you know the guy didn't follow you home?"

"It happened before I met Michael for dinner. I wasn't followed. It would have been easy to spot someone tailing me on these mountain roads. I kept checking." Which was true. She'd watched her rearview mirror closely after she'd gassed up and hit the road again.

"Did it occur to you what it would do to me if something happened to you?"

Jamie touched his shoulder. "Max?"

Without warning, he turned, took her hand in his, and pulled her into his arms.

Stunned, Jamie opened her mouth. Max took it as an invitation and covered it with his own. He pulled her tighter against him so that her body was flush against his. He cupped his palm at the back of her head, holding her in place, as the kiss became even more demanding. He raised back. "Promise me that you won't ever do something like that again."

"I promise."

He buried his face in her neck, inhaled her scent. He held her for a long time. "Dammit, Jamie, I want you so much it hurts."

"I feel the same."

Max raised his head and studied her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"You just bought yourself a whole lot of trouble, Swifty." And he pushed her down the short hall to the bedroom.

They fell together on the bed, hard. Too hard. The bed shifted and shook, the pillows flew in every direction, and there was a loud bam. To Jamie, it sounded as if the house had caved in. She peeked out from beneath a pillow. The head— and footboards were still in place, but the mattress and box spring were on the floor. The bottom of the bed was still in place, as though suspended. She blinked at the sight. "We broke the bed."

"Ignore it," Max said, pressing his lips to hers.

She kissed him back, even as their bodies inched toward the top of the bed. Jamie's skull touched the wall beneath the headboard. "I'm a little uncomfortable," she said against Max's hot mouth.

He scooted her away from the wall. "Don't think about it. Don't think at all. You know what happens every time you start thinking."

Jamie slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him against her as she opened her mouth under his. It didn't matter that her feet were elevated a good eighteen inches above her head.

Max kissed her deeply, slipping his tongue into her mouth, exploring. She was only vaguely aware that Fleas was standing beside the bed sniffing her hair. Damned if Max didn't taste better than anything she had ever put in her mouth. Better than cotton candy and buttered popcorn. He broke the kiss, and they both sucked in air.

He looked into Jamie's eyes. "Are you OK?"

"I'm thinking this must be how it feels to be a bat. They hang upside down, too."

"See? You're doing it. You're thinking."

"I'll stop." Jamie put two fingers together, touched her temple, and turned them, as though switching off a button.

Max grinned and reclaimed her mouth. Jamie grasped his head, pulling him even closer. He paused only long enough to run his lips over her face, her closed eyelids, and her throat. She shivered.

Max pressed his lower body against hers. "You make me crazy," he said. "One minute I want to wring your neck, and the next minute I want to make love to you until we both drop."

He was making her crazy, too. Jamie reached for the buttons on his shirt. Her hands shook; her fingers trembled. She fumbled with the buttons, but her fingers were made clumsy by the need building inside of her. She could feel his skin beneath the shirt, solid and warm, but damned if she could get the buttons open. Finally, in a fit of frustration, she yanked the front of the shirt hard. Several buttons popped off and hit the floor.