Emma Darcy: The Master Player

‘I didn’t let her in. But it’s a bit hard not to hear her when she’s shouting at you over the back fence.’

‘Persistent harridan!’ he grated out, rising to his feet, his hand flying out in a furious, cutting-off gesture. ‘You can’t stay here, Chloe. She’s going to keep pestering you now that she knows where you’re living. And she’ll tell Tony this address, have him camping on your doorstep next, use him to help muddy your mind against me, get you back with her. And him.’

It was strange seeing Max so disturbed and edgy. He’d always been the man in absolute control of himself and the situation. She watched him stalk around her bedroom, aggression pouring from him as he talked through what was on his mind.

‘No doubt in the world that Tony won’t try to get you back, use Laura Farrell’s fraud to plead malevolent manipulation on her part, grovel for forgiveness…’

Surprise spilled into an instant query. ‘You know about that?’

He whirled to face her, throwing up his hands in wild dismissal. ‘I was worried about you not contacting me. I called Gerry Anderson, and before you say it wasn’t my business to ask him what was happening with you, I couldn’t stand not knowing if you were in some kind of trouble. Which is also why I used the key you gave me to enter this house when there was no response from you. And Luther showed me where you were because he understands I care about you,’ he finished vehemently, his eyes blazing a fierce refusal to accept any protest about his actions.

At the mention of his name, Luther leapt up from his pillow and trotted down to the end of the bed for Max to pat him in approval. Which he did, eyeing Chloe with determined purpose. ‘I’m taking you and Luther home with me. No argument.’ He took out his mobile phone. ‘I’ll call Edgar, tell him we’re coming, ask Elaine to do dinner for two…’

‘No, Max.’ She shook her head at him. It was strange how calm she felt, probably from having spent all her emotion before falling asleep this afternoon. ‘I’m not going to run away from my life again.’

He frowned. ‘You’re better off with me. I can protect you, ensure that…’

‘For how long, Max?’ she wryly inserted.

‘As long as need be,’ he retorted, his strength of purpose sharp and strong.

She sighed, looking at him with sadly resigned eyes. ‘Eventually it will end…whatever you feel for me. And if I let myself become dependent on you, it will be even harder to manage on my own. Today was-’ she winced ‘-difficult…nasty…and I just wanted to shut it out, but I have to face other things that come up, Max, not expect you to always rescue me.’

His mouth thinned in frustration. His eyes burned with the need to override her opposition. ‘I don’t like it,’ burst from him with explosive feeling. ‘I don’t like you being on your own. You belong with me.’

Belong…?

Her heart flipped at his use of that word. It was the first time he had expressed such a possessive connection-the deep caring it carried. She stared at him, her breathing completely suspended, hopes and fears tumbling through her mind as her need and love for him beat through them, demanding the chance for real fulfilment.

Yet there was one question she wanted answered and it spilled out in a wild rush. ‘Would you have had sex with her, Max?’

‘What?’ He looked stunned, confused.

‘Laura Farrell…’ A flood of heat burned her cheeks as she explained what she needed to know. ‘If she had come onto you in a bathroom…like unzipping you…and…and being aggressively available…’

His grimace held an appalled distaste, wiping the horrid image from her mind even before he spoke a vehement denial. ‘Never! I would have knocked her back so fast…’ He shook his head, frowning over her need to ask. ‘I’ve been targeted by women like that many times, Chloe. I’ve always turned them away. They’re not only trouble, they’re not my choice.’

The relief of absolute certainty was sweet. Of course, Max wouldn’t take on anything he didn’t choose himself. She should have known that. The formidable drive of the man was based on pursuing his will. The master of control. Although he didn’t seem so absolutely in control of himself right now.

‘Is that how Tony excused his infidelity?’ he shot at her, brows beetling down over a dark blaze of anger in his eyes.

‘It doesn’t matter, Max.’

‘It matters to me if you think I’d act like that.’

‘No.’ She offered an apologetic smile. ‘I realise now you wouldn’t. I’m sorry for bringing it up.’

‘I’m not like Tony, Chloe,’ he stated fiercely.

‘I know.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘This whole messy business muddled up my mind.’

‘Which is why I want you free of it.’ A few quick strides and he was sitting at her side on the bed, one arm curled around her shoulder, turning her towards him, his other hand tenderly caressing her tumbled hair away from her face, his eyes intensely commanding surrender to his will. ‘Come home with me, at least for tonight, Chloe. You’ve had more than enough to deal with today. Let me take you back to Hill House. Let Elaine pamper you with a fine dinner. Give yourself this time to relax and not be hassled by anything.’

He kissed her forehead, as though imprinting his words on her mind. ‘Say you will,’ he murmured, drawing back enough to give her a self-mocking little smile. ‘If only to save me from worrying about you.’

She couldn’t help smiling back. ‘Well, that’s something I can rescue you from. So yes, I will. Go ahead and call Edgar while I have a shower and get dressed.’

It was an easy decision to make. Max did care about her and she loved his caring, wanting to bask in it as long as she could. And maybe he would want her to belong with him forever. She had to give it a chance. It was impossible to imagine ever meeting another man as wonderful as him-a man in a million, Maximilian Hart.

CHLOE stood under the shower, growing slightly uneasy about her impulsive decision to go with Max to Hill House. It began to feel too much like the beginning of their relationship when she’d taken refuge with him, letting him keep her safe from the same three people who had once again caused her distress. Though she had stood up to them this time-turned them all away from the life she was making for herself. It was really their references to her relationship with Max that had upset her.

But they were wrong about him only wanting her for sexual pleasure. Max cared about her. He’d helped her develop into the more confident person she had become under his guidance-capable of managing by herself, choosing what answered her needs. There was nothing selfish about that. And he worried about her well-being, which surely meant she was much more to him than a throw-away woman who merely served the purpose of satisfying him for a while.

You belong with me now.

Chloe hugged those fiercely spoken words to her heart as she stepped out of the shower, dried herself, and began to get dressed. They felt as though they held a promise that Max would never throw her away. If that was true, letting him take her home with him was okay-a step into a future she hadn’t allowed herself to envisage before. Although maybe she was hoping for too much.

Anyway, it was only for one night. The chance that it might mean what she yearned for was worth taking, even though it was going to hurt if it came to nothing apart from removing Max’s concern for her.

It wasn’t until she automatically checked her appearance in the mirror that she realised her hands had chosen the same blue-and-white polka dot dress she had worn to Hill House the first time Max had taken her there. It shook her for a moment. Was it some psychological slip back into the past?