The Hudsons: Max, Bella and Devlin: Bargained Into Her Boss's Bed / Scene 3 / Propositioned Into a Foreign Affair / Scene 4 / Seduced Into a Paper Marriage

“We could still use it to create a buzz. It could be our slant on making Honor stand out from Willow’s film in case we can’t find out what theirs is about.”

She had a point—one too good to ignore. “I’ll ask Dev to talk to PR. What do you know about Willow’s film?”

He caught her sideways glance in the glare of an oncoming car’s headlights. “You could have asked me that the other night instead of accusing me of sharing information.”

She didn’t miss a beat at his abrupt change of subject. She never did. It was as if she could follow the convoluted twists of his mind. No one else had ever done that. And she was right. He could have asked, but wondering if she’d betrayed him combined with seeing her kiss Lewis had crushed any tact Max might have had.

“I apologize. I should have asked.”

“Doug said Willow’s film is a romance. He didn’t work on the project directly and hasn’t read the script, but from what he’s heard, there are quite a few similarities to Honor. I’m working on—” She stopped abruptly and turned to stare out the dark passenger window.

“You’re working on what?”

“Nothing,” she replied too hastily. “If I find out more, I’ll let you know.”

Dana was lying or holding something back. He wanted to know what and why. “When will you see Lewis again?”

Moments ticked past where the only sound was the car’s tires on the road. “I’m not sure. He’s on recce.”

“But you plan to see him when he returns.” He liked the idea even less now than he had before.

“Yes, Max. I’m going to see him. And you’re going to have to trust that I won’t share Hudson Pictures’s secrets. If you can’t trust me, then you need to fire me.”

Trust her.

He’d trusted her for five years. Why was doing so now suddenly so difficult? Because Hudson Pictures very likely had a leak, and all indicators pointed to Dana as the most likely source. She had the info, the opportunity and the connections.

But did she have the motive?

If so, he hadn’t yet figured out what it was. But until he knew for sure, he couldn’t afford to give her anything that could be used against them.

The stroke of Max’s hand down the length of her hair as they entered his darkened house just before midnight pleasantly surprised Dana.

But when he grasped a handful at her nape and pulled her to a halt he shocked her. Her breath caught. “Max?”

She heard the deadbolt click and then Max slowly reeled her backward, tugging just hard enough to make her nape prickle, but not enough to inflict pain. She never would have thought such caveman antics to be sexy, but the way her body instantly responded proved her wrong. Her skin tingled and her breath and pulse quickened.

He didn’t stop until her back pressed against the length of his front. His chest and thighs were warm, hard and strong as she leaned into him. His breath steamed her cheek a second before his jaw, rough with evening beard, took its place. “Take off your clothes.”

A lightning bolt of hunger made her gasp. “Here? Why?”

“We’re going to take a moonlight swim.”

Not a bad idea, but—“M-my suit is—”

“You won’t need it.” His free hand skimmed from her hip, over her waist to cup her breast. His thumb found her nipple and circled. Her flesh hardened beneath his caress. “Have you ever been skinny-dipping?”

She could barely think with the tangle of desire forming in her belly. “Um…no. What about your neighbors?”

“We won’t turn on the lights.” He released her hair and cupped her other breast with his hand. The dual massage melted her resistance, her arguments, and her ability to form sentences. He gave her a gentle shove into the center of the foyer. “Strip for me, Dana.”

Moonlight streamed through the high windows, angling down on the floor, onto her, like a soundstage key light. Max remained in the shadows.

“Have you ever stripped for a man?” he asked when she hesitated.

Her heart pounded a path up her throat. “No. Not…um like this.”

“Start with that sexy black dress. Take it off.”

Adrenaline hit her with a dizzying rush. Her spinning head had nothing to do with the wine she’d drunk with dinner and everything to do with the words he’d just uttered. But nervousness dried her mouth. Her purse slipped from her fingers and landed at her feet.

She bent to pick it up.

“Leave it, and get naked for me.”

But she just wasn’t ready to do as he asked. “You first.”

She heard him chuckle, low and sexy. She’d never heard that sound from him before and she liked it. She liked the way it rippled over her skin and made her quiver.

He stepped forward just enough to cast his body into the murky light, but kept his face in the dark. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and tossed it toward a settee. Next he worked the knot of his tie loose, and then yanked it free with a quick whip of sound.

“Shall I keep going?”

She’d had no idea Max had a naughty side, but that teasing tone was definitely the looking-for-trouble variety. She dampened her lips and nodded. “Please.”

He unfastened his cufflinks and dropped them on the credenza. His watch followed. The clunk of metal hitting wood echoed in the high-ceiling space. He unbuttoned his shirt from the top down, revealing a widening wedge of his tanned chest with each passing second. He peeled off the shirt and tossed it on top of his jacket.

His hands settled on his leather belt, but stilled and then dropped to his sides. “Your turn.”

She ripped her gaze away from the rippled definition of his muscles. Why would a man who looked like this work behind the camera instead of in front of it? She had no clue. The women of America would certainly appreciate the view she currently had.

“I—I—” She didn’t know what to say. Feeling both excited and completely out of her element, she reached behind her back for the zipper. The tab slid down a few inches and then snagged. She tried to reverse it, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck.”

“Turn around.” He stepped into the light, giving her a glimpse of the hunger stamped on his face. His desire sent a thrill through her. Her legs trembled as she turned.

His hands cupped her shoulders, stroked down to her wrists and then back up. Her insides went all shivery—the way they always did when he touched her.

He brushed her hair forward over her shoulder. His warm breath on her nape was her only warning before his teeth lightly grazed her skin. A shudder quaked through her. His fingers manipulated the stuck zipper, his short nails scraping her spine as he worked. She had no idea how he could see with the lack of light. And then the tab rasped down. Cool air swept her back seconds before his palms, hot and strong, slipped beneath the fabric to grasp her waist. He held her in place while he strung a necklace of kisses along her shoulders and beneath her ear.

“Turn around and drop the dress,” he ordered huskily in her ear.

Her entire body flushed with heat. On unsteady legs she pivoted only to discover Max had moved back into the shadows. But the glimpse of desire she’d seen earlier gave her the courage to be bolder than she’d normally be. She folded her arms at her waist and dipped her left shoulder. That side of the dress slid down to her elbow. She heard him inhale and repeated the action on the right side leaving her bare from the waist up except for her sheer black lace push-up bra. Only her crossed arms kept the dress up.

She straightened her shoulders and then slowly lowered her arms. The dress floated to the floor, leaving her in the bra, matching lace bikini panties and black heels.

His breath whistled out and he stepped forward into the light, but abruptly stopped. His nostrils flared and his hungry eyes burned over her, filling her with a sense of empowerment.

She lifted her hand and eased down one bra strap and then the other. Max watched through unblinking eyes. She opened the front clasp and peeled back the cups of her bra. His Adam’s apple bobbed. She shrugged and her bra fell to the floor behind her.