With this in mind, she squared her shoulders and raised her gaze to meet his.
The militant look in her gaze was easy to read, and Maximilian was surprised at feeling a sense of irritation. What made that damn stepbrother of hers so special that she seemed willing to go to any lengths to protect their secret?
Not in the mood to hear her speech about how much her stepbrother meant to her, he said brusquely, “If you’re worried about me saying a thing, don’t be.”
“I see.” Her mouth opened and closed, Seri unsure whether to trust a stranger’s word, especially this one, who hadn’t exactly been a gentleman the first time they met.
His irritation growing at the look of distrust in her eyes, he said sharply, “I’m not the type to gossip, and I’m certainly not interested in whatever it is the two of you do in private.”
“You make it sound so sordid,” she gritted out, “when it’s not like that at all.”
His lip curled. “Really? Then what was that on your hands the previous time we met? Sticky vanilla ice cream?”
Reddening at his sarcasm, she spat, “You really are an asshole.” Argh! This guy was really a jerk and not to be trusted.
He glared back at her even though in truth, he was more furious with himself than her. The way his body was reacting to her, the way his cock was hot and throbbing under his pants – he wanted this girl.
And yet this girl wanted a guy who had clearly put his own pleasure over hers.
Maximilian’s teeth gnashed. Even just having to think about this girl with someone else was enough to put him in a murderous mood, and looking at her, he snapped, “If there’s nothing else for us to discuss, then I’m going.”
And without another word, he turned his back on her and continued to the lab. He heard her footsteps resume a moment later, and as he entered the lab, he heard the door swing open again, the girl following him inside.
Nervously looking around, Seri mentally sighed in relief when she saw that the lab was thankfully empty. Hurrying towards him, she said determinedly, “I’m not done talking to you.”
Looking at her over his shoulder, he said with a derisive smile, “But I am.”
D’err mo. How she hated this guy! She would have cheerfully strangled him if she could, but Seri managed to restrain herself. Taking a deep breath, she began, “I think you’ve misunderstood a couple of things—-”
“I probably didn’t,” Maximilian answered coolly as he took his lab coat from the hook. Glancing at her, his lip curled as he said, “Actually, I most assuredly didn’t, considering the, err, sticky state of your fingers—-”
Aargh!
“Will you shut up about that?” she hissed, but the damn guy only shrugged as he put his lab coat on. When he started to walk towards one of the counters, she hurried after him again. “What do I have to do to make sure you don’t say a word about what you think you saw?”
Dump your stepbrother, Maximilian thought, and date me.
But because that was yet another foolish thing he shouldn’t even be considering, he simply decided to ignore her words and instead settled on his seat. Opening the wall cabinet in front of him, he took out a tray of test tubes and placed it down on the table. When he looked up, it was to find the girl standing right next to him, her face just inches away from his.
Her sudden proximity caught him off guard, and he stiffened on the stool. With her this close, the flowery scent of her perfume tantalized him, and the hint of round, pale breasts exposed by the sweetheart neckline of her dress had his fists clenching.
Fuck.
Maximilian was unable to stop his cock from slowly growing larger…longer…and harder.
Fuck.
He shifted on his seat, trying to do his best to make his erection unnoticeable, but his actions backfired, the movement drawing her attention. When she started to look down, he realized that she was just seconds away of realizing how she had aroused him—-
Fuck.
He reached for her quickly, cupping her chin and forcing her to look at him. “Why are you so keen on protecting your stepbrother?” It galled him to have to talk about another man with her, but it would be even more dangerous if she realized how her nearness affected him.
Seri yanked her chin away from his hold. “Don’t touch me!”
“Why not?” he asked silkily. “Or is it that you’re one of those girls who like it dirty—-” When she lifted her hand to strike him, Maximilian didn’t even flinch, his eyes only gleaming in challenge as he murmured, “I find you prettier when you’re mad, you know. If you hit me, I can only promise to make you even madder—-”
“I very much doubt,” Seri spat between clenched teeth, “you can make me any more angrier than I am now—-”