Sex and the Billionaire Crime Boss

Ch. 19: Say Something

Max nods, but I'm not buying that he'd let me just walk away that easily. Maybe we'll find some middle ground. I'm willing to at least try.

"And the second exception?" I ask him.

Now Max gives me a slow smile. "Why don't we go in the bedroom right now and I'll demonstrate."

Oh wow. I have no issue with him taking control where sex is concerned. I'd say so, but I'm pretty sure it's already obvious. I might have limited experience in that area, but I know what I like.

My mind goes immediately to Friday night, Max in that authoritative voice ordering me to bend over the conference table wearing nothing but my high heeled shoes, and how I was so aroused I almost came before he even touched me. I've already had better sex in one weekend with Max than I had in my whole life before him.

"I'm still a little sore from this morning," I tell him.

"Don't worry," Max says, "we can work around that. I have plenty of ideas."

"Yeah," I say as he scoops me up and carries me across the room. "I just bet you do."

***

The flight back to Miami is a lot more interesting than the flight to Vegas, because this time I'm traveling with Max. I'm wearing the other sundress I brought with me, and a check for $25,000 from the casino is tucked into my straw bag.

I tell Max he should at least let me pay him back the $5,000 he gave me in casino chips in the first place, but he refuses.

"It was for your entertainment," he tells me. "I expected you to lose it. I'm certainly not going to ask you to pay it back when you didn't."

So I drop the issue. I can use the money. I have an embarrassingly high salary at the law firm now, but no savings to speak of. Also no debt, thanks to the proceeds of a trust I inherited from my mother.

It's ironic that she and my father were virtually broke when she died, but there was a trust from her grandparents that would have gone to her when she reached age 30. Since she didn't live that long, it passed to me after her death, the proceeds controlled by some estate planning lawyer in Miami who served as Trustee. It paid all my college and law school expenses directly, as well as sending me a check every month to cover living expenses.

A month after I graduated, I received one last check along with a letter notifying me that the funds had now been exhausted. It was like a final gift from my mother. Not being burdened with a huge debt in student loans is why I could afford to take a low paying job with the Philadelphia Public Defender's office and pursue my dream in criminal law.

The dream has shifted slightly, but I still want to be able to do good in the world.

"What are you thinking about?"

We are about an hour into our flight, sitting next to each other in those luxury reclining chairs in the main cabin. Gabe is farther up, headphones on, listening to music and dozing off in one of the chairs. Earlier, I apologized to him for ditching him in the casino bar, and it managed not to be too awkward. He just nodded his head, said apology accepted, and dropped the matter.

I turn my head to look at Max. "Just that I hope I'll still have the time to take on pro bono cases once the criminal law section gets established."

"That's important to you."

"Of course. I didn't become a lawyer for the money."

"Why did you become a lawyer?" Max leans back in his chair, which is right next to mine, sharing the wide armrest. His hand idly traces patterns on my arm, and his fingers brush lightly over my skin, sending little tremors through my body. It's increasingly hard to concentrate.