Young Adult author Aiko Bradley wants some worldly experience and who better to teach her than the worldliest of men-Maximilian Croft?
From his daredevil stunts to his decadent affairs, Max is everything a perfect heartbreaker should be-one that Aik...
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Despite that lengthy confession, I spent the rest of the week harassing Max for more information because I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this hunky, daredevil billionaire playboy (my own words this time) was a pseudo-government spy with deadly combat skills to see him through dangerous missions (my own words still although more heavily influenced by the writer in me).
The random questions came at random times and thankfully, Max indulged me.
"Have you killed anyone?"
Max had given me a long inscrutable look for that question before answering. "I avoid it at all cost but it had been necessary in two assignments—once to save Matthews and another time when someone tried to shaft me in the men's bathroom after I was spotted coming out of a server room in Bahrain. I was young and sloppy then."
I didn't have to think long about how I felt about his answer, which I could tell was something that had worried Max after admitting the truth to me. He had a job that walked too close to the line. Some calls were necessary. To protect. To survive.
"Does it keep you up at night?"
"Sometimes," he said quietly. "This job has its demons."
I gave him a long hug after that.
"Did you really hook up with all the women you paraded around in public or was it all for work?"
Max's grin had been unapologetic. "Most of them, I did. My appreciation for women isn't a cover."
"Your favorite part of the job, I'm sure," had been my grumbling reply.
"I know you speak English and French but do you know any other languages?"
"Spanish, German and some Mandarin as well."
My eyes had bugged out. "Wow. I would've never guessed."
Max had just winked at me. "What? That I'm more than just some buff surfer dude?"
"Well, that was your cover."
"Our family traveled a lot so I learned new languages to use. It almost felt like a game."
"I now wish I took the time to learn."
"I'm going to learn Japanese next."
"My Mom's going to like that," I said with a smile. "She still despairs that I'm not perfectly fluent in it."
Max winked. "Don't worry, we'll learn all the naughty words first."
Typical.
"Do you have a codename?"
"Even if I did, I couldn't tell you anyway."
"Can I come up with some possible ones? I've never had to name a spy character before."
