Free Heat by Jamie K. Schmidt

drink,” Mallory said. “But you look so familiar.” She blinked her eyes, because her vision was a little blurry.
    “I get that a lot,” Anya said. “Do you need me to look in on her?”
    “Yeah, if you would,” Max said.
    “No problem. I’m still on Paris time anyway.”
    “Oooh-la-la,” Mallory said and then laughed. She was so funny.
    Max opened her door and guided Mallory inside.
    “I really appreciate this, Max.” She hugged him when he closed the door behind him. “It’s so nice to be taken care of for a change. Anya doesn’t have to look in on me. I don’t want to be a bother.”
    “Oh, let her. She’s new and she doesn’t have many friends here. Some of the women here can be real judgmental.”
    “They don’t like her? How can you not like someone wearing bunny slippers?”
    “They look down on her because of her weight.”
    “Huh?”
    “She’s a plus-size model.”
    “Of course she’s a model. She’s gorgeous.”
    His arms went around her and she felt safe and snug wrapped up in his arms. “I’m glad you’re not like those bitches. You’re something else, you know that?”
    “I’m not that drunk, you know,” she said, her hand wandering down to his ass.
    “Drunk enough,” he said and tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. “If you want to play when you’re sober, let me know. I might have a way around the ‘don’t fuck my sister’ rule.”
    “Play what?”
    “Anything you want. I’ll teach you self-defense in my dojo, but after that if you want to sample the wild side of Couture, I’ll be your personal guide.”
    “What about Colleen?”
    “She knows her way around already.”
    “Gorgeous
and
funny,” Mallory giggled until she hiccupped. “I want your hands on me.”
    Max groaned and held her against him.
    “Oh,” she sighed. “You
are
hard.” She pressed against his erection.
    “You’re killing me.” He dropped a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I’ve got to go before we both wind up hating me in the morning.”
    “I wouldn’t hate you.” She swayed a bit when he put her at arm’s length.
    “I want you to have all your wits about you when you and I hit the sheets.”
    Mallory moaned, a soft little sound that had Max’s eyes fixated on her mouth. “You said ‘when,’ not ‘if.’ ”
    He guided her to the bed and gave her a slight push so she sprawled out on her back. Kneeling, he gave her a wicked grin as he slowly took her boots off. “You’re probably not going to remember any of this.”
    “I will if you stay with me.”
    He eased her under the covers and went into the bathroom to get her a glass of water.
    “If you regret any of this tomorrow morning, don’t. You deserved to get a little crazy.”
    “I’m not crazy.”
    “I know.” Max helped her take a sip of water. He put a jar of aspirin on the bedside table next to the vibrator. “But don’t be embarrassed. I meant everything I said.”
    “Max, I don’t like my life,” she said, her lower lip quivering.
    He sat next to her on the bed. “What do you want to change?”
    “Aside from my ex and his drugs?”
    He nodded. “We’ll figure something out.”
    “I’m one big ball of stress and regret. I feel like a kid looking in a candy store window. I can see all the goodies, but I can’t reach them.”
    “You just have to go through the door.”
    “What if the door’s locked? What if I don’t have any money? What if the store is closed?” Mallory sat up and grabbed his shoulders. She swayed as a wave of nausea hit her. “I didn’t think I drank that much.”
    “Let’s give the metaphors a rest for right now. You don’t have to solve all your problems tonight. I’ll see you in the morning. Nine sharp. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you.”
    She slid her hands up to his cheeks. “Max, thank you.”
    He kissed each of her palms and got off the bed. “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow.”
    She watched him leave, before lying back and enjoying the bed