“And Shauna wanted you to do that,” I guessed.
“Yeah.”
“To Dodd,” I guessed again.
“Yeah.”
I was right, Shauna was a bitch. She might be more than a bitch but I wasn’t sure what that was.
“Tangled web,” I whispered.
“It was then I scraped her off, got myself untangled.”
I looked beyond him out the windows to the view.
There was nothing between him and that glorious view and I figured, for thirty acres all around, nothing beside him or behind him.
Like Harry said, God’s country, unspoiled.
I looked back at Max. “What did Dodd want to do with your land?”
“He had a coupla schemes he was considering. Hotel and guest villas or a small, exclusive housing development.”
I felt my lip curl. Max’s eyes dropped to my mouth and he did two things. He burst out laughing and wound an arm around my waist again bringing our lower bodies close together but this time not in closer proximity, now actually touching.
“Max –” I whispered, my hands going to his arms.
He stopped laughing but smiled down at me. “That’s what I thought, Duchess.”
“What?” I asked, losing track of the conversation what with his biceps under my fingers and his h*ps fitted to mine.
“Your face, Dodd’s plans, that’s what I thought.”
“Oh.”
He let me go, turned to the coffeepot and ordered, “Finish your toast, get ready, forget this shit, we’re goin’ to the bluff.”
It took me a second before I could get my feet to move but I finally did, went to my stool, finished my toast and then I went to the coffeepot, reaching around Max to give myself a warm up as Max finished his own toast, his eyes pointed out the window, his mind on other things.
Then I took my coffee, walked upstairs, made the bed, grabbed my stuff from the suitcase and locked myself in the bathroom, getting ready to be an idiot and go with Max to the bluff.
* * * * *
“I’m sorry?” I shouted over the noise from the snowmobile Max was sitting astride.
“Climb on!” he shouted back and I stared at the snowmobile.
“Can’t we walk?” I asked loudly.
“No.”
“Drive?”
“No.”
I took a step back. “Maybe –”
“Duchess, get… the f**k… on.”