“Jesus. Don’t go caveman on me, Sam. I was just introducing myself.” Max took a step, as though he were ready to face off with Sam.
“Did you give him your phone number?” Sam growled, shooting Maddie a disapproving look.
“Sit down, Sam. Max, it was nice meeting you.” She smiled at Max and gave Sam a warning look.
“You too, Maddie.” Max shook her hand again and leaned down beside her ear to ask in a low, concerned voice, “You okay? He looks pissed off.”
She rolled her eyes. “He usually does. I’m fine.”
“I’ll talk to you later.” Max walked away, Sam giving him a belligerent look that said he would be willing to go rounds with him as he left.
Sam’s eyes bored into Max’s back, his fists clenched. He sat and knocked back half of his drink before he spoke. “You are not going anywhere with him.” His fingers clenched around the glass, his eyes furious.
Maddie glanced at him and took a sip of the creamy white drink he had brought for her. “Umm…that’s good. What is it?”
“White Russian,” he answered briskly. “Did you hear me, Madeline?”
“I’m ignoring you until you do something other than give me orders. I don’t like it.” She took a larger sip of her drink, enjoying the smooth taste on her tongue.
“Hamilton is no good for you, Maddie. He’s never gotten over his late wife. He’d make you miserable,” he growled, tossing back the rest of his drink.
“He looks so lonely,” she answered sadly.
“He is and I’m sorry for his pain, but you aren’t the answer,” he said huskily. “You’re already taken by a man who needs you desperately. You’re mine, Sunshine. You always have been.”
She looked into Sam’s gorgeous eyes and fell into their depths, completely unable to deny that she belonged to him. His look was both forlorn and fierce, the two combining until she wanted to cling to him and try to make his pain go away. “You can’t just give me orders and expect me to blindly obey, Sam. I make my own decisions. I always have. I’m not the naïve young woman you once knew.” She sipped at her drink, watching him with total fascination.
She could see a fine mist of perspiration coating his face, his barely leashed emotions close to the surface. He stood and grasped her hand, pulling her to her feet.
“Let go dance.” It wasn’t a request. It was a statement.
Maddie sat her nearly empty glass on the table and followed him.
Chapter 7
Dancing with Sam was like making love on a dance floor. He touched, he caressed, he seduced, he whispered naughty things in her ear until her body was on fire and her panties were completely drenched. By the time they left the dance floor after several songs, Maddie was practically panting.
Kara cut her beautiful cake, tossed her bouquet which seemed to fly straight to Maddie, although she wasn’t even trying to catch it. Simon didn’t even bother to toss Kara’s garter; he took it off his new bride in private and stuffed it into Sam’s pocket with an evil grin. Surprisingly, Sam accepted it with a broad smile and a clap on the back to his younger brother, leaving a perplexed look on Simon’s face.
“Our duty is done. Let’s take a walk,” Sam said in a graveled voice as he stood next to her, both of them sipping another drink and watching people slowly leaving the reception.
Maddie didn’t ask where they were going. She didn’t care. Her hand slipped into his comfortably and she followed wherever he wanted to lead.
He walked slowly across the lawn, letting go of her hand and wrapping an arm around her waist as they started down a cobbled pathway, nodding to a Hudson security agent at the head of the path. “Nobody else comes down here tonight,” Sam instructed the agent in a low voice as he guided Maddie around the older man.
“Yes, Mr. Hudson. I’ll make sure they don’t,” the guard answered.
It was dark, probably unlit to keep guests away from areas where Sam didn’t want them. Maddie gasped in delight as they exited the path, the moonlight illuminating the private dock and the water from the bay, an amazing sight with its distant points of light and the beauty of the stars. “It’s beautiful. Is this your dock?”
“Yes. It’s mine and it’s private,” he answered ominously.
Maddie stepped onto the dock, careful that her heels didn’t catch in the slats. “So this is where you propositioned Kara?” she asked, trying not to sound jealous because Sam had once hit on her friend.
“It wasn’t Kara I wanted. I was drunk and probably envious of how happy Simon looked. I didn’t know how serious he was about her and had I not been drinking it never would have happened,” he answered, as he swung Maddie up in his arms. “Even if she had agreed, it still wouldn’t have happened. I was much too drunk to perform that night and once I was sober I wouldn’t have wanted to be with her. She’s not my type.”
She wanted to object to Sam carrying her, taking her weight, but he didn’t look in the least bit stressed, striding down the walkway to a structure further down the wooden dock. She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder, knowing she could get used to this so very easily. Sam was such a hot alpha male who called to everything feminine inside her that she just wanted to melt into him, let him protect her for a while. “What is your type?” she questioned curiously.
“A petite, beautiful redhead who likes to tease,” he replied gruffly, reaching the structure and bolting up a set of stairs.
Maddie’s mouth opened in shock as he reached the top, pushing open a screen door with his shoulder. The upper floor was screened to keep bugs away, and one entire wall was made of glass, providing an awesome view of the water. “This is incredible,” she whispered as Sam lowered her feet to the ground.
Obviously, someone had been expecting him. The place was decorated in all-weather patio furniture, but there were candles lit on every table and a bottle of champagne sat on ice with two fluted glasses next to a huge, cushy double lounger.
“I spend a lot of time here. It’s quiet and peaceful,” Sam said casually, pulling his tuxedo jacket off and throwing it on a chair. “I like the water.”
“But you don’t have a boat?” Maddie asked him, noticing the absence of any vessel attached to the dock.
He shrugged as he flopped into the lounger. “Never needed one. I can be on the water right here.” He opened his arms to her. “Come here. I want to discuss your little comment about batteries, and how that’s affected me for the last few days.”