“Ah huh.” Max smiled, and turned his attention to the road again. “It won’t hurt to show off a Ferrari to your neighbors.”

She shot him a surprised look, and then laughed. “They wouldn’t believe me if I told them.”

Janet let out a sigh when she turned the corner. The mountains downsized to hills as they drove. In spring that meant wildflowers. “Look at that.” She pointed to a hillside covered in poppies. “Mind if we stop?”

“Not at all.”

The road widened out, and Janet pulled off and into a vista view point.

They hopped out of the car and walked over to the rail. Max watched her stretch her arms over her head. She stifled a yawn, but he could see the night catching up with her.

“You don’t see that everyday.” She leaned over the rail, her tight jeans kept his attention much more than the flowers.

“No, you don’t.”

She turned around and peeled the sunglasses off her face. Her smirk told him she knew he wasn’t talking about the view of the hills.

With her eyes glued to his, Max moved closer and stepped into her personal space. Janet’s gaze moved to his lips, she sucked in a small breath.

Max placed one hand to each side of her, boxing her in. Brave, she didn’t move away. His breath mingled with hers, he spoke against her lips in a whisper. “Your mouth is so full, so moist. It screams to be kissed.”

Her tongue darted out. Her teeth caught it before it disappeared inside. The thought of her catching something else in those teeth made his blood boil. She lifted her chin in invitation. Max wasn’t about to ask twice.

He lowered his lips to hers. Sweet with a small taste of spice. Her lips were pliable, a gentle nudge, and they opened for his tongue to explore. He kept his hands on the rail and pushed his body against hers.

Static electricity surged through him, more than that, his body heated, shuddered. Her scent filled his mind. He pulled back in disbelief. His family told him long ago that when he found his soul mate the effect of only a kiss would knock him back.

Dear God, that was exactly what her kiss had done. He let out a deep groan and crushed his lips back to hers. Her hands lifted to his chest and fanned out in his hair and on his neck. Her br**sts strained against him, his arms wound around her and gathered her close.

Moment by moment he felt her essence fill his head, burning into his system. Burning into his life.

A car came around the corner. The driver hit the horn while a passenger yelled out the window, “Get a room!”

She drew back. His lips no longer stuck to hers, but their bodies still pressed together. Her br**sts pushed against his hard torso with the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

“We should go,” Janet suggested.

Reluctantly, Max stepped back but kept her hand in his on the short walk to the car.

****

They both kept their thoughts to themselves on the drive to her house. Max searched for a reason for her to stay within arms’ reach. If nothing else, he would count on seduction as a tool. He didn’t like the dishonesty of it, especially on someone he knew he would have a future with, but he had little choice.

Gorman sized her up at the hospital. He would come after her, and Max had a whole new set of reason’s to keep her safe.

His thoughts turned to her kiss. Her body melting into his floated in his mind. He glanced her way through lowered lids and darkened sunglasses. Her blonde hair glistened in the sun. Her hands stroked the wheel of his car. She held such sex appeal, he could hardly wait to explore more than her lips.

Janet drove into a small driveway of a bungalow-style house in the hills of Sunland. “I’ll only be a minute.” She tossed him the keys after turning off the ignition. “I’m starting to hit a wall, you should drive back.”

He walked her to the door, hand in hand. “Quiet neighborhood.”

“Yeah, this part is. Over a few blocks is a little noisy.”

They climbed the steps together and then Max smelled him and stopped.

He pushed her behind him, and reached for the small revolver he had on a leg holster.

Janet’s eyes widened, words choked in the back of her throat.

All she could do was stare at his gun.

“Stay behind me,” he whispered in a deadly voice.

“What is it?” She kept her voice low as he did.

“Shhh.”

Slowly, Max pushed the front door open. To her dismay, it gave under a gentle push. She never forgot to lock the door when she left home.

Her skin started to prickle. Max crouched and seemed to sniff the air. He tossed his sunglasses to the porch and Janet watched his eyes literally swirl. The deep blue, which had mesmerized her earlier before he kissed her, turned to a deathly grey. She blinked twice. How did he do that with his eyes?

When the door opened wider, Max stood tall, keeping the gun in front of him while he entered the house.

Janet let out a gasp. Inside had been ransacked. Her couch lay upside down, her lamps thrown to the ground and broken. Every drawer yawned open, their contents dumped.

Tears stung her eyes, her back teeth ground together. Janet stood frozen in place, while Max moved forward to search the rest of house.

Her first thought was someone had robbed her, invaded her space and peace of mind and stole what wasn’t theirs to take. She wandered around setting things to rights on impulse. Her television was still in place. Her CD’s spread all around.

Janet scanned the room. Everything was there, only torn and broken. Panicked, she ran to her bedroom, and found clothes strewn everywhere. She lifted the mattress and retrieved a box. “Thank God,” she whispered, crushing it to her chest.

“What is it?” Max stood in the doorway, his gun placed back in its holster.

“My jewelry. It’s not much but it’s still here.” It was the only thing she had left of her mother. To Janet the contents of the box were priceless.

She sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head. “I don’t get it. I don’t see anything missing. Who would do this and not steal anything?”

Max sat down beside her, he draped his arm over her shoulders. The comforting movement had her shaking, the tears started to flow.

“It’s okay,” he murmured.

She buried her head in his shoulder. His hand stroked her hair while he spoke words of comfort.

As the tears dried up, Janet pulled away. “I should call the police.”

****

Max followed her to the phone, his mind ticked off the facts as he knew them. Gorman had been there. Max knew he’d be back. But why had the bastard trashed her place? It wasn’t his MO.