Page 96 of Wickedly Played

Looking down at my outfit, I shrug. I’m wearing black leggings, a pair of Ugg boots, and one of Max’s button-down shirts. Luckily, I put on a bra. I wasn’t expecting Max to have the Irish fucking mafia here.

“Thanks?”

“How do you like your new place?”

Giggling, I toss my blonde hair over my shoulder. “Are you making small talk with me?”

Max pinches my side. “Gentlemen, if we’re done, Serena and I have plans tonight.”

“We do?” I ask.

He winks at me. “We do. There is a box on our bed. I’ll see you in an hour.”

For the first time since my attack, I feel a flutter of excitement in my stomach. It feels strange- foreign, almost. My cheeks heat from the possibilities of what this could mean. I can’t wait.

After I take a shower, shave every part of my body, slather myself in the sweetest-smelling lotion, and spray myself with my GucciGuiltyperfume, I look in the mirror and see someone familiar. Broken Serena has been looking back at me since my attack, but this woman is the Mistress Aphrodite.

My smile breaks out on my face, and it is a genuine one. “Shit,” I whisper to myself. Suddenly, a giggle starts to bubble in my chest before blossoming into a full-blown belly laugh.

“Serena? Baby?” Max runs into the room. He stops right before he reaches me with his hands on my hips. “Are you okay?”

Smiling at him, I place my hand on his chest and push him down. “I am more than okay. In fact, I am great.”

His eyes do a cursory glance up and down my towel-covered body. “It has been a long time since I heard your laugh.”

“Thank you for everything,” I whisper.

“Sweetness, you don’t have to thank me.”

I’m fighting the urge to get him to kneel in front of me, but he has other urges. Max wraps his arms around my waist, and then his mouth is crashing down on mine. His lips are punishing as his tongue demands entrance into my mouth. Our tongues begin an erotic dance of pent-up passion.

Curling my fingers into the lapel of his suit jacket, I pull him closer to me. I feel his hands attempting to loosen my towel before he steps back from me. I whimper at the loss of his contact.

“What?” I blink, clearing the haze of lust.

“Baby, I want to fuck you so badly. I want nothing more than to lay you out on our bed, eat your sweet pussy, and then slide my dick inside of you all night.”

I moan at his filthy promises. “And?”

He winks. “But you’re not in charge right now.”

With one more kiss, he slaps me on the ass before strolling out of the bathroom. “Tease,” I yell after him.

So we are back to this game? Damn it.

With excitement, I flick the lid off the box to see what is inside. Each item is expertly wrapped, and I’m beginning to see there was so much more to Max than I thought there was.

Has Max always been this thoughtful? That is the only thing I can think of as I unwrap each item in the box. A matching lingerie set, a beautiful lace purple dress, and purple Louboutin heels have been wrapped in the box. The fluttering in my stomach is back, and I am trying to fight the butterflies back. I have never felt this nervous before.

Are we going on a date? Is that what we are doing?

Damn. It has been a long time since I’ve been on a date.

My bodyguard did a fantastic job on everything. Lingerie, dress, and heels all fit great. I do a spin in front of the mirror and lean over to look at my face one more time.

“Serena, you are no longer that broken girl. You’re going to move forward,” I say to the mirror.

I carefully apply my makeup a little lighter than I usually would to make sure nothing bleeds off my face onto the dress.