A Bride for the Billionaire Bad Boy (The Romero Brothers, Book 2) by Shadonna Richards Page A

felt the hardness of his erection behind his zipper while his
hips pressed to hers as he leaned her against the wall.
    Lucas slid his smooth hand beneath her robe and she
felt a delicious explosion of butterflies in her stomach. His hand made its way
to her mound of flesh and he stroked and teased her hard nipples bringing moans
of ecstasy through her lips.
    Maxine pulled away breathless.
    “What is it?” Lucas’s deep voice captured her.
    Yes. What was it? What was she afraid of? This was
what she’d always fantasized about, wasn’t it? Lucas’s erotic
touch on her body.
    Maxine adjusted her robe. She was still throbbing
mercilessly. Oh, heavens, she wanted nothing more than to be with Lucas so what
in Pete’s sake was she afraid of?
    “I’m…sorry I…Lucas…”
    “It’s okay.” Lucas was out of sorts, breathless
himself. “I should apologize. I didn’t come here for that. I don’t know what
got over me just now.”
    Maxine looked up, startled. Oh, no. That was the last
thing she wanted him to feel—regret! My God, the man came over
there—all the way over there to see if she was
alright. He certainly didn’t need to do that. As big and important as Lucas
Romero was, he went out of his way to track her down after she’d been
victimized. How noble was that?
    So was he changing his mind? Who could blame him? She
was probably sending mixed signals. Heck, she felt as if she was a mixed signal right now.
    Oh, how her body craved his touch. She desperately
wanted to feel his hardness inside of her. But not right here, in some…upscale
motel. It just didn’t feel right. And she hadn’t seen him in over a
month—at least not outside her private fantasies and online.
    Maxine went over by the bed to sit down.
    “It’s okay, Maxine. I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve
wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you at the wedding. But I’m not a creep.
I’m a gentleman—despite what you might have read about me in the
tabloids.”
    Maxine couldn’t help but break out into a smile. It
was the way he said it. Charming. Humorous. Was he mocking himself? She always
thought it attractive when a man could make light of his troubles. Good for
Lucas.
    She didn’t know if she could have such strength with people saying all sorts of stuff about her and
just keeping a cool head about it as if it meant nothing. But such was the life
of a celebrity, wasn’t it? Or at least someone in the public
eye from time to time.
    Speaking of public eye, Lucas was truly a man who
could bring a whole lot of media attention. And there he was, in her motel
room. Oh, heavens. Maxine could just see the headlines if anyone found out.
    She swallowed hard. That would be disastrous. The last
thing she needed.
    “I know,” she said quietly, “I didn’t think you were a
creep.” A charming gentleman and sex god, yes. A creep, no. Far from it. She was just terrified of the situation
right now. Terrified of letting herself get to close
to him only to find out that he didn’t want a long-term relationship. He was
almost thirty and according to what she’d read or learned about him, he’d never
really had a steady girlfriend. At least not since adulthood.
    “I think, I’d better get changed,” she murmured
softly. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it sooner. There she was
naked under a bathrobe and inches from the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes on.
It was no wonder something almost happened between them.
    “If you need to get ready for bed-”
    “Oh, no. I’m not tired at all. I can’t sleep,” she
spewed out quickly. Then she caught herself, feeling sheepish. Gosh, did she
just come off as…desperate?
    “I mean , I’m just going to
change into some clothes. You know, street clothes.”
    He grinned, a sexy boyish grin that dimpled his cheek
and oh, she wanted to melt. “Should I leave?” he asked quietly, looking into
her eyes. He stood erect with his head slightly tilted and his hands shoved in
the pockets of