Chapter 116: A Bathtub Experience

Chapter 116: A Bathtub Experience
Max leaned back a little in the chair. “What you think I want and what I actually want aren’t always the same thing,” he said. His voice was low, and it settled somewhere deep in her belly.
She tilted her head. “Okay. New idea.”
“Go ahead.” He waited, eyes never leaving hers.
“If we end up in that bed tonight…” she started, then paused. “If you—if we, you know, then you let me go afterward. That’s the deal. You get what you want, and I walk out of here.”
Max looked at her for a long moment. Then he let out a quiet, low chuckle, like she’d actually caught him off guard.
“Okay,” he said. "Sure, Val."
She blinked. “Okay?”
“Yeah.”
Valerie narrowed her eyes, a mix of suspicion and heat rising in her chest. “So if that happens… you’ll really let me leave?”
Max’s gaze dropped slowly down her body and back up again.
“Yes. But if you’re trying to get me to fuck you tonight, Val… you’re gonna have to work for it. Show me what you’ve got.”
She hadn't expected that. She'd expected an argument, a deflection, something. She stood up, and she went to the wardrobe, and she took out the red nightgown, and she went into the bathroom and changed into it.
Valerie stood in front of the bathroom mirror for a second, heart hammering. The short red silk nightgown barely covered her ass and felt dangerously slippery against her skin.
She took a shaky breath, muttered, “Fuck it, you’re doing this,” and stepped back into the bedroom.
Max was still sitting in the same chair, legs spread casually, watching her. His eyes moved slowly over her body—from her bare legs up to the thin silk clinging to her breasts—but he didn’t move a muscle.
She crossed the room slowly and stopped right in front of him, close enough that her knees almost brushed his. Holding his gaze, she hooked a finger under one thin strap and slowly slid it off her shoulder, letting the silk dip low enough to show the curve of her breast.
Max didn’t move. He just watched her with that dark, steady stare that made heat pool low in her belly.
She swallowed her nerves and sat on the very edge of the coffee table, right between his spread thighs. She leaned forward, letting the nightgown dip lower on her chest.
“So…” she said softly, trying to sound seductive.
Max remained perfectly still, eyes locked on her.
She reached out and ran her fingers slowly along the arm of his chair, brushing close to his hand. When that got zero reaction, she felt her face getting warm. This was harder than it looked in the movies.
Okay… new plan.
She turned toward the plates on the table beside her. She reached over to the plates and dipped two fingers into the thick, warm chocolate sauce that had come with the dessert. Slowly, she dragged her coated fingers across her collarbone, leaving a glossy trail that dripped down toward her cleavage.
“Oops,” she said, trying to sound playful, but it came out a little awkward. “Guess I made a mess.”
Max’s mouth twitched. He looked amused as hell, but she also noticed the way his jaw tightened.
She dipped her fingers again and this time smeared the sticky sauce slowly across the top of her breast, rubbing it into her skin in slow circles. The silk stuck to the wetness, turning almost see-through where the sauce soaked through, and making her nipples faintly visible through the thin fabric.
She felt ridiculous, but she noticed Max’s jaw tightened. His breathing stayed controlled, but she also noticed the way his hands flexed on the armrests.
She looked up at him through her lashes. “You’re not even going to help me clean this up?”
Max let out a low chuckle, deep in his chest. His eyes had gone darker. His body was definitely reacting — she could see the growing bulge pressing against his pants — but the bastard still looked way too amused by her efforts.
“You’re really bad at this,” he said.
Valerie flushed but kept going. She scooped a little more sauce and boldly dragged her sticky fingers down her thigh. “Maybe you should come over here and teach me how to do it better then.”
Then she felt a rush of nervous boldness. She dipped her fingers again and this time smeared the chocolate sauce lower, rubbing it slowly over the side of her breast, then across her nipple through the silk. The wet fabric stuck obscenely to her, outlining every curve. She let out a small, shaky breath as she did it.
“You’re really just gonna sit there?” she asked.
Max’s eyes followed every movement of her hand. “I’m watching.”
She bit her lip, then spread her legs a little wider on the edge of the table. Dipping her fingers once more, she trailed the sticky sauce down her inner thigh. The higher she went, the more the short nightgown rode up, revealing the black lace panties underneath. She rubbed the chocolate along the edge of the lace, teasing herself as much as him.
Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment and arousal. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered, half laughing at herself. “I look like a damn dessert.”
Max didn’t laugh. His gaze had grown darker, heavier. She could clearly see the thick outline of his cock pressing hard against his pants now. He shifted slightly in the chair, but still didn’t reach for her.
“You’re doing fine,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Keep going.”
Valerie’s breath hitched. Encouraged by the obvious reaction in his lap, she scooped more sauce and boldly slid her hand between her thighs, rubbing the warm chocolate right over the front of her lace panties.
She let out a soft, involuntary sound as she pressed her fingers against herself through the lace.
Max’s eyes stayed glued to the movement between her legs. His hands gripped the chair tighter, but he still didn’t move from his seat. The tension in his body was obvious now—broad shoulders tense, chest rising and falling deeper.
Valerie looked up at him, flushed and breathing hard. “You gonna keep just watching me make a mess of myself, or are you finally going to do something about it?”
Max’s voice came out low when he said, “Val, you look fucking ridiculous… and it’s still working.”
She felt the shift in the air the second he moved. Max stood up from the chair to his full height. For a split second, she thought finally, but instead of pulling her into his arms like she expected, he bent down, grabbed her, and tossed her over his shoulder again.
“Hey — what are you doing!” she yelped, kicking her legs.
Max didn’t answer. He carried her straight into the bathroom.
“Max! Put me down! What are you doing?”