KARMA

20. YOU DESERVE IT

A Note from Ashleigh

A brand new chapter. Happy New Year, everybody! Wishing you a blessed and joyous year ahead! May all your dreams (of hot, loyal guys) come true!

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LISA

Maxim holds my hand as his other hand grips the steering wheel. My eyes are drawn to his wrists. They are so utterly masculine they make my stomach tighten. His fingers tap at the steering wheel. Long, strong fingers. I stare at them and think of the way they moved on my body two hours ago. He turns to me. His eyes are edgy and dangerous, full of promise.

"Lisa."

"Maxim."

"I want to tell you something, Lisa."

"Go ahead, Maxim."

"Do you want it flowery or straight?"

I think for a bit.

"Flowery, first."

"I love you, my darling."

I giggle.

"Okay. Straight, next."

"I want to pound into you so hard until you pass out screaming my name."

I smack him on his forearm.

"Naughty Maxim."

"I'm so hard right now, you shouldn't have worn that tight black dress and those red heels."

Maxim has a thing for red heels.

I tsk at the bulge in his pants.

"But we just did it two hours ago..."

He sighs. "Tell him that." He pats Smaxy morosely.

I burst into a fit of giggles.

"Naughty Smaxy. Down, boy."

We're meeting his friends at a private and exclusive VIP club.

"Did you bring Susan to this club?"

"Just a few times. She wasn't comfortable. She didn't like my friends. After a while, she refused to go."

He shrugs.

"She wouldn't speak unless she was spoken to. It was awkward. She said she didn't fit in. She said they didn't like her."

"Who? Your friends?"

"The wives. They are a tight circle, these wives. Many of them went to the same schools, they've known one another for years. Susan said she felt like an outsider."

A pause.

Then:

"She had a lot of insecurity issues. She had this notion that my friends thought she wasn't good enough to be my wife."

He glances at me, squeezes my hand.

"If the wives bully you, let me know."

"Would you rough them up for me?" I bat my eyelashes at him.

He laughs softly.

"If you want me to."

"I can take care of myself, Maxim." I flip my hair. "Nobody messes with Lisa Branson and gets away with it."

He grins.

"I believe you, Slugger."

There is an unmistakable camaraderie between the men and the gathering as a whole. There are lots of boisterous chatter, jokes, guffaws, a bond of fond affection within the group that make me smile. Seeing Maxim with his close circle of friends is a wonderful sight. He's happy, relaxed, at ease, not the cold, aloof man the public is accustomed to, the brilliant but distant man helming the Chamberlain empire.