Ryan joined her at the counter, caging her in his arms and kissing her neckline. “Let me do some looking into it, okay?”

“But the police said nothing could been done.”

He laughed, nudging her out of the way to take over the dish washing. “Maybe the police can’t catch him, but let’s see if I can’t come up with a few other solutions. In the meantime, I’ve got my foreman completing the hookup for your system. Later today I’ll take you home and show you how it works.”

The musical notes of the “Ride of the Valkyries” rang through the room and Ryan searched for his cell phone.

“It’s not yours, it’s mine.” Maxine reached into her purse and checked the display. “Shit.” She made a face before answering it. “Hi, Auntie Maxena.” For the next five minutes, she barely got a word in edgewise. Ryan snorted as she rolled her eyes and attempted to rein in her aunt’s rambling discourse.

By the time Maxine broke free, the dishes were done and put away. Ryan looked at her expectantly from where he leaned on the counter.

“I have to go shopping to pick up some last-minute things for a surprise birthday party for my cousin. I’m sorry, Ryan, I…I just couldn’t say no.” She stepped between his legs and nestled into him.

“That’s fine. I told you I have to go out for a while myself.” He held her close and let her warmth soak into him. Oh God, he could get used to this. Maybe he was ready for more than he thought. He stared down at the top of her head. The urge to tell her about Carl rolled over him again. She’d understand if he explained how important it was to not upset the boy.

Maxine looked up at him, a curious light in her eyes before she grabbed him and pulled their mouths together. Her kiss was ferocious, almost desperate, and while he enjoyed it, he couldn’t stop from chuckling when she pulled away. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as she grinned back.

“What was that all about?” He squeezed her waist, letting her bright smile dazzle him.

“That was because you’ve done nothing but give and be there for me. You haven’t demanded I show up at work parties at the last minute like Jamie did. You haven’t dragged me off to family gatherings. God, you don’t know how tired I am of having to jump through hoops for all my relatives. I mean, I love my family, but I’m reaching the point I need to break away. I’d like to go one day, just one miserable day, without anyone needing me to do anything for them. That would be heavenly. Just me responsible for me.”

Fuck. The image of his brother waiting impatiently for his daily visit rose to Ryan’s mind. Yeah, wouldn’t she be thrilled to add another needy person to her to-do list. Disappointment washed over him at the missed opportunity to share, but he had to be realistic. His relationship with Carl had nothing to do with Maxine, not yet. He couldn’t let his brother get attached to someone when at this point he had no idea where this situation with Maxine was headed. And obviously she didn’t want any more commitments right now either.

Maxine seemed oblivious to his distraction. She tugged his belt loop. “If you want to drive me home I can get my car. Otherwise you’ll have to run me around on my errands. Or I can drop you at your appointment, if you don’t mind me driving your car.”

Ryan hesitated. If she dropped him at the nursing home he’d have some serious explaining to do. There was no fucking way he was telling her about Carl, not today when she was pissed about her family being demanding.

She laughed and walked toward the bedroom. “Seriously, guys and their cars. Forget I asked. I guess we’re back to option one or two.”

Ryan followed her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off before they’d even had a chance to really get to know each other. He would give them more time to see if his brother needed to become an issue. He’d find some way to deal with it, eventually.

“You use the same ring tone I do,” he pointed out, trying not to get too distracted watching her dress. He glanced at his watch. Maybe he could arrange a return visit to his place when their chores were complete.

She smiled back at him. “Wagner rocks.”

* * *

It was early afternoon before they received the call to say the security installation was complete. Which was fine with Ryan, since it was well after lunch before he finally let her out of bed where they’d returned once their morning commitments were complete. He spent a long time simply touching Maxine, watching her reactions to his caresses and enjoying her ready ability to flush. She slowly became more vocal about what she liked as they went along and he eagerly obliged each of her requests. By the time the call arrived they were both sated.

Heading up the path to her front door, he tugged their joined hands, pulling her against him. He kissed her, needing another taste of her lips. She was becoming a serious addiction and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be free of her. In fact, there was something that would make their situation even better and he’d forgotten to mention it before.

“What do you think about us both getting checked out at the doctor? And would you be willing to get the shot for birth control? I want to make love with nothing between us.” He kissed the spot in her neck that pulsed with a rapid beat.

She blushed again. “Do you always talk about sex just…anywhere?”

He glanced around in surprise. “There’s no one here to overhear us.”

“Still.”

Ryan stroked his hands up the sides of her body, smoothing the sides of her breasts in passing. “You know, I bet you’d enjoy making love outside.”

“Ryan!”

He laughed and picked her up, spinning her in a circle before planting her feet back on the ground and escorting her to the front door. He hadn’t felt this light-hearted in months. He kissed her again, their lips and tongues stroking smoothly together. His body tightened, his cock rising as he imagined slipping into her warmth, skin on skin. He pulled away slowly, lingering on the sweet flavor of her mouth.

He showed her how to work the access for the main door and together they set up the codes on the internal panel.

“I have one other addition I want to show you.” He took her by the hand and led her up the stairs to the master bathroom. After listening to Maxine chat for the last couple of weeks about how much she loved the house, inspiration had hit hard. She would appreciate this as much as knowing she was secure at night.

“You put a security system in the bathroom? What in heaven’s name?”

He shook his head. “It’s a part of the system, but it’s a water sensor. I put at least one on each floor next to the main water source and wired it in as a secondary alarm. If you had a water-main break, or a pipe bursts and the contact gets wet for an extended period of time, it will trigger the rest of the system with a special code. You’d know quick enough to be able to stop extensive damage from ever occurring again.”

He knelt and showed her the sensor location. “It’s not on a hair trigger, you don’t have to worry about it going off if you happen to splash it or get it wet while cleaning. The liquid has to be in contact for at least a minute. And you can turn it off at the main panel if you did happen to accidentally set it off having a water fight or something.” He stood and gestured toward the floor. “Take a look. It’s not very noticeable—I didn’t want it to stick out. There’s one in every bathroom plus in the basement behind the washer and in the kitchen.”

Maxine’s eyes were moist and she hugged him tightly, burying her face against his chest. Her voice was muffled when she spoke. “Thank you.” There was a volume of gratitude in the simple statement.

He kissed the top of her head. His guess had been right. “You’re welcome. I know how much sentimental value this house has for you. It’s just a little thing to help you be able to relax more completely.”

She slipped her hands under his shirt and stroked his bare skin. He froze. Was that her tongue on his neck? He stood stock still as she nuzzled closer, yanking his shirt free and pushing it up his body. “Max, what are you doing?”

Her eyes twinkled at him and she laid a finger on his lips briefly before dropping her hands and tugging on his jeans. “We’re done with the system checks, right? I thought we could relax for a while. If you’re interested.”

He clasped her fingers to still them. “Relax? Sweetheart, what you’re doing is not calming me down.”

Max leaned against him, rubbing like a cat. “Good.”

Ryan eyed her suspiciously. “Are you hoping I’ll let you have a shower since we’re already in the bathroom? Because it’s not happening.”

“I wanted to…” She hesitated.

He stepped closer, running his hands up the sides of her torso to cup her breasts through the cotton fabric of her dress. “Want to what?”

Barely above a whisper her voice rose to his ears. “Make love in the shower.”

He laughed. “Now that’s an interesting twist on the issue.”

“I’ve never done it before and it sounds like fun. I’ve got a good shower for it.” She gestured to the wall-to-wall enclosure and his libido rocked off the charts. She wanted to try it in the shower? Hell, yeah.

But under his rules. He took his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a condom, dropping both items on the counter. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. Lifting her chin, he leered at her. “Take off your undies.” She reached for the buttons of her dress and he shook his head. “Leave it on. Panties, off.” He held out his hand, waiting expectantly.

The adorable red flushing her skin reached her hairline in mere seconds, but she obediently reached under her dress and wiggled her hips. His groin tightened, his cock fighting against the confining material of his jeans. She dropped a flimsy bit of blue lace into his palm before stepping back, hiding her hands behind her back like a demure maiden.