Maxim (4 page)

“Are you questioning my decisions?”

“No sir. But eighty-nine is doing better lately. I don’t think there will be another mishap.”

“I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to follow my orders. Those decisions are for me to make, not you. Get me all the information on eighty-eight, or Maxim, as he is called now. I’ll make my final decision after that.”

“Yes sir.”

Chapter 5

“So, how did it go?” Zen asked, getting on his favorite treadmill in the workout room.

Maxim was already on the one next to his, running at his programmed average speed. He knew exactly how fast he was running without looking at the treadmill readings. “It was the first of ten, so it’s almost over.”

Zen snorted. “I guess by that emotionless response, there was no making out session.”

Maxim glared at him. “You do realize this is not a real dating situation?”

Zen waved it off as he increased his speed to match Maxim’s. “It’s as real as you want it to be. Come on, you can’t tell me that Alona does not make that mechanical heart of yours beat a little faster than normal. All she has to do is walk by and guys get boners.”

Maxim punched Zen in the arm without slowing down on the treadmill “How often are you looking at Alona?”

Zen rubbed his arm. “Hey, not me, man. I have a mate that I love. I would never cheat on my Shawna. But before I met her, yeah, Alona was very appealing. She appeals to a lot of other men around here too.”

“Who? I want their names.” Maxim glared at him.

“If I had to write them all down, it would be a really long list. The point is, if you would like a chance with Alona, this is your perfect opportunity. She has to go out with you, so you already have an in with her.”

“Wouldn’t the fact that she is being paid to date me for pretend be a big down side? Not that I want to date her.” Maxim tried to sound nonchalant about it, but it didn’t come across that way.

“She is not being forced to date you. I was there when Nigel asked for her help. She could have said no at any time. She chose to do this because she wanted to.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of her. She’s doing me a favor.” But he couldn’t help but feel a ray of hope that maybe he had a chance with her after all.

“If you’re not willing to step up and go after what you want, be prepared for another man to step up when this is all over. Because she’s only increasing her desirability by dating someone like you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You are stoic, anti-social at times, emotionally lacking, and just look at you.”

Maxim slowed down a bit at that. He looked down at his bare chest. “I have been told by many of the female fans that I am attractive.”

“I’m not saying you’re ugly or anything. But you never smile. It makes you look like a robot. What woman wants to go to bed with a cold piece of metal? Other men will want to show Alona that they could give her more than you; more romance, more affection, more love.” Zen picked up his speed. Maxim pushed himself to go little bit faster than Zen.

“I’m not a robot, and my heart is not mechanical. I have the same human heart that I was born with. It was one of the few internal organs the doctor left me with,” Maxim told him. He had never felt insulted about it until now. Was that how Alona saw him, as a cold robot? For some reason, it did matter to him what she thought.

“Prove it,” Zen taunted him.

“What?” Maxim had been so lost in his own thoughts he didn’t hear what Zen was saying.

“Prove to Alona you’re not some cold robot.”

“How?” Maxim frowned. Why was Zen so interested in Maxim’s personal life?

“For your next date, I dare you to kiss Alona at the end of the date.”

“That proves nothing.”

“It proves you’re not scared to show your human side.”

“I’m not scared.” Maxim growled.

“We’ll see.” Zen upped his pace and so did Maxim. Every time one increased his speed, the other tried to top him. Soon they were running full out, as hard as they could.

“Cut it out, assholes! You’re going to break the treadmills,” Rage yelled at them as he walked by.

Maxim had not realized until that moment that he was competing against Zen. He had never felt like this before, this strange need to beat another competitor. It was another damn human emotion.
What the fuck is happening to me?

*****

Four days later

“I’m not wearing that.” Alona shook her head as Maya, who had once again come over to help her pick out an outfit, held up an almost see-through, white sequined, skin-tight dress and skinny four inch heels.

“No to what? The dress or the shoes?”

“Both. The dress is almost see-through in the right lighting and those shoes will kill my feet. Nigel called earlier and said we would start out dancing, but that we could extend the date to a stroll through the lobby. There’s a big probability that there will be a lot of walking involved or I might have to stand up most of the evening. I haven’t worn these shoes that often because they are way too uncomfortable.”

“Why do you buy or even keep the shoes if you don’t ever wear them?”

“I use them for photo shoots, mostly, where I can stand still. But even then, I can only take them for about an hour before I have to take them off.”

“We’ll find you some different shoes, then. But this dress is the one for you. It is not see-through, not completely. You can wear a slip underneath and that will help camouflage everything. It will drive Maxim crazy with lust to see you in this.”

Her heart fluttered for some reason. “I’m not trying to drive Maxim crazy with lust.”

Maya waved her hand at her. “Sure, sure. But you have to make everyone else think you want to drive Maxim crazy. Trust me. If you’re wearing this, the reporters won’t pay as much attention to whether you two are actually dating or not. All they’ll notice is your hot bod in this tight dress.”

Alona sighed. “Fine. I’ll wear it. But I will need to get a spray tan first so the white pops. I haven’t had a lot of time to sunbathe.”

“No problem, I’ll have our makeup artists come up here to give you the treatment. While I’m at it, I’ll send our hair stylist to fix an up do for you that will withstand whatever the date might include. Go take your bath.” Maya ushered her into the bathroom and shut the door.

Alona stared at herself in the mirror. She was twenty-five years old. Too old to have other people dressing her up like a doll. She put up with it when it came to getting ready for fights, she had to look a certain way for all that. But this was getting to be a little bit invasive.

“I don’t hear the water running!” Maya called out from the other side of the door.

Alona growled. “I’m getting it going in just a few!” What has happened to her normal, simple life? She turned the shower knobs on. Was it really worth going through all this trouble? She sighed. She couldn’t let Maxim lose his position with the GCFA. Not if she could do something to help. Butterflies filled her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. He certainly was proving to be a surprise.

*****

Maxim pulled at the collar of his button-up shirt. It felt a little tight on him, but that was because it wasn’t his shirt, it was Zen’s. Damn the interfering man. He had rifled through Maxim’s closet and declared none of his clothes worthy of dancing. Maxim didn’t understand it. He had planned to wear jeans and a t-shirt.

“Hell no!” Zen told him when Maxim showed him the outfit he planned to wear. He then called his mate Shawna and had her bring over some of his own clothing.

So here he was wearing a black satin button-up shirt and leather pants. He caught a glimpse of himself as he passed a mirror and cringed. He was really shiny. He hated it because he worried it reminded people of his “cyborg” image, one of being a robot instead of a man. It was just a shirt, he knew he shouldn’t let it bother him, but it did. Plus there was danger he posed to everyone else around him. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to blind people when the lights hit his clothes. That would be a embarrassing end to his date, if he had to escort Alona to the healers because he had blinded her with shiny clothes.

He sighed, resigned to the fact that it was too late now to go back to his suite to change. He stood at Alona’s door and knocked. He looked down at himself once more, then looked up when the door opened. His heart seemed to stop. He couldn’t think of anything at all except that . . . she was beautiful.

“You’re beautiful.” He hadn’t realized he had said it out loud. But the blush that rose to her face was worth it. It made her look even lovelier, if that was possible.

“Thank you. You look very handsome.”

He moved to the side as she exited the suite, shutting the door behind her. He shook his head. “I look shiny.”

“I think it looks great on you. You look hot.” They stepped inside the elevator. He was grateful that no one except the fighters and their families could come to their two levels. It suddenly occurred to him what she had just said.

“You think I’m hot?” Maxim turned to face her. He knew that slang was used to describe someone who was attractive.

“You know that you are.” Her cheeks turned pink. He found it made her even more adorable.

He shook his head. “I have looked at myself many times in the mirror. Nothing seems to stand out. Brown hair, brown eyes. I have good musculature, but I’m not as tall as some of the other fighters. What do you find appealing about me?”

She shifted her feet, feeling a little uncomfortable, but she did answer him. “You have dark brown eyes that are warm and seem kind. You may not be as big as some of the other fighters, but that is appealing too, because I don’t like guys who are way too large. And then there’s your voice . . .”

His eyebrow rose up. “My voice? What about my voice?”

“It’s rich and deep when you speak. It rumbles, and I really find that appealing too.” She blushed even more and pushed the elevator button again. “The elevator is taking a really long time.”

“Is it?” Maxim asked. He sensed that she was uncomfortable with how much she had revealed to him. He wanted to ask her more questions, but the doors opened and she quickly stepped out.

They both had to blink immediately, as all the cameras flashing at them at once nearly blinded them. It took them a moment to see where they were supposed to go. He had almost forgotten that the reporters would be waiting for them.

Maxim wrapped his arm around her shoulders and directed her towards the dance club. He ignored the questions being thrown their way. Once inside, thankfully, the doorman was keeping most of the reporters out. Only a handful would be allowed inside the dance club to take their pictures.

“Are you okay?” Maxim had felt Alona shiver and worried that the reporters may have said something that upset her.

“I’m fine. I just hate having the reporters right there in our faces. I should be used to it by now, but I’m not.”

“I think that the reporters’ area is even worse right now because the GCFA set it up to be that way. For the next couple of weeks, they’ll know our every move.”

“Great,” she muttered.

*****

He led her to a table close to the dance floor. They sat down and immediately a waitress came to take their drink order. Alona had already had dinner sent up to her suite while she was getting ready. She ordered a white wine and Maxim ordered a beer. She was a little surprised by that. It must have shown on her face.

“I can drink and eat the same as anyone else,” Maxim told her with something that looked like humor in his eyes.

“I know that you eat, I’ve seen you at the morning breakfast buffet and at dinner the other night, but I’ve only ever seen you drink water. I just assumed that you didn’t like alcohol because it might . . . I don’t know, fry a circuit or something.” Did she really just say that? Maxim laughed and seemed surprised to be doing so. Perhaps he had never laughed before.

He shook his head and smiled at her. “My circuits are wired biologically into me, so fluids . . . any kind of fluids . . . are not a problem. It would take something much greater to fry my circuits.”

“Like what?”

“Extreme emotion, or an intimate outlet, maybe.”

Alona was stunned. Did Maxim just hint about sex to her? She didn’t know what to say. She could feel the heat rise to her face. She glanced away. She practically downed her glass of wine all in one gulp when it finally came.
Is it hot in here?

*****

Maxim watched Alona as she blushed. It made her even more appealing to him. She wore a white sequined dress that clung to every luscious curve. When he first saw her, he actually thought his circuits
had
fried. His body responded to hers immediately. His heart rate sped up, his palms felt sweaty, and his cock was pushing against the tight leather pants he wore. Damn Zen for the pants. He fought to get control over himself.

He turned away when Alona looked up at him. He had been caught staring at her, but he couldn’t help it. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. He looked around the nightclub as it began filling with people. The sounds grew louder and the disc jockey was about to start playing the music.

It soon got so loud that they could barely hear each other talking, unless they moved close, really close. The idea of pressing his mouth close to her delicate pale ear made his cock twitch. He had never thought an ear attractive, but everything on Alona was perfect.

“Should we dance?” Alona asked, pointing to the small crowd on the dance floor. The lights had been dimmed.