All He Wants by Melanie Shawn

the form of movies to watch and snacks to eat. The next few minutes were a blur. Popcorn was popped, soda was poured, and chocolate was distributed.
    As they all sat watching the new Coen brothers’ comedy, Billy’s mind wandered. All he could do was play and replay the last twenty-four hours in his head. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said that last night was the most fun he’d had in a long time, whether Maxi wanted to believe it or not.
    Just like she had a rule not to date fighters, he had a rule never to sleep with women. Actually sleep . To him that was more intimate than sex could ever be. Being unconscious next to a person took trust and he didn’t trust easily. Not to mention it tended to send the wrong signal. Spending the night together was kind of a relationship thing. He didn’t do relationships.
    But last night when Maxi had fallen asleep against him, he’d done everything in his power not to wake her up. The feeling of her curled up at his side was more than just nice…it was color. She brought color back into his black and white world. As exhausted as he was he’d fought his own sleep because, just like Aerosmith, he hadn’t wanted to miss a thing.
    This morning when she’d stirred beside him, he’d had to fight the overwhelming urge to kiss the top of her head. He’d also had the impulse to pull her on his lap and kiss her other places , but strangely enough the desire to simply press his lips to the crown of her head was more intense. She must’ve felt something too because she’d shot out of his arms like a lit firecracker.
    When they’d gone on their run he’d spent equal time grinning like an idiot and scowling as he scanned for possible threats. Between the endorphins that were coursing through him just being near her and the adrenaline that was racing through him to protect her, he felt bi-polar.
    And then there was whatever moment had passed between them that Jana had interrupted.
    He still wasn’t sure what it was, but it was something. Something that felt very close to real.

Chapter 9

    B illy stood by the door in Maxi’s office at SPC. The only sound in the room was the click, click, clicking of her fingers on the keyboard. Out of his peripheral vision he watched her sitting behind her desk, her back straight, staring at her computer with her dark hair falling in waves around her face.
    “I know you’re mad,” she repeated, her eyes still glued to her screen.
    Again? Did they really have to do this again? In the last twenty-four hours they’d had this same exact conversation at least a dozen times. Verbatim.
    “I’m not mad, I’m worki—”
    “You’re working,” Maxi cut in as she looked up. “Bullshit.”
    That was new. “Excuse me?”
    Maxi lifted her arms in obvious frustration. “If you have something to say, you should just say it.”
    He remained silent. There was nothing else to say. He’d said his piece, she didn’t agree. End of story.
    “I don’t have time for this.” She stood from behind her desk and walked around it. “The meet and greet is in thirty minutes and Ricco’s still adding people to the guest list, which I’m having to clear with personnel. The caterer just called and both of the vans carrying the food were in a four-car pileup. And one of Ricco’s boys was detained at the airport for mouthing off to a security guard.”
    Since they’d arrived at SPC at nine a.m. Maxi had been putting out one fire after another. For eight hours she’d gone nonstop. The woman standing in front of him took multitasking to a whole new level. When he’d asked her if it was always like this she’d explained that Mondays were hectic, like it was no big deal. He’d always known that she was an intelligent, capable woman but seeing her in action had caused him to have a whole new respect for her.
    “Sounds like you have better things to do than yell at me.” Billy knew his statement would irritate her, but he just couldn’t help himself. She