Page 50 of Smart Ass

“Nooooo! I take it back. Max. Maxamillion.”

He could practically hear Max’s smug grin. “Good boy.”

Was he being facetious?

He was being facetious!

Damn. He was just so sexy and perfect and funny and sexy and… couldn’t they just have more spankings today?

“I think I should turn myself in,” Max said.

Uh, what? That was a terrible idea.

And couldn’t they keep talking about spankings for just a little longer? He’d really been into the ignorance-is-bliss approach.

“If I tell Orbit that I’m a new spark,” Max continued, “and it was an accident, I don’t think they’ll be too angry.”

Shit. Maybe he was right. Was he?

No, he wasn’t. “Except the part where you rerouted traffic and hacked a bunch of confidential records. I saw it on the news today. They’re mapping the route, saying that was a hack, too, not some random errors.”

“You think I could say that was an accident, too?”

Ben shook his head. “Better that they don’t connect any of it to you. Or to Quincy. He’s still on trial for the crime of being a spark and defending himself. Better not to remind anyone exactly how much power a spark can have.”

They sat together in silence.

“I want to step forward about the accident here,” Max finally said. “I don’t want to keep hiding.”

Ben nodded. It wasn’t really his choice. “Alright. I support you. Going to send out an announcement?”

“Yeah. In the morning when you’re not here. I’ll start with the CEO, I guess.”

“Yeah. Mr. Wollencroft is a good guy. Er, Charles, that is.” Not Wally Wollencroft, obviously. “But will you call me if you need help? Even if I’m asleep?”

“I’ll call you if I need you,” Max promised. “But I’ll wait until you’re awake.”

“Just going to watch me sleep, are you?” Ben asked.

“Yes. I would like you to set up a camera in your room. I didn’t like it when I couldn’t see you all weekend.”

Why did that make Ben feel so warm and tingly inside? “Perv,” he said.

“You love it,” Max crooned, with that sinfully dirty voice.

Ben rolled his eyes. But he really, really did.