The four of them stood at the curb, Maggie and Lynn discussing who would drive home.
“Neither of you,” said Jeff. “You aren’t driving and Maggie’s had too much to drink. Where are your keys?”
“In Maggie’s purse.”
Mace glanced at Maggie. She hadn’t walked in with a purse and she obviously wasn’t holding one now. His brother, Jeff, said as much. Seeing the smile on Maggie’s face, Mace snorted in amusement.
“It’s here.” Lynn readjusted her crutches and handed Jeff her bag. “Her purse is in my purse. It’s the black clutch.”
Jeff fished around in Lynn’s bag and pulled out a small black leather clutch. He tossed it at Mace.
“Hey, I can drive,” Maggie protested. “I haven’t had that much to drink.”
“Uh, honey,” Lynn said with a smile, “you’ve had more than enough to drink. Mace can follow in my car. Don’t worry. He’ll get you home safe.”
“You’re not coming with me?”
Lynn reached for Maggie’s hand. “Will you be terribly hurt if I stay at Jeff’s tonight? I’ll be back first thing in the morning, I promise, and I figure all you want to do is go to bed.”
No
, Mace thought,
you mean all I want to do is take her to bed
.
“Mace?”
He turned toward Lynn. “Hmmm?”
“Can you see that she gets up to my apartment okay? The door keys are on the key ring. You can follow us to the apartment building and then we’ll wait for you out front.”
“But what about your clothes and…?”
“You worry too much, Maggie. I have everything I need at Jeff’s. Is this okay with you?”
Maggie nodded. From the expression on her face, Mace could tell that she was a little disconcerted, maybe hurt, that her first night in town, her sister planned to leave her on her own.
“Thanks, sis, that’s so sweet of you. I’ll be back for breakfast in the morning. Mace, our car is right over there.” Lynn pointed out her compact sedan and turned to Jeff. “Where did you park?”
“Wait here, sweetheart, and I’ll bring the car around. You two stay with her until I get back.”
“Of course,” said Maggie. She had moved farther away from Mace now, standing a little to the side of the group. He could tell she felt like a fifth wheel. Not on his watch.
He opened her bag to search for the keys. Curious, he glanced at the contents. All she carried was a pack of birth control pills, a bottle of what looked like tablets for migraine, a small coin purse, and a slim wallet. Interesting. He wondered if she was seeing anyone, but dismissed the thought. Maggie didn’t act like a woman who was in a committed relationship. She acted like a woman taking great pains to avoid a committed relationship. But why the birth control pills? Well, there were many reasons to be on birth control pills besides sex.
They do come in handy though.
Jeff pulled up to the curb and the three of them got Lynn safely ensconced in Jeff’s BMW, her crutches stowed in the backseat.
“Stay right behind me,” Jeff instructed Mace. “It’s easy to get confused on these highways.”
“Then remember I’m driving a Toyota and keep your speed down. I hate these damn Minneapolis freeways.” Mace heard Maggie let out a quiet laugh.
“They’re not freeways,” commented Jeff, his voice dry. “They’re highways.”
“Yeah? Well, they sure as shit look like freeways to me; only the drivers are a hell of a lot worse than in California.”
As he and Maggie walked to Lynn’s car, she laughed out loud. “I said the exact same thing to Lynn earlier. I hate these freeways. I was in a head-on collision over by Lake of the Isles a couple years ago.”
Mace held the passenger door for her and guided her inside. He walked around the car and climbed behind the wheel. “No kidding? You get hurt bad?”
“Stitches. I hit the windshield. The car didn’t have any seat belts.”
Mace adjusted his seat and the mirror and studied her face beneath the street lamp. “Not your face.”
“No. I threw my arms up.” She raised her arms so he could get a better look.
Mace saw multiple long, jagged scars decorating the side of each forearm. He hadn’t noticed them before.
“Depends upon the light,” Maggie said. “Most people don’t notice.”
“What happened to the guy?”
“How do you know it was a guy?”
“No seat belts. I doubt you’d ever drive a car without seat belts.”
“Nothing happened to him. Except I never saw him again.”
Hearing a honk from Jeff’s horn, Mace started the car with a muttered expletive. He couldn’t help but notice that during the entire drive, Maggie sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, staring out the passenger window. He pulled up to the building and parked behind Jeff’s car.
“You feeling all right?”
Maggie cleared her throat. “I guess I’m a little queasy. I don’t usually drink quite so much.” She looked at him; her face seemed pale. “You probably think I’m a lush or something.”
Mace rolled his eyes. “What gives you that idea? I think nothing of the sort. Quite the contrary.”
“The contrary?”
“The way I see it, you rarely drink, and you only did tonight because I was making you nervous. Do I make you nervous, Maggie?”
“Nervous?” She grinned at him. “I can’t exactly say you make me nervous. You do irritate the hell out of me.”
Mace reached over and grabbed her hand. “And why is that, do you suppose?”
She licked her lips. As Mace watch that pink tongue of hers trace her lush lower lip, he felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her, but he stopped himself.
“You irritate me because you are exactly the type of man I always fall for, the type of man who inevitably breaks my heart.”
She pulled her hand from his and swung open the passenger door, just as a car flew down the street. With a quick move, Mace grabbed the back of her dress and dragged her into the car before she could end up mincemeat. Maggie’s legs flew up in the air while her head ended up in Mace’s lap, and the bodice of her dress slipped down to expose both her bare breasts beneath the dim interior lights.
Mace let out a growl and his breathing quickened. “Fuck.”
For a few seconds, neither of them moved. Stricken, Maggie stared into his face, but Mace stared, entranced, at the sight of her nipples. A sound came from the car in front of them and Mace quickly flipped off the interior light. Biting his lip, fighting the urge to brush his thumbs over those erect peaks, he ripped off his jacket and covered her just before Jeff’s face appeared in the open car door.
“Jesus, are you okay, Maggie? You nearly got yourself mowed down.”
“Yes, I’m…I’m all right. I’m fine. Sorry I scared you.”
“Let me help you up. Christ, Lynn’s freaking out up there.”
“Thanks. I’ll go talk to her.”
Mace let Jeff help Maggie out of the car. He needed a moment to calm his raging hard-on. Taking a deep breath, he climbed out of the car and walked to where Maggie bent over the window, her hands clutching his jacket tight, reassuring her sister that she was fine.
Jeff stopped him. “Listen, Mace, would you mind staying here tonight? Lynn and I need some time alone and Lynn’s feeling pretty guilty about ducking out on her sister.”
Mace ran a hand through his hair.
Shit yeah, I’d like to stay here, but she’ll think it’s a setup.
“Maggie’s not going to be happy about it.”
“I’m not asking you to climb into bed with her, for god’s sake; you can sleep on the couch. You’ll find some of my clothes in Lynn’s closet, and she keeps a few new toothbrushes stashed in the bathroom.”
“Listen, Jeff, I don’t think I’m the person you should be asking. Maggie might find this a big imposition. I’m not even sure I’m comfortable with it.”
“Why the hell not? I saw the way you were looking at her over dinner.”
“That, brother, is exactly why not.”
“It’s okay.” Both men looked in Maggie’s direction. “You can sleep on the couch. Do you have my purse?”
Surprised, Mace nodded and held out her bag.
She reached for it. “I’m tired. Good night, Jeff.” She stuck out a hand. “It’s good to meet you at last, and that was a wonderful meal. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Maggie. Good night.” Jeff kissed her on the cheek and climbed back behind the wheel of his new car.
Mace and Maggie stood side by side on the curb until the BMW pulled away. Mace opened his mouth, intending to apologize for putting her in an awkward situation, but Maggie held up her hand.
“Don’t,” she said, “just don’t. We’re being set up and we both know it, so let’s play along and go upstairs like good little children. And Mace,” she stopped talking and gave him a reluctant smile, “thank you for being a gentleman. I could see and, um, feel what it cost you.”
* * * *
Maggie headed straight for the bathroom. She needed a few moments of privacy, and the bathroom seemed like it would be the most reasonable place.
Who bothers you in the bathroom?
She stared at her face in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and she knew it wasn’t all from the alcohol. It was because of what she was thinking.
I want to fuck him. I want to fuck him as much as I’ve ever wanted to do anything.
I don’t want to fuck him. If I fuck him, I’m breaking the rule I established six months ago and I’ll be back to square one, falling into the same damn trap I’ve always ended up in. Fuck first, ask questions later.
She sighed and decided to postpone a decision until she’d brushed her teeth and peed.
Yes, postponing the decision for ten minutes will help loads. For all I know, despite the size of the erection I felt beneath his jeans, he’ll decline and that will make me feel like a total loser.
Maggie exited the bathroom, squeezing past Mace where he waited in the hallway. Neither said a single word and they avoided eye contact. She walked into the bedroom, while he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Sitting down on the bed, Maggie leaned over, resting her elbows on her bent knees and her head on her hands. There she sat, thinking. She heard Mace exit the bathroom, walk past the bedroom and into the sitting room, and then all was silent. He hadn’t knocked on the bedroom door or made a single move to seduce her. Taking a deep breath, Maggie rose to her feet. She looked down at the stilettos.
The straps make my ankles look nice and trim
. She reached beneath the short skirt and pulled off her thong. Stepping out of it, she left the scrap of fabric lying on the floor and headed to the sitting room. She stopped in the doorway and her eyes found him.
“Mace?”
He sat on the couch, fully dressed, elbows resting on his knees, his face in his hands. “Yeah?” He didn’t look up.
“One night. Whatever you want, whatever I want. One night. No obligation. No commitment. No ties and no recriminations. No talk about the future.”
Mace lifted his head. His blue eyes burned into her and she was tempted to run back to the safety of the bedroom. “Is that what you really want, Maggie?”
Stand your ground
. “Yes, it’s what I really want.”
With a fluid movement that seemed both lazy and dangerous, Mace rose to his feet. He approached her, nostrils flaring, reminding her of a panther stalking his prey. Maggie put her back to the wall and stopped her legs from trembling. She’d made the offer. Mace stood mere inches from her, just looking, not touching. She knew she could bolt, but she also knew he could stop her with one hand. She tossed her head back and stared at him, challenging him.
Take me, I dare you.