Over Hexed: The Hex Series

by Thompson, Vicki Lewis

  Seeing Maggie standing there holding a paper sack startled him so much he dropped his nail gun on his foot. Fortunately it didn’t go off and shoot a nail into his leg.

  “I’m sorry!” She rushed forward, bag and all. “Are you hurt? I should have called out.”

  Although he was wearing his work boots with the steel-tipped toes, his foot still smarted, but he wasn’t going to let her know. He picked up the nail gun. “I’m fine.” He liked the way she’d hurried over when she thought he’d been hurt, though.

  An arm’s length away from him, she stopped. “That’s good.”

  Once the shock of seeing her had worn off, he realized why she might be here. She’d probably talked with the property’s owner and wanted to give him the bad news in person.

  He took off his safety goggles and laid them on his workbench. “I’m assuming you’re here to tell me you had a successful afternoon.”

  “Unfortunately, I didn’t.”

  Tension eased from his shoulders. “Why not?”

  “The electricity kept acting up in Denise’s office, and besides that, Jeremy couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her computer. We’ll have to try again in the morning.”

  Good old Jeremy. Sean would have to call and thank him for doing him that favor after all. “I can’t say I’m sorry that you didn’t get the information.”

  “I’m sure you’re not.” She shifted the bag in her arms. “But I didn’t come to talk about that. I brought dinner. Madeline thought you should eat.”

  Maybe having a reprieve was affecting his libido, or maybe the smell of meatloaf was an aphrodisiac for him, but he’d never had such an urge to strip a woman naked and make love to her. He realized that she was the first woman he’d ever had standing in his garage. The skunks had worked wonders to keep women from bothering him here.

  He was curious as to why the idea of skunks hadn’t kept Maggie away. “Weren’t you worried about coming over here, knowing I have skunks living under the house?”

  “I probably should be, but I’m a city girl. I’ve had limited experience with skunks.”

  Just listening to her talk got him hot. It was the damnedest thing, after going all those months not being interested in sex at all. He remembered the way he’d touched her this afternoon and wanted to do that again…but only for starters.

  He wondered if that box of condoms was still in his bathroom cabinet. Sylvia Hepplewaite had thrown the box at him when he’d refused to have sex with her in the cab of his truck. He’d picked up the box from the driveway and kept it, figuring there was no point in pitching it out.

  But now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things, damn it. He had a skunk trap to build, and he couldn’t expect Maggie to hang around while he finished it. “I really appreciate the food,” he said, “but I need to get this trap finished and set before I eat. I can take the bag and heat up everything later.”

  When he stepped forward to take it, she moved back and her cheeks turned pink. “Madeline sent enough for both of us.”

  That surprised him, Madeline arranging a cozy meal like that. She must approve of Maggie. “So you haven’t eaten yet?”

  “No, but I—”

  “Then let me set you up in the kitchen. You can eat while I finish here.”

  She shook her head. “That’s silly. I can wait.”

  “Can you?” He couldn’t resist teasing her to see how she’d react. “You know how you get when you’re hungry.”

  She blushed. “I’m not starving. I had…plenty for lunch.”

  He thought it was a very good sign that talking about their lunch made her flustered. “Then let’s put the bag on the workbench and you can take off your coat and help me.”

  “I know nothing about building things.”

  “That’s okay.” He stepped forward to get the bag, and this time she let him take it from her. The transfer involved him touching her, and the connection jacked up his heart rate.

  He set the bag on a clear space on his bench. The food smelled great, but she smelled even better. “I just need someone to help me hold the chicken wire while I staple it in place.”

  “What if I hadn’t come along?”

  “I could do it alone, but it’ll be faster with an extra pair of hands.” He turned to find she was still wearing her trench coat. “But you don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

  “I’ll help.” She started unbuttoning her coat.

  He discovered he couldn’t watch her do that without wanting to move in and do it for her. And he wouldn’t stop with the coat, either.

  So he walked over to stand beside his trap, which was framed and ready for the chicken wire. “I’m later than I wanted to be getting this built. First I had to pick up all the poisoned bait packages Bob left around.”

  “I can’t believe someone would deliberately try to kill them. Hasn’t he ever watched Pepe Le Pew?”

  Sean thought of the burly chief of police watching cartoons and had to laugh. “Probably not. He was doing what he thought was right, I suppose.” He glanced over and saw her standing there with her coat, obviously wondering where to put it.

  “I’ll take that.” He reached for the coat, which meant touching her again and getting another jolt that traveled straight to his privates.

  “Where did you find another pair of glasses?”

  “Borrowed them.” He didn’t want to think about Dorcas and Ambrose right now. Every time he did think of them, he got mad at himself all over again.

  After laying her coat across a pair of sawhorses next to the bench, he searched through a pile of cotton gloves and found a clean pair. He gave them to her. “These will be big, but they’ll protect your hands.”

  She put them on. “I look like Minnie Mouse.”

  “Yeah.” He couldn’t help grinning. He’d never known a woman who took so few pains to look sexy yet ended up looking super hot, anyway.

  He’d precut the chicken wire, so he picked up a section and stretched it over one side of the cage. “If you can hold the two ends, I’ll staple it on.”

  She pressed her gloved hands down on the wire, but as she leaned over, her glasses started to fall. “Hold on a minute. I need to take these off.”

  He put his hand where hers had been and she took off the glasses, tucking the earpiece in the back pocket of her jeans. “Okay.” She put her gloved hand back on the section of wire. “This is a big trap you’re building.”

  “I’m going to try to trap all of them at once.” He had to lean in close to staple the wire into place, close enough that he could feel her heat and hear her breathing. Being this near, within kissing distance, was so excellent that he hated to change positions. He put in twice as many staples as he needed.

  “How can you get them all in at once?” Her warm breath fanned his cheek.

  He closed his eyes and fought the urge to turn his head and plant one on her. Without her glasses she might not even see it coming until it was too late. “I have some bait that will tranquilize them.”

  “But it won’t hurt them, right?”

  “Nope. I checked that out.” Reluctantly he stood and backed up. “You can let go. I’ll turn it around and we’ll do the other side.”

  She moved back a couple of steps.

  He lifted the cage as carefully as he could, but it was awkward. Ever since he’d transformed into a nerd, he hadn’t been his usual coordinated self. As he moved the cage, he jabbed her thigh with one corner. “Oh, God, I’m sorry!” Dropping the cage, he reached for her.

  She jumped back. “It’s fine.” But she rubbed the spot even as she said that.

  He felt terrible. “You could be bleeding.”

  “I doubt it.”

  So far as he knew, he’d never injured a woman and now he’d probably left a mark on that soft freckled skin. “I think you need to ice it.”

  “Seriously, I’m okay.” She stopped rubbing her leg as if to prove it to him.

  He picked up her coat. “Let’
s go inside and make you an ice pack.”

  “Sean, that’s ridiculous! I’m not hurt.”

  “I think we should see how bad it is.” He held out her coat. “A little ice could keep you from bruising.”

  “A bruise isn’t life-threatening.”

  “No, but I hate to think of your skin turning black and blue.”

  “Look, if this is some tactic to get me to take my pants off, it isn’t going to work.”

  He went very still. He’d been so focused on tending to her injury that he hadn’t thought of what she’d have to do so they could inspect the damage. But he thought about it now. Imagining her taking off her jeans in his kitchen turned his brain to mush.

  Kitchen sex had a lot to recommend it. There were sturdy counters available and various condiments right at hand. One of his girlfriends had demonstrated to him that certain kitchen appliances could double as vibrating sex toys.

  Until Maggie had arrived in town, that kind of adventure had ceased to matter. He’d lost all interest in kitchen sex, or hallway sex, or even his favorite, shower sex. But here came this freckled redhead, revving up his sex drive.

  Maggie cleared her throat. “We need to get something straight. What happened this afternoon at the old house was not the beginning of anything.”

  “I understand.” And he also recognized that she was the one bringing it up now. She was the one who’d figured out that examining her bruise would require taking off her pants. He might be guilty of thinking of having sex with her, but she was equally as guilty of thinking about having sex with him.

  “I only came out here tonight because Madeline asked me to,” she continued.

  Calling her a liar wouldn’t help his cause, so he stayed silent.

  “I also thought it would give me a chance to return your glasses.” Her breathing was uneven. “That’s it. End of story.”

  His heart hammered as he gazed at her. Her words seemed to leave no room for interpretation, but her body language and the catch in her breathing communicated something else entirely. He wasn’t very good at reading subtle signals. All the signals he’d ever received had been of the sirens and flashing lights variety.

  Did she want him to kiss her, even though she was saying the opposite? He wasn’t absolutely sure. Her color was high and her eyes were bright, and in his experience, that usually meant a woman was worked up about something. With him around, that something usually involved getting naked.

  She groaned. “Why do you have to look so damned appealing? Why?”

  Green light. Tossing her coat and his glasses onto his workbench, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.

  “No,” she whispered.

  He ignored her.

  * * *

  Maggie thought about pushing him away…for a nanosecond. But then his mouth covered hers, and her brain took a vacation. The rest of her followed right behind, sinking against him with an abandon that should have been embarrassing, but she was too busy snuggling close to be embarrassed.

  Kissing him felt so damned good. Apparently practice made perfect, because this was a guy who could make a fortune in a kissing booth. Or as a gigolo. He knew exactly how to wrap his arms around her to make her feel desired, yet cherished at the same time.

  The pressure of his hand at the small of her back was just right. And when he fit his hips against hers, she wanted exactly what he was suggesting with that slight rocking motion.

  She didn’t care if she was another notch on his nail gun. In fact, she’d be delighted to be there, because the way he kissed made it clear that he’d know how to put a smile on her face in no time. She’d already had a taste of his abilities, and now she wanted the entire meal.

  Sliding both hands under his T-shirt, she found more muscle than she would have expected. Oh, God, that mouth of his. He was turning her inside out with a kiss that was so French she wouldn’t be surprised to open her eyes and see the Eiffel Tower.

  But she didn’t open her eyes. She kept them closed and wiggled against him, letting him know that whatever he had in mind was a-okay with her.

  He lifted his mouth a fraction from hers. “Maggie, I want you.”

  His low, husky voice sent shivers through her. “I want you, too,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t, but—”

  His hold on her loosened. Air moved as he backed away from her, but she kept her eyes closed for a moment longer, in case he planned on coming back.

  When she heard his deep, heartfelt sigh, she opened her eyes and discovered him looking at her, his expression troubled.

  “What’s…what’s wrong?”

  He massaged the back of his neck and glanced at her. “I don’t want you to be sorry afterward.”

  Absorbing that took a moment because she was still vibrating with so much sexual excitement. But as that calmed some, she realized he had every reason to think she would be sorry. She’d just said she shouldn’t want him.

  On top of that, she’d called their afternoon session a mistake. No man would like that, but Sean would hate it more than most. She doubted any woman had told him such a thing before.

  She took a deep breath. “You’re right. I need to decide what I want and take some responsibility for my actions. I need to get clear about you.”

  “You probably still think I’m trying to seduce you so you’ll forget about the property.”

  “Are you?”

  His smile was tinged with sadness. “I’d be lying if I said that had nothing to do with it, but it’s not the main reason. See, for me, it’s win-win. I want you, and maybe if we have sex, you’ll start seeing things my way. You can’t blame a guy for thinking like that.”

  “I guess not.”

  “But I don’t want us to have sex and then you proceed to beat yourself up about it.”

  He was protecting her from herself. What a concept. “But you’re the best lover in Big Knob. Why not take the risk that your strategy will work like a charm and I’ll become putty in your hands?”

  He gazed at her. “I’m not sure. It’s probably the smart way to go. You wouldn’t have stopped me just then.”

  Heat surged through her again. “No.” And she might not have the self-discipline to stop him now if he followed up on that good beginning. In spite of being afraid that he actually would affect her decision about the property, she still wanted him. She was in a dangerous spot.

  “I guess it’s because I’ve never had sex with a woman who had reservations. If you’re not with me a hundred percent, a hundred and ten percent, then we’re both settling for less. Does that make any sense?”

  She clenched her hands in front of her to keep from reaching for him. No man had ever cared whether she was with him a hundred and ten percent. As a result she’d never been that committed. She wondered what it would feel like to be that into sex with a man. This man. She wondered if she dared find out.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sean told himself he was a fool not to push her. From the way she’d kissed him, he thought she’d be willing. But he couldn’t do it, not when she might regret it later. Man, this was the most complicated sex had ever been.

  “Tell you what,” he said. “Let’s bag this subject for the time being.”

  “Good idea.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Listen, why don’t I just leave the food with you and head back to town? I’ll grab something at the diner.”

  Automatically, Sean glanced at his watch to check the time, and only afterward realized he could see the damned thing perfectly. His eyesight was improving again. He didn’t get it.

  “The diner’s not a good option,” he said. “The kitchen’s about to close.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Most people eat at home in the evening. Joe keeps the kitchen going until six for the few who go out to dinner, but after that, there’s only the Big Knobian, and they don’t serve actual meals.” Besides, he didn’t want her to leave. But he decided to use logic instead of admitting to that.

  �
�Okay. I’ll pick something up from the deli in the grocery store.”

  “That’ll be closed, too. You’d be stuck with pretzels and popcorn at the Big Knobian.”

  She looked flabbergasted. “Are you telling me you can’t have dinner out after six at night around here?”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Big Knob needs a SaveALot, if for no other reason than the snack bar that’s open twenty-four/seven.”

  He decided not to mention that people liked the town this way or they wouldn’t have continued to live here. Natural selection had weeded out the ones who wanted that kind of convenience and sent them off to Indianapolis or Evansville. A few adventurous souls had made it as far as Chicago, and one high flyer lived in New York, where the whole damned town was open twenty-four/seven.

  The way he looked at it, if you kept a store open twenty-four/seven, that meant someone had to work the graveyard shift. That might be worth it for emergency services like police and fire, but for a hot dog? He didn’t think so, and neither did most of the people in Big Knob.

  “So how does the meatloaf sound to you, now?” he asked.

  She gazed at him. “Like my only choice.” Then she caught her breath. “That sounded incredibly rude. I didn’t mean it that way. I just—”

  “Don’t trust yourself.”

  She flushed. “That’s one way of putting it.”

  “Then trust me. Nothing will happen that will make you hate yourself in the morning. I don’t operate that way.” He’d never had to, and he wasn’t about to start now, even with his beloved property at stake.

  “I believe you, and I’d love to stay for dinner.” She studied him more closely. “I wish I could figure out what’s going on with your hair, though.”

  “I know it’s a mess.”

  “Sometimes it is. Like this afternoon when you had that accident with Edith, it looked terrible, like you’d washed it with Elmer’s glue and then hacked at it with a table knife. It was too short in some places and too long in others.”