by Milly Taiden
“Because you’re good looking. Wow.” She shook her head. “That sounds so superficial when I say it. It’s like men who think that pretty women have to be bitches because they’re hot. I’m sorry.”
His eyes twinkled with mirth. “Don’t give it a second thought. I haven’t ever been called hot, if that makes you feel better.”
“What!”
He twirled a long curl around his fingers. “I don’t date much. And when I went out, it was for specific purposes.”
She blinked, and waited. “Like?”
“Sex.”
“Oh.”
“What is it you’re looking for in a mate?” His question caught her off guard.
“I think one of my biggest annoyances is that men seem to think that because I’m a big girl I’ll just take whatever I can get.”
“Is that how you treat yourself?” he asked, his gaze probing and deep.
“No.” Did she? She hadn’t dated decent guys most of her life, but that just meant they were the jerks, right? She inhaled slowly, trying to tamp down the panic rising. Had she been the cause of her own bad love life? She might have. Having a slim mother and sister meant she was the one who always felt like she was not part of the group. As a teen, seeing her sister dating many of the best looking guys in school had really kicked her self-esteem to the curb. Nobody asked Maya out. Ever. She had a great male friend who was just as big as her, and he was her constant companion.
“Then I guess your time hadn’t come,” he said, bringing her back to the present.
She lifted to a sitting position, suddenly wanting to think more about how she chose men to get into relationships with. “I think I’m going to take a shower.”
He hopped out of the bed much faster than she would have expected and rushed around to her side. Watching him dart toward her with those powerful legs of his and that strong body that she’d never seen this bare was like being doused in gasoline and set on fire. She gasped when he stopped in front of her, his erection staring her in the face. “Come, I’ll join you.”
Glancing up at his rolled-out-of-bed hair and morning-after beard, she became more aroused by the second. “I hadn’t thought about having company, but now that you offer, I’d appreciate someone to wash my back.”
“Baby, I’ll wash your back, lick it, suck it, and bite it under the spray of the warm water.”
She let him lead her to the shower with the promise of more naughtiness to come.
EIGHT
Maya drove her car up a dirt road she knew all too well. Her family lived in a large lot spread over several acres. After her father died serving the country, her mother and sister had taken over the family farm and turned it into an organic vegetable production.
She parked by the front of the main house and glanced down at her feet. Her mother, though running a farm and spending hours in dirt and grass, would have something to say about Maya’s lack of heels and makeup.
The front door opened and her mother, Luisa, stepped out with a smile. As usual, Luisa had on a print dress any 1950s housewife would be proud of. Pressed to perfection, she looked ready for a house-and-garden photo shoot.
“Maya, hija, how are you?” Luisa asked.
“Hey, mom. I’m good. What’s going on? I got your voicemail and couldn’t really understand it.” She marched up the driveway to the house.
“I wanted to make sure you were available for dinner.”
“Oh. Yes. It just sounded like there was something going on, but I couldn’t make it out in the message.” She entered the house, taking in the scent of chicken roasting and pie baking. Her mother was in a mood to cook. Then again, when wasn’t she?
“Good. Linda is at the back getting some tomatoes for the salad.”
Speaking of salad. Maya’s favorite was what her mother called the “Russian Salad” with beets, potatoes, carrots, and eggs all diced up and mixed with mayo.
“You making any of your Russian salad?”
Her mother laughed, entered the kitchen, and pointed at a glass serving bowl full of the stuff. “I know it’s your favorite.”
“Thanks! So what’s up with dinner? Why are we getting all this food done?”
Luisa grinned and shrugged. “No reason. You know you don’t come here often, mi hija. I love it when you do. Linda misses you.”
She and her sister were not as close as Maya would have liked. Most of her life was spent with Linda telling her what to do to lose weight. She’d tried it all, from hours in the gym to unhealthy diets. Her body just didn’t give her a break. She was a big girl, and that was that. Along with healthy eating, she did tons of walking, but that didn’t seem to make any kind of impact on her weight. She’d grown accustomed to the curves and didn’t really think there was anything wrong with her body as it was. Of course, Linda wouldn’t see it that way.
“Hey, Maya,” her sister greeted her, coming in through the kitchen entrance with a bowl full of ripe, red tomatoes. She deposited the bowl in the sink and opened the faucet to clean the tomatoes off. “There’s a new body cleanse you should try.”
Maya took a drink from the iced tea her mother handed her and ignored her sister’s words. “How are you doing, Linda? How’s Kevin?”
Linda’s boyfriend, Kevin, was a trainer at the local gym, as well as a realtor nearby. He loved offering his training services to Maya whenever they were in the same room.
“He’s great,” Linda gushed while washing tomatoes. “He’s moved up in the company, and we’re looking to move in together.”
Luisa rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t think Kevin will ever be ready for commitment, Linda. You need to come to that realization.”
“Mami, we’ve already discussed it. He says he loves me and will start saving for us to get married one day.” Linda smiled. “He wants me to have the wedding I’ve always dreamed of. He’s even working out with me so I look perfect for him.”
Maya frowned. “Excuse me? Did you say perfect for him?”
Her mother stopped pouring her own glass of tea and raised her brows at Linda. “Has he actually said he wants you to be perfect for him?”
Linda laughed softly. “Well, you know, he’s a guy, and he wants to show me off.”
“Um, excuse me for being dense,” Maya said, sitting on a stool on the other side of the breakfast bar area, “but Kevin sounds like an asshole.”
Linda turned off the faucet, lifted the rinsed bowl of tomatoes out of the sink, and faced Maya. “What do you know? You don’t even want to settle down. You’re too unhappy with your fat self to stay in a stable relationship.”
Maya reeled back from the venom in her sister’s voice. It was true they didn’t get along, but she didn’t expect Linda to come out at her like that.
“Linda!” Luisa snapped. “We do not make Maya feel bad for her weight. One of these days she’ll be able to try something that will help her lose it all.”
“Mother!” Maya gasped. “I don’t need to try anything. I’m happy the way I am.”
“No, you’re not!” Linda spat. “If you were, you would stop living like a hermit and finally find yourself a man to settle down with. Why is it that every relationship you have, guys never stick around?”
“Uh, because they’re assholes, and the minute I realize it I get rid of them. That’s why.”
Linda rolled her eyes and started cutting potatoes. “Look, Maya, I think you need to figure yourself out already. You’re not getting any younger.”
“So now I’m old?” She couldn’t believe the nerve of Linda telling her all that.
Her mother winced and came around to hug her. “You’re not old, cariño. The problem is that you do not seem happy.”
She tried to tamp down the disappointment she felt from listening to her family say those things. As swiftly as she’d grown angry, she let it go. She wasn’t the kind of person to stay upset over anything. She didn’t like hanging on to other people’s bullshit. But she wasn’t going to stay quiet eithe
r.
“I’ve learned a lot. Some things you guys don’t seem to get. I don’t need to be skinny to be happy,” Maya stated. “Some men appreciate that not every woman will be super slim and able to bend herself into a pretzel for sex.”
Her mother frowned. “Who the hell would want to do that?”
She stared at her sister pointedly. “Linda. She likes twisting into positions so strange they make my body hurt just hearing her describe it.”
Linda laughed. “It’s flexibility, hermana.”
“Hey, whatever tickles your cheese.” She helped her mother set the table and noticed there was a fourth setting. “Mom, who else is coming to dinner?”
Luisa turned away and continued placing the food on the dining room table. “We were just expecting a friend, but aren’t sure if he’ll turn up.”
They’d just sat down to eat when someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it!” Luisa jumped to her feet.
A few moments later Maya put her fork down and frowned at the voice she heard speaking to her mother.
“Thanks for inviting me tonight, Luisa,” Bud said.
Maya pushed her plate away and stood as they entered into the dining room. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Luisa frowned. “He’s here for you, niña. He’s been calling me nonstop asking to come over when you’re here.”
“What are you doing here, Bud?” Maya snapped.
“Maya, let me explain.”
Maya shook her head. “Save it, Bud. I don’t know why you’re here, but there’s nothing here for you.”
“Geez, Maya, let the guy talk,” Linda said.
“Shut up, Linda,” Maya glared at her sister, her temper rising with every breath, her cheeks heating from annoyance. “You honestly thought that because I was a big girl who lived a quiet life I had to settle for anything you gave me.”
“Maya—”
“Bud…” She grabbed her handbag from the sofa and pushed past him. “Enjoy the food. It’s really good. But stop this. There’s no chance for me and you. None.”
She marched out of the house and got into her car, ignoring her mother and sister’s calls at her back. Fuck that. The last time she’d listened to Bud, he’d kicked her emotions with his words. She wasn’t giving him another chance.
NINE
Noah sat at his computer, his panther hungry for a sight of Maya. He’d give anything to touch her again. Fucking hell, he had problems. He’d been with her one night, and she’d crawled under his skin, pushing emotions he tried never to deal with to the surface.
His gaze strayed to her shades. She still wasn’t home. He needed to focus on his work and stop staring at her apartment like a love-struck idiot.
The light in her apartment turned on and objects went flying. He shot to his feet, wondering what could have upset her to the point she was throwing things. He shouldn’t feel so tempted to go calm her, but the panther urged him to go to her, to make it all better.
Before he had a chance to rethink things, he was knocking at her door. He heard her growl, and she jerked the door open.
She blinked, huffing and puffing out angry breaths, her face flushed with color. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She pasted a smile on her lips that didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought you had work to do?”
He nodded and moved forward, pushing his way into her house. He glanced around and found the notebooks she’d thrown against the wall. He marched to them and picked them up off the floor, turning to hand them back to her. “These must have been terrible to you for them to get thrown across the room.”
She frowned, glancing at her closed blinds and then back at him. “How do you know...? You know what, never mind. Listen, I’m not really in the mood for company right now.”
The hurt in her voice stabbed his gut. “I can help. Just talk to me.”
She shook her head and glanced upward, letting out her breaths slowly. “You can’t make stupid people smart.”
He took another step toward her, and she took one back.
“I can’t make stupid people smart, but maybe setting a panther loose on them could be entertaining.”
She lifted her lips into a soft smile that tugged at his heart. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He stopped by the door, not leaving, but not making moves to get near her. “Got any vodka?”
She widened her eyes and smiled. “Yes. I do. Have a seat. I’ll make you my famous coconut mojitos.”
He didn’t know what the hell a coconut mojito was, but her disposition had gone from angry and hurt to excited in a heartbeat.
She rushed off to the kitchen and pulled out a blender and started rummaging through her fridge. “Come sit by the kitchen. You can talk to me while I make us drinks.”
He glanced down at his hard-on. He’d need to figure out how to make it go away. It appeared this was going to be one of those nights the female wanted to talk. He’d read about it. Apparently they liked to speak out their frustrations. Noah liked to run as a panther and hunt to get rid of frustration. Or when it came to the worries in the form of too many thoughts of Maya, he had to take cold showers. Masturbation only went so far.
He sat across the kitchen counter and watched her take out a plastic bowl with shaved coconut. Then she took out a plastic bag with mint leaves and coconut milk. To his surprise, there was a bottle of vodka big enough to worry him on her counter.
“How often do you make these mojitos?”
She glanced up from her work with a grin. “That’s a big bottle of vodka, huh?”
“I’m just wondering if I should expect to see you sucking these down often.”
She laughed and winked. “You can relax. My co-workers all chipped in to get this to me for my birthday a few days ago. Apparently, I was supposed to open it at work and let them all drink their share of it but I forgot.” She threw coconut milk, vodka, and vanilla in the blender and mixed.
“You seem to have all the ingredients to put the stuff together so quickly.”
She blinked and shook her head. “My friend was supposed to come over, but then changed her mind. We make a habit of having girls night and drinking these once a week.”
He already knew that. Not because he was stalking her through her window or anything. Okay, maybe because of that. She was too interesting to ignore.
She poured the mixed concoction into tall glasses and handed him one.
“Oh, wait!” she opened a drawer and pulled out two straws. “I know guys don’t normally like drinking stuff out of straws, but my teeth are sensitive to the cold and I wasn’t sure if you did too.” He shoved the straw into his cup. “There you go. Drink and let me know what you think.”
He took a sip, wondering what the hell he was getting into and how he would politely tell her he loved it if he didn’t. Thankfully, it didn’t come down to that. The combination of vodka, coconut, and milk created a smooth texture that went down great. “This is really good.”
She laughed and picked up her own glass. “I can tell. You already downed most of it in a single sip.”
He glanced down at the glass, and sure enough, there was about an inch of the drink left after only one gulp.
“Come on, let’s sit in the living room.” He glanced at the remainder of the mojito. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring the jar with us.”
She poured the rest of the liquid into a glass jar and carried it to the coffee table.
“What upset you earlier?” he asked, wanting to know more about the underlying distress he sensed in her.
“My family. They honestly think I can’t handle getting a man on my own,” she said and took a sip of her drink. “What the hell makes them think they’re experts? My sister is dating a real loser. The guy wants her to be at his ideal weight so they can get married. The crazy part is, I know he won’t marry her even then.”
He sucked in a breath. “What do you mean ideal weight? Is she not happy with her bod
y?”
She rolled her eyes. “To be honest, I don’t know what she is. She doesn’t really talk to me much. I love her to death, but she can be so easily influenced by men.”
“You don’t seem to have that problem,” he mused.
She raised her glass to salute. “I’m too stubborn. I like myself the way I am. If a man’s gonna love me, then he’s gonna have to love every round bit about me. I don’t pretend to be perfect, and I’m never going to be. I’m me.”
He put his glass on the napkin on the table. “You look pretty perfect to me.”
“Hah!” She shook her head. “Cut it out. We both know I’m not. Hell, nobody’s perfect. But I’m okay with that. I’m happy being the big girl in the family. I just wish people didn’t act like because I’m big I have to lower my expectations in life and men.”
“In what sense?” He liked this. Talking to her. Listening to her and having her open herself up to him. He might not realize how much he’d been needing it, but he had. Her soft, husky voice held him captive. Her words drew him in, and for a long moment he had no idea if he was just fascinated because she was his mate, or because she was really interesting.
“Men. Men think that I have to put up with things I dislike because I’m the fat girl.” She frowned. “Screw that. I might be the fat girl, but I have priorities and expectations too. I don’t deserve any less than what I want in life or relationships.”
“What happened with your ex?”
Her shoulders dropped. “He turned out to be a dick. Plain and simple. He wasn’t a horrible guy, just thought that he could do whatever and I’d put up with it. Not.”
He leaned closer, close enough to grasp her hands in his and lift them to his lips. “You’re an amazing woman, Maya. It’s not just because of how gorgeous you are, but because you have such inner strength. You know what you want, and you’re not going to settle for less. Too many times in life, we settle when we shouldn’t.”
TEN
