by Vivian Arend
But that wasn’t what he wanted to dwell on tonight. He gave his brother a brisk salute then jogged past his truck. He slipped down alleyways for the couple of blocks it took to reach Maggie’s back door, pulling out the hidden key he’d been shown him so long ago, and let himself in.
The house was quiet, and Clay moved quickly in the darkness, stripping down to his briefs in the guest room. He rubbed his hands together to warm them up then returned to the master bedroom.
Maggie had changed position and was curled around a pillow, her face relaxed as she slept. The signs of her loss were there in the small lines that had formed at the edges of her eyes, but Clay thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He crawled back into bed and pulled her against him. Spooning her hips to his groin, wrapping an arm around her body. She tilted her head toward him, and he didn’t resist. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, to her jaw, and a happy sigh escaped her.
Touching her turned him on, but getting to simply hold her was the whole reason he’d gone through the elaborate ruse tonight. Clay closed his eyes and ignored the world of problems about to rain down on their heads and simply savoured where he was.
It was the warmth that woke her.
Maggie’s head rested on a firm set of biceps, her fingers linked with Clay’s where their hands lay against her naked stomach.
In some other world, or at some other time, she might’ve worried about not having the flattest tummy, or about morning breath, or any of those things that made waking up naked with someone new embarrassing.
Or maybe she should have been thinking about Cameron, the only other man she’d ever had in her bed. Should she feel guilt? Sadness?
No matter how much she tried, though, the only emotion bubbling through her veins was happiness. Right now? Felt amazing, and she wasn’t going to waste a single second of it worrying.
Cameron would have wanted her to enjoy life, and she was pretty sure he would have approved of Clay, all things considered.
She was wide-awake, completely rested for the first time in what felt like forever. Behind her, Clay’s even breathing told her he was still snoozing, and she resisted the urge to wiggle against him.
He’d wake up soon enough, because while he might not be awake, other parts of his anatomy were already prepping for the morning.
Maggie stifled a giggle. God, morning wood was one of those things she and Cameron had joked about so often over the years. It might be perfectly natural, but as far as she was concerned it was also perfect.
That whole bit about her enjoying sex—morning sex was her favourite.
She lasted another ten whole minutes, watching the sun inch its way across the snow-covered branches outside the bedroom window. The clock wasn’t visible from this angle, but she guessed it had to be at least six a.m.
Early birds really did get to enjoy the best part of the day.
Unable to resist temptation any longer, Maggie adjusted her hips, settling a little tighter to his hard-on.
And…his breathing changed. Between one second and the next Clay woke up. He seemed to pause, as if wondering if she was okay with their intimate positioning.
Okay? She wanted to get a whole lot more intimate.
She twisted her head as she leaned against his chest, and he lifted slightly until he could look down at her. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Maggie waggled her brows. “You’re so kind. You brought me a present.”
Confusion drifted over his gaze.
She bit her lower lip to hold back her laughter. Okay, so he wasn’t the type who woke up firing on all cylinders. She tugged her fingers free from his then reached over her hip, adjusting position enough to reach between them and run her fingers over his solid length.
Clay sucked for air. “Oh.”
“Oh, yes?”
He grinned and shifted his hands lower as well, moving until his palm rested possessively over her mound. “I think we can work something out.”
She found herself being rolled backward, the thick ridge of his cock pressing against her butt cheek as he draped her over him. The hand between her legs moved carefully, one thick finger stroking her clit in small circles.
With his other hand he made it clear he’d been listening last night as he played with her breasts. His caresses were brief and gentle, more teasing at first than anything else, but combined with what else he was doing, pleasure languidly built in her core.
“Hmm, this is a nice way to start the day.” Her words were all but a purr. She liked being petted and cared for. Had missed it, desperately. Only she felt a little selfish. “I can’t touch you in this position,” she complained.
Clay’s nose bumped her ear, his deep voice a rumble against her throat. “You don’t need to touch me. Trust me, I’m having a great time. Just relax.”
She hummed happily. “Next time, I get to pick the position.”
She couldn’t see his face but by the skip in his breathing and the increase in tempo of his fingers, Clay had no objection to her suggestion. She rocked her hips against him, getting a little action in against his cock. He growled and caught hold of her earlobe, sucking it into his mouth and tormenting her with tiny nips and brief sucks along her neck.
A flutter of need, aching desire—it built slowly this time, and as a pulse of pleasure rocked through her, Maggie arched against his hand and let him drag out the sensation for as long as possible.
Her breathing was uneven and her limbs loose as he placed her on her stomach. She watched through a haze of satisfaction as he took a condom from the box and rolled it on, his brown eyes focused on her.
Then he crawled over her and pinned her down, pressing his lips to the back of her neck. “I take it that means I get to pick our position?”
“Gee, I wonder what you’ve decided?” Maggie teased.
His cock was a heavy weight resting between her legs, and he lifted her hips higher, thrusting forward and rubbing the hot length over her sensitive clit. It felt wonderful. It felt amazing, but it wasn’t enough.
She tilted her hips the next time he moved, and the head of his cock breached her folds.
He sucked for air, his voice trembling as he spoke. “You’re fucking killing me. Was that your plan?”
“I hoped your plan was to fuck me,” she said around the smile that could not be repressed. Another wiggle of her hips inched him farther inside her, and his expression tightened.
A man fighting for control—way to stroke a woman’s ego. Maggie arched back harder and pushed her hips toward him, burying his length in her in one firm motion.
This time she was the one who gasped with pleasure.
A slow stream of soft curses escaped his lips as Clay held on tightly to her hips and withdrew. She closed her eyes and soaked in the sensation of being filled completely as he moved forward. Rocking into her with deliberate, careful motions.
Her entire body tingled, and she snuck her hand under her belly and between her legs, touching where he entered her. Wetting her fingers in the moisture between them. Touching his cock as he pulled back because she could, the intimacy jolting her heart with an extra pulse.
“I’m ready for more,” she said as she brought her fingers to her clit and rubbed.
Clay moved again, but careful and controlled. “So fucking beautiful. God, you feel so good around me. You touching yourself?”
She nodded. “Uh-huh. And it feels great, but I want more. Take me harder,” she demanded.
He faltered for a second, gripping her hips tightly before he relaxed his hands and smoothed his palms over her ass cheeks. “Nope,” he refused. “Come on my cock,” he ordered instead. “You come, and then I’ll fuck you harder.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off or frustrated, but she was having such a good time, there wasn’t really anything to complain about. Instead she increased the tempo over her clit, pushing back against him so that every time he thrust, her butt hit his groin.
&nbs
p; A half dozen times later and she trembled on the verge of climax, fingers clenching the bed sheet as she squeezed around him.
His fingers tightened as he sped up just that bit she needed. “Clay. Oh, yes…”
Everything tightened. Heck, the sheets protested under her fingers, the wicked and wonderful sensation of being completely filled as her body clenched around his hard shaft rocking her. That was what was wonderful. That was what made her shudder in pleasure.
And so much for Clay doing anything more—he came on the heels of her orgasm, a cry of pleasure escaping his lips as he pressed her to the mattress and buried himself as deep as possible.
Her sex pulsed around him as his cock jerked inside her. His chest rubbed against her back as he breathed rapidly, his arms on either side of her trembling.
“God, I love this morning,” she sighed with satisfaction.
Clay chuckled, pressing a kiss under her ear. “Don’t go anywhere,” he ordered before dealing with the condom, returning to her side and wrapping himself around her.
Sunshine poured in the bedroom window, falling across them on the messed-up sheets. Maggie twisted to face him, trailing her fingers through his messy hair and pushing it off his forehead.
“I keep expecting to wake up and find out this is all a dream.”
He grinned. “Want me to pinch you?”
His fingers drifted over her ass, and she squirmed away. “No, don’t.”
More laughter ensued as he captured her and dragged her back and started over, kissing and nuzzling at her neck until her entire body quivered.
“We’re not going to get out of bed all day if you keep that up,” she told him happily.
His answering sigh was unexpected.
She caught his face in her hands and turned him toward her. All the amusement and passion from only moments earlier had faded.
Drat. The one thing she didn’t want to happen. “You’ve got that look in your eyes. The one that says we shouldn’t have done this.”
“Hell, no.” He shook his head. “Don’t think for a second I regret last night, or this morning, but…”
“…but you think we shouldn’t have done this,” she finished for him, rolling away to a sitting position. She grabbed her sleep shirt from under the pillow and pulled it over her head, the oversized Calgary Stampeders jersey a more than adequate barrier between them.
She wasn’t running away, but she wasn’t about to have a serious discussion with her naked boobs involved in the conversation.
Clay sighed, capturing her hands in his to keep her at his side. “No. I don’t regret any of it, and I hope you want more. And I’m not just talking about sex, although, yes I want that too.”
It was Maggie’s turn to pause. She’d given this a lot of thought before making a move on him, but she’d deliberately avoided dwelling on some parts of the problem. Like what would come next.
It hadn’t been worth borrowing trouble before she even knew if he was interested. But now…
Where did they go with this?
“What you mean, you want more?” she asked cautiously.
Clay trailed his fingers up her arm, watching as they moved. “This wasn’t just sex, Mags. I care about you, and I like you.”
She snorted. Very elegant, but impossible to stop. “I hope you like me, dumbass.”
His smile flashed, and he threaded his fingers into the hair at the back of her head. “It does sound funny, doesn’t it? But I mean it. I think we’re friends.”
They weren’t the words she wanted to say but they snuck out anyway. “Friends with benefits?”
An expression of complete horror rolled over him. “No. Never that.”
Good. “I hate that phrase.”
He nodded. “Me too. Friends, definitely. Sex, well—”
He waggled his brows, and she giggled like a teenager before answering, “Sex, definitely.” And now the concern was back on his face, so Maggie straight-out asked him. “Why are you so worried?”
He paused. “I have no problem with us just being us, but that’s not going to be enough. Not for this community. Not for the other people out there.”
She wasn’t stupid, but it seemed as if he was making it a bigger problem than it would be. “It’s not really anybody else’s business.”
“I agree,” he said with a sharp nod. “Only what do we tell them? Are we dating?”
“You want to?” she asked in return.
“Hell, yeah,” Clay responded instantly. “Only…”
His phone rang. The same dirty sexually provocative ringtone as before, and they paused for a split second before breaking out laughing, both from the tension of the moment and from shared memories.
“Hold that thought,” Clay ordered as he scrambled off the bed and into the next room, returning to the master bedroom as he answered the call. “Clay Thompson.”
His eyes widened briefly before he rolled them, placing a finger to his lips. They weren’t done talking, so Maggie leaned against the headboard and waited.
“Yes, Mrs. Pfeiffer. The shop will be open on Monday at eight a.m. like usual. Unless this is an emergency…”
Clay settled on the bed by her feet, holding the phone against his ear with his shoulder and picking up her feet so he could rub them.
Man, oh, man. Whatever “this” was they were doing, Maggie suddenly wanted a heck of a lot more of it.
“No, Mrs. Pfeiffer. You’re not interrupting anything. But it’s Sunday, and unless you want to pay extra for emergency services, you should contact the shop during normal working hours.” He listened for a little longer, his frustration growing, but none of it bleeding into his voice as he spoke. “You phoned my private line.”
The thin sound of an older woman’s voice escaped his phone, and Maggie already guessed what Clay would tell her once he got off the line.
So she needed to know what she was going to say. What did she want?
The closet in the corner of the room was partially opened, Cameron’s clothes hanging neatly on one side. There were more of his things around the house because she hadn’t been ready to get rid of them yet.
But she was getting closer to being ready.
Was it too soon to be officially involved with another man? Maybe, but a very smart part inside of her said she wasn’t getting involved with a stranger. This was Clay. This was her friend, and he’d already owned a piece of her heart.
It didn’t mean she knew exactly what she wanted in the future, but she knew what she wanted right now.
Clay hung up the phone and went back to massaging her feet.
“Gossip-mongers?” Maggie asked innocently.
“I bet after last night someone wondered if there was hanky-panky going on between us.” He wiggled the phone in the air. “…and that’s why I’m worried.”
She snuck her feet out of his hands and slid forward, straddling his thighs. “You know what? We don’t need a name for this. We don’t need a name for us. We’re friends, first and foremost, and whatever else is happening between us is our business. Let people talk if they want to—there’s nothing we can do to stop that, anyway.”
“I don’t want anyone to hurt you,” Clay said softly.
His concern was understandable and yet so out of place in her reality. She’d lost her husband and her best friend. That was pain. That was hurting so hard she’d barely been able to breathe.
Clay? Made her breathe again. Anyone who wanted to judge her for that could take a flying leap off a tall building.
“Nobody can hurt me with their silly words or judgments,” Maggie insisted. “I’ll be honest with you. I might not know exactly what we’re doing, but what we’re doing isn’t wrong. Deep down inside me I know that, and I’m good with us. With whatever ‘us’ is.”
He nodded, his sexy grin curling back into place even though a touch of doubt lingered in his eyes. “Then I’m good with it too.”
She bounced out of his lap before he could reach for her. Morning
sex? No problem. Morning kisses? “Not before I brush my teeth,” she insisted.
“Uh-oh, here come the rules.” Clay followed, swatting her on the butt as he passed by on the way to the bag he’d left by the door. “Sounds like we’re dating to me.”
She didn’t need a label for it. She really didn’t. “Plans for the day?” she asked.
“You okay going over to Len and Janey’s for lunch?”
“I had nothing scheduled. Sure.”
Clay cleared his throat. “Good, then lets wing it for the morning. See what comes up…”
His cheesy smile made it impossible to not offer him one in return before he headed to the guest bathroom. Happiness swirled around her.
And after they’d both gotten minty fresh her second present of the day arrived. Kisses that made her head spin and her body heat until she was breathless and giddy and ready to be tumbled back into bed all over.
Luckily, Clay had the same agenda.
Chapter Eleven
Clay bet anything he was wearing the stupidest smirk ever, but damn if he could stop himself. He paced down the back alley, Maggie at his side. She was telling him about the plants she’d ordered for the Habitat project, and he was listening, really he was.
But mostly what he was doing was buzzing with satisfaction. It had been a hell of a great morning, in every way possible.
And when she stepped closer and slipped her fingers into his, something rolled in his gut, and the beautiful April day turned even brighter.
He knocked once on the door at his brother’s before opening it and shouting a greeting. The smell of coffee and bacon wafted toward them, and his stomach grumbled. They hadn’t made it to the eating portion of the day yet, too distracted with other things.
Clay grinned harder.
Janey stuck her head around the corner. “Hey, guys. Come in and make yourself at home. Len’s burning the bacon¸ and I need to supervise.”
