“Smart woman.”
“I like to plan ahead.” Relief washed through her. He was off the issue of love.
He pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it off the bed. Her skin sizzled as he traced with his fingers along the cups of her bra. “I never had you pegged for the leopard print bra type.”
“Only on special occasions.”
Placing his lips where his fingers had been a moment ago, he tasted her leisurely.
Eyes closed, she savored the sensation washing over her. Every inch of her clamored to be next for his attention. She moaned, tangling her fingers through his hair.
Unhooking her bra, he pushed the material away with his mouth, searching for her nipple. An instant after his hot breath brushed her aching flesh, his lips covered her. She arched. “Michael.”
He chuckled, already working open her jeans.
As she disentangled herself from her bra, the cool air in the room made her skin tingle. His hot hands and mouth made her skin ache in a completely different way. Most maddening of all was the hunger between her legs that he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to satisfy. He laved beneath her breast with his tongue. “Michael.”
“Can I help you with something?” he asked in a maddeningly cool tone.
She wanted to tell him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t appreciate his behavior. Teasing wasn’t nice. Unfortunately, no words came to her lips.
He pulled her jeans off, moving out of reach, and she clutched the blankets. Trailing kisses up her leg and over her hip, he slid his palms up her calves. She grabbed his shoulders, dragged him on top of her. All his coolness of a moment ago was lost the moment his lips met hers. His tongue tangled around hers. His erection dug into her stomach. So close and yet so far.
Working her hands between them, she opened his jeans and tried to push them down, but couldn’t get them far enough. Michael dragged himself away from her, shucked his jeans onto the floor and then seemed intent on falling right back on top of her.
“Condom,” she said, a hand raised.
“Condom.” He peered over his shoulder at the dresser like it was in another state and he might have to take a connecting flight to get to it. “Condom.” He crossed the room in three strides and returned in two, ripping the condom open as he did. Slipping it on, he climbed back on the bed to kneel over her.
Other than the one word, all her language skills had vanished. She wished for a few more words so she could tell him what she felt. How lush and rich he made her feel just by looking at her this way. How beautiful and special his hands made her when he touched her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, cupping her cheek, and thrust into her.
Arching, she welcomed him, wrapped her arms around his back, digging her fingers into his muscles. The deep movement of him inside her engulfed her. She wanted to twist herself up in him and never be free. His strong arms could keep her pinned here forever. Face buried in her neck, he thrust harder. Her soul split open and love spilled out, warm and liquid. Her body clenched and released in a tidal wave. “Michael, I love you.”
He gave a strangled cry and collapsed on top of her.
Maureen stroked her fingers through his hair. Well, she’d done it now. Even if he had been too busy to notice her declaration, she wasn’t. In the past, her relationships had followed a regular path. Date for a few weeks, leading up to heavy petting. Four times she’d allowed a relationship to move into the bedroom and it had never been sooner than two months. And I love you? That never showed up until somewhere in the heavy petting phase during the second month.
Last Friday, she’d met him. By Sunday, they’d been into heavy petting. Now, inside seven days, they’d had sex and she’d said those three little words. What was wrong with her?
He kissed her cheek and climbed off the bed. “Back in a minute.”
Pointing out the trashcan on the other side of the bed would have been easy, but she needed the time while he went to the bathroom. All her behavior for the past week had been weird. She’d rushed headlong into a relationship she knew had a very close expiration date. When it had turned out to be the relationship she’d thought, instead of hightailing it for the border, she’d plunged in deeper.
Only one answer. She was crazy.
The catalyst for her psychotic break walked back into the room and stretched out beside her. Nuzzling her neck, he said, “So do I get reviews?”
“Reviews?” As soon as his skin came into contact with hers, she wondered what the big deal had been about how fast things had gone. The warm weight of his body dragged her closer to him, but she honestly didn’t need that. He had his own gravity that drew her to curl up with her head on his chest and her leg draped across his.
“For the performance.” Sweaty skin stuck to sweaty skin as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Oh, are we continuing that metaphor?” Being crazy wasn’t so bad. Kinda nice actually. At the moment, she was hoping to be crazy at least one more time tonight. “It was a great performance. I was on the edge of my seat.”
“Next time I hope to have you jumping out of your seat, screaming.”
She giggled.
“You have off school tomorrow.”
“I do.”
“So, will you come with me on my promo thing? We could spend the weekend in the city and get a hotel room. We’ll do the town rock star style.”
“You make it sound like a roller coaster.”
“It is.” He rolled over, pinning her under him. “Now leaving on track two, the Rock Star Express. Please keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times.”
Maureen giggled again, letting her hands slide down his back to his butt. “Is this a good place for my hands?”
“Pretty good, but feel free to experiment.”
* * * *
Bear tried to slip into the house without waking anyone, but Tony was waiting for him in the living room.
“Do you know what time it is?” Tony growled.
“Midnight?” After the encore, they had lain in bed talking until she announced she needed to get a little sleep before tomorrow. Now that he thought about it, it had been after midnight when he left her house. Getting from the bedroom to the door had taken, um, a little while.
“One o’clock.”
“Really? Wow, it’s late and I have a lot to do tomorrow. ’Night.” He wanted to get behind a closed door so he could reminisce. The week of frustration had been worth every second with her.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Tony’s voice rose from a whisper to normal and kept going.
“I was going to bed.” Bear headed for the stairs.
“I told you to stay away from her.”
“I like her.” Like was such a useless word. The closest thing he could come to what he really wanted with Maureen involved permanent bonding. He hadn’t even wanted to leave tonight, but he’d figured if he didn’t come home at all, Tony would rip his beating heart from his chest and serve it up on a platter. Looked like he planned to do that anyway.
“And have you thought about what’s going to happen when you leave town?” Tony shouted.
“She can visit me.”
“Now doesn’t that sound like the life. She can stay here and keep teaching school until you call for her. You are just as self centered as when we were kids.”
“Tony,” Pam snapped from the stairs. “You’re going to wake up Nicky.”
“Did you hear what the genius has done?” Tony demanded, still at the top of his lungs.
Pam glared at Bear and then turned back to Tony. “What’s done is done. Don’t wake Nicky.” She stomped up the stairs.
“I can’t believe you.” Tony’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you even think before you decided to scratch your itch?”
“Yeah, I did. I thought about it a lot. I really like her, Tony. Whether you believe it or not. Relax. You’re taking this way to seriously.”
“She isn’t like those o
ther girls you date.”
“I know. That’s why I like her.” Nope, nothing like the other girls he’d dated. Sweet, kind, genuine. A girl like Maureen was a mythical creature where he came from. She was everything he ever imagined wanting.
“You’re going to ruin her life.” Tony clenched his fists. His voice had a raw hiss of desperation.
“That’s a little dramatic.” Bear rolled his eyes.
In the split second he took his gaze off Tony, his brother crossed the room and slammed him into the wall. The family photos rattled and one of them fell. Glass tinkled onto the floor. “You are a total asshole.”
Bear shoved Tony back. “Let me go. I am not going to ruin her life.”
“Tony!” Pam snarled from the stairs. Behind her, Nicky called for her from upstairs. “I swear to God if the two of you don’t cut it out I’m going to call the cops and have you arrested for disturbing the peace. My peace. I’m coming, Nicky. It’s okay. Daddy and Uncle Bear are talking.”
Tony stalked across the living room and turned around. “I think it’s time for you to go.”
“What do you mean, go?” His brother’s tone and posture suddenly registered. Tony hadn’t looked that freaked out since Nicky ended up in the hospital with some kind of virus when he was eighteen months old. All week he’d been getting more and more ticked off, but honestly, how ticked off could he be? Bear wasn’t going to con Maureen out of her life savings and skip town.
“I want you out of my house.”
“You’re kidding. Because I had sex with my girlfriend?”
Tony clenched his jaw. “I asked you to leave her alone and you didn’t. You had to make things worse. You know what’s going to happen now? You’re going to leave town and she’s going to moon around the garage for months trying to get in touch with you. Then she’s going to get mad because she never hears from you and since you’re not here she’ll take it out on me. And next fall, she’s not going to be Nicky’s teacher.”
“Wow, that’s quite a story you have going. Are there explosions too?”
“In the morning, I want you to pack your shit and go back to California.”
“You are kicking me out.” His stomach tightened. Tony was the only family he had left. He’d known his brother would be mad, but this went straight into enraged.
“I am. I want you away from my family before you do any more damage.”
“What makes you think I’m doing damage? You don’t know how I feel about Maureen.”
“I don’t need to.” Tony glared at him for a second and then started for the stairs.
“Wait a minute.”
“No.” Tony stopped at the top. “You can stay tonight, but you need to be out of here tomorrow.”
“Tony.”
As he turned into the hall, his brother hit the light switch, which plunged the house into darkness.
Sure, he’d known Tony was going to be mad. Really mad. They wanted Maureen to be Nicky’s teacher next year. She took her car to the garage, so there was a business relationship to think about too. And she was a nice person and Tony always hated to see somebody nice getting screwed over.
Dammit, he wasn’t going to screw her over. Tony wasn’t even giving him a chance. He really loved her. He wanted to be with her for—for a long time anyway. Tony should be happy for him. He’d always hated the gold diggers Bear ended up with. Maureen was about as far from gold digger as this twerpy little burg was from Mumbai, India.
Fuck.
He stomped up the stairs and down the hall to the rumpus room. Tony wanted him out? Fine. He’d be out. Throwing his clothes in the suitcase, he snapped it closed and hoisted it off the fold-out bed. In the car, he started the engine and tried to think of where the nearest hotel was. He’d never paid attention to that kind of stuff. When he came to town it was to visit Tony.
No more of that.
There were a bunch of hotels out along the interstate. He’d have to try there.
* * * *
Maureen brushed her teeth and tried to figure out what a rock star’s girlfriend would wear to a radio station. Not that she had any of that stuff in her closet. It was a crisp pink blouse and blue jeans or nothing. Though Michael might prefer nothing. Come to think of it, she might prefer that too. He said they had to be at the station at one and it only took an hour and a half to get there. Plenty of time.
Depending on when he showed up. He hadn’t been too clear when she’d finally motivated him out the door last night.
Why had she done that? What harm would there have been in him staying the night? They could have swung by his brother’s house to pick up what he needed on the way this morning. She walked through the kitchen, wiping down the counters. No good reason to. There hadn’t been any food on them all week. With the last Pop-Tart heating in the toaster, she took out her grocery pad. She’d already half filled it, but couldn’t summon the desire to finish. She’d go shopping Monday after school. Michael would already be gone.
She threw the list back in the drawer.
What was she doing, getting involved with this guy who had lied to her from the get-go and was leaving in three days? Who could say if she’d ever see him again? He could disappear Monday.
In the living room, she peered through the curtains as if she expected the Satellite to come cruising up the street at her beck and call. He’d said morning, but technically that was anytime before noon. His lifestyle was a mystery, but she doubted it involved a lot of early mornings.
Throwing herself on the couch, she allowed one fit of pique before deciding it was silly. What had she lost? When she first met him, she’d only wanted to be admired by a good-looking man. She’d gotten that. In spades even. After spending time with him, she’d wanted more. That happened too. In fact, even if he didn’t show up today she hadn’t lost anything. Her expectations had been low and he’d far exceeded them. Everything after last Friday night was gravy.
She sniffed, wringing her hands in her lap. She’d start believing that when she started believing in Santa Claus again. Right now, eyes open, she could remember every detail of his face, the tenor of his voice, the way he smelled under the industrial strength soap from the garage, and she really didn’t know anything about him.
Of course as a famous person, a lot of information should be available.
After checking out the window to make sure he wasn’t headed toward her at that very moment, she went to her office. She’d forgotten to ask him last night how he knew which room was which. Usually both this door and the bedroom door were closed, so he must have snooped.
She pressed the Start button on the computer and made herself comfortable while it came on. Couldn’t really blame him for snooping when she was about to do the same thing on the World Wide Web. She typed his name into the search engine and came up with more than fifteen pages of links. She clicked on the top one and ended up on the Wikipedia. It showed a couple of pictures of him with four other men, all quite good looking in their own way. His parents were both deceased and he had one brother. He collected muscle cars. According to this he was dating a woman named Julia. No photograph of her, though.
How could she subtly ask if he was dating someone? He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to two-time, but then, she didn’t know him that well.
Clicking the band link, she studied yet another photo of the band. They were onstage and there were only four of them. All she could see of Michael was his face over a set of drums, but he looked very happy in an intense, focused sort of way. Much the same way he did when he worked on the Satellite. The other guys were laughing so they must be having fun too. According to the article, they had released seven albums including one that had just come out. Another link would take her to the tour dates.
Tour dates. Michael was going to be traveling all summer. She followed the link and corrected herself. He was going to be traveling until December. Such a long time away from home. Poor baby. And so many places. They were in a different city every day.
/> A knock interrupted her. No one else it could be. Excitement bubbled through her. She shut the computer down and ran for the door. She yanked it open, beaming, and his expression made hers crumble. “What’s wrong?”
Michael stepped inside, shaking his head. He gathered her into his arms and pulled her tight.
“Michael?” she asked and wrapped her arms around his neck. Standing so still and holding her so tight, he felt fragile, which seemed silly. He was too broad shouldered and strong to be weak. “Did something happen?”
“You know I’m not going to hurt you, right?” he asked into her skin.
“Hurt me?” Maybe this was about Julia. He’d left last night after midnight and it was not even nine in the morning. Had he even had time to talk to the other woman? Was there even another woman to talk to? “Why would you hurt me?”
“My brother is being a dick.” He released her and strode to the middle of the room, where he ran his hand through his hair and rubbed his face before turning to her. “Tony is convinced I’m going to screw you over and dump you. He’s totally out of his mind. I thought he’d be happy for me.” Michael paced in front of the couch.
She closed the door and waited.
“He’s always bitching about the leeches I end up with and I finally meet somebody nice. Somebody I really like, and he freaks out because he thinks I’m going to be a dick to her—to you.” He stopped. “It’s just fucking insane.”
“I’m sure if you give Tony a couple of days to calm down, he’ll relax.” Maureen resisted the impulse to jump up and down and clap her hands. Last night, pre-sex, I love you had caught her off guard. This morning his I really like carried more weight with less terror.
“He won’t. He’s really pissed. All week he’s been telling me not to fuck with the locals and I did it anyway. But it’s not like that. I’m not playing games here. He’s making me pick between my family and somebody I want to be my family.”
When she’d registered the last thing he’d said, she’d been reveling in his latest declaration of like and calculating how long before he’d wear a hole in her carpet and how much it was going to cost to get it fixed. “What?”
Satellite of Love Page 7
