The Competition

by Riley Rollins

  I bit in, letting the juices slide down the side of my cheek as she put the rest of the plates down and gave Joe one more lingering look. He nodded politely to her, signaling to her that we were good, but he continued to watch me. I wiped my mouth self-consciously and swallowed.

  “Can you and Ryan take the big delivery truck? I want Jackie in the van with the volunteers, and I figure I’ll bring up the rear with the box truck.” I took a sip of tea and looked over at Joe’s face. His eyes were dark, his lips in a tight, flat line.

  “You can help us pack,” I offered shortly, unsure why everything I said came out sounding like a challenge. “If you want to do more than just supply some kid reporter, you’re welcome to get your hands dirty with some real work…”

  “You think you’re driving into an active tornado zone? That area’s already been hit, and the worst is still yet to come.”

  “I don’t think so, Joe,” I shot back testily. “I am going.

  The decision has already been made.”

  15

  Joe

  We’d gone more than a few rounds before Dean intervened.

  “Christ, Joe. It’s not like I’m letting her go alone. I’ll be there, so will Ryan… and we all know he won’t be letting her out of his sight.” Dean shot Joe a meaningful glance. “Neither one of us is gonna let anything happen to her…”

  “Letting me go alone…?” Maggie said too loudly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few heads turn in our direction. She did, too, and took a deep breath.

  “I appreciate all the brotherly concern,” she said more quietly. “But since when do I have to ask anyone’s permission to do my job? There’s need out there. Helping is what I do.” She pushed her plate away. “In case you all need reminding, I don’t need to be looked after anymore. Now I’m the one who looks after others.”

  Ryan took the hint and changed the subject, engaging Dean in a conversation about a Rangers game. I refilled Maggie’s glass.

  “I know this is your job, Maggie, but you’ve got plenty of people on board. There’s no reason for you to take these kinds of risks yourself.”

  “How can I send someone else in to do a job, if I’m not willing to do it myself?” she snapped back. “Especially if there’s some danger involved.”

  “Damn it, Mags, you’re the director. You can’t keep any of your people safe, if you’re not safe yourself. I know you feel like you have something to prove. Hell, there’s been a chip on your shoulder ever since you got home.” I ran a hand through my hair. The room was hot, in spite of the air conditioning.

  She sat in silence while the waitress preened, waiting for me to pull out my wallet. I counted out the bills and handed them to her without looking up.

  Long minutes passed with only the clink of silverware. Dean and Ryan tried to maintain the conversation, asking Maggie questions here and there about schedules and deadlines. She answered every one with confidence and efficiency. But the casual tone of the evening was gone.

  Dean was the first to stand, forcing a cheerful tone as he said his goodbyes. He glanced at Maggie and she shifted, scooting her chair back and reaching down for her bag.

  “Take Ryan home, will you? Maggie’s coming with me.” I shot a look at Dean, who had raised his brows at my tone, but knew better than to challenge me. “I’ll make sure she gets home.”

  Dean fished out his keys and bent down to give Maggie a kiss on the cheek. “You two okay?” he asked. “We’re fine. I’m fine,” she nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. “You guys go ahead. I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

  Five minutes later, Maggie and I were back in the tight quarters of his hot little sports car and tempers were flaring.

  “If it’s a matter of money… Shit, I was going to put the foundation well over its funding goal anyway. I’d intended to offer it all along…”

  “It’s not money and you know it, Joe. We could have a thousand staff members and I’d still be going. It’s my decision, and I don’t intend to justify it again. Not even to you.”

  I reached over and took her hand. Impulse made her jerk it back, but I tightened my fingers and held her hand prisoner in mine. “I’m sorry,” I breathed out. “You’re right, Maggie.”

  “You don’t owe anyone an explanation. Maybe me, least of all. It’s not your abilities that concern me, baby. It’s the fucking storms I don’t trust. This year’s been vicious so far, and it’s far from over. We’ve already had stronger storms with greater frequency than in decades. I know that you know your business. But even under the best circumstances, these fucking things are unpredictable.”

  We drove the rest of the way in silence and I never let go of her hand. With every passing day, the air was growing denser, heavier… and more ominous. I parked outside the cottage, and turned to face her. I saw a trickle of sweat roll down between her breasts and felt my cock rise in response.

  “I know you’re not a kid anymore, Maggie. I see it more clearly with every moment we spend together… But this is a risky game, baby.”

  “Maybe more than you know…”

  16

  Maggie

  He leaned forward to press his forehead gently into mine. For a minute it felt like old times. The Joe of my childhood, who had always been right there to protect me. I let that safe feeling wash over me.

  As a child, those had been the moments I’d lived for, the harbor of Joe’s big, strong arms. He’d always had the power to make everything better, no matter how terrible the situation. I’d loved him for that…

  “I’m a big girl now. And I’ve learned how to take care of myself,” I said, sounding calmer than I felt. He was so damned close, making my skin tighten into goosebumps in spite of the heat. “I know I take risks, Joe,” I said quietly. “It’s how I made it on my own for the last four years. No family… not much Dean… no you…”

  He caught the back of my neck in one warm hand and let his fingers tangle in my hair. My breath caught... sharp, audible… and his fingers pulled my head back. He was close, way too close. I could heard the harsh sound of his own breathing and a warm gush of fluid soaked my panties in response.

  “Risks are what make it all worth the struggle, Joe.” The words came out in a rough whisper, sexier than I intended. “There’s fear… but there’s exhilaration, too…,” I said. My face was inches from his, my throat arched and vulnerable. I met his eyes, my gaze as intense and demanding as his. “Maybe there are too many risks in my life, Joe. I’ll give you that one. But maybe there haven’t been enough of them in yours.”

  He kissed me the way a thunderstorm breaks. A second of calm… a feeling of timelessness, followed by a crashing violence with a power all its own. I felt myself lift up… and I felt the rock hard heat of his cock underneath me. His lips never left mine, his hands must have shifted me from my seat to his lap. The whole world was spinning out of control and there was nothing to stop it. My tiny skirt hiked up to my waist and I felt his long, hard fingers push my thin panties aside…

  “Fuck you, Maggie,” he ground out against my mouth. I bit into his lip and heard him moan. “Fuck you back, Joe,” I said without letting him go. I ground my hips against his hand, making it slick with my wetness.

  He pushed one long finger inside me and I was lost. I didn’t know what drove us on harder… how much was passion, and how much was anger? I only knew he wanted me as powerfully as I wanted him. He pulled back to watch me, as he pushed in one more finger. I went dizzy with the sensation, but I held his eyes. If he needed to see, then I was going to show him.

  “You’re tight,” he rasped out. “Hot, fucking tight…” He pushed in deep and I felt my eyes flutter and my legs begin to shake.

  “Am I the first man inside you?” he growled against my throat. His fingers kept moving… punishing me, rewarding me… “Tell me Maggie, I need to know…”

  “Yes,” I gasped out. “No one else has ever touched me… I wanted this… I wanted you…”

  “This is madn
ess, Maggie,” he answered back, but I could hear the pleasure in his voice along with the warning. “We can’t do this…”

  “Because I haven’t done it before?” I shot back, pushing my dripping wet pussy hard into his palm. “Teach me… I’m a fast learner…”

  “Because once we start, I won’t be able to stop. Because I could hurt you, Maggie. Because I want you so much I can’t think…”

  The sound of tires on the drive stopped him short. There was a sweeping flash of headlights and the next thing I knew, I was back in my own seat and Joe was trying to tug my skirt back down into place.

  “Hey guys.” Dean tapped against the car window. “I just thought I’d make sure you two hadn’t come to blows.” Joe opened the door and got out, giving me a few moments to recover myself.

  “We’re fine,” I heard him say. “Your sister can be very persuasive… although I still don’t like the idea.”

  I got out, trying to look as normal as Joe sounded. But my knees felt unsteady, and I had to rest a hand on the hood of the car. “We are fine,” I said. “And this job is going to be a hell of a success, I promise you.” I looked back and forth between the two men. “Great rewards come from great challenges,” I said confidently. “And I want both. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got one hell of a day ahead of me tomorrow.”

  I headed for the cottage without looking back, closing the door and listening until I heard both cars eventually disappear down the drive. I locked the door, leaning against it to keep me from sagging to the floor. Facing Dean had taken everything I had left. I was hot and exhausted, weary of the tug of war Joe and I seemed to be playing. I peeled of my top and let my skirt and panties fall on the floor. My body was throbbing with pent-up frustration. I headed for the shower and turned the cold on full blast.

  “Fuck you, Joe,” I said into pounding stream of water. “Fuck you for not fucking me…”

  I ran my hands over my breasts and down my belly. I could still feel the sensation of his fingers inside me. They’d been thick and long, but not like his cock would be… I could still feel the huge, hard outline of him, pressed against my panties…

  One of my friends in the dorm had a collection of cock shots in her phone, and had shown me one night when she’d had too much to drink. A few beers and they’re all pretty happy to show it off, she’d said. I’d been shocked at the size of some of them. But none had been like Joe. None of them could ever be like Joe…

  I closed my eyes and squeezed my pussy tight. My walls were tender, opened and stretched for the first time. I touched a fingertip to my clit and rolled it in circles. I trembled, remembering the sensation of how it had felt, pressing and rubbing it into Joe’s calloused palm. In minutes, I was right on the edge. It had been too long… I had waited too long… There was so much inside me, raging like a storm, impatient and lustful…

  And ready to break free…

  17

  Joe

  Dean and I had said our goodnights and gone our separate ways. I tried to tell myself it had been for the best that Dean had come along when he had. God only knew what might have happened if he hadn’t. I hadn’t lied when I’d said Maggie was persuasive.

  Every instinct I had, every hard-won drop of common sense in me, told me I was playing with fire. I should have kept my distance, from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her at the station. Definitely as soon as I’d found out who she was.

  But something between us was already out of control. I’d been so goddamned close, more than once, to taking her in a fury of passion and driving desire. Every day, she got deeper under my skin. Not only because I needed her body, but because I wanted her. I craved her presence, I waited for the look in her eyes. All I could think about was the feel of her skin and the scent of her flesh. She pushed me, challenging me with her ideas and her spirit. No woman had ever had the power to move me like Maggie could…

  I headed upstairs in the dark, silent house. Bess had turned in hours ago, and I had the entire left wing of the house to myself. I closed the bedroom door behind me and exhaled long and hard. It was wrong, all fucking wrong, but there was no holding back any longer. I stripped, air hissing through my teeth as I set my cock free. It bobbed and twitched, the head darkening with its freedom… and anticipation…

  I moved to the window and looked out over the dark, sweltering night. The only light was the one down the hill, just outside Maggie’s door. My cock raged again and my balls tightened, almost to the point of agony. I wrapped my hand, still bearing traces of Maggie’s wet desire, hard around my cock and started to stroke. I pictured her, naked in the heat, and languid on top of the sheets. She wanted me… and I fucking wanted her. My hand sped up as I imagined my cock where my fingers had been. I’d be wet with her juices, filling her like she’d never imagined. My cock was the challenge, and I wanted to watch as she took it… every long, thick inch until…

  I exploded, pulsing hard, violent streams of seed onto the window glass. I cursed it for separating us, hating the distance between us. But my body drove on, and my climax seemed to threaten sanity itself. For a split second, I felt like I was with her, and my skin tingled with cold and the feel of rushing water. The moment I tried to grasp it, the feeling was gone. But the last powerful waves emptied my body completely, and I staggered from the release and the strength of emotion behind it. I collapsed on the bed and dragged an arm over my eyes.

  There was housekeeping to take care of… but for the moment, it could wait. My heart was still pounding. So was my cock. And I wanted to savor that fleeting moment… when it had seemed like I was with her. My body was spent, but my climax had freed something inside me. It was out there now… searching in the dark. Hunting for the one feeling I never wanted to lose again…

  My Maggie.

  Thursday

  Fuck the paper. It would wait. First thing in the morning, I had headed for the warehouse. Maggie’s warehouse.

  It was early, but she was already there. So was Dean along with a handful of workers. They all wore tees with the RemedAid logo. Maggie had hers tied at the waist, and she was wearing the same cut-off shorts she’d been wearing at the bus station. And the same distracting boots...

  “Joe?” She stood up, leaving the box still on the ground. She’d been about to pick it up, and had the proper body mechanics down pat. Her legs had been apart, her knees wide and bent. Damned unladylike… And so fucking hot.

  “I thought about what you said last night… about taking a chance.” I couldn’t help letting my eyes roam, however briefly, over her bare skin, already glossed by a sheen of fine perspiration. “I’m here to help.”

  “I… you… you want to volunteer?” she asked, looking up at me with wide eyes. “It’s only packing up the trucks right now… but we had a few people call out. I could use all the help we can get.”

  She showed me around, indicating which stacks needed to be moved to which vehicle. Some of the other volunteers would briefly interrupt for directions, and she would answer without hesitation. She had an air of cool authority about her that kept the entire operation running smoothly. And she clearly had the respect of every man and woman there. I’d always known she was incredible and capable of amazing things. But seeing the scope of her vision and all she had accomplished was still impressive as hell.

  By the time we headed back to the empty, waiting trucks, the sun had risen in the sky and yet another day had turned swelteringly hot. Two hours later, and I’d soaked through my shirt.

  “Here,” she said, offering me a cold bottle of water and a dry logo shirt. We’d worked side by side almost the entire time. There had been too much to do to spend energy on conversation. So instead, we’d settled into the rhythm of hard, physical work. It felt natural with her, and for the first time in a long while, we’d been completely comfortable in each other’s presence.

  I took the water and downed it in a single swallow. Then I stripped off my sweaty shirt and tossed it aside. “I’m good as is,” I replied. “Too f
ucking hot for more clothes than necessary.”

  I went back to work, feeling her eyes on my back as she leaned against a stack of boxes and finished her own water. Tiny as she was, she set a hell of a pace.

  A few minutes later, she was back at my side. We finished the first truck, and while Maggie dealt with phone calls and last minute organizational details, I finished the second. The other volunteers had packed up the last of the few remaining supplies, and I’d tucked them into the back of the van. Dean had left for class hours ago. Clouds were dark on the horizon as the long day started to wind down.

  “We make a good team,” Maggie said, as she closed and locked the warehouse doors. She pulled a cooler out of the front seat of the van and handed me a tall, ice-cold bottle of beer. I took it and twisted the top off and handed it back to her. “We do,” I answered. “And I see the boss always comes prepared…”

  She laughed, as I opened the second bottle and drained it off by half. She sipped at hers, and I felt her eyes again on my skin.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “We’re leaving in the morning, and I’m not sure we’d have made it without your help.” She took another swallow… a longer one.

  “I know it hasn’t always come across, Maggie, but I respect what you’re doing. It’s a hell of an operation you’ve got here.” I reached over to tuck a long strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m starting to believe that if anyone has the ability to save the whole world, it just might be you.”

  The last volunteer raised a hand in farewell, and we watched as he climbed into an old pickup and drove away, clattering out of view. Maggie turned and took a breath, stopping before she spoke.