Forbidden

by Vanessa Devereaux

  “Dondé se Señorita Rogers, Maggie?”

  “Se ha verificado de la habitacion.”

  Shit.

  He didn’t bother with the elevator. He took the stairs three at a time down to the lobby. Maybe she was in the restaurant having a late breakfast. Probably calling him right now. He dug out his cell phone. Fuck, no new messages.

  Jon ran to the reception desk and asked, “Dondé se Rogers, Maggie?”

  “Dejo en el autobús se dirigio a el aeropuerto de Palma.”

  Why had she done that? He had to catch up with her before she got on that plane. He would tell her how he felt and that his mother didn’t factor into any of this.

  He sprinted to the parking lot, jumped into the car and headed to Palma. Hopefully, he could get to the airport before Maggie went through to the departure lounge.

  * * * *

  Maggie wiped her brow. It was stifling hot—again—and the line was long. Everyone had to be heading back to London after their late summer vacation. She finally got to the check-in desk and handed over her passport and ticket.

  “The flight is on time. Gate seven,” the clerk said.

  Free of her luggage, Maggie tossed her carry-on bag over her shoulder and headed towards the security line.

  This one seemed even longer than the check-in. She put down her bag and wiped her brow, again wondering if by now Jon had realised that she wasn’t going to call him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t go to the hotel and—

  “Maggie.”

  She looked over her left shoulder. It was Jon.

  Sweaty, he stood on the other side of the railing from the line. “Maggie, would you please just step out here so we can talk.”

  “You can see the line’s long. I’ll miss my flight to London.”

  “I think we should discuss what’s been happening between us this last week before you head back to America.”

  People were beginning to stop their own conversations and instead look first at her and then at Jon, obviously waiting to see what was going to happen, who was going to speak next and if Maggie would actually do as Jon asked. Maggie sensed Jon wouldn’t give up and that it would get more embarrassing if she didn’t go and chat with him.

  “Okay, but just five minutes.” Maggie excused herself as she pushed through the line to get outside the sectioned-off security area.

  “Why didn’t you let me drive you here?”

  “Please don’t make this harder than it has to be, okay?”

  He hadn’t shaved, the cleft in his chin was pronounced, his hair tousled.

  Let me try and forget him, please.

  “There’s nothing hard about it. My mother has nothing to do with us.”

  “It would never work out between us. Like I told you, one day you’ll wake up and realise I’m not your age and that you really want a family.”

  He ran his hand down her face. She wished he hadn’t.

  “That’s the very reason it will work. All the women my age want marriage and babies. You don’t because you’ve already done all that. That’s one of the reasons I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  “You think you have but you’ll forget me as soon as I go back home. That’s what vacation romances are all about.” She turned to leave.

  Jon grabbed her arm. “I think you love me, too.”

  She didn’t answer him. She didn’t want to say yes, and she wouldn’t lie by saying no.

  Instead, she turned and walked away. Jon didn’t stop her this time. God help her, she’d hurt him by not giving him a response.

  She set her bags onto the conveyor belt and managed to walk through the metal detector before sobbing. When she glanced back, Jon had gone.

  * * * *

  Jon poured himself yet another glass of wine. His head was already pounding but he wanted to forget about what had happened during the last twenty-four hours. He pushed his head back so it rested on the couch, hoping that would help clear it and stop the pain.

  He knew he shouldn’t but right now he hated his mother so much for what she’d done to Maggie. He’d swung by the apartments close to the clinic and signed a lease agreement on his way back from the airport. Lucky for him, they had one empty that someone had vacated earlier that month. He could move in the following day. The sooner the better.

  Hopefully Maggie would come to her senses and admit how she felt about him. He leant forward to reach for the bottle of wine, forgoing a glass this time around. He put it to his lips and swallowed. He missed her so much already. Her sudden departure had left a void in his heart and soul. He’d thought about her every minute of the day. He glanced at the clock on the wall. If he’d calculated the time difference thing correctly Maggie was probably close to arriving back home any time now.

  * * * *

  Maggie felt like she’d been travelling for days. She’d thought the journey to Mallorca had been rough, but the one coming home had been brutal. The four-hour stopover in London had turned into six because the plane had some sort of engine trouble. When they’d finally been allowed to board, it had been crowded, babies had screamed non-stop and she’d been seated next to an obese man who’d taken up half of her seat as well as his own. The short flight to Portland hadn’t been so bad but now, as she headed into baggage claim, it was already nine forty-five p.m., the middle of the night in Mallorca, and she was just about ready to drop to the floor.

  Annie was standing by the luggage carousel. Maggie waved to her daughter and ran to her, hoping for a hug because she missed Jon so badly. However, she didn’t want her daughter to see her cry and start asking questions.

  “Hello, Mom, we’ve missed you.” Annie put her arm through Maggie’s.

  “I’ve missed you too, honey.”

  “Your face, what happened?” she asked.

  Maggie had forgotten about the cut on her cheek, still covered by the Band-Aid. She had to think quickly because the last thing she wanted was Annie to know Julie had hit her. “A bag fell out of the overheard compartment and the zipper nicked my cheek.” God, how she hated lying to her children.

  “So what brings you back so early?” Annie asked.

  “Julie wasn’t feeling good and I didn’t want to impose.”

  “Oh, Mom, I’m sorry. You went all that way and waited so long to visit her. Maybe you can go again next year.”

  Shit, she was digging herself into a deeper hole here. However, she didn’t want to get on to the topic of her vacation romance. Her daughters might think poorly of her if she told them that Julie’s son was involved in this whole mess.

  “So how are your sisters and Emily?”

  “They’re great. I think Sarah has a new boyfriend, although she’s being coy whenever we ask her. I told her we don’t keep secrets in the Rogers family.”

  Did they know? Had Julie called them and told her daughters about her and Jon? Was she probing Maggie for some answers or even the truth about her sudden arrival back home?

  The buzzer sounded on the carousel. It made its first turn and suitcases started sliding down the chute. Luckily, Maggie’s bags were together, the third and fourth pieces of luggage to make an appearance.

  “Here, let me take one for you.” Annie reached for one of the bags and pulled it along on its wheels.

  They walked outside and Maggie noted how much colder it was compared to Mallorca. Far less humid too.

  “So, in the short time you were there, did you hook up with any Spanish hunks?”

  “No, no Spanish guys.” Well, that was the truth. Jon was an American by birth.

  “You have a good tan.”

  “I sat out in the sun a lot.”

  “You think you’ll go back there again?”

  Maggie thought of Jon. Yeah, she’d love to go back there. Right now, in fact, because her heart ached for him. She missed feeling his arms around her, his lips on hers… “It seemed like a long journey, so I don’t think it will be any time soon.”

  “Maybe I can tag along when you do.”

 
How was she ever going to tell her children what had happened?

  Annie opened the car door and Maggie slipped into the passenger seat, happy to be heading home on the final leg of her journey. “Maybe I’ll have better luck finding a Spanish hunk than you.” Annie put the bags in the trunk.

  Chapter Nine

  Jon slipped his patient’s file into the organiser at the clinic’s front office and looked at his watch. He’d worked a double shift because he couldn’t stand being on his own in his new home. He didn’t miss his old apartment at his mom’s house, but Maggie’s absence had torn a hole in his life. Her smile, her laughter, the joy of wrapping his arms around her and kissing her right before he went to sleep. The warmth of her body beside him if he woke in the middle of the night. The pleasure of seeing her head on the pillow beside him every morning. They’d only been together a week but it already felt like forever.

  He grabbed his cell phone. He’d found Maggie’s home phone number in his mother’s address book in the kitchen drawer and written it down without her knowing. Jon glanced at the piece of paper he’d jotted it down on and dialled. He’d rehearsed what he was going to say and how he was going to tell Maggie what he needed her to hear.

  “Sorry I missed your call…”A recorded message. He closed his eyes and listened to her voice. She’d been gone only two days, but he missed hearing it and the certain way she pronounced some words. “…but if you leave your name, number and a short message I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” Beep.

  “Maggie, it’s Jon. First of all I hope you got home okay. I’m sure you were tired…” He was rambling and felt like an idiot. “I’d like us to talk. I’ve moved into my own place so I’ll give you my new home phone number and also my cell phone. I’m not sure if I ever gave that to you.” He recited both numbers and then was tongue-tied about how to end the message. “Please call me and… I meant it when I said I love you.”

  * * * *

  She still had jet leg. Maggie rubbed her eyes, realising she’d smudged mascara onto her cheeks. She yawned, then reached for the latte she’d picked up from the coffee shop on her way back to her office. The sketches in front of her were a blur but she battled on, because tomorrow morning she had an eight o’clock meeting with new clients and needed something tangible to show them. Maybe she’d do better taking her work home and having a nap. She’d wake up refreshed, brainstorm and do some sketches while she listened to music. She didn’t know why, but while she was packing up her stuff she wondered what Jon was doing at this very moment. Sleeping, you idiot, it’s the middle of the night in Mallorca.

  * * * *

  Jon stared up at the ceiling. He was dead on his feet. As he was leaving the clinic, they’d had a rush of last minute patients, all suffering from the bug that was going around, and he’d stayed to help. He hadn’t arrived home until almost nine at night. He’d been too tired even to eat so he’d gone straight to bed hoping he’d sleep through the night.

  He glanced at his alarm clock. Two thirty-five a.m. Maggie would be home and hopefully by now she would have listened to his voicemail message. What if she didn’t return his call? What then? Should he call her again? He rubbed the empty space next to him. He wanted her with him so he could kiss her, tell her he loved her and, yes, make love to her.

  He turned on to his side, remembering what it was like to kiss her, spread her legs, slide slowly into her, hear her moan, say his name as she climaxed. Jon flipped on to his back again. His shorts were almost strangling his balls as his cock grew harder by the second. He did his best to think about something other than Maggie but it was tough. The clinic, the patients…Maggie.

  Jon lifted his butt and dragged his shorts down his legs, freeing his cock and balls from the tightness and searing heat. He turned, burying his face in the pillow, remembering how he’d felt, that first night when she had taken him inside her mouth and done her magic on his body. He began stroking himself while imagining Maggie’s lips around him. He closed his eyes, moving his hand faster until he cried her name into the pillow and ejaculated into his hand. This was sheer torture.

  * * * *

  It was seven thirty-five p.m. by the time Maggie got home that evening. She opened the door, immediately noticing the red light on her answering machine blinking in the darkness. Her clients always used her business line so it had probably been left by friends or one of the girls. Maggie flipped on the light, walked over to the machine and pressed play.

  “You have two new messages, first message…”

  “Hi, Mom. Nick and I are planning a date night tomorrow and, as you haven’t officially done any babysitting like Emily’s other grandma, we were wondering if you’d like to make your debut? Give me a call when you can.”

  Maggie smiled as she slipped off her coat. She’d look forward to spending some time alone with her granddaughter and, yes, some spoiling was in order too.

  “Second message…”

  “Maggie…”

  She stopped the machine, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush when she first heard his voice, heard him say her name.

  She sat and closed her eyes, wondering if she should just erase whatever message he’d left for her.

  Curiosity got the better of her. She pressed the play button again while leaning back on the couch. Maggie drifted off into a dreamlike world as she listened to Jon.

  He wanted her to call him.

  Should she?

  She played the message again, this time jotting down the numbers he’d given her. She stared at them. It would be the middle of the night there so she couldn’t call him. At least the time difference would give her a chance to think about whether or not she was actually going to do it.

  Her stomach rumbled, but she felt too tired to eat. A warm bath and an early night were what she needed. She called Katie while she ran her bath and held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she poured bubble bath into the tub.

  “Hi, sweetie. I got your message and yes, I’d love to babysit.”

  “I’ll bring her by about six if that’s okay.”

  “Fine, but are you sure you don’t want me to come to your place?”

  “We’ve having a date at our house, if you know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I think I do, but just make sure I don’t become a grandma again too soon. The first time was a shock to my system.”

  “You’re the sexiest looking grandma out there.”

  Maggie remembered Jon telling her the same thing.

  “Mom, are you still there?”

  “Yeah, still a bit jet lagged, that’s all. I thought I’d have an early night.”

  “Okay, sweet dreams, love you.”

  “Love you too and give Emily a kiss for me.” Maggie hit the end button and put down the phone.

  She turned off the taps, stripped and eased into the warm bubbles. So good, so warm. Almost like the days she’d lain in the sun in Mallorca.

  Maggie remembered how Jon’s hands had felt the first time he’d put sunblock on her. He’d lingered over her breasts, teased her nipples with his pinkie. She now followed the same path, allowing her hand to travel down her belly under the water.

  Jon and their nights of passion were all she could think about as she slid two of her fingers over her clit. She rested her head back, closed her eyes and imagined Jon’s mouth going to work on her.

  A powerful climax, breathtaking and sudden, ripped through her body. Her feet slipped and her head slid under the water. She sat up, spitting out soapy water.

  Maggie leaned over the side of the tub, trying to get her breath back. Not knowing whether to return Jon’s call or not was sheer torture.

  * * * *

  Shit, he’d missed Maggie’s call. Clinic rules stated that doctors had to turn off their cell phones while they were attending patients. Today they’d had another rush of people heading into the clinic with the same flu-like bug and he’d worked all through lunch without even a coffee break.

  He pressed in his voi
cemail code and listened.

  “Jon, I got your message. I hope you’ve made things up with your mother. I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret later. I hope you’ve settled into your new place and, well, I’ll try and call you some other time. Take care.”

  He played it again, not because he’d missed anything she’d said but because he wanted to hear her voice. He looked at his watch. He could call her now but he had to be back on duty in five minutes and he didn’t want to rush their conversation. He’d wait till she got home and, even if it was the middle of the night his time, he’d wait up till he got to speak with her in person.

  * * * *

  Maggie was drained by the time she arrived home that night. What she really needed was another early night, but in less than fifteen minutes Katie would be dropping Emily off at the house. She kicked off her shoes and headed into the bedroom to change into her sweatpants and top. At least they made her feel more comfortable and relaxed. The week away from business attire had spoiled her.

  She twisted up her hair and secured it with an oversized clip just as the doorbell rang. She answered to see Katie holding the most adorable baby in the world.

  “See? There’s Grandma,” Katie said.

  “Hi, sweetie.” Maggie reached for Emily.

  Katie came inside and set the diaper bag onto the nearest chair. “I’ve put in a change of clothing just in case she spits up. There’s also a bottle of formula. Now, when she—“

  “Katie, just go and have a fun evening with your husband. I do have some experience with babies, you know.”

  Katie kissed Maggie on the cheek. “I keep forgetting you’re the expert. I’ll be back about ten for her if that’s okay.”

  “She could stay overnight with me. I don’t have a crib but Grandma’s bed is warm and soft.”

  Katie shook her head. “I think we’d miss our baby girl too much for her to be gone for so long. Maybe next time.”

  As Katie left, Maggie stood at the front door and lifted Emily’s hand, helping her wave as Katie drove away.

  “Okay, let’s see what’s on TV so we can settle down for the night.” She sat on the couch and cuddled Emily on her lap as she flicked through the channels. Finally settling on a movie, Maggie rubbed Emily’s back as she gurgled and stuck her fist into her mouth.