by Marie Force
“You’re staring,” she said after a long, breathless moment.
“You’re pretty. Very, very pretty.”
“I wish you’d stop saying that stuff.”
“Why?”
“It makes me uncomfortable.”
“Because you don’t believe it?”
“Because I’m afraid to believe it.”
He framed her face with his hands, running his thumbs gently over her face.
Her lips formed the surprised O he was coming to love.
“I would never hurt you.”
“I’m sure you’d like to believe that.”
“Hasn’t anyone ever been kind to you, Maddie?”
She thought about that. “My grandmother, but she died when I was seven.”
He moved closer, his lips hovering just above hers. “You make me want to do everything for you. Do you know why?”
She shook her head but didn’t look away.
“Because you’d never ask me to.”
“And others do?”
“Always.”
“Even the ones you’ve loved?”
“I’ve never loved any of them.”
Her expressive eyes widened with surprise. “None of them?”
He liked shocking her. “It hasn’t been something I’ve ever had or needed.” Until now, he wanted to say, but didn’t dare. “You seem to be getting around a little better.”
“The water hurt, but it loosened things up.”
“Let’s get you some new bandages.”
“I just, ah, need to get dressed. First.”
Mac heard her but couldn’t bring himself to look away or leave the room.
“Mac.”
“Oh. Right. I’ll wait for you out there.”
“Thank you.”
Mac went out to the living room and dropped to the sofa, his hormones working on overdrive. He’d never reacted to a woman quite like this. Figured it had to be one who wanted nothing to do with him. Releasing a short bark of laughter, he marveled at the irony. He’d finally, finally found one who sparked more than just his libido and she couldn’t care less about him.
Well, he’d just have to change her mind. She wouldn’t be easily swayed, but he couldn’t let her slip through his fingers without finding out what they could possibly have together.
Maddie eased her way into a tight camisole that somewhat contained her breasts and put an extra large T-shirt over it. She’d learned to play down her considerable assets. Her thoughts drifted to the man waiting in the other room. His steely blue eyes made her itchy for something she’d never wanted before. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. The feelings he generated in her were bigger and more dangerous than any she’d ever known. He scared the life out of her. If only she could convince him to leave her alone.
She ventured into the living room where he sat with his head back and his eyes closed. Maddie studied his strong jaw, the smooth skin on his neck, the broad shoulders, the muscular chest, the bulge of his sex. Shocked by her own curiosity, she quickly glanced at the hair falling into his eyes, and those perfect, kissable lips . . . What a package. She sighed, hoping for the fortitude she’d need to convince him to go.
“See something you like?”
She jumped, startled by the rumble of his voice. “Of course not.”
“Ouch. The hits to my ego just keep on coming.” He stood up to his full six-foot-two- or three-inch height.
Next to him, she felt tiny. “If you can’t take the hits, there’s the door.”
His eyes hardened with displeasure. “Let’s take care of those cuts.”
Now that he’d made her feel not just tiny but small, Maddie lowered herself to the sofa. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked, but he didn’t look at her.
“For being nasty.”
He shrugged. “I can take it.”
“But you don’t deserve it. Not after everything you’ve done today.”
He unrolled the gauze and placed it on the coffee table next to the ointment. “I’m being made to pay for every guy who’s done you wrong in the past. I get it.” Propping her injured leg on his knee, he looked up at her. “Are you ready for this?”
Maddie bit her lip and nodded. Even though he was gentle, she cried out the second the ointment touched her ravaged skin. “Oh, God,” she gasped. “That hurts!”
He tightened his hold on her leg. “I know, honey. Just hang in there for another minute.”
By the time he finished dressing her knee, she was sweaty, nauseated and on the verge of tears.
Mac reached for her.
She rested her head on his shoulder and focused on his now-familiar scent.
He smoothed his hand over her hair, whispering soft words of comfort. “Better?” he asked several minutes later.
She nodded but didn’t raise her head off his shoulder.
“Ready to do the elbow?”
“No,” she whispered into his neck as she clutched his shirt with her good hand.
A tremble rippled through his big frame. “Maddie,” he said in a raspy voice. “Honey, you’re making me crazy. I’m only human.”
Had she ever made a man crazy before? Not that she could recall. She liked the feeling of power that came over her. As if it had a mind of its own, her hand traveled from his chest to curve around his neck. Turning her face ever so slightly, she found his mouth warm and willing.
When his big hands cupped her face and his tongue slid between her lips, her brain shut down and all the reasons this shouldn’t be happening ceased to matter.
Mac’s cell phone interrupted the carnal kiss.
Maddie pulled back from him.
He groaned and tightened his hold on her. “Let it ring.”
“It might be important.”
“Trust me, it isn’t.” He tried to kiss her again. “This is important.”
She held him off. “You need to get it.”
Still groaning, he crawled over to his backpack to retrieve the phone. “What?”
“Mac? What kind of way is that to answer the phone?”
“I’m busy, Mom.” He glanced at Maddie, who quickly looked away. Fabulous. One step forward, two steps back. “What do you need?”
“It’s all over town that you’re answering her door in a towel and buying her lobster.”
“So what?”
“Why should you care? You don’t live here.”
“Is there a purpose to this call, Mother?”
“I’d like to know when you’ll be home—here.”
He ventured another glance at Maddie, who was doing her best not to look at him. “I’m bringing Maddie and her son Thomas to dinner tomorrow.”
“What?” his mother and Maddie said in stereo.
“Six thirty good for you? I have to work, so I need time to get back here to shower and pick them up.”
His mother said nothing for so long he thought she’d hung up. No such luck. “Six thirty is fine,” she said stiffly.
“We’ll see you then. Make your famous pot roast, will you? I miss that.”
“Anything else?”
“Well, you know I love your chocolate cake.”
“You and I are going to have a very long talk, young man. Do you hear me?”
“Are you hearing all that static on the line? Gotta go. See you tomorrow.” Chuckling, Mac ended the call, imagining the scene at his parents’ house. He felt a little sorry for his father.
“There’s no way I’m going to dinner there.”
“It’ll be great. They’ll go nuts over Thomas.”
“You can’t ask this of me, Mac. I clean that house.”
“So you can’t eat there?”
“You have no clue how things work around here.”
“I don’t care and neither should you. Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”
She gave him an arch look. “You were about to put medicine on my elbow.”
“That’s not
how I remember it.”
With a gentle push to his chest, she turned her injured arm so he could have access.
“If you want to be that way about it . . .”
“I do.”
Mac applied ointment and bandages to her elbow and hand.
“You can’t come in here and upend my whole life and then just walk away,” she said after a long period of quiet while he dressed her wounds.
Her soft words and the bravery behind them touched him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re going back to Miami.”
“Not for a while.”
“Don’t you have a business to run?”
“I’m taking some time off.”
“How much time?”
“A month or two.”
“That’s an awfully long vacation.”
He looked up at her. “Can you keep a big secret? One that would freak out my mother?”
“You knocked up some floozy in Florida, and now she’s after the family fortune?”
“Very funny. You’re just a regular comedienne, aren’t you?”
Her unexpected giggle took his breath away. “You should do that more often.”
“What? Make fun of you?”
“Laugh. It sounds good coming from you. So do you want to hear my secret?”
Maddie settled back into the sofa, her face still pale from the pain of her injuries. “Yes, I want to hear your dirty secret.”
“I never said it was dirty.” Mac sat next to her and brought her feet to rest in his lap. “I had an anxiety attack last week. It scared the hell out of me. I thought I was having a heart attack.”
Concern radiated from her. “What brought that on?”
“Too much stress, not enough sleep, skipping meals.”
“So you’re on a forced vacation?”
“I guess you could say that, but I also wanted to see my dad and find out if he really plans to sell McCarthy’s.”
“You’ve heard about that, huh?”
“Yeah. It makes me so sad to think of that place belonging to a stranger.”
“Well, your dad can’t work forever.”
“I know.” Mac began to massage her feet. Talking to her was almost as much fun as kissing her, and it seemed that he couldn’t be near her and not want to touch her. “You have the softest skin.”
She tried to remove her feet from his lap, but he didn’t let go. “I can’t do this, Mac. I don’t take these kinds of risks. They don’t work out well for me.”
“Will you give me a chance? That’s all I’m asking for.”
“I have to consider Thomas.”
“I know you’re a package deal.”
“I can’t think with you sucking up all the space around here.”
He flashed her a smug smile.
“I knew that would go straight to your head,” she muttered.
“I have to take the compliments where I can get them. You’re rather stingy that way.” He watched her stifle a yawn. “Let’s get you into bed.” After helping her to the chair across the room, he unfolded her bed and turned down the covers. “Do you want me to sleep on the porch?”
Maddie thought about that. “It’s already all over town that you’re answering my door in a towel and buying me lobster, so I guess the damage is done.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have.”
“Yes, you do.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her sauciness as he tucked her in.
“Use the sofa cushions to make a bed on the floor.” She directed him to a closet in the hallway for a pillow, and after checking on Thomas one last time, Mac settled into his sleeping bag on the floor. A balmy harbor breeze rippled through the window sheers, and the full moon cast a glow upon the room.
“How’s the pain?”
“Okay.”
“Want some more pain pills?”
“No, thanks.”
“What time do I have to be at work tomorrow?”
“Nine thirty.”
“Maybe you should tell me what I’m going to do once I get there—if you’re not too tired.”
“The first thing you have to do is report to housekeeping in the basement and punch in.”
Mac listened to her talk about crazy Sundays and how to stock the cart with towels, clean sheets, toiletries, toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Lulled by her soft voice, he had to force himself to pay attention.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Absolutely. No DNA. Check.”
“I said more than that.”
“But DNA is the deal-breaker with Ethel.”
“She freaks out if she finds any sign of the previous guest—and I mean any sign.”
Mac chuckled. “Does she go through the rooms with a black light after you clean?”
“You’re better off leaving nothing to chance.”
“How much DNA are we talking about?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Ewww, gross.”
“Precisely.”
“I’m feeling another anxiety attack coming on.”
Her sharp intake of breath made him regret the joke. “Really?”
“I’m fine, but I appreciate your concern.”
Maddie threw a sofa pillow that hit him square in the face.
“Oof,” Mac said, laughing. “Good shot.”
“Don’t joke about that. You scared me.”
“Whoa! I think she might be starting to care about me.”
“Nah, I just don’t need the scandal of you kicking it in my house.”
“That hurts, Maddie.”
“You’ll survive.”
“Wanna make out?”
“No!”
Mac smiled, imagining the look on her face. “Yes, you do.”
“I’m going to sleep now.”
“Talk to me some more.”
“About what?”
“Anything.”
“My life is kind of boring.”
“Was it just you and Tiffany?”
“And my mom.”
“Where was your dad?”
She paused for a long time. “He went to the mainland one day and never came back.”
Mac winced. “You’ve never seen him again?”
“No. He sent my mother a letter a couple of weeks later saying he couldn’t live on an island anymore.”
Mac could understand that but kept the thought to himself.
“That was the last we ever heard from him.”
“How old were you?”
“Five. Tiff was three. She doesn’t remember him at all.”
“But you do.”
“Vividly. He used to toss me over his head, and I’d scream and laugh.”
“You must’ve missed him terribly.”
“We could see the ferry landing from our apartment over the Galley.” She referred to a restaurant in town. “For weeks, I watched every person come off every boat. I really thought he’d change his mind.”
Mac’s heart broke for her. Life could be so unfair. He also had a better idea now of what an uphill climb he faced in getting her to trust him. “I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
Mac didn’t know if it was wise to pursue it, but he had so many questions. “It must’ve been hard on your mom all by herself.”
“We were always struggling. She never has been able to handle money, which is how she finally managed to land in jail.” Maddie released a nervous-sounding laugh. “Anyway, you don’t want to hear about my soap opera life.”
“I want to hear it all.”
“Even how the other kids tormented me from sixth grade on because I was the first one to develop?”
“If you want to tell me.”
Mac waited, hoping she would trust him with her deepest secrets. Then, finally, she began to talk.
Chapter 6
“I started getting chest pains when I was ten. I was to
o afraid to tell anyone because I thought I might be dying or something. I was a B cup by eleven, and the kids at school called me Chesty Chester. My mother bought me a bikini the summer between sixth and seventh grade. That was the first time I became aware of boys and grown men checking out my chest and figure. That was also when my big T-shirt phase started.” She paused and released another nervous-sounding laugh. “Jeez, what is it about you? I never talk about this stuff.”
“You don’t have to now if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t mind. It’s all ancient history anyway.”
But it wasn’t. Mac doubted she could hear the hurt that resonated even as she attempted flippancy.
“In middle school, the boys started snapping my bra in the lunch line. It became a contest to see who could get to me the most times in a day. I started carrying my books around in a heavy backpack so they couldn’t get to my bra.”
“Doesn’t that count as assault or something?”
“Reporting them would’ve only made things worse for me.”
“That’s so wrong.”
“I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but I got my period in eighth grade, and within six months I was a D. Suddenly, every boy in school wanted to date Maddie Chester and her big boobs.”
“Did you go out with any of them?”
“There was this one boy. . . John.” Her voice went soft, her tone wistful. “He was really nice to me. For months he walked me home and carried my backpack. He wouldn’t let the other boys snap my bra. I thought he was different.”
Mac’s stomach began to hurt. He so didn’t want to hear this. With every tale she related, the mountain before him seemed to get a little steeper and the potential fall that much more sheer. “But he wasn’t?”
“Turns out all that time he was pretending to be my friend, he was really hoping to get his hands on my breasts. The first time I let him kiss me, he went right for second base. He was quick, and before I could even react, he had his hands under my bra, mauling me. I’m pretty sure he . . . you know . . . in his pants.”
Mac uttered an expletive under his breath. If that guy walked into the room right then, Mac would’ve beat the hell out of him.
“He was the first to kiss and tell. It was all over school the next day that he’d scored the first feel of Maddie Chester’s famous boobs. After that, I faked sick for a week so I wouldn’t have to face them.”
