by Lucy Leroux
Jason withdrew and stroked back in. The pain receded into the background as a wave of pleasure rolled through her core. It tightened and pulled around him involuntarily.
Maggie was suddenly angry. Why hadn’t anyone told her it could be this way? What the hell had she been waiting for all this time?
Desperate for more contact, she dug her nails into his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. She breathed deeply, drawing his scent into her lungs in an effort to wrap herself up in him. Him. Jason. You were waiting for him, she reminded herself.
Any sense of pride and self-composure she might have possessed was lost—dust in a blaze of hormones and long-denied sexual gratification. She clung to him and sobbed. “More. Please God, more,” she begged.
Jason’s answering laugh sounded desperate, like he was in pain as well. He didn’t answer—didn’t waste a breath on words. Instead, his grip on her ass tightened and he drove harder, thrusting faster and faster. Pinned, she held on blindly, her focus—all sensation—trained on his hard, velvety staff as it slipped in and out, rocking her against the door with each thrust.
Like the work of some mad alchemist, the friction and tug of him transmuted into ecstasy. She contracted and fluttered around him, squeezing and clutching him with all her strength. Jason growled, one hand moving behind her head to protect her before he sank deep, slamming her into the door and grinding against her. His cock swelled and jerked, his hot seed jetting and flooding her with warmth.
Panting, Jason adjusted his grip, letting them both slide down the door until they collapsed on the floor.
He caught his breath and raised head to kiss her softly. “Are you all right? You are so small. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
He was still inside her, soft now. She adjusted her legs, keeping them wrapped around him. “I’m good—incredible actually. But I don’t think I can move.”
Her entire body felt weak. Now she knew what people meant by completely spent. It was doubtful she could raise her arms higher than her head.
Jason moved slightly, kissing her forehead as he left her body. “That’s not going to be a problem,” he promised before picking her up and carrying her to his bedroom.
Chapter 5
Maggie cursed Jason’s beautiful body as she ran down the narrow stairs that led to the Caislean’s employee entrance in the basement.
She had been determined to leave his place before dawn. If she managed to reach the hotel early enough, she could rush to her rooms before her brothers came around to pick her up for brunch.
It was a family tradition from back in the days of her parent’s bed and breakfast. They always ate brunch in the main dining room every Sunday afternoon. She had expected the tradition to die when her parents did, but Liam made sure it didn’t. No matter how busy or bad things got in those difficult years after their deaths, Liam made sure they always reserved that time for each other—even if brunch was restricted to juice and cereal because they couldn’t afford more at the time.
How many times had she heard, ‘Omelets and waffles are for the guests’?
These days, brunch was an extravagant affair, courtesy of the hotel’s French chef. More often than not, it was just her and Peyton because her brothers traveled so much for work. But if they were in town, brunch as a family—plus Peyton—was a given.
By the time she managed to drag herself from Jason’s warm bed, it was late afternoon and brunch was long over. Peyton had promised to cover for her, but her best friend had never been able to lie to Liam. Even as a child, Peyton had sung like a bird whenever her older brother had questioned them about their little childhood transgressions. It was her only flaw.
Jason hadn’t understood why Maggie needed to get back to the hotel. After making love two more times that morning, he had pulled out all the stops to convince her to stay with him. His arsenal was impressive—there was that delectable six-pack and those lickable biceps…
Damn, she was too warm now.
I have to tell him I live here, she thought, furtively ducking inside the service elevator and taking it to the main lobby. At this hour, she should be all right. The staff took staggered lunch breaks, but the majority should have finished at least half an hour ago. If she hurried, there was a better-than-decent chance at getting to the penthouse elevators unimpeded. If anyone did see her, they would hopefully believe she’d been out running errands and wouldn’t notice she was wearing the same outfit from the night before…
Maggie breathed a huge sigh of relief when she unlocked the door to her suite without running into anyone.
“Where have you been?”
She screamed and dropped her purse on the floor.
“For fuck’s sake, Liam. Don’t sneak up on me like that!” She bent to pick up her purse. “You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
“Who is sneaking?” He threw up his hands before pointing at her. “And don’t swear. It’s not ladylike.”
Despite the fact it was Sunday, Liam was dressed in a navy-blue suit and tie. Behind him, Patrick was sitting on her plush silk damask couch. Unlike Liam, Trick was more casually dressed in slacks and button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up—and he was smirking.
“You may bite my lady butt,” she said, regressing a few years and rolling her eyes at their older brother.
Trick snorted. “But you have someone for that now…or am I wrong? Are we not witnessing your very first walk of shame?”
Maggie drew herself up to her full height. It was, unfortunately, half a foot shorter than either of her brothers. “I have nothing to be ashamed about. I am a grown woman who spent the night with her significant other—the way grown-ups sometimes do. If either of you has a problem with that you can…you can…”
She trailed off, trying to think of a threat dire enough for her brothers to take seriously.
Liam put his head on his hands like he was getting a migraine. “No, this isn’t happening. I’m not ready.”
Trick threw him a sympathetic glance, but he was more philosophical. “Liam, she’s over twenty-one. She’s overdue for a real relationship—and it could be worse. It could have been one of the skeevy Europeans who are always hitting on her when they stay here. Or worse, that Neanderthal Russian Mikhael. This Jason guy is an FBI agent.”
Maggie’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know that?” She narrowed her eyes at Liam. “You made Peyton spill, didn’t you?
“No, so you can relax. I did try, but your BFF’s lips were sealed on this matter.’’ Liam looked annoyed that his usual powers of persuasion had failed. “Calen is the one who told me about your new boyfriend’s job.”
“Calen did?” Who told him?
“What did you expect with the man and his partner flashing their badges at Siren? Calen’s security can tell a fake one from a real one,” Liam added with a growl.
Maggie sighed and threw herself on the couch next to Trick. “There’s no need for the third degree. Jason is a good guy,” she said before sitting up straighter. “No, I take it back. Jason is a good man. He’s had two serious girlfriends and is tired of dating around. Plus, he calls his mom every Monday. Earlier this year, he refinanced her house when she almost lost it. He makes every other payment to help her out, which is why his own apartment is so tiny. And you know what they say about men and the way they treat their mothers…”
Liam wasn’t impressed. He frowned. “And does this good man know how much you are worth yet?”
She opened her mouth to give him a snappy answer, but then she remembered and hesitated.
“I knew it.”
Liam’s dour expression was becoming way too familiar. Maggie couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled.
“Stop making that face or it will stick that way. I’m going to take a shower,” she said, standing up and heading to her bathroom before they noticed the mark on her neck. Knowing Liam, he’d assumed Jason had done it. “And our money won’t be an issue. Not to Jason.”
Her older brother cou
ldn’t resist having the last word. “I hope you’re right. We don’t need a repeat of the Maleek incident.”
Chapter 6
Jason walked into his office wearing his now-habitual grin. There was one plastered on his face most days now, thanks to Maggie. They had been dating for almost two months—not that he was counting anymore. He’d decided after week one that she was the girl he was going to marry.
He settled in at his desk with a cup of coffee, tackling the long list of emails that had accumulated over the weekend. Ethan walked in a bit later, looking haggard.
“Let me guess…she was a stewardess?” Jason didn’t bother to duck the crumpled notepaper that came flying at his head. He started on the next email. “Okay then, a pharmaceutical rep? They only let the hottest of the hot do that these days, right?”
“That’s not it.”
“So what does she do?” Jason asked distractedly.
No matter what he did, his inbox never got any smaller. They never mention how much paperwork there is during recruitment. He raised his head to find Ethan staring at him.
“I wasn’t with a woman last night. I met up with a local detective. Do you remember the background check we ran on the younger McLachlan?”
“Yeah, we didn’t find anything concrete. Calen McLachlan has never been convicted of anything. He’s never even been a person of interest.”
“I know, but our search triggered one of the local’s alert. There’s this detective with BPD, name of Dawson. It seems he’s been running surveillance on Calen McLachlan for months now.”
Fuck. Why did his love life always have to get so complicated?
“Why didn’t it come up in our search?” he asked.
“It’s off the books. Dawson used to be part of the joint organized crime task force back in the day, but those guys stopped running Calen McLachlan a while ago. There was officially no reason to keep it up. Dawson was against ending the investigation, but the BPD brass shut him down.”
“Then what the hell kind of evidence does this guy have to twist your panties in a bunch?”
His partner glared at him, but Jason just waved at him to get on with it.
“Well, the way Dawson puts it, McLachlan keeps a rabid team of lawyers on retainer and BPD resources are tight. Dawson claims the higher-ups don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting sued, so they’ve nixed getting a team inside Siren every time he’s requested one. Same for all of McLachlan’s other businesses.”
Jason frowned. “Sounds like Dawson has a fat lot of nothing.”
“Could be,” Ethan acknowledged. “But I think you need to look at all the photos he has.”
“Why?”
His partner leaned in confidentially. “Because your girl is all over them.”
Jason held up a hand. “I already know they know each other.” And possibly dated.
“Shit, I didn’t want to be the one to say it, but you need to talk to this guy. Look at his surveillance, listen to his story, and then make your own decision. If Maggie is the angel you think she is, the guy’s spiel won’t hold water. But if there’s something there, you need to know now. Before you get any deeper.” Ethan leaned back and squinted at him. “Although I suspect it’s already too late, isn’t it? You’re already in love with her.”
Jason didn’t bother answering.
Chapter 7
Maggie batted the hand away and rolled over in bed. “Five more minutes,” she muttered.
She felt someone sitting on the side of the mattress, making her body shift toward the weight. Grunting, she grabbed the pillow and put it over her head. “What time is it?” she asked, her voice muffled.
“Seven.”
Pushing the pillow out of the way, she squinted at Jason. “Why in God’s name are you waking me at seven AM on a weekend?”
She though he winced. It was hard to tell with the way her eyes were refusing to focus. “I’m sorry, but I have to go to work.”
Maggie rolled closer with effort. She had never been a morning person.
“On Sunday?” She guessed that meant brunch was out.
Maggie had finally decided to take Jason to the Caislean to introduce him to her brothers. She was going to casually mention that they wanted to meet him, and if he agreed to go today, she would spill her guts about their role at the hotel.
Technically, only Trick wanted Jason to come for brunch. Liam didn’t want to meet him at all. Every time Trick brought it up, their oldest brother would shake his head and start muttering that he “wasn’t ready”.
But she was ready. Keeping the full truth of who she was had started to feel dishonest. Technically, she hadn’t lied to Jason. She had told him her name and where she worked. It was just that he hadn’t put two and two together and connected her to the Tylers who owned the hotel—if he knew who that was. Aside from the Hiltons and the Marriots, how many people could actually name a hotel owner? Especially when they didn’t plaster their name on the side of the building?
How did one tell a boyfriend they made more in a year than he would ever earn in a lifetime?
To confuse matters more, Jason had been acting distant the last few days. He’d been so distracted at the movies last night that he was unable to repeat a single plot point afterward. Together with Peyton, she had dissected everything he’d said to her, trying to figure out if he was withdrawing because he wanted to end things.
However, Jason continued to say and do all the right things, and he’d certainly been eager for her to spend the night.
“I’m not going to the office,” he answered after a slight hesitation. “I’m meeting up with a local detective about something. It’s important.”
That sounded serious enough. “Oh, okay. I’ll get up,” she said, sitting up and trying to hide a yawn.
“Don’t be silly.” He smiled softly, his blue eyes warming as they took in her sleepy face. “You should stay. I expect this meeting to be over soon. In fact, I’m not sure why I’m going because I’m pretty sure this guy is blowing smoke up my ass. But I promised my partner I would give him a hearing. Why don’t you sleep in? I’ll be back before you wake up again.”
Staying in his place while he was gone had to be some sort of relationship milestone. Vogue or Elle could have told her which one if she read those types of magazines. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t you rather meet up later…maybe for brunch?”
“I’m almost positive I’ll be back long before that. Stay. Sleep.” He grinned down at her, ratcheting her body temperature up by several degrees. “I’ll enjoy waking you up again.”
Maggie snorted and put her head back down on the mattress. “Hurry back then.”
Jason passed a hand down the exposed skin of her hip, stroking her softly before walking to the door. “I will.”
By quarter to noon, Maggie was starving. She had showered and dressed thirty minutes earlier in the wrinkle-free wrap dress she’d stuffed in her purse. Jason had given her a spare toothbrush the first time she’d spent the night, but dressing in the same clothes as the night before was not an experience she cared to repeat.
The little things you learn in your first relationship…
After deciding she was too hungry to wait for Jason’s meeting to be over, she grabbed her things. Phone in hand, she was in the building’s lobby texting her brothers and Peyton, telling them she was on her way for brunch and to save her some pancakes. She didn’t bother to mention that Jason wasn’t coming with her because she hadn’t told her brothers he might. Peyton was the only one in her confidence, and since Maggie had chickened out for two Sundays in a row, her friend wouldn’t be surprised when she appeared alone.
She was about to hit send when she saw her man coming through the glass doors of the main entrance. “Hey! You’re just in time to join me for brunch at the hotel.”
“What’s wrong?”
Jason looked pale and clammy. His face was damp and slightly green, as if he was coming down with something. She stopped in front of him with a f
rown before putting her hand on his forehead. “Are you all right? You look ill.”
Would chicken soup work for whatever this was? The hotel’s chef made a delicious one. Maybe she could have someone run a tub of it over to him.
Jason looked down at her, his face more intent than the time they’d gone to play laser tag. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Maggie, I want you to listen to me. I really care about you—”
Her heart sped up. “I care about you, too.”
He nodded abruptly. “That’s great. I’m so glad, but I need to say this all at once or—I don’t care what you’ve done before you met me. All I care about is where we go from here.” He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. “If after you hear what Dawson has to say, you decide not to help or you feel like you’re in danger, I can help you. I will help you. We…we could even leave. We can get out of this town and not come back.”
Maggie’s head drew back. “Okay, you are definitely sick with something because none of that made sense. And who is Dawson?”
“I’m Dawson.”
Maggie peeked around Jason. His partner Ethan was standing there with a second man.
The stranger was only a few years older than Ethan and Jason, but he appeared worse for wear. Although his clothing was clean, it managed to look shiny and unkempt, as if it had a layer of something greasy over it. Along with the thin, tan-colored hair and paunch, he had an air of dishevelment one usually had to work at to achieve.
She did not like the way he was looking at her.
“Who is this?” she asked Jason, but his hands were covering his face. Ethan was no help either. When her questioning glance fell on him, he inhaled deeply and put his hands on his hips. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind his reflective mirror sunglasses. Like the FBI agents on TV.
“You’re in a whole world of trouble, little girl,” Dawson said, stepping up to lean over her intimidatingly. “You and your boyfriend Calen McLachlan. But I’m here to get you out of it.”
