Staying Grounded (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 1)

by Marianne Rice

  Because he was the perfect man, and he would be leaving her high and dry.

  Just like her dad.

  ***

  Graham

  Graham was as confused as a nursing baby in a topless bar. He’d been known to tag along when the crew had a layover in Vegas and they begged him to hang out. It really wasn’t his thing. He loved breasts on a woman he was interested in, not some waitress flashing her goods for rent money. Thinking about breasts was not a good idea right now. He’d barely been able to contain himself in the tight quarters of the Cessna. Maggie’s smell enveloped him and wrapped around his loins. It wasn’t just cherry and vanilla anymore, but sunshine and smiles as well. Hell, next thing he knew he’d be spouting poetry like one of those stupid romance heroes he’d made fun of.

  Graham had pissed Maggie off something fierce by overstepping the boundaries with her dog. She wouldn’t bring her green eyes to look at him.

  “Maggie?” When she didn’t respond he lowered his shades and pulled back into traffic, making a U-turn at the next light. He’d done it again. Crossed that line. Even though she no longer needed to worry about her license, she still didn’t want to be with him. Maybe she was the type for once and done, although he wouldn’t bet on it.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I meant for today to be fun, but I’ve obviously gone too far. I’ll bring you home.”

  “No, Graham. I’m sorry.” She laid her hand on his thigh and his shorts grew tighter. “You’re being kind and I’m being…a bitch.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve seen my share of bitches and you don’t even come close.”

  “Oh? Do tell.” Her smile was back in her voice, and her hand remained on his thigh, which made him squirm a little in his seat. “Over lunch.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I thought you were taking me to lunch. I’d like to hear some of your women stories.”

  And just like that she’d turned his switch back on. Or hers. She had more switches and buttons than a Boeing 747. The therapist played mind games with him when he really wanted to play body games. Oh, he’d take her to lunch but he sure as hell wouldn’t be talking about the women he’d been with. “Lunch I can do.” He turned down a windy road off Route One, not sure where it led, and not caring one damned bit. They’d drive until they found a place along the coast.

  The laughter returned to her voice as she teased him about his driving skills, on the road and in the air, and he taunted her about being a stereotypical feisty redhead. Nearly an hour later they ended up at a seafood tourist trap in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They ordered lobster rolls and French fries and walked along the beach until they found a soft area of sand to sit and eat.

  “There’s no food in the country that can compete with a fresh lobster roll. I cringe when my buddies order seafood in the Midwest. Just isn’t right.”

  They ate quickly before the seagulls descended upon them, Graham crumbling up the trash in one hand and reaching for hers with his other. They passed sunbathers and families with little kids playing in the water, and after a few minutes of walking, they came to a more secluded area and a large outcropping of rocks.

  “I used to love finding hermit crabs when I was little,” Maggie said she crouched by a shallow pool. “I’d collect them in a bucket and name them, but my dad would never let me take them home.”

  “I pictured you as a little princess, afraid to get her hands dirty.”

  “Me?” Maggie looked up and shielded the sun from her face with her hand. “I was as tomboyish as they come. Didn’t start wearing skirts until after college.”

  “I’m sure your father appreciated that. Still, you must’ve given the boys in high school a run for their money.”

  Maggie laughed and went back to digging through sand and water. “Not exactly. I played soccer in the fall and softball in the spring. Kept my nose in books when I wasn’t on the field.”

  “Strong and sexy. Just my type.” He crouched next to her and dipped his hand in the cool water.

  “Ha. You wouldn’t have given me a second look in high school.” She stood and wiped her hands on her shorts. “This was fun, I hate to eat and run, but I should get going. I have…paperwork to do.”

  Graham stood, blocking her way. A stray auburn curl escaped her ponytail and he brushed it behind her ear. “Paperwork on a Saturday night. You don’t seem the type.”

  Maggie rested her hands on her hips. “Really? And since you think you know me so well, what type am I?”

  He pulled her hands off her hips and threaded his fingers through hers, bringing her body close and trapping their hands between their bodies. “You, Maggie O’Fallon, are the type of woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. You want fun and adventure.” He yanked her body hard against his. “And romantic picnics in the park. And you like to be in control.” He leaned in, his lips whispering against her ear. “In and out of the bedroom.”

  Graham nibbled on her earlobe, and waited until her body melted into his. He resisted the urge to plunge his tongue into her mouth, instead sliding soft kisses down her neck. With her breasts pressed tight against his chest, he could feel her heartbeat and a slight tremble in her hands.

  Reluctantly he pried his lips away from her neck and looked down into her hooded eyes. Her mouth was open, ready for him, and again he pulled back, wanting Maggie to instigate the kiss. After the brush off she gave him a few days ago, he knew she’d regret being seduced by him. Maggie needed to be the one to make the next move; she seemed to like that and avoided second-guessing matters when she controlled the plays.

  Slowly, her green gaze traveled up to his. When she licked her lips he groaned and stepped back. “You’re killing me, Maggie.” Keeping one of their hands joined, he guided her back to the Jeep, where they rode in silence.

  As they neared her road, Maggie fidgeted in her seat. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Strummed her nails on her naked thigh. Took loud, deep breaths. “Graham?”

  He wanted to hear her call out his name with passion, but he’d settle for the hesitant voice for now. “Yeah?”

  “Do you, uh…do you want to come inside? Maybe have a drink or something? You’ve been flying or driving for most of the day and could probably use a beer. Or water. I have water. Or coffee if you’re tired. I have iced tea because it is pretty warm out for coffee.” She toyed with the strap to her purse. “But if you’re hungry I can throw some chicken on the grill. And make a salad or something. I have food for dinner. If you’re hungry. Or not. You can drop me off. That’s fine too.” Maggie brushed her windblown hair behind her ear and looked straight ahead.

  Graham tried his damnedest to hide his grin and the excitement in his pants. He didn’t need to scare her off so soon. “Sure,” he choked out, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “Sure? Sure as in a glass of water? Or beer or—”

  Saving her from going through the contents of her fridge again, he cut her off. “I can always eat. And I’d love a glass of anything cold.”

  Maggie nodded. “Okay then.”

  He pulled into her driveway and she hopped out of the car before he could even put it in park. Eager to strip his clothes off or nervous about having him under her roof, he couldn’t tell. He’d play it cool and follow her lead. The insecure, vulnerable Maggie pulled at his heart. A sensation new and unfamiliar to him.

  Sweetie Pie jumped up and down with excitement when they stepped into the house. After giving his feet a quick sniff, she dashed out the door to do her business. He waited by the door, keeping one eye on the white fluff ball and the other on the sexy redhead in the kitchen. He could see her lips move as she mumbled something and shook her head. Probably talking herself out of keeping him for dinner.

  Once the dog came back in, he’d let Maggie off the hook. If being with him caused this much angst, he’d let her go. He wasn’t worth it. A few minutes later Sweetie Pie came in and ran into the kitchen and straight to her food dish. He closed the front door and w
hen he turned around, Maggie was in front of him, her eyes large, her mouth moving as if trying to speak.

  But no words came out. Instead she hurled herself at him, pinning him against the door, pulling his head down until their mouths met. Not giving him time to react, she took advantage of his surprise by slipping her sweet tongue in his mouth and licking him like an ice cream cone.

  Graham grabbed on to her perfect ass and held her tight against him as she fisted a handful of his hair and rocked her crotch against his thigh. Quickly he reversed positions so her back was to the door and his hands were in her hair, then cupping her face. “Maggie,” he said into her mouth. “Sweet mother of God.”

  She slid her hands under his shirt and dug into his shoulder blades. “Make love to me, Graham. Now. Please.”

  “Are you sure?” He pulled back, staring into her eyes.

  “You’re kidding me, right? Do I look sure?”

  Graham grinned before biting her lip. “You look goddamn beautiful.” She pressed her core into his stomach and he moaned. “Couch or bedroom?”

  “Door. Here. Now.” Maggie reached between them and attacked his zipper.

  He nearly exploded in his pants. She unwrapped her legs from his waist and slid her shorts and underwear off.

  “Damn.” Graham slid his hands over her bare ass and brought them toward her front, making Maggie quiver. She took care of his pants while he divested her of her shirt and bra. Once his shirt was off, she climbed on him again, not giving him a chance to put on a condom.

  “Sweetheart. Protection.” He crouched to the ground, Maggie’s legs still wrapped around his waist, and did all he could not to enter her, her squirming body testing his self-control. Before he could grab his jeans, she slid onto him. “Holy fu—”

  Maggie threw her head back and rode him hard, calling out his name. He felt around for his jeans and blindly found his wallet, taking out a condom and ripping it open.

  Using all his willpower, he picked Maggie up off of him and flipped her gently to the floor before rolling on his condom and joining her again.

  “Graham,” she called out right before she exploded, her fingers gripping his biceps, pulling him deeper into her as she bucked like a mare in heat.

  He followed shortly behind, his world exploding around him.

  Chapter Ten

  Maggie

  Maggie’s body convulsed with aftershocks, her spine rubbing against the hardwood floor, Graham’s hot and heavy body on top of her. Oh. My. God. She’d done it again. She’d pounced on Graham Sexy Ass Riley and made a total slut of herself.

  Mortified, she couldn’t face him like this. At least last time she had her clothes on. Now she was buck ass naked with the cold hardwood supporting her butt cheeks. Sweetie Pie started barking, her tiny nails clack clacking on the floor as she danced around them.

  Graham lifted his head from her chest and grinned. So unfair. God couldn’t create a man with an adorable face and sexy-ass blue-grey eyes and black-as-sin hair and expect her to keep her hands and all her other body parts to herself.

  Sweetie started barking at the door. Maggie craned her head to look at her dog and saw a figure behind the frosted glass.

  She shoved at Graham. “Someone’s here.”

  “Mags?” Kenzie called from the other side of the door.

  Graham sat up, straddling her body, in no rush to duck and cover. “You have to…go. Hide. In my room,” she whispered.

  “Hide?” His grin made his dimple even more pronounced, causing her heart rate to accelerate faster than the fancy plane he took her up in.

  “At least get dressed. Kenzie has a key and—”

  The front door started to open. “You two decent in here?” Kenzie teased.

  “Not really,” Graham said before bringing Maggie up to a seated position and kissing her soundly on the lips. “Give us a minute.”

  “You…I…” Maggie could kill him and that stupid sexy grin. He stood, pulled her to her feet, and gave her a light swat on the butt before yanking on his jeans. She took a minute to shoot him daggers, or pretended to while checking out his perfect round ass, looking for tattoos, scars, or the mark of the devil. Not a one.

  Kenzie laughed on the other side of the door. “Guess you don’t need me to let Sweetie Pie out. Take care of my girl or I’ll kick your ass.”

  “I already let the dog out and she’s had her dinner as well.”

  Maggie cocked her head and pursed her angry lips at him. Kenzie laughed again. “I like you, flyboy. See you Monday, Mags,” she hollered through the door.

  “Why did you do that?” Maggie looked down and crossed her arms over her chest, realizing she was still naked and Graham now fully clothed. Mackenzie would never let her hear the end of it.

  “What? Get dressed? Good question.” He pulled his T-shirt off over his head like he belonged in the next Magic Mike film, then picked her up and flipped her over his shoulder. “Where’s your bedroom?”

  “I…what? No. We just…”

  “We’ve done it in your office, against your front door, and on the floor in the hall. This time I’m taking my sweet time with you in a big-ass bed.”

  “But we didn’t have dinner yet.”

  “I’m eating dessert first.”

  ***

  Maggie woke to a dark room and a hot body wrapped around her. She felt sore, tingly, and limber, unused to so much attention and so much action. Graham had loved her so thoroughly no other sexual encounter would be able to measure up. She snuggled her back against the wall of heat, moving his hand from her breast, lacing her fingers through his.

  “Mmm, I like my hand there.” He tried to wiggle from her grasp but she held firm.

  “I like your hands there too, but I’m starving.” Maggie read the bright red numbers on her clock. “It’s nine o’clock and we haven’t had dinner. I thought big, strong men like you ate round the clock.”

  “Mmm.” He nuzzled her neck. “Dessert held me over for a bit. I think I’ll have some more.”

  “No.” Maggie tried to wiggle free. “We need to eat dinner. I’m starving.”

  “We did work up quite the appetite.” Graham pulled her on top of him and against his growing erection.

  “Again? Are you sixteen? I didn’t think grown men could have sex three times in one night.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, the night isn’t over yet.” He drew her head down and sucked on her bottom lip as he moved his hips against her heat.

  Maggie didn’t think she had enough energy for another round so soon, yet she couldn’t resist him either. She wanted him just as badly. Bracing herself above him, she kissed his chest, playing with his nipple as he’d done to her earlier, before trailing her kisses lower and lower until she found what she really wanted.

  “Maggie, you don’t have to—” Maggie smiled as Graham fisted her hair in his hand, unable to utter a coherent word.

  ***

  Graham

  Graham lay nearly lifeless, sprawled out in the middle of Maggie’s white and pale blue room. The dozen or so frilly pillows were strewn all over the place, her blue flowery comforter a balled mess at the foot of the bed. He heard Maggie get into the shower a few minutes after she made his eyes roll in the back of his head and his heart nearly burst out of his chest.

  Sliding from the bed on shaky legs, he opened the bathroom door and slipped into the shower behind her.

  “Oh!” She squealed. “You scared me.”

  “Need some help?”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not really here to help?”

  Graham kissed her wet nose. “Shower sex is definitely something I look forward to with you, although you nearly killed me a few minutes ago. I may need a few hours to recuperate.” A smile of satisfaction formed on her lips. “Was that your plan? Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  Her smile faltered and she turned around to finish rinsing her hair. “I have chicken breasts I can throw on the grill. Or if you want a sandwich I have tuna or
peanut butter and jelly.”

  The always-in-control woman he’d let control him in the bedroom—or rather, whenever they were naked—rambled when she tried to avoid a conversation. Interesting.

  He reached around and cupped her. “Breasts sound good. I’m pretty decent at the grill.”

  “I thought you were too tired for shower sex.” Graham didn’t think he’d be able to go another round until Maggie made a slippery trail down his body with his lips. Hell, he’d impressed himself when he responded to her touch so easily. And they say a man over thirty is no longer in his prime.

  “I can still appreciate a good thing when I see it. Or feel it.” He massaged her while she rinsed.

  “Here. Make yourself useful.” She slipped a bar of soap in his hand and he did just so, rubbing it repeatedly around her breasts. “I do have other parts of my body, you know.”

  “Oh? What other parts need cleaning?” He moved the soap slowly down her arm, then back up again, and repeated it on the other side, enjoying how her body melted into his as she leaned back and exposed her long, soft neck. “How about here?” He slid the bar down her spine and around her hips toward her stomach, stopping just above her trembling thighs. “Any other spots I’m missing?”

  Maggie arched her body into his as he pressed the bar of soap harder against the outside of her thigh and let it travel down one leg, then up the other, teasing her, keeping it just out of reach from where she wanted to be touched. “Tell me where you want me to touch you, Maggie.” She let out a soft moan and spread her legs further apart. “Tell me.”

  She did, and it wasn’t until they ran out of hot water and her body had been cleaned, licked, and sucked to oblivion that they turned the faucet off and wrapped each other in towels.

  “Seriously,” Maggie said with her most stern voice. “We have to eat. You’re not allowed to touch me again until we’ve had dinner.” Graham pouted and she laughed. “You break the rules and I change it to breakfast.”