Staying Grounded (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 1)

by Marianne Rice

  She took the shuttle to the hotel and made her way to the courtesy desk.

  “Hi, I have a reservation. Maggie O’Fallon.”

  “Hi, Ms. O’Fallon. Thank you for staying with us. Give me a minute to look up your reservation.”

  “Thank you,” Maggie read her nametag, “Ashley.”

  Ashley pecked away at her keyboard and paused, raising an eyebrow before lifting her gaze to Maggie. “You’re a guest of Gra—Mr. Riley’s?”

  “Um, yes. Well, he made the reservation for me.”

  “Mr. Riley stays here often. As do the other pilots and flight attendants from Global Air.” Maggie nodded, confused. “Normally the crew stays on the second floor, but he’s put you up in a suite on the seventh floor.”

  “Okay.” Maggie didn’t like the curious glare she got from the Ashley woman.

  “I take it this isn’t business?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re not with Global Air?”

  “Um, no. Is there a problem with my reservation?”

  “No, not at all. You’re just not what I expected. Here’s your key. You’re in suite 703.” She slid the key card across the counter and Maggie grabbed it, anxious to get away from the woman who was probably Graham’s Seattle booty call. Or she knew who was. Needing to use the restroom before taking the elevator, she turned down the corridor on the right and tried to calm her nerves in private.

  After splashing cold water on her face, she took a few cleansing breaths and waited until her shakes subsided. This was a mistake. What was a small town psychiatrist doing with the bachelor of the skies? They were as opposite as opposite could be. She’d stay the night but would not get on the plane to Hawaii in the morning. She needed to go back to Maine. To the safety of her patients’ problems and her devoted dog.

  Maggie dried her face and wheeled her suitcase back down the hall over to the elevators. A deep, familiar laugh caught her attention and she turned toward it. Ashley and Graham stood toe to toe, her hand resting familiarly on his arm. He wore his pilot uniform, looking sexy as sin. He grinned at something she said, then looked up and made eye contact with Maggie.

  His smile reached his eyes when he saw her. He said something to Ashley and headed Maggie’s way. The elevator dinged and she rushed into it, hoping the doors would close before he reached her.

  Graham’s hand stopped the movement of the doors and he slid in the elevator. “Going up?”

  “Yes. Alone.” Maggie turned and stared forward, her body tense. The small space only enhanced the familiar smell of him: fresh laundry and man. She refused to acknowledge him.

  “Bad flight?”

  “Nope. That pilot got me here in one piece.”

  “Am I missing something here?” Six feet of hotness clad in a ridiculously sexy uniform slid in front of her, blocking the pissed-off vibes she was trying to send.

  “I’m sure Ashley can make up for whatever you’ll be missing.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Maggie slid around him and marched down the hall, wheeling her suitcase behind her, walking as fast as she could without running. She didn’t hear him behind her and smiled to herself, only to realize the numbers of the rooms were going up. She’d turned the wrong way.

  Squaring her shoulders, Maggie turned around and marched toward the statue of sin and pushed past him to her room. She slid the key card from her pocket and tried once. Twice. Three times, and the dang light wouldn’t turn green.

  “Let me.” Graham took the card from her and gently elbowed her to the side.

  “You’re not coming in.”

  “I booked a separate room, Maggie.” His voice was too calm, too gentle. Damn him! Just like her father, never quick to anger, and using his sexy eyes and flashy grin to get his way with the women. “Before I go to my room, can you at least tell me why you’re so mad at me?”

  She pushed her way into her room and plopped her suitcase on the king size bed. “I wasn’t expecting the first person I met in Seattle to be one of your lovers. Am I going to meet your entourage in Hawaii as well? ”

  His face fell and he rubbed his hands across his face, bringing them to the back of his neck. “What did Ashley say?”

  “Nothing. But thanks for confirming. You can leave now.”

  “Maggie. Please. Can we talk about this?” His beautiful eyes filled with sadness, not guilt.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Ironic, coming from the therapist.” Graham loosened his tie and shrugged out of his coat.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m not leaving you when you’ve obviously got the wrong impression. This isn’t exactly how I wanted to start our trip.”

  “So you’re telling me you didn’t sleep with Ashley?” God, she hated how she sounded like a jealous teenager. “Never mind. It’s none of my business.”

  Not taking the hint, Graham rolled up his sleeves and made himself comfortable in the chair by the window. “Yes, I spend a lot of time in Seattle. I have a lot of layovers here and Ashley was—”

  “I really don’t need to hear about or be introduced to all of the women you’ve slept with.” Maggie stood by her suitcase, unwilling to unpack or sit down. She hated even more how sexy Graham looked with his loosened tie. It wasn’t fair.

  “I haven’t been with Ashley, or any other woman, since I met you.”

  Her girly parts tingled at the admission. But still…

  “Congratulations. You must be very proud. And horny.”

  Graham smirked and her toes curled. Double damn! Her snarky comments were supposed to piss him off, spar a fight, not twist his lips into a magnetic grin.

  “You might not believe it, but I have pretty good control over my…sexual tendencies.” The words rolled off his tongue and she had to clench her thighs. “Except when I’m around you.”

  “That’s a good one. Do most girls fall for that line?”

  “First time I used it. How’s it working?”

  Too. Damn. Well. “I’ve heard better.”

  Graham stood, stalking her with his eyes, doing that unfair panty-dropping grin thing with his perfect lips.

  “Maggie.” He stepped closer, and she told her legs to move backward, but they wouldn’t listen to her and stayed locked, waiting, wanting, Graham to come closer. “You do things to me I don’t understand.”

  “Ditto.” Oops. She didn’t mean for that to slip out.

  “I want you to think about kissing me as much as I think about kissing you.”

  Damn freaking loins. “Do you think about kissing other women as well?”

  “What other women?” He toyed with a strand of her hair and wrapped it around his fist.

  “I don’t do lines.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “You’re pretty good at them.”

  “Thank you.” He licked his lips and hunted her with his eyes. “You seem to bring them out in me.”

  “So, Ashley.” She had to break the mood or she’d succumb to his beautiful body and regret it for the rest of her trip. No, she wasn’t going on the trip. She was going back to Maine.

  Graham didn’t let go of her hair, or her eyes, but he dropped his lustful grin. “Yes, Ashley and I had a…an arrangement. I made it clear the last time I was in Seattle that we were over.”

  “When was that?”

  “The moment I left Rocky Harbor.”

  “Oh.” And there went her panties. “And the other women?” Graham lifted his free hand to her face, stroking her cheek, and shook his head. “Why? Why…aren’t you seeing them anymore?”

  “Isn’t that obvious?”

  “But you said…you don’t do…”

  Graham released her and she felt an instant chill. He picked up his coat and let out a sigh, his telltale sign that he was upset. “I don’t make promises, Maggie. I’m not around a lot and I don’t know how to do the serious relationship thing. But when I’m with you…hell, when I’m not with you, I want you. I can’t stop thinki
ng about you. Can’t this be good enough for now?”

  Her ovaries combusted.

  Yes, this was all she could handle right now too. A beautiful, wonderful man who was willing to make her the center of his universe…when she was around. She needed him more than she realized. Needed to be doted on, appreciated, adored. Even if it only lasted a few days. Better to have loved and lost…

  “Can you get a refund on your room?” She slipped out of her wedges and tossed them to the corner.

  “What?”

  “There’s no point in paying for two rooms if we’re only going to use one bed.” She pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maggie

  Since Graham had to wear his pilot uniform, even though he was a passenger, they didn’t cuddle or flirt too badly, and didn’t join the mile high club, even with Maggie’s teasing. The flight attendants visited their seats often during the first hour of their flight, giggling and taunting him, but it didn’t make Maggie jealous.

  She could tell by their banter that the crew respected Graham, and she believed him when he said he didn’t fraternize with the flight attendants. “We’ve tried to get him to cross over to the bad side for years, but the captain doesn’t like to party with us. Well, he’ll hang out with us for a bit, but I’d love to see him really let loose,” said Alexis, the young, pretty flight attendant who’d been tending to them all flight.

  “Please, Captain Riley isn’t the type to dance on speakers and grind in the middle of a mosh pit,” Leo chimed in from over Alexis’s shoulder.

  “You wish,” she teased. Leo wiggled his eyebrows and Maggie laughed.

  “Are they always like this?” she asked Graham, who did his best to ignore the gossiping couple.

  “Usually I’m locked up front in the cockpit and don’t have to listen to their craziness. I get an earful enough during pre-flight check and during layovers in the lounge, though.”

  When the flight attendants finished with their food and beverage service, they settled into their seats and left Maggie and Graham in peace.

  “Excited?”

  Maggie nodded enthusiastically. After last night she couldn’t care less where they went. Staying in the hotel room with Graham for four days would have been fine by her. He had a way of touching areas of her she never knew existed. The only time she was aware of the skin on the back of her knees was when a pesky mosquito bit her in the sensitive spot, until now. Graham spent a lot of time—too much time—touching her, kissing her in places she’d never thought erogenous before. From the tops of her feet to the underside of her arm, everywhere his hands moved, everything he touched turned her to a melted puddle of lust.

  Oh, and her neck. She’d always had long, thick hair and in the summer it added ten degrees to her internal temperature. When Graham lifted her hair and brushed it to the side so could slide his lips across her neck…oh, wow. Maggie shivered.

  “Cold?”

  “No. Just thinking.”

  “About?” Graham’s dimple begged to be kissed and licked, and she worked hard to keep her restraint.

  “Stuff.”

  “Care to share?” Why not? He’d sat next to her for the past five hours without making one pass, one sexual comment while she wiggled in her seat reminiscing about their night between the sheets. And on top of the sheets. And against the wall. Another shiver took over.

  “Ever join the mile high club?” She hoped he hadn’t, but knowing Graham and how much time he spent on airplanes…

  “Never had any desire to. Until now.” Oh. “Don’t get your panties…in a bunch. I can barely fit in those bathrooms by myself. There’s no way the two of us could squeeze in.”

  True. His shoulders filled out a doorway quite nicely; they’d probably touch the walls of the bathroom. Maggie scrunched her nose. And a public bathroom. So unsanitary. What was the appeal?

  “How about on top of a volcano?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Sex. On a volcano. Now that is something I could wrap my…I could wrap your legs around.” Oh, the flirt was back on. She liked this side of Graham. Fun, carefree. Something she’d never been before and had always wanted to be. He made her feel young and beautiful. He made her forget about the drama at home, and like she was worth something. Not a constant reminder of heartache.

  The captain came over the speaker announcing their decent and estimated arrival time. Maggie turned to peek out the window and studied the endless ocean and the scattering of islands. “It’s beautiful.”

  “We’ll rent a plane and fly around the islands. It’ll be even more breathtaking closer to land.”

  “You don’t have to do that. The expense—”

  “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. But I’ve always wanted to fly myself—and a beautiful woman—around the islands.”

  “I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful women in Hawaii.”

  “Mm-hm.” He leaned over and kissed her softly, the first public display of affection on the plane. His work territory. It made her feel…special.

  “The bathroom’s free if you want to join the mile high club,” Leo teased as he walked by.

  Maggie snorted and Graham drew back laughing.

  They landed without incident and took a shuttle to their hotel. There were no pretty women who recognized Graham, although there were quite a few who turned their heads as he walked by. And who wouldn’t? Six feet of sinful lust who’d donned a navy captain’s uniform. Yum. He took her hand in his and led her through the lobby.

  “You’re so getting laid,” he whispered into her ear before placing a flower lei over her head.

  Maggie threw her head back and laughed. “Right back atchya, hot stuff.” She accepted a lei from a local and looped it over Graham’s head, drawing him in for a kiss.

  Once checked into their room, Graham asked, “Nap, swim, or tourist stuff?”

  “I thought I was getting laid?”

  ***

  Graham

  Maggie didn’t stop surprising him. From her striptease last night in Seattle to her shameless flirting on the plane, and now she wanted to have sex before exploring Hawaii. How the hell did he get so lucky?

  Not one to keep a lady waiting, he reached for her hand and led her to the bed. “For the record,” he said in between kisses to her neck, “I booked two rooms and only canceled the second one this morning.”

  Maggie pulled back and lifted her emerald eyes to his. “You did?”

  Graham stilled, trying to read the expression on her face. “I, uh, I’m sure they still have a room available if you want me to—”

  “No.” Maggie shook her head and brought her hands to his face. “You really booked two rooms?”

  “I told you I would.”

  “I know you said you would but…I figured…I mean, you flew me to Hawaii.”

  “Maggie.” Graham placed a light kiss on her lips and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her face. “I invited you here to spend time with you. I’m not going to force you or guilt you into my bed. I don’t want you to sleep with me out of obligation.”

  She broke the somber mood by laughing. “Sleeping with you is not an obligation, Graham Riley. Trust me on that one.”

  “Yeah? Then why do you do it?” He skirted his hands up her back and around her neck, massaging her with his thumbs.

  “I dunno.” She shrugged. “Nothing better to do.”

  So she wanted to play that game? She should know better than to play with the master. Graham pulled his hands away and shoved them in the back pockets of his jeans. Otherwise he’d use them to tear off her clothes. “I can think of a ton of things to do. Actually, I’ve never tried surfing. Let’s put on our suits and check out the waves.” He picked up his suitcase and started unpacking, shoving his shorts and T-shirts into a dresser drawer.

  Graham bit back his laugh as Maggie crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously?”

&nbs
p; “Yeah. We have all night to test out the bed. Let’s go play in the waves.” He turned away from her to hide his arousal and unbuttoned his jeans, slowly sliding them down his legs. He’d never be asked to work at one of the strip joints in Vegas but he would enjoy taunting Maggie just the same. He checked her out in the reflection in the mirror and caught her staring at his ass, biting her lower lip.

  He pretended to rummage through his suitcase looking for his swimsuit, giving her time to ogle him before stepping into the navy trunks. When he finally turned to face her, her cheeks were as pink as the fragrant flowers in her lei.

  Maggie cocked half a smile, lowering her gaze at his crotch, and slowly unzipped her suitcase, from which she took two pieces of dark purple fabric. Following suit, she turned her back to him and pulled her top over her head, then reached back and fumbled with her bra.

  “Can you help me? The hook must be stuck.”

  Uh, huh. Graham fought the pull at his lips and slowly stepped closer. He breathed in the fresh scent of her skin and lightly blew on her neck. The goose bumps that covered her arms told him she was as affected by this sensual foreplay as he was.

  He started low on her back and deliberately brushed his knuckles up to her bra strap, sliding his fingers around the fabric and easily unhooking the bra. Maggie leaned back ever so slightly and he resisted the temptation to pull her tight against him. Keeping the material in his hands, he followed the trail to her straps and one by one, pulled each of them down her arms until her bra fell from her body and hung from his fingertips.

  “Better?” he whispered in her ear. Maggie nodded and glanced over her shoulder and up into his eyes.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled.

  Hell, he wanted to take her right here, right now, but he wanted to prove to Maggie that she was a hell of a lot more than his booty call. It would be a first for Graham, putting off sex from a willing woman. Or maybe second. He had no desire to sleep with Ashley even though she made it crystal clear she’d be ready and available when he wasn’t tied to another woman.