by Megan Bryce
“Michael and Jonah.”
They’d set it up with him like they were scheduling a piano lesson. He’d never get used to the warnings. How stupid do you have to be to tell your prey when you’re going to attack?
Maggie narrowed her eyes. Cole had known she wouldn’t like it.
He said, “I’ve told you. Two against is fine. I can take two sissy boys who’ve never been in a real fight before.”
“It’s not fair,” she said and Cole rolled his eyes.
“Two of them equals one of me. It’s fair.”
“What about three?”
“Depends on the three.” Cole puffed out his chest but it was wasted on her.
She said, “How will I know if three is too many?”
Cole had hated the first time Maggie had come to his rescue, especially since it had only been two boys swinging at him like they was swinging blind-folded at a piñata. But since then he’d realized there was an endless wave of them and only one of him.
Sometimes a man had to take help where he could get it.
And he knew exactly what his father would say about that.
But some days, most days, Cole liked Maggie better than his father, and she made a lot of sense when he was nursing a black eye, fat lip, and sore ribs.
Cole said, “Maybe we need a signal or something. But it can’t be too obvious.”
“Like you curled up in a ball on the ground?”
He narrowed his eyes. She was never going to let him forget that.
He said, “Sometime before that would probably be okay.”
Maggie smiled, her creepy eyes changing colors.
They gave her away when he was fighting. She liked watching him fight. Her eyes stayed that creepy greeny-blue for a long time after one of his fights. It didn’t matter if he won or lost. And while he liked it better when he won, losing wasn’t so bad either.
When he lost, Maggie stepped between him and his enemies. It was hard to feel like a loser when your enemy was the one cowering from a girl.
A girl with soft hands who rinsed blood away like his housekeeper washed the fine china.
A girl with soft hands who held an ice pack to his face like she was holding a day-old kitten.
A girl with soft hands and swirling eyes who should be his greatest enemy and instead was his only friend.
A girl with soft hands and a sharp voice that told him he was an idiot. Whether he won or lost.
Cole had never had a mother but he thought Maggie would one day make a pretty good one. Cole thought soft hands and a sharp voice was just what a mother was supposed to be like.
Megan BryceSome Like It Ruthless
Two
Cole sat in the shade watching Maggie swimming back and forth, back and forth. She looked as if the weight of the world rested on her too skinny shoulders. She swam as if all her devils were chasing her.
He’d been out here for over an hour, waiting for her to get home. The housekeeper had taken one look at him and crossed herself. She’d repeated, “No, no, no, no,” and he’d held up a hand to forestall a complete meltdown.
“I’ll wait by the pool. Tell Maggie I’m here.”
The housekeeper had shrieked, “Madre de Dios! She no here!”
“I’ll wait.”
He’d half-believed Maggie had been inside the whole time, making him wait just a little bit longer than he’d made her wait. But one glance at her barely-hanging-in-there, faded black Speedo and he’d known Maggie didn’t have a clue he was here.
As soon as he’d been able to get away from work, he’d taken off after her, thinking he’d catch up to her somewhere on I-20.
He’d seen her push her fist into her belly before she’d slammed her car door shut and remembered his own ulcer. Seen her drive out of his parking lot in a Hyundai. A Hyundai.
It was stylish enough that maybe she could pretend she was driving it because she liked it, but he knew better.
Margaret Caldwell wouldn’t know what a Hyundai was unless she had to.
He’d remembered the stomach-eating acid of his own bankruptcy. Wide awake nights. The crushing failure. He wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy.
Which was why he was here.
He’d give her the time she needed, distract her with a good fight now and again, and redeem himself. She’d had her revenge on him, though she’d clearly not forgiven him. He wasn’t sure she ever would. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to. But he needed to forgive himself, forgive the stupid shit that he’d been. Make up for hurting the one person who’d made life bearable.
Cole sat and watched Maggie swim until her strokes slowed, until her arms lost their controlled precision.
He stood and walked to the edge of the pool.
She jerked, her head whipping out of the water. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide, then she shouted, “Cole!”
She hit the water with her fist, spraying water onto his pants, and he grinned.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She hit the water again, spraying more water, and he shook his head, reaching for his buckle.
“If you’re going to get me all wet I might as well jump in and cool off.”
She watched him slide his zipper down with narrowed eyes. “How long have you been here?”
He glanced at his watch, then took it off. “About an hour and a half. With not even an offer of a drink.”
He pulled his shirt over his head, not missing her gaze sliding down his chest.
She said, “I’m surprised Rosa didn’t offer you the business end of a shotgun.”
He kicked off his shoes and socks, hooking his thumbs into his jeans. He looked at the house, noticing a crooked blind suddenly straighten.
“She’s not the same housekeeper who walked in on us, is she?”
“The same.”
“Well, that makes a little more sense. I thought she seemed unreasonably unwelcoming.”
He pushed his jeans down quickly and jumped into the water, the cold soaking into his white briefs.
Say what you would about breezy boxers, Cole liked the classics.
When he surfaced, Maggie was heading for the stairs. He swam after her, grabbing her ankle, the smooth skin sliding against his palm, and pulled her under. He kept a loose grip on her ankle, those damn shoes still swimming in his head, and towed her away from the stairs.
She kicked against his wrist with her free foot and he grabbed that one as well. He couldn’t help his grin at the thought that he’d gotten his hands on her ankles without going to his knees after all. She twisted under the water, spinning and ripping her ankles out of his hands.
She burst to the surface, slapping a wave of water into his face when his head followed hers.
He coughed as another wave caught him in the face and he turned away. “Truce, Maggie!”
He peeked at her and caught another faceful of water, but not before he saw her mouth fighting a smile.
He didn’t look at her again, just kept his face turned away and tried to see where she was out of the corner of his eye. “Better?”
She laughed. “A little.”
“Can I turn around now?”
“You can turn around.”
He started to turn, then stopped. “And you’re not going to try and drown me, right?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Cole folded his arms. “I want both your hands on the ledge where I can see them.”
“I want you out of my pool and your pants back on.”
“I could do that but then I won’t tell you why I’m here.”
“I know why you’re here.”
He turned toward her and said, “I doubt you’d be trying to drown me if–” and got a faceful of water.
He turned his back to her and pointed. “Hands on the ledge!”
She slowly floated to the edge of the pool, her smile wide enough to see out of the corner of his eye.
She grabbed the ledge behind her head, still facin
g him, letting her body float to the surface.
He turned towards her again, distracted by the sight of those long, long legs floating arm’s length away and missed the glint in her eye.
She started kicking fiercely, sending a tidal wave of water over his head. He bowed his head, hunching against the onslaught, and hoped she’d stop soon. He needed to remember the water was her home, not his. And like most legendary water-folk, she’d drown him for sport.
Her kicking legs finally slowed and then stopped, and he took a long, deep breath. “Done now?”
She smiled wide, her eyes a shade darker than the pool water. She laughed at him and he watched the shadows in her eyes fade.
She leaned her head back and looked up the sky. “I might be done now.”
“You make helping you very difficult.”
“I’m not selling the house, so you can take your help elsewhere.”
He grunted, floating towards her. “You know I want it. And I know they will pry it from your dead, cold hands.”
She stopped smiling completely. “They’ll pry it from my hands before then.”
“They probably will. But I won’t.”
She looked at him. “I can’t give you anything, Cole.”
“There’s one thing you can give me.”
She grimaced. “I already made that deal once. I’m not doing it again.”
“Not even to save your house?”
“No.”
Cole said, “Then good thing that’s not what I want.”
She looked at him trying not to look at her legs and said, “Uh-huh.”
His teeth flashed. “Okay, it’s not all I want.”
She raised her eyebrows in question, clearly believing there was nothing else she had to give him.
He floated in close, grabbing the ledge above her head and bending down to whisper in her ear.
“I want forgiveness, Maggie. Can you give me that?”
She blinked and her breath puffed against his face. “What do you want forgiveness for, Cole? For screwing me or for screwing our deal?”
“I’ll never be sorry for making that deal with you. We both knew what we were doing.”
“I didn’t know you never meant to go through with your end.”
“I meant to. I was going to work out a new payment schedule with his father. Give him more time, and then…”
Cole’s graduation present from his father had been a portfolio of loans. All the debts of one family piled together. Given to him by his father so he could “experience the rush of destroying those who would destroy you”. And then Maggie had come, willing to agree to anything to save that family.
Cole hadn’t need much persuading to take her up on the offer. He got Maggie naked and in his bed and a chance to stick it to his father.
Maggie said, “And then?”
“That little shit came with his father and sat there with that smirk on his face and all I could see was how you would sleep with me because you loved him that much. That pompous little shit with sun shining out his ass.”
Cole took a shaky breath, remembering how it felt to have Maggie. How it felt to have her only because she loved him. “He wasn’t worth it. You couldn’t see he just wasn’t worth it.”
He put his hand over hers, looking into her eyes. “I’ll never be sorry for sleeping with you. But I will be eternally sorry for taking your trust and flushing it down the toilet.”
He willed her to see the truth. That there was nothing in life that he regretted, except for that.
Maggie stared unblinking into his eyes, floated silently next to him, and finally looked away.
She said, “How do you know I haven’t already forgiven you?”
He snorted. “Then say it. Say ‘I forgive you, Cole. And I would love to accept your help.’ And then I will go find a hat to eat.”
Her lips curved. “It would almost be worth it to see that.”
“I’ve learned how to sweeten a deal since we last negotiated.”
She chuckled, unhooking her hands from the ledge and floating away from him. He chased slowly after her, refusing to give her space.
He said, “But before you say anything, know that I’m also going to need a please to go with that forgiveness.”
She narrowed her eyes, shaking her head.
He smiled. A shark smile. “I’ve also learned how to get what I really want when I know I’m going to win.”
“I don’t think you’ve learned when you’re winning a negotiation.”
He didn’t stop smiling. “Oh, I’ve learned it.”
He watched her temper rising in her eyes, watched her fight the knowledge that she couldn’t let this opportunity get away. He’d get her forgiveness, get her in his bed again, and hell, maybe even move into the ranch house with her.
Well, he was a bastard. It wouldn’t be any help to let her forget that.
Then he remembered her penchant for trying to drown him and yielded slightly. “But we can split my payment. Half now, half later. Please now, forgiveness at the end. Deal?”
She dove under the water, swimming swiftly to one end of the pool and then back to him.
Her head broke the surface and she took a deep breath. “Bastard.”
He nodded but didn’t back down. “Say it, Maggie, and I’ll do it.”
“You say it and I’ll do it.”
He started to back away, then laughed. He’d said please once before. So had she. They could keep things even. He could give her that.
He took her hand. “We’ll say it together. No tricks.” He looked down at the hand he was holding and said, “We’ll say it together and help each other out. And then forget about those other times. We’ll start over.”
“You really think we can?”
He looked back up into turquoise eyes. “I’m willing to try.”
She blinked and swallowed. He counted to three softly and they whispered together. “Please.”
Cole inhaled deeply, pulling her closer. He said, “Let’s never do that again.”
Maggie’s lips stopped their pinching and she let him tow her towards him.
He said, “Besides, the only place I ever want to hear a Caldwell beg again is in the bedroom.”
“You’re really pushing it.”
“I can’t help it. It’s in my genes.”
Her legs tangled with his and his heart thumped in his chest.
She said, “Don’t remind me of your genes.”
“A man can’t help where he comes from.”
Maggie looked unconvinced and he didn’t want to spend any more minutes defending his parentage. He was done feeling inferior about the mud he’d crawled out of.
He planted his lips on hers, his eyes wide open. Wide enough to see that she wanted him, just not enough. Never enough.
She murmured, “I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“You’re going to. It just won’t be part of our deal.”
This time he wanted her in his bed, begging, because she wanted him. Not because she sold herself too low.
A diabolical gleam entered her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her breasts prodding him in the chin, and put her mouth next to his ear. She whispered, “If that’s why you’re doing this, it’s only fair to let you know I won’t be inviting you into my bed again. Ever.”
He dropped his chin until his lips touched her skin. He kissed the silky skin on her chest and said, “It’s not why I’m helping you. It’s just a side benefit.”
He slid his hands down her thighs and pulled her legs around his waist. “And who said anything about a bed? This pool works just fine.”
Maggie’s teeth bit gently into the fleshy part of Cole’s ear and his fingers curled involuntarily into her thighs.
“Christ, Maggie. You know I can’t wait to get under you again.”
Her teeth bit a little harder and her low laugh zinged right down his spine.
She pulled back from him, looking behind him. She said, “
You’re going to be waiting a lot longer.”
A golden voice behind him said, “Hey, Sis. Who are you entertaining?”
Cole’s body tightened. He turned around, Maggie’s legs still around his waist, his fingers still digging into her thighs but now not with lust.
Tanner pulled a lounge chair toward the pool, sipping from a tumbler and choking when he looked up and saw just who Maggie was wrapped around.
Tanner stopped dead and stared. His hand shook, the ice clinking and his drink sloshing.
Maggie tried to unhook her legs and Cole crushed her tighter to him.
Maggie murmured, “Down, boy. He’s not smirking now.”
No, he wasn’t. Cole had wiped that smirk off his face twelve years ago.
Cole looked away from the sunny-assed shit and into Maggie’s suddenly clear green eyes. Looked to see if there was any love left in there for the man who’d married her sister.
When she didn’t even bother to glance at Tanner, Cole loosened his grip on her thighs, let her unwrap her legs.
Tanner finally choked out, “What is he doing here?”
Maggie looked at Tanner, flicked her eyes to the glass he was holding, then looked back at Cole. She stared at him, all but saying out loud that she didn’t think he would really go through with it. That he’d really help her for just a promise of forgiveness.
Cole smiled at her and said, “Why, I’m marrying the empress here. Congratulate us, Tanner. You’re the first to know.”
Tanner Beaumont sat in the dark, watched the moonlight reflect off the pool, and drank. He’d emptied the first bottle, was well into the second, and had at some point stopped bothering with a glass at all.
Cole Montgomery. Here. And engaged to Maggie.
If Tanner had had any proof that his luck was finally turning, this disproved it. If Tanner had had any hope of seeing respect in society’s eyes again, this ended it.
Cole hated him. Had hated him since they were both seventeen. Cole had destroyed Tanner’s family just to get even with him. Cole would destroy this family as well.
They were already hanging by a thread. Cole must have smelled the blood in the water and come to finish them off. In one fell swoop, he would end both the Beaumonts and the Caldwells for good.
