And yet, she couldn’t sleep with him just to scratch an itch. When she was in high school, sex was all that mattered. Boys showered attention on her because she put out. Because she got nothing but derision at home, even the shallowness of these emotionless encounters was desirable. It became so desirable that she became sort of addicted to sex. No, that wasn’t accurate. She became addicted to feeling wanted, if only briefly and for sordid reasons that she never examined too closely.
But that was before she’d turned her life around.
Now, when she shared her body with someone, even when it ended up being a mistake, like with Pete, it was because she thought there was something worth exploring there. Never again would she use sex as a way to boost her ego.
And yet, what the hell was Spencer’s interest in her but one gigantic ego boost?
Spencer’s bigger than life persona and the speed with which she fell for him told her she needed to be very careful. Sleeping with Spencer was not in any way the same as sleeping with any of those high school boys. For one thing, he wasn’t a boy. He was a man who had proven himself to be kind and considerate and respectful of women as people, not as sex objects. And yet, she just couldn’t go to bed with him unless she was one hundred percent certain he really cared about her and was interested in seeing where their friendship lead. She owed herself that.
The moment the plane came to a stop, Spencer was out of his seat and heading down the aisle. He’d had his personal belongings packed and ready while they were still in the air over San Francisco International.
Someone called out, “Dude’s a goner!” but frankly, Spencer couldn’t give a rat’s ass what his teammates thought of his eagerness to get home. He’d seen all of them gaga over a woman and done his share of teasing, so if it was his turn, so be it. He did pause long enough to slip Mama Marilyn that fifty-dollar bill.
He drove home quickly but safely and after pulling into the garage, didn’t even grab his bags. The moment he opened the car door, he could smell the roast. Fuuuuck. Nothing he’d ever cooked had smelled that good. It smelled like a home should smell at dinner time.
He followed his nose inside where the dogs greeted him with wagging tails and happy doggie smiles. Laughing, he submitted to a face wash and gave them each a good two-handed head rub before heading all the way into the kitchen.
Maggie stood there smiling at him. Her hair was clipped up in a messy, sexy tangle. She wore a skirt and a blouse belted at the waist, big dangly earrings, and those cowboy boots of hers. Had he ever wanted to pull off a woman’s boots before? He didn’t think so.
“Hi. Welcome home,” she said, almost shyly.
“Thanks,” he said, making his way over to her. She bit her lower lip but maintained eye contact as he cupped her face in his hands.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for days,” he said before lowering his lips to hers.
She sighed and surrendered so sweetly to the kiss that for a long moment, he felt—not sexual desire, but the warmth of homecoming, of welcome, and happiness. Then, on the heels of that came the heat. It crept up quietly, but once it took hold, it didn’t let go. In a matter of moments, he was suffused with hunger. He pulled her closer, so he could feel her pressed up against him and deepened the kiss. She gave him a small moan of pleasure in response and he loved it. Her breasts against his chest, her tongue tangling with his got his heart pounding and his dick hard.
Panting, he backed her up against the counter and lifted her onto it as he ravished her neck.
“God, Maggie. I really missed you.”
He was still kissing and licking her neck as she said, “You know, I read that men feel horny after battle and hockey games are kind of like going into battle. It’s probably that.”
He stopped and leaned back. “Why is it so hard for you to believe I’m hot for you?”
“I…” She frowned. “Because you’re so far out of my league the distance could be measured in parsecs.”
He laughed then grasped her upper arms. “Then think of me as a space man who would cross galaxies for one of your kisses.” He punctuated that sentence with another kiss, a gentler one but one that promised heat and need and naked skin. Lots of naked skin.
She slid off the counter and said, “Do you like your sign?”
“What…?” Then he saw it.
Welcome home, Dad!
“Oh, shit! That’s great.” He laughed, delighted at the colorful letters, sparkling with multi-colored glitter. “Did your kids make this?”
“No. I did. And those are really Lulu’s and Kirby’s paw prints.”
“I love it, but I think I’m going to like what you made for dinner even more. It smells like something they would make in Valhalla for the brave fallen heroes.”
“The smell has been driving me crazy all day. It’s ready now, if you’re hungry.”
“I’ll get the plates, silverware and drinks while you grab the grub.”
Minutes later, they were sitting at the table and she was serving him a heaping portion of the most delectable looking pork he’d ever seen in his life. As promised, it fell away from the bone as she pulled it with a serving fork and spoon. Some of it was toasted brown and some of it was succulently juicy. His mouth was watering as she gave him the delicious looking vegetables and roasted potatoes. By some miracle of willpower, he didn’t start eating until she had her own food, but when she put the serving spoon down, he dug in—forked a huge mouthful of the meat into his mouth.
And fell into a dream of flavor and sensation that defied description.
He couldn’t even talk for a moment. When he finally could form a coherent thought, he said around the food, “This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”
She snort-giggled. “That’s what she said.”
“I’m not kidding. Maggie, this is incredible. You’re an incredible cook.”
“It is pretty good, isn’t it,” she said, beaming.
“Good doesn’t even come close.” He kept eating. “The vegetables,” he said, still chewing. “I actually like them. And the potatoes. God, give me some more of that gravy. Yeah, pour it right on there.”
For a while, all they did was enjoy the meal. With every bite, his taste buds told him she’s a keeper, she’s a keeper. His dick seconded the motion and as the moments passed, his heart and brain tended to agree.
“So, tell me about the trip? Anything interesting happen?”
Spencer laughed. “Yeah. Aggie—that’s Gideon Aguilar—is kind of going through a rough patch right now. He met this great woman over Christmas, but something serious is going on with them, so I thought pranking the rookies would cheer him up.”
She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Do tell.”
“It wasn’t anything elaborate. Nobie and Skags have the exact same bag, so we switched their luggage tags. That was pretty funny. We also knocked on their door and told them breakfast had been moved up an hour. By then they were suspicious, but Aggie’s a good actor and he said to them, ‘Okay, it’s on you if you’re late and Coach notices.’”
“You’re so bad!” she said, laughing.
“Wait you haven’t heard the best part. While he was talking to them, I swiped one of their room cards and put it in my pocket. Then later, Aggie and I snuck into their room and stole their pants. Here’s some video of them after they found out.”
Maggie watched a little snippet of the two rookies, clad only in their briefs, standing in the hallway and addressing their teammates. Everyone seemed to be in on the joke because there were doors open up and down the corridor with players half in and half out, laughing their heads off and denying that they had the pants.
“You get a bunch of boys together, there will be hijinks.” Spencer said. He took a long drink of his beer. “Do you play tricks on your students?”
“Every once in a while. Once I wanted them to clean out their desks. Almost all of them were so stuffed full of junk that when I asked them to take out their math books
, for instance, it would take them forever. So irritated, I told them ‘Class, the principal said we’re moving rooms today and we have to do all the moving. So we’re starting with your desks. Take everything out and throw away anything you don’t need. Then we’ll work on packing up the library.’ They looked at me in shock. It was all I could do not to laugh. ‘Why isn’t the custodian doing it?’ they asked. ‘Why do we have to do it?’ I just deflected the question.”
“What did they do when you told them it was all a ruse?” Spencer asked, highly amused.
“I got more shocked looks, some laughter. One kid, Victor, has a dad who loves practical jokes, so he told me, ‘Good one, Ms. Hudson.’ Then at lunchtime, I was the talk of the playground. That was a fun day.”
“I wish I’d had a teacher like you,” he said. “All my teachers were sticks in the mud. Strict as hell.”
“I’m strict.” At his skeptical expression, she insisted, “No, I am, but I also believe school should be fun. Children are more open to learning if they’re having fun.”
They smiled at each other and he was again struck by the comfortable domesticity.
He reached out and placed his hand over hers.
“I really liked coming home to you, Maggie. I’d love to make a habit of it.”
“Spencer, you’re going too fast.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. It’s scaring the hell out of me, too, but I know how I feel about you. This isn’t a fling.”
“Funny,” she said, cocking her head in an almost successful attempt at flippancy. “That’s exactly what I thought it was.”
“Oh? You make glitter signs for all your love-’em-and-leave-’ems?”
She gave him an annoyed look, which was so damned adorable, he almost laughed. She got up and took their dirty plates with her, and he didn’t offer to help. She was in retreat and needed some time to think about things.
He got his phone out and put some classic Sting on over the house speakers. Still made no move to go over to her. Instead, he sat by the dog beds and gave them some loving, keeping a close eye on her throughout.
“I’m going to take some of this meat with me, if you don’t mind,” she said.
“Take whatever you want. You were right. That was enough for an army.”
“Yeah, and if you run out, you have a whole pan of tuna enchiladas in the fridge.”
He grimaced. “That sounds utterly disgusting.”
“Stacy said she thought canned tuna was an underused ingredient and was more versatile than people knew.”
“Tuna out of a can is good for one thing. Tuna salad. End of story.”
“I agree,” she said, drying her hands.
“Want me to make a fire in the fire pit?” he asked.
She gave him a long look. He sensed a negative reply in the making.
“I won’t try anything. Honest. We can just cuddle. You like cuddling, right?”
“I do love cuddling. Cuddling by a fire is the best, but I should really go home. I’ve got a bunch of laundry and the plants need watering…”
He put a hand over his heart as if wounded and turned to Lulu. “Did you hear that, girl? She’d rather do laundry than cuddle with us.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “I did mention the dogs were joining us, didn’t I?”
Lulu whined and nosed Spencer’s arm. He pointed at his dog and gave Maggie a look. “See? Lulu’s wants you to stay too.”
There was nothing much on the line here, just an hour or so more of her company, but he felt anxious and more afraid of rejection than he wanted to admit.
Building a fire didn’t take long. He had everything he needed outside, plus there was a propane line that guaranteed it stayed lit. He had very comfortable furniture out there and even a blanket in case her shoulders got cold.
They settled in against each other and he felt another part of him shift into alignment with her. It was crazy. The only thing he could compare it to was getting all new hockey equipment and wondering if it was going to work out and finding out that it was already a little worn in for you. The gloves already had creases in exactly the right places. The skates, too. The helmet fit perfectly with no gaps or tight spots and the all-important stick blade curved the exact right amount. It floored him that he might never have met her but for Kirby.
“This is nice,” she said. Leaning her head into the hollow of his neck after he put his arm around her shoulders.
“So tell me, why teaching?”
“I love kids.”
“Lots of people love kids and don’t become teachers. Me being one of them.”
“I’m addicted to seeing the kids learn—that look on a kid’s face when he or she finally gets a concept. It’s such a high.”
He kissed the top of her head and sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that’s the pat answer you give everyone? I mean, don’t get me wrong. It sounds like you’ve found your true calling, but…” He shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s something in your voice, like it’s not all sunshine and joy.”
As the fire crackled and spat, the dogs’ ears pricked, but they soon settled—Kirby curled against Maggie and Lulu on his other side. He watched the flames lick the sides of the wood, watched the embers glowing and waited. He waited a long time and he was now deeply curious at what was going on in her head.
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“I’ve got time.”
21
Maggie pulled away and drew her knees up to her chest. Dread pooled in her stomach at the thought of telling him about her sordid past, but better to find out if he was repulsed now, before things went any further.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You want to know the real reason I went into education? It’s because I had a teacher once who changed the course of my life so much that…I’m not sure I wouldn’t be homeless if not for her.”
Spencer’s expression sobered immediately. “Jesus.”
“See, my dad left me and my mom when I was four and I don’t have any memory of what he looked like. My mom didn’t keep any pictures of him and she never talked about him except to curse him out and blame him for how shitty her life was. Not our lives. Hers. She was selfish and verbally abusive and literally never had a kind word for me, so much so that earbuds became my most precious possession because they allowed me to shut her out.”
When she paused to look at him, his face was a mask of concern. “Maggie, I—”
She shook her head sharply. “No don’t. Don’t say anything. Just let me get through it.”
“Okay sure. I’ll just listen, but come here, will you? Let me rub your shoulders. You’re so tense, they’re about level with your ears.”
She presented her back to him and the moment he began massaging her shoulders, the tension that had centered there began to loosen. He had a strong but gentle touch that soothed her and made her feel…safe—safe in telling him the rest of the tale.
“We weren’t destitute, but we weren’t exactly comfortable either. My mom worked an office job and went through a couple of boyfriends a year, give or take a few months. Thankfully, she never got pregnant again. I shudder to think what it would have been like to have a little brother or sister to take care of and protect. By the time I was eleven, I was pretty good at steering clear of my mom.
“So fast-forward to high school. I’m basically a mess with not much self-esteem, a big chip on my shoulder, and an emptiness inside that I tried to fill with sex. Lots of sex with lots of boys.”
His hands stilled and she bit her lip, thinking this is it. This is where he pulls away.
But he didn’t.
He came closer. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and as his solid, comforting warmth stole through her, emotion clogged her throat. For a moment she couldn’t speak. He pressed his cheek to hers, and held her.
As instructed, he said nothing, but he didn’t need to. His embrace told her without words and without judgment that he understood. It gave her the courage to kee
p going.
“So, I’m not proud of my behavior back then, but I’ve mostly forgiven myself for it. At that age and with my home life being what it was, I wasn’t…I didn’t know what the hell I was doing or why I was doing it. Sometimes I’d step back and wonder why I was being such a slut, but most of the time I didn’t feel like I was in control of my actions. That sounds like a cop out, but it’s the truth.
“Anyway, as one might expect, I got knocked up. At the time, it was the worst day of my life because I had to come to terms with the fact that I was worse than my mother because I had no idea who the father was. This is where the teacher comes into the story.
“That year, I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Jennings for English. She was the type of teacher who took a subject most people hated and made it fun and interesting. As strange as it may sound, I was a good student and was able to maintain a 3.7 GPA. Anyway, Mrs. Jennings became a sort of surrogate mom for me, providing a shoulder to lean on and the kind of advice I could never hope to get from my own mother. When I told her I was pregnant, she didn’t berate me or chew me out. She took me under her wing and got me help and counseling.”
She leaned out of his embrace then turned to face him, finally.
“Eventually and after a lot of soul searching, I decided I wanted my baby to grow up with two loving parents with the means to support a child in a way that I couldn’t. So I carried her to term and after she was born, I gave her up.”
Her voice cracked and so did the control she’d been maintaining. With a sob, she turned, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck. A rock of support and strength, he held her tightly and let her cry.
“Oh, Maggie,” he murmured. “My sweet Maggie. I can’t believe how strong you were. That took a lot of guts, not to mention a shit ton of courage and compassion and self-sacrifice.”
Animal Attraction (San Francisco Dragons Book 2) Page 11
