Chapter Six

The next morning Maggie woke up, getting ready quickly. Her hair up in a triple twist at the nape of her neck made her feel sleek and classy and a bit untouchable. She silently thanked Polly for packing professional looking clothing when she unzipped the garment bag. Choosing a black skirt and a cream colored blouse and some black pumps, she checked herself over in the mirror one last time before leaving the room. Chin up, she headed downstairs.

“Good morning, Red.” Kyle came out of the kitchen to greet her. He kissed her quickly and gently on the lips and then placed another kiss on her forehead. “You look nice. Momma’s got breakfast just about done. Come on into the dining room.”

She walked into the dining room and saw that Edward was already there dressed in a suit and Matt was there too. “I thought you two lived on your own?” She asked Kyle.

Edward laughed and went back to his newspaper.

“We do. But I wanted to take the day off to help you, to be with you. My loser brothers are here all the time to scrounge free food from Mom.”

Touched, she reached out and squeezed his hand. “You took the day off for me? You didn’t have to do that.”

He brought her hand to his lips. “I know I didn’t have to, I wanted to. Now sit down. You want some coffee?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” She sat, looking to Edward. “Mr. Chase, what time should I go to see the judge?”

“Edward please, darlin’. And I’ll come with you. He does ex parte motions at ten thirty on Thursdays. I’ve had my assistant get the paperwork filled out—what parts you don’t have to do that is—and we’ll swing by my office to finish them first. We can leave here by nine thirty. You can ride in with Kyle. I’ll need my car later.”

“Don’t I need to fill out a fee agreement or something?”

“Honey, this is not something I’d charge for. You’re like a part of our family! I wouldn’t dream of charging money for it.”

She shook her head. “Edward, I can’t let you do that. You’re providing professional services and guidance to me. It wouldn’t be right to take advantage of that.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes at her as he put a mug of coffee in her hands. Damn but she was independent. He wasn’t worried though, if Edward Chase could handle Polly, he could handle Red.

“I would be insulted if you pursued this any further.” Edward looked down at her face, putting on his uber father mask, throwing in a bit of lawyer for effect.

Maggie didn’t know what else to do or say. She didn’t want to insult the people who’d helped her so much. When she got home she planned to make a huge batch of her lemon almond scones and some blueberry muffins and deliver them to Edward’s office. She’d bring extras to the house as well. “Thank you for your kindness,” she finally said, admitting defeat.

“Any time, sugar.” Edward smiled and went back to reading the paper.

At the courthouse, the judge heard two minutes of her story before issuing the temporary order. It helped that one of the witnesses was the sheriff. “The papers will be served to Mr. Parsons at his home address. I understand he is currently out on bail.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Maggie said and they walked out into the hallway. Once out of the judge’s hearing she turned to Edward. “He’s free? They let him go?”

“I hadn’t heard yet. Apparently so.”

Shane stepped forward then. “He made bail a few minutes ago. He’s home on his own recognizance. I’ll have the papers served immediately. I need you to come to the station now so we can take more of your statement.”

“How could they just let him out? He broke my windows! He wrote that stuff on my door. He has…pictures of me! The man is a panty thief!”

“I’m sorry, Maggie, it’s not up to me,” Shane said gently.

“Well this is just bullshit!” she hissed and the men around her were taken aback by her language but hid their amusement well.

“I’m sorry, sugar. This is the way of it, sometimes.” Edward patted her shoulder. “I’m going to leave you in Kyle’s able hands. I have a hearing to get to. I’m your attorney so if you need help, you call me right away, all right?”

“Thank you so much.” He probably couldn’t have any idea how much he’d helped her but she hoped she could make it up to him somehow. Even if it took her ten years.

He kissed the top of her head and was off with a wave to his sons.

“Kyle, you don’t have to baby sit me. I know you have work to do.”

“That’s why it’s so cool to be the boss. I’m not only going to stay with you, but when I take you back home, I’m going to install some motion controlled lights for you.”

She thought about arguing but saw the set of his mouth and let the idea go. He was just as stubborn as she was. Instead she gave him her thanks and sent some silent thanks of her own out for having such good people in her life.

 

 

Back at her house, Maggie cleaned up the inside while Kyle installed the motion detectors for the lights. From his vantage on the ladder, he saw a Lincoln pull up to the curb out front. A tall, blonde woman got out and stalked up the steps and into the house. An open window was right below where he was working and he heard the entire exchange.

“Margaret, where have you been?” the woman called out as she walked in through the door.

“Hello, Mother.”

“I tried calling you all last night but you didn’t answer. Nice girls don’t stay out night, you know. Think of how the town will talk. Were you with some man? Oh never mind, silly question. Anyway, I got a call from Jane Marie about the deplorable way you treated her last night. Your jealousy of your sister has made you mean spirited. She can’t help that she’s prettier than you are and has a handsome man. You had no right to take it out on her.”

“Oh, I see, so automatically, whatever Janie says is true? That’s right, why even bother asking for my side of the story.” Kyle heard the hurt in her words.

“You cannot be trusted over your sister.”

Hearing all he could take, Kyle walked around and up the steps and into the house.

“For your information, Mrs. Wright, Maggie wasn’t home because her house was vandalized and windows were broken out. She stayed with my mother and father until the glass could be replaced.”

“Are you the contractor?” Cecelia looked at him haughtily until recognition lit her eyes and she sent him her thousand watt beauty queen smile. “Wait, you’re a Chase aren’t you?” Her eyelashes fluttered in the presence of such a handsome man and Maggie rolled her eyes.

“No, ma’am, not the contractor. I’m Maggie’s boyfriend, Kyle Chase.” He held his hand out to the vile woman.

“Boyfriend? You?” Cecelia started laughing as it if were the funniest joke she’d ever heard.

Kyle cut off her laughter. “Moreover, and I don’t mean to tell tales out of school, but I think you should know that it was Jane Marie who was a very nasty woman last evening. Maggie and I were having dinner, minding our own business when she came over to our table and was deliberately hurtful to her sister. Maggie did nothing more than defend herself. I’m the one who asked Janie to leave us alone.” He put his arm around Maggie’s shoulders and wished he could toss Cecelia Wright right out of the house.

“Margaret has been jealous of her sister’s superior looks her whole life. Margaret never ran in the popular crowd or got elected homecoming queen and she couldn’t stand it that Jane Marie was. Jane Marie is simply superior and Margaret needs to accept that once and for all.”

Fury and hurt coursed through Maggie. And then, clarity and calm. She was done letting herself get treated that way. By anyone. “That’s a lie. I was happy for her. If she could actually stop being so nasty to me for a few days, she and I got on quite well. I’m still happy for her. I just no longer choose to be spoken to like I’m an ugly stepchild.”

“What are you talking about?” Cecelia looked shocked that Maggie would dare to defend herself.

“The way you’ve spoken to me my whole life, Mother. As if I could never quite make the grade because I didn’t look like you and Janie. It’s quite an achievement to win pageants and I’m happy and proud of both of you. But there’s more than one kind of achievement in life. I graduated second in my class at college and first in graduate school. I had full ride scholarships for all six years. I have a good job. I have nice friends, a good life. Mother, why can’t you just accept me for Margaret and not as someone who isn’t a carbon copy of you?”

“The boyfriend thing is new.” She eyed Kyle up and down.

Leave it to Cecelia to focus on that instead of everything else. Maggie sighed. “First of all, I’ve dated since I came back to town to teach four years ago. If you had ever bothered to ask me about my life, you’d know that.”

“A bit of a make-over I see. Now if you’d just go blonde you could really look good. Although I must admit that even Jane Marie never landed a Chase brother.”

“Don’t talk about him like he’s a grade of meat.”

“Darling, he’s much better looking than you are. You must be doing something right. Maybe I underestimated you.”

Kyle exhaled sharply. “Ma’am, I was raised by Polly Chase to never be rude to a woman but in the last day, between you and your oldest daughter, I’ve been put to the test something fierce. Maggie is beautiful. She’s funny and smart as all get out. She’s compassionate, strong and generous. How dare you talk to her like she’s not?”

Cecelia Wright’s eyes opened wide. “Margaret, are you going to let your young man speak to me like that?”

“Hell yes, Mother. Good bye. Oh and I do so appreciate you asking if I’m okay after my home was vandalized last night.”

Cecelia Wright gasped and stormed out of the house.

“Oh my God, Kyle Chase.” Maggie turned to him, lips in a tight line, hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t mean to be rude but I couldn’t believe how she was talking to you.”

Maggie threw her head back and laughed. She laughed and laughed until tears ran down her face and she had to sit down right in the middle of the floor. “Oh my lands! I’ve never seen her with that look on her face, I hope it freezes,” she gasped out her laughter.

A smile cracked Kyle’s worried face. He joined her on the floor and pulled her onto his lap. “Girl, you are something else,” he murmured into her hair.

“Question is, what exactly is something else?” she asked, looking up into his face.

“Something special,” he said softly, leaning down to kiss her upturned lips. “Something sweet,” he added and nibbled on her chin. “Something sexy.” She tipped her head back to give him access to her throat and he kissed down to the hollow there.

“Mmm. That’s nice.”

He looked down the line of her body, over the curve of her breasts, down her stomach, her small hands fisted in his shirt. “Yes, very nice.” God he wanted to see her naked. To feel her bare flesh against his own. To taste her.

Maggie laughed then, a low, sexy sound. This woman was trouble. She made him want to jump inside her skin. Wanted every day memories like going camping and working in the yard. Yearned to hear her voice, smell her skin. See if she had freckles anywhere else.

For years he’d avoided such trouble, liking the single life very much. But Maggie Wright was the best kind of trouble he’d ever been in and he wanted to gorge himself with more.

Trailing the tips of his fingers down her belly he traced circles around her navel, slightly easing the hem of her blouse up. She shifted then and ran her fingers through his hair, dragging her fingernails lightly across his scalp. “Oh God, please touch me. I need your hands on me,” she whispered.

“Hey, girl! You in there?” They both jumped at the sound and Kyle reluctantly sat Maggie up, smoothing her shirt down.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered and he laughed and shrugged. “In here, Liv,” Maggie called out, having to clear her voice.

Liv walked into the living room and saw them both getting up off the floor. “Whoops! Sorry. I can come back later.”

“No, I need to finish installing those motion lights, anyway.” He turned and kissed Maggie’s nose and whispered, “I’ll get back to where I was later on.”

“You’d better.” She smiled at him and watched him walk out of the room.

“Well,” Liv said with a grin on her face.

“Yeah, turns out I had the wrong Chase brother to start with but now that I’ve corrected my mistake things are much better.” She snorted, starting to laugh.

Liv tossed her bag into a chair and crossed her arms, looking at her friend. “So what happened with Alex? By the way, I’m parched. Can I get some tea?”

“Yeah, come on through.” Maggie motioned her into the kitchen, giving her the basics on the way. “They let him out on bail today. He’s home! I can’t believe that. Oh, and they’re charging him with possession of stolen property for having ten pairs of my underwear, three bras and a teddy, a bustier and a silk robe. It was my favorite robe, too! I thought it was at the dry cleaners. It’s not like I can wear any of that stuff again, God only knows what he did with it all.”

Both women shuddered in disgust. “Eww. What about the pictures?”

“What about them? Apparently he didn’t do anything illegal. Any pervert can set up and using a telephoto lens, shoot you taking a shower. Ridiculous. You can bet I’ll keep my curtains closed up tight. Hell, I even safety pinned them closed because a few of the pictures were shot between the gap where the two panels didn’t quite meet. Though they do go toward making him look like the perverted stalker he is so we can use that in the protection order hearing.”

“I feel guilty, he seemed so nice.”

“Don’t feel bad, Liv. How could you have known? He was a nice guy for a while.”

“So tell me about the fracas with Janie last night.” Liv’s eyes lit up as she drank her tea.

Maggie spilled the entire story to Liv.

After first being shocked, Liv started laughing at Kyle’s response. “I knew that boy was a keeper! Has hurricane Cece been here?”

“Of course. She starts in on how she’s been trying to get a hold of me and how nice girls don’t stay out all night. Kyle comes in and tells her I’ve been vandalized. She actually flirted with him and then he tells her he’s my boyfriend and she laughed like it was a joke. Liv, she told me that my word couldn’t be trusted over Janie’s and that I was jealous because she was superior to me.” That sliced into her gut.

Liv looked like she saw a pile of steaming dog doo. “Your mother is awful. She’s a crime in thirty states.”

“I stood my ground, Liv. For once in my life I defended myself and it felt great. Kyle defended me, too, which was very sweet. Poor ol’ Cece ran for the door looking like she needed some more botox. I hope she and Janie get five new wrinkles from this.”

Unashamedly listening from his ladder outside, Kyle nearly burst out laughing.

“You know, Liv, the Chase family showed me more love and concern in half an hour than my mother has my whole life. You should have seen them all here last night. Every single last one of them helped me. Matt and Marc boarded my windows and then finished scrubbing my door off. Polly showed up and ordered me to stay with them. At their house she made me hot chocolate and Edward appointed himself my attorney. Today he came to court with me. Shane took my report personally and has kept me updated on everything and Kyle has been with me the whole time. He took on my insane evil mother and sister.”

She stopped for a moment, tears choking her voice. “It’s just that I’ve been alone for a long time. I’ve had you and Dee and all but if my knee got scraped I got a lecture about being clumsy. Polly Chase is the kind of woman who would’ve cleaned it off and blown on the skin while she put hydrogen peroxide on it. They’re all so wonderful and I’m horribly frightened that Kyle’s feelings for me will wear off and I’ll be alone again. Only after having been a part of their world, it’ll be really lonely.” Her voice had gone to nothing more than a whisper at the last admission.

Liv held back her own tears and hugged Maggie tight. “Girl, you always, always have me and Dee. And I think you should give Kyle a chance. By your description of his actions, he’s in it for the long haul—the good, the bad and the ugly. Anyway, why quit now? You’ve already been in their world, it’s not like you can erase it.”

“Oh, Liv, last night it was so clear that I’m in way over my head. At The Oak Room everyone knew him. It was filled with people who never spoke a single word to me in high school. Everywhere we go women stare at him blatantly. Lyndsay Cole came onto him right in front of me! Even after he told her he was with me. How can I compete with that?”

“Maggie, you have got to stop this. You‘re nearly twenty-seven years old. How long are you going to let your mother and sister do a number on you? You don’t need to compete with the Lyndsays of the world. You’re better than they are anyway! Take a real look at yourself, please. You underestimate yourself so much! That’s why you dated men like Sam for so long. You made a comment a while back about lowering your standards—sugar, raise them. You deserve it. Let yourself be happy. Let yourself be with Kyle Chase. You won’t die if it doesn’t work out. But imagine if it does.”

Kyle leaned against the wall of the house, under the window, trying to process all he’d heard. He had to launch Operation Make Margaret Wright Know What A Goddess She Was, and he had to do it right away. Listening to her talk about her mother and sister, about how she felt last night among people he’d moved with for years, he felt bad. He needed to look at his own life a bit. He saw how shallow Jane Marie and Lyndsay were and wondered how many others in his circle were like that?

He pushed himself to standing and finished the last bit of installation for the lights and tested them. He was walking around the front of the house when Shane pulled up.

“Hey, Shane.” He walked over to meet his brother’s approach.

“Hey. Listen to this, Alex Parsons has four prior no contact orders on file. Seems that he had quite the way with the ladies back in college. I also talked with Dad’s investigator who spoke with two women here in Petal who’ve had such bad experiences with Alex they were afraid to file police reports.”

“Well, well, well. What a bastard. What does this mean then, for his case?”

“I passed it all on to the Prosecutor’s Office. They contacted Alex’s attorney. He’s going to plead out.”

“At least she won’t have to testify or face him in court,” Kyle said. “Let’s go and tell her.”

Shane nodded and they went in. Liv gave Shane a dirty look but smiled at Kyle.

“What’s happening with the case?” Maggie asked, handing each of them a mug of hot tea and pointing their attention to the platter of scones.

“He has a criminal history of stalking women, Maggie. He’s got four protection orders taken out by women at the UGA. He also apparently has a bad history here in town. He made a plea deal today. He’ll officially sign it in court next Wednesday if the judge agrees, which he will. He’s agreed to a permanent no contact order—he has to stay five hundred feet away from you at all times, can’t contact you, and he’s promised to not take any pictures of you. He’ll have to pay for your windows and take anger management classes and have counseling.”

“And how much time will he have to serve?”

“He won’t be serving any time at all.”

She froze, blinking quickly. “What? The man broke into my house and stole my panties…for God’s sake! My favorite robe—I bought that robe in Milan and I can’t ever bear to touch any of it again. He took pictures of me without my knowledge or consent, he manhandled me, broke my windows out and wrote an offensive word on my door and he doesn’t serve any time? Worse, he’s got a history of this and he gets away with it again? It’s no wonder those other women didn’t come forward. But oh well, I suppose I got what I deserved and all, being a woman who dared to go out with him and then you, oh and don’t forget Kyle too.”

“I’m sorry, Maggie. If it were up to me he’d be in prison for years, you know that. But the court doesn’t view his crime as that serious and they’d rather take a plea agreement than prosecute because it’s cheaper and easier. If he violates the protection order—which you’ll have granted as a permanent order because he’s agreed to that as well as the no contact order—you’ll have double protection.”

“Oh well, I’m sure that piece of paper will do a fine job! Oh and now I can’t even use the library because he’s there.”

“This conviction will go on his record. He’ll have to get help. Maybe he’ll truly get the help he needs.”

“Oh, his permanent record, I’m sure he’s shaking in his boots! And help? Bully for him. But. What. The. Fuck. About. Me? Huh? What do I get out of this except for broken windows and a twitch every time the wind blows a branch against a window?”

Liv gasped, not because she found the word so horrifying but that she’d never ever heard Maggie use it. Kyle had an amused look on his face.

Shane looked at his brother, annoyed. “What?”

Kyle turned and looked at Maggie. “Get mad, Red! Who is this asshole to terrorize you? Who are these judges and attorneys who’re going to let this guy off? Who is your mother to treat you like crap? Who is Jane Marie to treat you so badly when she’s a nasty cheating liar? Aren’t you sick and tired of it all? Don’t you deserve better than that?”

“Yes! Damn it, I do! I’m a good person. I volunteer. I’m a teacher. I treat people right and look at what happens.”

“Look what happens when you don’t accept anything less than the respect you deserve, Maggie,” he said softly, running the backs of his fingers down her cheek.

Realization dawned. “You trying to teach me a lesson, Kyle Chase?”

“Sure am.” He folded his arms over his chest with an aura of authority. “You may not be able to make the court system punish Alex for this. Not in the way you want, but damn it you can make sure that everyone else in your life treats you with respect and on your own terms.”

“Like my mother.”

“Yeah, and your sister.”

“And women like Lyndsay,” Liv added.

“Definitely,” Maggie added, looking dangerous.

“And me,” Shane said. He sat down on the couch and looked up at her. “I owe you a big apology. I’m sorry I didn’t just have the decency to say I couldn’t see you any more to your face. You deserved better than me shoving Kendra at you like that.”

Maggie looked at Shane for a long silent moment. Panic ate at Kyle when he understood that he was falling hard for little Miss Red. If she still had feelings for Shane he didn’t know what he’d do.

She took a deep breath. “Apology accepted. Shane, you know, I didn’t expect you to propose or anything. I understand you’ve been hurt badly but not every woman is like your ex. There’s someone out there who you can make a future with. But if you keep running and closing yourself off at the first thought of actually having feelings for someone, you’ll die lonely. Don’t do that. Underneath that gruff exterior, there’s a really special man.”

Maggie looked over at Kyle. Smiling, she held out her hand for his. Relief rushed through him but he pretended that he’d never been worried at all.

“In the mean time, Shane, if you ever hurt a friend the way you hurt Maggie, I’ll kick you right in the junk.” Liv’s eyes were ferocious as she said it and Shane crossed his legs.

Maggie’s phone rang and she grabbed it. It was Polly.

“Hi, honey. Are any of my boys over there with you now?”

“Yep, Shane and Kyle. You need them?”

“I just wanted to invite you to dinner. You can tell them to come too. I’m making smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, salad, corn bread and I wasn’t gonna bother baking after you sent those delicious scones and muffins over.”

“Thanks, Polly, that’s so kind. I don’t want to impose on you two nights in a row.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that my momma?”

“Yes, she’s inviting me to dinner and she says you two can come, too.”

“What’s she making?” Shane asked.

“Smothered pork chops.”

“Tell her I’ll be there,” he said immediately.

“You and I will be there in half an hour.” Kyle’s expression didn’t leave room for argument. “Oh, and wait, let me talk to her.” Kyle grabbed the phone she held out. “Momma, you got room for one more?”

“Of course I do. Who else is coming?”

“Olivia Davis, the Mayor’s secretary. She’s Maggie’s best friend and she’s here right now.”

“Good, she’s a pretty one. I’ll put her between Matt and Shane. See y’all soon then.”

Kyle hung up and looked back at them all. “Olivia, my mother would love for you to come as well. I promise you an excellent meal. Plus, well my family can be a bit overwhelming so it’ll help Maggie to have you there.”

“That and there’s never an objection at our house to another beautiful woman,” Shane added.

“Flattery and pork chops when all I was gonna do was eat a Lean Cuisine? Hmm, I think I’ll have to choose the pork chops.”

“Okay, but let me change. I have dust and glass shards on this skirt.” Maggie bounded up the stairs to her room.

She changed into a pair of soft jeans and a fleece pullover and came back downstairs. “I sure like watching you go up and down stairs,” Kyle murmured as he captured her waist, pulling her to him.

Smirking, she kissed him quickly as they headed out to the car. “Glad to be entertaining.”

 

 

Maggie felt immediately at home when she walked inside the Chase’s home. Within moments she’d garnered hugs and kisses from everyone, although Kyle scowled at Marc who just laughed.

“You all know Olivia?” Maggie introduced her friend.

“Yes,” Matt answered immediately. “You’ll be sitting next to me tonight.”

Maggie smiled. It looked like with a little help from Polly, Maggie was able to get Matt and Liv together after all.

“You got any other hot friends, Maggie?” Marc asked.

“Sorry, Marc. You’ve dated most every woman in Petal. Dee is lovely but she’s engaged. Everyone else you’ve probably gone out with.”

Kyle laughed at that one until Marc took her hand and kissed it. “Except for you, sugar.” He winked.

“My goodness, you boys are a menace.” Maggie blushed and Edward laughed as he led them all into the dining room.

The food was, as advertised, completely delicious. Maggie watched, amused as Matt and Liv hit it off. The brothers argued about the Braves’ chances for the next season while Polly and Maggie talked about the upcoming auction for the Historical Society.

After they’d eaten and cleaned up, Kyle put his arm around Maggie. “Well folks, I’m going to get Maggie home. Matt, can you please give Liv a ride home? She rode over with us and I want to stop by my place for a minute to pick something up.”

Matt perked up. “Of course, no problem. I was hoping to stay for dessert though. Liv?”

“Are those Maggie’s lemon almond scones I see?”

“Oh, yes. She brought them over earlier today.”

“Then I’ll definitely stay for dessert.” Liv got up and hugged Maggie and whispered, “Tell Kyle I owe him one.”

Once they were driving, Kyle reached out and grabbed Maggie’s hand. “I wasn’t trying to get rid of you, Red. I was trying to get rid of them. I thought that it might be nice to stop by my condo to get some coffee ice cream. Maybe watch a movie. What do you say?”

“I say, I love coffee ice cream!”

Kyle’s condo complex was on the south side of town and had a series of small streams that led into a large man-made lake at the center. Kyle’s two story townhouse was on a little spit of land that looked out over the water.

He pulled into the attached garage and took her inside through a side door. Maggie had to admit she was impressed. The living room and kitchen opened up to the second floor. Pretty maple hardwood floors gleamed and ceiling fans circled lazily, moving the air. It was tastefully furnished and reasonably neat.

“This is really nice, Kyle.”

“Want the grand tour?”

“Sure.”

He showed her through the first floor, through his office and the living room and nice sized kitchen.

The upstairs featured a guest bedroom and attached bath and a large master suite with windows overlooking the stream and lake. Hues of sage green and sand gave the space a cool and relaxed feeling. His bed, on a low platform, dominated the room. Maggie couldn’t help but stare at it for long moments.

“Wow, this is beautiful. Puts my bedroom to shame.”

“I thought the same thing when I saw your bedroom. It’s so warm, so you.”

She turned to him and he looked at her without saying anything for several long moments.

“Red, we should probably go downstairs now.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them moved.

Reaching up, Maggie unzipped the front of her pullover. It exposed her skin to just above her belly button. Oh my God, did I actually just do that? She panicked but then realized that it was done and she may as well ride it, or him, out. It was time to take her life into her own hands and live it.

His lips parted and he looked at the small vertical slash of skin exposed through the open zipper.

Maggie turned and walked into the hallway, leaving her pullover unzipped. She went down the stairs and heard him follow her. Calmly, she sat down on his couch, turning to look at him when he joined her. His pupils were huge, his breathing shallow.

He pulled her close. “What are you up to, Red?” His voice was a lazy purr and suddenly, she felt a bit like prey.

“Nothing, it’s just a bit warm,” she said breathily. His nearness affected her, sped her heart. Warmed her from the inside out.

The corners of his mouth tugged up. “Are you teasing me, Red?”

She shook her head slowly. “I’m promising you.”

“Good lord, woman. You trying to kill me?” He nuzzled her neck.

“Huh uh.” It came out slow and soft as her head lolled back to give him more access. “I’ll need you later. Or now.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

She sat up and laughed. “Sheesh, Kyle, I know you’ve slept with like a hundred women. Haven’t any of them teased you? Or am I doing so poorly at it that you don’t get it?”

“There’s the Red of my dreams. I love it when you go all sassy on me.” He pushed his face into her cleavage and breathed her in. His goatee tickled the sensitive skin there and shivers of delight and anticipation broke over her.

“I was hoping you meant you wanted to make love. But I wanted to be sure because I respect you so much. I just don’t want to push past where you’re willing to go.”

She leaned over and pressed her lips to his ear. “Kyle, can you respect me while you’re inside me? Because I really—and I mean really—need you to fuck me.” She knew she was blushing but it felt so good to say what she’d been thinking.

She saw the shiver run down his skin and he moved to look into her face. “Do you know how sexy you are? I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted anything as badly as I want to make love to you.” Standing up, he held out his hand to her and she took it. Hand in hand, he led her up the stairs to his bedroom.

Closing the door behind them, the rest of the world felt far away. While she stood and watched him, he pulled out some matches and lit the candles that ringed the room.

“They’re new. I bought them thinking about how you’d look with the candlelight flickering off your skin.”

“Dude, you say the best stuff. You’re so getting lucky.” Smiling, she grabbed hold of the bottom of her pullover and yanked it over her head.

He blinked a few times. “Damn it, woman, you’re gonna kill me. Just full of surprises, aren’t you?” With a grin, he reached to turn off the overhead light. “Yeah, just what I thought. You and candlelight—a very sexy combination.”

“I’m sexy? Kyle Chase, do you look in the mirror very often?” Maggie went to him, reaching out to slowly unbutton his shirt. She gloried in the feel of his skin as she slid the shirt down his arms and off. The warmth of his body and the scent of him hit her face. She closed her eyes, leaning in to take a deep hit of him.

Drowning in hormones she stepped back to take a long look at him. His upper body had the long lean muscle of a runner or a cyclist. He was hard and packed but not bulked.

“Dear lord, you’re beautiful.” Leaning back toward him, she flicked her tongue over one of his nipples, delighting in his hungry moan. The heated salt of his taste set her taste buds on fire. She wanted more of him. All of him.

Needing to touch him, she slid her palms down the muscled plane of his abdomen. Her fingers tucked just inside the waistband of his jeans, tracing around the edge and the sensitive skin there. Getting down to business, she unsnapped each of the seven buttons there. Every pop seemed so loud—vibrating off her spine as she uncovered a bit more of his body.

Kneeling to help him step out of his jeans and socks, she looked up, thrilled when she saw the inescapable evidence of just how much he wanted her—how much Kyle Chase wanted Margaret Wright.

“Now there’s a picture to last me many a cold and lonely night,” he murmured, looking down at her kneeling. Heart hammering in his chest, he reached down to caress her face. Every nerve ending in his body lit when she rubbed a velvety cheek along his thighs. Her fingers and nails grazed down the backs of his legs, kneading the muscles of his calves.

Her caresses came back up his legs and into his boxer-briefs to cup the hard muscle of his ass. Grabbing the material, she pulled them down, leaving him totally naked to her view. He should have felt exposed. But instead heat spread through him at the sight of the greed in her gaze.

She’d intended to stand back to look at all of him but the heated velvet of his cock called to her and she didn’t want to resist. Instead, she grabbed him in her hands, holding him so that she could take him into her mouth. Her tongue slid over the bead of semen that pearled at the head and his taste burst through her.

“Holy shit, Red,” Kyle stuttered as his hands fisted in her hair.

She hummed her appreciation around his cock and continued to taste him. Her nails lightly scored over his balls and he sucked in a breath. “This is going to end before it begins. Come on, Red, stop for a minute.”

She sat back with a kiss to the head of his cock. And then one more because she needed him so much. With a sigh of longing she took his hand and let him help her stand. She stepped back so that she could look her fill at him. And she could have done it for ages, he was so handsome.

“Red, come here. You undo me with the way you look at me. I want to look at you now.” Kyle’s voice had gone husky and she heard the strain in it.

Taking the two steps to get to him, she put her hand on his stomach and slid it down, taking his cock into her fist. Moaning, he arched into her hold. She looked down at him, hot and hard, avarice on her face and he laughed.

“You’re good for my ego, Red.” He ran the tip of his index finger down her skin and over a pouty pink nipple. The material of the bra was sheer and embroidered with leaves of all colors. “Pretty.” He popped the catch between her breasts and slid the bra down her arms. “I love front closure bras. Best. Invention. Ever.”

She looked up at him with a smirk. “Seen your fair share of them have you?”

“Oh no.” He put his hands up in surrender and shook his head. “That’s not a question I’m even going near. It’s an unwinnable woman dead end question like, does my butt look fat in this.”

“No way! The answer to that question is always no. Anyway, you brought it up.” A grin won over her face.

“My answer is it doesn’t matter. No other woman in the universe matters but you.”

“Good one. More than enough to get me into your bed.”

“We do try,” he murmured. “Now, I was in the middle of something before you interrupted me, Red.”

“My apologies, sirrah. Pray do continue.” She bowed in a mock curtsy.

He laughed, picked her up and laid her on his bed, putting her hands up above her head. “That makes a lovely picture.” Leaning down over her, he placed a reverent kiss on the tip of each nipple. She sighed happily.

He smiled while his clever hands made quick work of her jeans. The underwear was a match to the bra. “You had this sexy stuff on under all of those conservative clothes all the time didn’t you?”

“Pretty underwear is an addiction. Some people buy shoes, some people buy expensive wines. I buy lingerie and books.”

“That’s an addiction that I am fully willing to enable, Red.” He gave her a lascivious smile, pulling the small scrap of material down her legs. When she was totally naked, he paused to slowly drag his gaze up the length of her body. “You are so beautiful, Maggie.”

And she was. Hair spread out over the coverlet, a flush of passion on her face, breasts heaving, long legs moving a bit restlessly under his gaze—amazing. “Oh,” he whispered, moving his face closer to her. “Look at this. It looks like someone shook powdered cinnamon here.” He ran the flat of his tongue across the dusting of freckles on her shoulders. “Tastes better than cinnamon though,” he murmured.

She squeaked at the contact of his warm tongue. He chuckled and flicked the point of his tongue on a path south to her breasts. “Now these, Red.” One of his eyebrows rose as he snuck a quick look up at her and then back to her breasts. “I had no idea that breasts so pretty existed under those blouses you wore buttoned up to your chin. Not that I haven’t spent a lot of time in the last few months thinking about them.” He circled a pebbled nipple slowly with one hand and mimicked that with his tongue at the other.

Arching her back, she pressed her breasts closer to his mouth. She tried to reach for him but he was too long-waisted. Moaning in frustration, she shoved at him, pushing him onto his back.

Moving to kneel between his thighs, she ran her hands across the muscles there, down his calves and back up again. His stomach was flat and she traced the bands of muscle up to his chest, which also bore a mat of blond-brown hair.

His nipples were cinnamon and deliciously sensitive. Moving her mouth to him, she licked over the flat ridge of each. Shuddering, his hands fisted in the blankets as she followed the licks with the edge of her teeth.

Sitting up, she looked at him some more, trying to decide what to touch next. His face was masculine and defined but still beautiful, the kind of face that still looked handsome at seventy. He watched her through gorgeous green eyes fringed with lashes any woman would love to have.

After raising her finger to her lips, tapping it as if she were trying to make a decision she moved to slide her hands over work-hard biceps and powerful forearms. Her lips kissed the tips of each finger on his large hands. His neck was long, chin bearing a cleft covered in that sexy goatee. She traced the tip of her tongue over his lips across to his jaw and up to his earlobe for a quick nibble.

“You’re killing me,” he groaned out and she laughed.

“Let me see what I can do about that,” she murmured, kissing her way south. And then he heard nothing but the blood rushing in his ears as she lowered her mouth over him. His body jerked at the intensity of the sensation. He whispered her name and his hands went to her head, caressing her scalp.

Looking down and seeing the mass of red curls spread over his stomach and her sweet ass swaying in the air as she went down on him nearly drove him over the edge.

“Baby, please, stop, I want to be inside of you. I want to look up at you as you ride me, Maggie,” he whispered hoarsely. The smile she sent him made his cock jump in anticipation. “There’s a condom in my pants pocket. Over there on the chair near the foot of the bed.” She nodded and crawled down to the end of the bed and reached out, grabbing the pants and rifling through his pockets until she found it.

“I won’t comment on the fact that you had one in your pocket, Kyle.” She smirked as she ripped the foil packet open and rolled it on him. She moved up to straddle his thighs, smiling sexily down at him.

“And I won’t comment on how spectacular you looked bent over getting my pants—except to tell you that your pussy is so pretty and to promise you that I will be getting that view again soon. Only with my cock deep inside you. As for the condom, a guy is dead without hope. What if we’d been driving out by the lake or something and we’d wanted to make love? Badda bing, badda boom, I had a condom and we could have done it. Oh dear God…” His words ended on a gasp as she slowly slid down onto him, encasing him in her very tight, very hot pussy.

She moved, taking him into her body inch by inch and pleasure drove up his spine. He looked up at her, surprised at himself. Woman on top had never been a real favorite position for him for sex. But watching her—lips slightly parted and wet from her licking them in concentration and desire, her eyes glazed, lids at half mast, breasts gently moving as she did, the patch of auburn curls meeting his brown-blond one—he reconsidered. She was so amazing that it made his stomach hurt. He grabbed her hips, his own rising to meet hers and he slid in that last inch or two. A sigh broke from both of them as he seated himself fully inside of her.

The embrace of her pussy, the way she squeezed him and fluttered around his cock was fantastic. So much so, he needed to still for several moments to rein himself in. “Sweet heaven, your pussy feels amazing, Maggie. I don’t think I want to leave it.”

His words shook her down to her very core. The raw need in them, the way he’d laid himself so open and vulnerable to her got to her in ways she’d never even imagined.

She had to take a deep, steadying breath. Orgasm was very close and it felt like every single nerve in her body was firing and shouting with joy. This was something more than great sex. More than physical. This was deeper. She swiveled her hips experimentally and his eyes flew open wide and he groaned.

“Oh, I see you like that.” A throaty laugh bubbled from her and she did it again, this time tightening her inner muscles around him.

The truth was that at almost twenty-seven, Maggie had only had sex—well, intercourse—with three men. Now four. She wasn’t very experienced. Adding up even the four men, she’d actually only done it ten times total and it’d been a year since the last time. Although if the other times had felt this good, she didn’t think she could have withstood a year-long break. She felt vastly inexperienced next to Kyle but he made her feel like it didn’t matter to him at all.

“I like everything you do, but that was quite exceptional. Do it again,” he said in a hoarse voice as he brought his hands up to cup her breasts, kneading them and rolling her nipples between agile fingers.

Her head lolled back, arching her back, bringing a change in her angle over him. This brought his thrusts even deeper into her. Swiveling at the same time he rose to press into her brought a gasp from both of them. The intensity of the contact was immense. One of his hands slid down her belly to her pussy where he gathered her honey up to her clit, slowly circling it as she rode him.

Suddenly her back went straight as electric pleasure rode through her, bringing climax in its wake. She moaned his name once before losing speech as the erotic assault pulled her under.

The rippling and pulsing of her pussy around him, combined with her cries of pleasure pushed Kyle over with her. The muscles on his arms corded with exertion as he moved her body over his own while the flush of her climax crept over her skin.

After what had to be one of the most intense orgasms of her life, she went boneless, collapsing onto him, utterly unable to move. Gently, he rolled her to the side and pulled out of her and she whimpered at the loss of contact.

“I need to deal with the condom, Red. I’ll be right back.” He jumped up to run into his bathroom and came back quickly, sliding into the bed next to her, pulling her into him.

 

 

They must have fallen asleep because the candles were almost burned down completely when Maggie opened her eyes. One of Kyle’s legs was thrown over her thighs and his arm was curled around her. She lay there for a few minutes, enjoying the way he felt against her body, his breathing against her hair, the anchoring sweetness of his fingers threaded through her own. She felt totally satisfied. Physically and emotionally.

After some time, she craned her neck to look at the clock. Seeing the time, she sighed.

“Hey, Red.” Kyle stirred as he awoke and kissed her thoroughly.

“Hey. Sorry I woke you. It’s after two. I should probably go home.”

He tightened his grip and burrowed his face into her neck. “Why? I like you right where you are. You’re so warm and sweet. You smell so good. Plus, it’ll be a lot easier to have sex with you again if you’re actually here. Naked.”

She smiled. “Well isn’t it against the rules to have me stay over?”

“Which rules are those? Is this from the mysterious hot guy rule book you referenced the other day? I must tell you, Red, you need to stop worrying about all these supposed rules.”

She socked him playfully. “Don’t make fun! I’m not good at this. I don’t know how to do it.”

He looked at her, his lascivious grin back in place. “I don’t know about that, Red. It felt like you knew how to do it pretty darn well to me.”

“That’s not what I was talking about and well, if you must know, that was only the eleventh time I’ve ever done it. I know it seems like I’m easy, but that isn’t the case.”

“You’re a natural then. And I’ve told you before, you don’t seem easy, not by a long shot. You’re wonderful.” He chuckled but his soul roared with satisfaction. Only eleven times? He loved that about her. That she was a natural sex bomb turned him on immensely.

“Easy for you to laugh, you’re an ace at this.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad you think so.”

She sighed in frustration. “You’re deliberately trying to confuse me and yank my chain.”

“No, I want you to yank mine.” He wiggled his eyebrows and she dissolved into laughter and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Maggie, I want you to stay the night. I want to wake up with you in the morning. I don’t have a rule book. I just go by what I feel. This is all new to me too, you know. You’re the first woman who’s ever slept in this bed. I’m not normally a spend-the-night-with-me kind of guy. I told you, I’m wooing you, Margaret Wright.”

She snorted and snuggled back into him. “In that case, I’ve got to tell you that wooing has totally exceeded my expectations. By the way, I have the day off tomorrow. Are you going back to work?”

“You temptress! I do have to work, but I can do it from my office downstairs. Why? Are you actually opening up enough to spend the day with me?”

“I thought we could at least have a nice breakfast.”

“And lunch and don’t forget I’m making you dinner. You did already agree to have dinner with me. I think you should just stay in my bed all day, naked. I’ll bring you anything you need, including me.”

She cracked a smile. “I like you, Kyle Chase.”

He sobered and kissed her, a bare brush of his lips across hers. “Oh good, ‘cause I like you too, Maggie. A whole hell of a lot.”

“Enough to cough up that coffee ice cream you lured me over here with?”

He burst out laughing. “For a tiny little thing, you sure eat a lot.”

“I have a fast metabolism.”

He sat up. “It sounds good. Let’s go.” He pulled on a pair of sweats and she grabbed what she thought was her shirt but it was his. Moving to put it down and look for her own shirt, he startled her when he put a hand on her arm. “No, put it on.”

She pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up. Of course, she had to roll the sleeves a few times and the hem came to her knees but shivers ran down her spine when she caught him watching her with that lazy cat look of his.

“Damn, this will change the way I feel every time I hear Keith Urban sing, ‘You Look Good In My Shirt’. You look so good that I want to throw you right back down on the mattress and climb between those thighs of yours.”

“Later, I want ice cream,” she said and it ended on a squeal because he lunged at her. She ran past him and down the stairs laughing.

He dished up two bowls of ice cream and they spread out a blanket on the living room floor, watching a movie while they ate. Or they watched the beginning of a movie anyway.

Kyle took her bowl and put it aside. “Done eating?”

She cocked her head at him. “Well, since I allowed you to take my bowl without protest, I’d say yes.”

“Good. Because I’m not done eating.” His lips curved up and she gasped as he pushed her back onto the blanket. Making quick work of the buttons on her shirt, he pushed it off. She looked up at him, watching his eyes as he devoured her with his gaze. Smiling like the Cheshire Cat, he reached out and brought his bowl over.

With a yelp, she nearly shot up off the floor as he drizzled ice cream over her breasts. But soon that yelp became a moan as he licked up the sweet liquid with the flat of his tongue. The cold ice cream followed by the heat of his tongue gave her goose flesh.

“Hmmm, where else would this ice cream taste good?” He raised an eyebrow as he spooned it down her belly and over her thighs.

She watched him as he licked his way down her belly and over her thighs. He pushed them open. “I need my hands, Red. Hold yourself open for me so I can lick all of you.”

Her breath caught but she did as he asked.

His cold tongue licked up through the folds of her pussy and around her clit and she couldn’t resist rolling her hips.

“Sweeter than ice cream and I can eat it in any weather,” he murmured against her.

Her hips raised up involuntarily and she whispered his name. “You like that, Maggie?” he murmured and flicked his tongue over her clit. “Damn, but your pussy is sweet. Sweet and wet.” He pressed a finger deep into her and shuddered as the walls of her pussy gripped him. “I like that you’re so slick for me.”

She was beyond a place where she could form the words to tell him how good he felt there between her thighs. All she had were whimpers and breathless sighs as her head slowly moved from side to side. The muscles in her thighs and abdomen began to tremble as orgasm approached.

When he hooked his fingers inside her and found her sweet spot she rolled her hips and cried out. The pleasure was sharp edged, nearly too much to bear.

“Yes, Maggie. Come for me, honey,” he said just before he slowly sucked her clit into his mouth, grazing his teeth over it just slightly.

In a rush of intense sensation, her climax drowned her as her very cells exploded in heat and light and pleasure. Wave after wave shuddered through her in a seemingly endless pattern. Wringing her out, flooding her mind and body.

He continued, not stopping until he’d pushed her into another aftershock orgasm and she sobbed with pleasure and the intensity of feeling, finally pushing his head away and begging him to stop.

Afterwards, his lips on hers tasted of sugar and ice cream and her.