Chapter 10
The click of Maggie's hotel room door closing behind them echoed in the quiet. Reece's heart hammered against his ribs as she turned to face him, her fingers still wrapped around his.
"I'm glad you're staying," she whispered.
"Me, too." His voice came out rougher than intended. He cleared his throat, acutely aware of how his palm had gone sweaty in hers.
Maggie's lips curved into that gentle smile that had been undoing him for weeks now. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.
"A little." She stepped closer, bringing her other hand up to rest against his chest. "For what it's worth, so am I."
The admission loosened something tight in his chest. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. "This matters, Reece. You matter."
God, this woman. She had a way of cutting straight through all his barriers with simple honesty. He brought his hand up to cup her face, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone. She was beautiful. "You matter, too, Maggie. More than you know."
She rose on her toes, and he met her halfway, their lips finding each other with a tenderness that made his chest ache.
This kiss was different from the ones they'd shared before. It was slower, deeper, and weighted with intention and promise of a night together. She was right. He probably never would’ve initiated sex, at least not until after he knew she’d be safe.
With her, it was different. He wanted her to be sure, to be comfortable with him.
Hell, he wanted a future with her. He could see it.
Damn it, he could vividly see a life with her in it.
He wanted that more than he was willing to admit.
"Condom?" he asked her.
"I'm protected and healthy." She looked up at him. "Are you?"
"Perfectly healthy." He hadn't been with a woman since his last physical. And while he’d never had unprotected sex before, it felt right with her.
Maggie's hands slid up his chest to loop around his neck, and Reece gathered her closer, one arm banding around her waist while his other hand threaded into her hair.
She made a soft sound against his mouth that shot straight through him, and suddenly, the distance and the thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow disappeared. There was only the here and now.
His fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse, and he cursed under his breath when he couldn't get the third one to cooperate.
"Need some help there?" Maggie's voice held a thread of amusement.
"These buttons are unreasonably small," he muttered, making her laugh. The sound was full and genuine, the laugh he loved. "Why didn't you wear a Nebraska t-shirt? I could have ripped that off you."
"Such a caveman. No one is ripping anything, especially not my Nebraska tees. Here." She brushed his hands aside gently and made quick work of the buttons, her eyes never leaving his face. "Better?"
"Much." But now that the blouse hung open, revealing the soft curve of her collarbone and the simple white bra beneath, his mouth went dry.
She was beautiful. Hell, he'd always known that, but this, seeing her trust reflected in her eyes as she let herself be vulnerable with him, this stole the breath from his lungs.
"Reece?" Her voice was tentative. "You okay?"
"More than okay." He skimmed his fingers along her shoulders, easing the blouse down her arms. "Just taking a moment to appreciate how lucky I am."
Color bloomed in her cheeks. "Smooth-talking caveman."
"Only with you." He kissed her again, losing himself in the taste of her, the warmth of her skin under his hands. They moved together toward the bed, a clumsy dance of wanting and discovery punctuated by breathless laughter when Reece's boot caught on the edge of the rug.
"I like your gracelessness." Maggie's fingers worked at his belt buckle, and the metallic clink sent anticipation racing down his spine. "I like all of you."
Those simple words, spoken with such conviction, nearly undid him. "Even though I'm a graceless caveman?"
"You man. Me woman." She put her hands on her hips. "Whacha going to do with that, big guy?"
"I'm not going to drag you by your hair. But I am going to make you scream my name."
"Oh." Her mouth opened, and then she smiled and licked her lips. "Okay." She reached forward to lift his shirt from the waistline. He helped her with his shirt, then his jeans, until they were skin to skin, settling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and racing hearts.
"Wait," Maggie said suddenly, her hand pressed to his chest.
Reece froze instantly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just …" She bit her lip, a nervous gesture he found endearing. "I need you to know that I haven't done this in a while. So, if I'm weird or awkward or—"
He stopped her words with a kiss, gentle and reassuring. "Maggie, there is no possible way you could be weird or awkward. And for the record, it's been a while for me, too." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "We'll figure it out together, okay? No pressure, no expectations. Just us."
The tension melted from her shoulders. "Just us," she echoed, drawing him down to her.
They moved together with tentative exploration, hands mapping unfamiliar territory, mouths learning new ways to communicate what words couldn't quite capture.
When Reece fumbled with the clasp of her bra, Maggie reached back and unhooked it herself with practiced ease, and they both dissolved into quiet laughter.
"Team effort," she said.
"Definitely a team effort."
Later—he wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours because he was so lost in her that he'd lost all sense of time—Reece paused, hovering above her, needing to see her face, needing to make sure this was still what she wanted.
"Hi," Maggie whispered, her hands framing his face.
"Hi yourself." His voice was ragged with want and barely restrained control.
She smiled at him. "I'm sure, Reece. I want this. I want you."
The words were his undoing. He kissed her deeply, pouring everything he felt but couldn't yet say into that connection, and when they finally came together, it was with a rightness that found home deep in his bones.
Maggie gasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders, and Reece stilled, giving her time to adjust, fighting every instinct that screamed at him to move.
"Okay?" he managed, his voice strained.
"Better than okay." She shifted beneath him experimentally, and they both groaned as he slid in deeper.
Reece whispered, "You wreck me in the most wonderful way."
"We're both wrecked. You can move, Reece."
So, he did, finding a rhythm that built slowly, deliberately, savoring every sound she made, every flutter of her pulse beneath his lips as he kissed her throat.
The hot pull of her body against his cock and the intense need that pooled deep inside him.
Nothing in his life had ever felt this intimate, this …
profound. This wasn't just physical. It was Maggie letting him see every vulnerable part of her, trusting him with pieces of herself she'd kept guarded, and … yeah … him doing the same.
"Look at me," he breathed, needing to see her, needing that connection.
Her eyes opened, heavy-lidded and dazed. The emotion he saw there nearly stopped his heart. He saw trust and affection. Maybe even the beginning of something deeper, something that terrified and exhilarated him in equal measure.
"Reece …" His name on her lips was part plea, part something else. Something desperate.
"I've got you," he promised, shifting the angle just slightly, and her back arched, a cry escaping her lips that she muffled against his shoulder.
He felt her tighten around him, felt her whole body shudder with release, and it dragged him over the edge with her, his own control shattering as he buried his face in her hair and let go.
They collapsed together, breathing hard, hearts pounding in sync. Reece managed to shift his weight so he wasn't crushing her, and gathered her against his side instead. Maggie curled into him immediately, one leg hooking over his, her hand resting over his still-racing heart.
"Wow," she said after a long moment.
"Yeah." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. That was the best word his oxygen-deprived mind could think of, too. "Absolutely wow."
She tilted her head up to look at him, and he was relieved to see satisfaction and contentment softening her features, along with a hint of mischief. "So, about those unreasonably small buttons …"
Reece laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. "I stand by my assessment. They were a menace."
"Noted. I'll stick to t-shirts around you. But no ripping my Nebraska shirts."
"I'll buy you new ones." He ran his fingers through her hair, marveling at how natural this felt, how right. Like puzzle pieces he hadn't known were missing until they’d clicked into place.
Maggie traced lazy patterns on his chest, her touch sending pleasant aftershocks through his body. "Reece?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for staying. For this."
He caught her hand, bringing it to his lips. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Maggie. Nowhere else I'd rather be than right here with you."
She smiled against his skin, and they lay there in the dim light of her hotel room, tangled together, neither wanting to move or break the spell of this perfect, imperfect, absolutely right moment.
Eventually, Maggie did speak. "What do I do? When I see you on the platform? Do I pretend I don't know you? Ignore you?"
Reece shifted so they could see each other in the faint glow of the hotel room. "What would you do normally?"
"Normally? Out there is … compartmentalized. I talk to other analysts, programmers, and people in my section. If I run into someone several times in the dining facility or at the gym, I'll speak. I have several casual acquaintances that way. Nothing substantial."
"When do you go to the gym?"
She rolled her eyes. "Not often enough. I go when I'm bored or when I'm working on a problem and can't break through."
"But you could start a new habit, right?" He stroked her cheek.
She nodded. "Yeah, that would work. But we won't be able to touch each other." She sighed. "That's going to be hard."
"So, we should probably touch each other now. Make up for the time we’re going to lose." He leaned down and kissed her.
Her arms circled his neck. "Absolutely."