CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It had been a week since Maggie’s run-in with Mitch at Jenny’s house.
She’d spent the night wrapped in his strong arms, sucking up his heat and hotness, silently willing him to wake up and finish what he’d started.
Unfortunately, while she was wide awake and all hot and bothered, he was out cold, had no idea she was even there, and would probably wake up miserable.
She’d slept horribly and had finally just gotten up and headed out early to the beach house.
The heavenly thought of a long nap in the sun got her through the drive.
She decided not to tell Jenny what had happened between them.
Mostly because she was embarrassed she’d gotten so wrapped up in his deliciousness that she almost had sex with him.
But also because she felt a strange sense of loyalty to him and didn’t want to share the intimate details of his mini-breakdown.
She knew full well that there was nothing magical about her—it was the booze and the circumstances that let her be a part of his grief.
Drunk or not, the grief was good. He needed to acknowledge and deal with it.
She’d read a book or two on the subject while dealing with Jenny and the boys in the months following Jimmy’s death.
There were stages to progress through, and he’d been stuck in angry for far too long.
After spending a relaxing, uneventful weekend with Jenny and the boys, she returned home and slugged through the week.
“Why’d you come in here again?” Steph teased for the third time in as many hours.
It was Friday, which Maggie usually took off, but she’d come in to give some vaccines to a friend’s cat that needed to be up to date before flying to Seattle that weekend.
That was hours ago. She’d ended up stocking shelves and going over the books for another couple of hours.
“Oh, pft, you know darn good and well why I came in. Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to get me to leave. What? Are you going to have some sort of party when I go?” She rolled her eyes.
“Yes, so would you hurry? Everyone will be here any minute.” Steph looked out the window and abruptly stopped laughing. “Wait, don’t go just yet—hottie alert.”
The bell on the door jingled as Adam and Mitch sauntered in. The sun backlit them as they took off their sunglasses in unison. In uniform, they almost looked like twins. Holy Hot Mamacita.
Maggie closed her mouth and swiped her hand over her hair as nonchalantly as possible. “Hey,” she stammered. As she walked toward them, she tripped but caught herself before falling, and everyone chuckled good-naturedly.
“Hey, hon.” Adam met her halfway and gave her a hug.
“Hi, guys. What brings you two in?” She couldn’t look at Mitch. This was the first time she’d seen him since that night, and she was afraid of getting sucked into his seductive, lose-your-mind, panty-dropping vortex again. Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted him. Bad.
She snuck a glance. He was staring right at her. God, those eyes. She could stare into them forever. She snapped to when he spoke.
“I’m looking for a pet.” Mitch started toward her, putting his sunglasses in his front pocket.
“You? Really?” she blurted incredulously, eyes wide.
“Ouch.” He pretended to be insulted. “Yes, me, really.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” Steph jumped in, extending her hand. “I’m Stephanie, Maggie’s manager.”
Adam and Mitch shook hands with Steph. “What’d you have in mind?” Steph asked. “We don’t have puppies or kittens on-site, but we work closely with the local shelter and could put you in touch with them.”
Mitch looked around at the terrariums containing snakes and lizards. “Well, something easy to take care of but preferably something friendlier looking than those.” He nodded at the snakes. “How about a hamster?”
“Actually, I have something perfect for you.” Maggie smiled sweetly. “I’ve been keeping him in the back to keep me company, but you’d love him. He’s a parrot. Gorgeous and healthy. Not too chatty, but enough to keep you entertained.”
Stephanie choked on a cough. “Yeah, no, Maggie’s right. Harold would be perfect for you.”
“Hey, the experts have spoken. Sounds perfect. How easy was that? Whaddya say, Mitch?”
“Um, okay, sure. Sounds great. How hard could taking care of a parrot be? What kind of stuff will I need for him?”
Maggie and Stephanie grabbed a cart and loaded it with the gear he would need.
“I can’t take all that now,” he protested. “How about I stop by on my way home?”
“Sure, yeah, that’ll be fine.” She was practically rushing them out.
“All right then. We’re just about done. I’ll be back in about an hour. You ready, Adam?”
Maggie and Steph gave each other a high five and did a little celebration dance after the men left. This all seemed too easy. She didn’t think he would agree so readily and felt a twinge of guilt.
“You know he’s going to kill you, right?” Steph asked between fits of giggles. “I mean, seriously.”
“I know. Do you think this is too mean? Oh, never mind. He’ll probably love the perverted thing. Besides, if he really hates it, we can always take it back. Now we’ll be even for the ticket he wrote me.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s going to see it that way. But, man, what I wouldn’t give to be there when he first hears Harold go off on one of his graphic tirades. ‘Oh, baby, yes, give it to me.’” Steph tried to imitate Harold’s voice. “I wonder what the first woman who hears that will say.”
Hm, Maggie hadn’t thought of that bonus. She had no idea if Mitch brought a lot of women home, but if he did, now he’d have some explaining to do. She had no right to feel jealous but didn’t like the idea of him being with someone else.
“Hey, since you refuse to go home, wanna do me a favor?” Steph smiled hopefully.
Almost an hour later, Maggie was watching the front counter while Steph ran to the bank to make the day’s deposit. She’d offered to go, but Steph’s ankle had healed and she said she needed the exercise. She was alone when Mitch came back.
This time he was wearing Levis and a black T-shirt that fit him like a glove. He looked good in a uniform, but the bullet-proof vest and straight-legged pants left too much to the imagination. Every time she saw him, it was the same. He took her breath away.
“Hey, Maggie.” He looked around. “You all alone?”
She forced herself to take a breath. “Yeah. Steph ran to the bank and left me in charge.” She made eye contact, then looked away. Flashbacks from the night at Jenny’s made her blush. “Do you want to pay for the stuff now, and then we’ll go get Harold?”
He fished out his wallet and walked to the counter. “Sounds good.” She rang up his purchases without a word as the sexual tension mounted. She felt him staring at her. He was definitely interested in more than just parrot pellets and wood chips.
After she’d run his card and bagged his purchases, she came out from behind the counter. “Harold’s in my office,” she said. Mitch followed her to the back of the store.
She stopped outside her office and looked up, way up, into his eyes.
That was all it took. The next thing she knew, he had her backed against the wall and was kissing her senseless.
Her arms flew around his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist as he lifted her off the ground to make their bodies match up better.
Pressed against the wall, he pushed into her.
“Damn, you feel good,” he whispered near her ear, as he planted kisses all down her neck. “Better than I remember.”
“Mmm,” was all she could mutter back.
He retook her mouth, and their tongues danced as he rocked into her.
She reached down, trying to open the office door. Maybe they could finish this on her desk, or the floor, or wherever. Seeming to understand where she was headed, he tried to help. Both of them had hands on the knob when they heard the bells on the front door ring.
“Fuck.” “Fiddlesticks,” they said in unison.
He laughed. “Do you ever swear?”
She lowered her head, embarrassed. “Not usually, no.”
“Hey.” He put his finger under her chin and raised her face to meet his. “You’re adorable. You know that? Well, it’s more of a smokin’ hot adorable, but adorable none the less.”
He let her slowly slide down his body and placed her gently on the floor. Maggie moaned.
“We will finish this,” he said. “I don’t know when, but soon.” He looked straight into her eyes, and she swallowed hard.
“Mags?” Steph shouted from the front of the store. At least it wasn’t a customer.
“Coming—we’re grabbing the bird,” she hollered back without breaking eye contact. The heat was palpable, and the lust in his eyes reflected in her own. She let him see it and then blinked.
She opened the door, grabbed the covered cage, and whispered, “I’m ready whenever you are,” then turned and headed back to the front of the store. She noticed he had to adjust himself before following. Damn, that was close.
“Don’t take the cover off until you get home. They don’t like to travel, and this will keep him calm.” They’d just finished loading all the supplies and the cage into the back of Mitch’s SUV.
“Okay. Anything else I need to know? I feel like this is happening so fast.”
Join the club, thought Maggie. But he wasn’t talking about the bird.
“Just make sure he always has food and water. You can call the store if you have questions.” The store? That sounded impersonal.
His eyes narrowed. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay, sure, that’s fine. I’m sure you two will get along great. Oh, and no takebacks.” She muttered the last bit before slamming the door and heading back into the store with an over the shoulder wave.
They burst into laughter after he pulled away. “I can’t believe we did it. Horny Harold is gone!” Maggie was all smiles.
Steph spun on her immediately. “Oh my God, Mags. The chemistry between you two is off the charts. Do you like him?”
Maggie’s smile fell. “What?” she stammered. “I, um, oh crap. Yeah, I think I do. How stupid is that? I hardly know him.”
“Sometimes that’s the way it happens, you know? You’re just drawn to someone,” Stephanie said.
“I guess. He’s definitely different than my usual type, and we both know that hasn’t been working. Maybe I’ll give hunky and grumpy a try.” She chuckled at her own joke.
“Well, he’s totally into you.”
Not knowing whether that was true or not, she didn’t say anything. At her hesitation, Steph changed the subject. “Are you finally going home now?”
“Yes, geez, I’m leaving.” She got her stuff together and was heading to the door.
“You might want to button that top button on your shirt before you go out,” Steph said with a grin.
Maggie turned back, eyes wide and mortified. Steph laughed and winked. “I better get all the juicy details next week,” she hollered as Maggie hustled out the door, discretely trying to redo her button.