by Carly Bloom
“Cut it out. And wipe your boots off.”
“I don’t understand people talk,” Henry said.
“What was that, Pop?” Maggie said.
“Pop didn’t say anything,” Henry said.
“Oh, yes he did. He said that if you spin around two times and then touch your nose, you can turn back into a boy.”
“How does he know that? Did he used to be a boy?”
“I don’t really know. But I guess if he ever was a boy, and he wanted to turn back into one, he could.”
“I want to stay a dog, too,” Henry said.
“That’s too bad,” Maggie said. “Did you know dogs can’t have chocolate?”
“They can’t?”
“Nope. It makes them very sick.”
Henry seemed to think about that for a while. Then he turned around two times and touched his nose. “Do you have any chocolate, Maggie?”
“I have a bag of miniature candy bars I’ve been hoarding since Halloween.”
Henry scrambled into the house while telling Pop he was dumb for staying a dog.
“Thank you,” Travis said.
“For what?”
“You just turned Henry back into a boy.”
Maggie walked past him, and he caught a whiff of something very un-Maggie-like. Something fruity or floral.
“If you hadn’t stepped in with your dog magic,” he continued, “I was going to listen to Henry bark for at least three more days.”
Maggie dismissed it with a wave of her hand. It hadn’t even taken any thought. She just knew what to do around kids, and he never did.
“Are you wearing perfume?”
She avoided his eyes and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as he pushed the back door open. “It’s just some lotion for my hands. I went shopping with Claire, and now I smell like a girl.”
“You look like a girl, too.”
Maggie blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. She was dressed appropriately for their pajama party, but not in the footsie pajamas she’d worn last time. What she wore this time left less to the imagination—tight black leggings that went mid-calf and a little white NBA T-shirt. No bra.
She walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, stuck it in a koozie, and handed it to him. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”
He pushed his glasses up on his nose. The combination of the season’s cool dry air and dusty landscaping work was making it hard to wear contacts. “About what?”
“The guys I hired to help you. JD’s front-end loader. We didn’t have time to talk about it at the farmer’s market today.”
“I was never mad at you.”
Maggie crossed her arms. “You sure acted like it.”
“I acted like a pouty baby who had his ego poked. Not the same thing.” He stared deeply into her chocolate drop eyes, hoping she could see what he felt. I could never be mad at you, Maggie.
“It wasn’t my place. I’m sorry I hired help without talking to you about it. And I’m sorry you paid them—I’d intended to do that.”
“Water under the bridge. And thank you for wanting to help. I don’t know that my back could have held out for two more days. And you should know that I’m not out to ruin Petal Pushers. I don’t intend to—”
“I know.”
“You do? Because just recently you threatened to shut me down to save your business.”
Maggie’s eyes grew huge and round. Travis’s heart nearly stopped. That was information Little Red Riding Hood had shared with the Big Bad Wolf.
“My, my,” she muttered. “This is a bit embarrassing.”
No shit. Travis took a sip of beer and wiped his brow.
“JD Mayes needs to learn to keep his mouth shut,” Maggie added.
Whew! Travis took another sip—more like a gulp—and willed himself to relax between near-misses. “Anyway,” he said, “I’m not sticking with landscaping. The farmer’s market today gave me some—”
“JD told me. You’ve got a job waiting in Austin.” Maggie looked in the direction of the living room, where Henry played with Pop. “You’re not planning to stay in Big Verde.”
“You’re right. JD needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. And anyway, I’m kind of recon—”
“It would have been nice to hear it from you,” Maggie said. “Because I kind of thought we were getting to be friends.”
She came closer, the top of her blond head not quite reaching his shoulder, and looked up with her big, brown eyes. Travis lost his train of thought. “We were,” Travis said. “We are…I hope.”
Her eyes tugged at his like a magnet, and he lowered his head as she rose on her toes. “Austin’s not that far away,” Maggie said.
“You’re wrong,” he whispered, softly brushing Maggie’s bangs off her forehead so he could fall deeper into her dark brown eyes. “It’s too far away.” Right now, anything farther away from him than Maggie was at this very instant was too far.
He set his beer down on the counter and cupped Maggie’s face in his hands. She seemed so small and delicate, yet she was tough as nails, and he loved it. She pinched his bearded chin and gave it a small tug until their lips met.
Travis had kissed his share of women, but nothing compared to the way his mouth was a perfect fit for Maggie’s. He’d heard the two become one line before. It was sappy and sentimental and exactly what happened when his lips touched hers.
His decision was made at the sound of her soft sigh. He was staying in Big Verde. Staying at Happy Trails. Staying with Maggie.
He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up effortlessly. He deepened the kiss as Maggie’s breasts pressed against his chest. He could turn and perch her on the counter—
Pop barked, and it was immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of someone gagging.
Travis nearly dropped Maggie. Jesus, what kind of a…parent? uncle?…was he? He looked at the doorway, expecting to see Henry barfing over his and Maggie’s inappropriate display of affection. But it was empty.
Maggie quickly disentangled herself from him, straightened her shirt, and then shouted, “What happened?” as she hurried into the living room.
Travis stayed behind in the kitchen. He needed a minute for a certain part of his anatomy to return to the state it had arrived in.
Maggie was back in under a minute. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Henry threw up a little. It’s an old pillow and I’ll just toss it.”
Great. So much for a fun evening. “Is he sick?”
Maggie went to the sink and washed her hands. “No. Just a gag reflex.”
“Shit. The sight of us kissing literally made him vomit?”
Maggie shut the water off and briskly dried her hands. “No. It wasn’t that.”
“Then what was it?”
Maggie tossed the towel on the counter and turned to face him, hands on hips. Her cheeks and ears were pink, but he doubted it was from the steamy kiss they’d just shared. What the fuck was she so heated about?
“He ate one of my brownies, okay?”
One of her brownies. The ones she’d baked while wearing nothing but an apron. Travis tried to reel in the smile taking over his face. “Jesus, Maggie. Are they that bad?”
A grin tugged at Maggie’s lips. “Want to judge for yourself? There’s about a thousand or so left.”
Travis grabbed her hand and gave a light yank, pulling her close. “You should steer clear of the kitchen and stick to things you’re good at.”
“Like digging in the dirt?” Maggie asked.
“No,” Travis said, putting a finger beneath her chin and tilting her face up. “Like kissing.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The game was over. Travis had talked about Happy Trails through most of it. It was weird how excited he was about the place, considering he was going to sell it. It figured. She’d had two men notice she was a woman. One hid behind a wolf mask and the other was moving to Austin. And both seemed perfectly happy to carry on with her—one via
sexting and the other through hot, steamy yet completely temporary kisses. Maggie had hinted that Austin wasn’t that far away—JD was in a relationship with a woman in Austin—and Travis had responded that it was too far!
Message received.
She’d kissed him anyway. It was just a kiss, so what did it matter? If he wanted to smooch and rub his rock-hard body against hers while he was still here in Big Verde, who was she to protest?
Then again, maybe she should. Maybe she should end it right now. Kick him out. Say, Adios, muchacho, it’s been super fun swapping spit now buh-bye. Of course, that meant saying good-bye to Henry, too. And she and Pop weren’t ready for that.
She glanced at him, all stretched out with his long legs in front of him and his hands resting behind his head like he hadn’t a care in the world.
It was ten thirty. He’d probably want to grab Henry from where he was passed out in the guest room and head home.
Only he wasn’t moving.
Maggie’s pulse sped up, which was stupid. Just because a tired man with a full belly wasn’t jumping right up off the couch to sprint out the door didn’t mean he wanted to make out.
Which was fine. Really. She’d only recently decided she could even tolerate Travis. She should ask him to leave right now, this minute, so she could begin the process of not kissing him ever again.
She cleared her throat to tell him it was time to pack up his hot self and his adorable nephew and get the heck out of Dodge. But what came out was, “Would you like another beer? Tomorrow’s Sunday, and I don’t have to get up early.”
A small grin caused that dimple to pop out. “Nah. It’d probably put me to sleep.” He closed his eyes.
Maggie let her eyes wander. Maybe it was because she’d baked brownies while almost completely naked. Maybe it was because of the book club discussion of Bound and Determined. Most likely it was because of their earlier Last Kiss Ever. Whatever it was, she really wanted to jump Travis.
The black T-shirt stretched across his chest and firm stomach, riding up just a bit. She’d love to slide it up and get another look at his tattoos. The waistband of his underwear peeked out of the top of his PJ’s, and she tried—really, she did—not to look at the bulge.
Failure. She’d love to climb on top and rub herself all over him.
“How was book club?”
He was gazing right at her. Had seen where she was looking.
Her ears burned. “You’re asking me about book club? When we could be talking about the flagrant foul that happened under that blind ref’s nose?”
“Yeah, you went, right? Took the poison brownies? Tell me about it.”
He just wanted to hear about her day? That was…nice. It was also a bit disappointing, considering there were other, more interesting, activities floating around in her head. “It was at Alice’s house, and I kind of had fun. I think I might go back next month.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Alice seems nice.”
“She is. She’s a blabbermouth, though.” Could have done without her telling everyone I’m sexting the wolf.
“What was the name of the book again?”
“Bound and Determined.”
“Is it the one on top of the microwave? The one with the bare-naked ass on it?”
She’d left that out? She turned to look at the microwave. At least it was too high for Henry to have seen it. “That’s the one. I should put it away.”
Travis stood up with a groan, stretched, and then lazily strolled toward the microwave. “Don’t put it away. I might want to read it.”
“You definitely do not want to read it.”
“You’re right,” he said, picking up the book and looking at the cover. He glanced up at her with a very judgmental expression. “I’m not going to read it. You’re going to read it to me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Travis brought the book to the couch, where he adjusted his glasses and read the back cover. He somehow managed to keep a straight face while Maggie sat quietly, engulfed in flames and wanting to disappear.
When he was done, he said, “Okay. This seems like a fine piece of literature. Let’s take a peek.”
The book automatically fell open to the nastiest scene. She should really stop dog-earing pages.
Travis scanned the page, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Maggie with a raised eyebrow. “Seems like a good place to start.”
He tossed the book at her and it landed in her lap.
“I have no intention of reading any of this out loud. You can forget it.”
She held her hands up in the air as if she were under arrest, making no move to touch the book. Travis sighed and shook his head.
“Do I have to do everything myself?”
He reached for the book, but Maggie grabbed it first. “You’re not reading any of this out loud either.”
Travis took hold of the book with a big hand and tugged. “Yes, I am.”
Maggie held on tightly. “No, you’re not.”
“Let go,” Travis said.
“No.”
“I can easily wrench this out of your scrawny little hands, but I’d prefer you graciously let go so I don’t have to.”
Maggie snorted. “Like that’s gonna happen.”
One yank, and it happened. She hadn’t even felt it leave her fingers. “I’m not going to listen to you read that out loud.”
Travis nodded to let her know he’d heard and registered her comment before opening the book. Then he dramatically cleared his throat.
Maggie crossed her arms over her chest and concentrated on actively not listening.
“Ethan firmly pressed Celeste against the bed.”
It wasn’t working. She’d had zero success in tuning that line out. So, she put her fingers in her ears and began humming because Hey, we’re all adults here.
But she could still hear the low rumble of his big deep man voice as he read. He didn’t even glance at her, just pretended she didn’t have her fingers in her ears.
“Now that her wrists were bound to her ankles—”
He stopped reading.
He was probably shocked that Maggie and the other book club ladies had read such smut. He furrowed his brow and then said, “I’m not sure how that works.”
“How what works? What do you mean?”
“How are her wrists bound to her ankles?”
“With those leather wrist cuff things.”
He grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Leather wrist cuff things? Some girl really knows her bondage gear lingo.”
Okay, she was sitting with Travis Blake in her very own house on her very own sofa and he had just said bondage gear.
Travis looked at the book again, as if he were studying a math problem in a textbook. “So, she’s lying down, but where are her ankles? Does she have her legs lifted up?”
“Oh my God,” Maggie said in exasperation. “Can you really not visualize this?”
“I guess I’m a little slow about these things. You might have to explain it to me. You seem to be the expert here—tossing out technical terms like leather wrist cuff things.”
“I’m not explaining anything to you.”
“Ah. You don’t get it either. That’s what I thought.”
She did, too, get it. It wasn’t rocket science. She got onto the floor—knowing full well she was playing into his hands—and lay down. She slid her feet up toward her bottom, but kept them on the floor because she was sure as holy hell not raising them into the air.
Travis got off the couch and kneeled next to her. He radiated heat. Maybe she should turn the ceiling fan on. Was it hot in here? She felt a bit warm.
“Okay, now see if you can reach your ankles with your hands.”
Her neck was getting splotchy. She could feel it. Because nothing said aren’t I sexy like a splotchy neck. Her arms were at her sides and she straightened out her fingers to clasp her ankles. Only she couldn’t do it. She’d pull
ed her feet up so far that they practically touched her ass, but—
“You’re shy a few inches,” Travis said.
Why didn’t her wrists meet her ankles? Were her arms too short? How had she lived all these years not knowing how disproportionate her arms were to the rest of her?
“It’s like I’m a T-rex,” she said.
Travis laughed. “I’ve heard there’s an erotica market for that, too.”
“And you would know this how?”
“Made the mistake of asking a lady in the doctor’s office what she was reading. And anyway, your arms are fine. I don’t think you can visualize this either.”
“Okay, well, this doesn’t work but I’m done. Who cares anyway? It’s just a book.”
“Now wait a minute,” Travis said. “Don’t be so hasty. This woman took the time to write a book. The least we can do is figure out what the hell she’s saying.”
He put the book down and touched a finger to his bearded chin. “Hmm,” he pondered. “How about this?”
He moved so that he knelt at her feet. He took an ankle in each hand and said, “May I?”
Of course not!
“Sure,” Maggie said.
Travis pulled one foot, and then the other, out to the side of her hips. It was hard for a girl to keep her knees together like a lady when a man was yanking her feet apart. But she tried, achieving a knock-kneed spread that was probably a negative three on the sexy scale.
“See?” Travis said. “This would work.” He grunted as he gave her feet an extra shove. “Relax a little.”
With his left hand, he managed to ensnare her ankle and wrist. “There we go,” he said, seemingly very pleased with his accomplishment. He looked at Maggie as if she were a Rubik’s Cube he’d just solved. He quickly snagged the other ankle and wrist with his right hand, and Maggie was rendered completely helpless.
There was a brief surge of panic, but then something inside her stilled. Travis was smiling like a goof, but she trusted him completely. All the tension seeped out of her body and dissipated like mist. It felt almost like being with the Big Bad Wolf, which was stupid because Travis was not the Big Bad Wolf and they were not going to have sex.
He smiled with a mischievous glint in his eye. “So, this works.”