The thought of Nick being all worked up and needing to take a cold shower had a little thrill zinging through her. She shrugged off the feeling. "We'll there's no place for him to stay with you and Logan at Julie's. Besides who wouldn't want a hot firefighter in the room next door?"
When Nick stayed with her, Maggie felt safe for the first time in a long time. She shook her head and swallowed back the horrible memories of a night so long ago.
She forced herself to smile. "Half the time he's down visiting, he's over here helping you guys or out pursuing women."
Maggie waited for the green monster to come. When no feelings of jealousy washed over her, she sighed. Why was it every time she saw Brian with a woman, it drove her crazy, but the thought of Nick being with someone else didn't bother her in the least?
She shrugged stiffness from her shoulders. "I keep telling him he should just come to the club. Everyone has to be tested and vetted, but he says it takes the fun out of it."
Ava stepped over some boxes of wood flooring. "Sex clubs aren't his thing."
Maggie continued to follow her though the disheveled living room into the kitchen. "I know and I really don't understand why. From the stories you've told, he practically runs a club from his bedroom."
"I don't think he likes the public-ness of the club."
"That makes sense, I guess,"
Ava sighed. "All I know is he's a great guy." She set the cake container on a makeshift counter. "So I take it from Brian's cheery mood you guys are fighting again?"
Maggie leaned against the doorframe. "When it comes to me, Brian has two moods—pissed off and indifference."
"Do you want my professional opinion?" Ava asked.
"Do I have a choice?"
"No." Ava brushed some plaster dust from the ruffles on her dress. "You and Brian are attracted to one another and you don't know how to tell each other."
No, shit. You don't need a PhD to figure that one out. The problem was Brian didn't see her as anything more that an annoyance, or worse, a kid sister. "He doesn't even know I'm alive."
"Whatever you say." Ava grabbed a broom from the floor. "Excuse the mess. Logan and Nick decided to do the demolishing of the kitchen this morning before I could stop them."
Maggie took in the devastation. "Where are the walls?"
Ava moaned and leaned the broom in the corner. She walked to the only appliance left in the room. "Logan and Nick decided that we didn't need walls." She opened the refrigerator and made room for the cake. "What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll take a diet soda if you have one." Maggie moved into the kitchen and leaned her hip against a sawhorse. "Did the guy's forget you were having a cookout this evening?"
Ava handed her a cold can. "No, they thought because it's outside we don't need a kitchen. I was lucky to keep the fridge."
Maggie popped the top of the can and took a sip. "Okay, boss, what can I do to help?"
Nick walked through the doorway. "You can do me."
Maggie couldn't keep the grin from spreading over her face and her hormones started doing the happy dance again. "Careful. I keep telling you, I might take you up on that offer and fall madly in love with you."
Nick blessed her with a sexy smile. "A guy can hope." He held out his hand. "Come with me. I need some help outside."
Since that horrible night, only two men had ever given Maggie a zing. Brian the jerk's dark, distant manner turned her insides into liquid lust and filled her with a need she'd never experienced before. The consuming feelings frustrated her and made her doubt herself.
However, Nick's easy-going hotness had her stomach flipping over the same way it did when she had her first crush. The sweetness of the sensation warmed places in her damaged heart.
Nick would never hurt her, but Brian had the power to destroy her. She pushed away the unsettling thought and sent Nick her most sassy smile. "Be gentle with me," she teased.
He winked. "Oh, honey, I will be so gentle."
* * * *
Brian couldn't keep his eyes off Maggie's ass. It wiggled suggestively as she dug holes for plants under the mid-morning sun. Thoughts of Maggie on her hands and knees, her mouth full of his cock and working him to the brink, filled his head.
After all the years he'd been a member of the club and known Maggie, Brian hadn't mustered up the guts to really ask her into one of the back rooms. Sure, he teased her about it, but he'd probably run out of the room scared shitless screaming into the next county if she accepted. Maggie had an air about her that demanded his best and he didn't know if he could deliver.
For years, he watched her serve drinks and rebuff advances. What the hell was up with last night? She'd practically let Nick fuck her for the whole world to see. Brian swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. For somebody who acted like a virgin in a whorehouse half the time, she really went at it. The need to grab Maggie from Nick and spread her on the bar for a taste had him bolting out of the club like his dick was on fire.
Logan heaved two rolls of tarpaper up the ladder. "Brian, a little help here."
He shook his head and focused his attention on his friend. "Sorry." Brian stepped over a pile of tiles and grabbed a roll from Logan.
He walked to the bare plywood. "You need to shit or get off the pot when it comes to her," his best friend said.
Brian tossed the bundle down next to Logan. "What do you mean?"
Logan dropped the tarpaper next to his feet. "Don't play stupid. If you stare at Maggie any harder you're going to fall off this roof and kill yourself."
Brian took a box cutter from his pocket and cut the ties holding the bundles together. "There's nothing to do. Maggie hates me."
Logan took the nail gun from his tool belt and methodically fastened the paper to the plywood. "Whatever you say. The two of you set off more fireworks than a Fourth of July celebration."
Brian screwed down a row of Spanish barrel tiles. "I don't know what you mean."
"You and Maggie are like watching elementary school kids. You pull on her ponytail and she kicks you in the shins. Meanwhile, the rest of us are waiting for the rockets to explode."
Brian's gaze moved to Maggie. She'd kicked him in the shins good with the crack about number crunching. All she saw when she took the time to look at him was a suit that frequents a sex club for kicks—not the man who worked his ass off at a job he hated because people relied on him for support.
The twenty-four hour nursing care for his sick mother cost a fucking fortune. Why couldn't Maggie see more? Why couldn't she see the man behind the Ivy League law degree? Maybe because that's all you show her, asshole.
Maggie stood and stretched. A sliver of peaches and cream skin taunted him. All of his blood ran south. Brian licked his dry lips and tried not to think about what her soft flesh would taste like.
Logan came up next to him. "Hey, if you want steak and beer sometime in this decade, we need to get this roof done."
Brian watched Nick walk up to Maggie. Her laugh filtered up to him. He bit back the need to jump off the roof when she leaned in and kissed Nick's cheek.
He must be fucking hilarious. "Asshole."
"Maggie sure is pretty when she smiles," Logan teased.
Brian turned and picked up a hammer. "Whatever."
"If you don't do something soon, Nick might poach what's yours."
Jealously flowed ice cold though his veins. "Maggie is free to be with whomever she wants."
Logan, the prick, chuckled. "Yes, she is. Just think, the two of them are all alone in Maggie's tiny apartment doing God knows what."
The need to bash Logan over the head had Brian tossing the hammer. It bounced and slid off the roof. "Fuck it. I need some water."
"Man, you got it bad. Grow a pair. Deal with what happened to your wife and do something about Maggie."
"Fuck you." Brian flung aside his tool belt and hurried down the ladder.
The thought of Maggie and Nick fucking like rabbits made his blood boil. Brian
wasn't sure if it turned him on or pissed him off. Either way he didn't like it.
Chapter Three
Brian yanked open the refrigerator door. It wobbled and tipped. The bottled water he came in to find toppled out, along with three cans of soda and two bottles of beer. "Grow a pair of balls, my ass," he mumbled. Brian scooped up the fallen items and tossed them back into the fridge.
Maggie wasn't his type. Different hair colors every week—and her clothes… She dressed like a boy, for fuck sake. Except when she worked—then she filled out the skimpy uniform quite nicely.
Her soft, round tits displayed Club Paradise's logo so everyone could get an eye full. The sexy, hot-pink boy shorts highlighted her heart-shaped ass to perfection. Oh god, the way her gemstone green eyes sparkled when she flirted with the regulars and flamed when she looked at him always had his dick jumping to attention.
Brian blinked and shrugged away the images from his head. He slammed the door. Something inside rattled and thumped against the door. "Shit."
Julie strolled through the doorway. "What did that thing do to you?"
He grabbed the bottle of water from the floor and twisted off the cap. "Nothing. Do you want anything?"
"No thanks," she said sweetly. Julie leaned against an exposed stud and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, tell me what has crawled up your ass."
Feelings he didn't want to explore balled in his gut. "I don't want to talk about it." He moved to the makeshift plywood table and sat.
She pushed off the wall and settled next to him. "Let me guess. You and Maggie had a fight again."
"Maggie and I don't fight."
"Okay," Julie said slowly.
Maggie's sweet giggle wafted through the open back door and his damn dick took notice. He swallowed back a curse and took a long pull from his water bottle. The cold liquid did nothing to chill the blood running south to his lap.
"Nick, stop it. That tickles," she giggled.
Brian was on his feet and at the back door in a flash.
Julie grabbed his arm and pulled. "Whoa, cowboy. Don't go off halfcocked if you're not ready to do something about it."
He wanted to pick Maggie up and toss her over his shoulder. Brian took a deep breath and focused on Julie's unadorned face. He let his gaze roam over her lush curves and smirked at her outfit. What was up with women? Why can't they just be what they seem?
She looked down at herself. "What?"
"You look so different," he grunted.
"Well, I can't really wear my work clothes and heavy makeup to do manual labor."
"No, I guess not, but who is the real Julie?"
Her brow creased. "What do you mean?"
Brian stared out the doorway into the backyard. The sight outside made him hotter than an X-rated movie. Confusion and lust washed over him as he watched Maggie and Nick do nothing more than horse tease each other and dig holes. The sight stirred him in ways that hours at the club hadn't managed to do in months.
He pulled himself away from the door and faced Julie. "I mean, at the club, you wear all sorts of sexy things based on the theme of the night and lots of make-up. During the day, when you have business meetings you wear classic, well-tailored business suits. Now you're in yoga pants and a T-shirt. Which is the real you?'
"When you find out, please let me know," she said. Julie rested her hand on his cheek. "Tell me what's going on?"
He waved his hand at the window. Maggie and Nick had stopped laughing like giddy teenagers and were marking out a flowerbed with spray paint. "I don't know what this is."
Her hand dropped. "What is?"
If anyone would understand his feelings, it would be Mistress Julie. No offense to Ava, but Julie was better than any shrink.
He sighed. "Yesterday I was living my life happy as can be and today every time I see a five foot tall pixie, all the blood in my body shoots to my dick and I become a caveman."
Julie shook her head. "Her new hairstyle is hot. That girl can go from looking like a trouble-making Disney fairy to a sex pot with just a bottle of dye."
Brian shoved his hands into his pockets. "That's my point. Which one is she?"
Julie brushed her hands together and motioned to the table. "Come sit. We need to talk."
Brian turned and glanced out the window again. He didn't want to talk. He wanted have Maggie under him, calling his name. Maybe once he had a taste of her, he could control whatever broke free inside him.
"Brian."
He spun to face Julie. "Yes, ma'am."
She cringed. "Don't call me that outside the club."
"Sorry, but you use that tone on your subs."
"It's hard to turn it off sometimes. I think I need a vacation."
That sounded good to him. "Where do you want to go? A weekend in the keys drinking ourselves stupid, a cruise to the Bahamas where the only thing we have to worry about is which buffet we should go to, or do you want to go somewhere cooler like skiing in New Hampshire."
"That all sounds great, but as you know, I can't go anywhere right now. Why don't we deal with what has been going on between you and Maggie for years."
"Years?"
Julie squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "Yes, Brian, years."
"Please tell me what the hell is going on. Everyone seems to think that Maggie and I should get together."
"It doesn't matter what everyone thinks. It only matters what you think."
What was Brian supposed to think? He didn't do long term. The longest relationship he'd had in the last four years was with a fellow club member, Wanda, and they fucked only at the club. Maggie deserved better than that and he couldn't give it to her. "I don't know what to think."
"Do you want my take?"
He stood and paced the room. Emotion he'd spent years trying to forget rolled around inside him. "Yes."
"Okay, this might hurt some."
He braced himself. Brian had spent hundreds of hours in sessions with Julie. They'd dominated and submitted to each other for years. If anyone knew his true nature, it was Julie. "Hit me."
"You like the freak in our lifestyle. Average sex doesn't get you off."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is. When was the last time you took a girl out on a date and took her back to your place to make love with her." She put up her hand before he could speak. "Let me finish. Not fuck her blind and put her on display like you do with Wanda and the others."
"Okay, so I haven't dated in a while. That's because it's easier at the club. You can have no strings attached sex and go your separate ways."
Julie waved him off. "The fact that everyone is watching gets you off even more than the sex. Maggie is the type that wouldn't mind a little freak every now and then, but when it comes down to it, she'll want love and monogamy." She rose and faced him. "I don't think you have that in you right now."
Nick walked up to the back door holding Maggie fireman-style. "Oh, sorry. Didn't know anyone was in here."
"Hey, Nick," Julie said in greeting.
"Hey, gorgeous." He set a flushed Maggie on her feet, stepped to Julie, and kissed her. To Brian's shock, Julie blushed. Fuck me. Even Julie is under his spell.
"You know you can come to the club and not work," she said.
Nick looked at Maggie. "I had fun working at the club last night.” He shrugged. "But I prefer my dirty deeds done in private."
Maggie punched his arm. "You prude."
There she went again, smiling her sexy smile at the bastard.
"I'll take you into the back room some time," Maggie said.
That's it. Brian had had enough of Maggie throwing herself at Nick. "I told you before. If you want to go in the back rooms with someone, I'll take you."
She stomped over to him. Her beautiful eyes shot fire at him. Maggie rose on her tiptoes and shook her head. "You have no fucking clue."
He inhaled her spicy scent and stared down at her. Need stabbed in his gut. Before he could stop himself, Brian gripped her bicep
s and lifted. Maggie's hot eyes sparked at him. He pressed his mouth to hers.
Maggie's lips parted in surprise. He took full advantage. The taste of mint and hot woman threatened to drown him in a flood of desire. She moaned and swiped her tongue over his.
Oh, fuck. Brian's arms shook, reminding him he'd grabbed Maggie and forced himself on her. He pulled back and set her down.
* * * *
Maggie stumbled back. Her skin itched and felt too tight—and too hot. Her head spun in a sea of lust. "What the…?"
All the color leached from Brian's face. "I'm sorry."
Her head reeled. Newfound desire beat inside her. She gazed over at Julie.
Julie grinned. "Brian, why don't you go for a walk?"
Logan and Ava strolled in from the living room. "What's going on in here?" Logan asked.
"The fireworks just got ignited," Julie told him. "Why don't you and Nick take Brian for a walk."
"Oh, I take it you ladies need to talk," Logan said.
Julie pointed to the door. "Go."
The two steps to the table felt like a climb up Mt Washington. Maggie sat and exhaled. "I need a drink."
"I'll get it." Ava opened the refrigerator. A bottle of water toppled onto the floor. She scooped it up and handed it to Maggie.
"Thanks." Maggie unscrewed the cap and took a long sip. The cold water washed away Brian's delicious taste. She swallowed then took a few moments to gather her thoughts and cool her hormones. "What the hell happened?" she finally said.
Julie slid on the plywood next to her. "I think Brian just threw down the gauntlet. The ball is now in your court."
"I…" Now that she opened Pandora's box, she didn't know if she wanted the treasures it offered.
"Oh, for God sakes," Julie said, aggravated. "You two have been doing a dance around each other for a long time now and last night you made your move." Julie wrapped her arm around Maggie's shoulder and squeezed. "And he just moved the dance to the next level."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Ava asked. "The last I heard, Maggie and Nick were doing the hormone dance to bed.
Maggie's Desire Page 3