by Rene Folsom
Holding out my hand, I helped her sit up, her ass perched just at the edge of the desk. “C’mere,” I said, pulling her in for a hug in the hopes it would comfort her even a little. “So, your writing doesn’t get your mind off things for a bit?”
“No,” she answered, shaking her head against my chest. “Usually my writing absorbs my current emotions. So, if I’m stressed or freaked out about something in my personal life, you can bet your ass my characters will be too.”
“Well, that makes sense.” I couldn’t help but internally wonder how this particular situation was playing out with her current series. Part of me itched to read the papers she had piled at the corner of the large desk, yet another part of me knew that would’ve been a huge no no for her.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do, Liam.” Her voice was small, lacking the character of the strong woman I’d grown to adore.
Pulling away, I grabbed her face, her skin feeling soft, dainty beneath my touch. “Like I said, we’ll figure something out soon enough, okay?”
She nodded, a fake smile plastered on her face.
“Hey, Liam?” My name on her lips still did crazy-odd things to me, and I knew I had no choice but to respond, just to hear her voice some more.
“Yeah?”
“I’m making a mess on your desk.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her matter-of-factness. Just the thought of her still-bare ass on my desk had me getting amped up all over again.
Grabbing her hand, I said, “C’mon, let’s go get cleaned up. We’ll worry about the desk later.”
She followed me out the hall, into my bedroom, and through the bathroom door. I glanced behind me as I turned on the shower, watching her watching me as I felt the water for its warmth. She looked so damn adorable—it was going to be a shame to remove the Space Invaders shirt from her body.
“What are you staring at?” she asked, her attempts to scowl at me failing miserably.
“I was just thinking how amazing it looked to watch your tits bounce while you were wearing my shirt. It was almost as if I was playing the game all over again, and I sure as hell won.” While I spoke, I approached her, placing a light kiss on the tip of her nose and reaching for the hem of the t-shirt.
As if prompted, she raised her hands over her head and allowed me to slide the shirt from her body, her beautiful hair the last to clear the black fabric, flowing in waves around her shoulders. I watched, enraptured, as she twirled the blonde, rainbow locks with her fingers and easily tied it all into a knot, not even needing to fuss with a rubber band.
Silence filled the space between us as we both stepped into the shower, lathering each other up without sharing a word. The silence was almost welcome—therapeutic—like we didn’t need any frivolous words to show just how much we meant to each other.
While massaging the soap into her back, paying special attention to the soft skin around her neck, I tried to think about what I could do to ease her worry. Knots in her shoulders made her stress that much more evident, and I knew, just knew, it would break her if she never got to see her grandmother again.
I had to fix it. I just didn’t know how.
I obviously couldn’t give Big Jim what he wanted, but what if I was to give him some of it? There would be no way he could replicate our technology without the entire prototype. Say I only gave him the equipment, leaving the data out of the equation, then he’d never be able to get the damn thing to work. Of course, that omission might cause him to lash out at Maci, making her life that much worse in retaliation. He’d likely assume she did it on purpose… and he’d be right.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” Her voice interrupted my thoughts, and I was almost grateful for it. So far, my thoughts were nothing but a broken record—a wheel spinning in a circle and going nowhere fast.
“Nothing, really,” I said, trying to not bring up the whole debacle for now. I needed her to feel comfortable with me, and constantly talking about the biggest stress in her life would never help.
“Nah, you can’t pull that shit with me, William. I’ve figured out your different faces.”
“My different faces?” I asked, my stomach twisting with discomfort as an uncomfortable chuckle caused my chest to bounce lightly. I was sure this would be a riot… not.
“Yeah, you have different faces,” she said, not giving anything away about what she meant.
“And what’s my face say now?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but curiosity was getting the best of me. The thought she could read me so easily didn’t sit well with me.
“You’re uncomfortable, embarrassed, though I don’t know why,” she explained, hitting the nail on the head.
“Hmm, that’s interesting. And what about my other faces?” I inquired, needing to know more. My discomfort was beginning to dissipate as she started massaging the soap into my chest, the idea that this beautiful, amazing woman knew me well enough to peg my emotions seeming much less of a threat than I initially thought. Honestly, I should’ve been counting my blessings she considered me interesting enough to study my expressions.
“Well, before I opened my big mouth and asked, I could tell you were thinking hard,” she said, her fingers dancing over my skin and causing goose bumps to coat my body.
“You think so, huh? How can you tell?” My stomach twisted again, but this time not with nervousness or discomfort, but with desire—adoration that she saw me, all of me, even the raw, unguarded me.
“Your brow was furrowed and you were chewing your lip. Something I’ve noticed you do when you’re thinking about something unpleasant,” she explained as she pressed closer to me. “So, tell me, what’s wrong?”
“Ahh, it’s nothing. I was just trying to brainstorm your current… well, our current situation, and was coming up with bad ideas. I just didn’t want to bring it up because you were finally beginning to relax a bit.”
Taking the showerhead down from the bracket, I lightly coated her skin with water to rinse the soap. The sight of the suds gracefully gliding down her body was hypnotizing, wiping my mind of the unpleasant and filling it with visions of her. It wasn’t until she spoke again that I remembered what we were talking about.
“What was the idea?” she asked, curious as ever.
Handing her the hose, I turned, gesturing for her to rinse me off like I did her. The sounds of the water echoing off the surfaces around us were loud as I contemplated whether I should bother discussing this further with her. Honestly, I just wanted her to relax, but now that the subject was open, she’d likely get pissed if I dropped it and didn’t share all my thoughts with her.
If I didn’t want her to kill me off in one of her books, I’d better spill.
“I was just thinking we could give him an incomplete prototype to make it harder for him to steal information from it. But it’s stupid, really. Once he found out the data chip wasn’t included, he’d come for you, and possibly make your life even more hellish than it is now.” I took a deep breath when I finished my explanation, knowing her hopes probably swelled a bit, just to get knocked back down in the end.
She reached around me, turning off the water with a loud squeak.
“That’s brilliant!” she exclaimed, her voice bouncing off every wall around us and making it sound even stronger than it was.
“No, Maci, it’s dumb. He’d never just let that go. He’d figure it out right away,” I explained, shaking my head and watching little drops of water fall from my hair.
“What I mean is that the idea is good. Not the execution of course, but the idea of the data being incomplete will at least buy us some time.” Excitement filled her voice, yet I couldn’t quite match her cheer because I didn’t understand what she meant. To me, it was a sucky plan that put her in jeopardy.
I climbed out, reaching for two towels and tossing her one. Damn, I wished we weren’t talking about this shit right now. She was so gorgeous, her towel gliding along her soft skin, making it seem to glow in the flore
scent lights of the bathroom. I wanted to just spend this time enjoying her, absorbing her beauty, her fun, charismatic personality.
“Okay,” she went on to say. “What if… what if I ask to meet with him, telling him I have an update on Specter? I can tell him I need to see my grandmother before I give him any more info on it though. Just the chance to see her again would be worth it.”
“But then you’d need something solid to tell him,” I pointed out, wrapping the towel around my waist and running my fingers through my wet hair, partially because it was tangled, and partially because I was frustrated. I really didn’t want her to risk herself with that horrible man. Hell, I didn’t want her to be in the same room with him.
“That’s where your idea comes in,” she explained, wrapping the towel around herself and walking toward the bathroom door. I followed. Of course I’d follow. She had to know I’d always follow her. “I can tell him I have access to take the Specter headsets, but that the data is on lockdown—that there’s no way I can take it unnoticed. If anything, it’ll buy us time until we figure something out.”
Still wrapped in our towels, we made our way into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what she was after, but it was cute to see her walking around my place in only a towel. I could get used to the sight of her nearly naked in my home.
She reached for two mugs as she continued to talk. “I wish I could get the fucker on tape. If I could just record him blackmailing me, I might have a leg to stand on… might be able to take it to the authorities.”
That was when it came to me. “Of course!” I bellowed, nearly causing her to drop one of the mugs. She looked at me warily before pressing the button on the Keurig.
“Well, gonna share?” she prompted, leaning on the counter and eyeing me with doubt.
“We’ll hook you up. Put a wire on you. See if we can get him to spill his evil beans while being recorded.” It was a long shot that authorities would even care, but it was at least a shot.
“Liam, I tried twice to record his vile ass, and I failed both times. I get way too flustered and end up screwing it up.” Her doubts crinkled her forehead as she looked anywhere but at me. But she had to trust me on this. Gadgets were my thing.
“That’s why the wire is so great. He’ll never know, and you don’t have to do a thing other than meet with him and talk.” Stepping to her, I pressed her against the counter, grabbed her face, and forced her to look up at me. “Trust me. We can make this work.”
“How are you even going to get your hands on a wire?” she asked, wrapping her arms around me and finally giving in to the embrace. My insides fluttered at the feel of her fingers trailing along my back, my muscles flexing because of her soft touch.
“Ahh, did you forget who you’re talking to? I’m the guru of geeky gadgets,” I said with a smile, finally feeling in my element. “Plus, I have friends who are even geekier than I am. We’ll find a way.”
I could tell she was nervous, the plan not quite solidifying as an option in her mind. With a single finger, I tipped her head up by her chin, looking deep into her eyes as I said, “Just think about it. No pressure. I’m here for you no matter what.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice cutting off when she crushed her face against my bare chest.
We went on with our day, sipping coffee and talking, only getting dressed when we went out for lunch. My mind was reeling with all the options laid out for us with this plan.
If only I could be certain the asshole would actually talk once Maci was alone with him.
Chapter Nineteen
Maci: Stealth Fail
I was a huge bundle of nerves as Liam and I prepared for the meeting. I could tell he was being cautious with me, choosing his words wisely so I didn’t freak the fuck out and end this whole charade. Wiping my sweaty hands on my pants, I took several deep breaths and tried to calm myself.
He was right about one thing though—he sure was the guru of geeky gadgets. With ease, he was able to get his hands on a recording device, and obviously got a thrill out of setting it up. He was like a kid in a candy store, playing with it for several days before my scheduled meeting with Big Jim.
Speaking of Big Jim, he seemed to be wary of meeting with me at first. When I’d texted him last week, telling him I had some new information about the Specter project, he played dumb, obviously not wanting to leave a trail of text messages between us. Without notice, he dropped in on me the next day while I was writing at Ramon’s, demanding to know what I had to tell him.
He scolded me for texting him, warning me that he was way too smart to be pulled into my games. I held strong, keeping my face passive as I demanded to see Grams. His laughter at my words had my insides turning, the prominent scowl probably evident on my face.
Putting my foot down, I insisted on seeing her first. He wouldn’t get his way otherwise, and he knew it. Deep down, I wasn’t ready. I really wanted to make sure I was equipped to record him and Liam hadn’t strapped me up yet, so scheduling a meeting time was absolutely necessary. He didn’t need to know that though and seeing my grams was just a bonus.
Reluctantly, he agreed, his snarl evident as he leaned in and whispered in my face that I’d better come alone. Ramon gave me a sideways glance, the old man sensing the wickedness of Big Jim’s demeanor. I didn’t need him poking his nose in the situation though, so I waved him off with a forced smile.
I felt like I needed a shower after he left me alone that day, sighing with relief that things were underway. Thank Christ Liam wasn’t with me at the coffee shop. I doubt either man would’ve left without duking it out, and I really didn’t want Big Jim to know I’d confided in Liam about the whole situation.
Today was the day. Now it was time to trick the fat bastard into spilling his tub of guts so I would have him by the balls. I couldn’t wait, yet I was nervous as hell as I waited. Even though I hated the fact I’d have to see the man again, I still needed to visit with Grams, to check on her and see she was okay.
My knee bounced as I sat in Liam’s living room, my body sweating with nervous energy. I needed to just focus on the fact I was going to get to see Grams again. I wanted nothing more than to give her a hug and tell her how much I loved her.
“You okay, Maci?” Liam asked, placing his hand on my knee to stop the obsessive fidgeting and bouncing. His eyes were full of concern, and part of me just wanted to stay there, his comforting hand on me, grounding me so I wouldn’t fly away in a storm of unrest.
“Yeah, just a bit freaked. I loathe being around the man,” I confessed, needing some sort of reassurance that this would all go okay, my insides twisting at the possibility I’d fuck it up again.
“I know. Just act like you normally would as if you weren’t being recorded.” Like that would help me in any way… recordings or not, I was always flustered and weak when around the likes of Big Jim.
“That doesn’t help,” I said with an anxious laugh.
“Well, then, how about you just think about seeing your grams again? Just focus on her. She’s all that matters,” he said, his voice soothing as he nuzzled the side of my face, placing a small, comforting kiss on my cheek. “After all, you’re doing this for her. This entire charade is all for her. Just remember your goals and you’ll be fine.”
I pulled back, stunned he didn’t quite know what motivated me to get through this and bring back the evidence I needed. “I’m doing this for you too, Liam,” I said honestly. Yes, I was doing this so I could see my grandmother, but that was more selfish than anything. But going against Big Jim and trying to take him down—that was all for Liam.
His kiss, scorching my lips with urgency and need, was all the answer I needed before I stood and made my way to the door. I wished Liam could come with me, hold my hand through this so I didn’t have to stand on my own. But I knew that’d be a deal breaker. I was lucky Big Jim was allowing me to see Grams at all, so even the thought of bringing Liam was a no go.
The drive was short, yet long enough for
me to have a full-on panic attack, nearly needing to pull the car over with my airways constricting, anxiety consuming every muscle in my body. If I was freaking the fuck out before I stepped foot into the door, I sure as hell wasn’t going to make it through this. I had to calm myself, make it seem like it was just another day visiting my grams.
Deep breaths—in through my nose, out through my mouth—was my internal chant over the next few blocks, forcing myself to calm. I needed to get my head on straight. If my fear showed through my features, he’d know. He was a like an animal, smelling the fright in his victims. Not to mention the staff at the home knew me all too well. They’d know something was up if I wore my emotions on my sleeve.
As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I saw him, his large frame taking up most of the doorway as he stood… waiting for me. He oozed intimidation and evil power in the black suit he wore, something I knew I had to ignore for fear of freaking out again.
Grams—just focus on seeing Grams.
Taking a deep breath, I willed my limbs to stop shaking and got out of the car, a nauseous feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. I was thankful I didn’t eat anything yet today, or it’d very likely come up at the mere sight of the man. A small smile formed on my face at the thought of throwing up on his shoes and, oddly, the daydream calmed me a bit more.
“Maci, doll. So good to see you!” he cheered as I walked through the automatic sliding glass doors, loud enough for the nurses at the front desk to hear him. I could tell one nurse, Patty, was nervous for me, her body stiffening at the sight of Jim’s hand on my shoulder as we walked past. She’d been around ever since Grams moved in, and I could tell she saw past Big Jim’s evil façade. None of the staff members really liked the man. Hell, no one liked Big Jim. But, it wasn’t like they could voice their concerns to anyone, even me. After all, he was an authoritative man, using his powers for evil to get ahead in life.
The whooshing of the blood pumping through my ears sounded loud, drowning out all other noises around me as we walked down the hall to Grams’ room. I focused on it, the reverberation of my beating heart, deciding to walk in time with the rhythm and breathe with each step I took. It was a trick I learned while jogging—breathe each time my right foot hit the pavement. The act was oddly settling, forcing me to focus on anything but the man walking next to me.