by Raye, Cyndi
Maggie had to laugh aloud at some of the banter going on. Two of the readers were fighting over the answer. Someone named Pboo answered, ‘Oh yes, I would take advantage. Maybe pretend you forgot he is in your bed and slip in beside him at night. Then act surprised when he wakes up to see you there. Of course by then you got yourself all wrapped up around him.’
RomancingBetty said, ‘Pboo, your a slut! Just be honest and tell him that you like him.’
PBoo answered back, ‘RB, suck it! I ain’t no slut. Your answer is boring. He’d probably laugh at you, you jerk.’
Along comes another reader, one of her faithful followers who has read every book of Maggies and gives her excellent reviews every single time. Barblovesbooks told them both off, probably knowing she’d get plenty of back lash but actually sounding like the only adult there.
Barblovesbooks said, ‘Both of you, PBoo and RomancingBetty have no class. This is an author’s page with some serious stuff going on. We either talk nice and answer the intended questions or we keep our mouths shut and don’t be rude to others. If you want to fight, go meet somewhere and duke it out. We have better things to do here, now let’s get back on track and respect each others answers..’
Of course, Maggie knew that when Barblovesbooks got on a subject, she could talk and talk. She was right, there was another entry right under that one, this time in detail.
Barblovesbooks said, ‘If I had a man in my bed that I nursed back to health, while he was ill I wouldn’t bother him with any nonsense. Now, if he started feeling better, I’d probably be really nice to him and show him what kind of a lady I am. I think that I would not try to make out with him while he was in my bed, although it may be hard to do. Like, if he had a really hot body with ripped muscles that made you drool every time you gazed at him, perhaps then it would be OK to maybe rub your hands over his chest and arms just to get a feel of those muscles. I don’t know, what does everyone else think?’
Maggie was laughing out loud. She didn’t notice that Jake was standing in the doorway watching her, smiling at her through the screen. She looked up and waved him out. “Good morning Jake. Want a cup of coffee?”
He came outside and made his way to the patio, then sat down across from her on the one empty chair. He set his coffee down. “I already got a cup. I doubt you ever heard me with all that laughing going on. What’s so funny?” He nodded towards her laptop.
“Oh, nothing Jake. Just a bunch of fans on face book. You know how some people bring their drama to these places. Are you hungry? I was just thinking eggs and toast. Want some?”
He nodded and gave her his sexy morning smile, smoky eyes staring into her big brown ones. “Oh I want some alright.” She shivered and got up, too quickly, not sure if he meant eggs or her!
“You’re obviously feeling better,” she stated, grinning to herself. Maggie pushed her laptop to the center of the table, a habit she had because the one time when she didn’t, it fell from the edge, shattering her screen. It was before she made any money and so she had to rent a laptop to keep writing. Lesson learned!
Maggie made them some eggs and toast that she picked up when she first came here, humming in the kitchen as she worked. She hardly ever cooked, always grabbing a salad or throwing something together from the deli, so this was a nice change. She was feeling a bit domestic and liked the fact that she could do a bit of cooking now and then. Did Jake bring these feelings out? Maggie was feeling really confused, she was sure they would just remain friends, wouldn’t they? After all, he would soon go back to his place and she would finish her book and move on.
She took the two plates out to the table and then went back in to refill the coffee cups. She set them down on the patio table and then went to sit down when she noticed her laptop close to the edge of the table. “Oh my!” She closed it and took it in the house, almost certain that she had pushed it to the center of the table earlier. Maggie shook her head and sighed. I could’ve sworn I did, but that would mean that Jake would have been snooping on my computer or else he has me in such a frenzy these days that I totally forgot!
Maggie commenced to dipping her toast in the soft yoke of her egg and as she was getting ready to bite into it, she stole a glance at Jake. He was looking down at his plate with the biggest grin on his face. “Do eggs make you that happy Jake?” she mumbled, curious.
He laughed out loud, a big, boisterous laugh and then shook his head. “I’m sorry Maggie, I was deep in thought. Jon told me that I could go back upstairs in a day or two. I argued with him and told him that I’d go today, but now that I think about it, perhaps I should stay another day, that’s if your OK with me sleeping in your bed one more night.”
Maggie was almost certain she remembered Jon saying that Jake could probably go home today but she wasn’t going to argue with Jake. Jon did say it would be better if she watched out for him for awhile. She was getting used to him being around. “I don’t mind at all, Jake.”
“Just don’t take advantage of a healing man, Maggie.” Jake sat back in his chair and grinned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maggie’s guard was up. Did he snoop on her face book page?
Then she knew it was true when he asked her to go up to his place and get his laptop. “I want to do some work on it myself, Maggie. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Not at all, Jake,” Maggie said, sceptical he wanted to do any such thing. “What kind of work do you do?”
“I buy and sell buildings and such,” Jake mentioned. “I need to check in on a few things. Would you mind going up to my desk and bringing my laptop down?”
As Maggie made her way up the steps, she thought maybe she jumped to conclusions. Perhaps he hadn’t seen her face book page, although she could have sworn she pushed that laptop to the center of the table. She always did that but lately things were not normal. She bit down on her lower lip, wondering if things were about to change for the better or worse.
<>
After getting Jake settled in on the couch with his own computer, she went back outside and sat in the sun for awhile working. Anxious to read more of her reader’s remarks, she switched tabs back to her page on Face book to see if there were any new suggestions. Now that Jake was busy doing his thing, she could enjoy her readers banter once again. Sure enough, there they were, with new readers chiming in.
Pboo:“What do you know, Romancing Betty? I know this is an author page and blah, blah, blah, but the author was asking us what we thought and I was just telling the truth of what I’d do! You mean to tell me if there was this hunk in your bed, so hot you couldn’t stand it, you wouldn’t feign a memory loss and crawl in that bed? Ha, then your not normal is all I can say!”
Cherrypie : I know I’m normal and oh yummy I’d jump right in!!!!!
ILOVEBooks: Oooooooooooooooooohhhhh yeah, I’d def jump in yeah!
There were about forty other remarks as well, keeping Maggie entertained until REDJH popped up. The smile left Maggie’s face the moment she saw the entry.
REDJH: Hi ladies, would you like to hear what a man really would want?
There were about 13 replies instantaneously with a resounding YES!!! Maggie puckered her lips, she was suddenly highly suspicious. She clicked on the link for REDJH, her face turning red when she saw his page. It read Real Estate Developer Jake Hatfield, LLC. He had seen her page earlier, she knew it! Did he honestly think she wouldn’t figure out who he was? Did he even care? Let’s just see what you got, Jake Hatfield!
AuthorChristinaDey: Ladies, thank you for all of your entries. I think we all would love to hear a man’s point of view. Have at it REDJH.
REDJH: I don’t think any man cares how you get here, just as long as you do. Do you think that feigning a memory loss makes a difference if there is a fire going on between two people?
RomancingBetty: That’s hot and a good point REDJH, but dishonesty is not a good start in any relationship.
REDJH: I hate to burst your bubble Romancing Betty, but
we’re not talking about a serious relationship here, or are we?
AuthorChristinaDey: What would it matter REDJH, with women it’s more about the romance then just crawling in bed with someone. Would you be prepared to romance the lady too?
REDJH: Well now, that would be something that she would need to stick around for to find out.
AuthorChristinaDey: What do you mean REDJH? Are you saying that if a woman crawled in your bed with you and after a night of pure, raw sex, you wouldn’t know if you would romance her after that? Are you saying most men want a one night stand?
REDJH: Now we are talking my dear. I had no idea it was that intense! If that were the case and I’m not sure it isn’t, then you can bet you’d be romanced right in your own bed while we were having pure, raw sex!
PBOO: Now that’s what I’m talking about, honey! REDJH you can text me privately if you’d like!
REDJH: Lol, PBoo. I’m kind of tied up right now.
PBOO: Tied up? Now that is interesting to know...
AuthorChristinaDey: You didn’t answer my question REDJH. Are you into one night stands? Maggie heard a laugh, soft and subtle coming from inside her bungalow. Oh my, she’d forgotten he was only a few feet away, sitting on her couch! This is incredibly crazy! Did she really want to know the answer to her question? She needed the answer though because Maggie was starting to feel close to Jake and she didn’t want to be too disappointed if all he cared about was a one night stand.
REDJH: I doubt any man would answer the truth to that question. I could say of course I’m not into a one night stand, but would you believe me? I could promise romance but I’d rather show you myself just what I am capable of.
Maggie swallowed. It was getting hot outside, yet there was no sunshine at all. She quickly looked up at the sky. It looked like it was going to downpour any minute. She hoped that wasn’t the case because if she had to run inside now with her cheeks aflame, she’d die of embarrassment. She watched her face book page as more and more ladies commented on Jake’s remarks. He sure had them going and thanks to him jumping onto her page, she was almost certain she’d wind up with a ton more fans which suited her perfectly.
Her readers asked how he would romance a woman?
REDJH: If she were here with me, I’d take this beautiful rose from the vase that is sitting in front of me and entwine the flower in her hair, brushing my fingers through those dark, thick waves. I’d brush my knuckles across her cheek and down her chin and neck, lightly followed by small kisses then back up until I found what I was looking for, those sweet lips that I have been dreaming about for days.
Maggie slammed the laptop shut! She jumped up and ran into the house, hurrying past Jake who was sitting in the living room, leaning over the laptop that was sitting on the coffee table. He looked up as she flew by, but she couldn’t look at his face.
“It’s too hot out there,” Maggie yelled. “ I need a shower!” She drowned out his chuckles with the running water of a very cool shower.
Chapter Nine
Maggie let the water pound over her hair and face, running down her back until she couldn’t stand the cold any longer. What had she been thinking to get in on that conversation! Now she didn’t know if she could go back out there and face Jake. Had he thought she wanted a one night stand with him? Or, could he read between the lines and know that she was a woman who loved romance? Anyone with common sense would know that a writer of romance would want to be what else but romanced? If he did try to romance her, she wouldn’t know if it was real or if he was just trying to use that to get what he wanted. Which was what she wanted to, wasn’t it?
How could she not want him? After spending that incredible time with him at the Full Moon party and riding on his harley, arms wrapped around him driving down the highway with the wind in her face and his body so close, any woman would be crazy to turn him down. She even felt a bit responsible for his injuries, after all, if he hadn’t tried to get back to her, she was pretty sure that he would’ve gotten help sooner. At least he could’ve called his brother sooner. Because of that, he had been down and out for quite a few days. Even though it was his suggestion that led them to the private island, she still felt partially responsible. But then again, if all this wouldn’t have happened, Jake Hatfield, aka hot man, would be up in his house and she wouldn’t be enjoying these moments with him. Everything happened for a reason, didn’t it?
It was all for research, she told herself. He really had helped her with writer’s block, more than he would ever know. She hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. Picking up another one, she wiped the fog from the mirror. Big brown eyes stared back at her. Who are you kidding, Maggie McCoy! You are falling big time for a Hatfield!
<>
Maggie woke with a start as she realized Jax was licking on her face again. She opened her eyes to see Jake beside the pup smiling. “Wake up Maggie, I made us some dinner.”
She stretched and realized that she had fallen asleep on the bottom of her bed. After taking a shower, she had gotten dressed and then sat down on the bed watching the storm pummelling down from the bedroom window. Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep right there on the bed, the one Jake had been sleeping in for days. His smell was everywhere and she hadn’t been able to help herself when she curled herself around the blanket and pillow, taking in the smell of soft leather and spice.
“It’s going to be one of those rainy days in the keys tonight, Maggie. I made some dinner and thought we could watch a movie, if you like,” Jake offered as she got up and followed him out of the bedroom.
She walked into the living room to find the coffee table set up. Pillows sat on the floor around the table and a small candle was burning, alongside THAT vase of flowers. “Impressive,” Maggie smiled at him. “Your doing good Jake. What else you got?”
He gave her his trademark wink. “Sit,” he ordered. The outside dreary weather tried to bleed in through the windows, making it darker than usual in the late afternoon. Jake’s make shift candle burned bright on the coffee table, giving off just the right amount of romantic flare. He brought two plates over and then sat beside Maggie on the pillows. Then he pushed a few buttons on the remote until a classical sound came out of the speakers. Maggie was impressed.
“Oh wow, where did you get this?” she cried out when she saw the variety of seafood on her plate. Crab cake, scallops and conch covered the plate, along with a few items she wasn’t sure about. Her eyes gazed around the little kitchen and saw the cardboard containers from a local take out. Smiling to herself, she wasted no time dipping one of them in butter and put it in her mouth. “What is this?”
“Oysters.”
She gulped as it slid down her throat. She wasn’t a fan of those but did he deliberately buy oysters for this romantic dinner? Everyone knew they were supposed to be a lover’s aphrodisiac. Well, the night was young and he was doing well in the romance department. The man was trying, she’d give him that. She looked at him and smiled and caught him staring at her, his face serious.
“Jake, don’t look at me like that.” She put her fork down.
“Can’t help myself,” he said, his voice low, husky.
She licked her lips. He reached over to the flower vase and pulled out a yellow rose. Breaking the stem, he slid it carefully behind her ear then brushed his fingers through thick hair. She shivered. His knuckles caressed her cheeks as he slid them across her face, her chin, down her neck. She closed her eyes and waited in anticipation for his lips to come next. He didn’t disappoint. He dropped light kisses across her chin and neck, making Maggie’s head swirl. She leaned her head back, giving him more exposure as he gently caught her earlobe in his mouth, then found his way to her lips.
“Are you sure, Maggie?” he asked, his husky voice a mere whisper as he yawned in spite of his mouth all over her.
Maggie blinked. “Did you just yawn? Jake?” She pushed him away, insulted at first until she looked into his eyes and noticed the pupils
were tiny and glazed over. “Jake, what’s wrong with you? Are you on something? Are you drunk?”
He shook his head, like he was trying to snap out of it. “I’ve got this incredible feeling of sleepiness that suddenly just came over me. I’m really sorry Maggie. I can’t seem to help myself.” He yawned again, his eyelids drooping closed until he snapped them open.
“Perhaps you did too much today. Maybe Jon was right.” She reached over to grab her wine glass and took a long swig on the glass, downing it all at once. She needed that, she sighed, then licked her lips to the funny taste on the glass.
Her eyes lit open. “Jake, where did you get this wine?” She jumped up from the pillow on the floor and ran to the refrigerator. She knew before he even answered. Yanking the door open, she knelt down to check the bottom rack. “Jake, did you take the bottle from the bottom shelf? That wasn’t wine, it was apple juice and roxanol liquid.” The empty wine bottle had been rinsed out because it had been the only thing she could find when Jon mixed the concoction for Jake. She should have labelled it, but never thought anyone would find it.
“Oh no Jake, that was to help you sleep at night. Don’t you remember, I gave you a glass every night. Your brother put in enough drops to help you to sleep a bit sounder at night and so you wouldn’t be in pain. I had forgotten it was there because after the first two nights you didn’t need it any more.”
She found her cell and paged his brother. Twenty minutes later Maggie was yawning too. While waiting impatiently for Jon to answer his page, it hit her. She just drank a full glass of apple juiced roxanol and Jake was no help, he sat on the cushion on the floor yawning, staring into space. Maggie was getting sleepy herself. She prayed Jon would call back before she passed out. Had she drank enough to harm herself? She was feeling pretty good actually, even if things seemed a bit blurry.