by Marie Force
He'd never felt more energized by a sleepless night.
Maddie couldn't find Thomas. He wasn't in his crib or at Tiffany's. She ran through the yard screaming for help, tears streaming down her face. Someone had taken him from her. The one person she truly loved. She screamed for him again and fought the hands that tried to stop her from running down the street.
"Maddie. Honey, you're dreaming. Wake up."
Mac. All at once, she was fully awake with sickening pain radiating from her knee and arm. He sat on the edge of her bed, brushing the hair off her face.
"Thomas," she said, her voice rough with sleep and fear.
"He's sleeping in his crib."
"Will you make sure? Please?"
"Of course."
While he was gone, Maddie tried to calm her racing heart and shaking hands. Only a dream. Only a dream.
"He's fine," Mac reported. "Sound asleep." He returned to sit once again on the side of the bed. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Just a crazy dream."
"You seem to have a lot of those."
"Always have. Some are better than others." She recalled the dream about him the previous afternoon. That had been a good one.
He took her hand. "You're shaking."
"It was scary."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No. Thank you."
"Scoot over."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." He nudged her with his hip. "Come on."
She moved to the far side of the bed and then gasped when it dipped under his weight. "W-what're you doing?"
"This." He slid his arm under her and carefully brought her into his embrace, making sure to accommodate her injured arm and leg. By the time he had her all arranged, her face was pressed to his chest, and he held her snugly against him. Maddie couldn't breathe from being this close to him, and she had nowhere to rest her sore hand but on his firm belly.
Brushing a kiss over her hair, he said, "Go back to sleep."
Um, yeah. Sure. With her senses overwhelmed by his sporty scent, the feel of his soft chest hair under her cheek, and his hand caressing her back—how did he expect her to sleep?
"It's okay, Maddie. Nothing will happen to you or Thomas while I'm here. I promise."
How could he know that was exactly what she needed to hear right then? That nothing he could've said would have meant more to her? Tears leaked from her closed eyes. She was so tired—and not just from the sleepless night. The heavy weight of responsibility resting on her fragile shoulders was enough sometimes to make her buckle under the strain. Now here was this man wanting to make it all better—even if just for a little while—and it was so very tempting to let him. Tomorrow she'd get back to fighting him off. For right now, it felt too good to be held by him to think about fighting. She sank into Mac's embrace and absorbed the comfort he so willingly offered.
Mac didn't dare move. He'd had no idea how overwhelming it would be to hold her like this, to have her soft, fragrant hair brushing against his face, to have her body yield trustingly into his, and yes, to have her breasts pressed to his side… If she moved, even the slightest bit, she'd be able to feel what her closeness had done to him. So Mac focused on breathing the way the doctor had taught him—in through the nose, out through the mouth.
"Does your chest hurt?" Her breath fanning his heated skin only added to the problem in his lap.
"No."
"Why are you breathing like that? Does something else hurt?"
Mac chuckled. She was so cute. "Nothing that'll kill me."
After a long pause, she suddenly got it. Gasping, she began to move away from him.
He tightened his hold on her. "Stay. Please. I love holding you like this, but I can't help that having you so close turns me on."
"Oh."
In the waning darkness, he smiled. The innocent way she always said that single word was adorable—as if it was a huge surprise to her that she turned him on. She had no idea what she did to him, but apparently she intended to find out. Her injured hand moved from his belly to his face, her fingers caressing his jaw. Mac swore his heart stopped while he waited to see what she would do next. "Maddie…"
"Hmm?"
"What're you doing?"
"Touching you."
Jesus. Kill me now. He'd never been more painfully erect in his life. "Honey, you're going to be tired tomorrow—or I guess I should say today."
"S'okay. I've got someone covering for me at work."
He laughed. "Poor sucker."
"Mmm." Her fingers moved to his mouth, smoothing over his bottom lip in a light caress that once again stopped his heart.
Releasing a tortured groan, he held her tighter while being mindful of her injuries. They didn't seem to be bothering her at the moment.
"You're so handsome," she whispered.
Startled by the unexpected compliment, he cleared his throat. "Is that so?"
"Sure," she said, laughing. "Like you don't know."
"I had no idea until this very minute."
She poked his ribs, making him startle and then laugh again. "You're so full of it."
Brushing a soft kiss over her lips, he studied her face for a long time. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever known."
"That can't possibly be true."
He stopped her from looking away and forced her to meet his gaze. "It's absolutely true."
Her fingers skimmed over his chest to his belly, which quivered under her tentative touch. Mac inhaled sharply as he reached out to stop her wandering hand. "Sleep." Glancing at his watch, he discovered it was after five. For a long time, he lay there listening to the bleat of a foghorn and squawking seagulls before he finally fell into a deep sleep.
Thomas's crib chatter woke Mac at six thirty. His eyes were gritty from lack of sleep, but when he remembered the night he'd spent with Maddie, he was filled with energy and renewed determination to take care of her and Thomas. He moved slowly to extricate himself from her embrace without waking her. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he brought the sheet up over her and went to find the baby bouncing in his crib.
Thomas let out a happy squeal when he saw Mac.
"Hey, buddy," Mac whispered. "You're up early." Mac scooped him up and carried him to the changing table where he removed what felt like a twenty-pound diaper. Amazing to think that just yesterday he'd never changed a diaper before, and now he handled the squirming baby like an expert—and didn't mind doing it. That was the odd part. He, Mac McCarthy, commitment-phobe and bachelor extraordinaire, was taking care of a baby and liking it.
"You and your mother have done quite a number on me, mister," he told the baby.
Thomas rewarded him with a smile full of new baby teeth and a good dose of drool. What a cutie.
Mac changed him into a clean all-in-one shirt contraption that snapped between his legs and picked him up.
Thomas grabbed a handful of Mac's chest hair and gave a healthy yank, bringing tears to Mac's eyes. "Yikes," he said. "No no. That hurts."
Thomas's mischievous smile made Mac laugh. "You're a devil, aren't you? What'd you say we let Mom sleep a while and take a walk?"
When the baby seemed to approve of the plan, Mac put him back in the crib for a few minutes so he could get ready. They snuck out of the apartment a short time later. Mac debated taking the stroller that was parked under the stairs but decided he'd rather carry the baby.
In town, workers swept and washed the sidewalks in front of the various establishments. Shopkeepers carted samples of their wares to the street and rolled back awnings. Mac and Thomas wandered down to the ferry landing where Captain Joe supervised the loading of a fuel truck onto one of the smaller ferries.
"Whoa, dude," Joe said when he saw Mac carrying the baby. "You work fast!"
"Very funny."
Joe toyed with Thomas's pudgy foot, earning a squeal from the baby. "Who've you got there?"
"This is Thomas. My friend Maddie's baby."
"And ho
w long, exactly, has Maddie been your 'friend'?"
"Since I knocked her off her bike about ten minutes after I left you yesterday."
"Awww, and now you've got yourself a little family. Isn't that sweet?"
"It's not like that." But wasn't it? "Exactly."
Joe barked with laughter and tugged cigarettes from his shirt pocket.
"You can't smoke in front of the baby," Mac said.
"Wow, look at you. All paternal and everything. Never thought I'd see the day."
"If you're quite finished, Thomas and I are going to grab some coffee. Want to join us?"
"He's kind of young for coffee, isn't he?"
Mac shot him a withering look.
Joe checked his watch. "Yeah, I've got some time. My first run isn't until eight." He hollered for someone to take over for him and walked with Mac and Thomas up the hill to the South Harbor Diner. When Mac walked in with Thomas in his arms, everything came to a halt in the small restaurant, and every eye in the room landed on him.
"Morning, everyone," Mac said.
Murmured greetings followed as Mac and Joe slid into a booth.
"Jeez, man, you've got the whole town buzzing," Joe said.
"Apparently."
Mac told Joe about what'd happened since yesterday while sharing tiny bites of his corn muffin with Thomas. If the boy's bouncing antics were any indication, he loved the treat. Before long, the muffin was a pulverized mess of crumbs that Mac scrambled to contain. The kid moved fast!
"You know what people say about her, don't you?" Joe asked tentatively after hearing Mac's story.
"It's not true, Joe." He told his friend what Darren Tuttle and the other boys, including Evan, had done to her.
Joe swore under his breath. "God, that's horrible." He leveled a steady look at Mac across the table. "What're you gonna do about it?"
Mac appreciated that his old friend knew him so well. "Haven't decided yet. But I plan to have a chat with my brother. Soon."
"Tuttle owns an auto body shop out on Sunflower Road."
"Good to know."
"He's still as much of a jerk as he was in school."
"Also good to know."
"That's one cute baby," Joe said a bit wistfully.
"He really is."
"You're getting kind of involved here, huh?"
"I think maybe I am." It still amazed Mac to realize all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. "There's something about her that just gets to me. I can't explain it."
Joe shrugged. "Happens to the best of us."
Mac knew he was referring to his feelings for Janey. After spending time with Maddie, he had a new appreciation for what it would be like to want someone who didn't return the sentiment. That thought struck a chord of fear in Mac. Suddenly, he needed to get back to her. He needed to see her, to reassure himself that what they'd shared during the long night had started them down a path toward something important.
"I need to get Thomas back to his mom," Mac said, tossing some bills on the table. "Give me a ring when you have time to kill."
Joe raised an eyebrow as his lips quirked with amusement. "Sticking around for a while, are you?"
Mac glanced down at Thomas and then back at Joe. "Looks that way."
Tingling breasts woke Maddie. Shifting in the bed, she moaned when her knee and elbow protested the movement. Her injuries hurt more this morning than they had the day before, if that was possible. Ignoring the sharp blast of pain from her knee, she got up too fast and hobbled into Thomas's room. His crib was empty.
Maddie gasped. Where were they? Where had he taken her son? Her heart racing and her throat tightening, she tried not to think about her terrifying dream as she went to the front door and looked down over Tiffany's yard. No sign of them.
"Oh, please," she whispered. "Please come back. Bring my baby back."
You don't really know him at all, the devil on her left shoulder said. Of course you do, said the angel on the other shoulder. You know him better than you ever knew the baby's father. To which the devil said, He could be anywhere by now. Maddie's panic mounted as she watched the day's first ferry clear the breakwater on its way to the mainland. The angel scoffed at the devil. He'll be right back. You'll see.
As if she had waved a magic wand, a minute or two later Mac came strolling down Tiffany's driveway holding Thomas. He carried a white bag in his other hand and kept up a steady flow of chatter with the baby. Even though she was furious with him for taking Thomas without her permission, she couldn't help but notice how completely focused he was on her son.
"There's Mommy," he said to Thomas on the way up the stairs.
They came in the door, and she reached for Thomas.
"Hey, whoa," Mac said. "Wait a minute. Sit down, and I'll hand him to you."
"I'll just take him now."
"But your hand—"
"Please give me my son."
Surprised by her sharp tone, he did as she asked. "Uh oh, buddy. I think Mom's mad at us."
"I'm not mad at him." She returned to the sofa bed and painfully managed to arrange Thomas so her shirt was covering her breast and sighed with relief as he latched on for the one feeding she still managed to get in each day. Feeling exposed, she reached for the sheet and tugged it up over them.
Mac dropped the bag he'd been carrying on the kitchen table. "I brought you a muffin and some coffee." He turned to her. "I didn't know how you like it. Are you…"
"Feeding him? Yes."
"Oh." He didn't seem to know where to look.
"Don't take him again without telling me."
"I'm sorry. We wanted to let you sleep for a while. You were up late." His eyes finally met hers. He looked proprietary, as if he was gazing at something that belonged to him. Not knowing whether to be flattered or fearful, she looked away.
"I didn't like not knowing where he was."
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I should've left a note."
"You should've told me you were taking him."
"That would've required waking you up, which would've defeated the whole 'let you sleep in' purpose of our mission."
"Have you ever had an argument you didn't win?"
"Hmm, not that I can recall."
Maddie growled in frustration, which startled Thomas, causing him to release her nipple. She resituated him and patted his bum to reassure him. Venturing a glance at Mac, she found him watching her with thinly veiled hunger that zipped through her like an electrical current, settling into a throb between her legs.
As if he knew exactly what he did to her just by looking at her that certain way, he sat on the edge of the bed.
Maddie wished she could run away, but the twenty-pound baby anchored to her breast and the cut on her knee kept her from moving.
Thomas let out a cry to tell her he was ready to move to the other side.
"Could you… Turn away?" she asked.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes!"
Reluctantly, or so it seemed, Mac turned his back to her. "That's about the sexiest thing I've ever seen," he said in a strangled tone.
"You can't see anything."
"I have a very vivid imagination. Can I turn back now?"
"If you must."
He not only turned back, he put his hands on either side of her hips and leaned in so his face was close to hers. "Kiss me."
"No," she said, turning away from him.
He took that as an invitation to lean over Thomas to nuzzle her neck.
She jolted. "Mac! Stop!"
"Not until you kiss me."
"I haven't even brushed my teeth," she muttered.
"I don't care." Turning her face, he rubbed his lips over hers. "You make me crazy, Maddie. I've never wanted anyone the way I want you."
"I wish you wouldn't say those things. Whatever you think is happening here, I don't want it."
"I don't believe you," he whispered against her neck, sending a shiver racing through her.
A knock on
the door interrupted the intense moment.
"We'll finish this later," he whispered, pressing one last kiss to her lips.
"No, we won't."
"Wanna bet?"
Oh, that cocky smile of his made her so mad! He always got exactly what he wanted, which was just one more reason to resist him. Maddie watched him swing open the door.
"Hey," he said. "Come in."
His friend Libby stepped into the room. "Hi, Maddie. How're you feeling?"
"Like I got knocked off my bike by a big oaf who wasn't watching where he was going," Maddie said with a scowl for Mac.
"Cute," he said, flashing that irresistible grin of his.
Libby giggled at their banter. "I'm glad I was able to help out today."
"What do you mean?" Maddie asked.
"Oh," Mac said. "About that… I meant to tell you…"
"Tell me what?"
"Libby agreed to hang out with you and Thomas while I'm at the hotel today."
"But I never asked her—"
"I did."
Maddie walked a fine line between wanting to yell at him and not wanting to be rude to Libby, who hadn't done anything more than agree to help her misguided friend.
"That's not necessary," Maddie said. "We'll be fine by ourselves."
"But, honey, your hand—"
"Don't call me that! I'm not your honey! And it's not up to you to arrange a babysitter for me."
"I told you I'm going to help you."
Maddie wanted to scream but kept her voice even when she said, "You have helped me, but this is too much. I can't put Libby out—"
"Oh, it's no problem. I love babies! My kids are teenagers now, and they're off with their friends today at the beach. I'd love to help out with Thomas."
"Don't you have a hotel to run?" Maddie asked, aware that she now sounded ungrateful as well as rude.
"Today's my day off."
"Fabulous." Maddie shot what she hoped was a hateful look at Mac.
He just smiled at her. "Great, then it's all worked out. I can't be late on my first day, so I'm going to head out." Leaning down, he tried to kiss her, but Maddie turned away. "I'll be back to get you for dinner, so be ready by six."