Knockout Love

by Susan V. Vaughn

  Maggie made it to the master suite door and then paused, noticing two strange things. The door was closed. The door was never closed, unless Trevor was taking a nap. But Trevor was definitely not taking a nap, because there were sounds coming from the other side. A masculine voice rumbled deeply, followed by a high-pitched, feminine giggle.

  Maggie placed her hand on the door handle, heart in her throat. The air became foggy and thick around her, as if she were dreaming. Except this was no dream, this was a nightmare. Whatever lay beyond this door would change everything in her life. Maggie knew this was true, because her heart and mind were breaking into a million pieces. When she opened the door, she did so robotically, as if nothing were real anymore, or maybe it just didn’t matter. She had to face her destiny.

  The scene that greeted her was exactly what she expected, but still, it was shocking. Trevor was in bed kissing a strange blonde under the covers, making her giggle. Their clothes lay scattered on the floor next to the bed. Maggie stared at the clothes and let out a loud breath—almost like a thud.

  Trevor glanced up from his dirty work. “Maggie?”

  The blonde grabbed the covers around her in a pathetic attempt at modesty. Maggie just stared at them, her mind spinning. Trevor was cheating on her, with a strange blonde, in their bed! For a moment she could only close her eyes as blinding rage raced up her spine, and then something in her snapped. This was the life her parents wanted for her? They’d told her to deny her dreams, to become a nurse, and to marry a rich doctor. Everything they’d said would make her happy was a lie!

  “You bastard!” Maggie jumped on top of Trevor and began punching out her rage over what her life had become.

  “Maggie, calm down!” Trevor blocked her fists, trying to push her off him, but she was too strong, too enraged. The blonde, seeing this, ran out of the room, leaving Trevor to fend for himself. “Stop, Maggie! You don’t understand.”

  “What don’t I understand?” Maggie climbed off him, unable to touch his slimy body any longer. “That you cheated on me? In my own bed!”

  “Let me explain.” Trevor jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on his pants. His blond hair stood wildly on end, reinforcing what he was doing only moments before to make it that way.

  Maggie stared back into his betraying brown eyes and wondered how she could have ever found him handsome. “Don’t explain, Trevor. I get it.” She pulled open her closet doors and picked up her suitcase. She had snapped; her life was a lie. It was time to run.

  “No, you don’t get it.” Trevor followed her into the closet, breathing hard. He attempted to grab her hands, and she swung the suitcase to block him.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  “Okay.” He held up his hands and took a step back. “Just let me explain, Maggie. I love you, but—”

  “But what, Trevor?” Maggie unzipped her suitcase and pilled clothes in. “What could you possible say to explain your actions?”

  “I just…” Trevor began and then sighed, as if finally realizing it didn’t matter. He had lost her. “I’m a doctor, Maggie. My job is stressful. I use sex as a way to destress.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Maggie turned around, at the end of her rope. She wanted to punch him again, make him feel the pain of what he had done to her. “I’m your fiancée! You should be sleeping with me to destress!”

  “I try! All the time I try.” He shook his head as if this were all her fault. “You aren’t ever interested.”

  Maggie stared back at him, taking that in. It was true. She knew she should want to be intimate with Trevor, but the truth was she never did. She’d just figured she wasn’t that sexual. She had girlfriends who raved all day about sex and orgasms, but Maggie was clueless as to why. The few times she’d been intimate with Trevor, it was mechanical and left her feeling dirty. And as for orgasms? Urban legends!

  “It still doesn’t give you a right to cheat on me.”

  “I know.” Trevor made up the distance to her and brushed a hand down her shoulders. “So let’s work on our intimacy, Maggie. I promise if you heat my bed more, I won’t stray.”

  “Heat your bed more?” she repeated incredulously. She couldn’t believe he thought there was a chance of that happening. “Go to hell, Trevor.”

  She turned back to her suitcase and filled it with more random clothes and shoes until nothing else would fit. Then she zipped it closed and straightened up.

  “Where are you going?” Trevor demanded, attempting to grab the suitcase from her. She sidestepped his advances and walked out of the closet.

  “Away.”

  “Where?”

  “None of your business!” Maggie began dragging her suitcase—which was surprisingly heavy—out of the room and down the hallway.

  “Of course it’s my business!” Trevor chased after her, a crazed look in his eyes. “You’re my fiancée!”

  Maggie stopped just short of the stairs and pulled her large-diamond engagement ring off her finger. Once it was gone, she felt as if a weight had been lifted. No more beige prison walls, no more deflecting Trevor’s attempts to be intimate, no more planning a large wedding she’d never really wanted. Maggie was surprised she wasn’t angry anymore, just really, really relieved—which made her wonder if she had indeed cracked completely.

  “I’m not your fiancée anymore.” Maggie tossed the ring at Trevor and turned to walk down the steps, heavy suitcase dragging behind her.

  “You can’t be serious,” Trevor called after her, sounding as if he knew she was.

  “I am,” Maggie responded calmly, confirming this by pulling her suitcase toward the front door. “I will get the rest of my stuff later.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t follow me and don’t call me.” Maggie opened the front door.

  “Maggie, be serious—”

  “We’re done.”

  She headed to her car and popped open the trunk, then swung the heavy suitcase inside. Trevor had followed her to the driveway but didn’t stop her from climbing into the driver’s seat. She ignored the sad look on his face as she pulled the car out of the driveway and down the road. Only when she was a block away did she realize two things—for the first time in her life, she had not done her rituals of threes, and she was about to drive an insane wrestler to Florida.

  ***

  “Excuse me, sir.” A soft, feminine voice broke into Sean’s dreams. He could feel the woman lightly shaking his shoulder and groaned as just this movement made his head explode in pain. It was why he had chosen to fall asleep in the first place—he could no longer stand the piercing agony. “Wake up, sir.”

  Another light shake had him opening his eyes, knowing she wouldn’t stop urging him awake until he did. The world appeared fuzzy, alerting him to the fact his eyelids had swollen shut again in his sleep. He could just make out the sleek, brown bob of the hotel’s middle-aged receptionist. The one who had made him leave his comfortable bed because his credit card had been declined.

  “Sir, I know I told you that you could wait for your ride in the receptionist area.” The woman sighed, shrugging her slender shoulders. “But it’s been almost two hours! Your ride has not shown up. And at this point, I can no longer allow you to take up the entire reception area snoring loudly.”

  Sean sat up slowly and looked around. He had pushed all four of the reception chairs together to form a bed of sorts. But he was a large man; what could he do otherwise?

  “Sorry, Cara,” he responded sweetly, looking into her eyes. “I’m in a lot of pain.”

  “I understand, sir.” Cara touched his shoulder compassionately. Her smile told him that he had remembered her name right, and because of it, she was about to give him more time to sleep. Possibly a free room? Depended on how much charm he could muster.

  “My ride is coming, Cara.” Sean nodded and smiled as if it were true. “She just got stuck in the snow.”

  “Snow, right.” Cara looked out the glass doors, taking in the wintery landscape. “Well,
it is pretty bad.”

  “That it is,” Sean agreed sadly, giving her a pathetic smile. “At this rate, it could be hours. I just hope my pain medicine lasts so I can stay awake.”

  “Oh, you poor thing.” She patted his shoulder again. “I can’t let you sleep out here any longer, but maybe I can see if there are any beds available—”

  “Thanks for the offer, Cara,” Sean said, a genuine smile on his face. He gestured toward the doors. “But it looks like my ride finally got here.”

  “Really?” She sounded as surprised as he felt. They both turned toward the doors and watched Maggie glide in gracefully. She was still wearing her plaid scarf and tan pencil skirt, but her tight bun had fallen out, and her red waves cascaded down her back. Sean sucked in his breath, preferring this new look entirely. Her green eyes found his immediately and danced with some sort of inner insanity. Obviously the thing he’d hoped would push her over the edge had happened.

  “Good news, wrestler,” Maggie said as she entered the reception area in a tone that sounded like the opposite. “I’m here to take you to Florida.”

  Sean smiled, the effort sending shooting pain across his healing nose, but it was worth it. He didn’t really think Maggie would show, had already figured on hitchhiking his way to Florida, but this was much better. “That is good news, beautiful.” He reached out his hand, and Maggie helped him up, despite cringing at the word beautiful. “Considering I just got kicked out of my hotel room.”

  “Kicked out?” Maggie raised her brows, forgetting to pull her hand from his. Sean took the time to examine her ring finger, and more importantly, the lack of her large diamond engagement ring.

  “Yeah, lack of funds, you know.” He gave Cara a knowing look, and she smiled before walking back toward her desk.

  “Lack of funds,” Maggie repeated incredulously and then stole her hand from his. “I thought you said you were going to pay for all my gas down to Florida.”

  “We’ll work something out.” Sean smiled. It didn’t surprise him that Maggie was both obsessive-compulsive and tight with money. Those two traits usually went hand in hand, which meant it was probably wise to distract her from this subject.

  “Work something out?” Maggie looked as though that wasn’t going to happen, so Sean grabbed her hand again and examined her ring-less finger.

  “Where is your engagement ring?” He looked into her eyes, smiling knowingly. “Problems in paradise?”

  “None of your business.” Maggie pulled her hand back and bit her bottom lip, revealing the truth.

  Sean’s smile broadened. The second he got this bandage off, he was going to sample those beautiful pink lips. He wouldn’t have to worry about being a homewrecker now.

  “Don’t get any ideas, Sean.” Maggie shook her head, as if reading his mind. “Just because I’m no longer engaged doesn’t mean I’m interested in you touching me.”

  “Hey, I get it.” Sean raised his hands and took a step back. He was happy she’d admitted the engagement was off. It meant he had more than a chance to touch her. “We’re just friends.”

  “Wrong,” Maggie corrected, raising her chin. “We are driving companions, nothing else.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked him in the eye. “So this is how it will work, Sean. I drive you down to Florida, and you give me your protection.”

  “Protection?”

  “That’s right,” she continued. “Since I’m apparently paying for gas, food, and lodging, I get to make decisions on all three. Meaning this will be the cheapest trip possible.” She paused to smile, revealing another layer of her beauty, knocking Sean’s breath temporarily out of his chest. “I want full protection at every seedy motel we stop at, and you will pump my gas for me at night and escort me to and from the bathroom at the gas station.”

  “No problem,” Sean responded easily. He liked the idea of protecting Maggie with his body, especially in those seedy motel rooms.

  “I’m serious, Sean.” She frowned as if reading his dirty thoughts again. “There are a lot of risks for women on the road. I don’t plan on being a stupid statistic.”

  “You won’t be.” He smiled confidently. The only man putting his hands on Maggie would be himself.

  “So you will protect me with your life, then?”

  “Of course,” Sean responded, pointing to his broken face. “Do I look like a man who’s afraid of a fight?”

  “Well, no—”

  “You’re safe, beautiful.” Sean placed an arm around her shoulders and delighted when she didn’t pull back. “Now let’s go.”

  “Fine.” Maggie wrapped her arms around his waist and helped him toward her car. “But when we get into my car, I have some rules.”

  “No kidding,” he responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

  “Hey!” She narrowed her eyes back with clear disapproval. “There are reasons for my rules, buddy. I don’t want my car getting all messed up. I work too hard to keep it clean.

  “Exactly, you work too hard trying to control everything around you.” When Maggie opened her mouth, looking ready to defend herself again, Sean held up his hand. “But I’m not a dirtbag, and I know how to follow directions.” He smiled. “Especially from someone as striking as yourself.”

  Maggie just rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was fighting the need to smile back. It would take some time to loosen her up, but Sean could already see the woman underneath would be well worth the effort.

  CHAPTER 5

  The trip started off rough. They had barely gotten into the car before Maggie received a phone call from her parents, urging her to give Trevor a second shot. Apparently the cheating bastard had called them immediately after she left and filled them in on what happened. Maggie had figured her parents would take her side on this, but surprise, surprise, they didn’t. Instead her mother said, “Trevor is a doctor, Maggie. He’s under more stress than the average person is. You need to be more understanding.”

  Maggie had been irate. She yelled back that she didn’t to understand and never would. Trevor had betrayed her, and they should have her back. But not only did her parents not have her back, they’d babbled on and on about the reasons she should give Trevor another chance.

  “What other option do you have, Maggie? You don’t have a job or a place to live. You already ordered the Save the Dates,” her mother cried.

  Maggie sighed, digesting those bitter words for the millionth time. The words that told her exactly how her parents felt about her. She was a joke to them, a failure—someone who wasn’t worth a faithful fiancé. They wanted her to be quiet and live off Trevor’s wealth, because in their minds she would never amount to anything. She didn’t have enough drive to become a doctor like they were. She didn’t have enough drive to secure her first nursing job. Now she was refusing to marry a rich surgeon?

  Maggie tightened her grip on the steering wheel, fighting back tears. Now she knew for sure she would always be a failure in their eyes. Nothing she ever did was good enough. That was why she snapped at the end of the conversation with her parents, telling them she was going on a long trip, before tossing her cellphone out the window. The last of her sanity seemed to shatter on the pavement with it.

  She had no idea how insane she was acting—crying uncontrollable and tossing a perfectly good cellphone out the window—until Sean’s hand was suddenly on hers in a comforting manner. “Don’t cry, beautiful. You’ll be okay.”

  She had forgotten he was in the car! Forgotten he was watching her, judging her breakdown. Maggie took one look at the pity swimming in his blue eyes—pity from an insane wrestler!—and that was it, she snapped completely.

  “Don’t touch me!” Maggie pulled back her hand, glaring daggers at him. “And mind your own business, or I am dropping you off on the side of the road.”

  Whatever Sean saw in her expression shut him up completely. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, not saying a word.

  Now they had been driving in silence for close
to five hours, neither willing to break the tension. Maggie had held her tongue because she was tired and unsure of her decision, and Sean appeared to be concerned that anything he said might get him kicked out of the car. But by now the silence was getting ridiculous, considering it was past dinner and she was absolutely starving.

  Maggie looked over at Sean. He was a tall man—well over six feet—with a strong, muscular body. If her petite, feminine frame was shaking from hunger, she could only imagine how he felt.

  Sean stared back at her—blue eyes sparkling with mischief—and smiled. Maggie took a breath, rechecking her heart rate. The man looked sexy as hell, even with the large white bandage on his face. She wondered how he managed that.

  “Thank you for taking me to Florida, Maggie.” It was a simple statement, but the combination of it with his deep voice dripping with sweetness made her heart race faster.

  “No problem.” Maggie turned away, hiding a smile and cleared her throat. “I think we should stop soon.”

  “Good girl, good girl.” Sean patted her leg as if she were a dog. “I’m so hungry, I thought about eating my seat belt.”

  Maggie knew she should be offended by his treatment, yet she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “Well, why didn’t you say something?”

  “I’m not allowed to, remember?” Sean chuckled loudly, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to break the silence for hours.”

  The sound of his desperation brought another ridiculous smile to her face. “Well, I guess I’ve been waiting for you to say something too.”

  “Then we are both idiots.” Sean chuckled again. “Let’s go eat.”

  “All right,” she said. “But I don’t know where to go.”