Trapped with the Maverick Millionaire

by Joss Wood

  He belted toward the door, tossing a “Later” over his shoulder and ignoring the deeply sarcastic “Good chat” that drifted out of Kade’s office.

  * * *

  Five days after his accident Troy finally opened his eyes. Three hours after that, when he started arguing with his nurse, Rory realized she could leave him. She could go home to her own bed and have a decent night’s sleep. She could spend more than a couple of hours in her apartment, eat something other than fast food, cut down on her coffee.

  Leaving Troy and the nurse to bicker, she walked out of his room. Once she was in the hallway, she placed her forearm against the nearest wall and buried her face in the crook of her elbow. Troy was going to be fine. She could stop worrying and start thinking about something other than planning his funeral. Rory felt the tears track down her face and thought how ridiculous it was that she was crying now, when he was finally out of danger, when it was all but over.

  Intellectually she knew her reaction was because she could finally relax. She could stop the continuous praying, the bargaining with God. Stupid, but human nature, she thought. Saints alive, she was so tired.

  Rory recognized the big hands on her hips and sighed when Mac gently turned her around. Through her tears she noticed his gentle, compassionate expression, the tenderness in his eyes. Even though she was mad at him—he’d certainly taken his time getting here!—she was still ridiculously glad to see him. Her throat tightened as the strength of her tears increased. She felt like she would shatter from the effort it took to not fling herself against his chest and burrow into his warmth.

  He took the decision from her by sliding his big hand around the back of her neck and pulling her to his chest. Her arms, shaky with exhaustion, slid around his waist. His other arm held her as her knees buckled.

  “It’s okay, honey. I’ve got you,” he said in her ear. “I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go.”

  She wished she could believe him but she was so fatigued, so emotionally drained she couldn’t think. All she knew was that Mac was finally here and she could rest. So she did. Rory wasn’t sure how long she stood in his arms. All she knew was that he was strong and solid and there. She wasn’t alone.

  When she’d regained some of her equilibrium, she stepped back, dashed a hand against her wet cheeks and stared at his hard chest. “How did you know I was here?” she asked in a brittle voice. Her tears, it seemed, were still very close to the surface.

  Mac pushed her hair off her forehead. “Well, since your phone has been off and you weren’t at your apartment, I started to get worried. So I called Shay and asked about you.”

  “And she told you I was here?”

  “Mmm, after coercing season tickets out of me,” Mac said on a small smile that quickly died. “You should’ve told me about Troy. Why didn’t you?”

  Rory wasn’t so tired that she couldn’t react to that. “I thought my rushing from that bar was a good enough hint that something was drastically wrong! And you could’ve returned my messages!”

  “I thought you were running from me because you saw me dancing with that blonde.”

  “She wasn’t worth worrying about. No, I’d just heard about Troy.”

  Mac closed his eyes in obvious frustration. “I am such an idiot.”

  “No arguments from me,” Rory said, stepping out of his reach. She gestured to Troy’s door. “Troy had an accident. It was touch and go for a while.”

  “I know. Shay told me. She also told me you’ve spent every minute of the day with him since it happened.”

  Rory rubbed the back of her neck. “Not every minute. I went home to shower.”

  “He doesn’t have any family?” Mac closed the distance between them.

  “Only a mother who has dementia. That’s why Troy was driving a crappy car, all his spare cash goes to her nursing home fees.”

  Mac’s hand drew circles on her back and she had to restrain herself from purring like a cat. Rory, knowing how his touch could relax her and tempt her to forgive him too easily, snapped her spine straight. “Anyway, why are you here? I suppose you’ve been worried about your physio sessions.” She tried to sound breezy but it didn’t come out that way. “Sorry about that.”

  Mac’s smile was one she’d never seen before, a combination of tenderness, protectiveness and love. It scared the hell out of her.

  “Look, I’d appreciate it if you gave me a day to get some rest and then we can get back on track and schedule some sessions. Have you been doing your exercises?” she demanded.

  Mac shook his head and bent his knees so they were eye to eye. “Rory?”

  “Yes?”

  “Shut up for a sec, okay?” Mac waited to see whether she would talk again, and when she didn’t, he nodded his satisfaction. “So this is what is going to happen—I’m taking you back to my place and you’re going to stand, or sit, in my shower until you are pink and boneless. Then you are going to eat something, soup maybe, and then we are going to climb into bed where you will sleep in my arms. Got it?”

  “Uh...” She was beyond tired. She couldn’t even find the energy to respond, let alone argue.

  “Just say yes.”

  Rory nodded as tears welled again. “Excellent.” Mac wound his arm around her shoulders and walked her down the passage toward the exit. “I like it when I get to boss you around,” he teased.

  Rory wasn’t too tired to allow him to get away with that comment. “Don’t get used to it, McCaskill. It’s only because I’m exhausted.”

  * * *

  Rory opened her lids and squinted in the bright sunlight stabbing her eyes. She placed her arm in front of her face to cut out the glare, looking out from under her arm across the pale floorboards to the partially open doors that led to a balcony.

  A pair of very large sneakers were on the floor and a T-shirt, one she didn’t recognize, was draped over the back of a black bucket chair. Through the open doors she saw a pair of bare feet up on a wrought-iron table, perilously close to a carafe of coffee.

  Coffee. She’d kill for some. Rory sat up, looked down and couldn’t help noticing she was naked. Casting her mind back, she remembered Mac carrying her up the stairs to his bedroom, stripping her down and pushing her into bed. She had a vague recollection of a warm body wrapped around hers as she fell asleep. Clasping the sheet to her chest, she sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes, running her tongue over her teeth.

  Coffee or a toothbrush? Either would do nicely right now.

  “You look good in my bed.”

  Rory turned her head to see Mac standing in the doorway leading in from the balcony wearing a pair of straight-legged track pants and a black T-shirt. His hair was messed and his beard was about three days past stubble and she thought he was the sexiest creature she’d ever laid eyes on.

  “Hi,” she said, self-conscious.

  “Hi back,” Mac replied on a smile. “You’re looking better, thank God. You scared me...you were totally out of it.”

  “I felt shell-shocked,” Rory admitted, looking around. “Can you pass me something to wear?”

  “Why? I rather like you naked,” Mac replied, teasing. He picked up the black T-shirt that lay across his chair and held it up. “I did a load of laundry earlier and I tossed your clothes in too. Will this do?”

  “You can do laundry?” Rory asked, amused as she caught the T-shirt he tossed her way.

  “I can do lots of things,” Mac replied, his voice quieter. “Would you like some coffee?”

  Rory nodded and watched as he walked back out onto the balcony and returned with a cup of coffee, which he handed over. Rory took a sip and quickly realized it was barely warm but strong enough to put scales on her chest. Okay, so Mac wasn’t as together as he sounded, she thought. Very good to know that she wasn’t the only one in the room wondering
what she was doing here.

  What was she doing here?

  Mac sat on the edge of the bed, his bended knee touching her thigh. He stared down at the floor, and when he spoke, his voice vibrated with emotion. “I once told you that hockey is everything to me, that it was the highest priority in my life.”

  “Mmm-hmm?”

  “It has been my life for the past fifteen years. It’s afforded me this amazing lifestyle and I’ve loved every moment I’ve spent on and off the ice.”

  Okay, he wasn’t telling her anything new here.

  “I love you more.”

  Rory’s mouth fell open. Had he really said what she thought he’d said? She needed to make sure. “Say that again?”

  “You are the highest priority in my life. You make it better, brighter and more fun.” Mac sent her an uncertain look and his hand gripped her thigh covered by the sheet. “Look, I know I screwed up. I know you needed me, and I let my insecurities get the best of me. I hate that I let you down. I want to do better. I will do better. And I know you have trust issues too. You say you don’t do relationships but I’d like us to try.

  “Before you say no let me say this—I will never cheat on you, I promise. Actually, the closest I’ve ever come to cheating was that kiss we shared. I’ve never been involved with anyone deeply enough for this to be an issue but, in my defense, I’ve always ended one affair before I started another.”

  “Um...okay?”

  “But you aren’t an affair. You are the only person I can be real with. Someone I can really talk to... You are my best friend. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I want to make it up to you. I’ll spend my whole life making it up to you, if you’ll let me.”

  Rory placed her hand over her heart, her lower lip trembling as she listened to this innately masculine man humble himself before her.

  “Give me a shot, Rory. Give us a shot,” Mac pleaded, emotion radiating from his eyes.

  “What if we fail, Mac?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  “Aw, baby...” Mac blew out a breath and shrugged. “I don’t fail and you’re too important to me to let that happen. But if we do, then we’ll go down knowing we gave it our best, knowing we loved rather than living a half-life, guarding our hearts and thoughts and emotions.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” Rory whispered.

  “It’ll be anything but easy,” Mac replied. “It’ll be tough, and we’ll fight and we’ll sometimes wonder what the hell we were thinking. But through it all we’ll love each other.” Mac pushed an agitated hand through his hair. “We’ll have to spend time apart when I’m on the road. But you’ll have your own practice to keep you busy and we’ll talk every night and text every hour. We’ll spend every minute we can together and we’ll work at it, dammit, because the one thing we are both good at is hard work, Rorks. If we work at loving each other as hard as we do at everything else, we can’t do anything but succeed.”

  It was a compelling argument, Rory thought, wishing she could throw her fear aside and launch herself into his arms, into their future. “I’m scared, Mac.”

  “So am I.” Mac leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “We can be scared together. Do you think you can love me, Rorks? Some day and at some stage?”

  Rory pulled her head back, astounded at his comment. She placed a hand on his chest. “You think I don’t love you?”

  “Well, you haven’t exactly uttered the words,” Mac said conversationally, but she could feel his galloping heartbeat under her hand.

  Rory linked her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “I do love you. I think I fell in love with you the first time you almost kissed me.” Rory placed her forehead against his temple. “I thought I was going to be alone forever but I can’t be. It’s no longer who I am, who I’ve become by knowing you. Who I am now is someone who loves you—now, tomorrow, forever. I might have had a hand in rehabilitating your arm but you rehabilitated my heart.”

  Mac’s hand on her neck tightened in response. “Oh, Rorks, you slay me. So, we agree that we love each other and this is it?”

  “I so agree to that.”

  “Excellent.” Mac grinned. “Now, let’s move on to another important issue...”

  Rory lifted her eyebrows as he pulled his T-shirt over his head. “I think we’ve covered the high points.”

  Mac dropped a hard, openmouthed kiss on her lips before lifting her shirt up and over her head. “Getting you naked is always going to be very high on my agenda.”

  Rory curled her hand around his neck as he pushed her back into the pillows. His eyes were soft as they connected with hers. He swallowed, started to speak, cleared his throat and tried again. “Everything that is most important to me is here, right now. I’m holding my world in my arms,” Mac said, his tone low and soaked with tenderness. “It feels good.”

  “It feels amazing,” Rory replied, her voice cracking with emotion. Blinking her tears away, she lifted her hips and wiggled. Her smile turned naughty as her hand drifted down his back to rest on one very fine butt cheek. “You feel amazing. So, McCaskill, are you going to kiss me or what?”

  Mac grinned. “Oh, yeah. Anytime, anywhere—everywhere—for the rest of your life. Starting right now...”

  * * * * *

  If you liked this novel, pick up these other sexy, fun reads from Joss Wood:

  TAKING THE BOSS TO BED

  ONE NIGHT, TWO CONSEQUENCES

  THE HONEYMOON ARRANGEMENT

  HER BOSS BY DAY...YOUR BED OR MINE?

  All available now!

  ***

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from REDEEMING THE BILLIONAIRE SEAL by Lauren Canan.

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  Redeeming the Billionaire SEAL

  by Lauren Canan

  One

  Watching a newborn foal rise to its feet for the first time was a sight Holly Anderson would never tire of seeing. With a few staggered steps and some encouragement from its mother, the foal located its dinner bucket and didn’t have to be shown how to latch on to her first meal. The fluffy little tail flipped and turned as th
e warm nourishment filled her tummy.

  “I thought we were going to lose this one,” said Don Jefferies, owner of the mare that had just given birth with considerable help from Holly. “I’ve been raising quarter horses most of my life and I guess I’ve been lucky. I’ve never had to deal with a breech birth.”

  “They don’t happen that often,” Holly agreed. “Thank goodness.”

  “I can’t say how much I appreciate you, Doc.”

  “Glad I could help.” Holly took one last glimpse at the foal before stepping out into the hallway as Don closed the stall door behind her. She began gathering her implements, then walked to the truck and dumped them into a white bucket filled with a special cleaning solution. “I should come back out and check them both in two or three days. I’ll need someone here to contain Mother. She’s probably not going to like having her baby kidnapped for a few minutes.”

  “No worries. I’ll call your office tomorrow, schedule a time and make sure someone is around to help if I can’t be here myself.”

  With a final handshake, Holly tossed the last of her gear in the holding compartment in the back of her truck, climbed in behind the wheel and headed back to the clinic. The sun had set and twilight was quickly folding into night.

  She’d finished scouring the equipment and was rinsing her hands when the little bell over the front door chimed. Someone had entered the building. She must have forgotten to put up the closed sign again. It had been a twelve-hour day with an emergency wake-up call at seven thirty this morning, and her body was screaming for a long hot soak in the old claw-foot tub.

  Drying her hands on a paper towel, she made her way through the back of the clinic, rounded the corner and stopped at the edge of the front counter. She had already turned off the overhead lights but the glow from the lab area provided some illumination. Two men stood just inside the door of the small waiting room. She immediately recognized Cole Masters, one of the three owners of the ninety-two-thousand-acre beef operation across the road. She’d grown up with the three Masters sons; her aunt’s small house, where she lived now, was just across the road from their mansion on the hill. Although they were several years older, that hadn’t stopped any of them from forming a lifelong bond of friendship that was more like extended family.