Little White Lies

Little White Lies

By

Stevie MacFarlane

©2012 by Blushing Books® and Stevie MacFarlane

Copyright © 2012 by Blushing Books® and Stevie MacFarlane

All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Blushing Books®,

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MacFarlane, Stevie

Little White Lies

eBook ISBN: 978-1-60968-817-2

Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

Photos provided by Shutterstock.com

This book is intended for
adults only
. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my sister, Patty, a card-carry
ing member of the 'Grammar Police', who drove seventeen hundred miles to help with editing. Also thanks to my husband, Bill, for screening my calls and herding children away from my office door. "You’re Still the One." Love you both.

Chapter One

Nicholas Kord leaned lazily against the pickup truck. He never flinched when Maggie Cassidy’s hard hat went whizzing past his ear. His long legs were crossed as his strong arm deflected the missile, his eyes never leaving the petite auburn-haired beauty. Nods and elbows passed around the work site, and Maggie knew the attention of every man there was focused on her. She had been foreman at Kord Contracting for a long time. Smart and hardworking, she demanded the best from her crew. Those traits had earned her the respect of her coworkers, but she never had been hot-headed or lost her temper on the job. Her professional attitude had kept more than one of the crew from pursuing her after her husband died. Maggie was a beautiful woman, but she made it crystal clear that she was not interested in a personal relationship. Now here she was, hurling her hard hat at the boss’s brother. Her clipboard hit the dirt as she stomped over to face him.

Most of the men had met Nick at one time or another, but lately he’d been hanging around a lot. Most often, Maggie nodded icily and ignored him, but not today.

Several hats were shoved back, and all work slowed as ears strained to hear their conversation. Maggie never noticed, but Nick did. When she came closer, his hand shot out with whipcord strength, and Maggie found herself hauled around to the other side of the truck before she could get a word out.

Pinned effectively against the dusty pickup, Maggie shoved at the strong arms on either side of her, but Nick just grinned and leaned down to speak into her ear.

“Maggie, Maggie, you’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

Struggling for breath, she brought up both her hands and shoved so hard against the muscular chest in front of her that she lost her balance.

Nick was not one to miss an opportunity. Quickly moving in closer, he brought his hard body into contact with hers from knee to shoulder and trapped her hands between them.

If Maggie had been out of breath before, her head was swimming now. Heat penetrated every pore. The feel of his hips pressed against her belly stole every rational thought, and her struggles ceased. Her hands unconsciously gripped his shirt and hung on for dear life as her knees turned to jelly. In desperation, she tipped her head back, amber eyes pleading with icy blue ones.

“Please,” she whispered hoarsely.

Nick froze. He stared down at the woman before him. A pulse beat rapidly at the hollow of her slender throat. Her body quivered against his, and while he could sense the desire flowing through her, he could almost taste the fear.

Shoving away from her with a curse, Nick raked a hand through his glossy, black hair. He paced several yards away, bent down, picked up a handful of rocks, and began throwing them one at a time. Muscles bunched and rippled as again and again the rocks sailed far into the empty lot.

Maggie failed to see the humor in a grown man reduced to throwing stones to relieve his frustration, but more than one of her crew smiled as though they understood completely. Several breathed a sigh of relief and went quietly back to work.

When he had exhausted his supply of stones, Nick wiped his hands on his jeans and stuffed them deep into his pockets before he approached her. His jaw ached from clenching his teeth, and Maggie saw the tic in his cheek.

Dear God, she thought, this isn’t fair. The closer he got to her, the more her heart rate increased. The few minutes she had to compose herself might never have been, now that he was in front of her again. Her eyes searched the rugged planes of his face, looking for, if not sympathy, at least understanding. All she saw was determination and anger.

“God damn it, Maggie. It doesn’t have to be like this,” he ground out, mere inches from her now.

Maggie swallowed. This wasn’t the first time Nick had confronted her. Ever since Christmas, when he first set eyes on Jason, he dogged her every move. Endlessly calling, pleading, and threatening. It had to stop. She couldn’t go on like this. Her home life was affected, the children sensed her turmoil, and now she couldn’t even do her job.

“Nick,” she began softly. “I don’t know what you want from me—”

“The hell you don’t,” he growled. “I want the truth, Maggie. The truth you denied me fifteen years ago. Do you know
that
truth Maggie, or have you lied for so long that you don’t remember? Have you forgotten how it was for us? Have you forgotten the passion, the fire, the love? I sure as hell haven’t. We had a son, and damn you, Maggie, you kept him from me.”

The hands pushed so deeply in his pockets were now somehow fastened on her shoulders. It was all he could do not to shake her, so great was his pain. The fact that they’d spent New Year’s Eve locked in each other’s arms was the only thing that kept him from throwing her over his shoulder right now and carting her off somewhere more private. She hadn’t told him fifteen years ago that she was pregnant; how could he trust her to tell him if she were in the same condition now? They hadn’t used any protection—they hadn’t had time. He’d stopped in to give her a message from his brother, and before he knew it they were on the couch like a couple of teenagers. Well, he knew one thing. The passion was still there, even if they were at war.

“
I
had a son. Me! Jason is
my
son,” she shouted, not caring who overheard them, fury in every line of her body. “How dare you stroll into my life like you never left, demanding and accusing? I gave Jason something you never did—a father, and if he were still alive none of this would be happening.”

Maggie was crying; tears streamed down her face, and her small body trembled.

Her words tore at Nick’s heart, and for a moment he almost surrendered. Maybe she had done what she thought was right at the time. He couldn’t deny that Jim Cassidy had been a good man, but as far as he was concerned they’d built their marriage on a lie, a lie that had cost Nick dearly.

“You never gave me a chance, Maggie,” he roared in frustration. “I never even suspected. One minute we were going to be married, and the next you up and married Jim.”

“I wrote you,” she shot back, wiping the back of her hand across her damp cheeks. “I wrote you more than once. You sent every damn letter back.”

“I know, and I was wrong, but I saw you and Jim together. You were crying in his arms, telling him you didn’t know how to tell me something. What the hell was I supposed to think?”

“You weren’t supposed to think anything. You were supposed to love me, trust me,” she cried, turning her back to him as she struggled for control.

Nick let her go. She was right. He hadn’t trusted her, but damn it he had been twenty-one years old, and to find her in another man’s arms had almost killed him.

“Maggie, we’ve both made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we have to go on making them,” he said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Can’t we start over? The feelings are still there, you can’t deny that.”

“Nick,” she began, twisting her hands in agitation. “About New Year’s Eve—that was a mistake, and—”

Nick spun her around to face him before she could finish.

“No, Maggie, that wasn’t a mistake. As a matter of fact, it was the first thing we’ve done right in fifteen years. I won’t let you get away with denying it. You wanted me too.”

Memories of that night flooded Maggie’s senses, threatening to weaken her resolve. For some reason, Nick had more power over her now than he had back then. Toughen up, lady, before you blow it, she told herself. Before it was just you, now your whole family is at stake.

“We had some fun together, Nick, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Fun!
Fun?
Is that what you call it?” he asked in amazement. “Maggie, we made love; but you can call it anything that’ll make you feel better about it,” he drawled sarcastically.

Fire flamed in Maggie’s face. Her hand shot up with surprising strength to slap him, but he caught it sharply and used it to pull her against him. His arm swung back behind her effectively pinning her against his tall frame.

“Listen, Nick—”

“No, you listen. It seems to me you’ve made all the decisions here, and while I won’t hold the past against you, from now on Jason has a mother
and
a father. I won’t be shut out any longer. Do I make myself clear?” he ground down at her, blue eyes blazing.

Maggie struggled to get out of his grasp and failed.

“You don’t have any right to tell me how it’s going to be,” she snapped, flinging her head back. “I’ve done just fine without you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, honey; I do have rights. I’m a lawyer, a very tough, successful lawyer. Don’t let these clothes fool you. I’m just as comfortable in a three piece suit, and I’ll haul your ass into court so fast your head will spin.”

“For what?” she demanded, really feeling threatened now.

“Blood tests, DNA matching, whatever it takes to prove Jason is mine. There’s not a court in this country that will deny me. I didn’t abandon my son. I was denied him, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it right.”

Maggie could feel the rage in Nick even if his words were deceptively soft. Panic kept her silent, pure panic, but a surge of adrenalin followed right on its heels. The woman Nick held suddenly became a wildcat, hands and feet flying. Before he could get a better hold she delivered a sharp smack to the side of his head, and it was all he could do to block another one.

“Don’t you dare threaten me,” she screamed furiously as she delivered a kick with her steel-toed boots that barely missed.

“Settle down,” he commanded sharply, amazed at the strength of her diminutive form. Nick was well over six feet tall, and while he was incredibly strong for someone whose job wasn’t exactly physically demanding, Maggie was small and quick.