Authors: Stevie MacFarlane
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be all right on my own,” she told them, not really happy with any of her options. “I have a gun, and I’m almost positive I can figure out how to load it.”
Dead silence greeted her statement; then all hell broke loose.
“Where did
you
get a gun?” Rory roared, jumping up and rounding his desk.
“For the love of Christ,” Nick shouted, on his feet in a split second.
Sandwiched between the two irate men, Maggie rethought her decision. Apparently, neither of them realized how forward thinking she was in wanting to be able to protect herself.
“Never mind. I’ll go home. I don’t want to upset the kids, and Ma won’t sleep a wink if she hears about this,” Maggie told him, picking up her purse and moving toward the door now that Nick had decided to let her pass.
“Maggie, you are not to touch that gun under any circumstances,” Rory ordered her. “Please tell me you have it locked in a safe place,” he pleaded, his face pale.
“Geesh, of course I do. Do you think I’m an idiot? It’s in the safe, although now that I think about it, I might not be able to use it anyway. I can’t seem to remember the combination and have been meaning to call a locksmith.
Rory sighed with relief and shook his head. What could he say, the woman was a menace. Meeting Nick’s eyes over the top of her head, he could see that they were on the same page.
“Okay, stay close to her, Nick. She thinks she’s tough, but she didn’t get the name Cupcake for nothing,” he added grinning.
Maggie gave him her best shot in the stomach, but he’d been expecting it, and all she did was hurt her hand. Rory laughed and patted her on the head.
“I’ll give you a call as soon as we pick him up,” Rory told them, trying to keep it light as they went down the hall, but when he turned around the look on his face was feral.
The ride home was spent in complete silence. Nick’s temper simmered, and Maggie tried not to fidget. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this one, and rather than say something that would cause the pressure cooker beside her to blow, she kept her mouth shut. Not an easy task for someone who had a tendency to babble when she was nervous, and tonight she was far beyond nervous and approaching terrified.
Nick couldn’t remember ever being this furious. The weekend he’d come home from school unexpectedly was close though. Fifteen years was a long time, but to him it was like yesterday. Cutting through the back yard to surprise her, he had been the one to get the surprise. The girl he loved was crying in Jim Cassidy’s arms. Nick couldn’t hear everything, but he very quickly got the gist of it. “I don’t know how to tell him,” Maggie sobbed to Jim. “It will ruin all his plans.”
“There, there, honey,” Jim told her, gently holding her and patting her back. “He’ll understand. You’ll see; everything will be all right.”
Nick did understand, all too well, at least he thought so at the time. Maggie, the only woman we could imagine marrying, was in love with someone else. He cut all ties with Maggie that day. Nick returned to school and every letter she sent him was returned unopened. Finally, she gave up and married Jim Cassidy, Nick never knowing that she was pregnant with his child. He still wouldn’t know he had a son, if it hadn’t been for Mason asking him to deliver a message to Maggie on New Year’s Eve.
Jumping to conclusions had not served him well, and he was determined to give Maggie the benefit of the doubt, even though he had a pretty good idea what tonight was really about.
Oh, he was royally pissed about both Jack Harley and the fact that Maggie had kept important details from him. If he or Mason had known that Jack’s harassment had continued, it wouldn’t have been a problem for long. Jack would be in jail, or worse, and the way he was feeling it probably would have been the ‘or worse’.
It was Maggie’s behavior prior to their trip to the police station that really concerned him. She had obviously been terrified, and he was certain that wasn’t an act. But
asking
for a spanking? That was about as out of character as she could get. He knew his little Maggie, and there was no way on God’s green earth she would voluntarily lay across his lap and ask to have her butt roasted. In hindsight, he was pretty sure he knew exactly what she had done and why. What he had interpreted as her love and trust, she had seen as a fifty-percent-off sale.
Unfortunately for her, she was dead wrong. Spankings were cumulative in his mind. The more trouble you got into, the harder the punishment. He’d already busted her ass once today for lying. If she thought for one minute she could stick a few more lies in her basket of bull and tie it all up with a pretty ribbon, she was in for a nasty surprise. Maybe not tonight; tonight he had other plans, and he knew she was scared and sore. He did love her with all his heart and never wanted her to think he was cruel or unfair. Lies of omission, however, were still lies, and that is exactly what she’d done by keeping Jack’s threatening behavior to herself. There was no way he’d let her get away with it. Nick had handled too many divorce cases not to know the damage that lies, secrets, and deceptions could do to a marriage, and he was determined to make an honest woman of Maggie in more ways than one.
Chapter Nine
After stopping to pick up pizza and antipasto, they pulled into Maggie’s driveway a little after eleven. Maggie thought it was probably a good idea to feed the bear, and Nick
was
acting like a grouchy bear. Thankful the ride was over, her plan was to choke down a piece of pizza and escape to her bedroom, pleading a headache. Hell, if he kept staring at her with that damn eyebrow raised, she’d probably have one before too long. Opening the passenger door, she looked at the distance to the ground and prepared to slide off her pillow, but Nick’s “Stay.” stopped her.
Coming around to her side, he gently lifted her out of the truck, setting her on her feet. She knew how angry he was, but she didn’t feel it in his arms, and she breathed a little sigh of relief.
Unlocking her door, Maggie flipped on the kitchen light as Nick followed her with their food. She washed her hands at the sink and got out plates and silverware. Within about five minutes they were eating quietly at the bar in the kitchen. Maggie picked at her food, mostly sipping her wine and waiting. Finally, she couldn’t stand it a moment longer.
“For God’s sake, Nick, will you say something?” she demanded, pulling her hair tie out and running her fingers through her hair in relief.
“What would you like me to say, Maggie?” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and pushed his plate away.
“Anything,” she shot back, kicking her sandals off and hopping off the barstool. “Anything at all. You want to yell at me, yell away. You want to tell me how stupid I am for not realizing that Jack was really dangerous? Go ahead, but I already know it.”
Maggie took off her hoodie and flung it on the end of the bar. She proceeded to stomp around the kitchen in her bare feet, putting the food away in the fridge and scraping the plates. After putting them in the dishwasher she turned to him, hands on hips and demanded, “Well?”
Nick laughed. She really was priceless. Imagine
her
trying to make
me
feel guilty when she’s a hair’s breadth from getting her butt tanned for the second time tonight.
Maggie didn’t appreciate his humor and whipped the wet dishrag across the room smacking him in the chest.
“You want me to yell at you?” he inquired, getting off the stool and trying not to grin.
“No.”
“You want me to spank you again? Because you might get your wish,” he continued, coming closer.
“God, no,” she shot back, putting both hands behind her and starting to back away.
For every step back she took, Nick took the same step forward. Unfortunately for her, his legs were much longer and he closed the distance quickly. Once they were face to face, he tried again.
“What do you want, Maggie?” he asked softly, so close she could feel his breath.
“I…I don’t know,” she whimpered. She was mesmerized by his beautiful eyes as he slowly pulled her even closer.
“Well then, today’s your lucky day, honey,” he whispered as he began kissing her lips softly with little nibbles that left her eager for more. “I know exactly what you want.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off the floor and buried his face in the hollow of her throat, sucking and nibbling until she threw her head back and moaned.
“Oh my God, Nick, please wait,” she gasped. Maggie was weightless, boneless; if he let her go she become would a puddle on the floor. For the first time in her life, she understood the word
swoon,
and it scared the hell out of her.
Nick sensed her panic and looking deeply into her eyes, he slowly released, but not until she felt the full evidence of his desire.
“Magpie, are you afraid of me?” he asked when she skittered away and wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt.
“Of course not,” she answered as she walked to the hall closet and took out a pillow and blanket. Shutting the door, she rested her forehead on it and whispered, “I’m afraid of me. Of what you make me feel. I know you don’t understand,” she continued as she took the bedding and dropped it on the couch with a defeated sigh.
“Then explain it to me, darlin’,” he coaxed quietly, coming into the room. “Don’t you want me?”
“Yes, I do want you. I can’t even describe how much. I know you don’t believe me Nick, but I’m strong. I’ve had to be. Not just since Jim died, but for a very long time. I pretty much made all the decisions after we were married about a year, and Jim just let me. Eventually I didn’t even consult him about things. I wasn’t truly happy, but as long as I could control my world, I felt safe. Life was good, no surprises, nobody to rock the boat. I’m ashamed to say I even controlled when we would have sex. It was comfortable, routine, and I could live with that.”
Nick just listened, watching her closely. He was sure she didn’t even know she had her arms around herself and was rocking slowly, side to side.
“Go on, honey,” he encouraged her. “Tell me the rest.”
Maggie forced herself to go on. It wasn’t easy sharing these things with Nick, but she felt he had a right to know.
“Then you came back, and everything changed.” She began walking aimlessly around the room. “I was losing control in every way. At work I was being tested. The kids were getting attached to you, and I didn’t know how to stop it. Suddenly someone was questioning my decisions, looking out for my welfare, bossing me around,” she told him boldly, with her hands on her hips. “But when you touch me,” she went on, wrapping her arms around herself again. “It’s…like a giant wave is dragging me out to sea. I can’t come up, and I can’t touch the bottom. I feel weak and faint, and I can hardly breathe. I’m afraid to hang on and afraid to let go. I don’t just give up control easily, but when you have me in your arms, I’m helpless. I would be anything, do anything you wanted, and it scares the hell out of me.”
“What about New Year’s? You weren’t afraid then. What’s different now?” he asked, his mind trying to absorb everything she said.
“I think New Year’s was different because it was so unexpected. There wasn’t a lot of time to think about anything. It seemed like one minute I was answering the door and the next we were making love. No worries, no regrets, it was what it was. But since then… believe me when I say I’ve thought about it a million times, and each time I do, I feel weaker and more vulnerable. It scares me half to death.”
Nick sank down onto the couch, trying to quickly process this new information. It really was pretty clear that Maggie had run the show, and he actually had a smidgen of sympathy for Jim. In his opinion, Jim hadn’t done her any favors. He had taken a beautiful woman and let her drown herself with responsibility. No wonder she’d acted so foolishly since he’d been back. Someone was taking an interest; someone was paying attention. She was like a child who’d forgotten how to play. If she could be bad enough, maybe she could drive him away and return to what she knew best. What she thought she was good at… Well, no dice. There was no way he was going to let her hide, not from him and not from herself. She said she was a strong woman, and tonight he was going to see if it was true.
Maggie sat on the stairs watching him and knew the minute he made up his mind. His eyes met hers as he advanced on her with determined strides. Without thinking, she began to back up the stairs. The closer he came the more clearly she could see the blue fire in his gaze.
“Did you hear anything I said?” she demanded, backing up another two stairs.
“Absolutely, and I understand. But you need to know that I’m not afraid. If you’re out of control, I’ll deal with it. I’m not Jim, and I won’t let you down. Whatever we do together whether it’s arguing, making love, or a million other things, I will be right beside you, holding you up, holding you accountable, or just plain holding you close in my arms. I won’t leave you hanging, Maggie, in any way, shape, or form.
“Nick, stop right now,” she ordered. He didn’t have the look of a man intimidated, so Maggie scooted up another stair, and he still kept coming.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” she tried again, feeling any control she thought she had slip through her fingers.
“Something I should have done weeks ago, honey, and if I’d known how you felt I would have put an end to your fears much sooner.” Still advancing, he began to unbuckle his belt, and Maggie felt a moment of panic, but he dropped it on the stairs and unbuttoned his shirt.
Maggie stood and went up three more stairs very quickly, her mind racing frantically for words that would not come. Up she went, feeling for each stair behind her, never taking her eyes off him.
“Nick, you can’t do this,” she pleaded. The sight of his naked chest and the purpose in his eyes turned her knees to jelly, and she stumbled.
‘I can, Maggie. Trust me I can,” he replied hoarsely as he swept her up in his arms and took the rest of the stairs with no apparent effort.