Male Review (6 page)

He glanced at Meg. “Do you have a pen and paper?”

“Why?”

“I want to give Maud my number. I need to know she’s going to be okay.”

A search through her bag resulted in a blunt eyebrow pencil and a receipt from the corner store. Eric scribbled his number on the back and handed the receipt to Maud.

“Call me when you get home and let me know you’re going to be okay.”

Maud fluttered her ridiculously large eyelashes. “I guess I didn’t win the bet?”

Meg’s eyes all but fell out of her head when the man gave Maud a smooch that had her panting, never mind the old lady.

* * * *

Meg sipped on the disgusting bitter coffee. How long did it take to x-ray an arm? She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. What a day. It was past lunchtime and she hadn’t even thought about looking for a job. The state should pay her for minding Maud. She figured the task would get a whole lot harder now that Maud seemed to have found a boyfriend. Once they pulled out of the car park at the gym, the old lady had perked up. Apparently Eric was a fifty-year-old welder. He didn’t look his age, and even if he did, there was something disturbing about him being interested in Maud. Maybe he was just being polite. Although good manners didn’t require you to stick your tongue down someone’s throat. Meg shuddered.

Her head throbbed and she felt a tiny bit nauseous. Perhaps they could squeeze her in for a brain scan whilst she waited, although maybe it wasn’t an aneurism this time. Were headaches a symptom of pregnancy? Morning sickness was. God, what if she were knocked up. She shifted her hand to her stomach and fought back a rising tide of panic. Sam didn’t want a baby. Maybe if she thought baby cleansing vibes, it would disappear. Tears prickled her eyes. She didn’t want her baby to die.

A warm Irish brogue broke into her panic. “As I live and breathe, it’s my sister in crime.”

Meg opened her eyes and groaned. Her day had gone from bad to worse. God was punishing her for saying she would become a nun and then taking up a life of sin with Sam. Now she was going to be an unmarried mother with a criminal record. Her baby would be born behind bars, thanks to the dipshit who was in the process of taking the seat next to her.

“What do you want?”

Michael Monaghan chuckled. “I missed you too, Madam.”

Meg glanced around the room and hissed. “I am not now, nor was I ever, your madam. I never hired you to be a prostitute. I never asked you to drop your pants and I prefer we pretend we don’t know each other.”

“And will this pretense continue when we get to court?”

“Keep your voice down.”

Michael’s eyes twinkled with amusement as he grinned at her. “What will you give me to keep quiet?”

“The heads up. I’m here with Maud. She’s in x-ray as we speak.”

Fear replaced amusement and he glanced around the room. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Any minute now they’ll wheel her out.”

Michael got to his feet and Meg grabbed his arm. “What are you here for anyway?”

He held up his finger wrapped in a handkerchief. “I cut myself on a broken glass, but it can wait.”

Meg couldn’t hold in a giggle as the tall, dark, and handsome male stripper ran for the exit. Maud had that effect on most members of the male population.

“What are you laughing at? Did I see that useless piece of work Michael Monaghan?”

With a sigh, Meg turned her attention to Maud, who was sitting in a wheelchair pushed by a burly security guard.

“Is your arm broken?”

Maud shook her head. “Only sprained a little. I should be good as new any day now. Just as well. I can’t be pulling Eric’s wanger with my left hand because my fingers are too stiff.”

Hands over her eyes, Meg moaned. The nausea was back. No way did she need that picture in her head.

Chapter Eleven

Maud had been driving Meg crazy ever since they arrived home from the hospital. Mr. Bigelow got the boot. After spending an hour on the phone the night before, she apparently had a new love, and this required a full makeover. Her endless whining about her wrist had been brain numbing. Meg had helped her with anything she wanted just to shut her up. Maud’s threats to call her mother and tell her Meg left her unattended at the gym had nothing to do with it. She was a grown woman. Her mother didn’t scare her … much.

After another restless night Meg needed a break. She stared at her watch willing the second hand to move. Laura would be arriving any minute to take Maud out for a couple of hours, and then she’d have Sam to herself for some quality time. Quality and quantity. But first, he said he needed to talk to her. A pain gnawed her insides. He’d told her not to twist what he’d said but doubts assailed her. He loved her, she was sure of it, but people loved each other without wanting a long term commitment. Was that what he meant?

“Stop it.”

Meg glanced up at Sam. She hadn’t even noticed him wander into the kitchen. “Stop what?”

“You know what.”

Maud fiddled with her long dark wig. “Why do you two keep talking in riddles? You know your problem?”

Before either of them had a chance to answer, Maud ploughed on. “You’re sexually frustrated.”

Meg snorted. “Really?”

She caught Sam’s eye and he winked at her.

“You should double date with me and Eric. Provided Sam doesn’t mind servicing you as well as me, Meg, I’m sure Eric would be willing to try a foursome.”

A gasp and choking from near the sink had Meg leaping to her feet. She slapped Sam on the back as he struggled for air, tears coursing down his cheeks. The insistent ringing of the doorbell stopped Maud from enlightening them any further about her plans to save them from a life of sexual repression.

Meg left Sam to dry his eyes and went to open the front door. Laura grimaced at her. “Okay, I’m here to do my penance. Is she ready?”

Maud shoved Meg aside. “I’m ready. Where are we going? I need some lingerie. I’ve got a new man.”

Laura lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What man?”

“You’ll be sorry you asked. How did it go with the bank loan?”

“The manager is going to call me later with the answer. I wore my see-through blouse, peephole bra, and red miniskirt. I’m sure the whole deal is in the bag.”

Meg had a vision of Laura at Maud’s age and shuddered. They were peas in a pod.

“I’m ready to go, and if we don’t hurry I’ll have to pee behind a tree again before we get to the mall.”

Laura stared at Meg. “She’s not serious?”

Meg couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “Better hustle, Laura. And no need to rush back. Have fun.”

She shut the door and leaned her forehead against the cool glass. Peace, perfect peace. For the first time in what seemed forever, the house was Maud-free.

When she turned, Sam grinned at her. “Come here.”

In two strides she reached him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight. She was safe. Nothing was as good as a hug from Sam. Even before they were lovers his arms and his shoulder had been her solace from the world. If Ben & Jerry didn’t make her feel better, Sam could.

She tipped her face up and he kissed the end of her nose. He let go and held her hand, leading the way to the sofa. He took a seat, and then pulled Meg into his lap. She wiggled to get comfy, and grinned when something below her thighs began to harden.

“Sit still or I will spank you.”

“Promises, promises.”

He chuckled. “You are going to get it one day, but not now. We need to talk about yesterday.”

Talking wasn’t on her agenda. She had a horrible sense she wouldn’t enjoy the conversation. Besides, the quickie in the shower room at the gym had been fun, but not enough. Who knew how long it would be before they got some time alone to wallow in the sensual joy of exploring each other’s bodies. She shivered at the delicious thought.

“God, don’t look like that.”

She frowned. “Like what?”

“You really have no idea what effect you have on me, do you? Whatever you were just thinking had your face filled with unadulterated lust. I’m getting hard just imagining it.”

“So I can tell.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his ear.

“Meg?”

He smelled so good she wanted to eat him. She nipped his throat and licked the mark she left. His Adam’s apple bobbed and she admired his fortitude as he unraveled her arms from around him. After taking a deep breath, he looked at her.

“Talking. Nothing else.”

Annoyed that she hadn’t been able to shake his determination to waste precious time with a discussion, she folded her arms, got to her feet and huffed her annoyance. “I’m not stopping you. Carry on.”

Before she had a chance to react, he grabbed a hold of her. He dragged her across his lap and she wiggled as he pulled the back of her track pants down. The first stinging slap on bare skin made her yelp, and the second sent heat coursing through her veins. He’d threatened, but she never thought he would actually spank her. Now he had, she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. The third slap sealed the deal. She couldn’t hold back a moan as the burning pain from his hand made her insides quiver with need. He was so strong and manly. He could do anything he liked to her and she couldn’t stop him. God, that was so bad and yet so damn erotic. If the bulge currently digging into her stomach was any indication, he obviously agreed.

Apparently happy he’d punished her enough, he tugged her pants back up and let her climb off his lap. Not willing to start anything else until he said she could, she curled up on the sofa next to him, wiggling a little to try and find a way to sit that didn’t aggravate the burn currently warming her butt.

He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to look at her, his blue eyes dark and sultry. She chewed on her bottom lip. If he didn’t speak soon, her resolve to behave would melt.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have smacked you like that.”

Meg snuggled into him. “Would you be shocked if I said I liked it?”

He chuckled. “Nope. I never doubted you would, but it’s not helping my focus.”

“So, why not play first and talk later?”

Sam sighed loudly. “Because if we start to play, I don’t think we will ever get to talking, and we need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

Chapter Twelve

Meg shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. She preferred to avoid discussing difficult issues. If he wasn’t looking for something long-term, she would deal with the loss when the time came for him to move on. She didn’t want to think about not having him now and ruin what they had. “You’re not into kids. I’m cool with that. I’ll take whatever you want to give me.”

“I want to give you everything.”

She glanced at him and he grinned wickedly at her. Making her insides quiver in anticipation of getting all he had to offer.

He straightened his face and stroked her cheek. Unable to resist his touch, she leaned into his hand.

“Seriously, I never meant I don’t want kids ever. I guess I am just being selfish. For months I’ve wanted to make you more than a flat mate, and when it finally seemed like we had time to explore our new relationship, Maud moved in. I’m not ready to share you with anyone, even a baby. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t more than a fling, or that I don’t want or love you.”

Meg pondered before she responded. Truth be told, she didn’t want a baby either. Sam was enough for her, for now. He was right. With Maud in the house, they barely had a minute alone and they were nowhere close to being ready to start a family. She needed to learn to trust him. To take what he said at face value and not read things into his comments that he never meant. Maybe she’d finally made a breakthrough in her relationship.

*

Unable to tell if she had understood or not, Sam tipped her face up with his fingertips. “Are we good?”

She smiled. “Better than good.”

Relief washed over him. Meg needed careful handling. Her past might have made her insecure, but he intended to fill her future with love. One day she’d see herself the way he saw her. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. The time for conversation was over. He had no idea when Maud would be back but he didn’t intend to waste another minute.

When Meg wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair, nothing existed beyond the sofa and kissing her. Nothing beyond Meg existed. He could smell her flowery perfume and feel the raw emotion in the way her tongue hungrily plundered his mouth.

Breaking the kiss he mumbled, “How’s your backside?”

She whispered, “Tingling.”

Her breathy voice sent his blood coursing through his veins toward his already hard cock. “Want me to kiss you all better?”

Her moan made him ache; if he didn’t slow the pace they wouldn’t even get naked before he pinned her to the closest flat surface. Not willing to trust himself, he pulled away and she whimpered with apparent disappointment.

He couldn’t hold back a chuckle as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Leaning over inspecting the contents of the freezer, he shuddered when Meg wrapped herself around him, her hand massaging his aroused dick.

She continued to tease him as she ran the tip of her finger up and down his erection, making the pony strain even harder against his jeans. If she kept the massage up, he would burst through the zipper.

“Are you hungry?”

How she could think he was looking for food, he had no idea. There was only one thing he intended to eat and it wasn’t in the fridge. “Nope.”

“So why are you in the freezer?”

He straightened up and turned around with a tray of ice cubes in hand. “Time for me to make it all better.”

Meg backed up a little. “No way.”

When he grabbed at her, she squealed and fled. She barely made it through the living room and up the hallway before he caught up and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. Hmm, the anticipation of torturing her some more warmed his blood. He felt sure if he pressed his rigid cock any tighter against her, he would leave a bruise.

Despite only having one free hand, he had no trouble dragging her into his room and tossing her on his bed.