The Bottom Line (19 page)

He grabbed his cell phone off the kitchen counter and hit speed dial. Maggie answered almost straight away. “How do you feel about a gym session?”

“Sounds good. We haven’t been for a few days. I’d arranged to meet the girls, but I’ll ring them and let them know I’m going to be a bit late.”

“I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.” Smiling, Connor put the phone beside his laptop. He hit a search engine and a few minutes later had picked out a good place to stay.

Leaping to his feet, he jogged to his bedroom, changed for the gym and grabbed his car keys. He arrived at Maggie’s apartment just as she walked outside.

“Great timing,” she said, opening the passenger door.

“Do you have plans for the weekend?” he asked.

“Apart from going to rugby? No.”

“Would you like to go to Waiheke? After the game.”

“Just the two of us?”

He nodded, pulling up at a red traffic light. “Just us,” he confirmed.

“I’d love to.”

Connor let his breath ease out, a smile unfurling. He’d thought he’d have to persuade her to go away with him. All he’d needed to do was ask.

He thought about asking her to bring her old school uniform, but wimped out. He was good at improvisation. Hell, it was hard-wired into all Kiwis. It was a well-known fact New Zealanders thought outside the box, and as a good, red-blooded Kiwi male, he fit the profile.

Bring on the weekend.

Chapter Fifteen

“Damn, where is she?” Christina paced a corridor in Auckland hospital and slammed the cell phone closed.

The disinfectant scent made Susan’s head ache, while worry for Julia had her stomach roiling like the Hauraki Gulf during a storm. She opened her cell and dialed Connor. Nothing. His phone wasn’t turned on.

Christina stalked back to her, her runners squeaking on the faded tiles when she executed an abrupt turn.

“Stop pacing. It’s driving me nuts,” Susan snapped.

“Julia looked so pale. You don’t think she’s taken drugs, do you? They wouldn’t tell me anything because I’m not family.”

“It was lucky we went round to her flat,” Susan said. “At least we contacted her father. He said he’d be here as soon as he could get a flight from LA.”

Christina frowned. “Both Connor and Maggie were at rugby. That’s the last time I saw them.”

“Well, neither of them is answering their phones. I’ve rung them at home. Connor’s flatmate said he was away for the weekend with some woman.”

Christina’s frown deepened. “Do you think they’re together?”

Susan laughed. “Romantically?”

“Yeah. They’ve both been acting a bit strange recently.”

“Don’t be silly. Maggie isn’t Connor’s type. She’s not blonde, for a start. They’re friends, that’s all. Besides, we have a pact. We all promised not to become involved with Connor. Heck, the pact was Maggie’s idea. Remember?”

Christina started her pacing again, and Susan had to bite her lip to stop snapping at her. They were both worried about Julia. They didn’t need to snarl at each other.

“I guess you’re right.” Susan bounded to her feet when she saw the doctor. “Let’s see if we can find out anything. Doctor, how is Julia?”

“Your friend is lucky you found her before it was too late. She’s lost a lot of blood, and unfortunately, she’s lost the baby, but she’ll be okay.”

Susan stopped listening when the doctor said baby.

“Baby?” Christina blurted. “I didn’t even know she was pregnant.”

Susan knew exactly how Christina felt. “How far along was she, Doctor?”

“About two months,” the doctor said.

“But she was drinking,” Susan said. “How could she? Why didn’t she tell us?”

“I can’t help you with that,” the doctor said.

“At least she’s going to be okay,” Christina said. “Now if only we could reach Maggie and Connor. They’ll know what to do. Connor and Julia are close. Maybe he knew about the baby.”

A nurse bustled out. “You can go in and see her for a moment. No longer than five minutes. She’s awake, but needs to rest.”

They hurried into the hospital room and up to the bed.

“Man, I hate the smell of hospitals,” Susan muttered.

A hoarse laugh came from the bed. “Me too.”

“Julia, how are you feeling?” Christina smoothed the tangled hair from Julia’s face.

“Like I’ve been run over by a bus.” A tear tracked down her cheek.

Susan swallowed. Although she’d known Julia for several years, she’d never seen the other woman cry. She was all about good times and parties, popular with men and sometimes a bit aloof with other women. Susan had held reservations about Julia at first, but once she’d come to know the other woman, she’d realized what a big heart she had. She’d do anything for her friends.

“Can we call anyone for you?” she asked, knowing their five minutes were almost up.

“Connor. I want Connor,” she said and started crying in earnest.

The nurse bustled into the room, her pale blue uniform rustling with each brisk step. She made shooing motions with her hands.

“We’ll pop in and visit you after work tomorrow,” Christina said.

Susan sent Julia a bright smile and followed Christina from the hospital room. Neither of them spoke until they were inside the elevator.

“Do you think Connor is the father?”

Susan shook her head. “I don’t know, but why else would she want Connor?”

“I don’t know. We’d better keep trying to contact him,” Christina said. “You saw how upset she was.”

“I wonder if Greg knows where Maggie is. I’ve tried everywhere else.” As she spoke, Susan pulled out her cell phone and rang directory service. A few minutes later, her call connected.

“Greg, it’s Susan,” she said and explained the circumstances. “Is Maggie with you?”

“No. Try Connor,” he said and disconnected abruptly.

Susan frowned, her confusion giving way to anger.

“What did he say?”

“He told me to try Connor. I don’t understand what’s going on,” Susan snapped.

“Don’t snarl at me.” Christina stomped out of the hospital entrance and made for her car.

“Well, something’s going on. I don’t know what Maggie and Julia are playing at, but it’s clear there’s something stinky here. What happened to trust? And what about our pact?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. It might be nothing.”

“Huh! You know it takes a fire to make smoke, right? What we have here is lots of smoke, so I know there’s a fire there somewhere. I just can’t see it yet.”

Maggie cuddled up to Connor. Her bottom smarted, but she’d never felt so close to another person before. Intimate. That was the word for it. There was a new intimacy and trust between them that hadn’t been present before.

“How did you know I’d like a good spanking?”

Connor’s breath tickled her neck, and she pressed even closer so it didn’t distract her quite as much.

“You know the blog everyone is talking about at work?”

“Yes,” Maggie said, suddenly glad her back was pressed to his chest and he couldn’t see her guilty face.

“I guess you could say the blog gave me the idea.”

“Oh. I thought you’d want to stay away from anything like that because of what happened with your mother.”

“It did worry me,” he said gruffly. “Which is why I want you to tell me exactly how far you want me to go. I never want to hurt you.
Never
.”

Maggie pulled away and turned to face him. She cupped his face, his jaw bristly beneath her fingertips. “I feel safe with you. In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve hardly ever lost your temper. Please don’t tell me you’re worried you might take after your father?”

“His blood runs through my veins,” Connor said. “I worry.”

Maggie smiled. “You’ve been brought up to respect women. I bet you take after your stepfather, Frank. I’ve never seen you brawl at the pub or get into a fist fight at rugby. Oh, apart from you and Greg. What’s up with you two?”

“Greg and I didn’t hit it off the first time we met. There’s no love lost between us, and that hasn’t changed.”

“I trust you. I feel safe with you, but I know how you feel. My mother—my real one—is Elle Walker.”

“Elle—the one dating the rugby player?”

“The same. My father is convinced I take after her and is always lecturing me on proper behavior.”

Connor stroked his hand over her cheek and the corners of his mouth kicked up in a faint smile. “You have nothing to worry about, babe. Your behavior is exemplary.”

Maggie let out a loud huff that came close to a snort. “My spanking blog isn’t the worst of it. I have a worse sin. When I was twenty, I ran with a fast crowd. They were the sons and daughters of my father’s workmates. I thought I was so special, going out with one of the most popular guys. There were eight of us and we’d decided to spend the weekend at the beach. We stopped at a pub for lunch and I drank quite a bit. I got…um…a bit frisky.” Maggie paused to draw a breath, her face heating with shame. So many times she’d wished she had refused Jason. She’d liked him so much and wanted to belong to the crowd of popular kids. “Oh, heck. This is so embarrassing.” She hid her face in her hands before peeking at Connor.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said.

“But I do. You were honest with me about your past, and I want to do the same.” No matter what he thought about the subject. In this, at least, she intended honesty.

“We all have history, babe. You can tell me anything. I won’t judge you.”

She swallowed, started to talk and swallowed again, concentrating on her clenched hands. This was harder than she’d imagined. “I…Jason asked me to suck him off while he was driving. It was okay for a while, until he drove off the road and went into a ditch. I bit him,” she muttered, talking faster and faster to get out the story. “He had to go to hospital and have surgery.” Maggie risked a glance at Connor. His face contorted in a weird expression. Disgust, she thought.
Figured
. Her father and stepmother had borne similar expressions on their faces.

A muffled snort sounded, and she gaped at him. “You’re laughing at me.”

He roared then, laughing so hard tears streamed down his face. Anger stiffened Maggie’s spine and she jumped to her feet. He grabbed her hand and hauled her right back. She glared at him while he attempted to control his hilarity.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he said, wiping his eyes with his free hand. The other banded her wrist, halting her escape. “Tell me what happened.”

“So you have more to laugh about?”

“No, so I can understand.” This time sincerity emblazoned his face, and some of her pique faded.

“The press got hold of the story and some of my so-called friends leaked my identity. Everyone was talking about Penisgate. They made my life hell. They made my family’s life hell, and my father lost his job over it because he worked with the same firm as Jason’s father.”

“And?” Connor prompted.

“Isn’t that enough? My father blamed me. He said if I’d managed to control my sinful urges, none of it would have happened. He said I took after my mother and I seek attention to make myself feel better.”

“Bullshit,” Connor said. “None of that is true. You were young. You made a mistake. Hell, we all make mistakes. It’s part of learning and growing up.” He crushed her to his chest, hugging her so tight she could scarcely breathe. Then his mouth settled on hers, his hands touching her everywhere until all she could think about was his next touch. He nuzzled the hollow at her throat and pulled away, caressing every part of her with his gaze.

“We’re a pair,” he said. “Neither of us takes after our parents. Okay?”

She smiled, warmed by his acceptance. “Okay.” At least Connor really understood her feelings because of his family situation.

He ran his lips down her neck, gently biting, tormenting her until she clung to him, her heart thudding in an erratic manner, her fingers entwined in his dark hair. He pulled away, his blue eyes twinkling down at her.

“Are you tired?”

“Of you? Never,” she said, and she pushed at his chest.

Confusion covered his face until she shoved him back on the bed and straddled his chest.

“It’s my turn to play,” she said.

“I’m ticklish.”

“Only when it suits you,” she said tartly. “Man up and deal with it.”

He chuckled. “Do your worst. Let me prove I can take it—like a man.”

Maggie grinned and splayed a hand over his chest. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart and knew he wanted her. Heck, his cock prodding her backside gave her a big clue.

Her finger lightly circled a flat masculine nipple. Fascinated, she watched it harden and leaned over to repeat the move with the slow slide of her tongue. A faint saltiness hit her taste buds.

Gradually, she moved down his body, lingering over hard pectoral muscles, tracing her fingers over his biceps, his ribs. He didn’t say a word or try to take control, letting her explore at will. Violent? Connor Grey? She didn’t think so. At the moment, the man was like a big pussy cat.

“Are you going to get to the good stuff any time soon?” he asked.

Maggie glanced up at him and winked. “Still charting unknown territory.”

“You’ve been with men before.”

“Yeah, but none of them ever let me explore like this. It’s fun with you.” She traced around his belly button with her tongue and paused to grin at him again. The flare of desire in his eyes sent an arrow of heat through her. Like a wave, it rushed over her skin, pulling her nipples tight and tingling its way to her pussy.

She loved him so much.

The words trembled on her lips. Aware that friends who were lovers didn’t cross into this forbidden territory, she bit the words back and concentrated on giving him pleasure. If she couldn’t say the words, at least she could show him and say them in her heart.

“Making love is fun with you too,” Connor said in a husky voice. “Different. Exciting.”

“I excite you?”

“Yeah.” A hiss escaped him when she wriggled her ass against his erection and did a sexy little shimmy.

“You know knowledge is power, right?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s right.” And she lifted up and moved farther down his body. Without taking her gaze off him, she used a finger pad to remove a pearl of pre-come from the head of his cock. Raising her finger to her mouth, she licked it away.

His dark groan sent a thrill through her.

“I could torture you with the things I’m learning about you.”

“Newsflash, babe. You’re torturing me now.”

“Oh, no,” Maggie said. “I haven’t even started with you yet.” She lowered her head and took the head of his cock into her mouth, smiling faintly at his sharp intake of breath. This time she tasted the spicy tang of arousal and was fiercely glad she could do this to him. Taking a little more of him into her mouth, she licked and sucked and used her hands to massage the rest of his shaft. His hips jerked when she pumped his cock. He grew harder inside her mouth, his balls drawing up tightly when she continued to tease him. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked harder, each wet rasp of her tongue making him shake, his muscles bunch and tense.

She’d done this before, but had never ached to give a man pleasure or play the seductress. Teasing was a double-edged sword, she discovered, because desire, liquid and molten, pulsed through her body to settle at the juncture of her thighs.

“If you keep that up, I’m going to come,” he said in a gruff voice and, lucky for him, he didn’t mention danger, her teeth, or the possibility of accidents.

“Precisely my idea,” she said after pulling away. She reclaimed his cock and licked him with the same attention she gave to a cone of her favorite hokey-pokey ice cream.