Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
To me, sex and anything around it were a matter of right timing. You couldn’t plan it. You couldn’t predict when it would happen. You just had to relax and pick the right moment.
Which was why I wasn’t expecting to get any action on Thursday night after I got home. After all, I couldn’t go wild with Maggie—not with a kid here. I didn’t think she’d be so crazy about that scenario, either. Still, I wouldn’t mind messing around with her some more. Kissing her. Teasing her. Hearing her moan again. Hell, I would have had to be a fucking idiot not to want to touch someone so goddamn sexy again.
And I was many things, but I was definitely not a fucking idiot.
17
MAGGIE
What the hell am I doing back here?
I asked myself that question while standing in front of the sturdy door of Rocco’s apartment. There were the same bumps and scratches I had spotted the first time I was there. There was even the same, sweet voice from inside. This time, little Tommy sounded thrilled.
At least one person would be happy tonight.
As for me? I didn’t think so.
I liked the fact that I would get to see Rocco again. He’d saved me when the bar was held up. I would never forget his power and his strength. Nonetheless, he was the leader of the three, that much was clear. If Julian had killed at least one man in the last week, what had Rocco done?
I’d always dreamed of being a lawyer. Laws were there for a reason, and I respected them. Rocco and his friends didn’t. They had to have broken the law about a thousand times already.
Tommy was probably in the clear, though. I listened to the little boy and smiled as I knocked.
“Welcome back,” Rocco said, as he held the door wide for me.
He offered me a warm smile and showed me in. Tommy ran down the hall. Unlike his dad, the boy’s hair was getting a bit long, sort of like his Uncle Slater’s. That thought gave me pause. Was Tommy close to Julian and Slater? Something told me that he was.
I bent my knees and held out my arms, receiving a huge hug.
“How are you, Tommy?” I asked, closing my arms around his back.
“Maggie!” His voice was like music to my ears, although he was practically screaming in them. “Can we go play now?”
“He likes you a lot,” Rocco said, standing over me as he straightened up. “He’s been looking forward to this.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” I patted the top of Tommy’s head. “Can you go to your room and find us some cool toys to play with? I’ll be with you in a minute, okay?”
“Sure!”
I waited for him to reach his bedroom, feeling Rocco’s gaze on me.
“Thanks again,” he said.
“I was a little torn when you called me,” I admitted, his huge figure towering over me, even though I was standing now. “I, uh, recently learned some things about you and your friends.”
He put his hands on his hips, a frown on his face. “What things?”
“Cut the act, Rocco.” I found it hard to believe that neither Slater nor Julian had said anything to him since I’d talked to Zoey.
He nodded gruffly but gestured for me to go on.
“Let’s say they’re not flattering.”
Rocco’s expression told me nothing. “Will they affect the way you take care of my son?”
“They might,” I said, and his expression darkened. “I have to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.” His face still gave away nothing.
“Is there a gun in here?”
In answer, he patted his hip. I gulped and stepped back. I hadn’t realized he was armed.
“Is that a problem?” His voice was tight. “I seem to recall seeing you with a shotgun in your hands at the bar.”
I gestured at his midsection. “That’s not a problem for me as long as you come back in one piece.” Mentally, I added that I hoped everyone else he encountered tonight would be okay, too. “But I meant here in the apartment after you leave. Are there guns here?”
Rocco’s stiff posture relaxed, and his expression softened. “You want to know because of Tommy.”
“Yes.”
“I have a gun safe. And trigger locks. I wouldn’t leave an unsecured gun around a child.”
A breath of relief escaped me.
“Tommy knows not to mess around with guns, though I have taken him shooting.”
“Shooting?”
Rocco shrugged. “Just, you know, rats and stuff. And a few of those punks who hang out down by the bus station.”
I took a step back, my hand flying to my mouth.
Rocco grinned. “I’m kidding, Maggie. I’ve taken him to the gun range.”
“Oh.” Color flooded my face.
“I like that,” he said, eyeing me.
“Like what?”
“That blush on your cheeks. Sometimes olive skin tones don’t turn red, but yours does.”
“My skin’s not olive.” I said it automatically, mostly to cover my embarrassment.