Staying Grounded (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 1) Read online

  Yet resisting Ashley couldn’t even compare to the turmoil in his chest and groin this time. He refused her because his heart and head were focused on Maggie. Refusing Maggie right now was only a ploy to enhance their foreplay and make their sex later on even more explosive. The suffering would be worth it. For both of them.

  “My pleasure.” He stepped back, giving her space, watching to see what she’d do next. Thankfully she strapped her breasts into her bikini top before taking off her shorts. He only had so much restraint. Graham ran his hand through his hair and stepped out on to the balcony and readjusted himself. He couldn’t go out in public like this and wasn’t sure he could handle seeing Maggie in a bikini without his body betraying the things he wanted to do to her.

  He heard her muttering to herself in the room and knocking hangers around in the closet. He knew he pissed her off and that she’d be thankful later that he didn’t succumb to her seduction. Graham wanted to show her that she meant more to him than a quick lay, yet couldn’t wait for her to lose control and throw her body against him later.

  True to her good-natured self, Maggie dropped the sulk as soon as he wrapped his hand around hers and led her out to the beach. “The water is so clear. I mean, Maine’s water is fresh and beautiful but not so green. And the sand. Wow. No rocks in sight.”

  “Want to walk or swim?” Graham swung their hands together as the surf lapped at their feet.

  “Let’s walk for a bit. I want to see how far we can go.”

  “Darlin’, the sandy beaches are endless and wrap around the island. You’re not going to find an outcropping of rocks. We could walk for miles before we come across anything other than sand. There’s probably some volcanic rock somewhere, though.”

  “Let’s walk until we get bored.”

  “I can’t imagine ever being bored with you.” He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of her wrist.

  “Such a sweet talker.”

  Graham wasn’t one for lazy walks along the beach, yet with Maggie, everything was different. They laughed and poked fun at each other, stopping for ice cream when they came across a vendor. She’d laid off the flirting but that didn’t mean he had to. He knew she almost lost control back in the hotel room and was trying her best to gain it back. Like hell he’d let her.

  When the afternoon sun became too much, they ran into the waves and swam out pretty far until Graham teased her about sharks.

  “I’m kidding.” He got a hold of her ankle to prevent her from swimming back to shore. She squirmed and kicked, but he was too strong for her, pulling Maggie’s body into his and turning her around so she had her legs wrapped around his waist.

  “You’re much more dangerous than a great white.”

  “Damn straight I am.” He was tired of the teasing and needed to taste her. Now. Graham latched on to her lips, sucking the bottom one in between his lips. She tasted like the chocolate ice cream she had earlier and a touch of salt.

  Maggie clutched at his back and planted her feet into his butt, pushing their groins tightly against each other as she licked at his lips. “Hell, Maggie.” Not able to take things slow and gentle anymore, he ground his lips into hers and pushed his tongue into her mouth, exploring her cave of sweetness. Their tongues danced and played and fought, just like their bodies did the night before.

  Her breasts crushed against his chest and the low moans emanating from her throat nearly put him over the edge. “If we don’t cool down, I’m going to take you on this public beach.”

  Maggie quickly pulled back and looked around her, clearly shocked that they’d been so brazen in public. With kids around. She started to unhook her legs from his and he held on to her thighs, keeping her in place. “I can’t get out of the water right now. I’ll scare the poor kids.” He looked down between them where she had to have felt exactly how hard up he was.

  And then when he thought he’d lost her again, Maggie tilted her head back and laughed.

  “You know it’s not polite to laugh at a guy in this state.” The water wasn’t cold and he was no turtle. Graham was known for his ego. A well-deserved one.

  “Trust me, I’m not laughing at that.” She ground her pelvis into him and he nearly died.

  “God, woman. You’re killing me.”

  He set a giggling Maggie down and they waded through the waist-deep water back toward their hotel. When the evidence of his desire died down, they left the water and ambled along the sand, holding hands in comfortable silence.

  Opening the hotel door, he let Maggie in first and followed behind. Not to be a gentleman, but to check out her ass one more time in her skimpy bathing suit.

  “Really? You couldn’t be more obvious.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled before entering the bathroom and closing the door in his face.

  The sound of the lock clicking made him chuckle, and he looked forward to another round of seduction.

  ***

  Maggie

  They spent the next two days laughing and touring the island by foot, motor scooter, and air, and spent their nights laughing and making good use of their bed.

  During their last dinner on the island Graham shifted the mood by asking about her brother.

  “Liam? There’s not much to tell. He had leukemia and died when he was eight.” Maggie toyed with the umbrella in her bright blue drink.

  “Yes, you told me that much already. When was he diagnosed?”

  “Why the sudden interest?”

  “It’s not sudden. I’ve been interested in you for a long time.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  Graham reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I’ve told you some of my childhood stories and I’d like to hear some of yours.”

  “Then why did you ask about my brother?”

  “Because what happens to our brothers and sisters and parents, whether we like them to or not, shape our lives and dreams. Have you always wanted to be a therapist or did this stem from losing your brother?”

  The tables turned once again, Maggie sat uncomfortably in the patient’s chair. However, it was only fair that she share a few pieces of her life, since he’d opened up to her beyond the therapist couch. Last month she’d told him the abridged version of Liam’s story, and now he wanted more. If anything was to come of their relationship, she might as well tell him everything. No matter how much it hurt.

  “It started out as the flu. Or what we thought was the flu. When Liam was in first grade he had a lot of headaches and missed a lot of school. Of course my mom thought it was because he wanted to be home with her. When she struggled to get him up in the morning and to stay awake during dinner she took his grumbles more seriously. And then he stopped eating. He fainted a few times and his skin turned sickly pale and when he wasn’t sleeping he complained that his legs hurt. We chalked that up to him not eating. Finally my parents brought him to the doctors. They ran some blood tests.” Maggie looked out across the ocean and watched the windsurfers sail freely through the air, men and women paddle to catch their waves, and couples strolling the beach hand-in-hand. Something her brother never got the chance to do.

  “After his diagnosis our lives were never the same. At first Dad canceled his trips to be by Liam’s side. He went through bone marrow aspirations, biopsies, spinal taps, and more poking and prodding that my parents didn’t tell me about. It got to be too much and I hated hanging around the hospital. My dad felt the same way and after a few months of tests, he took another job. Not far, just in Mexico. At least he was on the same continent as the rest of us.”

  “I can’t imagine what it was like for your brother. Or you. You must have been frightened. Did your parents keep you focused on school and your friends?”

  “Hardly. They pretty much forgot I was around. Benny was our housekeeper back then and the school had her number. They called her frequently when my mom forgot to pick me up. Or feed me. I don’t know what I would have done without her. And Mackenzie. Her mom is b
est friends with Benny and we’ve been inseparable since grade school. She helped keep me distracted from—”

  “From being ignored.”

  Maggie remembered the guilt. Her little brother lay dying in the hospital and all she could think of was herself. Too much guilt for a twelve year old to carry on her shoulders. She remembered crying into her pillow when her father was away and her mother stayed overnight in the hospital, neither one of them calling in to say goodnight. Not something a middle schooler wanted to admit, that she missed her brother and her mom and dad’s goodnight kisses. Mackenzie understood though. And so did Benny.

  “How long did your brother suffer?”

  “Almost two years. He’d have a transfusion and feel okay for a few weeks, then he’d be back in the hospital for another one. Towards the end he was getting a transfusion a few times a week. Then he caught pneumonia. Liam was a fighter. So darn cute. He had the nurses at Boston’s Children Hospital eating out of the palm of his hands. Every time he’d go back down he’d be wearing a different superhero costume. Cape, mask, and all, and he would bring the matching toys with him. He had such high spirits and here I was, moping around at home because my dad was shooting pictures of Cenote Dzitnup, this giant blue-water sinkhole off the Yucatan Peninsula, and I couldn’t go with him.”

  Graham wiped the tear she didn’t know was on her cheek with the pad of his thumb and moved across the table so he sat next to her, drawing her body into his with his comforting arm.

  “In the end no superhero powers could fight the battle. Cancer is a bitch and is stronger than many. Liam was too young to die.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you, Maggie. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  “I haven’t talked about my brother in almost twenty years. It’s a taboo subject in my parents’ house, not that there are any subjects that they actually talk about. People think they need to avoid talking about the dead, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to talk about Liam. After his funeral—my dad came home for that—I’d start talking about silly things he used to do. About his obsession with Legos and superheroes. But my parents would cut me off, not allow me to even mention his name. They had Benny pack up his room and we rarely talked about him again. My dad took off and my mom…she just blanked out.”

  “So tell me about the good times. Tell me your favorite Liam story.”

  Maggie turned to stare into Graham’s honest eyes. “Really? You want to hear a story about a little boy?”

  “Sure. I was a kid once too. My childhood sucked, nothing compared to Liam’s, so enlighten me. Tell me what kind of mischief little innocent boys get into. I bet he taunted you a lot. Rachael did that to Luke and me. Granted, we were older then.”

  Maggie lifted her hands to cup his cheeks, her insides churning with a mixture of sorrow for her lost brother and family, and a newfound love for the man sitting next to her. This was what relationships were about. Sharing. Communicating. Something she’d never done with a man.

  Graham tossed a handful of bills on the table and scooted out of the bench, offering his hand to help her out. “Let’s walk. The moon is full and bright tonight.” They walked hand-in-hand away from the restaurant and the groups of people enjoying their vacation.

  Slipping out of her sandals, she looped them around one finger and held Graham’s arm in her other hand while he slipped off his flip flops.

  “Liam was a very inquisitive boy. He’d overhear my parents or Kenzie and me talking and constantly interrupt, asking us what a word meant. One day Kenzie and I were at the kitchen counter eating Benny’s famous brownies—which Mackenzie is now famous for—and were talking about a boy we had a crush on.”

  “What was his name?” Graham stopped in his tracks, pulling Maggie to a stop as well.

  “Seriously? You’re going to go all macho on me over a ten year old boy?” She laughed. His stern glare made her giggle more. “You’re pathetic. Cody Merchant, if you must know.”

  “And where is this Cody Merchant today?”

  “Last I heard he was a taxidermist outside of town. A beer belly that could outdo Santa and a penchant for avoiding bill collectors.”

  “So you’re not still interested in him?”

  “I’m content with my sex life for now,” she teased.

  “Not funny.” Graham slid his arms around her waist and drew her in for a deep kiss. Her toes curled deep in the sand as she held on to him in case her knees gave out. Drawing away too soon, he licked his lips and pecked her nose. “Continue.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  He picked up her hand and continued to stroll down the beach. “Do what?” he asked innocently.

  “Kiss me senseless and expect me to remember what I was talking about.”

  “Cody Merchant and how you had a crush on him when you were a kid but only have eyes for me now.” Graham wiggled his eyebrows and clicked his tongue.

  “Pathetic.” Maggie rolled her eyes and continued. “Anyway, Mackenzie said Cody was sexy and Liam asked what that meant. I told him it meant he was hot.”

  “Do you think I’m sexy?”

  “Unfortunately.” Graham lightly smacked her on the butt. “Hey! I said you were sexy.”

  “Does it always take you this long to tell a story?”

  “Stop distracting me and it will go faster.” In truth, she enjoyed the distraction. Graham had managed to tear her mind away from the heartache her brother’s death and parents’ neglect had caused, making her reminisce about the good times.

  “So anyway, a few days later we were eating burgers on the patio and Liam put down his burger and said, ‘This burger is so sexy!’ We all sat speechless and then he picked it up, blew on it, and started eating again.”

  “A good steak does it for me. A nice cut of rib eye, a nice cold beer, maybe a loaded baked potato. Totally sexy. I get it.”

  “Not quite. The next day he got out of the pool and ran across the cement yelling, ‘Ouch! The ground is too sexy.’ Then I put two and two together.”

  Graham stopped again and let out a deep belly laugh. “Hot. Sexy. That’s hilarious.”

  “He took the literal meaning of hot instead of the…sexy hot.”

  “And I don’t suppose you corrected him?”

  “No way. It made for great conversations. Liam loved learning new words and would drop his new vocabulary as often as possible. Eventually mom put the kibosh on the sexy equals hot when she was holding him at a friend’s wedding and he put his hands on her shoulders and told her she was sexy. Mom wasn’t impressed.”

  “I bet her friends were.”

  “Yeah. Dad was too. I think that’s the last time I remembered us laughing as a family.”

  “Keep that memory in here.” Graham picked up her hands and held them over her heart. “It sounds like Liam was the glue and when he died…”

  “We unstuck. Yeah. He was the glue.” Maggie rested her head on his shoulder and melted into his embrace.

  “Now if you don’t mind, I think we should get back to the hotel. I’d like to glue a few of our body parts together.”

  She couldn’t help to laugh at his tacky flirting. They raced each other back to their room and didn’t waste any time stripping each other’s clothes off, laughing and teasing and taunting the entire time. It was exactly what she needed; fun lovemaking, nothing serious after her evening of baring her soul. And Graham gave her just that.

  Maggie had never had so much fun in her life. Yes, Hawaii was absolutely breathtaking, but it was Graham that made the long weekend so amazing.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Maggie

  The following morning Graham wrapped his arm around Maggie’s waist and tugged her closer to him as they stood in line to check out. “This was fun,” he said before kissing her.

  “Absolutely.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled to herself. Not once had she thought about Graham’s fear of commitment. She’d been too busy falling in love.

&n
bsp; The flight back to Seattle was long and boring, so she spent her time picturing Graham in the cockpit of the huge aircraft. It was pretty powerful, in a purely sexual way. Maggie’s heart sped up every time his voice came over the speaker.

  “This is Captain Riley speaking. We have clear skies for most of our flight back to Seattle. Estimated arrival time is two fifty-six, Pacific Time. For those of you ending your vacation in Hawaii, I hope you enjoyed your stay as much as I did. Sit back and enjoy your flight.” He rambled off some numbers about elevation and wind speed; it didn’t really matter what he was saying, just hearing his voice made her feel closer to him.

  They didn’t sleep much the night before, so Maggie used the quiet time to rest. It was Graham’s voice that woke her again, announcing their arrival. She rummaged through her purse for a breath mint and fixed her ponytail and waited for all of the other passengers to exit so she could walk out with Graham.

  “How was the flight?”

  “Eh.” Maggie shrugged her shoulders.

  Graham stopped in his tracks and turned to her. “Eh?” He mimicked her shrug. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ve had better.”

  That adorable dimple appeared as Graham ran his tongue across his teeth, thinking of a comeback, Maggie was sure. She hid her smile, biting the inside of her cheek and holding back the laughter bubbling up inside.

  “I’m sorry about the turbulence, but it was pretty mild and only lasted for thirty-nine seconds. That can’t be avoided. My landing was textbook—”

  “I slept the entire time.” Maggie rolled her eyes and walked ahead of him, having no idea where she was going.

  “So why the eh? You’re killing my ego.”

  “As if,” Maggie snorted.

  “Hey Captain,” the vendor from the Starbucks coffee stand hollered from behind.

  Graham turned around. “Hi, Miguel.”

  “Your usual?”