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

  After turning pruney and frigid, she threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and tried reading the trashiest book she could find on the Internet. That didn’t help either. She’d become pissed off, depressed, and horny. Maggie tossed her iPad on the ever-vacant side of her bed and spooned a pillow, willing herself to sleep.

  When she finally relaxed, her alarm went off, sending her in another tizzy. Nothing went her way in the morning either. Sweetie Pie kept getting under foot, she burnt her bagel in the toaster, and she’d run out of coffee. At least the coffee fix could be cured.

  After a surprising and disappointing evening, all she wanted to do was slip out of her dress and back into bed. Naked. And not alone. With barely enough time to spare, she made it to Coast & Roast and scowled at Kenzie and her cheerful good morning.

  “Hun, you really need to get laid. Cut the professional ties and jump that man’s ass. Or rather, other parts. You avoided my calls yesterday, which tells me you want him bad or you were naked with him all weekend. But by the look on your face—” Kenzie stopped and laughed when Maggie nearly growled. “Kay. I’ll shut up. For now. I’ve never seen you this…ugly. No offense. You look great, but, not so great.”

  Maggie would have flipped her off if Davey hadn’t been there. Without saying a word, she paid for her coffee, eyed the tip jar, looked up at her friend, and then dropped the change in her purse.

  “Bitch,” she muttered under her breath. Kenzie’s loud laughter nearly made Maggie smile. Sipping her coffee and looking into the cloudless sky made her feel a little better.

  Tiffany’s regular Monday hours were nine to five, and since Graham’s appointment was at eight, Maggie came in early and unlocked the front door for him. By the time she entered her office, sat down behind her desk, and nearly finished her coffee, Maggie was almost back to her normal self.

  “Knock, knock.” At his deep voice, she came alive, wiping the drool from her mouth. She could practically smell him. Feel him. Taste him. Or at least, imagine what he would taste like.

  “I, uh, didn’t hear you come in.” She threw her shoulders back and watched his gaze drop to her chest. Slouching, she opened her laptop in an attempt to conceal her aching breasts.

  “Early morning? Or late night?” Graham closed the door behind him and came over to her desk, resting one hip on the corner, making no attempt to hide his smile or his mission to look down her dress. Maybe the scoop neck wrap was a bad idea. “You look…lovely.”

  “Mr. Riley, why don’t you have a seat on the couch and we can get started.”

  “I’m actually pretty comfortable right here.”

  Not wanting him to know how much he riled her, she nodded and picked up her note pad, getting right down to business. “Last week you told me about your love for flying. Tell me what you don’t like about it.”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  “So, you’re perfectly happy with your life?”

  “That’s a different question, Doc. Flying, I love. It’s the commercial and political part I don’t care for, but a job’s a job.”

  “Do you like the constant travel? Being away from your family? That must take a toll on your relationships.”

  “It’s hard being away from my family, but everyone is pretty spread out anyway. Besides Ma, Luke and Lucy are the only ones in Maine. Well, Rachael is home now but that’s a different story.”

  She watched his eyes harden as he studied the wall behind her. Interesting. “Rachael. You haven’t said much about her. Or Lucy, your other sister.”

  “Lucy’s only been around for five years. I don’t know her as well as the others, but the stories I hear? Well, she’s turning a new leaf, thanks to Luke and his fiancé Sage. She’s sort of been mentoring Luce, showing her the ropes on how to be a grown-up.”

  “And Rachael?”

  “She was in California for a while until Luke and I brought her home. Where she belongs.”

  “That sounds like a controlling big brother thing.”

  “No.” He turned his eyes on her again and burned her with his stare. “We saved her.” Graham got up and walked to the window, tucking his hands in his pockets. His wide shoulders tensed, his legs rigid in their stance. He had a tendency to get up and walk around when the topic turned serious. Her arms ached to wrap themselves around him and soothe the pain away. To hold him the way she had hoped her family would comfort and hold her.

  “We rescued her from an abusive relationship,” he said softly. “The asshole stole nearly five years of her life and emotionally and physically abused her. We found her in a shelter and brought her home.”

  “Oh, Graham.”

  “My sister…damn.” He rested his forehead against the windowpane, his breath creating a small circle on the glass. “Maybe if I’d been around more I could have stopped her from taking off with him.”

  “You’re not responsible for your sister’s decisions. She was a grown-up when she left.”

  “Twenty. And still in school. She dropped out to become his emotional slave. I…sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about my sister. This is her story to tell, not mine. It’s none of your business. No offense.” He stepped back from the wall and rocked back on his heels, first looking up to the ceiling before settling his attention on her.

  The man had witnessed so much pain in his life and the overwhelming desire to help relieve him of it now flowed through her veins. It wasn’t in the clinical capacity that she yearned to comfort, but in the physical. The trauma her family had witnessed seemed trivial compared to Graham’s family’s troubles.

  Maggie went to him and rested her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry for bringing it up. I had no right to meddle.”

  He relaxed under her touch and quietly studied her, sorrow filling his gentle face. “I think your job is to meddle,” he teased and lifted his hand to push back a stray curl from her face. “And I kinda like it.” Slowly, he moved his other hand, his fingers caressing as they trailed up her arm. His beautiful, innocent, yet hurting eyes never leaving hers.

  “Maggie,” he whispered.

  She held on to his waist for balance, feeling the warmth under her hands, and parted her lips, begging him to give her one taste.

  “Maggie,” he repeated before slowly bringing his mouth down to hers, touching lightly, applying feather kisses to first her top lip, then her bottom.

  She gripped his shirt tighter, pulling him closer; being the aggressor, she leaned in and kissed him back, opening her mouth to him. Graham held her head in both his hands and took everything she gave, before returning the favor.

  His body was hard under her touch and he made her forget all the baggage she brought in with her. Here and now. This is what she wanted. He was what she wanted. Quickly she pulled his shirt up, caressing his firm abs with her hands.

  Graham pulled back and she used that to her advantage, tugging his shirt over his head.

  “Maggie?”

  “Don’t talk. Just kiss me.” She pulled him to her mouth and he walked them toward the couch. Spinning around, she pushed Graham down and straddled his lap, her dress bunching around her hips.

  “Damn, Maggie. Are you sure?” he asked as he kissed her neck and dipped his hand down the front of her dress, finding her aching breast.

  “Oh, yes.” She skimmed her hands up and down his torso, toying with his brown, flat nipples before running her fingers through his hair, then down his stomach. Her body couldn’t keep still as she ground her hips into his, begging for release.

  Finally, he moved his hands to her back and under her dress, cupping her butt and lifting her slightly. Maggie raised her body on her knees and unbuttoned his jeans while Graham tilted his hips and then yanked them off the rest of the way. Before he settled back on the couch, she moved her underwear aside and lowered herself on him, taking him to the hilt.

  “Holy shit, Maggie.” Graham’s head fell back as she rode him. He felt so good. So hard and full. He completed her the way no other man could. “Wait, sw
eetheart. Stop.” He tightened his hands on her cheeks but didn’t stop caressing them. “I’m not wearing a condom. I don’t even think I have one in my wallet.”

  “You don’t?” Maggie sat back, changing the angle of their bodies, and studied his face as his eyes rolled back and he moaned.

  “You’re killing me here, sweetheart.”

  “I…I’m on the pill and I’m clean. I’ve never…” She’d never had unprotected sex before and having it on the couch in her office was probably not the smartest thing to do. But this was Graham Riley. The sexy pilot who made her laugh, had a body to die for, cared for her dog and loved his family. The perfect man. With the exception that he lived a thousand miles away and traveled all the time.

  But this wasn’t about commitment. Screw the Maggie plan to find Mr. Perfect who would be faithful and loyal and home for dinner every night. This was about getting laid. Just like Kenzie said. Pure and simple. No emotional ties or relationships. Just sex. Freaking amazing sex. On her therapy couch.

  Graham flipped her on her back and covered her with his body. “Your beautiful mind is working overtime. What am I competing with?” He stroked her face and she leaned into his touch.

  “Not much can compete with that body of yours.” She smiled at his nakedness and looked down at her fully covered torso.

  “I beg to differ.” He drew away, reaching underneath her dress, not moving his eyes from hers, and pulled her underwear off.

  “You beg? I’d like to hear that.”

  “You didn’t give me much of a chance.” He smirked as he slid her dress higher, revealing her breasts. She lifted her chest toward him. “I’d like to hear it from you as well.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.

  Laughter in the middle of sex. Who knew? “I bet I can make you cave first.”

  “That’s a loser’s bet if I ever did hear one. I’ve been begging since the moment I saw you in the coffee shop.”

  Graham moved her bra aside and took her breast in his mouth while he stroked her thighs and then her—“Oh my word!” Maggie didn’t last two seconds before the world exploded around her. He continued to stroke and suckle as she came down from her orgasm.

  Instead of joining her like she expected, he slowly removed his hand and stared down at her, lightly touching the top of her breast with one hand and her hip with the other. “You’re full of surprises, Maggie O’Fallon,” he said with awe, making her blush. “Strong and domineering at times, yet soft and gentle, too.”

  Aware that he was getting too close to the truth and not wanting to make this any more than sex, she shoved at his chest until his back was on the couch. Crawling his body like a tigress, she scratched lightly across his six-pack, then bit down on his bottom lip. “Is it the soft and gentle you want right now, or the strong and domineering?”

  Graham grabbed hold of her waist and brought her down on him as he tilted his hips up, driving deeply into her. Again and again. Maggie arched her back, grinding her pelvis into his, needing to feel his release. Needing to feel hers again, only this time she didn’t want it to come from gentle caresses. She needed this orgasm to come from pure, raw, animal, meaningless sex.

  They both called out at the same time before she collapsed on top of Graham. Her dress still covered her, and their sweat mingled, their scent permeating the air. They lay in silence as their heart rates lowered and their breathing evened.

  She’d just had the best sex of her life. On her freaking therapy couch. Damn, Maggie was in trouble.

  Chapter Seven

  Graham

  Feeling her body tense above his, Graham wrapped his arms around her and held Maggie still. “That brain. I feel it moving.”

  “No, that’s something else moving.”

  Graham laughed, not a bit ashamed that he was growing hard, ready to go at it again. Like him, Maggie used humor to avoid serious talk. Having sex with her patient in her office probably had the sexy doctor in turmoil. Glad that he was the one to help her escape whatever demons she had been facing, he stroked her back lovingly, taking a minute to enjoy the aftermath.

  He’d watched her for a few minutes before making his presence known this morning. Maggie’s frown and slouched shoulders were incongruent with her sexy dress and gorgeous mane of red hair. He wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face.

  Confident he’d done just that, Graham gently pulled her dress down, covering her exposed ass that he’d had yet to see.

  Unfortunately, Maggie took that gesture as playtime being over. And she didn’t seem ready for it to be over. She sat up and flipped her leg over him, flashing him a naughty little image of her sweetness. He grinned and she snorted.

  “Seriously?”

  “What?” he said. “That was…nice.”

  “What, the sex or the flash?”

  “The flash was an added bonus. The sex.” He let out a loud breath. “I don’t think I can formulate the words to describe that.” Graham stood, then bent over to pull up his boxers and jeans. Looking around, he found his shirt flung over a plant. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”

  She spun around, noticed the shirt, and tried to hide her smile. Call him a pig, but he couldn’t help flexing a little as he put his shirt back on.

  A noise outside the door changed the mood in the air.

  “Tiffany’s here. Oh my God. I can’t believe I…we just…you have to go. Now.”

  “Do you want to fix your hair first?”

  “What? No, I want you to go. This was wrong.” Maggie started for the door but Graham pulled her back.

  “Hey, it’s okay.” He ran his hands down her curls, smoothing the I just had sex on the couch look and kissed her cheek. “And this was so right.”

  “You’re my patient. I can’t write an unbiased report after we…after you…it’s not ethical. I could lose my license.”

  “Then don’t.” He gripped her hands in his and brought them to his lips. “Screw the report. I’ll go see another therapist.”

  Maggie shook her head. “My reputation. I could lose everything. If word gets out that you had to see someone else because I—”

  “Because we have chemistry? And no, I’m not one to kiss and tell. I keep my private life private.” He hoped she didn’t notice the irony of the situation. Graham’s life was anything but private at the moment, which was what brought him to her therapy couch. Well, at first. Today’s visit had nothing to do with the outside world and everything to do with the undeniable sexual chemistry between the two of them. “I’ll call my attorney right now and ask to see a different therapist.”

  “What if he asks why?”

  Graham sat down, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight until he felt her body relax. “Conflict of interest.”

  “That’s too lame,” she murmured into his chest.

  “You were too ugly to look at.” He felt her body shake and a giggle escaped her lips. In truth, Maggie was handpicked because she was a female who had a reputation for being tough, and for her successful anger management counseling program. Her signature clearing him would go farther than a stuffed shirt’s. It was like having a female defense attorney on a rape case, or so the higher ups had said.

  At the time, Graham hadn’t cared who his therapist was. He just wanted to follow orders and get back in the air.

  “Our hour is up. You really need to go,” Maggie said as she pulled away from him.

  “I’m not waiting until Friday to see you again.” He’d hoped to get his wings back by this weekend and wanted to spend every moment he could with her. From what he heard last week, her schedule was pretty full.

  “I can’t. Graham, this was…nice, but it was a one-time thing. You’re leaving for Texas soon and I’ll be here in Rocky Harbor.”

  Since when did he push for something more and have the woman brush him off with a wham-bam-thank you? She pulled down her skirt and tucked her perfect breasts back into her bra.

  “If you need a recommendation for other the
rapists, I’ll have Tiffany email you some names.” Maggie opened the door and waited for Graham to exit.

  Knowing she had another appointment coming and Tiffany was around the corner, he took his exit with dignity. “Thank you, Ms. O’Fallon, for the session, but there’s no chance in hell another therapist will be able to live up to your talent.” He walked by the receptionist’s desk and smiled. “Have a nice day, Tiffany.”

  He sure as hell would.

  Not knowing what to do with the rest of his day, he hopped in his Jeep and drove aimlessly north, toward Portland. He hoped Luke wasn’t out on a call. When Graham pulled into the fire station lot, he saw his brother and two other firefighters shooting hoops.

  “How about a game of two-on-two?” he called out as he closed the car door behind him.

  “I’ll take the cocky bastard,” Luke said to the other guys.

  “Let me guess. He’s one of your brothers,” the shorter one grumbled.

  “Yeah, but he’s too pretty to know how to play ball and Luke’s got his panties in a bunch thinking about his wedding. We can handle these two, Mark.”

  “Graham. These idiots are Mark and Brian. Their bark is a lot bigger than their bite. And their muscle.” Luke clapped Graham on the back in their typical brotherly greeting.

  “The hell you say. First one to twenty?” Brian dribbled the ball in between his legs as he eyed the Riley brothers.

  “Game on,” Graham said right before Brian threw the ball at him.

  The men played aggressively, yet fairly, jabbing each other and fouling with just enough roughness to prove their toughness, but not so much as to be considered a brute.

  In the end the Riley brothers smoked the other two. “Rematch. Tomorrow,” Mark called over his shoulder as he headed inside the station.

  “It was nice meeting you, Riley.” Brian shook his head and wiping sweat, whistled as he walked away.

  “They seem like good guys.” Graham picked up the bottom of his polo and wiped his face.

  “I have a change of clothes inside,” Luke offered.

  “Nah. I’m going to head back to the house and shower anyway.”