Free Maggie's Desire by Heidi Lynn Anderson Page A

felt like sandpaper. She gathered the box full of discarded tissues and made her way to the trashcan. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked Nick.
    Nick stretched on the floor and frowned up at her. "Maggie, I'm sorry."
    She stopped short. Guilt washed over her. Nick had been so great and she'd spent hours crying. He deserved better from her. "No, I'm sorry," she said. "It's not you. I don't regret anything we did."
    A sad smile crossed his face. "I'm glad you feel that way. I want to help you and I don't know how."
    Maggie grinned for the first time in hours. "I wish I could feel for you what I feel for Brian. You are every woman's dream man."
    He blew out an exasperated sigh. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride."
    Her stomach flipped. "I'm sorry. I'm stupid."
    Nick stood in one fluid motion. "You're not stupid." His hand came up to brush her face. "You're one of the bravest people I know."
    She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm so brave."
    He gripped her chin. "You took what you wanted, and I, for one, am glad I was a part of it."
    She stepped out of his arms. "What's wrong with me? How did I go from being a victim of attempted rape to having a threesome?"
    Nick stepped into her and gripped her shoulders. "It's the club's fault."
    The chuckle rumbling in her chest hurt. "That must be it."
    A shadow crossed his face.
    "What?" she asked.
    "Nothing. It's none of my business."
    She slapped his arm. "Oh, come on. You're all tied up in my business. Now spill."
    "Okay, are you sure Brian and the lifestyle he leads is what you want?"
    She sagged under his hand. "Nick, I experience the lifestyle on a daily basis and know what it entails."
    "So, are you telling me you like the whips and chains shit?"
    She grinned at his perplexed expression. "Yeah, I think I might be a switch."
    "A switch? What the fuck is a switch?"
    She slapped her hand to her forehead. "I forget you're into kink, but not up on the lifestyle terminology." She took in a deep breath. "A switch is someone that can be the Dominant and submissive. They are just as comfortable being tied-up and flogged as doing the tying and flogging.
    "I don't know whether to be turned on or run screaming."
    She grinned, relief filling her. "You need to move down here and hang at the club more."
    He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I know. Ava's tells me the same thing all the time." He walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed two bottles of water. "The apartment across the hall is vacant and Miami-Dade Fire Department just posted that they need EMT paramedic fire fighters." Nick strolled back to Maggie and handed her a water.
    She kissed his cheek. "What are you waiting for? It sounds like it's meant to be."

Chapter Eight
     
    Anxiety clawed at Brian's chest. He raised his hand to knock on Maggie's door and wavered. What Julie said to him still swirled around in his mind. It killed him to admit he used the club and his work to bury his head in the sand. It was time he dealt with the past.
    He shrugged his shoulders to relieve the pent up stress weighing him down and knocked. Brain heard Nick tell Maggie he'd get it. The knot in his stomach tightened. "Asshole," he said swallowing back the acid in his throat.
    Watching Nick make love to Maggie was the hardest thing he'd ever had to see. Never again would he give away what was his . Seeing and hearing Maggie call someone else's name still stabbed at his heart. It used to turn him on to hear a woman cry out another man's name. It didn't matter what name she called, just as long as she was enjoying herself.
    He'd never wanted to change places with a man until he saw Maggie lick Nick's cock for the first time. The combination of wanting to kill—and be—Nick had an odd mix of lust and resentment swirling red-hot in his veins.
    The security chain jangled and thudded against the door and it opened. Nick grinned at Brian.
    "Come back for more of a show?" he asked.
    Brian shoved his hands in his pockets.