Free The Rebel (The Millionaire Malones Book 3) by Victoria Purman Page A

hand with anything. Although he was putting on a brave face, he was still in pain, which meant everything took a little longer that it normally would have.
    He’d turned off the water and there was a silence before he started singing.His deep voice echoed in the small bathroom and the deep, satisfying sound of it bounced down the hallway to Maggie, tangled in her sheets on her sofa bed in the study.
    She smiled when she realised what it was.
    You broke my will, oh what a thrill …
    Maggie turned off her bedside lamp and exhaled, hoping sleep would come soon. He’d made it in and out of the shower twice, both times on his ownand without falling flat on his face or getting somehow stuck, wet and naked and unable to get dressed. Thank God he hadn’t asked for her help to get his shorts on and off.
    Bad idea. Don’t think about him being wet and naked. Oh, how she wished the long slow slide into sleep would come, but she was wide awake when she heard a knock on the door.
    ‘Maggie?’
    ‘Come in.’
    Cooper opened the door andin the dim light from the hallway, she watched him hobble into her room. He came over to the sofa bed and lowered himself on it with a moan and a grimace.
    ‘You okay? Do you need a hand with something?’ Maggie propped herself on her elbows.
    As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see he was wearing a towel tied at his waist. She could smell soap and could sense that he was still damp in placesshe couldn’t see.
    ‘I wanted to say something,’ he started.
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘About your six-year drought.’
    She sighed. ‘What about it?’
    Cooper was close. Leaning down into her personal space kind of close.
    ‘I wanted to tell you something, since you came over all true confessions on me before.’
    Maggie waited. ‘I’m listening.’
    ‘Six months.’ She could tell Cooper was smiling because she could seehis white teeth glowing in the dark.
    ‘Six months of what?’
    ‘Me. It’s been six months.’ He took a big breath and then exhaled. Toothpaste. Minty and clean. ‘Six long months since I’ve had sex.’
    ‘Six months?’ she asked in complete surprise. ‘No. I don’t believe that. I’ve seen the way women are with you. All those beach bunnies following you in a trail along the beach like baby ducks waddlingafter their mother. Didn’t I read that you were dating some minor actress or something?’
    He chuckled. ‘Don’t believe everything you read, Maggie.’
    ‘Why are you telling me this? You trying to make me feel better or something?’
    ‘Well, yeah. Six months actually feels like six years when you’re a bloke, Maggie.’
    ‘What makes you think I haven’t missed it? Because I have. I so have.’ And if theycontinued to talk about sex for one more second, she might explode.
    ‘Listen, Maggie.’ He ran a hand over his chin. ‘I’m sure you have. And what I wanted to say was, while it may have been a long time between drinks for you, it’s not because you’re not an amazing woman, you know that?’
    She could sense he was trying to be nice but she wasn’t in the mood to take nice. She didn’t want any of that, oh but you’ve got a lovely face kind of reassurance that, no matter how well meant, always turned out to be completely patronising and cruel. ‘Oh, please.’
    ‘It’s true. It kills me to have you thinking that it’s all because of you.’
    ‘Oh.’ This was the strangest pep talk she’d ever had from Cooper. She usually got the “Toughen up, don’t be a princess” kind of teasing from him. Especially in frontof Evan.
    ‘I’m not jerking your chain. You are incredible. Smart. Cute.’
    ‘You think I’m cute ?’ That had never been the look she was going for.
    His voice sounded kind of strangled. ‘Okay, you’re gorgeous.’
    She huffed. ‘Gorgeous sounds so much better than cute.’
    ‘And, you know, the fact that you haven’t had a man in your life—’
    ‘Or in my bed, you mean.’
    ‘—for six years is about