Dean and I had said our goodnights and gone our separate ways. I tried to tell myself it had been for the best that Dean had come along when he had. God only knew what might have happened if he hadn’t. I hadn’t lied when I’d said Maggie was persuasive.

Every instinct I had, every hard-won drop of common sense in me, told me I was playing with fire. I should have kept my distance, from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her at the station. Definitely as soon as I’d found out who she was.

But something between us was already out of control. I’d been so goddamned close, more than once, to taking her in a fury of passion and driving desire. Every day, she got deeper under my skin. Not only because I needed her body, but because I wanted her. I craved her presence, I waited for the look in her eyes. All I could think about was the feel of her skin and the scent of her flesh. She pushed me, challenging me with her ideas and her spirit. No woman had ever had the power to move me like Maggie could…

I headed upstairs in the dark, silent house. Bess had turned in hours ago, and I had the entire left wing of the house to myself. I closed the bedroom door behind me and exhaled long and hard. It was wrong, all fucking wrong, but there was no holding back any longer. I stripped, air hissing through my teeth as I set my cock free. It bobbed and twitched, the head darkening with its freedom… and anticipation…

I moved to the window and looked out over the dark, sweltering night. The only light was the one down the hill, just outside Maggie’s door. My cock raged again and my balls tightened, almost to the point of agony. I wrapped my hand, still bearing traces of Maggie’s wet desire, hard around my cock and started to stroke. I pictured her, naked in the heat, and languid on top of the sheets. She wanted me… and I fucking wanted her. My hand sped up as I imagined my cock where my fingers had been. I’d be wet with her juices, filling her like she’d never imagined. My cock was the challenge, and I wanted to watch as she took it… every long, thick inch until…

I exploded, pulsing hard, violent streams of seed onto the window glass. I cursed it for separating us, hating the distance between us. But my body drove on, and my climax seemed to threaten sanity itself. For a split second, I felt like I was with her, and my skin tingled with cold and the feel of rushing water. The moment I tried to grasp it, the feeling was gone. But the last powerful waves emptied my body completely, and I staggered from the release and the strength of emotion behind it. I collapsed on the bed and dragged an arm over my eyes.

There was housekeeping to take care of… but for the moment, it could wait. My heart was still pounding. So was my cock. And I wanted to savor that fleeting moment… when it had seemed like I was with her. My body was spent, but my climax had freed something inside me. It was out there now… searching in the dark. Hunting for the one feeling I never wanted to lose again…

My Maggie.

Thursday

Fuck the paper. It would wait. First thing in the morning, I had headed for the warehouse. Maggie’s warehouse.

It was early, but she was already there. So was Dean along with a handful of workers. They all wore tees with the RemedAid logo. Maggie had hers tied at the waist, and she was wearing the same cut-off shorts she’d been wearing at the bus station. And the same distracting boots...

“Joe?” She stood up, leaving the box still on the ground. She’d been about to pick it up, and had the proper body mechanics down pat. Her legs had been apart, her knees wide and bent. Damned unladylike… And so fucking hot.

“I thought about what you said last night… about taking a chance.” I couldn’t help letting my eyes roam, however briefly, over her bare skin, already glossed by a sheen of fine perspiration. “I’m here to help.”

“I… you… you want to volunteer?” she asked, looking up at me with wide eyes. “It’s only packing up the trucks right now… but we had a few people call out. I could use all the help we can get.”

She showed me around, indicating which stacks needed to be moved to which vehicle. Some of the other volunteers would briefly interrupt for directions, and she would answer without hesitation. She had an air of cool authority about her that kept the entire operation running smoothly. And she clearly had the respect of every man and woman there. I’d always known she was incredible and capable of amazing things. But seeing the scope of her vision and all she had accomplished was still impressive as hell.

By the time we headed back to the empty, waiting trucks, the sun had risen in the sky and yet another day had turned swelteringly hot. Two hours later, and I’d soaked through my shirt.

“Here,” she said, offering me a cold bottle of water and a dry logo shirt. We’d worked side by side almost the entire time. There had been too much to do to spend energy on conversation. So instead, we’d settled into the rhythm of hard, physical work. It felt natural with her, and for the first time in a long while, we’d been completely comfortable in each other’s presence.

I took the water and downed it in a single swallow. Then I stripped off my sweaty shirt and tossed it aside. “I’m good as is,” I replied. “Too fucking hot for more clothes than necessary.”

I went back to work, feeling her eyes on my back as she leaned against a stack of boxes and finished her own water. Tiny as she was, she set a hell of a pace.

A few minutes later, she was back at my side. We finished the first truck, and while Maggie dealt with phone calls and last minute organizational details, I finished the second. The other volunteers had packed up the last of the few remaining supplies, and I’d tucked them into the back of the van. Dean had left for class hours ago. Clouds were dark on the horizon as the long day started to wind down.

“We make a good team,” Maggie said, as she closed and locked the warehouse doors. She pulled a cooler out of the front seat of the van and handed me a tall, ice-cold bottle of beer. I took it and twisted the top off and handed it back to her. “We do,” I answered. “And I see the boss always comes prepared…”

She laughed, as I opened the second bottle and drained it off by half. She sipped at hers, and I felt her eyes again on my skin.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “We’re leaving in the morning, and I’m not sure we’d have made it without your help.” She took another swallow… a longer one.

“I know it hasn’t always come across, Maggie, but I respect what you’re doing. It’s a hell of an operation you’ve got here.” I reached over to tuck a long strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m starting to believe that if anyone has the ability to save the whole world, it just might be you.”

The last volunteer raised a hand in farewell, and we watched as he climbed into an old pickup and drove away, clattering out of view. Maggie turned and took a breath, stopping before she spoke.

“What?” I asked.

“Like I said, we leave in the morning… I was just wondering if you had picked out that reporter we’d talked about. You were interested in getting our trip on film…”

“I did,” I answered back, without looking at her. “He hasn’t been behind a camera in a while. But he’s good and he’s trustworthy.” I felt her eyes on my bare chest, on my arms. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was, remembering the same things I was… “He wants this opportunity damned badly.”

She let out a short breath and her shoulders relaxed. “Can he be ready and here at the warehouse by four a.m.? I’m hoping to get on the road before five.”

“He can,” I smiled. “And he will. I’ll make sure of it.” I walked her over to her car and opened the door for her. “Thank you for today, Maggie. This was good. Good for us, I mean.” I reached out and touched her cheek. She leaned into it, ever so slightly, and smiled back.

“Yeah,” she said. “I… I’m going to miss you while we’re gone.” She looked up at me with those big, dark eyes, looking suddenly vulnerable. “The reporter… Four in the morning. You won’t forget to tell him?”

“I won’t forget, Maggie. You can count on him.”

She climbed into the car and headed down the road, a haze of dust magnifying the tail lights behind her. I stood for a few minutes longer until she’d disappeared from view.

“You can count on it, baby,” I said into the thickening night air. “Four a.m. sharp…”