Page 12 of Man Cuffed
“Oh hell.” I shudder in sympathy. I hate chaos. “You need help moving something?”
“Not exactly. I spent the last couple hours getting the property manager involved, and the cleanup has already begun. But I can’t stay here tonight. They’re ripping out all the carpeting and drying the place out. My renters’ insurance is offering me a night at Motel 72 on Division. Is that a safe neighborhood?”
“Well, no,” I growl. “A woman shouldn’t stay there alone. That’s all they’ll do for you?”
“It’s eight o’clock on a Friday, though. They said I could call back on Monday and ask.”
I can’t stand the idea of her staying in that shithole all weekend. We see drugs and prostitution at that motel all the time. “Come here instead,” I hear myself saying.
There’s a silence before she speaks again. “That’s really generous, Maguire. You don’t have to do that.”
“I know,” I say, wondering if I’ll regret it later. “But it’s okay. Couple ‘a nights, right? We can be roommates.” She doesn’t even have to know how weird that will be for me. I haven’t had a woman stay over in my space more than a few times in ten years.
But it’s the right thing to do. Even if Nicole and I aren’t going anywhere as a couple.
“You’re a good man, Mac Maguire.”
Good enough, I suppose. And it’s just occurring to me that I’m about to have a lot of sex. Nicole and I don’t hold back when we’re together. And sharing a bed for a couple of nights? “Come right over.”
This good guy is going to have a fun and dirty weekend.
4That’s Not a Leg
Meg
“Do all the McAllister kids know how to cook?” I ask Cassidy as she peeks into my oven at the chicken she made. She mixed it with a dry rub of Indian spices before roasting it. Then she made a cucumber salad with yogurt and cherry tomatoes.
I keep her wine glass full and just watch.
“Yep. We all cook because our parents can’t. No lie.” She closes the oven door and rolls her eyes. “They hire everything out. In the days before Grubhub, that meant paying a personal chef or sending the nanny to fetch takeout. So we all grew up wishing for the homemade food on our friends’ tables. And now we all cook. Liam is probably the best, though.”
I’ve seen Liam in action in my sister’s kitchen. It’s pretty sexy, I have to admit. There’s something about having a man cook for you.
“Are your parents excellent cooks?” Cassidy asks.
“They are,” I admit.
“That’s probably why you aren’t. Just saying.”
“Oh,” I say slowly. “Is that also why I’m not an overachiever? Oh, wait—my sister is, though.” She’s a shrink with her own practice. “Can achievement skip a generation?”
“That’s an interesting question, but…” Cassidy breaks off. “Did you hear that?” she whispers. “It sounded like moaning.”
Ooh! It’s showtime, apparently. I clap my hands together, then beckon, urging my friend closer to the screen door.
Cassidy’s pale eyebrows lift. “Omigod,” she whispers. “Are they starting up?”
In the two weeks I’ve lived here, I’ve heard more sex than a sound tech on a porn shoot. Clearly the cop next door and his girlfriend are sex fiends. She lives there now, too! I’ve spotted her in the hallway, arriving home from work, a shiny new key in her hand and a happy smile on her face.
I’d be happy too if I were getting it from Mr. Stamina every few hours. I swear, they’re like rabbits on steroids. Every night as I lay in bed, I can hear all the dirty things he whispers to her.Put your hands up. Do as I say. Ride me, sugar.
Just thinking about his deep, gruff voice makes me feel all tingly.
And that nickname?Sugar. He must really love her.
Sigh.
Cassidy has heard all about the sexual soundtrack in apartment 503, although she hasn’t experienced it. She won’t right now, either. Because the sounds next door aren’t sex. There are a couple of unfamiliar bumps to the wall. And I hear the girlfriend’s voice.
