Sometimes it was her father’s face she saw, he who pushed the button that freed her from the cold place she’d confined herself to. Sometimes it was her mom.
Mostly it was Deke.
She stood and moved to his aisle. “Sir, I think I need more practice. Also, sometimes I get nervous on flights. I know a lot about what can go wrong from the engineering side. Way too much.”
“Do you want to sit with me? We can talk about the op more.”
She didn’t want to talk about the op, and it was obvious she needed to take a tiny bit of control. She sat on his lap, her arms going around him. She let her head find his broad shoulder and her breathing evened out, the dream she’d had the night before leaching away, warmth taking its place. “Tell me about your nieces and nephews. Are they being terrible? Angie tells me about her kids, but I haven’t heard a good Sylvester story in a long time.”
His arm wound around her waist, the other hand finding the outside of her thigh, holding her close. “Oh, that boy is so much trouble. Sweet kid, but I don’t think he has a brain. Last time I was home, he got stuck in the dog door and his sisters tried to grease him up with a stick of butter, but he wouldn’t budge. And then the dog, who couldn’t get out to pee, forgot all about the bathroom and just started licking the butter off.”
She laughed and relaxed and realized this plan might work. Unless that was a gun against her butt.
She wiggled a little, and Deke’s hand tightened.
“You’re playing with fire, baby,” he whispered against her ear.
“I’ll be still, Sir,” she replied. “Tell me more.”
She settled in. This might be one time she wouldn’t mind getting a little burned.
* * * *
Something had changed, and he wasn’t sure if he should thank the universe or curse it because his cock ached from hours of touching Maddie, holding her hand, taking care of her. He stood on her back patio and wondered if he even had the right to change the rules of the game on her.
He’d told her it was all practice for their ruse, and she’d done what she always did when she went all in on a subject. She’d been an excellent student and wanted to go in as prepared as possible, and he was trying to figure out a way to get into her bed tonight. It had been all he could think about during the flight.
Then he’d gotten to this ridiculous house and wondered what the hell he had to offer a woman who could afford this place. It wasn’t just nice. It was lush, luxurious. He was in what she’d called the outdoor living space, which included a sparkling grill and kitchen, a pool, and hot tub.
“Damn, man. This place is nice, but we need to talk about your girl.” Kyle strode out, obviously appreciating the amenities.
“Are we secure? Did you let Boomer and the women in?” He turned and sure enough, he could see Maddie talking to MaeBe in the kitchen, gesturing around as if to familiarize the other woman.
Boomer slid out the big floor-to-ceiling glass doors. He’d slept most of the flight but then he’d probably needed his rest to digest his lunch.
“We’re all secure. I checked the whole house. No one was listening in, but Mae did find something suspicious on Madeline’s alarm system,” Kyle explained. “The only camera is on the front door, and someone had piggybacked off it.”
“Do they know we cut them off?” He didn’t like the fact that someone had been watching her, seeing who was coming in and out of her home.
“Nah, Mae took care of it,” Boomer said. “She told me she’s duped some footage she found on the backlog and that should work until she can make a twenty-four-hour fake. She’s not concerned. I’m going to take the room over the front door. I can get on the roof from there if I need to. I’ll go over the whole house in the morning and build a couple of stashes in case we need them.”
Boomer would make an assessment of points of ingress and hide some weapons where he thought they would be easy to get to.
“How big is that room? Please tell me there are two beds,” Kyle pleaded.
“There’s a frilly daybed that won’t fit either one of you and a couch,” Deke announced. “Just sleep in Mae’s room. You won’t sleep if you don’t.”
“I’m not ready to sleep with her. I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her if we’re in the same bed,” Kyle shot back, and his eyes went steely. “Especially since MaeBe’s gotten spectacularly handsy this afternoon, and I know who to blame. You need to get control of your sub. She’s got to be the one who convinced MaeBe she needs to be physically stuck to me at all times. It’s very disconcerting.”
Yes, it was hard to be so freaking horny. “Why would Maddie convince MaeBe to do that?”
“I don’t know, man. You should figure it out because she’s obviously being a bad influence,” Kyle replied. “Mae’s a sweet girl who would never put me in a tough position.”
“I think she’s trying to get you into any position at all,” Boomer offered. “I don’t think she would be picky. Missionary. Doggy style. Cowgirl. Reverse cowgirl. I don’t think she cares.”
Kyle’s eyes rolled. “She’s not even thinking that way. She doesn’t know how I feel about her.”
“Well, she knows how she feels about you.” Boomer ran a hand over his head with a groan. He usually kept his sandy-colored hair in a military-style cut, but in the last year he’d let it grow out, and he seemed to be growing in a beard. “And I don’t think you’re as good at hiding stuff as you think you are.”
That was when Kyle ignored Boomer, who really did have a point.
“Talk to your sub,” Kyle ordered. “There’s zero reason for us to be uncomfortable when we don’t have to be.”
Kyle strode away, going back into the house.
“I’m pretty sure it was MaeBe who told Madeline how to get under your skin,” Boomer said, looking out over the pool. “This place is real pretty but something’s missing.”
“What do you mean by get under my skin?” He wasn’t going to question Boomer on the whole MaeBe thing. MaeBe was way sneakier than Kyle gave her credit for. She was on a pedestal with that man. MaeBe played board games at least twice a week, and she was excellent at strategy games. She could work an end around any strategy Deke could come up with. She might not always win, but she came close.
“It wasn’t just MaeBe.”
Deke groaned. Only one other person had been on the plane besides the five of them. “Big Tag is a meddling old man, and I’m going to tell him that.”
Boomer shrugged a big shoulder. “It’s your funeral. I might have overheard them. I started up the stairs to the plane and stopped because they were having a very interesting conversation. MaeBe’s fucking around with Kyle. Or rather MaeBe’s done fucking around with Kyle. She’s planning a wedding.”
“It couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy. I want to be there when he wakes up and has a wife and kid and wonders where he lost control.” He hoped Kyle ended up with as many kiddos as his meddling uncle and they caused just as much trouble. “Why would they tell Maddie to sit on my lap and take every chance she has to brush her body against mine?”