“Lexi told me about this great spa down there – said she would take me if we have enough time.” Maggie let the genuine excitement creep into her voice. “I’ve never been to a real spa before.”
Yeah, Michael had heard about that place from Ian. Lexi hit it every time she travelled down that way. Said she came back smoother and softer than silk. Just thinking about Maggie returning to him all buffed and waxed had him hardening painfully.
Maybe he was being paranoid. Maybe this trip really was only about meeting with the board of the Celtic Goddess Corporation with some feminine pampering on the side. He took one look at those big, pleading green eyes and shook his head.
“Come here,” he commanded, using that deep, low voice that she said made her tingle in all the right places. She obeyed him without hesitation. His suspicion immediately rose up again.
“That was too easy,” he said when she straddled his lap, locking his arms around her. “What are you up to?”
“I’m going to be gone for almost two days,” she said, licking beneath his jaw, burying her hands in his hair. “I need a little extra to hold me over.”
Oh. Well, that made perfect sense. Michael gave her a warning growl as his hands found their way beneath her shirt, skimming along her waist. He kept his hands there, gently needing the soft flesh. She sucked in a breath, her hands freezing momentarily.
“I love how you’re filling out again,” he breathed against her ear, before all thoughts but one fled his mind.
––––––––
“They’re up to something, Ian,” Michael said for the tenth time. “I’m sure of it.”
Now that Maggie was physically gone, it all seemed much clearer to him. Whether it was a sixth sense or subtle changes in her behavior – or possibly both, Michael was convinced that Maggie wasn’t telling him everything about her trip down to Benton with Lexi. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was. It was the same kind of feeling he’d had when she’d been experiencing all of those warning signs after her fall and hadn’t wanted him to know. After that experience, Michael swore he would never ignore that feeling again.
She’d seemed preoccupied and distracted that morning. Maggie had tried to pass it off as a fear of flying. Since her first experience in a plane had been with his adrenalin-junkie brother Sean, that seemed believable enough, but Michael had been with her on the much gentler trip back and she hadn’t seemed bothered in the least. Maybe she was just too worried about him at the time to give it much thought, but he wasn’t entirely convinced.
And she’d picked at her breakfast. No big surprise there if she was truly nervous about the meeting, but he kept catching her absently placing her hand over her stomach while she appeared to be a million miles away. It was her reaction when he asked her about it that had the warning bells sounding in his head. She’d looked almost afraid, like she’d been caught doing something wrong, and from that point on had made an obvious effort to keep both hands on the table.
At the time he’d thought she was self-conscious about gaining a few pounds. It was why he’d made sure he told her how much that pleased him. But now, he wasn’t so sure that was it at all.
And then there was the packing issue. Luckily, he’d double-checked her overnight bag; otherwise she would have found herself with four shirts, two bras, and no pants or underwear when she went to change that night. She tried to laugh it off, saying that with Michael around she was so used to going without clothes the thought of having to wear them all day was rather foreign to her. To prove her point, she’d lifted her skirt to show him that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. That distracted him for a little while, as he’d had the sudden urge to bend her over the bed and investigate her claim thoroughly. But again, the moment Aidan’s limo had arrived, the unease began to resurface.
In the back of the limo, the atmosphere had been tense. It was subtle, really, but it was there. Several times Michael caught the furtive little glances between the two women when they thought he wasn’t looking. The rest of the time, Lexi had gone out of her way not to look at him directly. When she spoke with him, he had the distinct impression her focus was on the top of his head rather than his eyes.
Kind of like Taryn was doing right now.
Michael mentioned this to Ian, but his brother didn’t seem quite as concerned at the time. As the day progressed, Taryn retreated into the shadows several times for texting. And while behind the bar, Taryn seemed distracted enough that he’d had to repeat himself on several occasions about the simplest of things. By mid-afternoon, even Ian began to suspect something as well.
“You know something, don’t you?” Michael blatantly accused, blocking Taryn’s exit to the quieter back room when her phone sounded out the tolling strains from “Hells Bells” announcing yet another incoming message. The look she gave him was too perfect, too innocent to be believable, because Taryn didn’t do innocent.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”