Purgatory Masters(5)

Like what had he been doing since high school? Had he never left home? What about college? What about marriage? Was there a significant other in his life? What if he was gay?

With that thought her own shitty past crashed in on her. If she started questioning Tucker he might do the same to her and she didn’t need anyone digging through her closet. Those bodies were too fresh. The ink had barely dried on her divorce papers and the jail cell still gave her nightmares.

She settled into the seat on a sigh. Better to leave high school where it belonged, accept his generous offer to deliver her home safely and then forget all about Tucker Lewis. Yep, returning to her parent’s lake home had definitely been a mistake.

Tucker climbed into his seat and started his SUV. Warm air blasted through the vents and Maggie moaned. She held up her frozen hands and ignored the pain of sudden heat across super cold flesh. She desperately needed to thaw out.

“I’m surprised you’re out here like that.” He turned the knob and more warm air rushed out.

“Like what?” Did he have a problem with her being out here alone? What the hell? She didn’t need a chaperone.

“Without a jacket. Or emergency supplies in your car.”

Ohh. Feeling incredibly stupid for jumping to the wrong conclusion, Maggie straightened her spine and dropped her hands to her lap.

“What’s wrong?” Tucker asked.

Maggie ignored the question for a few seconds and stared out the window. “Why would you think something is wrong?”

“Oh I don’t know. I asked a simple question and your whole demeanor changed. I’m not your dad. I wasn’t about to start giving you the third degree.”

Her dad he certainly was not. She had too much on her plate for the sudden attraction she felt. It made her crazy uncomfortable. Not that she was about to tell him that. She made the mistake of glancing up to find him studying her with those intelligent eyes. The lack of reproach disarmed her.

“It’s just been a rough day.” She sighed. More like a rough year. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m more grateful than you can imagine that you came by when you did. I was certain I could make it home without a problem but the snow moved in faster than I expected.”

Tucker put the vehicle in reverse and backed up until he could straighten the wheels on the road. With slow precision he began making his way down the hill.

“These storms tend to do that around here.”

After his last comment, the silence stretched between them and Maggie grew nervous. She should say something. Make idle conversation or some other idiotic thing.

Fortunately, Tucker rescued her by speaking up first. “So what brings you back? I thought you were busy being a professor at some fancy college.”

Maggie hesitated. Shit. Why had she wished for conversation? He’d gone right to the heart of her secrets. “I decided to take some time away from my career to write a book.”

He glanced at her. “Oh yeah? What kind of book?”

Uh oh. Here we go. “I’ve been studying human sexuality for many years now. I figured it was time to start compiling all of my data into something useful.”





Chapter Two

Tucker clenched his jaw to maintain control. She’d opened the door with the mention of her studies and he needed to take it slow rather than charge through with guns blazing. He’d known immediately when Maggie had returned. She must have forgotten how fucking insane the small town grapevine was. The minute she’d been spotted at the gas station near her parent’s cabin, the phone lines had lit up all over the county. His sister, Nina, owned the small café out there and she lived for gossip. He’d been her third phone call.

That was two months ago and aside from a couple of spottings at the lakeside coffee shop, Maggie had remained in hiding. Not that he blamed her. Curious about her life, he’d looked her up on the internet and gotten more than he bargained for. Fired from her job, divorced from her high profile husband who’d publicly disowned her, and her research discredited. All because she’d been swept up in an FBI raid on a sex club.

The last part had interested him the most. In fact, his interest had soared over the fact they might have more in common than she knew. He’d immediately wanted to know why she’d been in a BDSM club. Fortunately, he already possessed the connections he’d needed to find out. Some quiet inquiries had netted him better information than he’d hoped. Miss Maggie had more than a passing interest in her research. But what did it all mean? He had an idea, although jumping to conclusions at this point was a bit premature.

“Hmm. That certainly sounds promising. What aspect of human sexuality have you chosen to write about?” He couldn’t wait to hear the details of her interest from her own lips so he could gauge her reactions.