Second-Chance Seduction(54)

                But that wasn’t the point, was it? The point was, she had done something horribly wrong and stupid. How many times had she reminded herself in the past week that Connor MacLaren was out for revenge, pure and simple? How many ways had she practiced saying No! to him?

                And with one kiss, her stratagem had crumbled. Granted, it had been a very, very good kiss, but now what? She’d let go of every last qualm she’d brandished as a first line of defense and now she was left with, well, nothing. If she were smart, she would get dressed and go back home to her grandfather and the goats.

                More than anything else, this proved what a hypocrite she was. After all, she’d spent years trying to avoid risks, ridding her life of any little thing that might bring her pain, and here she was again, risking it all for a chance to…to what? Find a love to last a lifetime? Yeah, right. With the guy everyone—including him—thought she’d unceremoniously dumped ten years ago? Get real.

                Maggie squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

                She wished she could blame Connor for coercing her, but he’d made a point of insisting that it was her decision to continue. Awfully clever of him.

                Well, Maggie would just have to chalk this up as one more bad decision in a lifetime full of them.

                Alan would say—

                Stop!

                Maggie cringed. She had a long-standing rule never to start a sentence with her ex-husband’s name.

                Connor stretched, then turned and leaned up on his elbow to gaze down at her. “You’re thinking too much. I can hear your brain ticking away.”

                “Sorry. Sometimes my inner thoughts can get pretty loud.”

                Smiling, he brushed a strand of hair off her forehead, then slowly sobered. That couldn’t be a good sign. “Maggie, that was…”

                A mistake?

                A horrible error in judgment?

                Was he waiting for her to finish the sentence? Was there a multiple-choice response?

                “Phenomenal,” he murmured, and bent his head to kiss the tender skin beneath her chin. “Incredible. Mind-bending.”

                “Awesome?” she suggested lightly.

                “Beyond awesome.” He nudged the blanket down so he could kiss and nibble her neck and her ear and her jaw and, oh, sweet mother, Maggie’s synapses were starting to sizzle. She wanted him all over again.

                Phenomenal, he’d said. Would this be a good time to jump up and do a little happy dance? Maybe not. And really, even though the sex was good—or rather, damn good, phenomenal, awesome—it didn’t change the bigger picture, the one in which Maggie knew she’d screwed up royally. So right now she needed to stop fooling around and think about her next move. She should leave. But what if he changed his mind about their deal? What if he changed the terms? Was it awful of her to wonder about that at a time like this? Yes, but…oh dear, should she pack her bags? Should she eat something first? She ought to think about—

                “You are so beautiful, Maggie,” he said, trailing kisses along her breastbone. Then he reached for her. “Come here.”

                She stared at his tousled dark hair, ran her hands along the strong muscles of his shoulders and back and pondered whether she was making another mistake again. Oh, hell, was there any doubt?