What’s the use? I’m drunk, and if I don’t shut up, I’m going to tell him he’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. She closed her eyes again.
Maggie felt the swing shift abruptly. “What the?” She opened her eyes.
Reid was lowering himself into the hammock.
“Slide over,’’ he said. “No, get up. What are you doing facing the house? We gotta look at the water. We can see the lighthouse from here.”
“You need to get out first. I’m stuck,’’ Maggie said. “You do weigh the thing down some,’’ she continued, looking at him half-in, half-out of the roped swing.
He clambered out, rolled to the ground, and Maggie felt the hammock jolt back and forth.
“Reid, I’m already tipsy. I don’t need this.’’
He grabbed both sides of the swing and stopped the motion. Looking down, he gave her one of those killer smiles she was starting to get hooked on.
Reid held out a hand.
“Come on.’’ He pulled her to her feet. Surprisingly, the spinning in her head stopped a bit. “Now, here’s the game plan,’’ Reid said matter-of-factly. “I’m getting in first, and you’re climbing in beside me,’’ he said, lowering himself into the swing, this time facing the water. “Come on.’’ He patted his chest.
“Reid, what you said in the kitchen—” Maggie sputtered.
“Just come on.” He pulled her down on him. “You gonna look at the stars with me or not?”
He brushed the hair away from her neck and situated her bottom in the tiny space to his left, propped her head on his chest, and covered her bare arms with his.
“Now where did we leave off last night?’’ he said. “Ah, the Big Dipper. Just over there,’’ he said, pointing across the sound.
Maggie was flabbergasted and electrified. After she made a fool of herself in the kitchen and he flat out turned her down, their legs were entwined, and he was rubbing his hands up and down her arms.
“I have to ask. What’s going on?” She didn’t know what to say.
His hands encircled her waist before moving to her shoulders. She quickly was catching on fire.
“Maggie, you are so dangerous,’’ he murmured in her ear as he shifted her weight toward him. “Just watching you dance …”
Before Maggie knew what was happening, she was lying on his stomach, staring directly into Reid’s eyes.
“I can’t take it anymore.’’ A mix of anger and frustration filled his voice.
Before Maggie knew what hit her, his lips claimed hers. She felt her mouth open and his tongue started a slow, rhythmic dance with hers. Her whole body came alive as her hands moved down his neck to his shoulders and chest. Somewhere deep inside, she heard a moan. His mouth now was on her neck.
“Oh,’’ she exhaled, moving her hands inside his shirt.
“Maggie, don’t stop,’’ he whispered as she flicked her tongue in his ear and slid it along his neck.
Despite the fact that she’d had too many glasses of wine, that a roomful of people were in sight, and that this man had all but rejected her once not long ago, this felt right. She didn’t usually throw herself at a man like this, and she surely didn’t make out in clear view of twenty people, but they couldn’t see her in the dark, could they? She let go of the thoughts.
Reid rubbed her neck, kissing her urgently. He groaned, clasped his arms around her, and shifted his weight. They tumbled out of the hammock and met the ground in a twisted pile.
“These damn things,’’ he growled.
“Can’t see too many of the stars down here.’’ Maggie laughed. “But who needs the stars?’’
He rolled on top of her, kissing her neck and ear. His hand slid up her smooth legs, creeping under her flimsy dress.
“Damn,’’ he breathed, toying with the silk fabric beneath her dress. He was slowly dragging them down her thighs.
Maggie, lost in the sensation, thought she would melt. If he didn’t stop, she would lose it, but her body craved every touch he gave.