Command Performance

“Let’s move away from the torches,” Maggie suggested, stepping out of Gerry’s reach. “I’m getting a little warm.” She led them closer to the pool edge and positioned herself on the far side of Hunter.

“Better?” Hunter asked.

“Much.” Maggie turned back to Gerry, who’d followed her like a dog chasing a bone. “I understand you’re leaving on a cruise soon.”

“Next week. After the tenure review board meeting,” Gerry said. “I would love to see someone from the military studies area awarded tenure, which leaves you and Dan as the primary contenders for the job. But if you’re writing a bestseller, the college would have a hard time turning you down. I can make that clear to them.” Gerry inched closer to Maggie, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he might force Hunter into the pool. “Why don’t you join me for a drink at the bar and tell me more about the book that is going to make you the youngest tenured professor in the political science department?”

One step away from doing a back flop into the water, Hunter decided he’d had enough. This man was drunk and determined to get his hands on Maggie. In his book that meant party time was over. Maybe she didn’t want his help, but she was damn sure going to get it.

“Maggie, we need to be going,” Hunter interrupted. “Remember you have that Skype date with Riley? I would hate for you to miss an interview. And this is the only time he can talk.”

“A Skype session? Tonight?”

Hunter saw the confusion in her expression but plunged ahead, taking her by the arm and backing her away from Gerry’s reach. “Yeah. You wanted to do a follow-up, right?”

He saw the precise moment her confusion gave way to a less flattering emotion. “Of course.” She made a show of glancing at her watch and then up at Gerry with an apologetic expression. “I was so caught up in our little chat, I almost forgot to keep track of the time.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Hunter said.

“Lucky me,” she muttered, pulling her arm free and stepping forward to kiss Gerry’s cheek. To the jolly, groping professor, she said, “Thank you for your support, Gerry. It means so much to me.”

Hunter reached out to reclaim her arm, but she sidestepped him. Pivoting on her heel, she headed for the path that ran alongside the house to the driveway. He followed.

* * *

MAGGIE MARCHED TO her car feeling as if her world was shifting beneath her feet. It was as if the gravel had turned to quicksand. She knew this feeling, remembered it from her childhood. Her control had slipped away at the worst possible moment.

“You could thank me now,” Hunter said once they were both in the car. “That guy is a jerk.”

Eyes narrowed, she turned to him, her hands gripping the steering wheel. “That jerk could make or break my career.”

“He was all hands.”

“I had the situation under control,” Maggie ground out as she pulled onto the main road.

“I kept waiting for you to tell him to back off. When you didn’t I thought I’d le

nd a hand. You can’t expect me to stand by and do nothing.”

“You should have let me handle him. I need Carter’s support if I’m going to get tenure.” The muscles in her shoulders tensed and she took the bend in the road a little too fast. Across from her, Hunter held on to the door. “If you hadn’t made up some stupid excuse about an interview, which by the way made me look like a careless idiot for standing around drinking when I supposedly had work to do, I would have removed his wandering hands and kept the conversation focused on my book.”

“You don’t have to worry, Maggie. Good old Gerry is fascinated by your book. You already have his support.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“I’ve worked with guys like him before. Unless he’s trying to grab Dan’s ass now, you have his vote. Trust me, Maggie.”

She snorted. Trust him? The man had just railroaded her into walking away from an important conversation.

“You did last night,” Hunter added.

She doubted she’d ever forget how it felt to stand at his mercy with her pants around her ankles. But she’d been acting out a fantasy. Tonight he’d messed with her reality.

“That’s different. This is work. My future. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Then tell me,” he said quietly.

Maggie turned down her long private drive and accelerated. When they reached the parking area in front of the house, she came to an abrupt stop and turned to face him.