Page 2 of Can We Try?

“Eric was sweet at first. He said and did all the right things. Until he didn’t. It started slow. He’d ask me if the outfit I was wearing was really what I wanted to wear. Then we’d be at dinner and I’d order a steak and he’d ask me if a salad might be better. Little by little he tore me down, and I know you don’t have to tell me that I’m the fool that let him.”

“Did you love him?” I don’t know why I ask, but I can’t take the words back now.

“I thought I did at the time, but once I was away from him, and I could see the abuse for what it was, I knew it wasn’t love. I think maybe I was in love with the idea of him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted to be wanted. I wanted that one person who was all mine. I wanted someone to look at me the way those guys upstairs look at my friends.”

“You deserve that,” I tell her, leaning a little closer than before.

She rests her hand on my arm. “Thanks, Lachlan. It would also help for him to want me… like, really want me,” she says.

“You said you wanted to be wanted,” I remind her.

“I did, and I do. But I just want someone who wants to spend their time with me. It would also be nice if they wanted to be inside me just as badly.” She slaps her hands over her face. “Forget I said that. Why am I spilling all of this to you?”

Abandoning her foot massage, I move in even closer and pull her hands from her face. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” I assure her.

“Having your boyfriend tell you that he no longer finds you desirable and that’s why he had to get his rocks off somewhere else, that destroys a girl’s ego, you know?”

“He’s a moron,” I spit out. “Maggie, look at me.” She lifts her head from where she’s been staring down at her lap. “He lied. You’re beautiful, and any man would be damn lucky to have you in his bed.”

She stares at me as if she’s trying to decide if my words are sincere. They are. She’s not going to find any deceit. Maggie is a fucking knockout with blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and a body I’d like to wrap myself around. She’s also an amazing person. She’s been there for Emerson, Monroe, Briar, and Brogan. She’s great with the kids, she’s a hard worker, and I’ve seen her in her scrubs.

Sexy as fuck.

“Would you?” she asks, her voice soft.

It takes me a minute to understand what she’s asking. “Yes.” I swallow hard. My cock thinks that her question is an invitation, and I’m hard as stone. I shift to try to hide the evidence of my arousal, but her eyes drop to my crotch, and when she licks her lips, I can’t stop the moan that falls from my lips.

“Mags, you can’t look at me like that,” I warn her.

“Like what?” she asks innocently.

“Like you want to find out what it’s like to be in my bed.”

Her eyes find mine. “What if I do?”

“Aren’t you worried that’s going to complicate things?”

“We’re both adults, right? I know the score, Lachlan. This is a one-time thing.”

“So, when we wake up in the morning, you’re going to pretend like this never happened? That you didn’t spend the night riding my cock? Because I promise you, it’s going to be all night. If we’re doing this, I’m getting my fill of you.”

“Is that supposed to scare me away?” she asks with a small laugh. “Lachlan, it’s been years since I’ve felt a man’s hands on me. His body hovering over mine. Hell, I haven’t kissed a guy since breaking things off with Eric.”

“How long?” My voice is gruff as desire courses through me.

“Years.” I stare at her, and she gives me what I want. “Since I graduated from college three years ago. He missed my graduation, and I went to his place worried about him, only to find him on the couch, with some random woman, both of them naked as the day they were born, exploring each other’s bodies. Something he hadn’t done with me in months. So, yeah, three years, probably more like four. I can’t remember exactly. I just know it’s been a long damn time.”

I take a minute to process what she’s said. “No dates since then?”

“Yeah, but none that I wanted more from. Part of that is my issue. I just… don’t want to go through that again, so my trust of men is tainted.”

“But you trust me?”

“Yeah, I mean, I know you. I know you’re a good man, and I know you won’t expect anything else from me other than a hot night between the sheets. That’s your thing, and for once, just this once, I want it to be my thing too. Maybe it’s because I’ve been surrounded by loved-up couples all weekend, and maybe it’s the gentle massage you were giving me, but whatever the reason, I want to do this with you.”

---