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  He made his way along the counter and stopped in front of a couple of ladies who looked ready for a drink. “Can I help you?”

  “Two rum and cokes, please.”

  He recognized the pretty face with a pair of blue eyes. “Sian Riley.” Well now, wasn’t she a blast from the past.

  “Michael fucking Monaghan.”

  “Actually I’ve dropped the fucking. I thought it sounded a little pretentious.”

  She laughed and leaned over the bar to accept a kiss on the cheek. “You’re a bit overdressed, don’t you think?”

  He grinned. “You’d prefer to see me in a G-string?”

  Sian shook her head and hooked an arm around the shoulders of the dark-haired woman sitting on the stool next to her. “Nope. I’ve got no interest in men. This is my partner Sandra. I’m a lesbian now.”

  Michael filled two glasses and passed them over the bar, refusing the notes she shoved in his direction. He held back a chuckle at Sian declaring her sexuality the way a person might announce they had found salvation. “Did you run out of men?”

  Sian shook her head. “No, I gave up on the male of the species.”

  “And how does your ma feel about it?”

  Sian snorted. “I’ve never discussed it with her. She gave up on saving me once she found out you’d been running around our garden in the nude after spending the night in my bed. Fortunately, she still has Meg to save.”

  “Ah, Maggie.” The last time he’d seen her she was drunk, sloppy and absolutely adorable. “How is she?”

  “Frigid, I think.”

  Michael frowned. Had all that pent-up sexual attraction she seemed to have for him, that should have been for someone nearer her own age, fizzled and died under her ma’s stern tutelage? “How do you make that out?”

  Sian shrugged. “I don’t see her much but I don’t remember her ever mentioning a man, or a woman, come to that.”

  Michael leaned on the bar. What a waste. Poor Maggie had promised to be a beauty and all that sexual potential had been crushed before it had the chance to blossom.

  Sian took a sip of her drink and then grinned at him. “I’ve just had a brilliant idea.”

  Michael frowned, not sure he would like this. Her last brilliant idea had left him on her front lawn in the nude.

  “It’s my dad’s birthday on the weekend and Mum is putting on a huge barbeque thing for him. Why don’t you come as my date?”

  Michael glanced at Sian’s lady friend. “Are you not taking Sandra?”

  The dark-haired woman smiled. “I have to work. Thank God.”

  Sian grabbed his arm. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

  “An afternoon with your ma?”

  “Maggie will be there. Don’t you want to find out if she’s really frigid? I know you love a challenge.”

  Ack, she’d found his Achilles’ heel. “You’d offer your own sister as a bribe?”

  “Come on. Come on. You know you want to. I know it was you who brought her home from your Katy’s party. She mooned over you for weeks. I really think you broke her little teenage heart.”

  “You’re such a bitch, Sian.”

  She grabbed his shirt front and tugged him across the bar so they were nose to nose. “So you’ll come then?” He nodded and she planted a big wet kiss on his lips before letting him go. “Woohoo. Pick me up at three.”

  “Where from?”

  “Twenty-seven Mountbank Road. Flat five.”

  “Three it is.”

  Michael pulled his car into the curb outside Sian’s family home and the memories flooded back. It seemed like another lifetime, and in reality it probably was. The youthful exuberance was gone, replaced by what exactly? Back then he had assumed he would conquer the world, but instead he had conquered a small bar down the road where men got naked for money.

  Sian touched his arm. “Shall we go in?”

  He took a deep breath. “Sure. Why ever not?”

  They both climbed from the Porsche and he locked the doors before offering Sian his arm. She took it and grinned up at him. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  “You just want your ma to belt me, don’t you?”

  “I would pay good money to see you two go a few rounds together.”

  “You’ll be paying my medical bills. I bet your ma hits below the belt.”

  “If you think my mother would get anywhere near your dick, even in a fistfight, you don’t know her very well.”

  Michael chuckled as they made their way indoors. God, it was like stepping back in time. The décor was the same. The only evidence that the Riley family had moved on was the new large screen TV in the corner of the room. He bet his life the bedroom Sian had shared with Maggie was still painted pale pink and adorned with dolls and all the accessories a little girl could wish for.

  Noise from the back of the house seemed to indicate the party was in full swing. Ever one to make an entrance, Sian stepped onto the back deck, dragging Michael with her, and then draped her tall willowy body around him.

  Michael’s gaze fell on the group in the middle of the lawn. Mr. Riley stood next to his wife, who seemed to be having some kind of meltdown. She was in a heated discussion and was trying to foist a horrible green cardigan on some poor hapless young lady. Sian waved when her dad acknowledged her arrival, and hand in hand they made their way across the garden to join the group.

  The conversation ended and Sian kissed her dad and then her mother. They both turned their attention to Michael and he grinned.

  His focus shifted to the woman they had been in conversation with. His heart skipped a beat. Jaysus. Young Maggie was all grown up. The girl had curves. Her dress had barely enough material to cover her luscious tits. No wonder her ma was trying to cover them up. “Mr. Riley, Mrs. Riley, thanks for the invite. This must be young Maggie.” He looked her up and down, taking special note of those luscious breasts. It was hard to believe this was the girl who had declared her drunken love for him. “Last time I saw you, you were a flat-chested kid. Now look at you, all woman.”

  She snorted. “And last time I saw you, you were running butt naked down the front drive after you spent the night screwing our Sian.”

  Michael grinned when Mrs. Riley almost fainted. It seemed Maggie wasn’t done. He stood back and waited until her tirade ended and she stomped off. However, he was interested to note she didn’t leave alone. She was holding hands with a tall, fit-looking specimen of masculinity. Maybe young Maggie wasn’t as frigid as Sian assumed.

  Being Sian’s trophy date soon bored him. He had kept an eye on Maggie’s movements. Hopeful she would ditch the he-man and he would have a chance to see if she really had forgotten the night he rescued her. To date, she was the only woman he had refused to have sex with when asked. The whole thing with Chastity had put a permanent dent in his libido. Some days it felt more like a chore but he couldn’t say no. Thankfully, Chastity had forgiven him. She’d even moved to Australia. His ma had adopted Chastity as one of the Monaghan brood, never once judging her despite her former life as a stripper. Now Chastity taught dance to young kids. She was a different girl.

  He glanced across the garden and watched Maggie Riley. He had a feeling she might be just the woman to reignite his spark and lust for sex.

  When Maggie and her male friend disappeared inside the house, Michael excused himself from some middle-aged woman droning on about saving the planet and headed for the back deck. Intent on seeing where Maggie had gone, he didn’t even notice the blonde young thing until she blocked his path.

  She smiled and batted her eyelashes. “Aren’t you Michael Monaghan?”

  He chuckled and wondered why she even bothered with small talk. She knew who he was and she was no vestal virgin. Laura had a reputation for being a man-eater. She’d shagged half the strippers at The Jolly Roger. Rumor had it she was an animal between the sheets. Nothing was out of bounds. “I do believe I am. Or, at least, I was last time I checked my passport. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
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  When he tried to step around her she placed a hand on his arm. “What’s the rush?”

  “I need to take a piss.”

  She grinned. “I can help hold it if you like.”

  He couldn’t keep back the laughter. “It’s big, darlin’, but not that big I can’t manage it on my own.”

  Her cheeks tinged pink, and he grinned before finally escaping and stepping through the back sliding door into the cool dining room. The sound outside ebbed and flowed but the inside of the house was silent. Well, almost silent. There was a repetitive metallic sound from the kitchen as if someone was banging pots together. With a frown he moved across the dining room until he had a view of the kitchen, and stopped. Jaysus. Maggie was far from frigid. Currently standing with her back against the side of the wall oven tower, her dress was up around her hips and the young man she had in tow was giving her one. From the low moans and panting he figured she loved it. His own cock stirred to life. There was something sinfully sexy about watching other people going at it without them knowing. Young Maggie was a revelation. Fucking in her ma’s kitchen where she could be caught at any minute. She must like to live life on the edge. Maggie moaned and her companion whispered something before kissing her with a ferocity that made Michael’s balls ache. He wondered if his cock would ever be soft enough to piss without leaving a damp patch on the ceiling. A sound outside the sliding door brought him to his senses and he disappeared down the hall toward the bathroom before he got caught.

  Chapter 10

  Michael leaned on the bar and stared across the room. It was still three hours until showtime. Maggie wandered in and he watched as she started to refill the fridges. New premises. New job. Same shite. The only bright spot was the woman currently kneeling at his feet. When Laura had offered him the job of managing her new strip bar, Male Review, he’d never imagined Maggie would be working alongside him.

  He sighed as he wondered how things had gotten so far off-track since he had remade his acquaintance with Maggie Riley. His behavior over the last few weeks had sent the poor girl’s life spinning out of control. Her lover Sam was the only thing that seemed to save her sanity.

  Usually Michael had a way with the ladies but with Maggie he was hopeless. He thought back to when he was at primary school and had fallen in love with Mary Tyler. He’d punched the poor girl until she had bruises as a sign of his affection. In the last couple of weeks he’d pretty much done the same to Maggie’s life. Thanks to him they’d both been arrested. Although, he felt he’d been set up. Laura said Maggie was right into the male escort business she was setting up and that she wanted to interview him for a job in a hotel room downtown away from Sam.

  Since seeing her at her da’s birthday party she had become something of an obsession. Had her teenage love turned to disgust or was she being coy? Her claims of distaste at his presence just fanned the flames, making him more determined to rekindle her desire to be seduced by him. Her words didn’t mirror her actions. He’d managed to steal more than one kiss and not once had she protested, much. Her declaration of love had always remained with him. Game for any excuse to spend time alone with the woman who took up most of his thoughts during his waking hours, and spawned more than one erotic dream, he’d hustled over to the hotel and even followed instructions to strip naked and handcuff himself to the bed. If he was to work for Maggie he was prepared to do almost anything to get the job, and if she wanted him naked he had no complaints. He shuddered as he recalled Maggie’s crazy great aunt appearing from the bathroom dressed like some arthritic Marilyn Monroe without teeth. Thank God, Maggie had saved him. Someone had heard him screaming for help, so the police had shown up and arrested all of them. Thanks to Maud’s big mouth he was facing prosecution for prostitution, Maggie for pandering and Maud for soliciting sex. Even that wasn’t the end of the mess he’d created. The crazy aunt had been tipped out of the old people’s home and had moved in with Maggie followed by Maggie’s ma who was hell-bent on saving her daughter from eternal damnation.

  Thankfully, his efforts over the last couple of days teaching Mr. Riley to dance and setting up the show had gone some way to improve the situation. He had never imagined Mr. Riley’s plan to have Maggie’s ma attend Male Review where her husband would be the star attraction and carry her off in his arms would work, but apparently Mrs. Riley had finally got her spark back and was home where she belonged. Great Aunt Maud had moved out and life could go back to normal. Although normal without pursuing Maggie was not something he was looking forward to. What the fuck was wrong with him? She was taken. And nothing he did could change that. Under different circumstances she could have been his. He would have to settle for whatever crumbs she offered.

  The CD player clunked as it changed disks. When the sound of Heartache Avenue by The Masionettes filled the air, Michael couldn’t hold back a wry smile. Maggie pushed to her feet and he held out his hand. “Dance with me?”

  *

  Meg had no idea why she agreed but there was something pathetic about Michael of late. Even when he was surrounded by a crowd of adoring women he seemed less than he had once been.

  She took his hand and he pulled her into his arms. He moved to the music and she marveled that her own lack of natural rhythm seemed to be a thing of the past. His moves were perfect and led her to respond in time with the beat. He twirled her and pulled her back against his body. They moved together and she fought for control. She was in love with Sam. Michael had nothing she wanted. His body might be toned and currently pressed against her, but his mind was a sewer. She refused to remember being pinned beneath him at the hotel. Her efforts to save him had gotten out of control and her hair had become tangled in the handcuffs. In a fit of panic at the arrival of the police she had ended up under Michael, who had been naked and suddenly very erect. Heat rose to her face and she was grateful when he spun her away again giving her a moment to collect herself. Aunt Maud might have the family hornyitus, and she suspected her mother might have been a victim in her youth before she decided sex was a sin, but Meg didn’t need to follow in their footsteps. She wanted a normal life with a man she loved, not a lifelong orgy with one gorgeous man after another.

  Michael sang along to the song and she sighed at the sadness of the words and the tone in his voice.

  When the music stopped she remained in the circle of his arms. He dipped his head and she did nothing to fight him off. His lips were warm, and when he flicked her bottom lip with his tongue she opened her mouth. He deepened the kiss, probing, teasing, and leaving her lightheaded. No matter how many times she said she wouldn’t kiss him again she ended up back here. She broke the kiss and took a few deep breaths before looking up at him. “What do you want, Michael?”

  “Do you remember Katy’s birthday party?”

  She remembered it well. In fact, the memory had taken up residence in her brain the moment she saw him at her Dad’s birthday party. She had hoped he’d forgotten. “What about it?”

  “Do you remember I took you home?”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “And what else do you remember?”

  She shrugged but couldn’t stop the blood rushing to her face. “I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor anymore.”

  “You’ve got Sam.”

  “I do. Is that the problem? Are you jealous that I don’t want you to seduce me anymore? Did I dent your ego?”

  He smiled but it never reached his eyes. “You broke my heart, darlin’, but I am sorry for the way things have gone the last few weeks. I did try my best to fix it.”

  “I know you did.”

  “Am I forgiven?”

  “Do you promise to stop butting into my life?”

  “Do you promise to give me a call if the position for knight in shining armor is ever vacant?”

  She smiled as she imagined him on a white charger. “I can’t make any promises.”

  He shrugged. “I can’t make any promises either, other than to say I’ll try to leave
you alone. So, is that good enough?”

  *

  She nodded and Michael pulled her tight against him. She relaxed as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Maybe she would never say she loved him again or beg to be seduced but he would never stop trying no matter what he promised. The Maggie Riley he had seen the last few weeks had ruined him for other women.

  The door to the bar swung open and he let her go. She picked up her bag. “Are you sure you don’t need me tonight?”

  “No, we’ll be fine. Go home to your man.”

  She leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. He watched as she made her way out the back door. Maybe she really had forgiven him.

  He shoved the thought aside as a stocky woman stomped toward him. He knew she was coming to see him but nothing prepared you for a visit from Aunt Clara. She had her own sense of style. Steel-toe boots, knee-length khaki shorts and a plaid shirt, along with a designer purse.

  He had no idea why she had called to say she needed to see him. They were hardly close. She always figured Michael was covering for her randy husband.

  Aunt Clara climbed onto a stool, and he poured her a whiskey. She swallowed it in one and then banged the glass on the timber top. Michael gave her a refill and she grunted her approval. Once the glass was empty she looked up at him. “We’ve a problem and you’re the man to fix it.”

  Any problem Aunt Clara had usually involved his Uncle Declan and some woman. The last female to get entangled with Declan ended up in a full body cast and Clara was out on probation awaiting trial. “What problem would that be?”

  “The problem is that feckless shite has run off to fecking Ireland with some old tart. And you’ll be going after him.”

  “Why don’t you be going after him yourself?”

  “I’m on probation, you gormless shite. The police have my passport so I can’t leave the country.”

  “I still don’t understand why you think I could give a shite?”

  “I thought you were fond of Declan.”