Darling obstacles by Barbara Boswell, Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress) DLC Read Free Book Online Page B

to the foot of the stairs and put her arm around her son's shoulders. "He's very good-natured almost all of the time, but if he's hungry and doesn't get his food on time, he starts snarling and stomping. He falls apart. He's been that way since he was a tiny baby." She was aware that she was being dreadfully talkative but she couldn't seem to stop. Nor could she look at Greg. What must he think of her? she thought with horror. What had happened to her? He had touched her and she had simply gone up in flames, losing all sense of time and place and moralsl She'd been about to let him carry her to bed and make love to her with five small children downstairs!
    "Mom, may I have my breakfast, please?" Kevin asked politely, glancing up at Greg. He gave the boy an approving smile which Kevin returned.
    "Of course, darling." Maggie stumbled blindly toward the kitchen, still holding onto her son. The child was a comforting anchor of reality to her—and his presence kept her torturous thoughts at bay. "I'll fix you and Josh some pancakes right now."
    "Me and Wendy," Kevin corrected her. "Josh isn't hungry anymore. He ate all Wendy's pancakes. But Kari wouldn't give me hers," he added with an injured air. "Sometimes I wish I could trade sisters."
    Greg chuckled, making Maggie aware that he had followed them into the kitchen. She wished he hadn't. She wished he would disappear. What was she going to say to him? Worse, her body was still

    DARLING OBSTACLES • 43
    throbbing with the excitement of his caresses. His voice sent a pleasurable tingle down her spine.
    "We'll bring your pancakes into you in a few minutes, Kevin," he said. "Why don't you watch your program while you're waiting? We won't be long."
    "Okay," Kevin said, pacified for the moment. He raced off and Maggie almost called after him and begged him to stay. She did not want to be alone with Greg Wilder.
    "Maggie." She ignored the sexy, intimate drawl and began tossing ingredients into the bowl, haphazardly guessing at the correct amounts. "Maggie, turn around and look at me."
    She couldn't. She simply couldn't.
    "Mary Magdalene!" His voice, though amused, held a commanding note.
    "Don't call me that!" she said in a sudden flash of anger.
    He was beside her now and she was shatteringly aware of his nearness, of the strength and virility emanating from him. "You wouldn't answer to Maggie. I had to get your attention somehow."
    She could feel his eyes upon her as she reached for another egg. Still, she couldn't bring herself to turn around and look at him. And then his hand was on her neck, the long fingers gently stroking. "Maggie?" he murmured softly.
    She dropped the egg and it splattered all over the counter. "That was my last egg!" she wailed. She tried to salvage what she could of it, scraping it up while avoiding the little pieces of shell. Actually, she was grateful for the diversion. "I need it for this batter. If Kevin has to wait any longer for his breakfast, he'll—"
    Greg caught her chin with his other hand and forced her to look up at him. "Forget Kevin's breakfast for a minute, Maggie. And forget the stupid egg. Why won't you look at me? Why won't you talk to me?"
    "Let me go!" She tried to wrench away from him, humiliatingly aware that her behavior bordered on the adolescent. He had kissed her and she should

    have reacted with blase cool. She knew that, but she couldn't seem to help her histrionic response. "Go in and watch television with the kids," she snapped in an effort to regain her lost composure. "I have to make Kevins breakfast. He's hungry and— M
    "It's a mother's duty to feed her little ones," Greg finished nobly. He cast her a playfully rakish grin, which, to her dismay, she found utterly irresistible. "But it's a woman's job to satisfy her man," he added, teasing. Before she could move, speak, or even breathe, he hauled her into his arms. "Now where were we?" He grabbed a handful of her hair and gently tilted her head upward.

    the desire to