Page 97 of Hot & Heavy

Pretty Boy had some of the best ideas. Tight jeans, a boosty-air and red lip rouge. He was going to bring them for her tomorrow.

Cage, the rascal, just laughed and laughed. In the end, he suggested a place called Victoria's Secret, and said they could order some garments, delivered overnight, from the Inner-net.

So Maddie was all set. Too bad Ian was in such a bad temper when he got home. Oh, well. She needed a little time anyhow, to bolster her nerve.

But tomorrow, he'd better watch out.

Chapter Fourteen

She hit him with her best shot…

Ian came home early the next day.

The net was drawing in on the tangos. All of Team Thirteen was now involved in the mission. CIA operatives were all over the place, as well. These were mean sons-of-bitches that had been sent to either kidnap or take Maddie down. The SEALs could have eliminated a few of the more careless ones already, but they were going for the whole bunch of tangos. So it was a high-stakes waiting game.

You'd never know anything was up inside his home, though. There was a sort of normalcy here…

although any space with Maddie in it could hardly be called normal. He used the remote garage-door opener, drove into the garage, then used a key to enter the house through the side door of the kitchen.

Immediately he was hit with the tantalizing smell of something good cooking on the stove… probably Cage's famous crab gumbo, since he was the SEAL assigned inside today. Yep, home sweet home.

Maybe I should just yell out, "Honey, I'm home."

On the other hand, considering her mood lately, I don't think so.

Still, there was a part of him that wondered what it would be like to come home to a wife… and a kid or two. And what if that wife were Maddie? And what if those kids looked just like a combination of the two of them? And what if they were happy as hell to see him?

Do I really want that?

Hell, no! Commit myself to a woman who might very well be a time-traveler, mental patient, reincarnated dingbat, or God only knows what? Hell, no!

On the other hand, hell, yes! I can't stop thinking about her. She puts me in my place. She makes me happy. She surprises me all the time. I never know what's going to come out of her mouth. She screws my brains out, then pulls the plug on sex. Well, we both pulled that plug, but who cares? A plug is a plug.

Sam came up and rubbed herself against his leg. That was a surprise. Sam had been ignoring him ever since Maddie came on the scene. He reached down and ruffled the cat's fur. "Guess it's you and me, babe. When this is all over, it will be back to you and me." Sam looked as sad as he felt.

Ian went over to the stove and took off the lid. Yep, crab gumbo. He took a wooden spoon and tasted.

Ummm. Cage knew what he was doing when it came to Cajun cooking.

Ian heard soft voices from down the hall. They were probably in his office surfing the net again. "Yo, Cage," he yelled out.

The talking stopped. Then Cage said, "Be right there."

A few minutes later, when he came to the kitchen where Ian had already opened a bottle of beer, Cage had Pretty Boy tagging after him. Ian's brow furrowed with confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a day off," Pretty Boy said, "and decided to drop by."

"Why?" He'd better not be hustling Maddie.

"Why not?" Pretty Boy said, then looked at Cage. "You comin'? Since Mac's back, you probably don't have to stay."

They both looked at Ian, and he nodded. "Go. I have paperwork to do, and it can be done here as well as at the base."

"Are you sure?" Cage asked. "We could stay."

"Yeah, I'm dying for some crab gumbo," Pretty Boy said.

Cage elbowed Pretty Boy.