She watched Silas lay a hand on the boy’s shoulder. It didn’t look overtly threatening. Still, she was surprised when Cody cracked an actual smile.
It was a short conversation with none of the yelling she’d expected. And when it was over, they shook hands before parting. Cody jogged toward the front of the house, but Silas stayed where he was…staring right through the window at her. They studied each other through the glass, and Maggie was the first to break. She limped out of the room, down the hall, and into her office.
She pretended she was deeply intrigued by a spreadsheet when Silas appeared in the doorway a minute later.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said.
She kicked back in her chair and crossed her arms. “On top of all of the things that aren’t your business, let’s add disciplining my employees without my express permission.”
He strolled into the room and studied the whiteboard in the corner and the boxes of half-packed treasures. He looked much too casual for her liking. The man should be adrenalized and pissed off and feeling ready to boil. Like she felt.
“I didn’t discipline the kid,” he told her. “I had a conversation with him about expectations and how you just handed him one hell of an opportunity and he’d better not blow it by doing something stupid like last night.”
“That’s a conversation that didn’t need to come from you,” she pointed out.
“Tough shit. It did. I also reminded him that it would be in his best interests to make sure his friends never show up here again without an engraved invitation and that if he even hears a whisper of them thinking about it, to call me.”
“Don’t you think this protector routine is over-the-top? We kissed. I’m not something you ordered online and now own.”
“I’m looking out for you, for him, and for the work all your crews have done and will do. It’s not a win for any of us if a couple of bored kids show up and cause trouble. And it’s certainly not in Cody’s best interest to get caught doing petty shit at eighteen, when the consequences are a hell of a lot more serious.”
He prowled toward her, and Maggie felt her pulse rate jump. She wasn’t sure if it was nerves or lust. Because while easygoing, good-guy Silas was sexy, pissed-off Silas was dangerously attractive.
He placed his hands on the worktable behind her, caging her in between his arms. “Now, let’s get back to the ‘you not being my business’ thing. I don’t know how many guys you’ve kissed like you kissed me, but to me, it means something.”
She opened her mouth to argue but then thought better of it.
“The way you reacted to me last night has me thinking about nothing but your mouth. You gave yourself up to that kiss, to me.” There was fire in his gray eyes, turning them to silver. “You woke up something in me, and I gave you something you needed. We’re going to see where this goes. As soon as you apologize.”
The last word finally drilled through the cloud of lust that had all her attention focused on the firm mouth that was just inches from hers. “Apologize? For what?”
He brought his hand to her face, fingers skimming along her jawline, setting her skin on fire. The way he tucked her hair behind her ear seemed gentle, but there was an underlying threat of…possession. She wanted to hate it. She wanted to smack him in his smug face. She wanted to grab him by the front of his damp T-shirt and kiss the hell out of him.
“For taking unnecessary risks with something that’s important to me.” His voice was low, but she could feel the heat of his breath on her face.
She thought he made the move, but somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Maggie realized that it was her fist closing around his shirt. Her dragging him down.
And then, as their mouths crashed into each other, it was him lifting her out of the chair. Picking her up like she was a bag of cement, wrapping her legs around his waist, and pressing her against the wall. Pinning her there with his hips. He smelled like sunshine and water, tasted like salt.
She knew she was supposed to be mad. Should be kicking him in the balls right about now, but she was having a hard time remembering why she’d want to do anything but let him kiss her like this.
His tongue was working some kind of magic in her mouth. She couldn’t quite catch her breath—it seemed as though he were stealing it.
One of them growled. She couldn’t tell who because she was too busy shoving her hands into his hair, knocking his hat off his head, and wishing away the layers of clothing that separated her core from the hard-on he was sporting.