What the Lady Wants Read online

  "They all have holes." Mae slumped back against the pillows.

  "I'd complain to your druggist." Mitch scooped up the last of the packets and leaned over Mae to toss them on the table. Since he was there, he bent to kiss her on the neck.

  "They were Armand's."

  Mitch jerked his head back. "What?"

  "They were in the box we found the key in. There were dozens of them, remember?"

  Mitch hesitated and then nudged her hip with his. "Come on. Let's go look at the rest of them."

  "Now?" Mae said, but he was already bending over her, reaching for his pants.

  Every condom in the box had a hole in it.

  "What good would it do for Armand to get Stormy pregnant?" Mae asked Mitch where he sat next to her on the floor of Armand's bedroom.

  "It could be Stormy poking holes, you know." Mitch tossed the last condom back in the box. "Maybe she thought she'd trump Barbara if she had a baby."

  "No." Mae's voice was positive. "Armand didn't like kids. The only reason he kept me was to..." Her voice trailed off.

  "To keep June," Mitch finished. "Would Armand knock Stormy up to keep her from leaving when he married Barbara?"

  "Well, it's low enough for him." Mae sounded doubtful. "I just don't see Armand poking holes in condoms."

  "Looks like I need to read another diary. What else is in here that we missed?" Mitch stirred his hand through the items in the box.

  Mae yawned. "Mitch, it's the middle of the night. Can we do this in the morning?"

  "No. We're going to be too busy making love in the morning." He held up a handful of lip balm sticks. "Your uncle had a bad Chap Stick habit, didn't he?"

  "So this is how it ends," Mae said sadly. "One minute making love like crazed animals, the next minute discussing Chap Stick."

  Mitch shoved the box away. "I'm a professional, ma'am. My professional instincts have been aroused."

  Mae blinked at him, trying hard to look sad and vulnerable. "I liked it better when your other instincts were aroused."

  "Fine." Mitch grabbed the back of her robe and yanked her to the floor, rolling on top of her.

  "This is good." Mae bit him on the neck.

  "No, it isn't." Mitch winced away from her teeth. "The only condoms we have without holes are back in your room." He kissed her once, hard, and then let it melt into a longer, softer, tongue-tangled kiss.

  When she spoke again, Mae's voice was a lust-drunken murmur. "Let's go back to my room."

  "Whatever you want, Mabel," Mitch said. "Whatever you want."

  Mitch woke up the next morning the way he always did: badly. First he struggled to consciousness through the heavy drug of his natural sleep, then he squinted and frowned against the sunlight that filled the room, then he hauled his mind over to the problem of why there was so damn much light in his apartment, then he dealt with the idea that he wasn't in his apartment and then finally, he absorbed the mind-bending fact that Mae's warm, lush body was curved naked against him.

  Then he remembered everything, and for the first time in his entire life, Mitch was delighted to be awake. He stretched slowly, trying not to wake Mae, feeling his muscles faintly ache from the athletics of the night before, shivering at the slide of her skin against his. Then he pulled her close to feel her softness squash against him even though he knew it would wake her up.

  He wanted her awake, anyway.

  She stretched against him, and he enjoyed it, and then she moved her head higher on his shoulder and sighed into his ear, and he enjoyed that, and then her hand trailed down his chest, and he almost passed out from pleasure.

  "Good morning," she murmured, and licked her tongue into his ear, and he said, "Mabel, you have no idea how good a morning it's going to be," and pinned her under him.

  Then the screaming and shouting started downstairs.

  Mitch vaulted out of bed and headed to the door, only to stop when Mae grabbed for him and said, "Wait. You're naked."

  "Right." He fumbled for his pants, only momentarily distracted when she flitted by him as she slid on her robe, and then she was looking out the door to see what the shouting was about.

  "Stop it," she called down, and there was silence. "Carlo, you sit down until I can get some clothes on. I mean it. Stop it." She slammed the door without waiting for an answer. "You've got to get out of here," she said to Mitch.

  Mitch scowled at her. "I am not running away from Carlo."

  Mae put her hands on her hips, and Mitch closed his eyes, trying not to think about what great hips she had. "It's not running away, it's saving me from a hassle. I don't want to referee any fight right now. I've got enough troubles." Her eyes went past him, and she froze. "Oh, no!"

  "What?" Mitch wheeled around, but all he saw was the worktable with the lamp and Mae's clock.

  "I'm late for work." She ran to her closet and started pulling out clothes. "And I need a shower, and I'm not going to get one because I have to take care of Carlo first...oh, hell!"

  Mitch put his arms around her and held her close. "Tell work you're not coming in, and tell Carlo to get lost, and I'll spend the rest of the day with you in the shower." She slumped against him, tightening her arms around his waist, and he took a deep breath to keep from passing out from happiness.

  "I can't," she said into his chest, and the tickle from her breath made him dizzy. "But it's a great offer, and I'm going to remember it." She pulled away from him. "Just wait here until I get rid of him."

  The pounding on the door jolted both of them. "Mae? Mae, who's in there with you?"

  "That's it." Mitch started for the door and Carlo.

  "No," Mae whispered and hauled him back. "No. I can't handle this if you're here."

  He sighed and said, "All right. But only for you would I do this." He shoved his feet into his loafers and picked up his jacket. "You got any cab fare?"

  "I gave you every cent I had last night." She picked up her car keys from the table and tossed them to him. "Take the Mercedes. I'll get money from June and take a cab."

  "When do you get off?" Mitch pocketed the keys. "I'll pick you up."

  The pounding accelerated.

  "Five." Mae shot an anxious glance at the door. "Carlo, knock it off," she called. "I'm getting dressed."

  The pounding stopped, and Mitch rolled his eyes and moved toward the window.

  "What are you doing?"

  Mitch threw one leg over the sill and grinned back at her. "There is no end to my talents."

  "You'll get killed!" She grabbed his arm, but he kissed her, enjoying her mouth as if it were the first time, and then he pried her fingers off.

  "There's a trellis." He found it with his foot and pulled his other leg through the window. "See? Piece of cake." He climbed down, and when he was on the ground, he looked up and saw her framed in the window, the morning breeze tossing her curls. She was smiling down at him, and her face was like the sun, and he stood there, rapt, amazed all over again that they were together, and that she was smiling at him.

  "What's wrong?" she called down softly.

  Mitch had always thought that "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun," was the dumbest pick-up line he'd ever heard, but it suddenly made sense. "I just figured out why Romeo killed himself."

  Mae's smile widened. "Well, don't do it, even if you see my corpse. It'll be a trick. I'm staying alive just to drive you crazy."

  "Thank you," Mitch said fervently.

  Mae jerked her head around to look back into the room. "I've got to go. Get out of here. I'll see you tonight."

  "Count on it," Mitch said, and then she was gone, and the day seemed a little dimmer, and he turned dizzily toward the back of the house and Mae's Mercedes.

  Mae opened the door and glared as Carlo came stomping into the room. "Listen to me. This stops now. I've had it with you. You can stop following me around, and threatening my dates, and acting like you own me. We're cousins. That's all we're going to be. Ever." She stopped because the misery on Carlo's fac