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

going out to play now, Mom," Kevin announced on his way out the door. " Bye!" The door slammed shut, leaving Greg and Maggie alone.
    "It's always incredibly busy around here," Greg said with a slight smile.
    Maggie nodded, too intensely aware of him to respond with the bright chatter that the situation demanded. Today he was wearing a well-cut pair of khaki slacks, a blue oxford cloth shirt, and a navy windbreaker, casual clothes which complemented his muscular physique. She wished again for that distancing note of animosity they had parted on the day before. It was easier to handle her attraction to him when she was angry with him.
    "I was in the, uh, neighborhood—I stopped in at the drugstore—and I thought I would ..." Greg swallowed, his eyes focusing on the soft curve of her mouth. "I thought I'd drop by and finalize the babysitting arrangements for tomorrow."
    "I'm to take Josh and Wendy with me after school, pick up Max at the day-care center, and bring all of them here. You'll pick them up at six-thirty and I'm not to give them dinner,'' Maggie said automatically.
    "Er—yes. I believe those were the arrangements." Greg thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his slacks. "Oh, hell, that isn't the real reason why I came over."
    "Oh?" Maggie felt a ridiculous surge of anticipa-

    tion. He was staring fixedly at her, a strange expression in his clear blue eyes. She wasn't exactly sure how to define it. Uncertainty, confusion, surprise? As she returned his gaze, she realized her lips were parted and trembling, that every nerve in her body was blazing with sensual awareness. She heard the sounds of the girls playing upstairs, Nicole's pleased squeals, Kari and Kristin's laughter, but they seemed far away and irrelevant to the flames shooting through her.
    "Maggie." Greg said her name in a low, husky voice. He took a step toward her and she didn't move. Her eyes were focused on his mouth with a hunger that hurt. They seemed to be caught in some strange, silent time warp, just the two of them, far removed from the rest of the everyday world.
    Greg was standing so close to her now that she could feel his body heat, inhale his heady masculine scent. Her heart seemed to be crashing against her rib cage as she lifted her eyes to his. She was aching to touch him. She wanted to feel his mouth on hers with an intensity that shook her to her core.
    "Come here," he said hoarsely, reaching for her, pulling her roughly, urgently, into his arms. Maggie felt the solid hardness of his chest against her breasts and her body melted into his, shuddering with an intense pleasure. "I have to hold you, Maggie. I can't look at you without wanting to touch you, feel you ..." His voice trailed off as he slowly lowered his head to hers. Their mouths met and they kissed with a wild, desperate urgency, as if starved for the touch and feel and taste of each other.
    His big hands caressed her, moving greedily over her hips and waist and back. When he took possession of her breasts, cupping and kneading them with his palms, Maggie moaned with the mad hunger that was coursing through her body. He pulled her closer, bending her back slightly so that her body fit beneath his, and she had to cling to him for support. She was dizzy with the sensations and emotions pulsing

    through her. The feel of his strong shoulders and powerful chest beneath her fingertips excited her as much as his passionate caresses. His tongue surged into her mouth, and she met it and rubbed it with her own. A moan escaped simultaneously from each of their throats and the kiss deepened, becoming more demanding, more intimate.
    The insistent, incessant pounding seemed to come from another dimension. At first Maggie thought it was her own heartbeat thundering in her ears; then she thought it was Greg's. It wasn't until the shrill ring of the doorbell shattered the sensual silence of their private world that Maggie recognized the sound for what it really was. Someone was pounding on