A Place to Call Home (26 page)

“Fine.”

No, he wasn’t tired. That was anger in his voice.

 “Did you get my message?”

“Loud and clear. Got any more demands,
boss
?”

So he wanted to give her a clipped tone, did he? Fine. She raised her voice. “What’s with the damn attitude?”

“Listen it’s late, did you call me for a reason?”

“Well, yes.” Uh, hope that she could break through his mood.

“Then you’ve got thirty seconds to tell me because I’m hanging up.”

He’d what? Just who did he think he was speaking to? “Let me save you the trouble,” she said and disconnected.

Pacing the floor, she gripped the phone wanting to chuck it at the wall. If he thought she’d put up with him speaking like that to her, well, he’d be smart to think again.

And to remember how nervous she’d been that she and Mac were getting too close, that he would ask her to stay in Charleston, and then what would she do? Good thing she didn’t need to worry about him extending that offer. Since it appeared her absence meant nothing to him, she would just focus on her job here, and when she returned to Charleston she’d concentrate on that job.

She was a very busy woman. Too busy to worry about what had crawled up Austin MacDevin’s ass.

Chapter Thirty

Eleven days later, Hannah arrived back in Charleston. She’d driven through a tornado warning, hail, flooding rain, and hellish traffic. But she’d finally arrived and was exhausted.

When she didn’t see Mac’s truck in her driveway, disappointment filled her. At two in the afternoon, he should still be here. She lugged her suitcase inside and scanned the room, impressed with how much work had been completed in the main dining room since she’d left for Greenville.

She tensed. Had Mac actually disobeyed her instructions to make her apartment renovations a priority? Well, of course he probably had. Her temper rose. Exhausted and hungry, she wanted her own bed.

No. That wasn’t really true.

She wanted Mac’s bed but since he hadn’t bothered to call her once the entire time she had been gone, she hadn’t planned on entering his bed any time soon.

“Hi, Ms. O’Leary,” Harry said, rushing to her side after he entered the room. “Here let me get that for you.” He took her suitcase. “You’re probably wanting to settle in upstairs.”

“That would be splendid, Harry.” She should’ve expected someone to be here. The smile she offered came easily for the older man who reminded her of a grandfather.

“Okay,” he said and walked back outside.

Confusion licked her senses, but she followed after him. “Harry, where are you going?”

“This way, ma’am. There’s an alarm system in place.” He entered a code on the keypad to disable the alarm. “Mac made a separate entrance for the apartment. You know. Like you’d discussed in the plans.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” She’d forgotten about that detail. It would be much more convenient and private for the on-site manager to have a separate entrance for their place. “Is the apartment completed then?”

“Come see for yourself. It’s been done for about five days.”

Less than a week’s work? Mac must have rushed it like she requested.

When she walked into the small one bedroom apartment it had been like walking into a new house she’d never seen before. It was simply stunning. Mac had completed every renovation she’d asked for. The walls and ceilings had been plastered and painted. The plush carpet installed throughout the entire apartment except for the bathroom and kitchen. The bathroom done completely in tile. The kitchen had a faux wooden floor and new appliances. Mac had replaced all the old windows and doors too. The furnished bedroom seemed bright like the rest of the place. She’d picked out the furniture and had put it on hold. Mac must’ve arranged for the delivery while she had been gone. Oh, how she wanted to jump up and down on her new bed.

“Will there be anything else?” Harry’s wide eyes focused on her with a worried expression.

“No. Thanks, Harry, for your help.”

Harry walked out.

“Harry,” Hannah called after him. “Where is Mac? I’d love to tell him what a fantastic job he did here.”

“He’s gone and left for the day. Probably catch him at his office, ma’am.”

“Thanks, Harry.”

Hannah showered, changed into a white pleated tennis skirt and white tank top, and drove to Mac’s office. A gnawing feeling dwelled inside her gut that she couldn’t shake. It wasn’t hunger since she’d eaten a bagel before heading to Mac’s. Was she horny? She sighed. Yup. That was it. She’d gone without sex for so long before coming to Charleston that when she finally got it from Mac he’d pretty much turned her into a sex addict overnight. She had been legitimately sexually frustrated.

At Mac’s office door she knocked and opened before he told her to enter.

When he looked up from his desk where he wrote on a form, their gazes locked. The heat from his stare penetrated all the way to her toes. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Shut the door,” he demanded. “You want to let all the damn cold air out.”

Oh, goody. He was still in a fine temper. She could play that way then too.

“Hello to you, too, Austin.” She put her purse down on the file cabinet.

“I’m busy. You need to leave,” he said, his voice filled with arrogance and authority. “Your apartment is done so go to it and leave me alone.”

Her body tingled being this close. She checked him out, head to toe, without hiding her perusal. His muscles filled out his T-shirt like she remembered. “I know it is. I was just by there. It’s completely gorgeous.”

“Were you expecting anything less?” He glanced up then continued writing. “There was no need for you to come all the way here to compliment me. I know I do a damn good job.”

“
Really?
”

“Yeah, really,” he said with ice and stared at her.

“Then why aren’t you there now, at my restaurant working? Isn’t that what I’m paying you for instead of sitting behind that desk?” She leaned against his file cabinets.

His jaw tightened and the little lines creased around his eyes as they squinted. “That’s why I have employees.”

Shaking her head, she crossed her arms, and spoke calmly. “I don’t care about that. I hired you. I expect you to be there.”

“Look, Hannah. I don’t tell you how to run your damn businesses, so don’t tell me how to run mine.” His voice boomed inside the small room.

“I’ll tell you anything I damn well please.” She leaned over his desk, giving him a very decent view of her cleavage.

He sat up, staring at her chest as expected, and then focused on her eyes. “I can see your mouth hasn’t changed.”

“Wasn’t gone long enough to make any changes.” She glanced around the office. “Where’s Aidan?”

“None of your business.”

When she didn’t respond, he clenched his jaw.

“I sent Aidan home early to start dinner. Glad you taught them how,” he said through gritted teeth. “What did you really come here for, Hannah? Looking to get laid?”

“What?” She pushed away from the file cabinet but when she glanced back and caught his gaze roaming her body the familiar urge stirred between her legs. “Okay, yes, but I guess it was a bad decision on my part.” She stalked to the door.

“Maybe not,” Mac said firmly, and stalked to her side in an instant. He shut the door and nudged her gently against the wood. Then his mouth found hers, fiery and hot. “I’ve missed you in bed, Hannah. Let’s see if we can’t do something about that.”

“What if someone walks in?” she said suddenly unsure whether he missed her or just missed the sex. And she couldn’t be sure she’d like his answer by the way he stared at her with no emotion whatsoever.

“The door locks.” He snapped the bolt.

“But where? Mac, we can’t possibly do this here.” She searched around at his small, barren office. Desk, tiny couch, chairs, and file cabinets. None of those could work.

Mac grabbed her hand and dragged her the few steps to his desk. With one quick swipe of his arm he sent pens scattering and papers flying onto the floor.

“I plan on fucking you right here.” He lifted her and placed her abruptly on the hard wooden top of the desk. Then before she could protest his mouth claimed hers again.

God, how she had missed his kisses and until his mouth had taken hers again she hadn’t realized how much. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him back. He grabbed her breast through her shirt. Surprise jolted through her at his roughness. He’d always shown more finesse than to just grab her.

Leaning over her, he positioned her onto her back never breaking the kiss, and his massive upper body covered her. The telltale sound of him undoing his zipper filled the room before his hands hiked up her skirt and tore at her panties until she lay bared from the waist down.

Without ceremony, he entered her hard and fast. She clamped her legs tighter around his waist and arched to meet his rhythm. Never had she been taken like this, so animalistic, his raw need urging him on. The realization she could drive him this wild, stir him to this frenzied state, empowered her.

With his lips angling over hers, he demanded her tongue respond to his onslaught. She matched him lust for lust. She couldn’t get enough of him. He continued to fuck her on top of his desk until she grew wild with need and blind with passion. The only noise had been skin slapping skin and deep moans.

When he went rigid and held himself deep inside of her, she refused to unlock her legs from around his waist, needing to keep him there. She’d missed this intimacy terribly and wanted to stay in the moment for just a little longer. She had been so caught up in watching him have his pleasure that before she realized it, her pussy started to spasm, his last couple of thrusts exactly what she needed to push her over the edge.

She yelled out before she could help herself. “Austin, Oh, yes.”

He grunted into the side of her neck while her spasms kept him inside, temporarily denying his spent member escape. She should be mindless with exhaustion but suddenly didn’t feel so weary.

He stood up quickly, offering no further kisses or caresses. He didn’t cuddle her against him like he’d always done. She tried not to dwell on her disappointment. They were in his office and not his bed after all.

But when he turned from her and pulled his jeans and shorts up, rage crept under her skin. What the hell? He hadn’t even bothered to pass her panties to her like he always had after ripping off and scattering her clothes in the heat of passion.

Hannah quickly jumped off his desk, found her white satin thong and put it on, his cum spilling from her pussy and seeping into the fabric. She adjusted her skirt and recaptured errant strands of hair that had come lose from its ponytail, making herself presentable again.

“Thanks,” he said when he finally spoke. Mac didn’t look at her. Instead he picked up the papers from the floor.

“Excuse me?” she asked, hoping she’d heard him wrong.

He shrugged. “I said thanks. I needed that.”

She fisted her hands at her sides. “You son of a bitch! How dare you treat me like a whore?”

“Sorry if I hurt your feelings, darling. I was just being appreciative is all,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

She shoved the pile of papers so they landed in his lap and on the floor.

“I’m in no mood for one of your tantrums, Hannah. So if I were you, I’d think twice before beginning one.”

“Oh, you’re about to see the mother of all tantrums, Austin. You have exactly one minute to tell me just what the hell your problem is.”

“I don’t answer to ultimatums.” He placed some of the papers back on his desk and leaned back in his chair staring at her. “Go home, Hannah.”

She stood with her palms on his desk glaring. “I’m waiting.”

He laughed, an annoyed low sound. “You can wait all day. I don’t give a fuck.”

“Now who has a potty mouth?”

“Men are allowed.”

“Not in the presence of a lady. And I swear, as God as my witness, if you so much as tell me I’m not a lady, I will peel the skin from your body.”

“You will now, huh?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Try me,” she warned. How the hell could the raising of a single eyebrow make him look sexy as all hell?

He jumped up so quickly he sent the chair sailing back and crashing into the wall. Hannah straightened but refused to budge. He may tower over her and have more strength than her but the temper simmering in her could be just a bit more heated than his.

“Don’t you go pulling your macho crap on me, Austin.” She poked his chest. “I know you won’t hurt me so stop trying to be menacing and just tell me why you’re in such a delightful mood.”

“What the fuck did you expect me to do, roll out the red carpet for your return? You didn’t even discuss with me that you needed to leave.”

Her mouth opened in an ‘o’, shock rocketing through her. “I didn’t need your permission to go out of town.”

“Of course not.” With blazing eyes, he pinned her in her spot. “You like having the freedom to come and go as you please. I understand.”

“It was work,” she shouted.

“Yeah?” He pointed to his office window and the street beyond. “Was it also work that your goddamn apartment had to be done when you returned? You knew damn well I wouldn’t jeopardize my reputation by not following the boss’ requests.”