Bad Boys Online (8 page)

Mack seemed to sense her sudden apprehension. He said, “Take your shirt off.”

“Okay.” Lifting her arms, she arched her back and pulled the tank top off, letting it tumble out of her hand as she tossed her hair out of her eyes.

“Touch your nipples.” He was leaning back again, lips parted, eyes dark and cloudy. His voice was soft and coaxing.

Kindra became painfully aware of the camera. This was supposed to be her show. She had intended to strip for Mack, then give him a lap dance of sorts in the chair. Not do what he wanted, not touch herself.

“Go on,” he urged. “I can see how hard and hot they are. They’re just begging to be touched.”

They were hard and hot. Her nipples were aching, erect and budding. She closed her eyes. She couldn’t do this.

Sensing Mack had moved closer, her eyes flew open. He had rolled the chair until he was right in front of her. Desperate, wanting his hands on her, aching with need and feeling too inhibited to touch herself, she rocked forward.

Mack put his hands on her inner thighs. Her skirt went up. His head bent. Fingers parted her. She gripped his shoulders.

Hot breath teased her clit, but he didn’t touch her. The need was painful.

“Mack, please.”

“I’ll take care of this if you touch your tits,” he murmured, giving her damp curls a little sharp tug.

When put that way… Kindra reached up and cupped her breasts, gasping with pleasure as Mack’s tongue found her and stroked lightly.

She threw her head back, and gave a soft moan. He was teasing, tasting with a maddeningly light touch that had her squeezing and rubbing her nipples in desperation. He pulled back completely and gazed up at her.

Her hands didn’t stop.

“Oh, yeah, like that. That’s good, baby.” Then he bent back over and plunged his tongue deep inside her.

Kindra came with a cry, and the only thing that kept her standing was Mack’s hands on her legs, holding her still. Her hands dropped and she drew in a shaky breath.

“Mack…” As the tight passion settled down to satisfaction, Kindra felt her eyes pricking. She bit her lip. God, she was not going to be a total dip and cry, was she?

She’d rather go bald. At least there were wigs to fix that. Nothing was going to prevent total humiliation if she went emotional and confessed her feelings for Mack.

He was laughing softly, his grip on her legs relaxing. His soft lips pressed her inner thigh. “You’re incredible,” he murmured.

It was going to happen. She was going to cry. Shoot. Blinking hard, she pushed him back into the chair. Feelings of love rose up in her and threatened to overwhelm her. If she couldn’t tell him, she could show him.

And hide her face in the process.

Kindra went down on her knees.

Mack’s eyebrows shot up.

He opened his mouth to say something.

She didn’t wait to hear. Pulling his erection out from his black boxers, she bent over and took a nice long luscious suck.

Mack stared at the ceiling and gave a lusty sigh. Damn, he felt good. Never better, in fact. The lack of sleep didn’t bother him.

Not when he had spent half the night making love to Kindra. She was incredible. Giving, daring, yet shy. The way she was in bed reflected the complexity of her personality out of bed.

Full of surprises.

Mack rolled over in Kindra’s guest bed and watched her sleeping, her auburn hair spilling across her face. She had pulled the blanket up tightly under her chin, and her lush mouth was open as she breathed in and out with a soft whisper.

Settling himself up against her back, Mack stroked her smooth thighs. His body responded instantly and a huge boner was pressing into her backside in less than thirty seconds.

He couldn’t help himself. She did things to him, made him feel a way he never had.

When she woke up, he was going to tell her that he’d fallen in love with her.

No time like the present. Dusting a kiss on her shoulder, he reached around and slid a finger inside her, then back out, teasing her clit.

He felt her body swell and moisten. Her eyes popped open.

“Mack,” she murmured, her voice heavy with sleep. “It’s too early.”

“Then why are you wet?” He sucked her earlobe.

Already her body was rocking against his hand, her breath hitching.

“I’m not,” she insisted. “I’m still asleep.”

“Then you must having a damn good dream.”

Kindra’s fingers clenched the sheet as she moved faster against him.

Mack added a second finger and sent her over the edge. She shuddered and relaxed back on the pillow.

“Mmmm.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He rubbed his lips across her cheek and pulled his hand back.

“So what are your plans for the day?” He pictured snuggling half the day away, maybe grabbing some lunch and a movie, sharing a shower. Stopping by his apartment for fresh clothes and his toothbrush, then hightailing it back to Kindra’s for another night together.

Driving in to work together tomorrow.

Kindra stiffened. “Today? Oh, I have… things to do.”

“What things?” He didn’t like the sound of that. “I could do them with you.”

“No, no.” Now she scooted away from him and sat up, hugging the sheet around herself. “It’s girl stuff.”

Confused, a feeling of foreboding creeping over him, Mack said, “What girl things? Like buying tampons or something? That doesn’t bother me.”

Well, actually it did, but if that meant he could spend the day with Kindra, he could tolerate the whole heavy versus light flow conversation.

She turned back to him. “Mack…”

Foreboding was no longer creeping up. It was flat out biting him on the ass. There was an “I’m sorry” coming here, he just knew it.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to see each other again.”

“
What?
” Now he sat straight up. What the hell was she talking about? He had just decided they were perfect for each other. She couldn’t possibly mean that their one night stand was a real, honest to God, one night stand.

“This was fabulous, really, an amazing night, but that’s all it was. You know that.”

He didn’t know that. God, he felt so cheap, so used. Baffled, he gaped at her.

Gently, she gave him a small smile, clutching the sheet across her chest. “Your twelve hours is up.”

His own words thrown back at him. Mack struggled for composure even though his chest felt like someone had dug her fist in and ripped out his heart.

He’d thought there was something there, that sometimes Kindra had looked at him with tenderness. That the things they’d done were so much more than sex. They’d been intimate, personal.

Obviously he had been completely wrong.

“Do you want some breakfast before you go?”

Her back was exposed, creamy white flesh mocking him, taunting him as she looked at him over her shoulder. Her beauty nearly undid him.

But he’d be damned if he’d grovel or cry. Somehow he’d get out of this with his dignity intact.

“No, thanks.” Like he was going to sit there in the kitchen and eat some freaking eggs while she wished him gone.

“Did I prove my point?” he asked roughly.

Her little pink tongue slipped out and licked her lip. “Oh, yeah, you proved it. This was much, much better than cyber sex.”

It was something.

Not what he wanted, but something. And at least he could be comforted by the fact that he hadn’t blurted out his feelings and suffered extra humiliation as she let him down gently.

Nor would he follow her around like a dog after a bitch in heat, though she did reduce him to panting.

“Good,” he said, his jaw clenched. “Tell that guy to get some new lines, will you? That alone will make it better for you.”

Then he got up off the bed and strode to the bathroom, not sticking around to hear Kindra’s reply. The sudden image of Kindra in her computer chair letting that filthy guy talk nasty to her made him livid. Hot with fury and sick with jealousy.

If he couldn’t have her, he sure as hell didn’t want anyone to have her, especially not some cyber Romeo who didn’t know sexy from sushi.

Mack closed the bathroom door behind him.

He’d proven his point all right. Proven he was an idiot.

Kindra stared at her inbox. A half dozen messages from Russ were winking at her. Subject headings like “Where are you?”, “Miss you”, and “Feeling horny” leapt out.

She had yet to read any of them.

Listening to Russ talk about crotchless panties suddenly sounded about as fun as bleaching her mustache. A waste of a good ten minutes.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had sent Mack away that morning, determined to protect her heart at all costs.

Watching him stomp off, stiff and gruff, had been the hardest thing she’d done to date, if she didn’t count jumping those hurdles in high school gym class.

But now she was supposed to resume her life.

Go to work. Wear boring clothes. Chat with Russ. Never have good sex again.

Gee, that sounded appealing.

Without thought, her hand ran the cursor through the computer menu. She retrieved the video she had made the night before. Thirty seconds later she and Mack were on her screen.

His voice was low, commanding. She watched herself, head thrown back, eyes half closed and breath hitching. She caressed her nipples.

Mack spread her thighs.

Kindra live began to pant in unison with her cyber self.

Oh, Mack. What the heck had she done?

So what if he didn’t want a relationship? She could have done
this
with him again.

Until he got tired of her.

Which would be worse in the end.

No, she had done the right thing.

Mack’s tongue plunged into her onscreen.

The doorbell rang. Kindra leapt up, turning off her monitor. Maybe it was Mack, coming back. Maybe he wanted to make her change her mind. Or maybe he had just forgotten his socks or something.

She peered through the living room window as she ran to the door. Or maybe it was her friends. Shoot.

Reluctantly, she opened the door.

Ashley groaned. “Oh, seriously, you’re wearing yoga pants again.”

“So?” They were perfect, It’s-Sunday-and-my-life-is-over pants.

Trish pushed past her. “Is he still here? How was it? You did sleep with him, didn’t you?”

Kindra had no interest in dishing out details on her night with Mack. “No, he’s not still here.”

Ashley collapsed on her couch, enormous hoop earrings dangling down over her lime green sweater. “But he was here right?”

“Yes, we went out to dinner, then came back here.” Kindra stuck her hands in her sweatshirt pouch and paced across the room. She felt a headache coming on. A real one this time, unlike the one she had faked for Russ.

“Well, change your clothes, then tell us all about it,” Ashley urged.

“Why do I have to change my clothes?”

“Because we’re going to the movies, remember?” Ashley said. “Did you forget?”

“Yes.”

“Must have been some night,” Trish snickered. “Details, dear, we want details.”

“Are you okay, Kindra?” Violet asked, pushing her glasses up with one finger. “You look like something’s wrong.”

Everything was wrong. Kinda stopped paced and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m not okay. I’m in love with Mack!”

Violet’s eyes widened. Trish gasped.

Ashley moaned. “Oh, no, how could you?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Like she’d set out to make herself miserable by falling in love with an unobtainable paragon.

“That must have been good sex,” Trish remarked.

“It was.” Better than good. Ecstasy inducing, mind bending, earth shaking, great sex. She sighed.

“But it was more than great sex, it was… intimate.” Another lusty sigh emerged. “And now that I’ve let the cat out the bag, I don’t think I can stuff it back in.”

“What do you mean?” Violet asked.

She wasn’t sure exactly. She just knew she couldn’t be the same old Kindra the wallflower anymore. She had changed. Mack had brought out parts of herself she had forgotten existed.

“I may not be able to have Mack, but I’m tired of being taken advantage of at work. I’m going to stand up for myself, and get some excitement in my life.”

“Does that mean better clothes?” Ashley asked hopefully.

“Will you quit harping on my clothes?” she said in exasperation. “But yes, it means new clothes.”

“Cool.” Trish swung her backpack purse back on. “Let’s skip the movie and go shopping instead.”

Ashley stood up and hugged Kindra. “Hey, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Mack, but you never know. Maybe he feels the same way about you.”

Hah. And Mack Stone was going to get a pet poodle named Bitsy. Please.

Mack sucked down his third cup of coffee in the last hour and glared at Jim, his co-worker. God, Jim was annoying. Of course, everyone was annoying this morning.

After a miserable Sunday afternoon wallowing in self-pity, Mack had spent a sleepless night. He’d woken up Monday morning with a pounding head and an aching heart.

Then to make it all worse, Kindra had strode into work that morning looking breezy and sensual, confident and happy.

For the first time ever she was wearing her hair down at work. The soft auburn sleekness bounced over her shoulders, and she was wearing very subtle make-up that brought out her green eyes and made her cheekbones look a mile long.

Instead of black, her suit was brown. Warm chocolate that made her skin glow. The cut was feminine, tighter and shorter than he’d ever seen Kindra in.

She looked fantastic. Gorgeous. Edible.

Damned if he wasn’t the only one to notice it either. Half the office staff was sniffing around her. The male half.

Mack stood over Jim’s desk, wishing Jim would put his doughnut down so they could solve the problem they were working on. Bright laughter floated over to them. Mack gritted his teeth and turned.

It was Kindra perched on the reception desk, surrounded by three guys. Mack rubbed his forehead. When she had seen him this morning, he had gotten nothing more than a cool hello.