From Friend to Fake Fiancé (15 page)

His hands slid down her sides and gripped her waist. The strength of his touch warmed her entire body through the silk.

“I'd rather show you,” he muttered against her lips. “But I do love you, Jenna. So much. More than I ever thought possible.”

Wrapping her arms around him, she nipped at his lips. As if that set off some sort of spark in him, Mac lifted her up against him. Instinctively her legs went around his waist as he carried her from the room. She kissed his stubbled jawline as he made his way toward her bedroom.

“I need you now,” he growled as they toppled onto the bed.

In a frenzy, he tore his clothes off and yanked her chemise down. Poised above her, he stared into her eyes. “Nothing between us,” he told her.

Jenna nodded. She never wanted anything between them again. When Mac joined their bodies, Jenna wrapped herself around him, taking in all of his strength. This is what they were, a team, a force. They were lovers, best friends and so much more.

Mac's lips moved over hers, then down her throat as she arched into his touch. He whispered her name as she climbed and when she flew apart, he told her once again how much he loved her and then followed her over the edge.

Moments later, Jenna lay tucked against his side. There was so much that still needed to be said, so much that needed to be hashed out, but right now, she had all she needed.

When her stomach growled, she snuggled a bit deeper. “I'm starving. I worked up an appetite.”

Mac slid his hand up her back and into her hair, which had fallen from the ponytail. “Stay here and I'll bring you breakfast.”

When he got up, Jenna admired his perfect male form. And he was all hers.

“Look at me like that and I'll never make it out of this room,” he told her.

“Bring me breakfast and I'll thank you properly.”

He closed his eyes and groaned. “You're killing me. Don't move.”

Moments later he had her tea and a plate of Danishes in hand.

“I'm pretty sure I could never get tired of you serving me breakfast in bed while naked.”

He smiled as he placed the items on her bedside table. Mac sank down beside her, caging her in as he put a hand on either side of her hips. “Then marry me and I'll do this every day.”

Jenna gasped. “What?”

“Marry me, Jenna. I don't want to be your fake fiancé or your pretend lover. I want it all.”

Her mind spun in circles. Were they ready for this?

“Marriage is a big leap, Mac. Aren't we moving too fast?”

He laughed and smacked her lips with a kiss. “I've wanted you for years, Jen. I want to wake up with you every single morning and I want you to be legally mine. I can't get a ring on your finger fast enough.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “Mac,” she whispered.

“Before you say yes, I need to know something.”

Blinking against the moisture, Jenna nodded. “Anything.”

“Do you love me?”

Her heart swelled. As if there was ever any doubt as to her feelings, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you more than anything in this world. I don't care what you do, I know you'll always keep me safe. I will marry you today, tomorrow, whenever.”

He folded her into his chest and sighed against her neck. “I want you to have the wedding you've always dreamed of. I want you to wear your mother's dress.”

Jenna smiled and pulled back. “I guess we can officially tell them we're getting married now?”

“Did they ever know any different?” he asked.

“No.”

Mac shrugged. “Then let's not tell them. We're only moving forward. No regrets and no looking back.”

“I couldn't agree more.” She trailed her fingertip along the coarse hair covering his jaw. “But I want a honeymoon in Bora Bora.”

“I want a honeymoon for the rest of our lives all over the world.”

Mac laid Jenna back on the bed and proceeded to get started on that honeymoon...breakfast forgotten once again.

Epilogue

“W
e have a problem.”

Words Mac never liked to hear, especially from Braden. They'd been riding life too easily lately...well, easily for them. Of course something had to land in their laps.

“What?” he asked, gripping the phone.

Jenna had gone shopping with her mother. Only a week ago he'd officially asked her to marry him and now the women were out planning. Mac didn't care what she planned, so long as she was his wife sooner rather than later.

“Laney called and said she's come across some chatter of an investigation being done on the down low.”

“And we're the subject?”

“Yeah.”

Damn it. “Do we know where the threat is coming from?” Mac asked, sinking into his leather office chair.

“Not yet. She just called me, but she's trying to hack into more databases,” Braden explained. “She said this will take some time, so we need to keep things squeaky clean until we know where the real danger is.”

Mac rested his elbows on his desk and eyed his shut door. He'd come into the office early but kept the door shut because he hadn't wanted to be disturbed when his assistant came in.

“Do you think it's someone who works for us or some unknown entity trying to get close to us?”

Braden blew out a frustrated breath. “I have no idea and I'm pissed. We don't know who set this into motion or how many are involved.”

“We need to figure out who it is as soon as possible. We can't alert our allies in the FBI or local law enforcement until we know what we're up against.”

“Trust me, Laney is on it and she's just as pissed as we are. Nobody comes at us like this.”

And lives
, Mac wanted to say. But he wasn't going to get into that hot debate again. As much as Braden wanted to move their family into a new, less violent territory, there had to be repercussions for such actions.

Still, it was a topic they could and would discuss once they knew more details.

“Does Ryker know?”

“I'm calling him next,” Braden explained. “Just keep Jenna close until we know what we're up against. This may be someone out to harm us physically or attack our business. Damn it, I hate being in the dark.”

Mac swallowed. This was one of the reasons he'd hesitated letting Jenna in so deep. But he realized that having her close was the best place for her. It was the only way to ensure her safety.

“I'll be sure to stay on high alert. We just need to keep Ryker in the background for now. Even the scroll hunt needs to be suspended. If he discovered where they were and went in—”

“Yeah. I know. I'll make sure he understands the severity of the situation.”

“Any other bad news?” Mac asked.

“That's it. But I want you to be watching everything in your offices. This timing reeks and I don't believe in coincidences. We didn't have an issue until we opted to open new branches and I'm wondering if there's a plant in either the Miami or Atlanta location.”

Mac came to his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. “I'll have Laney look deeper into the new employees' personal lives. I want texts, where they go on their time off, everything.”

“Good idea.”

Mac wondered if this would be too much to put on their sister, but she was just as strong and resilient as the rest of them...a point she often reminded them of. Still, she was their baby sister and they felt the need to shelter her.

“I need to get ahold of Ryker.”

Mac stood at his floor-to-ceiling office windows and stared out onto the city. “I'll keep you posted if anything turns up.”

Just as he disconnected the call, his office door flew open. Mac jerked in defense, but relaxed when he saw Jenna in the doorway loaded down with bags.

“I did some damage,” she said as she breezed in. “Mom dropped me off on her way to the salon. I booked her an appointment and...what's wrong?”

She dumped the bags into the leather club chair by the door and crossed to him. “Mac?” she asked, her brows drawn in.

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Nothing.”

Jenna pulled back, her hand on his chest. “We're a team now, remember? If you can't give me details, I understand, but don't lie to my face.”

“There's been a threat to the family. I don't know if it's personal or business. I really have no details but I can tell you that you're safe. I just need you to be vigilant when you're not with me.”

She studied his face. “I know you'll protect me, but what about you? Who's going to protect you?”

“I'm fine.” He squeezed her tighter against him as he stared out the window. “Everything will be fine, Jenna. I swear to you.”

And that was a promise he'd never break. Regardless of his family's new direction, if anyone ever posed a threat to what belonged to Mac, he'd personally see to destroying that person with his bare hands.

“You believe you're safe, right? Promise me you're not going to worry about this.”

Jenna looked up into his eyes. “I'm not worried one bit. I know you wouldn't lie to me about that.”

“I love you, Jenna.”

A smile spread across her face. “I love you. More than anything. Shall I lock the door and give you a sneak peek at what I purchased for our honeymoon?”

Arousal slammed into him. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

As he watched his fiancée close and lock the door, he knew he'd die before letting anything happen to her. This was the start of their life together and things may be rocky, but for now, having Jenna do some insanely erotic striptease in his office was all he needed. She was all he needed and they would face anything in the outside world together.

* * * * *

If you liked this novel, check out the first book in the
MAFIA MOGULS
series from Jules Bennett:
TRAPPED WITH THE TYCOON

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BEHIND PALACE DOORS
WHAT THE PRINCE WANTS
A ROYAL AMNESIA SCANDAL
WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT...

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HIS SEDUCTION GAME PLAN
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