MacNamarasLady (17 page)

T.S. had become an integral part of her
life when she hadn’t been looking.

“You’re losing weight and you were already
skinny. If you weren’t my best friend I’d have to hate you for that. I eat when
I’m depressed.” Missy managed to smile at her friend, knowing she meant well.
Candy had been pushing all manner of food and baked goods on her for the past
week, but Missy couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for any of them. Not even
Lucas’ famous killer brownies.

Candy pushed away from the doorframe and
closed the door behind her. “Call him. Go see him. Talk to him.” No need for
her to say who
he
was. They both knew.

Tears pricked Missy’s eyes. She had to do
something. She couldn’t keep going on this way. She wasn’t sleeping, her
stomach was constantly in knots and a deep emptiness filled her.

She’d done a lot of thinking this past
week. She hadn’t realized how focused and regimented her life had become until
she’d met T.S. She’d come to the unhappy conclusion that she’d allowed a set of
goals to eclipse her life. Goals were good, but not at the expense of living.
And that’s what she’d essentially been doing. She’d put off her life, foolishly
thinking everything would fall into place as soon as she’d reached a certain
goal.

Talk about a control freak.

She’d accepted that she’d needed that rigid
sense of control and order in the beginning. But she wasn’t a frightened young
girl anymore trying to put her past behind her and make something of herself.
She was an independent, financially secure woman. It was time to start acting
like it.

“You’re right.”

Candy’s eyes widened. “I am? I mean, of
course I am.”

Her friend had refrained from mentioning
T.S. all week, but now Missy had to ask. “How is he?”

“Hurt. Angry.” Candy didn’t pull any
punches.

Missy sucked in a breath. She ached for
him, for the pain she’d caused. It didn’t matter where their relationship ended
up and, after waiting a week to talk to him, Missy was under no illusions that
they even had one any longer. But she owed it to him to talk to him like an
adult.

She shoved away from her desk. She could
afford to take an early lunch considering how many extra hours she’d put in
this past week. This wasn’t going to be easy, but it was necessary. And long
overdue.

She retrieved her purse from her desk
drawer and slipped on her coat. “Do you know where he is?”

“At the apartment. It’s the final day. He
took a few days off to check on the other projects his company is handling.”
Candy placed her hand on Missy’s arm. “Be sure you know what you want. I don’t
want either one of you hurt any more than you already have been.”

Missy hugged her friend. “I’m so sorry to
put you in the middle of this.”

“That’s okay. But I love you both and want
you happy.”

Missy didn’t think that was possible. “I
don’t know about happy, but we’ll have sorted this out once and for all.”

* * * * *

T.S. toured the apartment, checking on
every inch of the place. It was perfect. No need for him to stay any longer. No
excuse for him to be here in hopes Missy might drop by to see Candy.

Not that he was doing that. Not really.

He stomped out into the main room where
both Justin and Lucas were waiting for him. “It’s done.”

“It sure is. You did a hell of a job.”
Justin held out his hand. “Thanks. I can’t wait to move in.”

T.S. took it. “I had some good help.”

Justin laughed. “Unskilled labor is more
like it.” He slapped his hand on T.S.’ back. “I gotta go pack my stuff and buy
some furniture to put in this place.”

When Justin was gone, T.S. turned to his
friend. “If you need anything else give me a call.”

Lucas said nothing, but continued to stare
patiently at him. The bastard. T.S. held up his hands. “I’m not talking about
it. It’s done. It’s finished.” And that thought was what kept the knot in his
gut twisted tight.

“Have you tried to talk to her?” Lucas
leaned against the living room wall and crossed one foot over the other as if
settling in for the long haul. T.S. was having none of it.

“Nope. Missy made it clear we were
finished. Done.”

“You know she has control issues just like
you do. Some guys call her the ice-queen.” Lucas threw that statement out of
left field, shocking T.S.

Before he could tell his friend how untrue
that asinine statement was, he heard a noise behind him. He glanced over his
shoulder and froze. Missy was standing there, her hands clenching her purse.
She looked slightly pale, but composed.

Shit, had she heard what Lucas said? By the
look on her face he’d say that was a definite yes.

Lucas came away from the wall. “Hey,
Missy.”

“Hi.” She motioned in his direction. “Do
you mind if I talk to T.S.? Alone.”

“No problem.” Lucas headed out, pausing long
enough to drop a kiss on Missy’s cheek. It was an innocent gesture of
friendship, but it made him curl his hands into fists at his sides. When he
realized what he was doing he made himself relax, flexing his stiff fingers.
Missy could kiss whoever she wanted.

Acid churned in his gut at the thought of
another man in bed with her.

Outwardly betraying none of his feelings,
he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Lucas to leave and close the
door behind him. Missy turned to him and tried to smile. It fell flat.

“What do you want?” His voice was gruffer
than he’d intended and she flinched slightly before straightening her
shoulders.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said the
other day. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I should have asked for your side
of the story. I’m sorry.”

A week ago that would have meant everything
to him. But now, he was so frozen inside it could barely even make a dent in
his newly erected walls. “Apology accepted.” He started to leave. He couldn’t
bear being this close to Missy and not touch her.

He tried to brush past her, but she stopped
him dead in his tracks when she put her hand on his arm. His biceps flexed and
swelled as his muscles tightened. He turned his face toward her and cocked one
eyebrow in question.

Her cheeks flushed, but she appeared
determined. “I’m sorry for the pain I caused you, T.S. The only excuse I have
is that I had a gut reaction due to my past. That wasn’t fair to you. To either
of us.” Her fingers tightened and he could feel the heat of her hand soaking
through his shirt and into his skin.

With every breath he took he inhaled her
sweet smell, a combination of soap and lotion she used. He’d come to know it
well. If Missy glanced down at the front of his jeans she’d know he was as hard
as a post.

His instantaneous arousal made him angry
and he lashed out. “I’m glad you figured it all out.”

Missy frowned. “What happened, T.S.? Why
were you in prison?”

The words were on the tip of his tongue but
he swallowed them back. “Considering we’re done, I don’t think you need to
know.” No way was he opening himself up to satisfy her curiosity. A guy had to
have some pride.

Instead of moving away from him, Missy
shifted closer. Her body brushed his. Even through the thickness of her coat,
he could feel her heat. His fingers itched to stroke her curves and pull her
tight against him. The sexual heat that always seemed to be simmering between
them whenever they were in the same room was still there. That hadn’t changed
in the past week.

“T.S.” She said his name. Nothing more.

The loneliness. The anger. The
disappointment. The pure sexual need of the past week all collided together at
once. She was here and he’d missed her. So damn much. He hated how much he’d
missed her.

He gripped her shoulders and pulled her
toward him. He half expected her to fight him when he captured her mouth. She
surged toward him instead, meeting him halfway.

This was no gentle kiss. He didn’t have
that in him. Not now. He wanted her to the point of madness. He drove his
tongue into her mouth, moaning when he tasted the sweet, moist cavern.

His fingers were busy and he had her coat
open and off in a heartbeat. Her purse landed with a thump beside it. Missy
twined her arms around his neck as he continued to plunder her mouth. He sucked
her tongue hard and moaned when she scraped her teeth over his.

He backed her up against the wall and
grabbed her leg, pulling high and tight to his hip. Missy arched her hips and
ground them against his cock. T.S. was lost in a swirling mass of need. He had
to have her. Now.

Missy couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Not
with T.S. kissing her like she was the very air he needed to survive. He’d been
so cold, so distant. For a moment she’d been afraid he was simply going to walk
away from her.

The warm lover she’d grown to know so well
had been nowhere in sight. In his place had been a cold, distant man. She’d
done that to him. It hurt her to think she’d been responsible for such pain.

They hadn’t settled things yet. She still
didn’t know what had happened. How he’d ended up in prison. But that didn’t
matter now. Time enough to talk about that later. She was in his arms where she
belonged. And he was in hers.

The wall was hard against her back, but
T.S. was even harder against her front. His cock was hard and full against her
sex as she worked her hips. Even through her skirt, she could feel him pressing
against her clit. Heat and need suffused her. She had to get closer to him.

Her fingers tore at his T-shirt, yanking it
from the waistband of his jeans. She pushed beneath it and her hands found warm
slabs of flesh. T.S. was ripped, every muscle hard and delineated. She stroked
upward and found his flat nipples. He pulled his mouth from hers and swore when
she dragged her thumbs over the hard points.

His breathing was as ragged as hers. He
stared down at her, his eyes blazing with desire. There was no warning before
he gripped the sides of her blouse and tugged. Buttons pinged off the floor and
wall as the material was ripped open.

He didn’t bother to undo her bra, but
pushed it up, exposing the dark mounds. He made a sound in the back of his
throat, much like a wounded moan, before swooping down to capture one tight
nipple in his mouth. His tongue laved the tip as his teeth held it gently
captive.

She couldn’t touch him enough, get close
enough.

T.S. released the taut bud and blew. She
shivered and gasped, trying to tug him back to her breast. He nuzzled his way
to the other one and went to work.

Missy’s fingers found his belt buckle,
fumbling with it until it came free. The button of his jeans was no problem.
The zipper was next.

His erection brushed the back of her
fingers through his boxer briefs. He was hard and hot and more than ready.

“Touch me,” he commanded. He pushed his
erection against her hand.

Missy shoved the material out of her way
and closed her fingers around him. They both moaned as he pulsed against her.
She licked her lips, wanting to taste him.

He took a half step back and she went to
her knees in front of him. His fingers tangled in her hair as he angled his
cock toward her lips. The dark blue veins running up and down the thick shaft
throbbed with need and the plum-shaped head was dark and wet.

Missy licked at the tip, tasting the salty
liquid seeping from it. She pumped her hand up and down his hard length,
continuing to tease his cock head with her tongue and lips. She kissed and
laved, licking it like it was a treat long denied.

“Suck me.” He pressed the tip against her
lips and she parted them, taking him into her mouth. “Fuck, yes.” He started
flexing his hips, driving his cock deeper into her mouth. She moved her hand up
on his shaft, controlling the depth of his thrusts.

She raked her teeth softly over him,
teasing, taunting. Her breasts ached so she rubbed them against his jean-clad
thighs. The rough material felt wonderful against her peaked nipples.

Capturing his testicles with her free hand,
she gently squeezed. They were tight and full.

T.S. pulled back suddenly, his cock coming
out of her mouth with a wet pop. He yanked her to her feet and thrust her
against the wall. His hands roughly shoved her skirt around her waist and his
fingers delved between her thighs. She was wearing stockings so the only
barrier was her underwear.

Thin, delicate material ripped. Then he was
touching her where she needed it most. He stroked the slick folds of her pussy
before pressing inside. A low, keening sound broke from her throat. She was so
ready. She needed him.

“Theo.” He jerked at the sound of his name.
For a brief second she thought he might say something. Then the moment was
gone. He lifted her leg, opening her even more for his touch. She felt the head
of his cock against her slit and then he was pushing inside. There was no
hesitation. He kept going until he was buried as far as he could go.

Missy clutched his shoulders and fought for
breath. The sensation of his cock stretching her, her inner muscles closing
tight around him, was unbelievably erotic. She could feel him pulsing hard
inside her.