The Day He Kissed Her (18 page)

She kissed him. She tasted herself in him.

Holy. Hell.

She groaned when his tongue slid inside her mouth, but he had a hell of a lot more control than she did…he took his time, kissing her gently and then suckling her tongue hard.

Crushed against him, the cool water was like silk on their skin, and they kissed until her head spun. Jesus, Mackenzie Draper could kiss. Never had a man taken his time with her and fed from her mouth as if it was everything he needed.

Mackenzie held her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, his mouth taking and giving, murmuring erotic things and driving her crazy her with his hands, tongue, and mouth. They were in the water for hours it seemed, but she knew it had only been a few minutes.

And she never wanted it to end. They were skin on skin, and it was the hottest thing ever.

She loved the way his hands slid up and down her body, the way his mouth worshipped her, gliding along her collarbone. Settling against her breasts. Nestling beneath her earlobe.

When he took one turgid nipple inside his mouth and blew hot air over her before suckling her hard, she felt the pull shoot all the way down to the center between her legs.

“Mac,” she whimpered, gyrating against him. She felt the heat of his erection just below her butt, and she knew that he couldn’t hold out much longer.

“Say it,” he said gruffly.

“Say what?” she asked, barely able to get the words out.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I want you inside me,” she answered without hesitation.

Mac dropped another kiss onto her mouth, a slow tantalizing tease as his hands kneaded her butt cheeks. He turned and slowly walked out of the water, Lily clinging to him with her legs and her arms, their mouths fused together as he headed up the path to the cottage.

She felt his strength, the muscles in his shoulders and arms, the heat in his kiss, and by the time they reached the porch, they were both breathing heavy. Slowly she slid down the length of him, and when she would have grabbed his cock, he stopped her and shook his head.

“Don’t. Babe, I’m too far gone. If you touch me now, it will be all over and, Boston, I’ve been dreaming of sinking inside you since New Year’s Eve.”

He fused his mouth to hers again, pulling her into the cottage, and they didn’t stop until they were in his bedroom. They didn’t stop until she was on her back, on his bed, spread out like a banquet feast. Her legs were wide open, and she didn’t care at all. In fact, when his heated gaze settled there, she smiled and slipped her fingers over herself.

“Jesus, Lily. Are you trying to kill me?”

“No,” she answered. “I need you very much alive and inside me.”

Mackenzie grabbed a condom from somewhere behind him, and she bit her bottom lip in anticipation. She heard him rip the foil, and seconds later he was over, his arms on either side of her face, his beautiful mouth close to hers.

His long, heated length was pressed intimately into hers, and she felt the rigid strength of his cock.

“I can’t wait anymore, Boston, and I’m going to apologize now because I don’t think I can last much longer.”

And then he was inside. His long, hard length going deep.

God, the feel of him inside her.

Her legs went around him, her nails dug into his shoulders. There were no more words. No more tender kisses or gentle caresses.

There was only the hard and intense need they felt for each other. And as Mackenzie took Lily to the summit, as he rocked into her and begged for release, her last thought before she came was that she would never get this back.

At least, not with anyone else. Never anyone else.

And for that one second, she was scared to death.

But then Mackenzie’s mouth found hers, and they shattered together—and Lily let all those thoughts slide away.

Chapter 18

Mackenzie was wide awake well before the first rays of sun crept across the horizon. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the gloom and glanced at the clock beside the bed. It was just after 3:00 a.m., and considering that he’d had Lily more than once—hell, he’d lost count after she’d pushed him onto his back and slid on top of him—he should have been down for the count for at least a few more hours.

Mac listened to Lily’s slow, easy breaths. It had been a long time since he’d woken up with a woman in his arms, and he kind of liked the way it felt. Lily was warm and soft and just…right.

Her back was to him, that delectable butt pressed into his groin where—hello—Godzilla was already stirring. He’d snaked his arm around her waist, holding her tight for hours, and now that he was awake, he bent forward, inhaling the subtle scent of apples in her hair.

Damn, but Boston smelled good. And it wasn’t that perfume crap that most of the women he dated liked to use. Seriously, if they only knew how much most guys hated that stuff. Who the hell wanted a nose full of heavy perfume when you were getting busy?

But Boston? She was sexy and fresh and…

She murmured something in her sleep and moved her butt against him.

Jesus.

He clenched his teeth together in an effort to hold himself together. His cock was definitely awake—hard and ready to go—and for a moment, he considered slipping inside her from behind, but then he realized his condoms were on the other side of the bed.

Mac wasn’t willing to give up the feel of her against him just yet.

He winced at the thought. Christ, Jake would tell him he was turning into a woman or would called him a pussy—which was ironic, because Jake had pretty much become a pussy the moment he’d sniffed Raine’s skirts and decided to chase after the one thing he wanted more than anything else.

It sure as hell wasn’t Mac’s gig, but he couldn’t fault their happiness. Nope. That whole forever thing wasn’t in the cards for him, but that didn’t mean he begrudged those who were into it, the ones who believed in true love and all that shit.

Mac lay back on his pillow and gazed at the ceiling. To each his own and all that. He might not be into the commitment thing, but neither was Lily, and right now the two of them together was just about perfect.

In fact they were better than perfect if there was such a thing.

He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, staring up at the ceiling and enjoying the feel of Lily in his bed, but eventually his neck cramped up and he moved gingerly, careful not to wake her.

Mac slid out of bed and took a moment to watch Lily as she slumbered, totally unaware and vulnerable—there was something so sweet about the way she looked. She was still on her side, with one hand beneath the pillow and the other curled under her chin like a child. That long mane of hair was all over the place—tangled beyond belief—and the indent of her waist, the curve of her hip, and the gentle slope at the small of her back was something he’d like to have fucking framed.

He couldn’t help himself.

Mac bent over and kissed a spot at the back of her neck just under her hairline. She shifted slightly and murmured something that he couldn’t understand, but she never woke up. He pulled the covers over her and tucked them under her chin before heading out into the main room of the cottage.

He was restless and wasn’t sure why, because Lord knows he had no energy left. Mac was in shape, he hit the gym hard, but after the intense workout he’d had with Lily, there were places on him that were a little sore.

He chuckled. What a problem to have.

It was a good sore.

After a quick shower, he pulled on an old pair of faded green cargos and padded out to the kitchen where he made a pot of coffee and then sat at the counter where he’d left his laptop. He booted up the thing and stared at the screen absently, leaning back in his chair as he gazed around the empty room. It was quiet—too quiet. Generally, he liked to listen to music while he worked, but he didn’t want to chance waking Lily.

He thought that maybe she should sleep, because he was already planning on round two later. In the meantime, he may as well get some work done. He took a sip of strong, black coffee and got to it.

***

Several hours later, he slid from his chair and rolled his shoulders. With sunlight streaming into the place, there was no way to hide what his last girlfriend would have called “dumpy chic.” Sure the decorators hadn’t been called in since 1995, but Mac kinda liked the orange and green and cedar.

The place looked lived-in and comfortable.

He’d just cracked a few eggs into the skillet and was whistling as he did so—when the hell did he ever whistle?—when he heard a knock at the door. It was just before eight in the morning, and he wasn’t expecting anyone, but Mac turned the heat down and crossed the room. He glanced out at the driveway when he passed by the large windows in the family room and paused.

It was his mother’s car. Huh.

With a quick glance back at the bedroom, he opened the door with a smile, the one he saved for all those times he got caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing—which was kind of ridiculous considering he was thirty-five.

“Hey, Ma…”

But the words died on his lips when he spied his sister standing there and, a few feet behind her, his nephew, Liam.

“I’m so sorry to bother you on a Sunday, Mac.”

He could tell that she was nervous and he knew that didn’t bode well. “It’s alright. What’s up?”

She looked past him. “Um, can we come in?”

Mac hesitated, but Becca didn’t seem to notice, or rather, she chose not to notice, because she pushed past him and beckoned the kid to follow. “Come on, Liam.”

Mac stood aside and waited for his nephew to pass before closing the door behind them. That’s when he noticed Liam’s bag, and he shot a look to his sister.

“What’s going on, Becca?”

She hesitated, her eyes sliding away from his, and that pretty much told him all he needed to know. Whatever was going on couldn’t be good.

“I need Liam to stay here for a few days.”

Liam? What? No.

Mac shook his head and only stopped himself from becoming a total asshole when he realized that his nephew’s eyes were on him. The kid had his hands buried in his front pockets as if he were digging for gold, and if he pushed them down any more, he was going to lose his pants. Something about the way his shoulders were hunched got to Mac, and he glared at his sister.

It was always the kids who got the shit end of the stick.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. What the hell is going on?”

Becca licked her lips and motioned to Liam. “Why don’t you go down and have a look at the dock? Maybe your uncle can take you fishing one afternoon, or—”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Cuz he’s so excited to have me here.”

Liam pushed past his mother and headed outside, leaving the siblings alone. Mac studied his sister for a few moments before he headed back into the kitchen. What now?

“I could use a coffee if you don’t mind.”

Mac grimaced as he eyed the machine. He could be a total prick and tell her he had none left, or he could be the brother that he knew she needed right now and make her a damn pot of coffee. If Lily hadn’t been in his bedroom, it would have been a no-brainer, but she was and he had no desire to mix his fucked-up family business with what he had going on with Lily. No one should bear witness to the screwed-up situation that he couldn’t manage to escape no matter how hard he tried.

“Sorry, I don’t have cream.”

“Oh,” Becca said. “That’s okay.”

“I don’t have any sugar either.”

She played with the edge of his laptop and shrugged. “That’s fine.”

He could play this game all day but so could Becca. Mac knew when he was done for, so he walked over to his bedroom and closed the door. When he turned back around, his sister was staring at him with big eyes.

“Shit, Mackenzie. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had someone here.”

“There’s no one—”

Becca’s eyebrow shot up. “Then why did you just close the door?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, walking over to the cupboard. He pulled out two mugs and set them aside. “It’s not like it would have stopped you if you had.”

Mackenzie tossed the old grains and got the machine set up before he leaned against the counter. Becca was quiet, fiddling with the cup he’d set out for her, and he knew by the way she was avoiding his eyes that he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. The bruise on her cheek was now a lovely shade of yellow, but the swelling had gone down and sometime between yesterday and today she’d tossed the sling her left arm had been in.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, Becs?”

“Promise me you won’t get mad.”

Okay. This wasn’t good.

Mackenzie clenched his teeth together and tried to relax, but his hands fisted at his side as his thoughts turned to his asshole brother-in-law. He knew where this was going. He’d seen it all before.

“I…David called last night, and I need to go and see him.”

“No,” Mac shot back, pushing away from the counter as his anger began to boil. It began to boil hard, and he put some distance between himself and Becca. “Are you kidding me? Jesus Christ, Becs. I thought you had more sense than that.”

“Mac. He’s…it’s just to talk things out.”

Mackenzie rounded the corner of the countertop and glared at his sister. “Let me guess. He loves you and he’s sorry that he beat your face in. He didn’t mean to hurt you and he sure as hell didn’t mean to almost break your arm.”

Becca winced but shoved her chin up at him. “Goddammit, Mac. Keep your voice down. I don’t need your bimbo of the day hearing my business.”

Mac had a moment where he saw red. It was a bright-crimson sheet of anger that washed over him, and he had to physically move away from his sister because he didn’t trust himself.

“What is it that you think you’re going to accomplish by going back to him?”

“Mac, you don’t understand. He’s my husband and he’s—”

“He’s a fucking prick who used you as a punching bag. That’s not a husband. That’s not a father. That’s a coward and a bully, and you deserve a hell of a lot more than someone like that.”