“He’s awake. I just talked to him on the phone,” Carter said, cutting the long box open with a utility knife he’d pulled from one of the pockets of his cargos. “We got back around eight last night.”
Mel smiled. “Just in time for you and Dex to buy my burger and fries.”
“Carter and Dex bought you dinner?” Abby asked, her brows lifting.
The redhead nodded. “Because I outshot them in darts.”
Stefanie laughed. She’d seen her friend win free food all the time there.
“Why didn’t you invite me?” Abby was frowning now. “It’s not like I live too far away.”
Her friend rented an apartment above the bar and grille, which gave her close access to all that great food.
Mel shook her head. “Sorry, Abs. I did text you, but you were still in San Antonio.”
“Ah.” Abby nodded. “I didn’t get back until nine.”
“I was long gone by then,” Mel said.
She walked back toward Carter. “Is Mac at the office or his ranch?”
“Ranch,” Carter replied. “He’s there doing routine maintenance today.”
“Okay. Great. Thanks,” she said, pulling her phone out her dress pocket. She bought the wraparound dress for that very reason. “I’ll call him now, then. See you guys later.” She scrolled through her contacts and hit call as she left out the back door of Abby’s shop.
He picked up on the second ring. “Morning.”
“Morning, Mac,” she replied, walking to the last door at the back of the building. “I understand from Carter that you’re doing maintenance at the ranch today. Would you rather meet tomorrow?” She hoped not. She was excited to show him her work, but didn’t want to interfere with his.
“Can you come here?” he asked. “I’m doing maintenance on the chopper but am curious to see what you’ve come up with.”
She smiled, unlocking her door and stepping inside. “Sure. When do you want me?” As soon as it slipped out, she silently cursed her word choice.
“Whenever you can make it.”
She bent down to scratch under Reggie’s chin as he lounged on the couch. “I can be there in about fifteen minutes,” she told him before hanging up. His ranch wasn’t that far from town. She just needed to take her cat back to the cottage first.
Leaving him locked in the back of her shop was okay for short periods of time, like this morning’s visit to Abby’s shop, but since she was driving to see Mac, she felt better taking Reggie home. There was more space for him to roam.
Fifteen minutes later on the dot, Stefanie parked in front of Mac’s house. The cozy ranch, with an inviting front porch was situated on several acres, with an old barn, a few run-ins, some livestock, and a brand-new hanger-type structure on a huge slab of concrete.
The faint strains of Nickelback drifted toward her as she slung the strap of her portfolio bag over her shoulder and made her way toward the music. The huge bay doors of the hangar were closed, but the side door was open. She entered and was surprised at how big it was inside. The two SUVs and his motorcycle were parked in the back, while a big, black helicopter, similar to the kind the police used, sat in the center.
Mac was doing something near the tail end, and delicious shivers raced down her spine at the thought of how capable Mac had to be to pilot such a monstrosity.
It was a huge turn-on.
But the thought of why and how he’d come by the training made her stomach shudder.
Images of him in war situations—gunfire, bombs, on the ground, in the air—it all flashed through her mind at once, but she immediately shook them off. Thoughts of that nature had debilitated her in the past. Imaging how her father had died had festered in her head for years. She’d finally gotten control over those thoughts when she graduated from high school and left her stepmother and her swinging door of boyfriends behind.
“Hey, Stefanie.” Mac’s voice brought her mind back to the present, and she smiled as he shut a compartment near the tail area. “Great timing. I just finished.” He sat down where the middle door was open and dropped a tool, and the cloth he used to wipe it, in an opened toolbox by his feet.
“Good. I didn’t want to interrupt your schedule,” she said, marveling at the interior of the chopper. “I didn’t expect it to be so...posh.” There was carpet on the floor, separating two rows of soft, extremely comfortable-looking leather seats that could easily fit four to five women on each side if they squeezed a cheek, or three Mac-size guys.
He smiled, glancing behind him. “Yeah. This is one of the newer models. Some of the emergency ones don’t have all the seating.”
She nodded. “So they can fit a stretcher, right?”
“Yeah.” A ghost of a smile still lingered on his lips. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you have for me.”
Her pulse tripped, then evened out when he nodded to the portfolio bag on her shoulder. “You want to see them here?”
“Sure. Why not?” He climbed inside the chopper and waved her in.
She was right. The seats were comfortable. And real leather. It hugged her body as she sank into the cushion. “Damn. Not sure you’re going to get me to leave.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “This is more comfortable than my bed.”
He chuckled. “The guys have been known to nap in here.”
“I can see why.” She opened her eyes and found him sitting across from her, smiling.
Damn the man was hot.
He cocked his head. “So...you have anything to show me?”
Her stomach fluttered.
She gave her body the usual cool it talk, removed the bag from her shoulder, and pulled out the sketches. “Yes, I do,” she replied and handed them to him.
Her heart rate picked up speed, as she watched him flip through her work, taking his time to study every single sketch.
What if he didn’t like any of them?
She inhaled slowly, then blew it out slowly as she counted backward from five. If he didn’t, then she’d just start over. No big deal.
“Stefanie...” his gaze met hers over the pictures in his hands, “these are amazing. I’m blown away by all the thought I can see you put into each sketch. But there’s one that sticks out and feels like it embodies the company, my men. Me.” He flipped his choice around and showed it to her.
Sure enough, it was the last sketch she’d drawn this week.
It was the full body of an eagle in flight, with his talons closing around a curved line she felt represented people of any nationality or gender.
“Good.” She inhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. “It’s my favorite, too.” And Abby’s and Mel’s.
“Can you explain it?” he asked. “I’d like to know what you were thinking as you drew this.”
She nodded but didn’t move to sit by him. His presence already supercharged the air in the chopper. She explained the curved line first. Then the wings. “I wanted to show the full detail of one spread out to offer full protection and security.”
He nodded. “And this one?”
“It’s further away,” she said, her finger shaking slightly. “So the details are hidden, but just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t as capable and important and magnificent as the other.” She fought to steady herself, unsure why the explanation felt so significant, but it did. “Everyone has two sides. The one we show the world...and the one we don’t. Neither is more important than the other, but together it can be impressive as hell.” She cleared her suddenly dry throat. “That’s what I feel your company can give people. What you and your men offer, and what I wanted to portray in your logo.”
He clenched his jaw and swallowed, and she watched as he stacked all the sketches, shoved them back into her portfolio, then set the bag on the seat next to him, before meeting her gaze.
Stefanie inhaled and grasped the seat, as the raw need blazing in his dark eyes hit her full force. All the nerve endings in her body stood at attention.
“I
s that how you see me?” he asked, barely moving a muscle.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Capable. Brave. Magnificent.”
In one fluid motion, he moved to kneel in front of her, cupped her face with both hands, and kissed her with every ounce of that suppressed need she’d seen raging in his eyes. Her body scorched and she pressed it against him as she slid her arms around his back and clutched his shoulder blades.
A sexy growl emanated from his throat, and need funneled to all her good parts. Stefanie ached...literally ached for this man.
His kiss consumed, devoured, held nothing back. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. That magnificent presence was all intense and delicious.
When they finally broke for air, he set his forehead to hers, but didn’t release his hold. She dropped her hands down to his hips and inhaled, while she sat there a boneless, trembling puddle of need. If only one damn brain cell would fire up and give her something witty to say. Nothing came to mind.
That was a first.
Her attempt to suck in more air ended up clogging her throat the second he released her to palm the wall behind her head with one hand and use a finger on the other to trace a path from her ear to her jaw.
“I’ve been trying to keep things extended-family-like between us, but you and I both know we obliterated that in December the second our lips touched.” His gaze was still dark. “No matter how I calculate it, no matter how many strategies I come up with, no matter how many damn scenarios I run through my head, this leaves us with a problem.” His voice was so deliciously low and sexy, she shook.
“It does?”
His finger now skimmed her lower lip, sending jolts of heat straight to her core. “Yes.” He nodded. “I can’t get the taste of you out of my head.”
A smile tugged her lips. “Good.” It was only fair, since she suffered the same fate.
His gaze blazed and jaw clenched tight. “No, it’s not good, because I really want to let go of my control and take you right here. Right now.”
Damn...her insides quivered so hard she pulsed. To hell with worrying about family. Maybe it was time they worried about what they needed. What they wanted.
She tipped her chin. “Go ahead.”
Muttering a curse, he slammed his other palm against the wall on the other side of her head, closed his eyes, and sucked in a breath. “Christ, Stefanie...you’re killing me.”
Didn’t he realize she felt the same?
“This push-and-pull loop we’re stuck in is making me nuts, Mac,” she admitted. “You’re not the only one suffering.”
He opened his eyes and held her gaze, his own still full of need, yet clouded with restraint. “I’m not a long-term guy, Stefanie.”
“I know.” She lifted a hand to palm his solid chest while her other gripped his hip. “And we are part of the same family dynamic.”
He nodded, but his hands remained on the chopper wall behind her head. “And you’re still onboard with this?”
The very fact he’d asked that question signaled he was hoping she’d give him a reason to lose control. To take the responsibility from his hands, because he was a stand-up guy, and this went against some kind of code.
She smiled. “Yes.” To prove it, she slid a hand beneath his shirt and skimmed his hot flesh all the way to his pecs, and when she grazed a nail over his nipple, she was rewarded with a hiss of breath. “Very onboard.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Damn that was sweet. Her chest squeezed tightly. “You won’t. We both know upfront what this is.” Her pulse was pounding out of control, taking her breath, drying her throat.
Mac cocked his head. “And what, exactly, is this, Stefanie?”
“Us, letting go of control without worrying about commitment,” she replied. Last damn thing she needed was another alpha boyfriend. But an alpha with benefits? Hell, yeah, she definitely needed that. “It’s us, burning off this chemistry so we can think straight. Function normally.”
The clouds disappeared from his gaze, leaving nothing but that delicious blaze. He brushed her neck with his hand, spreading goose bumps over her skin. “Burning off this chemistry sounds like a plan.”
Holding her gaze, he ran his palm lightly down her chest, skimming her breast through the thin material of her dress and silky bra. She sucked in a breath, grateful as hell she’d donned these chemistry-accommodating clothes. He brushed the other breast, and heat rushed between her legs. Damn, he was such a tease. She arched into his touch while trailing her hand down his quivering abs.
“I’m so onboard...” Her voice sounded weird, all breathy and soft.
Hell...at least she still had one, considering his thumb lingered on her nipple trying to poke through her dress, and brushed it back and forth, sending more of those sensuous shocks of heat rippling through her.
“Roger that.” Using his rock-hard body, he pressed her against the back of the seat while he shoved his hands in her hair and held her gaze. “And I’m about to take you on board.”
Chapter Eight
His mouth covered hers, claimed hers, devoured hers, as he kissed her without restraint.
A real, raw, Mac McCall kiss.
No control. No limitations. No worries, just all McCall.
Long and deep. Thorough and complete. He took what he wanted and gave with equal fervor. Her mind fogged over, and his body throbbed with need, quivering under her palms. Gone were his self-discipline and preconceived ideas of her. She sent up a silent thank you that—for this moment—he no longer saw her as his brother’s sister-in-law, and he kissed away her ever-loving sanity.
It was overrated, anyway.
On and on, Mac devoured her strength, while the need he created consumed her actions and she touched him and stroked him everywhere she could reach. A sexy sound rumbled in his throat while his tongue stroked hers, and his hands skimmed back down her chest in a blaze of heat.
When they broke for air, she stared into his smoldering gaze, trying to grasp any coherent thought, but everything dissipated in the steam desire created in her head.
Still holding her gaze, he dragged in air, and cracked a sexy grin she caught with her heart. Dammit. Why’d he have to look so...gorgeous?
Shirt askew, it revealed a dusting of hair her fingers still stroked. The color matched his beard, and the sight of the ridges in his abs messed with her breathing, which was nowhere near steady to begin with, but the kicker—the real doozy—was the fact she’d somehow managed to unbuckle the top of his jeans without realizing it. It proved she, for sure, had lost her ever-loving mind.
Off kilter, and out of her comfort zone, she loved every damn minute because they’d already agreed there were no repercussions. As always, Mac pushed her boundaries, took her out of herself, and Stefanie sensed she was doing the same to him.
“Are your knees okay?” She felt bad he was kneeling while she sat in such comfort.
He slipped a hand under her dress to stroke his way up her thigh. “I’m great.” His hand inched higher, and fingers brushed the part that ached for his touch the most. “And right where I want to be.”
“Mac.” His actions ripped his name from her throat in a voice full of hunger and need, and she spread her legs in a welcome gesture.
“So damn wet,” he growled and caught her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss as he stroked her again.
She moaned and thrust against his touch. She needed to have him naked...and in her. Now. She pushed his shirt as far up as she could, and when he drew back, he tugged it all the way off. Damn. Her mouth watered. All that gorgeous, bronzed skin was available for her to touch. So she did, and heaven help her, it was hot and hard as she ran her hands up his ridges and back down, loving how his body quivered under her fingers.
Magnificent.
He reached out and tugged on the string that connected her wraparound dress. The bow gave way and he slowly parted the material. “Christ, Stefanie.” He inhaled, gazing at her matching navy silk bra and panties.
Thank God she’d worn the sexy set with the front-hook bra.
Spurred on by the way he clenched his jaw and swallowed as he stared at her, Stefanie reached up and unhooked her bra. He let out a rough groan, and she watched, mesmerized, as his gaze darkened further at the sight of her bared breasts.
“Killing me.”
Good. Because she was freaking dying.
“I need...” She swallowed the rest of her words and moaned at the feel of his big hand cupping a breast and his thumb brushing her nipple back and forth. “That...” she whispered arching into his palm. When he drew her other nipple into his mouth and teased her with his tongue, she shoved her hands into his hair, closed her eyes, and moaned, “That—works—too.”
Whether it was her hitched breath that got to him, or her moans, or both, something compelled him to hook his fingers under her panties and tug them off before he released her breasts. She opened her eyes to find him sitting back on his heels.
“Beautiful.” He stared at her nakedness with the same hunger scorching her own veins. She shrugged the rest of the way out of her dress, feeling deliciously naughty to be sitting in his helicopter completely naked, except for her sandals, while he still wore his jeans.
But those needed to go.
She reached toward him, but he shook his head.
“No. I have plans.” He cupped her knees and gently spread her legs. Breath hissed in his throat again, and she trembled under his gaze. “Delicious plans.” His voice was rough, and so were his hands as they skimmed up her thighs with a sensual scrape that sent jolts straight to her aching center. A center his fingers trailed over.
Breath clogged her throat. She clutched his biceps and watched as he leaned in and put his mouth on her, stroking her with his tongue.
“Mac...” Her voice sounded strangled and needy to her ears, but she didn’t care. He was a man on a mission, and she was damn lucky. He spread her legs wider, settling his shoulders in between, then cupped her ass and dragged her to his mouth so he could stroke her with his tongue.
Mac (HC Heroes Series, #1) Page 8