by Cathryn Cade
He prowled closer, lifting his hands to set them on her waist. And such was her bewilderment at the contrast between the apparent callousness of his words, the tenderness in his gaze, and his touch, that she stood there and let him do so.
"I've been playing you for all I'm worth," he went on. "But I wish you would've stayed for the end of that convo. Because then you would've heard me say that this game I'm playing is the biggest of my life. Highest stakes, winner take all."
Wait, what? Did he mean...
Rae swayed, pliant in his hands as he tugged her closer, until his hard chest brushed her breasts, until their breath mingled and he could tip his forehead against hers.
She held her breath, hardly daring to hope she understood what he meant.
He shook his head. "I see you're not getting it, so I'll go on. That was Rav's old lady Della I was talking to. She's seen me give the brothers plenty of crap when their hearts were on the line—including her man. She was shoveling my own shit back to me, because she saw what you haven't—that I'm serious. What's on the line here, Rae, is us—you and me. I've been playing you, yeah. But that's 'cause I'm in it to win it, to win you, for good this time."
She leaned back just enough that she could search his gaze. "For good?" she whispered. "You mean... you and me and Con? Or, as in—"
"As in leave Con out of the equation for a minute," he said. "Love that boy with all my heart, but if he did not exist, I would still want you, Rae. For myself. You and me, we've been playing hard to get for too long, one of us coming in the front door to try, and the other going out the back at the same time, ruining any chance. But now, I'm tired of that shit. I want you. As in, I wanna move into this master suite with you, share this big bed with you, and show you every chance I get that you're the woman for me—for good."
A smile spread across her lips, her heart lifting inside her and quivering with hope and the beginnings of joy.
"Does all this mean that you love me, Mac Carson?" she asked, her hands sliding up his chest to clasp around his neck.
"Uh, yeah," he said. "You want me to keep going, or can I shut up and kiss you like I need to?"
She answered this by tiptoeing up to kiss him.
He took over immediately, hauling her against his hard body and tipping his head to one side to capture her lips with his. His heart pounded against her chest, and his hands smoothed up and down her back, as if he could wait no longer to relearn the shape of her, the heft of her curves in his palms.
Rae kissed him back eagerly, luxuriating in his taste and the feel of his plush lips on her own, the sleek of his tongue against hers, his harsh intake of breath as she pressed her breasts against his chest. With a rumble of sound in his chest that sounded excitingly like a growl, he cupped her ass and pulled her against him so he was pressed into the vee of her thighs.
She shivered with delight at the feel of the hard shape prodding her softness, and heat bloomed between her thighs, her legs quivering.
"Want you," he told her roughly, nipping at the fullness of her lower lip. "You gonna let me inside you, baby? Gonna let me make you scream with how good I feel in your hot little pussy?"
"Yes," she breathed. "Oh, Mac. I want you, too."
He walked her back until the back of her legs hit the soft edge of the bed, but went on kissing her as he found the hem of her sweater and pushed it up over her breasts.
"Lift your arms for me, baby," he urged, breaking the kiss just long enough to speak. She complied, and he lifted the soft garment up over her head and pulled it off her arms.
He kissed her again as he cupped her breasts in his hands, weighing them and then squeezing her nipples between thumbs and forefingers, the lace of her bra cups abrading the hard nubbins.
Rae whimpered into his mouth, and he chuckled, a dark, dirty sound. "Yeah, I remember how you like that. Fuck, baby, it's been so long—too long. Let's get you out of this."
He unfastened her bra with a flick and slowly pushed it off her shoulders, watching the cups fall away from her breasts with a look that made her shiver with anticipation.
His face was hard with desire, his nostrils flared, eyes hooded as he looked down at her. "These have gotten bigger," he said. "I like it—like it a lot."
And then he showed her how much, by setting one knee on the bed beside her legs and bending to cup her breasts and lift them for his mouth.
He kissed them both and rubbed his whiskered face into her cleavage, making that rumbling sound in his chest again. "Fuck, I missed these," he muttered. "Need a good, long taste."
When he drew her nipple into his hot, wet mouth and began to suck, hard, RaeAnn nearly lost her balance. The sensation was so strong, so sweet, that her pussy quaked with need, and she had to press her thighs together in a search for relief. She lifted her hands to cup his head, holding him to her, and writhed in his grasp.
"Mac," she breathed. "Oh, don't... don't stop."
"You need to cum, baby?" he asked tenderly, cupping her mons through her jeans and panties. "Pull these down, so you can touch yourself, yeah? Wanna see that."
Since he went back to suckling her other breast, causing the ache inside her to tighten to near pain, RaeAnn complied without another word. And it was shockingly exciting to know he watched her as he teased her with his knowing mouth and tongue. Tugging her snug jeans down to her knees, her panties with them, she slipped her hand between her own legs.
"No, no," Mac chided, lifting his head. "I wanna see, mama. Get those off all the way. That's right, now lift this leg up here on the bed, nice and wide. Fuck, there's that sweet little cunt. Jesus fuck, you been trimming and I didn't know it? Pet that for me, and maybe I won't spank your sweet ass for keeping that a secret."
Nearly panting with excitement at his raw, blue talk, RaeAnn complied.
While Mac played her nipples with his rough fingers, she stroked herself as he watched. Pleasure built fast and hard from their combined touch, and she came almost immediately, tipping her head forward sharply as her pussy spasmed in delight.
He lifted one hand to cup her neck and kissed her deeply, devouring her mouth and groaning as she quivered in his grasp.
"All right, now you got the edge off," he told her, squeezing her nape. "Now it's both our turns, yeah?"
"Yeah," she breathed, leaning into him with a hazy smile.
"Good, now take me out and get me ready," he ordered, his hand replacing hers between her thighs. "'Cause I need to be in here, baby. Need it bad. And I need you to put me there. Show me you want your man."
She did want him. She wanted him so badly, all of him—his body, his cock, his mouth and all of him. She wanted to bury her nose in his throat, to drown in his masculine scent and envelop him in her body.
Quickly, fumbling a little because he continued to pet and tease her as she did so, Rae unfastened his snug, faded jeans. His cock sprang out into her hands, hot and silky, quivering with eagerness in her grasp. She looked at him greedily. Still so gorgeous, long and thick, the plum-like head a dark blush, the length of him veined with arousal.
"Condom," he growled, his jaw tight as he yanked a packet from his front pocket and slapped it in her hand. "Fu-uck, keep touching me like that, I'm gonna blow in your hand." He sucked in a sharp breath as she cupped his balls and stroked them.
The hungry look he gave her was so dangerous Rae decided she'd better explore later. She smoothed the condom down over his cock. "Want to lie down?" she invited.
"No," he gritted. "Want it right here, just like this. Then we're gonna lie down and do it all over again—slower."
He moved into the crook of her raised leg and bent his knees. "Now put me in you, mama."
Holding onto him for support, Rae reached down and took him in hand, guiding him to her opening. "Mac—I can't... help me."
He thrust up and into her, and Rae gasped sharply, clutching at him for support as he rocked her with the force of his thrusts. "Oh, my God," she whimpered. "Oh, my God, Mac."
She may have been using a vibrator religiously for years, and been with other men besides, but no one and nothing that compared to Mac.
He filled her so tightly, all she could do was hang on and take what he gave. Her position was precarious, he was rough in his urgency, and she would not have stopped for anything.
"Fuck, baby," he praised her, kissing her again as he took her, hard and fast. "So sweet and tight. Yeah, that's my sweet woman. Take it all."
She whimpered, the sound loud in the quiet room, but so was the succulent push and pull of their joining, the slap of his groin against hers. It was so good, so very, very good. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna cum again," she told him wonderingly. "Oh, Mac. Oh, my God."
He let out a growl that was half shout and thrust harder, finally stiffening in her arms and shuddering with his own orgasm.
Then he toppled like a tree, and both of them collapsed onto the bed, Rae underneath. She laughed breathlessly as his weight landed on her, one of her legs hanging off the bed.
Mac groaned, resting his head on her bare breasts. He was still mostly fully clothed, hot as a furnace and sweating, his hair and face damp against her skin.
They lay there for a long moment, their breathing slowing. Then Rae shifted in discomfort as his solid weight dragged at where they were joined. "Mac," she said, patting his shoulder. "Can you get off of me now?"
He roused himself with an obvious effort. "Yeah, sorry."
Then, levering himself up over her on his stiff arms, he looked her over and smiled slowly. "Hell, no. I'm not sorry. This has been a long time a cummin'."
He waggled his eyebrows at his pun and leaned down to kiss her. "Mm-mm, the smell of satisfied pussy," he murmured, then laughed when she smacked him in the ribs.
Clambering all the way off of her, one hand on the condom, he rose to his feet. "Be back as soon as I get rid of this."
RaeAnn stretched luxuriously and then sat upright, arms over herself. Right. That was fine, but she wasn't comfortable waiting for him sprawled out naked on the bed. She gathered her bra from the floor, donned it and then her panties.
Perched on the end of the bed, she was debating whether to don a robe or something when Mac reappeared in the bathroom doorway. He'd taken off his tee, washed his face, and was drying it using the tee as a towel.
Rae stared at him. He was so... delicious. He might not be the tallest guy around, but he was fit and muscular, with wide shoulders, taut chest and abs, and arms that should be used for sculpture. And since his jeans were currently unfastened, she could follow his happy trail down from his flat belly into the vee of the open jeans.
Yum.
"The way you're lookin' at me," he drawled, sauntering toward her, "I'm wondering why you bothered to put those undies back on."
She clasped her hands between her knees, hunching her shoulders. She gave him an uncertain look. "I was... a lot slimmer 16 years ago. I've put on thirty pounds since then." Actually, a bit more.
He gave an exaggerated shudder. "Yeah, and thank God for that. I never said anything, but you were kinda skinny then. Now, you're..." he looked her over and slowly shook his head. "Goddamn, mama, you are hot as hell. Those curves of yours, they rock a man's world."
Rae opened her mouth and then shut it. She rolled her eyes at him. "I don't know whether to smack you or thank you. I was not too skinny."
He chuckled. "Yeah, you were. But you were cute. Now, mama, you are gorgeous. So quit tryin' to hide behind your arms, 'cause it ain't working... just makes your tits look bigger."
Her objections fell on the floor and rolled away as she gazed into his eyes. "Oh, Mac. You know what, so are you—well, not gorgeous, but handsome. And hot."
He bent his knees, grasped her carefully under her arms, and lifted her farther up the bed, into the middle. There, he lay on his elbow beside her and put his hand on her belly, caressing the soft skin with his calloused thumb. "You think so? I don't know, I have wrinkles startin' up, and a lot less hair."
She lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his short, silver-blond hair. "I like it this way. You look more... I don't know, mature. Back then, you were just a bad boy with rocker hair."
Then she shrieked with laughter as he dug his fingers into her ribs and tickled her. "I was not. You take that back, baby, or I'll make you regret it."
RaeAnn wriggled in his grasp, trying to push his merciless fingers away, laughing so hard she was breathless. "No, I won't. You can... dish it out… but you can't take it, Mac Carson."
He nuzzled his face into the curve of her throat and sucked, hard.
"No!" she hollered, yanking on his hair. "No hickeys! Ever!"
When he didn't stop, she smacked him hard on the shoulder and then dug her nails into his ribs. See how he liked that.
Apparently, the man was impervious to pain, and although he was ticklish, not enough to stop until he'd done his damage. He lifted his head and gave her a shit-eating grin.
Wait, she'd seen that look on their son's face plenty of times, usually when he'd filched the last piece of pizza after she'd had only one piece.
"If you left a mark, you are a dead man walking," she snarled at him.
He gave her an injured look. "Ah, baby, don't be that way. Here, you can give me one." Turning his head, he presented the strong, tanned column of his throat.
Dumbass. She lunged up and bit him, not letting go till he yelped. "Ow! Ow, leggo. Jesus, you got sharp teeth."
Rae let go and smirked up at him. "Oh, don't be a big baby. I didn't draw any blood. And you give me any more hickeys--ever--I’ll do it again."
"Maybe didn’t draw blood there, but I think you did on my ribs, with those nails of yours." He lifted one brawny arm up to show her. "You better kiss it and make it better."
She gave a heavy sigh, but then she wriggled into position and pressed her lips softly to the skin on his ribs. As his scent filled her nostrils, she lingered and meandered on under his arms.
She urged him to roll over onto his belly, and he did so with a sigh of contentment. She kissed his back, all that warm, satin skin and the strong columns of muscle dipping down into the small of his back.
There, she found dimpled indents above the swell of his hard ass. With a murmur of pleasure, she urged him to lift his lean hips enough for her to pull his jeans down farther, farther... so the muscular globes of his ass were bared to her.
Rae looked... and then jerked away, staring.
"What the hell is this on your butt, Mac Carson? A—a cooler?" It was a cooler. A green-and-white cooler, in a style she recognized vaguely from her childhood. The lid was open, to reveal what looked like a six-pack of long neck beer. “This is your secret ink that everyone snickers about?”
He groaned, burying his face in the comforter. "Yeah," he answered, his voice muffled.
She stared some more and then shook her head in disbelief. "But... why?"
His back and shoulders shook. The idiot was laughing!
Rae smacked him—right in the cooler.
He flinched and then lifted his head, turning to grin at her over his shoulder—and looking unfairly sexy as he did so. "I was drunk out of my mind, that's why. On a summer weekend ride with the brothers down in the desert, about six years ago. We camped out one night with some, uh, friends of the club. And the next day we rolled through some town. According to Snake and Bouncer, because honest to God, I don't remember a thing, I insisted I needed some ink to commemorate the weekend, and the ride. And this is what I came home with."
He clenched his ass, and the cooler moved.
Rae nearly flinched back. Instead, she shook her head. "Just tell me one thing. Has our son seen this?"
Mac laughed again. "Oh, yeah. He thinks it's completely lame. And don't worry, I told him it's the result of the evils of alcohol—and maybe some weed. Like I said, don't remember a whole lot."
She sat back on her heels, hands on her knees. "So... when did this happen?"
He sighed and rolled onto his back, althoug
h he didn't bother to pull his jeans up.
Rae forced herself to keep her gaze on his face.
"Connor was five,” he said, staring at the ceiling. “When I had to tell him you and me weren’t gonna give him the family life one of his little buddies had, he cried. And I... I had this wild idea that you and I should try again to get together. So I drove him by your work. You were out to lunch, but one of your co-workers told me where you were. Con and I went there and—" he laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, you were out to lunch. With a guy. Nice-looking, real sharp dresser. Looked successful, and completely gone on you. And I decided I couldn't compete with that. So Con and I left. I dropped him off with you that evening and took off on the ride."
Rae shook her head slowly. "I don't even... oh." Comprehension dawned, and she flushed. "Right. That was—he was an attorney. We dated for a while."
Mac looked at her. "Why’d you stop?"
She made a face. "Con hated him—because he wasn’t you. And... I didn't care enough to push it. So we just drifted apart." She looked to Mac, sadness and jealousy mingling in her chest. "Is that why you never... stuck it out with any of them?"
He blinked. "Any of who?"
Rae rolled her eyes. "Mac, I know damn well you've been a very busy man since Con was born. All those women that hang around the club, just waiting for a biker to notice them."
"Yeah," he said, laying a hand on hers. "Not gonna lie to you, Rae. There've been women. But only after you told me that we were never gonna work out. And most of 'em, Con did not know about. Because I sure as hell didn't invite them to come and hang out with me and my little boy."
She pulled her hand away from his. "So... you have been tested recently, right?"
"Yeah," he said, sitting up and reaching to urge her to look at him, his fingers under her chin. "Seven, eight months ago. Hasn't been anyone else since then, Rae. And you wanna know why? 'Cause that's when Con told me that you stopped dating that last guy of yours. And I started noticing you looking at me different. Thought maybe you and me might finally have a chance to make things work.”