What was that phrase? Leave no trace? There was something else that was a bit more catchy, but she couldn’t think of it at the moment. In fact, right at this moment, she just prayed that he couldn’t see her fingers trembling as she packed away her equipment.
That kiss had blown her mind. She was shocked right down to her toes at how wonderful it felt to kiss Mack Jones. But apparently, it hadn’t been as astounding for him. He looked…relaxed. Bored, even.
Slinging her camera case over her shoulder, she looked down only because she couldn’t look him in the eye. When there was nothing else to do, she nodded. “Right. Ready to head back down the mountain.” And because she couldn’t look at him, she just headed back the way they’d come.
Or, at least, the place where she’d thought they’d entered this opening. Unfortunately for her tender emotions, he reached out and caught her arm. Split seconds before she turned the full force of her fury on him, he pointed in the opposite direction.
“Oh,” she sighed. “Right.” And she headed in the direction he’d pointed, heading down the mountain. But two more times, he’d had to touch her shoulder and point in a different direction. And each time, she’d felt as if she might jump out of her skin with his touch.
While the trip up the mountain had been companionable and quiet, the trek back down was…miserable! Silence reigned once again, but this time, it was tense and she kept waiting for him to say something. Anything. And she tried to come up with a topic to converse about, but nothing sprang to mind beyond, “Why didn’t you enjoy kissing me as much as I enjoyed kissing you?!”
Not a good topic, she thought. And because nothing else occurred to her, she kept silent.
They reached his Bronco and she slid into the passenger seat while he stored his gear in the back. When he drove away, she knew that she owed him her thanks.
“I appreciate you taking me up there. It was perfect and wonderful.” There! She’d said it! She could now ignore him without guilt. When he pulled into the parking lot of the ranger’s station, where her car was parked, Eve jumped out, grabbing her camera bag. “Thank you,” she blurted out, then slammed the door. She threw her bag carelessly into the back seat of her car. She didn’t care about damage to her expensive camera. She was more worried about breaking down in tears in front of Mack.
Getting back to Cynthia’s place, she raced up the stairs and slammed the door to her friend’s bedroom. Only then could she collapse. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to make sense of the afternoon. It had been an incredible kiss but…he hadn’t been as into the kiss as she had been. Which was fine. She didn’t need a romantic relationship right now. She’d just extricated herself from one, becoming involved with another was emotional suicide! She didn’t need that in her life. Especially not with a man like Mack. He was taciturn and annoying, bossy and irritating.
It was completely irrelevant that, when he kissed her, she felt more alive than she’d ever felt in her life!
Not good enough, she told herself firmly. But as she stood in the small living room of Cynthia’s apartment several hours later, she looked around, not sure what to do with herself. She was flustered and out of sorts, which was ridiculous. She didn’t want a romantic relationship. They ended badly and she was too smart to become involved with a man who didn’t want her. Done that, earned the heartache.
The Bull Frog was closed today and tomorrow. So, what was she going to do with all of the extra time on her hands? Well, for one thing, she wasn’t going to sit around and whine about the fact that the big jerk didn’t like kissing her! This was ridiculous! If he didn’t like it, then he wouldn’t do it again. And she had a life to live and a bar to run!
Sighing, she forced her thoughts away from Mack and toward work. As much as she loved running the bar, she had another job to do. One that she absolutely loved. Firing up her computer, she connected her camera and started downloading the pictures she’d taken today.
As she clicked through the files, Eve had to admit that she was good! Really good! Some of the pictures she captured were phenomenal! And then she came to the pictures of Mack. She’d taken several pictures when he’d been looking away. His rugged profile and piercing eyes made her job as photographer easy. With the mountains in the background, Mack looked like the ultimate male model; harsh, yet with a softer side to him revealed by the way he looked out at the mountains.
Her heart pounded as she noticed the small details about him. Such as the scruff of his beard. The beautiful lines of his hands. He had really nice hands. Long fingers, calluses on the palms, but neat, trimmed nails. There was nothing grodier than a man with dirty nails.
Okay, that wasn’t true. There were a lot of thing grodier, she reminded herself. Zombies were awful. Yep, anything that ate brains was just wrong. As she continued to sort through her pictures, she listed things that were worse than one thing or another. It worked because it helped her stop thinking about Mack. It made finding new recipes for the next week’s appetizers and cocktails a bit more challenging, but she eventually found some amazing ideas. Besides, the game helped her come up with some fun names for her drinks and food offerings! Bonus!
Chapter 5
“If you’re going to be this boring all night, I’m heading home to Selena,” Reid grumbled, putting his feet up on the ottoman as he handed Mack another beer. They were at Brant’s house in Denver, down in the basement where a huge television took up most of the wall. Brant and Reid competed to own the biggest television but Gianna, Brant’s wife and Selena, Reid’s wife, had put a stop to their ridiculous competitions.
“Selena and Gianna are out shopping,” Brant commented. “We could join them. Anything would be better than his miserable company.”
“Go ahead,” Mack grumbled, taking a long pull from the beer while he pretended to focus on the baseball game on the television. In reality, he had no idea what the score was. Hell, he didn’t even know who was playing! He kept replaying the kiss with Eve, the amazing way she’d felt in his arms. Eve was the ultimate woman, he thought to himself. She was soft and curvy, warm and bubbly. Eve was vivacious and funny. And smart as hell! Damn, she’d turned that bar around like nobody’s business!
“How’d she do that?” Brant asked, sitting down on the other sofa and popping the top on his own beer.
Mack pulled his attention away from the television. “Do what?”
Reid punched Mack’s arm as Brant rolled his eyes. “You were saying something about a woman turning the bar around. Who is this Eve woman and why does she have you all turned around?”
Mack muttered a curse, irritated that he’d said his thoughts out loud. That just proved how far gone he was. “Never mind,” he grumbled and took another long swallow of his beer.
“No way,” Reid argued. “You started this by showing up on my doorstep looking like a lost puppy.”
Mack glared at his oldest brother. “I’m not your cat, Reid. Don’t you dare treat me like that or I’ll damn well leave you additional presents. But these won’t be anything you can step over.”
Reid and Brant both laughed. Mack was talking about the cat that Reid had discovered one winter night crouching in the woodpile by his house. The pathetic animal had been freezing and half-starved. Reid liked to think that he was all tough and hard-core, but one look at that feline and their oldest brother had become a softy. He’d coaxed the feline inside and saved its life, giving it food and shelter. Reid had even built a special entrance to his house that needed the weight of the animal to get into. But in order to protect his toughness, Reid refused to name the animal, even though the cat slept in his bed every night. So “Cat” walked around the house like a queen or king, happy as a clam after adopting Reid and, after Selena came onto the scene, Reid’s wife as well.
But Cat was a grateful feline and went out at night to find presents. It wasn’t unusual for Selena or Reid to find a dead rodent laid carefully in front of their door or by one of their cars. It was the cat’s offering, his way of giving
love back to the people he’d adopted.
If it was gross for humans, no one admonished the cat for his efforts. Usually, Cat received a scratch behind his ears or right by his tail. And Cat would then prance inside, his job as predator and caretaker of the house complete.
Mack didn’t look, but he sensed his brothers looking at each other, startled, then over to him. Both of them were trying to gauge if he was serious or just kidding.
When they turned back to the television, he almost laughed out loud, knowing that they’d taken him at face value.
As if he’d ever hurt an animal to get back at his brothers!
Of course, he could really mess with them, now that they assumed he was serious. He’d have to remember that threat for the future.
“So, what’s got your panties all in a twist?” Reid finally asked.
“Nothing. Watch the game or go find your wife.”
Reid smiled. “So, woman problems, huh?”
Brant snickered. “I seem to remember you being a pain in the ass when Selena wouldn’t talk to you during a party,” Brant commented.
Looking at Mack, Reid decided to be evil. “And didn’t you ask Gianna out one night?” Reid fired right back.
Mack knew that he was in trouble. Big trouble! “Hold on a minute,” he said, sitting up and taking his brothers seriously now. “First of all, Selena looked hot in that floral dress! And she was trying to piss you off!” Turning to Brant, he shook his head. “As for Gianna, well, she was sitting at a bar looking sad because you were being an idiot. I was just…protecting her from the circling vultures.”
Brant growled and Reid had to lay a restraining hand on Brant’s shoulder to stop him from pummeling their youngest brother. “Not a good reminder, baby bro,” he said, using the term their sister used on Mack. Being referred to as the baby brother used to piss Mack off, especially since Giselle, their baby sister was several years younger. Now it just amused him and he’d ruffle her hair. Since Giselle was a princess, married to the crown prince of Altair, mussed hair was a serious issue that always sent her back to her room.
Unfortunately, since Giselle’s husband, a big brute named Jaffri, tended to follow her back to their rooms now, and they rarely returned in a timely fashion, Mack had slowed down on that particular torment. None of the brothers liked thinking about why it was taking Giselle so long to fix her hair.
“Look, Mack, you’re either going to tell us what the hell has you so pissed off, or we’re going to continue to annoy you.”
Mack saw the concern in their eyes and conceded.
“Fine! But this is all your fault,” he told them.
The brothers shrugged. “It usually is,” Brant nodded agreeably.
“We pride ourselves on creating havoc, so spill it and let us revel in our glory this time.”
Mack contemplated punching both of them out and heading back to his mountain. He had the renovations on that new cabin to do, paperwork to finish, people to check on, and a pile of other things to get done.
But back on his mountain, Eve was sitting in her bar, smiling at the other residents and being beautiful, alluring, and desirable. And now he knew what she tasted like, what her lips felt like when they trembled with desire. He knew what her breasts felt like against his chest and what her bottom felt like in his hands. He knew…
“Ow! What the hell?!” he demanded, looking at Brant with a scowl.
Brant shrugged. “You were back in your head. I was doing you a favor.”
“By punching me?” he growled.
“Brotherly love. Now spill it.”
Mack rubbed his shoulder, scowling at both of them. “I want what you guys have, okay? That’s it!”
They looked quizzically at each other, then back at Mack. “You have stock in Rembrandt Cosmetics, ass! You have more money than you know what to do with.”
Mack rolled his eyes. “I don’t give a damn about your company or the money! I want…” he felt like an idiot. But with their persistence, he shrugged and sighed. “I want a wife. I want kids and…a home.”
Mack tensed, waiting for both of them to start teasing him again.
So, when they remained silent, he looked at each of them in turn. “What?”
“Do you have a particular woman in mind?” Reid asked softly.
“Course he does, ass!” Brant scoffed. “We all loved our lives exactly the way they were until we met the woman who turned our lives upside down.”
“Good point,” Reid replied. Turning to Mack, they leaned forward in mirrored poses, holding their beers between their legs as they eyed their youngest brother. “So, what’s this woman like? Is she pretty?”
“Is she nice?” Brant asked.
“Does she feel the same way?”
“When are you going to do something about it?”
The questions came quickly and Mack leaned back against the sofa cushions, wishing he’d gone to a hotel. He loved his brothers, but they could be annoying sometimes. And awesome at times too. More often, annoying.
“Yes, she’s nice. No, she doesn’t feel the same way. She isn’t ready to settle down. She’s a photographer and she travels around the country taking pictures of…hell, just about everything.”
“How did you meet her?” Brant asked.
“You know The Bull Frog, the bar on Main Street?”
“Cynthia’s place?” Brant asked. At Mack’s nod, he shrugged. “Yeah. Good beers. I like how Cynthia serves mostly local brews. They’re great!”
Reid punched Mack’s shoulder. “Cynthia’s head over heels in love with Ryan. Don’t tell me you’re in love with Cynthia. Ryan would kill you.”
Brant scoffed. “He wouldn’t kill you, Mack. He’d just take you out into the mountains and let the animals feed off your bones for the rest of your life.”
Mack grunted. “Right. Like I’d allow Ryan to even touch me.” Then he realized what his brothers had just said. “And you seriously think that Ryan could hurt me? I’d tie that guy up, cover him with honey and let the bears get him before I allowed him to come even close.”
Brant and Reid stared at their baby brother.
“You mountain people have a warped sense of retribution,” Reid muttered, both of his brothers shaking their heads.
“Back to the important stuff,” Brant said.
“In answer to your question, and before you so blithely maligned my capabilities again,” he snapped with irritation, “No! I don’t see Cynthia in a romantic way. She’s…Hell, she’s like a sister. She’s nice and all. And I guess she’s pretty, but she’s…” Mack shuddered. “No! Just no. And yes, you’re right. Ryan would kill me. I wish those two would just…” he sighed. “Hell, the whole town is trying to get those two to work things out. But no. I have no feelings for Cyn, except as a friend.”
He sighed and stood up to get another beer, pulling three out of the basement fridge, which Brant kept stocked for this kind of afternoon. “Cynthia has a friend named Eve. She came to town about two weeks ago and…” he tossed all three tops into the trash with a nod of approval for his aim. “She’s short, curvy, and a hot mess, most of the time.” He handed the beers around before sitting back down on the sofa. “She’s funny and has brought in a slew of business. Cynthia has been struggling for the past several months for some reason, but Eve turned things back around. Business is booming. She creates these ridiculous cocktails and names them stupid things, like frog’s breath and angel whispers. And the locals and tourists love them all. She’s added appetizers to the menu as well, naming them equally weird things, which only dares all the customers to at least try the damn things.” He paused, thinking about Eve. “Just walking by the place makes your mouth water for whatever the hell she’s cooked up for the day. And damn, if people aren’t flocking there from nearby towns just to try out her latest stupid idea!” He downed half his beer. “Have I mentioned that she has the absolute worst sense of direction?” He didn’t wait for either of them to reply. “Seriously, if that woman v
entures out into the mountains, she needs a tracker! I took her out the other day and can’t tell you how many time she started to turn the wrong way.” He was pacing in front of the television now.
“So, if she’s so great, what’s the problem?” Reid asked.
Mack stopped and looked around, realizing for the first time that he was pacing and ranting.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he shook his head. “She’s leaving.”
His brothers understood immediately. They leaned forward. “Okay, so she wants to go, but why?”
“Because she’s a photographer who sells her pictures online and in print. She’s great, by the way.”
“You mentioned that,” Brant teased. “So, if you think she wants to leave, why not give her a reason to stay?”
Mack stopped, looking at his brother. “What do you mean?”
Reid nodded his head. “Maybe the reason she travels so much is because she doesn’t have a reason to stay in one place. She doesn’t have a home.”
Mack stared, stunned at the possibility. “I haven’t asked her why she travels so much.”
“So ask,” Brant urged.
Mack nodded.
“And give her a reason to stay.”
He had no idea how to do that. “Give me some ideas.”
Brant and Reid shrugged, not sure what to say. “You’re the guy who is falling for her. We don’t know her, other than she makes you act like an idiot.”
Mack stopped pacing long enough to glare at them. They only chuckled and high fived each other, but since they’d given him something to think about, he ignored them.
A reason to stay. What the hell would make Eve want to stay? Minneville was a tiny dot on the map. It was beautiful but…it wasn’t a good enough reason to make someone like Eve want to hang around.
He needed to talk to her, find out more about what made her tick. He knew that she liked cooking and she loved it when he nibbled on her lower lip, but he didn’t know a whole lot else about her. He’d purposely been trying to avoid her for just this reason.
Taming Mack (Sinful Nights Book 3) Page 5