Any thoughts of taking him to the Nirvana he’d found for her were abolished when he bolted upright and dragged her back up the bed. Her first reaction was to pout. “I wasn’t finished.”
His humorless chuckle allayed any concern she had about her techniques. “Oh, I know, but I almost was, and I’m not done with you yet.”
The last was said on a growl that had her melting into the pillows as he levered himself off the bed and then bounded to his suitcase. He returned a moment later with his prize, a small box of condoms that appeared unopened. Before she could ask, he offered, “I usually travel with them. Fortune favors the bold and the prepared.”
She wrapped around his back as he sat on the edge of the bed, attending to his task. Her fingers meandered up his spine before moving to the more intriguing territory of the inked half of him. It had to mean something deeply personal to him, something he needed to keep with him always, and part of her wanted to ask, but knew now was not the time.
The moment he was done, he stretched back out in the bed on his side, pulling her to face him. Face to face, it was impossible to ignore the light brush of her nipples against his chest as they breathed, his hardness cradled between them, or the look of overwhelming awe in his eyes that knew was mirrored in her own.
Mack wrapped a hand around her nape, holding her still as he did nothing more than nip at her lips. Her impatient wiggling was met with only more biting kisses, each one longer and more intense than the one before. Somehow he’d managed to ease her to her back with his passionate osculation, sliding over her with athletic ease.
Her knees fell open immediately, betraying her impatience and anticipation, but still he took his time. He lavished attention on her nipples again, sucking each of them deeply in his mouth as he slid a hand behind her back to press her closer to his keen attentions.
She could feel him between her legs, an occasional tantalizing brush of his cock or his fingertips, but certainly not enough to take the edge off. The pleasure built inside her as he kissed his way up her chest only to bite her shoulder.
He slid into her in on a whispered admission, “I’ve wanted you forever.”
Her heart, the one part of this party that she’d attempted to keep under lock and key, twisted in her chest at his harshly muttered words, and it was enough to bring her to the edge of bliss once again. Feeling him so deep inside her, around her, it was beyond perfection. She framed his face with her hands as she kissed him, whispered in return, “You have me.”
* * *
It was over far too soon as far as Mack was concerned. The feel of her body against him, surrounding and gripping him, it had overloaded all his senses and better intentions, leaving him spent on top of her with his back burning from the fresh bites of her fingernails. Cassie had given herself over to please, and he’d gleefully inhaled all her attentions. Now, with her in his arms purring in contentment, he felt like the worst kind of bastard.
Everything was different now, and as much as he fought against the idea, having her in his arms easily eclipsed everything he’d done before, relationship-wise. This was perfect, an emotional and mental apogee that demanded recognition, regardless of his comfort with the situation. And, he admitted freely, there was very little about this situation with which to be comfortable. The man hunting her was still out there, and so long as that remained the case, this was a potentially-fatal lapse in his better judgment.
“Are you okay?” Her blue eyes looked like the deepest part of the ocean in the waning light of the afternoon sun. He loosened his hold on her, and she turned over to prop her chin on his chest.
He nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. Her hair was a mess, possibly irretrievable, but he’d never seen anything or anyone more beautiful than in that moment. When she’d come into the room in only a towel, his imagination went up in flames that were woefully under-informed. She seemed to know he needed this too, in spite of his erstwhile protestations to the contrary. He could never have conceived of anything as erotic, hadn’t dared to, and now she lay sprawled on top of him like a vanilla-scented blanket.
Cassie’s fingers began their aimless roaming, following this path of skin between the ink on his chest more or less. “What is it?”
Mack looked down at the spiral she traced over his pec, feeling like he owed her an explanation if for no other reason than to appease her curiosity so she’d stop looking at him like she wanted to lick the tattoo right off of him. Cassandra Whittfield could be hard on the dignity, among other things. “Further in the canyon, down a path that appears to lead to a blind turn, is a wall with markings on it. Petroglyphs just a little bit older than the saguaro cactus in the backyard. I saw them and I knew I wanted to keep them with me.”
“To know where you came from,” she murmured after pressing a kiss to the center of the design she was most likely memorizing. Her astuteness shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it caught his heart just right, and he felt the shift in his chest. “Keep yourself grounded.”
Her fingers’ travels began to skim down his ribs, sending tiny sparks through him that had parts of him he’d assumed were thoroughly spent shaking off the vestiges of their coma. He laced his fingers with hers to still her movements or they’d never leave the bed again. “I haven’t always been this grounded. I’m still learning.”
“We all are.” Cassie shimmied slowly up his body, stopping only when she was close enough to ravish his mouth like she had when she’d first come into the room. Coming up for air, she winked at him. “No regrets, huh?”
Train car loads of them, but she didn’t need to know that. “None.”
She bumped his nose with hers before settling back in on his shoulder. “Good.”
Her contented sighs transitioned over to soft snores, and he pulled the sheet up around them to keep her comfortable as she slept. He regretted the timing, the circumstance, and the potential fallout, but this, holding her close as she slept next to him, he couldn’t regret that any more than he could regret opening his eyes in the morning.
Mack’s musings began to unfurl into a light slumber for him, as well, at least until the doorbell sounded downstairs. If he were the kind of guy to get cold sweats, he had one now, because he realized in his shock that someone had come onto the property, and he knew who was at the door.
Cassie stiffened in his arms. “What? Who? What the hell?”
All legitimate questions, but his thoughts were now flashing through his mind like they were covered in jet fuel and set alight. As much as he didn’t want to move her, he sat them both up and reached for her towel on the floor next to the bed. “I forgot to tell you yesterday, Ange called me.”
All tousled and warm, it was hard to take her look of incredulity seriously. “I was there for that part.”
His mind flashed briefly to the kiss, and he felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Yeah, I know, but I didn’t tell you what she said. She, Eli, and Bex are all coming here…actually, are here right now.”
Sleepy blue eyes went wide and she snatched the towel from his grip as she bolted from the bed. “Are you serious? Now? Holy God, what are we gonna do?”
Another amazingly astute question. Mack took a deep breath to collect himself and center his mind. “Okay, you’re gonna go and get dressed. I’m gonna clean up in here and meet them downstairs to run some interference. Come down when you’re ready.”
Still clutching the towel in front of her like she was trying to repair the scraps of her modesty, she began to ease her way toward the bathroom door. “Is that gonna work?”
He’d already thrown on some jeans and was fishing through his suitcase for a clean shirt. “I sure as hell hope so. Ange is a freakin’ Jedi and will probably sense a disturbance in the Force, so hopefully I can distract her somehow, and Eli…” he paused to sigh as he thought about it. “He can sense clandestine sex from the driveway, so hopefully his lovely wife will be enough of a diversion to keep him off the scent.”
She nodded, but still looked unsure.
“If you’re sure…”
“We got this.” He was by her side as she opened the bathroom door. Taking her by the shoulders, he pressed her against the door and kissed her like she was leaving for Mars, never to be seen again. Mack couldn’t get over the way she melted under his touch. When breathing became a necessity, he pulled back, but only far enough to rest his forehead on hers. “Just because they’re here doesn’t mean I regret anything, okay?”
She nodded and licked her lips before disappearing into the bathroom. Watching her perfect little behind scurry into her room was damn distracting, but only for a moment. A spritz of cologne and a wintergreen mint from his suitcase helped him get his game face together as he left his room and headed downstairs to greet his guests.
* * *
Grambling’s phone buzzed on his desk as he was putting on his suit jacket to leave. He picked it up as he locked his office for the night. “You have something for me?” he asked by way of a greeting. Daviess knew better than to come to him with anything other than results.
“Email!” The way the young man said it, it sounded like he’d split the atom. “At first, I was like, ‘oh, random email to the assistant. Anonymous, whatever.’ Then there was a reply, and then a response after that, and then I traced back the IP—”
“At some point reasonably soon,” he interrupted smoothly while stepping into the elevator and pushing the button for his floor, “I expect this to be relevant to me. I have dinner reservations.”
“Cassie just emailed her assistant, and I have her location.” The triumph in Daviess’s voice was unmistakable.
And for once, Austin grudgingly admitted, it was deserved. “Now you have my attention.”
Chapter 11
It took longer than Cassie expected—or wanted, frankly—to make her appearance downstairs, but it damn near took a miracle to wrangle her hair into submission. Not that she minded, she mused with a cheesy grin as she quickly tamped it down. She was still processing what had happened between her and Mack that afternoon, but every memory she had sent tiny aftershocks through her, and she figured now was not the time.
Once she’d untangled her hair and braided it, she tossed on the nearest pair of cutoff shorts and a button down she could tie around her waist, just something comfy and casual, and not at all like she’d just had the most incredible sex in her life. No, not at all.
The last thing she did before she headed down to face the Marshals was to check her email. Trista had responded while she’d been in the shower, bless her, and it felt like her life was a little bit closer to whole again. She’d fired off a quick reply to let her know that everything was still okay there and she had much to tell her when she had more time. It wasn’t a novel by any means, but enough to reconnect with her friend while still making it downstairs in a reasonable amount of time. The nice thing was she knew Trista had her back, regardless of the situation, and would never do anything to jeopardize Cassie’s safety, even inadvertently.
When she arrived on the ground floor, there was no one to be found, but music was coming from the pool area so she migrated that way. The scene she found was less ‘War Room’ and more ‘Margaritaville’. Mack had a beer and was sitting under the umbrella at the patio table with a thinner, dark-haired man who also had a beer, and Ange who had a dark amber drink over ice which was, most likely, much stronger than beer. Kicked back in a chaise with a martini nearby was a lanky redheaded woman in a hunter green halter and a pair of shorts that made the ones she currently sported look downright matronly.
Mack rose from the table as soon as he saw her, with Eli immediately following suit. “How was your nap? Feeling any better?”
If she hadn’t seen the slight twitch in his lips, she would have thought he was serious and not being completely absurd. Playing along with the ruse was the only way out that she could see so she shrugged. “Yeah, I think I just got too much sun today. I’m better now.”
His smile felt like a hug. “I’m glad, I was worried.”
Ange in her airy khaki shorts and crème moiré sleeveless shirt gave her a huge hug and winked at her before snarling over her shoulder, “You can’t go killing witnesses, Mackenzie. Dragging them through the desert like they live here, mmm.” She fought to keep her frown before breaking into giggles and leading Cassie over to the table. “This is Eli, he’s been helping with your situation.”
“Lovely to meet you. I’m really grateful for all you’ve done.” She grinned as she shook the hand of the tall man in the Oscar the Grouch t-shirt. He looked like he’d been carved from sandstone himself, slightly tan with lots of sharp angles. His added height and rangy build only added to the statue-like impression, despite the lived-in-looking jeans and amusing shirt.
He nodded earnestly. “Of course, happy to be of service. The lush on the chaise is my beautiful wife, Bex.”
The redhead smiled and raised her glass. “Ignore him, he can’t help that he’s whipped. Good to meet you.”
Cassie laughed as the woman killed her martini and gracefully rose to get another, not appearing drunk in the slightest. “You, as well.” Turning to Mack, she inquired, “Where’s Conchita?”
Mack’s shoulders hunched as he ducked his head, and Ange laughed at him outright. She punched her partner in the shoulder as she answered with a straight face, “Someone,” she drew the word out while looking at the clouds, “I won’t say who, Mackenzie, forgot to tell his mamita that we were coming.”
She could feel her eyeballs attempting an escape as they widened in aghast surprise. “Oh dear.”
His partner snorted and plucked his empty beer bottle from his hand before replacing it with a new one. “Right? After she got done wearing him out, she said she’d hit the grocery store and be back to make dinner.”
“I just forgot,” Mack grumbled as he twisted off the cap and pinched it in half before stuffing it in his pocket.
Ange’s pursed lips and pointed expression telegraphed her disbelief in his veracity, but she let it drop, thankfully. Cassie was pretty sure she’d burst into flames at the slightest insinuation of…well, anything. As accustomed as she was to the constant prying and speculation from the tabloids, this felt so much more personal. The thing between her and Mack, the connection, the pull, it was all too fresh, too intimate to just throw it around with witty banter. A strategic exit seemed like the wisest course. “Anybody else need a beer?”
She didn’t wait for an answer before heading inside and into the kitchen. Normally, she enjoyed social situations. Every new person she met had a story to tell her, and as an artist, she believed it was her duty to hear and appreciate them. The scene outside, however convivial, struck her as one step above an inquisition, of the Torquemada variety. Somehow her opened beer managed to drain itself halfway while she was still standing at the breakfast nook.
A hand on her back startled her. “You okay?” Mack’s green eyes were warm with affectionate concern. “I wondered if maybe you preferred the company of Betsy to a buncha cops.”
“No, your friends are nice.” It was a platitude, she knew, but having the game changed up so quickly and thoroughly had thrown her, and slipping back into her equilibrium wasn’t happening as quickly as she’d like. “I just feel a little out of place right now.”
His hand slid from her shoulder down her back to pull her into his side, sending a flare of gooseflesh all over her body. The way he smelled made her want to climb all over him, which only fed her discomfort with the situation. “I’m sorry. Can I do anything for you?”
Cassie smiled shyly, fully aware from the heat in her cheeks that her face was aflame as she toed the ground with her sandal. She gently extricated herself from his embrace, moving to the other side of the breakfast nook. Maybe he didn’t care what his friends saw between them, but she wasn’t going to be responsible for any consequences he may incur.
“Thank you, but no. Right now I just need to—” Her thought was interrupted by the door at the far end of the kitchen swinging wide and
the tiny silver-haired form that bustled through it laden with canvas bags. “Help Conchita make dinner. Go out, be with your friends. I got this.” She didn’t give him an answer as she ran to the older woman’s side and began relieving her of her burdens. It was easier doing this than talking where they had the chance to be overheard. Cassie figured she just wasn’t built for clandestine liaisons, and tempting fate always had a way of catching up to her. It was better this way.
* * *
Mack fancied himself knowledgeable in the ways of women, with more than his share of experience to back up the assertion, but Cassie’s lightning quick shift in mood left him a little confused. Maybe it was the sudden influx of people in the house, or the fact that they were his friends from work when she’d gotten used to it being just the two of them, but either way, he didn’t know how to make her more comfortable, and that concerned him.
She helped Conchita in the kitchen with the groceries and dinner, playing the hostess as she kept him and their guests in fresh drinks and, after a short bit, some chips and incredible homemade salsa, but she never stuck around for any longer than she had to.
“I can’t believe you never told us you lived here!” Bex sighed as she killed another chip. “I mean, yeah, you gave off this whole ‘wealthy, womanizing playboy’ vibe when you were in Vegas, but Jesus! I didn’t think it was really true!” She kicked back in a wrought iron chair at the patio table with her legs thrown over an arm and her feet in her husband’s lap.
Mack rubbed the back of his neck and slid a sidelong glance at Ange, who simply smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t actually live here. It’s my parents’ place.”
The redhead narrowed her eyes, leaning forward to whisper, “Are you, like, a secret Vanderbilt or something?”
He snorted and sipped his beer, not missing the way Eli rolled his eyes at his wife. “Something like that.”
Bulletproof Princess Page 14