Bracing her hands on his shoulders, Macie let her head fall back and reveled in the need that Will was building inside of her. She had never felt as cherished as she did in that moment.
“You’re so sweet,” he said, raising his head to kiss his way up the slope of her breast to the rapidly beating pulse at the base of her throat.
“You’re driving me insane,” she said, wondering if that sultry female voice could really be hers.
His dark chuckle sent goose bumps shimmering along her skin. “Honey, we’re just getting started. Believe me, it’s only going to get better.”
Macie wasn’t sure how the delicious sensations could possibly intensify. Nothing that she and Stan had shared even came close to the feelings that Will was creating within her.
He stood to remove their shoes, then made quick work of stripping off his jeans and boxer briefs, and she had to remind herself to breathe. The sight of his full erection caused a thrilling need in the most feminine part of her and at the same time she felt slightly intimidated by it.
He must have noticed her fascination with his body because he pulled her to her feet, placing his index finger beneath her chin to raise her head so that their eyes met. “It’s going to be all right, Macie. We’re going to take things slow and easy.”
His words reassured her, and deciding she needed to concentrate on getting her wobbly legs to support her, she placed her hands at his trim waist to steady herself. He reached behind her to lower the zipper at the back of her tailored black pants, skimming his hands over her sensitized skin. A tremor of need ran the length of her. But when he slid the black linen and her silk panties down her trembling thighs, she yearned to feel his hands on other parts of her body, as well. Stepping out of her clothes, she used her foot to shove them over to join the rest of the mingled pile of clothing on the floor.
Will caught her to him then and the feel of his male flesh against her feminine skin, the strong evidence of his desire for her caused her legs to fail completely. She had never experienced passion so strong or so urgent.
Pulling back the comforter, he eased her onto the bed, then reached into the pocket of his jeans for a small foil packet before joining her. She realized as he tucked the condom under the pillow that she’d been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t given a second thought to protection. Thank goodness he had.
“You’re so beautiful, Macie,” he said, drawing her to him. He pressed his lower body to hers, causing her to shiver with longing. “I’m going to love you so completely that by the time I’m finished there won’t be a doubt left in your mind about how desirable you are.”
He lowered his head and as their lips met, Will moved his hand from her waist to her hip, then down her thigh. The anticipation of his gentle touch was driving her crazy and when he found her, then parted her to stroke and tease, Macie thought she might ignite from the heat flowing through her veins.
Needing to touch him as well, she caressed the strong muscles along his side, then down his lean flank. When she took him into her hand to measure his length and girth, she was rewarded with a low groan rumbling up from deep in his chest.
“Honey, your hands on my body feel damned good,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you’re going to destroy my best intentions if you keep that up.” Capturing her hands in his he shook his head. “I don’t want to rush this.”
It was her turn to shake her head. “Will, I can’t take much more. If you don’t make love to me soon, I’ll burn to a cinder.”
He smiled and reached beneath the pillow for the foil packet. “Tell me if you need to slow down,” he said, kissing her until they both gasped for breath.
“I promise,” she said, needing him inside her. “Please make love to me, now.”
Rising over her, he nudged her knees apart then guided himself to her. At the first touch of his blunt tip, she closed her eyes and waited for him to make their bodies one.
“Open your eyes and look at me, honey,” he said.
When she did as he commanded, Macie lost herself in his heated green gaze as he pressed his hips forward and slowly, carefully entered her. He filled her completely then gently began to rock against her.
His tender lovemaking was the most beautiful thing she had ever experienced, and she soon dissolved in the haze of passion surrounding them. All too soon his rhythmic thrusts began to work their magic and her tiny feminine muscles began to tighten as she raced toward the pinnacle they both sought.
Will deepened his strokes and Macie suddenly felt the tight coil of need deep inside set her free. As wave upon wave of pleasure flowed through her, she felt his body go still a moment before he surged into her one final time. Locked in each other’s arms, together they rode out the storm of mutual release.
CHAPTER SIX
THE FOLLOWING MORNING just before dawn, Will eased out of bed and began separating his clothes from Macie’s. Glancing over at her, he smiled. She was still sleeping peacefully and he was tempted to get back in bed and make love to her again. Her responsiveness to his touch was mind blowing, and if he had anything to do with it, they would be making love again. The sooner the better.
But Harley was waiting in the other room to go out and Will needed to take care of him before he went back to his place for a shower and a change of clothes. Then he intended to return and make breakfast for Macie. He told himself the reason he wanted to make coffee and cook breakfast was to avoid having to tell her that her coffee tasted worse than swamp water. That was much easier to admit to than his need to make her feel special by serving her breakfast in bed. That sounded too much like a man who was on the brink of entering into a full-fledged relationship.
An hour later, as he let himself and Harley back into Macie’s house with the key he’d found hanging by the door, Will was pleased to see she was still asleep. Quickly cleaning up the remnants of their dinner the night before, he located a tray in one of the cabinets and, placing the donuts and coffee on it, carried it to the bedroom. He’d had to revise the breakfast-in-bed plan when Tansy called him a few minutes ago.
Setting the tray on the dresser, he walked over, kicked off his shoes and lay down beside her, taking her in his arms. “Wake up, honey.”
“Are we going to make love again?” she asked, snuggling against his chest.
He kissed the top of her head as he held her close. “I wish we could, but I had to get up to exercise Harley and I got a call from Tansy Dexter, the director at The Haven. They’re having an issue with the software I wrote for their adoption records and they need me to come over and check it out.”
“How long do you think it will take to fix?” she asked, leaning back to give him a quick kiss.
Macie’s spontaneous affection caused a warmth deep in his chest. His ex-wife had never bothered kissing him unless they were going to make love. In hindsight, he realized she had viewed it as more of an obligatory gesture than a show of desire or affection for him.
“I don’t think I’ll be gone more than an hour or two.” He sat up and, getting out of bed, walked over to get the tray. “I intended to make breakfast, but after the call from the shelter, I went to the coffee shop a couple of blocks from here. I hope you don’t mind coffee and donuts to start your day.”
“You’re so thoughtful. I didn’t...expect...”
He set the tray across her lap and noticed a tear in her eye. Will reached up and wiped it away, then tilted her chin up until their gazes met. “What’s wrong, honey? Why are you crying?”
“This is the nicest...thing anyone’s ever done...for me,” she said haltingly. “The only other time anyone served me breakfast in bed...was when I was ten and my mother brought my meals to me when I had the chicken pox.” She sniffed back her tears and gave him a watery smile. “Thank you.”
“After last night, it’s the least I could do,” he said, takin
g a sip from one of the cups of coffee. “I’m afraid I didn’t let you get a lot of sleep,” he said, grinning.
She blushed, her cheeks coloring a rosy pink. She had never looked prettier.
“Did you hear me complaining?” she asked, smiling.
As they ate the donuts and drank the coffee, Will asked, “What do you have planned for today?”
“I have some writing that I need to get done and then I’m going to clean out the refrigerator and throw away all of that horrible food from the party.” The rose on her cheeks deepened. “I still can’t believe what a disaster my cooking turned out to be. I’ll never do it again.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he said, kissing her forehead. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from finding every possible excuse to kiss and touch her. “I’m sure you’ll get better.”
She shook her head. “If I do attempt to make something, I’m following the recipe and forgetting about making the recipe my own.” She grinned. “And I’ll only cook when I’m sure I’ll be able to taste what I’ve made before subjecting others to it.”
“That might be a good place to start,” he agreed.
She stared thoughtfully at her half-eaten donut. “But I should probably get another hobby. Maybe I’ll buy a book and some yarn and try my hand at crochet or knitting.” She laughed. “If I screw that up, at least I won’t be making anyone sick.”
“Nope. Instead, you can make sweaters with three arms or socks with no toes,” he teased.
Laughing harder, she picked up a donut and stuffed it into his mouth. “Hush or I’ll make my first pair of toeless socks for you.”
He swallowed the donut and chuckled. “And I’ll wear them, even if my toes get frostbitten.”
Her expression turned serious as she took a drink of coffee. “You would, wouldn’t you?”
“Since you haven’t made them yet, I don’t think it’s an issue,” he said, wondering where she was going with the question.
“But you would wear them.” She placed her cup back on the tray. “You were going to eat more of that horrible food last night, just to prevent my feelings being hurt, weren’t you?”
He nodded.
“And you wouldn’t have complained.”
“No.”
She set the tray aside and threw her arms around his neck. “You are, without question, the sweetest, most caring man I’ve ever met, Will Parker.”
“I didn’t say I was looking forward to eating the food,” he said, hugging her back.
“It doesn’t matter.” She touched his cheek, sending a wave of heat straight to his groin. “If I had thought it tasted all right, you would have suffered through it for me and not said a word.”
His cell phone chirped, intruding. He glanced at the screen. “It’s a text from Tansy at The Haven.”
“While you answer that, I’m going to take a quick shower,” she said, getting out of bed to enter the adjoining bathroom. “I’ll only be a minute.”
He sent a message back to Tansy to tell her what time he’d be there to fix the glitch in the adoption records program. Then Will carried the tray back into the kitchen.
Looking over to see how Harley was doing on the rug he had claimed as a suitable place to snooze, Will panicked. The puppy was nowhere in sight. Checking the entrance door and finding it securely locked, Will couldn’t imagine where the dog could be. Macie’s houseboat wasn’t that big.
As he tried to figure out where Harley had wandered off to, Will noticed that the door to Macie’s office was ajar. Breathing a sigh of relief, he walked in to discover the puppy lying on some scattered papers, happily chewing on the rawhide bone Macie had given him for Christmas.
“Harley, you’re about to get us both in a lot of trouble with Macie,” Will said, kneeling down to scratch behind the dog’s ear. “You’d better go back to your rug in the living room while I pick up these papers you’ve knocked off her desk.”
In answer, Harley got up and, taking the chew bone with him, ambled out of the room, leaving Will to deal with collecting the sheets of paper.
As Will picked up after Harley, he noticed some of the words were crossed out and others added in red ink—probably Macie proofing her work and making corrections.
He picked up the last sheet of paper and read the byline that leaped off the page at him.
He was a fool.
Macie was the columnist who had ripped his programs to shreds in Techno Nerd Monthly. The very woman he had spent the most incredible night of his life making love to was Ms. Tera Byte.
* * *
“WILL?” MACIE CALLED as she walked down hall.
Where was he? She had only been in the shower a few minutes. Surely he hadn’t left without telling her.
“I’m in your office, Ms. Byte.”
A terrifying chill slithered down her spine. He knows who I am, she thought, her world crashing down around her.
“Will, I can explain,” she said, hurrying into the room. “I couldn’t—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Macie,” he said, his voice bitter. He was standing by her desk holding the rough draft of her latest column. He was furious. “The time for your confession has come and gone. You should have told me who you were several days ago when I complained to you about your columns.” He shook his head as he tossed the papers onto her desk and turned to face her. “You must have laughed your ass off at me after I left.”
“No, Will. It wasn’t like that,” she said, shaking her head. She had to get him to listen to her. “I was going to tell you—”
“Save it, honey,” he said as he walked out of her office. “Come here, Harley.”
He snapped the leash to the dog’s harness, then reached for his coat.
“Please, Will, if you’ll just listen—”
“I’m not interested,” he said, opening the door. “I thought you were honest, I thought you respected me and my work. I was wrong. Goodbye, Macie.” The quiet click of the latch sounded more final than if he had slammed the door behind him.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as Macie stood in her living room, wondering how everything could have gone so very wrong, so fast.
The confidentiality clause had prevented her from revealing who she was to him that day. The threat of losing her job had been powerful motivation to keep the secret.
But she knew that wasn’t the whole truth. She could have made the time, should have told him she was his nemesis before they slept together, even if she risked being fired. Maybe they could have talked about it, resolved the issues he had with her reviews and made love without her deception coming between them.
About to collapse, she sank down onto the couch, covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
What was wrong with her? Was she destined to be rejected by every man she fell in love with?
She stopped crying and sat up straight. She loved Will? When had that happened? How had it happened?
She had only intended to be his friend. But she should have realized after that first kiss under the mistletoe that they were destined to be more than friendly neighbors.
Initially she had been attracted to him because of his good looks and impressive physique. But the more she got to know him, the more she realized what a special man he was—how kind and caring. He had eaten the worst food ever to grace a table without a word of complaint just so she wouldn’t feel bad. And nothing had ever felt as right or as natural as making love with him. He had filled her body and become part of her soul.
Then, after the most incredible night of making love to her, he had treated her like a queen by bringing her breakfast in bed. He had even apologized that it was only coffee and donuts.
Who wouldn’t love a man like that?
Her heart felt as if it had been shattered into a million piece
s. Will Parker was the type of man who came along once in a lifetime. The type a woman could search for all of her days and never find. And she had just ruined any chance that he would ever love her in return.
* * *
WILL WASN’T IN THE MOOD to deal with a computer glitch in The Haven’s adoption records program, but he had promised to fix it, and never broke his word. Besides, it beat the hell out of sitting at home, wondering how he could have let Macie play him for such a fool.
“You’re lucky, Harley,” Will said, glancing in the rearview mirror at the dog crate in the back of his SUV. “You’ve been fixed, you never have to worry about some cute little collie or poodle tying you in knots.”
Even as the words left his mouth, he winced. He sure as hell wasn’t going to get “fixed,” but he definitely wasn’t going to let a woman get under his skin again. He had loved two women in his life and they had both laughed at him and deceived him.
His heart stalled, then started beating at his rib cage like an out-of-control jackhammer. He didn’t love Macie. Nobody fell in love that fast, did they?
But as he thought about his family’s marital history, he had the sinking feeling that it was indeed possible. His grandparents had gotten married less than two weeks after being introduced, and his parents had tied the knot within a month of their first date.
Parking his Jeep in front of The Haven, Will got Harley out of the back and led him up the steps of the picturesque Victorian. He suddenly wanted to get to the bottom of the problem with the program, slap a fix on it and get back home. He needed time and solitude to analyze his feelings for Macie and decide how to rid himself of them.
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