by Opal Carew
“Not if you blow him in the office. You know how many fantasies I’ve had of you on your knees, or bending you over my desk and—”
“Goodnight, Mac.” She scooted away and yanked on the door handle.
He stopped her before she could leave. “For the record, we’re not even. When I’m coming deep inside you and you’re crying out my name? Then we’ll be even.”
“Well when will that be?” she asked, annoyed he seemed to be toying with her. “Why wait? Let’s just get it over with.” She wanted to end her sexual dormancy with the man, and he didn’t seem to be getting the hint.
“Get it over with?” He scowled. “Seriously, Doran. You need help with that attitude. Make sure to wear something tight tomorrow.”
Interesting how natural it felt to revert to their previous roles as combatants. She liked that she felt at ease with him. After their recent intimacy, she would have thought she’d be blushing and stammering. Yet Mac made it all seem normal to be so close to him. “Don’t be an ass, Jameson.”
“It’s okay, honeybuns. I’m your ass for the time being.” He smiled and wiggled his brows. “Now get inside. It’s cold out. And don’t be late tomorrow.”
She left the car and slammed the door on his laughter. But he was right. It was cold outside. She hustled inside the Victorian and locked the door behind her. Then she peered through the dormer curtains, not surprised he’d waited until he’d seen her inside before he left.
Mac Jameson. An ass. A dictator. A skilled lover. A true puzzle she had every intention of figuring out. Because he’s a potential friend with benefits and nothing more.
And wasn’t that what she wanted? No more emotional pitfalls, just a sexy man with whom she could end her dry spell. So why did she sense her date with Mac as the beginning of so much more?
Chapter Six
Mac thought he’d done an impressive job by holding out last night. He hadn’t jumped Maggie when he’d seen her wearing those form-hugging jeans and pretty pink tee. When she’d fallen asleep on him, he’d been the perfect gentleman, even though her breasts had been pressing into his side and giving him the hard-on from hell.
And even when she’d come on to him in the SUV, he hadn’t done more than let her handle him, when every cell in his body had demanded he take charge, put her in the back of the vehicle, and fuck the shit out of her.
He blew out a breath. So far, so good, Jameson.
As the morning flew by and Maggie did no more than scowl at him before tending to her class, Mac felt on even keel once more. Though the day passed by with agonizing slowness, he didn’t feel as if he’d damaged their relationship, such as it was. He got hives just thinking about the R word, but with Maggie, he defined it as a friendship first, one that would hopefully lead to some fucking incredible sex. He just needed to layer the trust between them, to see if the subtle submissive vibes he’d sensed rang true.
For all that the woman lashed out at him like a Doberman, she obeyed at the oddest times, when she should have been protesting his control. Telling her what to do concerning their date? Taking charge of her climax the other night? She’d melted for him. And he just knew she’d be perfect on her knees, obeying him.
That’s if he could get her there.
Stubborn thing would make him work to own her. Yet he looked forward to the challenge. Nothing worth having in life had ever been easy. And sure as shit, Maggie Doran screamed difficult.
He watched her leave work, heard more chatter about her fine ass, and did his best to steer clear of the women who tended to want more of his attention than he felt comfortable giving.
Normally he didn’t mind their flattery. He admitted it soothed his bruised ego, considering Maggie hadn’t come on to him before he’d made his move. Knowing she’d been celibate helped cool his ardor, but not by much. After their last two days spent with each other, he knew he could seal the deal and make a memory with her he’d never forget.
Yet he didn’t think he’d given them enough time to really know each other. The woman thought he had trust issues? Learning she’d been abandoned as a kid offered some valuable insight. Shelby had been less than forthcoming, and Shane’s knowledge of the blond beauty was limited to what Shelby had shared with him, which wasn’t much more than what Mac had already known. Mac’s future lover had an older brother named Trevor. She worked at an art gallery called The Beholder for a woman named Kim. She designed paper sculptures and worked part time teaching aerobics to make ends meet.
He also knew that she spent a lot of time with Shelby and Mimi Vanzant, Shelby’s Mom, whom Mac had met and taken an instant liking to.
Mimi took flamboyancy to a whole new level, but she had a heart nearly as big as her personality. Just like her best friend. Although Ron’s inspection had made him uncomfortable the first few times he’d encountered the guy, he’d adjusted. Mac didn’t have a problem with gays. He’d had his share of men come on to him, and he’d easily rebuffed the offers, no harm no foul. He couldn’t care less about orientation. Something his uncle had made sure to drill into his head early on. It wasn’t about looks, status, or background, but about action. If a Marine worked hard, color, race, sexuality, and gender mattered little. Now, if the Marine fucked around on the job, Mac stepped in and kicked some serious ass.
Unlike Ron who apparently liked fucking ass. Sex with a dude did nothing for Mac, but with a woman?
Mac had tried anal a few times with past girlfriends. He wasn’t opposed to it, but he preferred a nice tight pussy. Yet he’d had some tasty fantasies about taking Maggie anywhere and everywhere. The woman made him hard by just breathing. The thought of owning her fine ass, of coming in her pussy or better yet, her mouth, just seemed like something he had to do.
How many more dates before he saw the green light in her gaze? And not as something to get over with, but something to savor?
“There you are.” Shane guffawed from the doorway to Mac’s office. “Down boy. Happy to see me?” He glanced at Mac’s crotch, which as usual, stood at attention at thoughts of Maggie.
Mac quickly sat behind his desk and flushed. “I was daydreaming about Maggie. Happy?”
“Not as happy as you, apparently.” Shane closed the door of Mac’s office behind him and sat across from Mac’s desk to face him. “So how did Saturday night go? You’ve been way too quiet about it.”
“It went okay after I scared the shit out of her.”
“Figured you might. Maggie doesn’t have a lot of guys over, or so Shelby says. She wouldn’t have been expecting anyone else to be there.”
“Yeah, well, after she got over her near stroke, I left. We had dinner last night.”
Shane’s eyes widened, as did his grin. “Oh?”
“So what?” Mac tried for blasé, but Shane wasn’t having it.
“You like her. A lot. This isn’t just lust. I know you, buddy. You normally fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. Sorry to say.”
“As I said before, so what? The ladies know what they’re in for. Hell, that’s why they come to me. They want a fun ride, and I give it to them.”
“Yeah? So did you bone her yet?”
“Don’t be an ass. And since when do you talk like me? ‘Bone her?’”
Shane stood and pointed at Mac. “A ha!”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You want Maggie as something more than a fuck toy. Amen. The boy has finally grown up.”
“I’m a desk away from putting your face through my wall,” Mac warned, thoroughly aggravated. Yeah, he liked Maggie. But Shane made it sound a lot more serious than the emotion warranted. Mac just wanted to dominate her a little, and to do that, he wanted a tighter friendship between them. They’d have sex, then go their separate ways. No biggie.
Shane smiled widely. “Dude, you and my idiot brother gave me so much dicked up advice about Shelby, it’s a wonder the woman still talks to me. Thankfully, she’s learned to ignore both of you. I think she might be considering moving in with me.”
“You asked her?”
“Yeah. We talk about the next step a lot. I’m, ah, going to ask her to marry me at Christmas.”
“Congrats.” Mac gave him a thumbs up. “Not as big a pussy as you look. It’s about time.”
“Shut up.” His buddy grinned. “But we were talking about you and Maggie.”
“No, we weren’t. You were.”
Shane ignored his annoyance. “Yep. You were full of great advice when it came to Shelby. I was supposed to use her and lose her. I wasn’t supposed to commit, or else I’d be stuck in another relationship.”
“And here you are, Mr. Feelings. Like a woman, but with a dick.”
“Nice mouth.”
He wanted to say, Maggie seems to like it. But he didn’t want to talk about her like that. What the fuck is that all about?
“See? There’s that look. You’re introspective now.”
“Shut the hell up. I have work to do.”
Shane crowed. “You’re into her. Wait until I tell Shelby.”
Mac rushed around the desk and put Shane in a headlock until he cried uncle. “Not a word to your girlfriend, you get me?”
“F-fine. Let…me…go.”
Mac released him and rested his back against the door, blocking Shane’s exit. “I’m working my way slowly with Maggie. Like you said, she’s a nice woman.” Nice. The blond was a shark in tights. “She’s also Shelby’s best friend. I happen to like your girlfriend, so I can’t afford to have Maggie hate me.” Yeah, like that’s the only reason I’m worried about screwing up with her. It has nothing to do with the fact that I actually like spending time with her. More than is healthy. “Don’t fuck it up for me, Shane.”
Shane rubbed his throat, still grinning, the idiot. “No, sir. But I have to tell you. The fact you aren’t trying to get straight into her pants is a sign.”
Worried because he had a feeling Shane was right, Mac swore again.
“Talk to me, Goose.”
“What is your need to talk about every damn thing?” Mac sneered. “I hate when you quote Top Gun. Fucking squid movie.” The Navy had nothing on the Corps.
“Look, what’s the problem here? So you like her. You date, fine. It works or it doesn’t. That’s life.”
So why did Mac worry about the not working part? He didn’t want to think about not being able to argue with her at the gym when she worked. And he couldn’t believe how much he looked forward to seeing her. Even without the sex, he liked being with her. For Maggie he’d consider going to a freakin’ coffee shop and sitting around, bullshitting with the other metrosexuals.
Jesus. He really needed to get laid.
“She’s not bitchy or a money-grubber,” Shane was saying. “You can trust her, and hell, I like her. She’s hot, has a job—has two jobs—and her own place, and is friends with my girlfriend. I mean, what’s not to like? So why all the worry?”
Maybe Shane could help him. He did tend to think like a woman. “Because I think with her I’ll want more, but I don’t know if it’ll scare her off or not.”
Shane blinked. “More as in… Oh, more.” Shane knew about Mac’s proclivities toward dominance. They’d talked about it a few times, and Shane had tried the D/s thing with his ex but hadn’t found it satisfying. Personally, Mac loved it. But partners into his kind of kink were hard to come by, and he didn’t want an anonymous hook up at a sex club. He’d been there, done that. Mac was tired of vanilla. He wanted sex that felt right, and he wanted to explore that path with Maggie.
“What if she isn’t into it? Think that would throw you off?” Shane asked.
“I don’t know.” The crux of the matter. Mac had always known exactly what he wanted in a steady partner. His ultimate fantasy girl would have to be strong and independent away from him. He didn’t want to babysit and had no urge to deal with a 24/7 slave. But in the bedroom, he wanted to dominate. He wanted a woman to crawl to him, to satisfy his needs because she wanted to. She would want him to care for her and pleasure her because she’d know that turned him on. An equal and fulfilling exchange.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that with anyone. Maybe he never had, but he had the urge to fit Maggie into that role. One step at a time, moron. You haven’t even fucked her yet. Why not take it slow before you scare her off? His hormones were totally screwing with him.
“You should see the misery on your face.” Shane looked gleeful, until Mac glared at him again. Shane lost the smugness, but not the pleasure behind his words. “It’s about time you found a decent woman. Give it a shot. Like you said, take it slow. My bet is you end up falling hard for her. Then all that Dom shit won’t matter, because you’ll be in love.”
“Go easy on all the love talk, Nancy.”
Shane laughed. “Whatever. You should try it sometime. A woman you actually like outside the bedroom can be a ton of fun. Look, I feel sorry for you. If you want, you can double with me and Shelby to take off the pressure. You said you wanted a different kind of relationship than the ones you normally have. No fucking and flying,” he said, repeating Mac’s earlier comments.
“I know. I’m being careful with her. We haven’t had sex yet.” Not exactly.
“Which for you is a miracle.”
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Mac growled. “It’s six thirty.”
“Oh, right.” Shane flipped him a one-finger salute. “Heading back to my place, where my hot, sexy girlfriend will be waiting for me with dinner.”
The lucky bastard. Mac shrugged. “Yeah? Well I’m going home to a crotchety old man with control issues.”
“Sounds like you and your future are closer than you think.” Shane laughed. “Tell your uncle I said hi.”
“Yeah, yeah. Give Shelby a kiss for me.”
“Dream on.”
“Later, slacker.” Mac watched his buddy leave and decided he’d worked long enough. After letting his night manager know he was taking off, he drove home for a family dinner, which usually consisted of Mac slaving away while his uncle nagged him about something. Hopefully Ian would remember to bring some beer this time.
He saw his uncle’s truck parked in front of the house and pulled into the driveway. The door opened and his uncle held up a six pack of Mac’s favorite microbrew.
“Come on, boy. I brought pizza. Well, get the lead out.” Ian slammed the door shut.
Mac smiled. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be a total waste. Pizza and beer would go a long way toward making Ian’s lecture easier to bear.
***
Just shoot me now.
Maggie swallowed another sigh as Mimi waved her hands above her head, the bangles clanging like it was the fourth of July. Shelby grinned at her with evil intent.
“I thought you and Shane had planned on a quiet night at home,” Maggie accused.
“Nah. I left him a note. He has the house to himself tonight. I wanted to spend more time with you, best buddy.” Shelby turned a bright smile on her mother. “And then I thought about how long it’s been since I had dinner with Mom and Ron too, and here we are.”
In hell.
Maggie knew what this was about. Payback. Just because Maggie had, with the best of intentions, interfered in Shelby’s love life, Shelby now felt like she had to do the same to Maggie. But Shelby didn’t seem to understand Maggie didn’t want her help—or maybe Shelby did. The woman could hold a grudge.
“Now, dear. Tell me more about Mac Jameson,” Mimi said to Maggie.
Ron dug into his noodles. “He’s to-die-for handsome. All that muscle. Yum.”
“I know that. I’ve met the man, like a Greek god to us mere mortals. I want to know what Maggie thinks of him.” She turned to Maggie. “Well, dear? Is he a bit thick?”
Maggie choked on an egg roll. He’d felt like more than a handful to her.
“As in,” Mimi continued, a merry glint in her eye, “can he handle a conversation, or is he as dense as a brick? Is he homophobic? Does he like color more than he
used to? I swear, he wanted nothing more than wood tones for his home. Meh. I’ve only caught the bare minimum from our brief meetings. He’s not the most patient of men.”
“He likes Maggie’s art,” Shelby added. “I’m pretty sure he’s not homophobic. I don’t know his favorite color, but from what I do know, he’s a great guy. He’s been nice to me.”
“Because you’re dating his best friend,” Maggie pointed out. “He’s okay if you’re into the muscle-bound, control-freak type.”
“Sounds right up your alley,” Shelby answered.
“But I’m not in the market for a man. I’m concentrating on finishing a few more projects for the gallery. Kim has a buyer coming in January. He’s already expressed interest in a few pieces she put on the website. She thinks he might want to put some in his galleries on the East Coast.”
“That would be wonderful.” Mimi beamed. “You should focus wholeheartedly on your work. Shelby, quit bugging the girl.”
Shelby stared. “You’re kidding, right? You three stuck your big noses in my business not that long ago.”
“Out of love,” Ron reminded her. “Maggie seems to have a head on her shoulders. You, sadly, were hopeless.”
“He’s right.” Maggie grinned. “You were so pathetic about your ex that you couldn’t see what a great guy Shane is. You should be thanking us.”
“True.” Mimi stared at Shelby, waiting. Then she sighed. “Stubborn girl. Fine. Don’t thank me.” Ron cleared his throat, and she amended, “Don’t thank us. But Maggie, you I trust. You could have any man you wanted if you had the time to pursue one. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Maggie breathed easier. They finished dinner and she left to use the restroom. Thank God Mimi had a little faith in her.
“I can’t believe you,” Shelby whispered in a mean voice. “Maggie is totally pathetic. She’s planning to be the next neighborhood cat lady, for God’s sake.”
“Relax.” Ron slicked back his hair. He looked so handsome and so happy, mostly because of the perpetual smile he wore since he’d begun dating Shane’s boss, Justin. Personally, Shelby thought things might grow serious between them. She wondered how her mother would handle her best friend finding a happily ever after without her.