Deep in the pleasure fog, Tania swam for the surface, one called sanity. ’Cause, yup. Staking a claim on him was a bad idea. And second on her do-NOT-do list? Become a jealous idiot, one ticked off by the thought of him with someone else. Nothing good would come from wandering into that mess. She needed to stay in the here and now where serious took a backseat, leaving fun and mutual pleasure to ride shotgun.
Tania bit down on her bottom lip. Right?
Wrong, a voice inside her insisted. Just one word. A single syllable. But the conviction behind it sent her reeling. Worry picked her up, spun her around, then flung her headlong into confusion. Her internal alarm system started to howl. Oh boy. Not good...at all. Somehow, in the last few hours, she’d become attached to Mac in a major way. She sensed her connection to him and knew...just knew...it wasn’t normal. How could it be? She didn’t know him all that well. Sure, she liked him. It was easy to do. But the need she felt for him surpassed sexual chemistry, rocketing her into compulsion. Left her wanting something she’d never had before...
Commitment.
Her throat clogged with panic. Forget the dragon stuff. Tania didn’t want a man of her own. She enjoyed her independence. Liked her job...was fulfilled and happy with her life. But even as she insisted, pushing the feminist agenda, a pang echoed inside her. The hollowness expanded and a lifetime of hurt slipped through her defenses, making her yearn for something more. Acceptance and love...common ground with a man she could trust to never betray her.
Oh dear. She’d outpaced crazy. Now she lived inside a world called Certifiable.
“Hey,” Mac murmured, slipping his hand from between her thighs. Tania mourned the loss of contact for a moment, then forced her eyes open. He met her gaze, his full of concern. Her heart flip-flopped, sending her into a messy emotional tailspin. God, what a man. After all he’d just given her, he was worried...about her. “You okay?”
“All good.” A lie. But it was the best Tania could do under the circumstances. She didn’t want to talk about what she felt or why. Not yet. Not until she figured out what it meant. So she deflected instead, diverting him with a compliment. “Holy jeez, Mac. You’re good at this.”
He grinned. “You have no idea.”
“Arrogant jerk,” she said, teasing him, loving every second of being in his arms. Umm, he was delicious. A sexual dominant with no off switch in sight. Perfect. Exactly what she needed to take her mind off her troubles while he had his way.
After all, what could it possibly hurt?
She enjoyed his brand of hard-core in bed. And the fact he could coax her into submission? Oh baby...not much better than that. So, yup. She was all in, past the point of no return with Mac in the driver’s seat.
Touching her fingertip to his bottom lip, she raised a brow. “You’ve had lots of practice, haven’t you?”
A wicked gleam in his eyes, he answered with action. Smoothing his hand over her hip, he tugged her waistband. She lifted her bum, willing to let him strip her. He didn’t hesitate, pulling the sweats down and off before tossing them over the side of the bed. Attacking her shirt next, he sent the hoodie to join its better half on the floor and...
Tania held her breath and stayed perfectly still. As his gaze skimmed over her, her heart picked up a beat, then another. Did he like what he saw? Most men did, even though they never got to touch. She’d kept them all at bay. Had never encouraged intimacy of any kind beyond her first experience or two. Why? Fear of losing herself, maybe. Lack of pleasure, certainly. But mostly? No one had ever made her feel the way Mac did.
Caressing her with a light touch, he trailed his fingers over her collarbone. Awe played in his expression, and his mouth parted on a rough exhale. “I love your body, Tania. You’re so soft and curvy. So sweet.”
And there it was. The approval she craved. Silly, she knew. It shouldn’t matter what he thought, but somehow it did. More than she wanted to admit, and as he turned his hand to cup her breast, she welcomed him. Pushing her hands into his hair, she played with thick strands and tipped her chin, asking for his kiss. The devil in his eyes, Mac shook his head. She tugged. He retaliated by deviating, moving away from her lips.
Her breath caught as his mouth touched down on her breast. Playing the tease, he flicked her with the tip of his tongue, taunting her with the promise of possession without giving her any. She growled at him. He smiled against her skin, blowing on the damp patch, cranking her higher before settling in to suckle her...hard. Heat lightning streaked through her, arching her off the bed, making her gasp his name.
He chuckled. Tania moaned and tried to move him. An impossible endeavor if ever there was one, but...oh, how she craved his taste. Wanted to dip inside his mouth and appease the hunger.
“Mac!”
“Uh-huh?”
“I want your mouth.”
He nipped her gently, causing her to squirm. “Where?”
“On mine.”
With a snarl, he lifted his head from her breast and invaded her mouth. She met him, opening wide, tasting his tongue, needing more. Yum. Perfection wrapped up in a kiss. He was the addiction she would never kick. Tantalizing. Drug-like. Undeniable. Tania knew it and didn’t care. He was so good, and she was too needy. Ready to take everything he gave her and beg for more. To hell with her pride and doing the smart thing. Later would be soon enough for recriminations. To screw her head on straight and unravel the mystery of her reaction to Mac.
Yes, absolutely. Later.
Right now, the primal urge to satisfy him took over. A slave to his kiss, she drank him in, reveling in the way he possessed her. The kiss lasted forever, yet nowhere near long enough. And as he withdrew to suck on her bottom lip, Tania protested, not wanting to let him go. With a hum, he met her gaze and, shackling her wrists, loosened her grip in his hair.
Following his retreat, she raised her head off the pillow. “Come back.”
“Behave and I will.”
Tania blinked. Behave? What kind of request was that? Not a very good one, considering neither of them had a stitch on. Add that whopper to the fact his thigh was pressed between hers and...fat chance. No behaving would be happening anytime soon.
Reading her right, he warned, “Behave or I’ll make you.”
“How?”
He laced their fingers and shifted to straddle her. His knees on either side of her hips, he pressed the backs of her hands into the mattress. “I’ll tie you down.”
“Oh,” she whispered, surprise and interest mixing. Anticipation broke through the passion barrier, busting her wide open, making her want to yell, “Oh yes, please. Tie me up!” Which was...Tania shivered...ridiculous. Completely ludicrous. And so arousing she could hardly stand herself. But now that the seed had been planted, she couldn’t deny that she wanted him that way. Hated to admit it, but being dominated by Mac sounded, well, delicious.
Way beyond exciting. Except...
How did one go about admitting that kind of thing? Should she blurt it out and hope for the best? Maybe. Tania really didn’t know. But honesty seemed like the better policy. What was the worst that could happen? He’d walk away. She’d cry and then get over it.
“I’m not...” She paused to shore up her courage. Feeling her cheeks heat, she said, “I mean you can...if you want.”
Rapt interest sparked, sharpening his focus, making his irises shimmer. His hands flexed around hers. Tania swallowed. Watching her closely, he drew her arms above her head. He held her there and waited, listening to her pant as excitement and ravenous need intertwined.
His nostrils flared. “You like being held down, don’t you?”
Mouth gone dry, Tania couldn’t answer. Her mind had flown, leaving her vulnerable beneath him. And her heart? God, the thing pounded so hard her pulse hammered her temples, taking up all the space inside her head.
“You ever been with a dom before, Tania?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll be your first then.”
And la
st. He didn’t say it. Didn’t need to either. Tania sensed the conviction in his tone.
Shackling her wrists in one of his large hands, he leaned in and nipped her bottom lip. Another light pass with his teeth. A heated flick of his tongue at the corner of her mouth. More titillating tease before he raised his head to look at her. With slow, deliberate movements, he spread her thighs and, cupping her bottom with his free hand, adjusted their fit as he settled against her core.
She moaned in delight, and he asked, “How do you want it, mo chroí...silk bonds, handcuffs, or leather?”
Her breath caught, and she tried to decide. Go all in or start slow? Errant urges piped up, telling her to be brave. She licked over her bottom lip, swallowed her apprehension, and—
“Yo, Mac. Where you at, lad?”
The thick brogue drifted in from the living room. Tania tensed, her eyes widening. A second voice joined the first. “You sure this is the place, Rikar?”
“Yeah. He’s here, B. I can feel him.”
“Motherfuck.” Mac’s grip tightened on her wrists. With a growl, he twisted to glare at the door. “I’m going to kill them.”
“Who?” she asked, a little slow on the uptake.
And no wonder. Desire still had her by the throat, and after the excitement of nearly being tied up and dominated by Mac? Well, her lack of mental acuity was understandable...mandatory, even. But as more heavy footfalls sounded outside the bedroom door, Tania forced herself to get a grip. A fast getaway was definitely in order.
Unhooking her calf from Mac’s hip, Tania tugged on her hands. Freedom and finding her clothes seemed like a good idea. No way she wanted to be butt naked when whoever was out there walked in on them. Murmuring Mac’s name, she yanked harder. He got the message, uncurling his hand from around her wrists. “Is it your dragon-thingy?”
He blinked, then threw her a startled look. “Thingy?”
“Pack? Or whatever you call it.”
“The Nightfuries.”
“Oh, right...of course,” she said as though it made perfect sense. But it didn’t...not by a long shot.
The whole thing was downright hinky. Shimmering eyes. Magical air bubbles. A gaggle of dragon-guys showing up out of the blue. The bizarro list went on and on into never ending, but the weird thing? The absolute crazy part? She wasn’t that alarmed by any of it. Sometime in the last few hours, she’d accepted Mac for who and what he was and understood that he would protect her.
From all comers.
And oh boy. Call the loony bin. She needed a serious injection of drug therapy.
“Tania, honey, I’m sorry, but...” With a sigh, Mac shifted to lie alongside her. Propped up on his elbow, one of his muscled thighs between her own, he cupped her cheek. “We’ll have to do our anything another time. When I get you home, I’ll show you—”
Metal squeaked as the knob turned.
Mac’s focus snapped back to the door. “Come in here and I’ll cut your balls off.”
“Bloody hell,” the Scottish guy said.
Someone else chimed in. “Ouch.”
The wince in the guy’s voice provided Tania with a mental snapshot. One of Mac’s friends with a pained look on his face, both hands cupping his package. The picture struck her funny bone. She snorted, amusement tightening her chest. More grumbling came from beyond the door, giving her a bad case of the giggles. Covering her mouth, she tried to hold it in. Mac scowled at her. And she lost it, laughter spilling from between the press of her fingers.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Sorry,” she gasped, her eyes watering. “I know it’s not funny, but...I just...you gotta admit it’s pretty—”
“Frickin’ frustrating?”
“Hilarious.” Caressing his shoulder, she traced the swirling lines of his tattoo. The ink glimmered, warming beneath her fingertips and...God. It was fascinating. Beyond cool. And as he relaxed beneath her touch, she marveled at him, wanting to know more about the magic in his blood.
“Easy for you to say. You got off three times already.”
“Four, actually.”
“Hurrah for you.” His lips twitched, ruining his dejected tone.
“Poor baby,” she said, smiling at him. She held his gaze a moment, then turned and kissed the taut curve of his biceps. “So hard done by.”
“Not really.” Dipping his head, he brushed her mouth with his. Lingering over her, expression dead serious, he whispered, “Holding you...pleasing you...is enough.”
Tania drew in a soft breath. Oh wow. What an incredible thing to say. So very...unselfish. Her heart dipped, flipping into a somersault inside her chest. And just like that, she was in serious trouble. Neck-deep and sinking fast with the man in her arms. She wanted to respond. Say something...anything...to lighten the mood and set herself back on the right path—the one called self-preservation. But for some reason, she couldn’t. His courage was too precious a thing to disregard. And as surprise circled into wonder, deep appreciation raised its fist and knocked on the door where love lived.
Before she could stop it, the portal she guarded so closely swung wide and invited him in. A split second in time, and it was over. She was done. Falling hard, so deep and fast that when Mac slipped from her arms and rolled to his feet, it hurt to let him go. She released him anyway. Watched him walk away, her throat aching as he stole her heart and took it with him.
Halfway across the bedroom, Mac glanced over his shoulder at Tania. He wanted to see her reaction. Needed to be sure what he’d seen in her eyes was real, not a figment of his imagination. Trust. Acceptance. Maybe even a little love. Or a lot. He couldn’t tell. Wasn’t sure how to interpret the “look” she gave him, and honestly? He wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Hope, after all, was a slippery slope. One full of icy terrain, jagged cliffs, and long falls if he allowed it to push him over the edge. ’Cause, yeah, a man reading a woman wrong? It had been known to happen. Mac stifled a snort. Shit. What an understatement. Women eviscerated men on a regular basis. Which was why he always stayed away from serious entanglements. Commitment equaled pain squared.
Period.
Sex and pleasure, however? Sure. No problem. When a female wanted him that way, he never said no. Until now. His playboy, have-any-woman-he-wanted days were over. Mac knew it as he stood there, naked in front of the female he yearned to make his own. What differentiated Tania from all the rest? Fuck if he knew, but she was special. Screw the reasons why. None of them mattered.
Mac huffed. Sweet Jesus, he was messed up. Way out in the middle of Deepshitsville with no chance of getting back. Knowing that, however, didn’t solve the problem. Neither did looking at her. The sight of her wrapped in his sheets—long hair a messy tangle around her bare shoulders—just made him want her more. His gaze met hers, and—
Ah, shit. Might as well get it over with, throw up his hands, and admit defeat.
He was a goner. No question. No fighting it. No denying his need for her or the territorial half of his nature. And as his dragon fixated on her, picking up body cues, reading her bioenergy, Mac wanted to own her...possess her so thoroughly she never questioned to whom she belonged. What he got instead, though, was almost as good: the spike of her scent, the desire in her dark eyes, and...oh yeah. There it was. Genuine liking that defied reason and crossed boundaries, flirting with love’s outer edges.
Good news? Bad? Mac didn’t know, but he was game to find out. To explore the connection they shared and decide what the future held later.
But first things first.
She needed to know a few things about him...about Dragonkind and what the magic allowed him to do. Telling Tania wouldn’t be enough. Curious by nature, she required proof, all the cold, hard facts before accepting or believing. So his plan went something like...show her first, survive the barrage of questions second.
Issuing a silent command, Mac conjured his clothes. Worn to perfection, his favorite Levi’s settled at his waist. On her knees in the center of the bed, Ta
nia’s eyes went wide an instant before her mouth fell open. A second passed, then ticked into more before she snapped her teeth together and pointed at his jeans.
He bit down on a grin. “Get dressed, mo chroí.”
“But...you...” An adorable pucker between her brows, her gaze ran the length of his body, making his balls fist up tight. Oh man, he liked her eyes on him, relished the sweet ache of anticipation, knowing he’d have her spread beneath him again soon. But while he burned for her, she shook her head. “How did you do that?”
“Magic.” Grasping the antique handle, he swung the door wide and gestured to the living room. “Meet me outside, all right?”
Not waiting for an answer, he crossed the threshold and—
“Motherfuck.” Mac stopped short, getting nailed by four sets of very interested eyes. He tensed, muscles flickering beneath the scrutiny. Jesus, it was like being plugged in the chest with a .44 magnum. No flak jacket in sight.
“About fucking time,” Wick growled.
“Give him a break, lad.” Forge breathed deep, no doubt picking up Tania’s scent on his skin. A wicked gleam in his eyes, the male grinned. “He’s been a busy boy.”
Bastian snorted. “You’re just jealous.”
“Damn right I am,” Forge said. “She smells good...like water lilies.”
Mac’s eyes narrowed on his mentor. “Stop scenting my female. Or I’ll beat the snot out of you again.”
Ass-planted on the kitchen counter, shitkickers swaying in the breeze, Rikar laughed.
“Shite.” Forge cringed and rubbed his knee. “I’ll stop.”
“Uh-huh.” Mac glared at the Scot a moment longer, then shifted focus, scanning the room.
Huh. Wick without Venom. A rare occurrence, one that raised Mac’s internal radar. What the hell was going on? Yeah, he and Venom might not get along, but for the male not to have made the trip out to the island? Something was way, way off.
His attention landed on Wick. “Where’s dickhead?”
“Healing.”
Rikar’s heels banged against the cabinet doors. “He took a hit last night.”
Fury of Seduction Page 24