The Tempering (The Mackenzie Duncan Series)

by James, Adrianne

  “I have no idea why I am so worried about this. He sees me every day. I bet I can just throw on some jeans and any old shirt and it would be fine. I mean, dinner at the little diner and a movie. It isn’t a big deal. Let’s just pick something.”

  “Mackenzie, maybe you should try this?” All three girls jumped at the sound of Margret’s voice in their room and turned around to see her standing there holding up a beautiful deep green sweater dress and brown boots.

  “Those are so pretty, but are you sure it will fit?” Mackenzie all of a sudden found herself transported back into her old body, her old feelings, and her old mentality that anything pretty was too small.

  “Yes. I am. Try it on.”

  Teresa ran over to Margret and grabbed the garment and practically forced it over Mackenzie’s head. It fit like a glove in all the right places and flowed nicely over the rest. Looking into the mirror, she didn’t see the overweight girl that so often reflected back to her, but a confident beautiful woman.

  “Thank you, Margret.” Looking back at her pack leader, she felt a sudden urge to hug her. Maybe the bad feelings she had been feeling about Margret were wrong. Margret was looking at her like a daughter and that made her feel amazing and sad at the same time. She missed her real mother.

  “Finish getting ready. Liam has been ready and pacing his room for the last half an hour. Someone is a very eager young man. Can’t say as I blame him.”

  Margret left the room and Teresa went to work on Mackenzie’s hair as Natalie turned her face into a painter’s canvas. When both were done, she looked like a more polished version herself.

  With every step down the stairs, Mackenzie’s heart hammered louder and louder. She was nervous. Over and over, she reminded herself that it was just Liam, that there was no reason to be nervous. When she saw that every member of the house was standing at the foot of the stairs in a large arc around Liam, the nerves switched from Liam, to not falling flat on her face trying to navigate the steps in her new high heel boots.

  Catcalls sounded and a few of the more immature members of the house began singing the old school yard kissing song. Heat flamed her cheeks and she knew that she was blushing. When her eyes finally landed on Liam, she had to stop walking completely. He was devastatingly handsome. He not only wore a button down shirt, but a tie to match and even though she knew he no longer needed them to see, he wore glasses. He mentioned to her that he missed them, he felt strange and less like himself without them. She told him to get a pair with plain glass if he really wanted to and apparently, he had. The dark metal frames looked very masculine and accentuated the sharp sculpture of his face.

  Liam took the stairs two at a time until he stood directly before her. His eyes darted around her face before finally landing on her eyes.

  “You look absolutely breathtaking,” he whispered.

  “So do you.”

  Liam smiled at her, took her hand, and led her down the stairs, through the crowd, and out the door.

  ~*~

  The only sound in the car had been that of the radio. Mackenzie didn’t know what to say, and Liam never spoke up. She never thought that their night would be filled with awkward silences. Ever since they had begun talking, they always had something to say to the other.

  “Okay, what the heck is wrong with us?” Liam blurted out just before turning into the parking lot of the restaurant.

  “I have no idea. Wait, this isn’t the diner?” Mackenzie looked around at the unfamiliar building. It was brightly lit with twinkling white lights and green ivy growing up and down the sides of the buildings and the posts.

  “No, it’s not. I thought we should go somewhere new. I mean, this is something new for us. right? A date, instead of just friends hanging out?” The way he said it came across as more of a question than a statement. Liam knew the kind of relationship that she had with Geoff, perhaps he wanted to know where they stood. She wasn’t really sure herself but after seeing him at the foot of the stairs, and seeing all the thought he put into the night, she really did want it to be a date instead of friends. For once, it wasn’t because she wanted to piss off Geoff.

  “Yeah, I like that idea.”

  “Let’s go eat. I’m starving!”

  Mackenzie laughed and shook her head, “Aren’t you always?”

  “Yeah, but so are you, so at least neither of us have to feel like pigs or only eat half of what we normally would because of first date jitters. Score one for dating a friend.”

  Dinner went well. Conversation flowed easily and Mackenzie found herself more and more relaxed. After paying the check, Liam stood and pulled out her chair, helped her with her jacket, and then, ever so quickly, slipped his hand into hers as if he had been doing it every day since they met.

  The strong presence of his fingers wrapped around hers made her feel safe. The look in his eyes when gazed upon her with a slight smile and soft-hooded eyes made her feel beautiful. And the heat radiating from him only inches away from her made her want him.

  Opening the passenger door for her, Liam stood close. His breath blew hot against her skin, making it erupt in goose bumps. When he went to take a step back to actually open the door, she moved with him. Gripping his shirt in her hands, she looked up into his eyes and waited. She wanted him to kiss her. She needed to know if the chemistry was there. She needed to be kissed without being pushed away. She needed to feel wanted.

  Liam slowly leaned down, his eyes never breaking from hers until just before his lips briefly touched hers. Just as their lips touched, a small amount of pressure, proving to her that he had been the one to kiss her, he pulled back, but only slightly. He looked into her eyes, and she hoped he got every answer he was looking for. She wasn’t moving. She wanted more. When he didn’t move in to kiss her again, she took matters into her own hands and launched herself at him.

  Hungry lips and exploring tongues, wandering hands and heaving chests, filled the next moments with a kiss so intense that Mackenzie only had one other to compare it to. The minute her mind wandered to Geoff, she had to pull away.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Liam asked with swollen lips and a look of worry on his face.

  “Nothing, just, um, let’s cool it down a bit. How about that movie?” She could tell he didn’t quite buy it. But not wanting the night to end, he agreed. Climbing into the car, they drove to the theater to watch blood guts and gore on a big screen, holding hands throughout the whole thing.

  Chapter 25

  Mackenzie had never felt so wonderful at the end of a date before. Most had been painfully awkward by the time they dropped her off at her door, but with Liam, it was different. She couldn’t help but think it was because they were friends first and that they could relate to one another in a way no one else had been able to do.

  The house was dark upon their return, with just a slight hum of noise seeping through the walls from a few of the bedrooms. They silently hung their jackets and tiptoed up the stairs, holding hands the whole way. They didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, but they also didn’t want to attract an audience like the one they had when they left earlier in the evening.

  He skipped over the third stair from the second floor, because it would creak the loudest, Liam landed with a thud on the next step. Fighting back laughter, the two passed the landing that led to the boys’ rooms and continued their climb up to the third floor.

  Liam pulled her close to him, gently brushed a few stray hairs away from her ear, and leaned in, placing his hands on either side of her hips. “Shhh. Remember, you’re the one who didn’t want all the prying eyes.”

  His words lost all meaning when she felt his breath tickle her neck, and his fingers dance along her waist. Turning her head ever so slightly, she was able to look into his eyes. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she raised herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed a slight kiss along his jaw then pulled back. The smile that played at his lips told her their night wasn’t over. When he gripped her tightly and pulled her in, co
vering her mouth with his, she knew she was right.

  The two stumbled down the hall toward Mackenzie’s room. After Liam had to catch her twice for tripping over his own feet, he simply lifted her up, holding her underneath her ass, with her legs wrapped around him.

  Finally at her door, Liam braced her back against it with a thud. He pressed himself into her as she moved her hips against him. Mackenzie broke the kiss to take a breath and tipped her head to the side, giving him all the access he wanted to her neck, before gripping his hair and pulling him back to her mouth. Their tongues tangled with one another, almost in an exotic dance within their mouths.

  Thrusting his hips into hers once again caused another bang against the door and a moan to escape from Mackenzie. Liam growled in response and pressed on, nipping at her lips and neck, followed by little licks and kisses to soothe the slight sting his teeth had left behind.

  Much too soon, Liam stilled his hips, and slowed his kisses until all that were left were chaste pecks. Letting her legs drop to the floor, he tipped her chin up to him and smiled.

  “I will see you tomorrow,” he said. Mackenzie smiled at him with what she had to assume was the silliest grin she had ever mustered.

  “Uh huh.”

  He chuckled in response before leaving her standing in awe, watching him walk away. She was grateful Liam had propped her against the door, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stand on her own without it.

  “Seems you and Liam have made a lot of progress in my absence.” Completely caught off guard, Mackenzie snapped her gaze up to see Geoff standing a few feet away.

  “Um, yeah. Where have you been? I had no way to call you or find out if you were okay.” She wasn’t sure how much he had seen, if he had seen anything at all. She knew that she had done nothing technically wrong, but seeing Geoff standing right there made her question all of her choices. No matter how happy they had made her in the moment.

  “I was on business. Margret said she told you that. I just thought you would want to know I was back for the weekend. I had wanted to take you out but I came back to be told by everyone who saw me that you were out on a date with Liam.”

  “Geoff...,” she started. But she had no idea what to say. They weren’t together so she was technically free to see anyone she wanted. But the way she felt with him there, the way he was looking at her, as if she were his even without the title, made her feel guilty.

  “Look, I get it. You have physical needs just like I do. I told you about how I fill those needs without a mate and you found yours. I just don’t want to hear about it. Goodnight, Mackenzie.”

  She watched him go in silence. She knew that Liam was more than a physical need. She knew she needed to tell Geoff that. But she also knew that one night with Liam, while absolutely wonderful, didn’t erase all of her feelings for Geoff. Groaning she opened the bedroom door to pour herself into bed and deal with her confusing life later, only to be greeted by two girls, with pillows covering their mouths to hide their laughter.

  “So... that was an interesting way to end the date!” Natalie squealed. Mackenzie looked at her two friends and laughed along with them.

  ~*~

  When the morning sun poured through the large window, Mackenzie buried herself further under her blankets. What should have been a great morning now looked much more confusing. Had her date with Liam been the only thing to happen, she would be happily skipping down the stairs to breakfast just to see if he were as joyous as she was. Or if Geoff returning were the only thing that happened, she would be thinking of ways to spend any amount of one on one time with him. Instead, she lay in bed, hiding beneath the covers, hoping that neither man remembered she was there.

  After putting off the morning for far too long, she climbed out of bed and got ready for her daily run. Hoping for an easy escape, she avoided the kitchen, the den, and any other area she thought either man would be.

  As she stepped out of the front door and breathed in the chilly air, she was finally able to relax. Every step away from the house, every breath of fresh air invigorated her. She knew she had to be adult about the little situation in which she found herself. Hiding away did no one any good.

  Heading back to the house with a to-do list that would take her well over two hours, and that she just so happened to keep adding to, would make it so she couldn’t speak to or even see either Liam or Geoff until at least lunch. A group like that would be perfect because there was no way they would want to speak with an audience.

  Sneaking back into the house and practically running to her room, Mackenzie managed not to see a soul. Showering, cleaning, organizing, and finishing her book took all the time she had expected. The smells from the lunch being prepared downstairs wafted up causing her mouth to water. She could no longer deny her hunger. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and headed down to the dining room.

  ~*~

  Mackenzie could hear the entire pack in the talking and laughing from the hallway. When she rounded the corner into the dining room, she had hoped that Teresa or Natalie might have saved her a seat. Too bad her two supposed best friends were grinning wickedly at her, completely surrounded by full chairs.

  Everyone quickly hushed and stared at her with silly grins on their faces and it wasn’t until she saw that the only open chair was directly between Geoff and Liam did she understand. They were all enjoying her predicament. It was no secret how she and Geoff were becoming closer, and it was definitely no secret that she and Liam had gone out.

  Both men kept their eyes trained on Mackenzie. It wasn’t until she stood directly behind them and pulled out her chair that they acknowledged one another. Neither wanting to back down, they only lost eye contact when Mackenzie sat in between them. When it was obvious that she wasn’t going to give the group any form of entertainment, the noise returned to the room.

  Realizing she hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, Mackenzie loaded her plate. She could see Margret watching as both men tried to gain her attention. She didn’t ignore either, but also wouldn’t let the conversation venture toward anything that could put her in a position of choosing one man over the other. It may have been selfish, but she honestly didn’t know what to do.

  “Geoff, how is the Alaska house fairing with the new influx?” Margret asked. The entire room quieted down once again and turned their attention to Geoff. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and returned it to his lap.

  “They are doing well. Better than we expected. That’s why I was able to come back for a few days. I needed to get something and was worried that if I left it for too long, I might lose it. So I was very glad things are going well.” As he spoke, Mackenzie couldn’t help but notice how the girls in the room looked to her with a smile. Ever the romantics. Mackenzie didn’t believe he was speaking of her, she wasn’t a thing after all, and how could he lose something he never truly had?

  “What did you forget?” Amanda, one of the older women asked with a grin. Mackenzie couldn’t believe they were pressing the issue, until she felt his hand snake up her thigh with only inches to her girly bits and squeeze. Trying to hide her shock, not only from the group as a whole, but also from Liam, who sat to the other side of her, she too used her napkin as a cover for putting her hands below the table. She placed her hand on top of his and moved it away.

  “Doesn’t matter. Pretty sure it’s gone now.” Mackenzie’s heart ached. She wanted to tell him that no, it wasn’t gone. But she looked over to Liam and then back to Geoff and she couldn’t tell him that. It wasn’t all gone, but part of it was given to someone else.

  Losing her appetite, she sat back in her chair. If she got up and left, she would be followed. If she just sat there and waited for everyone else to leave first, she could manage not to have to talk about what had just happened.

  As if he could tell that something was wrong, Liam looked to her questioningly. He mouthed the words “are you okay” and she shrugged. His hand too found her leg but it felt more comforting than a
nything else did.

  “Come on, let’s go talk.” Liam stood and waited for Mackenzie to follow. She looked back to Geoff who was paying close attention to their conversation before sighing. She stood up and followed Liam from the room. She was very thankful for the fact that most of the pack had already left the dining room, and they were off doing their own thing. Perhaps they would find something besides her completely confusing love life to entertain them.

  Wandering to the den, they sat together on the couch. Liam looked at her for a minute and Mackenzie could see the sadness in his eyes. He reached forward and ran his thumb across her jaw before pulling away.

  “Do you wish last night hadn’t happened?”

  His question took her by complete surprise. That was something that had never even occurred to her. Sure, she thought things would be simpler if just one man filled her night but she never wished it hadn’t happened. Shaking her head, she reached for his hand.

  “Never. Last night was amazing. Best date ever. Promise.”

  “So, is it Geoff? I thought you said you two weren’t a thing.”

  “We aren’t but that doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there.” Mackenzie then went into the whole conversation about Geoff being off limits. How he couldn’t be with her because of pack ways and because of the fact that she was a bitten were. She told him how intense she feels around Geoff, but in a completely different way than she feels with him.

  Liam never spoke while Mackenzie explained herself. He listened to her even when Mackenzie could tell it was hurting him to do so.

  “So what now, Mackenzie? Do we try to go back to being just friends so you can figure out if Geoff will ever buck tradition for you? I won’t be a back-up.”

  “You aren’t a back-up! Never. I don’t know what to do now. I know that this, you and me, is something. I just can’t honestly be anyone’s girlfriend, mate, or whatever until I know with all my heart that I am with the right person.”