Fiancee for Hire (Front and Center)

by Tawna Fenske

  “I’ll certainly consider having all the guests bring firearms and dress in World War II uniforms.” She turned to Mac with a sleepy smile, and he felt his heart constrict. “I’m going to turn in now, honey. Think you’ll be up shortly?”

  “Soon,” Mac said, then realized it was the same answer he’d given her when she’d asked about the arms deal. Funny how his life had become this strange blend of duplicitous sex and arms deals.

  He was still thinking about it when Kelli bent down and pressed her lips to his. The kiss took him by surprise, and Mac found himself pulling her onto his lap and kissing her soundly for three beats before he realized what he was doing.

  Jesus, man. Get control of yourself.

  “Wow,” his mother exclaimed, setting her coffee cup down on the table. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d display that sort of passion for anything besides assault weapons, MacArthur.”

  Mac released Kelli, still too shaken by the kiss to come up with a snarky reply for his mom. Kelli blinked up from where she was sprawled across his lap with her cheeks flushed and her lips so red and kissable that he almost grabbed her again.

  At last, she got to her feet and smiled. “Good night, sweetie.”

  She pressed three fingertips to her lips, kissed them sweetly, and pressed them to Mac’s forehead.

  The skin was still tingling as he turned back to his mother.

  “Well, well, well,” she began, smiling at him in a way that made Mac feel like an ill-behaved toddler. “I have to admit, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Mac cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. “Yes, well, it was certainly a surprise.”

  “To you, maybe. Anyone with eyes could have seen that girl’s been pining for you her whole life.”

  “What?”

  “Honestly, MacArthur, you can be so dense. Kelli’s been sweet on you from the time she was little. Of course, you hardly noticed she was alive, but I always knew it was just a matter of time.”

  He blinked, trying not to show how utterly baffled he was by this piece of information. “Kelli had feelings for me?”

  “Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far. Kelli had a case of the hots for you, which is a different thing entirely. It was probably for the best you didn’t realize it.”

  “Why’s that?”

  His mother shrugged and stood up to rinse her coffee cup. “I always knew she’d take a long time to be ready for any sort of relationship. A crush, sure. But a real relationship—” She seemed to stop herself there, considering. “Between her father leaving and her mother’s suicide and then spending her teen years in foster homes, it’s no surprise she’s been skittish about being abandoned again. I’m just glad she finally found someone she can count on.”

  The words hit Mac like a punch to the gut. He wasn’t sure whether to hate himself for lying to his mother, or for taking risks with Kelli’s heart. Either way, he felt like a grade-A dickhead.

  His mother beamed, oblivious to his self-flagellation. “I’m just glad things finally worked out. It’s good to see you so happy, MacArthur. You are happy, right?”

  For an instant, he felt her gaze slicing through him. He felt like he had the time he’d stolen his father’s drill-sergeant whistle and his mother had known somehow, interrogating him until he finally admitted his transgression.

  “I’m happy,” Mac parroted, doing his best to keep his voice neutral and confident.

  His mother studied him, unblinkingly. Then she nodded. “Good.” She was quiet awhile, seeming to consider her next words. “I’ve always worried about you, MacArthur. Much more than the others.”

  Mac swallowed, projecting a coolness he didn’t really feel. “Oh?”

  “I know you always blamed yourself. That you’ve saddled yourself with this massive sense of guilt and responsibility because of what happened to—”

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  Her eyes suddenly glittered with tears, and Mac felt a horrible wave of shame and sadness. He leaned forward to hug her, but she waved him away, fighting to regain her composure.

  “It’s important that I say this, MacArthur. Now that you’re on the brink of having a wife and a family of your own. It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”

  “Right.”

  The lie sounded dull even to his own ears, so he didn’t really expect her to believe it. She shook her head sadly, then laid her hand on his. “Someday, MacArthur. Someday, you’ll really believe that.”

  They sat in silence for a few beats, neither of them knowing what to say next. There was a dull ache in the pit of Mac’s stomach. He already felt worried about his ability to protect Kelli. About how this new level of intimacy would affect his ability to keep her safe. Now he had to worry about his mother, too?

  Mac jumped when she smacked the back of his hand.

  “You should go to her,” she commanded.

  “What?”

  “Your fiancée. You should tuck her in, make sure she’s gotten settled in the new room.”

  “Mother. I don’t think—”

  “That’s actually your problem, MacArthur. You do think—entirely too much, if you want my opinion. You’re all in your head, trying to anticipate how to control situations and people, but you don’t stop to feel.”

  Mac swallowed, completely taken off guard. “I do feel.”

  “I know you do, baby. I saw how you looked at Kelli. And I’m so glad you finally found each other. Just don’t overthink things into the ground with her, okay? Get over your need to control everything and just feel. You’ve got a good thing there, and I want to see you keep it forever.”

  Forever.

  The word echoed hollow in Mac’s ears as he stood up. God, she was going to kill him when he found out this whole thing was a lie. How had he not anticipated his mother finding out? He was losing control here, losing his grip on a situation that was already much too dangerous.

  He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, he wrapped his arms around her more tightly than he meant to. “Good night, Mom. I’m glad you came.”

  “Me, too, baby. Me, too.”

  As Mac headed up the stairs, he was surprised to realize he actually meant what he said. He was happy to see his mother. To talk with her, to have her part of the wedding plans, and giggle with his fiancée about—

  He stopped himself, frozen on the threshold of the doorway. Get it together, man. This is the last thing in the world you want. The engagement is a sham, and now you’ve got two women you care about who need you to stay focused enough to protect them.

  “Mac?”

  Kelli’s voice was faint from inside the master bedroom. He hesitated, then turned the knob and walked in.

  She was already tucked under the covers, the bloodred duvet pulled up to her chin. She looked small and delicate with her freshly scrubbed face and tousled hair. He ached to crawl in beside her. He steadied himself, then shut the door behind him.

  “I can sleep on the floor,” he said.

  “Are you insane?”

  “I’m being a gentleman.”

  “There’s a fine line between the two.” Kelli grinned and patted the bed beside her. “In case you’ve forgotten, you were buried inside me less than five hours ago. Can we drop the pretense of being sweet and chaste with each other?”

  Mac shook his head, then covered the distance from the doorway to the bed in two steps. “How I ever bought your pretense of sweetness and chastity is beyond me,” Mac said, pouncing on the bed so fast her eyes flew wide. “The question now is what are we going to do about it?”

  She smiled. “You have some serious control issues. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “Once or twice.”

  “Know what I think we should do?”

  Mac felt a twinge of pleasure between his legs, losing himself to the purr of her voice. “What?”

  “This.”

  She tossed the covers back
and threw one leg over him. Dumbstruck, Mac fell backward on the bed with Kelli landing on top of him, her wild curls falling over one eye.

  He was still trying to figure out what hit him when the handcuffs clicked into place.

  Chapter Ten

  Mac pulled against the handcuff binding his wrist to the headboard. “What the—”

  “There!” she said triumphantly, latching the other cuff into place as she sat back on her heels and smiled. “I knew the second I laid eyes on this bed that this old iron would be sturdy enough. It’s practically made for this, don’t you think?”

  Don’t think.

  Mac grimaced, disturbed to have his mother’s words echoing in his ears at a moment like this. He strained against the cuffs, his instincts urging him to struggle, to fight, to free himself.

  Well, some of his instincts.

  The rest wanted to see what Kelli had planned.

  “I’ll make you pay for this,” he murmured, only half kidding.

  “I’ll leave the money on the nightstand in the morning,” she chirped. “For now, I have other ideas.”

  She reached for his shirt and began slowly unfastening buttons. She popped one, then the next, then another, until she pushed the shirt open, baring his chest.

  “Very nice, MacArthur,” she purred. “I see your mommy made you eat your vegetables and get your exercise.”

  “My mommy made me do military workouts every morning before I got my Malt-O-Meal,” he said through gritted teeth, groaning as Kelli trailed her fingers down his chest, teasing him with light strokes. She leaned down, brushing her curls over his bare skin, the breath of jasmine light on the air as she moved.

  She leaned back on her heels again as she studied him. “You have very sensitive nipples for a man, you know that?”

  Mac groaned and yanked at the cuffs, fighting alternating waves of panic and lust. He’d actually freed himself from a pair of handcuffs in a military prison once by dislocating his thumb, but now didn’t seem like the right time to mention that.

  “Speaking of nipples,” he said, “I promise to make yours feel very nice if you uncuff me right this minute.”

  Kelli laughed and rested her hand on his chest. “I can do that just fine on my own, thank you very much. As a matter of fact, I’ll let you help.”

  She reached for the hem of her tank top and lifted the garment over her head. She tugged her arms free, her hair flying in static-charged ringlets as she tossed the top aside. He stared at her breasts, his mouth watering as he remembered what they’d felt like in his hands, in his mouth, pressed against his chest. He ached to touch her. He jerked on the cuffs again, wondering how she’d managed to seize control. He’d let his guard down again, goddammit.

  Why was that so thrilling?

  “Now,” she began, moving to straddle him. “What was that you said about making my nipples feel good?”

  She leaned down, teasing him with her breasts. She brushed them lightly across his skin, the soft points of her nipples tracing delicate lines through his chest hair and over his abdomen. Mac groaned, surprised by the intensity of the sensation.

  Kelli took her time moving over him. She went back to tickling him with her hair, the fragrant curls drifting across his neck, down his belly, across his belt line. She arched up again, her breasts pressing into him. She trailed them up his stomach and over his ribs, then up the underside of his arm. She made it all the way to his wrist before Mac tried to grab her, aching for just two seconds of feeling her in his palm.

  “Ah-ah-ah,” she cooed, moving away. “This is my show.”

  She leaned down, positioning her nipple over his mouth. Mac opened his mouth to take in as much of her as he could. He circled the firm nub with his tongue, making her gasp with pleasure. She lingered there for a minute, her weight on his chest, her softness in his mouth, as she moved against him.

  She shifted to the side, pressing the other breast against his mouth. He gave that one the same treatment, licking, sucking, devouring.

  “I think that’s enough,” she said, pulling back abruptly and smiling glassy-eyed at him. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome. Are you taking these off now?” He rattled the cuffs.

  “Not a chance, honey. I’m just getting started.”

  She slid off him again letting her hair graze his belly as she moved down to his belt buckle. She flicked it open like she’d done it a million times before, and Mac realized it was the third time she’d performed the task in twenty-four hours. How had he gotten this lucky?

  “Your pants seem a little tight,” Kelli murmured, her fingers deftly working the zipper. “Let me see what I can do about relieving some of the pressure.”

  “God, yes.”

  She slid her hands into his pants and shoved them down with Mac lifting his hips to help. He expected her to tug them all the way down, but she stopped mid-thigh, pinning his legs together. Mac fought the panic that surged at the thought of being imprisoned and at her mercy.

  God, why was this so electrifying?

  “So,” she said, leaning down so he could feel her breath on his upper thighs and her hair tickling the end of his cock. “Was there something you wanted?”

  Mac made an unintelligible sound in the back of his throat as Kelli moved up, her lips brushing him so softly he might’ve imagined it. He felt her tongue flick lightly over the tip of him before she moved away again, her hair tangling around him as she planted a trail of kisses down one thigh and back up the other.

  Her breath was hot on his bare skin, his body aching to have her. When the tip of her tongue grazed him again, Mac groaned in frustration.

  “Please.”

  He barely recognized his own strangled cry as Kelli drew back, taking that hot, sweet mouth with her. She smiled. “I’m sorry, was there something you wanted?”

  Mac cursed, half frustration, half pleasure, as she lowered herself over him again. This time, she licked one, long stroke from root to tip, her tongue soft and warm and the best thing he’d ever felt in his life. Then she drew back, letting her hair tickle him again as she planted featherlight kisses across his abdomen, over his hip bones, across his belly.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” he hissed.

  “That’s kinda the idea.”

  “Just let me touch you.”

  “No way. I’m here to teach you that you don’t always need to be in control, Mac. Pay attention, there’s an exam later.”

  Mac groaned again as Kelli worked her way back down, moving her mouth over him again with careful precision, just barely avoiding any contact between her tongue or the roof of her mouth. She brushed him once with her lips on the way down, engulfing him completely, but still barely touching him with anything but her breath.

  He’d never felt such exquisite torture in his life.

  She drew back again, meeting his eyes once more as the tip of her finger grazed him.

  “What do you want, Mac?”

  “I want you.”

  She smiled. “Say it. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Mac swallowed, torn between uttering such a crass command to a sweet woman and getting what he wanted. What he needed.

  “Suck me,” he breathed. “Please.”

  And she did. Her lips closed around him, tight and warm as her tongue curved around his shaft. She moved slowly at first, the suction of her mouth pulling him toward the back of her throat. She gripped the base of his cock with one hand, using it to angle him against the roof of her mouth. She turned her head to one side, and her hair fell away from her face. Her eyes met his, and he could see her smile even though her lips were otherwise engaged.

  She moved down his shaft, sucking and licking and alternating the pressure of her mouth with the firm stroke of her hands. He felt his brain leaving his body, felt his whole body losing control—

  “Kelli, I’m going to—”

  “Not yet, you aren’t.” She rose up on her heels and smiled, then leaned over him. He stret
ched to reach her nipple with his tongue again, but she moved away quickly as she reached for nightstand. She sat back, condom in hand, and brushed a curl from her eyes. “I want you inside me again.”

  She didn’t wait for a response—not that he would have put up a fight. She rolled the condom on, then threw one leg over him. She straddled him like that for a moment, hovering above him with her fingers clenched around his shaft, the tip of him poised between her legs, her eyes locked on his.

  He was inches from being inside her, but it might as well have been miles for all the control he had. Kelli held all the cards.

  Well, the cards and his cock.

  He clenched his teeth, wondering if she planned to toy with him. If she wanted to see him beg. He was deciding if he had it in him to resist when she plunged down onto him, taking his breath away.

  “Jesus Christ,” he gasped as she sheathed him to the root.

  She laughed and circled her hips slowly, letting her body adjust to his. She was tight and wet and hot around him, and Mac groaned as she clenched her thighs over his hips. She rose up on her knees, then slid back down again, her muscles gripping him in a velvety caress. She arched up and closed her eyes, threading her fingers in her hair as she lost herself to the rhythm of her own movement.

  He tugged at the handcuffs, wishing he could slide his hands over those beautiful breasts or grip her by the hips and pound himself into her.

  But this was her rhythm, her show.

  A pretty spectacular one at that.

  He watched her ride him, felt his own pleasure mounting, heard the buzzing in his brain that signaled he wouldn’t be able to take this much longer. Her beautiful face was flushed with pleasure, her movements quickening as her breath came faster.

  Mac thrust his hips up hard, pushing himself deeper into her. Kelli’s eyes flew wide, and she gasped. He drew back and thrust again, hitting the same spot harder this time.

  “Oh my—Jesus, Mac, what did you just—holy fuck!”

  He drove into her harder, his aim perfected now as he felt her tighten around him. Her body tensed and she threw her hands forward, raking her nails down his chest. He was back in control, or was he? He didn’t know anymore. He groaned and thrust deeper, concentrating on hitting the same spot as his own pleasure mounted and something exploded behind his eyes.