by Piper Rayne
He fought against it—trying to tell himself not to fall for her attempts to unsettle him. But his senses were overwhelmed. Her scent, her heat, the testing pressure of her hand coming up to his chest… he wanted more. He wanted everything.
“Stay,” she whispered. “When the others go, stay with me.”
He closed his eyes, feeling the last vestiges of his control unravelling like frayed rope. When Zoey wanted something, she threw everything she had at getting it. Would he regret it all tomorrow? Would she? Would it ruin things?
Fear had held him at bay for so long, but her question needled at him. Who was he protecting? Was he less selfless than he thought, only worrying about his own heart?
“I’m not asking for forever, Mack. Just tonight.”
Just tonight.
No strings. No commitments. No consequences.
He nodded, already wondering if he’d made a terrible mistake.
“Tonight,” he repeated with a nod.
Chapter Eight
It took another hour to put the inside of the food truck back together and tidy everything up. The entire time, Zoey’s mind swirled. Mack had agreed to one night and she could scarcely believe it. She wanted more from him, of course—more than one night, more than casual. But she also knew that Mack never jumped into anything without first doing his research.
Tonight be would that—an opportunity for him to see that they were compatible, inside the bedroom and out.
After Gwen and her brothers headed home, she and Mack went back to his place. The last thing she wanted was Sean interrupting them again when he came home from work, and frankly she didn’t want to rush things.
She had not waited seventeen years for a quickie.
The drive was torture, with Mack’s eyes staring straight ahead and her being too afraid to open her mouth in case he backed out. But within ten minutes they were walking through his front door and Zoey’s hands were almost shaking with anticipation. This was it.
It was really happening.
As Mack bent over to take off his boots, she couldn’t help but stare. She’d imagined this so many times, but something told her fantasy would never compare to reality. His T-shirt clung in all the right places—sticking to every muscle in his work-honed body, from the rounded “fix any problem” biceps to his broad shoulders and trim waist. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was like sandpaper.
Sweating looked good on him. Everything looked good on him.
“You’re staring.” He looked up as he yanked one boot off and then the other.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. “I am.”
“Getting your fill?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Uh-huh.”
He chuckled and the sound was low and rough and wonderful. “Be careful what you wish for, Zoey. You wanted this, so there’s no being shy now.”
Crossing the barrier of agreeing to sleep together was clearly a big deal for him. It seemed to have unleashed something in him—there was no hesitation. No doubt. When he made a decision, he owned it.
He ripped his T-shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor, his eyes capturing hers in silent challenge. A cocky grin tugged at the edges of his lips. The tables had turned.
“I’ve shown you mine,” he said, walking towards her. “Now you show me yours.”
Flushing, Zoey suddenly felt like a first timer, but in the best way possible. It was almost as if the chance of being with Mack had erased every memory in her head and she was getting to experience the world anew.
She slipped off her Havaianas and nudged them to one side as she divested herself of the T-shirt she’d thrown over her bikini top for the ride over. When her hands fell to the denim shorts slung low on her hips, she noticed the growing outline of him behind his shorts. The sight almost took her breath away. Her whole body hummed, like her every cell was a tuning fork and he was the reason for it all.
“Wait.” His voice was hoarse as he closed the gap between them.
Before she had the chance to open her mouth, he pulled her close and brushed his lips over hers, the kiss so soft and sweet it had no more weight than a feather. His thumb smoothed over her jaw and she melted into him, winding her arms around his neck and letting her head tilt back.
“That’s good,” he murmured against her lips.
This time he kissed her deeper, his tongue sweeping the inside of her mouth as his hands slipped over the curve of her backside, fitting her hard against him. She gasped into his kiss. He tasted warm and smooth, like a fine wine, and his chin was rough with stubble. When he nuzzled the crook of her neck, it was like being showered in sparks. Everywhere, he was hard… everywhere. He walked her back until she hit the wall of the living room, and pinned her there.
“Yes.” The word hissed from her lips.
“You knew exactly how much you were teasing me in this tiny thing.” He traced a fingertip along the strap of her bikini top and then palmed her through the thin material. “You’re perfection, Zoey.”
Physically. He may find her attractive enough to be here now, but it was who she was that caused issues. She was too wild, too spontaneous, too… much.
We’re not thinking about this now.
She was going to enjoy the moment. No doubts. No fears. No worrying about tomorrow. If there was anyone who knew how to live in the moment, it was Zoey.
She reached behind herself and tugged on the string holding her bikini top together until it gave way, falling to the floor. Darkness grew like storm clouds in Mack’s eyes and his stubble made delicious sparks inside her as he peppered her with kisses. The friction was heaven against her hot skin, and her nipples ached. Everywhere ached—her sex, her breasts, the pit of her stomach…
His mouth closed around the peak of her breast and she gasped. He rocked against her, the seam of his fly rubbing at her most sensitive part while his tongue and teeth and lips stoked the fire burning inside her. She was bright and hot and wanting. When the heel of his palm slipped between her legs, mercifully giving her pressure right where she wanted it, she almost wept with relief.
“Fuck, Zoey.” He kissed up the side of her neck as he slipped his hand inside her shorts. “The noises you make.”
He ground the heel of his palm against her sex and she rocked, rocked, rocked against him. When his finger pressed against her entrance, slipping inside, she splintered. Her orgasm was swift and strong, and she buried her face in his neck, screwing her eyes shut, blotting out the world. She only wanted to feel. Only wanted him. Nothing else.
When she floated back down to earth, Mack lowered himself to a crouching position and placed a kiss at her navel, working her shorts over her hips. Then her bikini bottoms followed, and she was naked. Exposed.
And yet she felt safer than ever.
“You have to get undressed too,” she said, as she soaked him all in. “I want to see every part of you.”
His belt buckle clanked as he yanked it open and the sound of his zipper lowering was like a knife through the thick air. Everything felt dialled up to eleven, all of her senses humming and vibrating. Her knees almost gave way as he shoved his shorts over his hips, because he was even more glorious naked.
It wasn’t only his body. It was the darkness in his warm brown eyes that she was most attracted to—the detailed, driven, intense nature of him. Proof she knew there was a passion, even if others chose not to see it.
Scooping her up, he strode through the house and into his bedroom, where he laid her on the bed. Soft covers cradled her. She’d been in this room before, and she’d always imagined. Always hoped.
He reached for the top drawer of his nightstand, hunting for a condom. The hard jut of his cock left her mouth dry, because the way he handled himself… goodness. So confident, so sure. He rolled the rubber down his length. Awareness raced through her veins as the bed shifted under his weight when he crawled forward, muscles tensed and eyes like wildfire.
“I have wanted this, Zoey,” he g
rowled. “I have wanted this for so bloody long. Too long.”
“Really?” The word was a mere whisper. “I thought you only ever saw me as a responsibility.”
He swore under his breath. “You have no idea how hard I’ve been fighting it.”
The revelation made her heart swell. All the times she thought he’d overlooked her, he was fighting it? Fighting his desire for her?
She reached out, pulling him towards her with an instinctive need to have him close. To be comforted and consumed by him. Her body sank further into the mattress as he came down on top of her, and muscular thighs parted her softer ones.
“Mack,” she breathed. “I’ve wanted you forever, too. From the moment I first saw you.”
As he pushed inside, her body gave in to him, softening and yielding and accepting. The way he held her like she mattered… it made her heart so very full. But she didn’t have long to dwell in that feeling, however, because as he began to move inside her, rocking back and forth, she clung to him. The sensation was intense, rhythmic. So good she lost her breath.
She felt… cherished. Seen.
Cupping his jaw with one hand, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him with everything she had. With everything she felt for him. Nothing else mattered in this moment. Not their differences. Not even their similarities. There was no past, no future. Only the glorious, fiery present.
“Mack, I’m close.”
He drew her legs behind him and she locked her ankles together against his lower back. The change in angle made him plunge deeper, harder. Each stroke brought her closer to bliss. To release.
Her head lolled back against the pillow. “I’m so close. I can’t…”
“Shhhh.” He covered his mouth with hers. “Just feel.”
His fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her deeply, like it meant something. Like it meant everything. Then the feeling burst like a bubble on a needle, and she was lost to the rolling waves of pleasure. A moment later, he followed her over the edge.
Clamping her eyes shut, Zoey held him, wishing with everything she had that this wouldn’t be the end.
Chapter Nine
Mack lay awake that night, staring into the darkness. Outside a ripe moon reflected against the gently rippling waves below and light spilled in through his bedroom window, lying in ribbons across his bed. He could make out the outline of Zoey’s body tucked into his side. Her hair spilled across his chest and her soft even breathing made warm air puff across his skin.
He felt a soul-deep contentment and utter completeness that he’d never experienced before.
Not with his ex, a woman he’d thought he may marry one day. Not with his home, that he’d built from scratch. Not with anything or anyone…
Except her.
He stroked her hair—the colours muted by the darkness—away from her face. She huffed in her sleep, shifting against him. After they lost themselves in one another the first time, they’d showered and started all over again. Then they watched the sun set, grazing on fruit and cheese and drinking a bottle of wine that he’d stashed away for a special occasion. After that, they went to bed full and happy and reaching for one another under the covers.
It must be midnight by now. Maybe later.
“Mack?” Zoey’s voice was gravelly and it suited her well.
“I’m here.”
“You’re wide awake.” She snuggled against him. “Your brain is so loud it woke me up.”
He laughed. “You know me, always thinking.”
“Too much.” Her hand trailed over him, fingertips dancing across the flat of his nipple and down the ridges in his stomach. “Sometimes it’s better to do.”
This was where they would always differ. Because Mack did everything with intention and planning. It was the very reason he was financially secure enough to bail his parents out. It was also the reason he was good at his job, getting promoted into being the head of all the construction safety work at South Coast Construction.
“You disagree,” Zoey said, as if she could read his mind.
“I do. I’ve seen what acting before you think can do to a family.” The incident with his sister had been kept quiet—not even Sean knew about it. His parents were so ashamed of having to lean on their son for financial support, that they’d made him promise not to tell.
But maybe Zoey needed to understand what could happen if you took “doing” too far.
She propped herself up on one arm. Moonlight illuminated her face, making her eyes look like silver stars, but a frown marred the smooth skin of her forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“You promise this stays between us?”
She pressed the flat of her palm to his chest, as though wanting to infuse him with her care. “Of course, Mack. You can trust me.”
“Melody didn’t go to Queensland because she got a job.” It hurt to even say that out loud, because he and his sister had been close growing up. Now they’d barely spoken in over two years. “She ran away.”
“What?” Zoey shook her head, blinking. “But that whole thing about her going to work at a resort in Noosa…”
“A made-up story.”
“But she posted a picture of herself there and…” Zoey’s shoulders slumped. “We spoke not long after she left. She told me how great it was.”
“She was probably trying to save face.” He ran his hand down her arm in a soothing manner. “I don’t think she wanted to deceive you, but you know what Melody is like. Making people think her life is perfect is what gets her into trouble.”
“What happened?”
“She decided to go into business with someone she met at a fashion show in Melbourne. They were going to produce surf-inspired clothing and sell it online, as well as trying to get it into stores along the coast. She was so excited that she skipped over doing her due diligence on her business partner.” He raked a hand through his hair, fury bubbling up inside him. “They needed money for the initial production run and the clothing manufacturer had a big minimum order for the unit pricing they needed. Otherwise the idea wouldn’t have been profitable. Mel asked for a loan from the bank, but they refused.”
“Oh no.” Zoey’s face crumbled as if she could tell exactly where the story was going.
“So, she asked Mum and Dad to help. As you know, they’re not the richest folks but they wanted to support her. They drew down a line of credit on the house.”
Zoey covered her face with her hands.
“Then Mel handed all that money over to her ‘business partner’ so they could ink the contract with the manufacturer. Only the woman stopped taking her calls and answering her emails. Mel went to the house where she supposedly lived and it was empty.”
“Shit.”
“It turned out everything about this woman was fake—her name, her address, her credentials. All of it.” Even now, he still couldn’t believe his sister had fallen for it. But Melody got swept up in the excitement of things, she always had. This time, unfortunately, it wasn’t only her bank account that bore the brunt of it—she’d ruined their parents, too. “The money was gone.”
“They never found the woman?”
“Police said they’d heard of similar things happening, but apparently she was a pro. There was no trail at all. They believed it wasn’t the first time she’d pulled this scam and that she’d likely left the country.”
“Poor Melody.” Zoey shook her head.
“Poor Melody?” Mack baulked. “Don’t you mean poor Mum and Dad? Their daughter bled them dry, almost ruined their retirement, and then they had to come to me to bail them out. Technically I now ‘own’ part of their house. What about them? Her naivety could have cost them everything.”
The air shifted in the room. What had been a warm, relaxed atmosphere a second ago was now charged with tension. “You’re seriously telling me you blame your sister for getting scammed?”
“Of course I do. Anybody with a modicum of sense in their head would have smelled this a mile
off. All Melody had to do was look into her business partner. Heck, all she had to do was not hand the money over to a complete fucking stranger on a promise that wasn’t even in writing.”
“Come on, Mack. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
He should have known that Zoey would see his sister’s side of things more than his. She’d looked up to Melody, who was two years her senior, when they were younger, following her around like a colourful little duckling, hanging on to every word she said.
“You don’t need hindsight if you plan ahead,” he said. “Starting a business isn’t something to do on a whim, especially not when you’re dragging other people into it.”
Zoey’s mouth popped open. “Is this why you were so freaked out about me buying the food truck? Because you think I’m going to be like your sister? That I’m going to screw Gwen over?”
He didn’t say a word. Because that had been his fear. Not only that Zoey would lead Gwen into a bad situation with her contagious enthusiasm, but that she’d ruin herself, too. That she’d end up running away like his sister had, because the thought of never seeing Zoey again…
Holy shit.
That was why he was so worried. Not because of the financial implications, but because if it all went wrong and Zoey ran away with her tail between her legs, he might not ever see her again.
“Do you really have so little faith in me?” Zoey’s voice wavered. The moonlight shifted through trees shuddering in the night breeze, and he caught a glitter in her eyes. Tears or anger, he wasn’t sure which.
“It’s not that.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of this unwanted and most inconvenient revelation.
“I think it is.” She pulled away from him. “You’ve seen me stumble so many times that you believe I’m only capable of stumbling.”
“That is not true.” He reached for her, but she pushed off the bed.
She stood naked in the moonlight, mermaid hair tumbling over her shoulders and a look of utter betrayal in her eyes.
Isn’t this what you wanted? For her to see how you’d never be right together.