Devil's Playground

by Arianna Hart

  No. But it was naïve to think that Mac would change because of her. She should just take the experience for what it was—good sex between two consenting adults—and go on with her life. Eventually she’d forget about him and find someone else to fall in love with and have a family with.

  Mac was definitely not the family man. And nothing she could do would change that.

  “Why the long face?”

  Caitlyn jumped and spilled water on the floor. Mac had come up behind her so quietly she hadn’t even heard him.

  “Just thinking. I didn’t know you were here. Where’s Liam? Isn’t it his turn to baby-sit me?” Caitlyn covered the shaking of her hands by wiping up the water on the floor.

  “I don’t know. Tom and I split up a few hours ago and agreed to meet back here and compare notes.”

  “Oh. Are you hungry? I could make you a sandwich?” she asked, for something to say.

  “No, I’m fine. I grabbed something earlier. Where’s Jim?”

  “He just left for work.” They were all alone.

  “Ah, well. I’m going to grab a shower while I can.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw.

  A shower. You had to be naked to take a shower. Caitlyn’s heart skipped a beat. She knew exactly what Mac looked like naked. Heat pooled between her legs.

  “Okay. I’ll… I’ll be in here. Cleaning.” Tension was so thick she could practically see it flow between them. One look, one gesture and she’d be on him like white on rice. She spun around and started wiping the counter like her life depended on it.

  Mac’s image reflected back at her from the window above the sink. He raised his hand, but dropped it before leaving the room.

  As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, Caitlyn sank down to sit on the floor. Dear God. How could she want him this badly? Her heart raced and blood pounded in her veins. Her skin felt too tight to contain the pent up need inside her.

  Before she got swept up in memories from their one night together the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Cat?” Liam’s voice was almost drowned out by the sound of rushing traffic in the background.

  “Yeah.” Who’d he expect?

  “We’ve got a tractor trailer accident. I’m going to be stuck here for a while. Is Jim there?”

  “No, he’s working twelve to twelve tonight. Mac is here though.”

  “Alone?”

  Caitlyn sighed. “Yes, alone. I’m sure Tom will come rushing to protect my virtue any minute though, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “You don’t have to get all snotty about it. I don’t want to see you hurt, you know.”

  “I know—”

  “Hey, I’ve gotta go, things are getting hairy here. Take care and stay inside.”

  “Okay,” she said to empty air. Liam had already disconnected.

  He didn’t want to see her hurt. Mac thought she was too good for him. Didn’t anybody care what she thought or wanted?

  Did she even know what she wanted?

  Oh yeah, she knew. She just wasn’t sure it was good for her to get what she wanted. Tossing the cordless phone on the table, Caitlyn tidied up the papers and things in the kitchen. Jim’s apartment was big, but having five people crammed into it made for a lot of junk. Correction, having four men crammed into it made for a lot of junk.

  She made her way into the living room, picking up discarded socks and shoes along the way.

  “I feel like their mother, not their sister,” she muttered.

  Grabbing a shirt off the back of a chair, she folded it and laid it on the table. Mac’s scent drifted from the shirt and the surge of lust flared again.

  “Here, I’ll take that,” Mac said from behind her.

  Wearing nothing but slightly faded jeans.

  Caitlyn’s mouth watered. His hair was still damp and he smelled like soap.

  “Sure.” Her voice was thick with desire. She cleared her throat and handed the T-shirt over. Their fingers brushed and the contact was electric. Caitlyn was afraid to look down because she was sure her nipples were poking through her thin shirt.

  “Who was that on the phone?” Mac pushed his arms through the sleeves and pulled the soft cotton over his head.

  She had to shake her head to clear it. Her powers of concentration were deserting her by the minute. “Liam. He’s stuck in the middle of a tractor trailer accident and doesn’t know when he’ll be home.”

  “Oh.” Laser-like gaze burned into her.

  “I’m sure Tom will be home any minute.” Caitlyn fiddled with the orphaned socks in her hand. “Ah, I think I’ll do a load of laundry. Do you have anything that needs to be done?”

  “Considering most of what I’m wearing belongs to your brothers, I’m sure I can come up with something.”

  Those jeans and that white T-shirt didn’t look nearly as good on Jim. “I’ll just get going…and do the laundry.” Get out of here before you make an ass of yourself.

  Caitlyn escaped to the bathroom and started a load of clothes. She’d have to lock herself in the guest room. It should be humiliating to want someone who didn’t want you back, but obviously her body didn’t care about her pride. Nope. Her body could care less if she sunk so low that she threw herself at Mac. All it cared about was scratching the itch he gave her.

  Well I do care! I won’t throw myself at anyone. If he doesn’t want me, so be it. Caitlyn crossed to her room and flopped on the bed. The spare bedroom doubled as an office. A twin bed was nestled in between a computer desk and bookshelves with all sorts of huge binders jammed in.

  She could always brush up on her emergency medical care if she wanted to keep busy. Maybe she’d check her email and kill some time that way. Tom would be home soon to break the tension. It was hard to get hot and heavy over Mac with her older brother watching her every move.

  Her email was somewhat less than inspiring. Mostly junk mail or spam. And right now she did not want to see anything about enlarging her male member or lasting all night. She was biblically certain Mac didn’t need any chemical enhancements to perform.

  Was there anything that didn’t remind her of sex? When had she become this desperate? Solitaire. She’d play the mind-numbing card game until Tom came home or her eyeballs dried out.

  She was down three hundred dollars to the computer when there was a soft knock on the door.

  “Do you mind if I use the computer? I’d like to check up a couple of websites.” Mac leaned against the doorway.

  “Sure, I’m just checking my email.” She quickly clicked off the card game and got out of the chair. “I’ll leave you alone so you can work in peace.”

  Mac held her hand and stopped her from leaving. “Actually, I could use your help. I’m going to go through the government officials in the city. If you could help me keep track of who I checked out and who I haven’t, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Okay. If you think I can help.” There was only one chair and Caitlyn let Mac have it, kneeling on the floor instead. The position put her much too close to him, but she had little choice if she wanted to see what was on the monitor.

  “You’ve been a big help so far.”

  “Me? Please. All I’ve done is make sandwiches and coffee and clean up after everyone.”

  “And you’ve taken notes and organized the information so we’re not reinventing the wheel. Just because you’re not on the street digging through trashcans doesn’t mean you aren’t helping out just as much as Tom or I.”

  “Do you really do that? Dig through trashcans? I thought that was just something on TV.”

  “Oh yeah, dig through them, hide behind them, you name it. TV doesn’t get half of what we do right, but a lot can be found out by looking through someone’s trash.”

  Mac’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he brought up the city’s website. As Caitlyn reached across the desk for a pad and a pen, her breasts brushed against Mac’s leg and shot fire through her body.

  “So what do you want me to do?” Please don
’t read into that.

  “I’m going to go through all the city officials looking for ties to the gang members I know. I just need you to keep track of who I think has potential connections.” His warm breath brushed down over her face. He smelled of mint toothpaste and Caitlyn remembered the taste of his mouth on hers too well.

  “Okay.”

  Caitlyn tried to get her breathing under control as Mac scrolled through the web pages in front of him at a furious rate. His feet were bare and for the first time she noticed he had a sprinkling of black hair on his toes. It figured, he even had cute feet. Couldn’t she find anything on him that wasn’t sexy?

  “Ah-ha!”

  “What? Did you find something?”

  “The Chief of Police, see this picture of him at the Grand Opening celebration? He’s standing right next to Miguel.”

  “Miguel?”

  “Yeah, he was one of my roommates in the hellhole I lived in. He was itching to take over for Carlos, but hadn’t worked up the courage to make a bid yet.”

  “So that’s a connection?”

  “It could be. Mark it down, I’ll do some more digging on that angle later.”

  Caitlyn stood and stretched her back and legs. Kneeling on the ground made her knees ache.

  “Is your back still bothering you?” Mac turned towards her.

  “No, I’m just stiff from kneeling on the floor. Give me a second and I’ll be fine.”

  “Go ahead and sit on the bed, I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  Oh no. She wasn’t going anywhere near the bed. “No worries. I’m fine, see?” Caitlyn stretched her arms over her head.

  Mac let out a groan low in his throat. She looked closer at him. His hands were clenched in fists and sweat dotted his brow. He wasn’t as unaffected by her as she had thought.

  Now. What should she do about it?

  Before she could make a decision, Mac stood, putting him within touching distance. Kissing distance.

  “I should go check on a few things. I’ll be right back.” He stepped towards the door.

  “Coward,” she muttered.

  “What?” Mac spun around. His pupils were dilated with desire and she could see his pulse beating in his neck. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all.” Her blood pounded furiously in her veins as Mac stepped into her personal space.

  “I know you didn’t just call me a coward.”

  “And what if I did?” she challenged. Come on, take the decision out of her hands.

  “Then I’d just have to prove to you how wrong you are.” His body hovered over hers, pushing her back until her legs hit the bed and she couldn’t retreat any farther.

  “I don’t know, that might be hard to do. It looked like you were running away just now.” Heat zipped through her, fast and furious.

  “Me? Running away? I don’t think so. It’s you who’s been running scared for the last couple days.”

  “Ha! What do I have to be afraid of?”

  “This.” Mac’s hands pulled her head up to meet his and he captured her lips in a fiery kiss.

  Caitlyn wrapped her arms around his neck and fell back onto the bed. He landed on her with a thud. His weight felt so good on her so right. She could feel his erection pressing through his jeans and her fingers itched to stroke it.

  “I’ve wanted to do this forever,” Mac mumbled against her neck as he kissed his way down her neck to the V of her shirt.

  “What took you so long?” Caitlyn ripped his shirt over his head so she could explore the muscles of his chest and abs. She wanted to touch him everywhere at once, but his mouth on hers grabbed her attention instead.

  Mac’s tongue dipped between her lips, tempting her to open up and play. She needed no further urging to join him. He sucked her lower lip lightly, sending bolts of pleasure straight to her core. She thrust her hips against his, trying to ease the ache.

  The need only intensified when Mac ran his hands along her legs over her hip and up her rib cage to her breast. He lightly squeezed her tender globes before stripping off her shirt and bra. When his hot mouth sucked in her pebbled nipple and rolled it over his tongue, she thought she’d come right there.

  “So sweet,” Mac whispered, blowing cool air over the moistened tip.

  She wasn’t feeling at all sweet. She was feeling hot! Caitlyn pulled Mac up to her and rolled on top of him. The feel of his naked skin against hers was a sensual bonfire, heating her blood to the boiling point. Leaning over, she rubbed her breasts against his chest. The action sent arrows of lust shooting straight between her legs.

  “God! I love the feel of you.”

  Mac’s fingers slipped through her hair and held her head still for his exploration. She felt his muscles tense and ripple under her as he held himself in check. Another surge of heat headed south. There was something oh so very seductive about having all that leashed power under her fingertips.

  Her body ached for more. Caitlyn rubbed against his denim-clad erection and shivered in pleasure at the contact.

  “You’re killing me,” Mac groaned. His hands slipped to the waistband of her shorts and gently eased them over her hips.

  Caitlyn wiggled to help him rid her of the clothes as quickly as possible. Cool air blew across her behind and added another caress to her already over-stimulated body. Mac ran his hands up the backs of her thighs, then back down again.

  “I think you’re a little overdressed for the party.” Caitlyn smiled, then kissed her way down his chest until she reached one flat, brown nipple. Drawing it between her teeth, she teased him as he had done to her.

  “If you’d stop turning my mind to mush, I might be able to remember how to unzip my fly.” His hands moved to her breasts as she scooched lower.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Caitlyn licked and nipped the delicious expanse of skin covering the bulging muscles of his abdomen. “Although, there is something very sexy about a studly male in a pair of jeans and nothing else.”

  She leaned back to take in the sight. Her breath caught in her throat as she traced the curve of his hipbone above the waistband of his jeans. Oh yeah, very sexy.

  “It can’t be any better than the view from here.” Mac reached up and cupped her breasts, using his thumbs to tease her nipples.

  The friction of his denim-covered legs between her bare things was beginning to drive her to distraction. Almost against her will, her fingers unsnapped his jeans and slowly drew down the zipper. He was naked underneath and his penis sprung out into her hand as she peeled the jeans back.

  Caitlyn’s hands shook as she reached out to stroke his length. The texture was so soft, yet underneath was so hard. The contrast was fascinating. She slid down a little more, pulling his pants off as she went until he was as naked as she. Kneeling between his legs, she let her fingers drift up his inner thighs until she reached his erection again.

  “If you keep playing with me, this will be over before it begins.” Mac’s hands were clenched into fists by his side and sweat dotted his forehead.

  “But it’s so much fun.”

  “I can think of something a little more fun.” Mac pulled her to him and snared her mouth in a blazing kiss that held all the hunger and need he had for her. His mouth devoured hers, dragging her down into a storm of passion she had no intention of escaping.

  The tip of Mac’s penis probed her entrance, tempting her with its nearness.

  “I hope Jim has some protection in here.” Caitlyn lunged for the nightstand by the narrow bed and fumbled around inside. Please have something. She did not want to go rifling through his room looking for a condom right now.

  A glimmer of foil caught her eye and she pounced on it. “Thank God!” Caitlyn ripped the package open with shaking hands.

  “Slow down there a minute. I haven’t had a chance to play yet.” Mac rolled her to her side, trapping her hands between them.

  Fire burned through her as his fingers trailed over her hip and thig
h. With a little nudge, he spread her legs and caressed her inner thigh, going higher and higher, an inch at a time. Every nerve ending in her body clamored for more, but he took his own sweet time reaching the core of her that ached for him.

  “You’re so hot, so wet for me.” His finger feathered lightly over her nubbin and she arched her hips for more.

  One finger slipped inside her stretching her. His thumb rubbed against her pleasure spot and fire spread through her whole body. When Mac leaned over and drew her nipple into his mouth, she had to hold back a moan of ecstasy.

  His finger pumped in and out of her and the pleasure grew to unimaginable heights until she couldn’t take it any more. Caitlyn’s hips bucked as waves of release coursed through her body, shooting her into the stars.

  She was still coming down to earth when Mac gently took the condom from her listless hands. “I’ll take that now, thanks.”

  “Sure,” she said vaguely. After that explosion, he could do whatever he wanted. Caitlyn opened her eyes slightly to see him stretch out over her. Her heart rate picked up speed again at the sight of those muscles above her. Maybe she wasn’t too tired after all.

  “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted to touch you? Taste you?” Mac’s gaze blazed into her own. His jaw clenched as he entered her slowly. When he was in to the hilt, he threw his head back in obvious pleasure.

  “Oh yeah, I know.” If he wanted her nearly as bad as she wanted him, she knew exactly what he was going through. “Let’s not waste another second of it.” Caitlyn wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust her hips up to meet his.

  Mac grabbed her hips and controlled their pace. Each slide of his body in hers brought them higher and higher. Caitlyn held onto his shoulders for dear life, not sure she could survive another mind-blowing orgasm, but willing to try.

  “Come for me,” he whispered against her lips, reaching between their bodies to stroke her nub again.

  “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Lights danced behind her eyes as pleasure exploded inside her. Mac’s breathing was ragged in her ear, and she knew he was close too.