She turned her head to give him better access to her neck, shivering as his mouth did wicked things to her flesh. “I can’t stop touching you.”
“Keep it up,” he murmured.
“Just try to stop me, cowboy.” She felt his smile against her skin. “Do I amuse you?”
“More every time I’m with you. You have a sharp and clever tongue.”
“You have nooooo idea.” Grinning, she grabbed the hem of his tee shirt in both hands and gave it a yank, exposing all that yummy dark skin. Planting her mouth smack-dab in the center of his chest, she kissed her way across the firm mounds, circling his nipples with her tongue, licking, sucking. His deep groan of acceptance only made her hotter for him. He loved what she was doing and she knew it. Mac reached behind her to slide his hands beneath the short skirt she wore. Filling his palms with her butt, he squeezed her flesh and simultaneously rubbed his cock over her aching pussy.
Jeez Louise!
The man knew how to touch her, knew exactly how to make her burn. He slid his fingers into the elastic of her panties and just as he slid his fingers ever closer to her damp flesh, she pulled away. Breathless, she lifted one finger. “Hold that thought.”
She snagged up a four-step ladder that she used for reaching high shelves and scooted it in front of him. Mac’s black brow lifted. “What the hell?”
“Be patient. Hang on.” Callie sat on one of the wide steps that brought her eye level to the huge bulge resting behind the fly of his jeans. The man made her mouth water. Smiling up at him, she hooked her fingers in the waistband and dragged him close. “I have plans for you. Big plans.”
“I’m all ears.” Mac’s voice was deep, dark and full of expectation.
“Not thinking about your ears.” Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she worked the buckle on his belt and then the snap and zipper of his jeans. Then she paused. “Gotta love a guy who goes commando. Lordy, lordy, you are some kinda man, Mac Moreno.” Callie slid his jeans down a bit, out of her way and took his hard, bulging cock into her hands.
Mac went still and then fisted one hand in her hair, forcing her gaze to his. His eyes burned with hunger and lust. His voice came out rusty. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Have to? Oh Mac, I want to. I’ve thought of nothing else since last night when you showed up with burgers and we had hot sex instead.”
When Mac relaxed his grip and it turned into a loving caress on her head, she bent to run her tongue over the wide head of his erection. Licking along the tiny slit at the end, taking her tasting of him to the broad rim, she teased and sucked his flesh until, above her, Mac groaned. Finally she sank her mouth over him, taking as much as she could, sliding her tongue over him, sucking hard and then lightly alternating the pressure. Gripping the thick stalk in her fist, Callie worked him slowly up and down, paying special attention to his tightly drawn balls. Releasing him from the lusty imprisonment of her mouth, she slid her lips and tongue down then up his length. Her fingers gently stroked the taut sac and then finally, she stroked it with her tongue.
“You’re killin’ me, darlin’. That’s so fucking good.”
“I’m glad,” she whispered against his cock before again taking him fully into her mouth, fucking him that way. One hand found his rock-hard thigh. Stroking, teasing, in tandem with movements of her mouth, she felt Mac hold still as a statue until finally he gripped her hair and pulled away. What was wrong? “What did I—” she began but then Mac reached down and effortlessly lifted her, turning with her in his arms until she was sitting on the worktable.
“I need to fuck you, Callie. This isn’t just about me. It’s about us.”
She opened her mouth to speak but it was too late. Mac gently laid her back on the table and before she could say yes, please he had her panties stripped off. The cold of the table surface chilled her ass but then Mac’s hands were on her needy pussy and any hint of discomfort was immediately replaced by a quick, hot blast of heat. Pleasure whipped fast and hard through her body when Mac sent his fingers deep. He pumped them in several times and her hips lifted to meet each clever stroke.
“Come here to me, darlin’,” he said as he lifted her into a sitting position. Scooting her to the edge of the table, he lifted her skirt up around her waist until she was bare, completely exposed to him. Hunger swam in his dark eyes as he parted her legs and looked his fill. His big, bronzed hands provided a provocative contrast to the pale flesh of her thighs and Mac trailed his fingers, some of them damp from her cream, along that tender skin.
Frantic to have him, desperate for completion, Callie reached for his cock. It rose up between them, hard and thick. Mac groaned. “That’s it,” he growled low. His jeans were loose around his hips but he managed to dig out protection and cover himself. Taking his erection in his hand, he trailed the fat head through the drenched flesh of her pussy and then drove deep.
Simultaneously, they sighed, went still. Pleasure arced up through Callie’s belly and her pussy vibrated as her muscles tightened to hold his thick cock. Unable to help herself, she looked down and studied the way their flesh connected. As Mac slowly plunged deep, disappearing into her flesh, she sucked in a sharp breath. She propped her hands on the table and sent her legs around his waist, mesmerized by this slow, sexual dance. His cock emerged, glistening from her juices before thrusting back in.
“Look at us, Mac,” she managed.
“Yeah.”
“Faster.”
Mac obliged with a low, hungry sound as he sent his cock deeper, pumping, thrusting, pounding through her needy pussy. Sensation sizzled through her veins, lashing her with pleasure until with a cry, she flew apart. Mac went still, seeming to gather himself before surging three more times until, finally, he made a harsh sound and came. Instantly, Callie’s arms went around him as she rested her head against his chest. His heart pounded against her ear and she loved the sound of it, loved the idea that she could make this big, strong man come apart this way. “Mac,” she whispered.
She looked up to see emotion glinting in his smoldering eyes. He bent his head to kiss her gently, brushing her hair back with one hand. “You are an amazing woman, Callie.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Minutes later they repaired their clothing and cleaned up a bit. Callie locked up the shop and let Mac help her into his truck. As they headed to her house for soup and sandwiches, she asked him what he’d been up to.
“I went to the club and did a little paperwork. Made a few calls. Not much.”
She frowned at him. “You are supposed to be on vacation, Mac!”
He shrugged. “Just needed to make sure things were in order over there. The decision to take some days off was kind of sudden. Not a big deal. Leah called and asked me to pick up some stuff at the feed store too, so I did that and ran it out to the ranch.” He looked over and gave her a sexy grin. “All done in record time so I could show up for our quickie.”
“Ha. Ha. Funny.”
“I still think I should stay with you for a while.”
Callie shook her head as they pulled up in her driveway. “Nah, I was spooked last night but seriously, Mac, I need to handle this.”
“I beg to differ. I really don’t want to fight with you about this.”
Rolling her eyes, she got out of the truck and they walked into her house. She’d locked it up tight when they’d left together this morning. “Home sweet home.” Mac followed her into the kitchen and opened the fridge to gather up the makings for sandwiches and set them on the counter. While he was doing that, she went to the pantry for a loaf of bread and some canned soup.
Anger, a wild fear, swept her when she opened the pantry door. Gasping, she stepped back and immediately felt Mac’s arms go around her from behind. “Oh my God! Oh shit, Mac, he’s been here.” Cans were lined up like soldiers, labels facing out. Everything was in alphabetical order. A jar of artichoke hearts, bread, and chicken noodle soup sat with the carrots and cocoa. An unopened jar of gr
ape jelly set next to the green beans. Freaky shit! “Doug has been here. Look, Mac. He arranged my pantry.”
“Sick fuck!”
“Yeah, he was like this in our marriage. He had to have things just right. Crazy. I swear, he’s crazy.”
Her heart pounded hard as she struggled to catch her breath. Sometime this morning while she and Mac had been out, he’d come into her house and touched her things. There was no smidgeon of doubt about it.
Mac stepped back and took her arm, turning her to face him. Rage shifted over his face, coloring his cheeks. His nostrils flared. “Let me take a look around. Just sit down, Callie.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not a child. I’m not a victim or a wilting flower. I’m coming with you.”
A muscle worked in Mac’s jaw. “Fine. Come on then.”
Her house was small and it didn’t take long for them to see the mess Doug had made in the bedroom. The beautiful floral bedspread was sliced to ribbons and stuffing from the pillows was strewn around the room as if he’d been so enraged he’d wanted to inflict as much damage as possible.
“Callie. Come here, honey.”
Mac spoke from her bathroom so she joined him and stopped still in the doorway. Doug had taken a tube of lipstick and written die slut on her mirror. Tears of rage and frustration burned her eyes so Callie scrubbed her hands over her face as she struggled to get a grip on things. He’d been bad before with the calls and the watching and sneaking around to scare her but Callie couldn’t fight the feeling things were escalating out of control.
“Oh Mac,” she whispered.
Suddenly Mac’s arms were around her. His hold tightened. “You listen to me, honey. We’re calling Sheriff Coleman and filing a report, okay?” Though his voice practically vibrated with emotion, his tone was gentle and low. “And then you are gonna pack a bag. Get your stuff together and come with me to the ranch.”
She looked up at him, for the moment ignoring the tears that fell in a steady stream down her face. “I don’t know.”
“Yes you do, Callie. You can’t stay here. I can protect you out there while Doug is hunted down and arrested. My family will help.”
Callie opened her mouth to protest but the phone by her bed rang. Pulling from Mac’s arms, she grabbed it up and spoke.
“Left you a note, Callie. Did you see it?”
Doug. She’d know his voice anywhere. He laughed.
“You bastard!”
“Now now, no name calling. You know I don’t like it when you use gutter language. It’s not appropriate.”
“Not appro—” she began when Mac yanked the phone out of her hand.
“Listen up, asshole.” Mac growled the words and then Callie heard a click as Doug hung up.
Mac cursed and punched a number into the phone. While he’d asked the sheriff to come by and stated it was an emergency, he went to her closet and dragged a suitcase out. He pointed to it. “Pack. Now. I’m getting you the hell out of here.”
There was no use arguing. She wasn’t stupid and Mac was right. Doug was getting braver by the minute and today there had been a touch of insanity in his voice. Shivering in reaction, Callie did as Mac said and began to shove clothing and toiletries into her suitcase.
Within ten minutes, she was sitting in the living room with the sheriff and Mac talking things through. Together, Mac and the sheriff had examined every lock and latch, finding Doug had entered by the guest bedroom window, which she’d apparently, very carelessly, left unlatched. His footprints were prominent in the dirt outside. Callie seldom went into the guest room and she’d simply overlooked the window lock.
Dumb!
Sheriff Coleman was a brawny middle-aged man. He sat on her couch making notes on a pad. “Do you have a picture of Doug Hill?”
“Yes. Hang on and I’ll get it.” Callie pulled out a photo album and searched through it until she found one of his more recent photos. She handed it over to the sheriff. “This is about seven years old but he hasn’t changed much.”
Mac who had remained standing through the interview looked at the picture when Sheriff Coleman handed it over. His eyes widened incrementally. “Hell, he was in Hell’s Bells a few nights ago. I actually poured him a beer.”
When the sheriff got up to leave, he shook hands with her and then Mac. “I’ll keep an eye out and have my deputy patrol this area, Callie. We’ll find him. I promise you.” He turned to Mac. “It’s a good thing that you’re taking her out to the ranch. She’ll be safer there. Every soul out there knows the land and how to use a gun. Hoping it doesn’t come to that. Let me know if anything else happens.”
Chapter Six
“I love this big tub, Mac.” Callie sat in the warm tub, leaning against him, and sighed. Mac knew he could stay like this with her until his skin shriveled and the water went cold. She was warm, sweet and wet, lying against him. Something about her felt so damn right. He wouldn’t have wished for the circumstances that had brought them together this way, sharing the same space but at the moment, he wasn’t going to second-guess things. His big oval tub sat along one wall in his master bathroom. Above them a shell-shaped sconce sent muted lights over them both.
Sex was one thing but intimacy? That was new for Mac, a man who’d been careful to keep sex and intimacy two separate things. But Callie, in just a short time, had managed to squirm under his skin and into his heart.
Mac settled his mouth against her wet hair, breathed in the scent of her and sent his gaze down the front of her body. Drops of water dappled her chest and sparkled like diamonds against her taut, pink nipples. Capturing one with the tip of his finger, he finally gave in and cupped both full breasts in the palm of his hand. Mac bent to Callie’s ear. “I’m a big guy, darlin’. When I built the house, I didn’t plan on something like this but Leah insisted.” He shrugged. “She said life is short and I reckon she’s right about that. I suddenly found myself owning part of this land and all that comes with it so I went all out and built something with an eye toward the future.”
Callie rolled her head back and looked at him, her expression soft and dreamy as she relaxed in the water. “The future?”
“Yeah. I thought for a long time that I was a solitary man, someone who didn’t need a lot of people in his life. Figure I was wrong about that.”
“You are pretty close to your family, aren’t you?”
Mac laughed a little. “Getting there. Coming to grips with having sibs made me take a long hard look at myself and the way I was living. I’m tired of feeling like I’m all alone in the world, on the outside looking in. Like I was when I was a kid.” He slid his hands lower until his fingers were splayed over her belly. Callie sucked in a breath and went still in his arms. “I’m tired of running from what I want.”
“We have that in common, I think,” she said. Callie settled her hand over his, entwining her fingers, and then turned her head to press an open-mouthed kiss on his chest. Her tongue swept out to taste his skin. “No more running for me either. How about we take a stand together. You and me?”
Mac placed his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face. She didn’t wear a drop of makeup but she didn’t need it. Her skin was peaches and cream beautiful, her lashes thick and spiky from the water. Tracing the gentle arch of one brow with his thumb, he watched her eyes go all dreamy and soft and felt his heart thump hard in his chest. Tenderness rocked him. Kissing her, tasting the damp sweetness of her lips, he took the kiss deeper, sending his tongue on a searching quest into the warmth of her mouth. Callie sighed and Mac quickly drank it down, absorbed it into his pores.
Callie turned in his arms and while he was lost in the simple act of kissing her, she straddled him, reached for him. Her breasts flattened against his chest, sending hunger to claw through his belly. She sent her fingers into his hair, over his neck and shoulders. Mac groaned, broke the wild kiss and set his teeth against the column of her throat, licking drops of water, sucking tender flesh. And then her hands were on his cock, str
oking from base to tip, squeezing gently and then with a firmer touch.
“Closer,” he whispered. “Come closer.”
Mac gripped her ass and slid her forward a tiny increment. Only an inch more and her silken pussy pressed against his tightly drawn balls. She wriggled against him and Mac swore as the breath plumb left his body. Savage sensation rocked him, prompting him to set his teeth against her shoulder and flex his fingers over the firm mounds of her ass. His fingers dipped into the shadowy crease, opening her to his touch. Sweeping his finger over the bud of her anus, Mac felt her go still. “I want to take you here. Fuck you here.”
“Never done that,” she gasped. “Could with you though.”
Unable to resist, he slid the tip of his finger into her ass to the first joint. Callie’s breath expelled in a rush. Mac played there, loving the responsiveness of her, her openness to try new things. Knowing she wasn’t nearly prepared for that kind of game, he removed his finger and, with his other hand, transferred his touch to her pussy, sending his fingers into her, fucking her that way as her hands slid along his hard cock. Every nerve ending in his body sat up and howled for release. Skating over that very fine edge, Mac bent his head to one nipple and sucked hard. When Callie writhed against him, squeezing vaginal muscles against his fingers, he gave up. He couldn’t wait. He released her nipple, licked it, then spoke against her breast. “Reach behind me. I put a rubber out there earlier.” At the rate they’d been going at it, Mac figured it was best to play things safe, so he’d set a condom next to the stack of towels on the ledge just in case.
Callie leaned against him and reached out. “I love a prepared man.”
“Hand it over.”
She shook her head. “No, let me.”
Callie’s fingers trembled. Her breath came out in soft little pants as she ripped the package open with her teeth and reached between their bodies to cover him. Savage need gripping him, Mac lifted her until her creamy pussy hovered over the head of his cock. “Fuck me, darlin’.”
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