MacNamarasLady (18 page)

He buried his face in the curve of her neck
and started to thrust. Missy arched her hips toward him on each inward stroke,
welcoming him, needing him.

She moaned his name again as she worked her
pelvis against his, wanting him deeper and harder. “More,” she gasped.

He nipped at her neck, the slight stinging
pain making her lose her rhythm. He growled deep in his throat and began to
piston his hips faster and faster. He angled his body with each thrust so her
clit brushed against him. It was maddening. She was so close.

Missy hung on and tried to keep up with
him. His fingers slipped between them and captured one of her breasts. He
tweaked the nipple. Lightning shot from her breast to her core and back again.

She panted his name, her fingers digging
into his shoulders. He drove deep and she felt his cock ripple inside her. Wet
heat filled her, pushing her over the edge. She cried out, her body spasming,
her inner muscles contracting hard around his shaft, milking it dry.

She slumped against the wall, thankful to
have the support. T.S. had one hand pressed against the wall to prop himself
up. His chest was still heaving when he pulled out of her. She missed him
already.

The cool air wafted over her skin. She
glanced down at her exposed skin. Her skirt was twisted around her waist, her
panties hanging on by the waistband. Her bra was rucked up and her blouse was
wide open.

The rasp of a zipper brought her attention
to T.S. He was fully dressed once again, his jeans zipped and his T-shirt
pulled down.

Missy hurriedly shoved her skirt down,
ignoring the slick wetness between her thighs. He hadn’t worn a condom. Not
that it really mattered. They’d talked about this. They were both free from
disease and she was on the Pill. No wonder he’d felt ultra good inside her.

She pulled her bra back into place and was
stymied by her blouse. There was only one button left on it. The rest were on
the floor somewhere.

T.S. came to her and closed up that lone
button, a half smile on his face. When he was done, he caught her chin in his
hand and leaned down to brush a soft kiss against her lips. “You’re not icy at
all. You’re hot.”

She frowned for a moment and then the bit
of conversation she’d overheard between him and Lucas came back to her full
force.
Ice queen
. She knew men had called her that before and worse. Had
this been simply nothing more than him trying to prove he could thaw her? A
matter of salvaging some pride?

Missy quickly thought back. He’d accepted
her apology but had given no indication that he wanted anything more to do with
her. In fact, he’d been on his way out the door before she’d stopped him.

A chill went down her spine. Had this been
nothing but revenge?

Her coat, she needed her coat and purse.
They were in a heap on the floor. She grabbed them both and pulled her coat on.
“I have to go.”

“Missy?” T.S. was frowning now.

She held up her hand, holding him off. “You
thawed the ice queen. I hope you’re happy.” She found her own pride deep inside
her. It was slightly in tatters, much like her underwear, but it was still
there. “And I really am sorry about before. I’m sorry I never gave us a
chance.”

She hurried down the steps. Heavy boots
fell behind her. He stopped her when she got to the outside door. “Missy,
what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She tried to smile but knew she
fell short. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She looked at his face one final
time, knowing this was truly the end. She couldn’t simply have sex with T.S.
Not without there being something more between them. He hadn’t offered that. He
wasn’t responsible for her feelings. But she had to get away from here.

She hurried down the street to her car,
feeling his eyes on her until she drove away.

Chapter Twelve

“I don’t understand what the hell
happened?” T.S. glared at Candy, who’d cornered him before he’d been able to
leave the apartment. He’d sat on the floor for about an hour trying to
understand what had gone wrong between him and Missy.

The sex had been out of control. She’d been
with him all the way. He was certain of that. But then it had all changed.
She’d pulled away from him both physically and mentally.

He’d accepted her apology even though he’d
wanted much more than that. When she’d opened herself to him physically, he’d
thought they’d had a chance. She still wanted him. And he sure as hell wanted
her. It had all fallen apart after they made love. Had she changed her mind
after all? Decided she didn’t want to be with an ex-con?

“You must have done something.” She poked
him in the chest with her index finger. A frown marred her usually smiling
face. “She called and said she wasn’t coming back to work. And she was upset. I
could tell. Didn’t you two talk?”

“Some,” he admitted. Not as much as they
probably should have, but he hadn’t been willing to open himself up if they
were still finished as a couple. He’d wanted some guarantees this time before
he spilled his guts about that part of his life. He wanted to forget it had
ever happened. Why did women always want to pick things apart? Why couldn’t she
just accept him as he was?

“You had sex, didn’t you?” Candy crossed
her arms over her chest and glared at him.

Was she a mind reader or did he have “I
just had sex with Missy” tattooed on his forehead? He wasn’t about to confirm
or deny her accusation. Of course, being a woman, she took that for agreement.

“You did. How could you?”

In spite of the seriousness of the
situation, he grinned. He couldn’t help himself. “I thought Lucas would have
done a better job teaching you about sex.”

She punched him on the arm. It startled him
more than it hurt. “Be serious. What did you say to her?”

He shrugged. It wasn’t really Candy’s
business. But she was Missy’s best friend. Maybe she could help him decipher
Missy’s actions. He sure as heck couldn’t on his own. “Things were going okay.”
That was stretching the truth slightly. “She apologized. I accepted. Then
things got heated.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then what?”

“Then she left.” He was still stinging over
that. She was sending out all kinds of mixed signals to him. It was driving him
crazy.

“Think back. What exactly did you say?”

T.S. rubbed his hand over his face and
thought back. “I told her she was hot. Not icy at all.”

Candy frowned. “Not icy? What does that
mean?”

He shoved his hands in the back pockets of
his jeans and rocked back on his heels. He’d never met another woman besides
his mother who could make him feel this defensive. Scratch that. Missy was now
at the top of that particular list. “Lucas was telling me what some of the guys
have said about her. I think she overheard it when she first came in.”

Candy closed her eyes and, if he wasn’t
mistaken, she sounded like she was praying. “God save me from men.”

“Hey, I didn’t call her that. Those guys
are morons. Anyone can see there’s more to Missy than meets the eye.”

“No, not everyone can.” Candy glared at
him. “Are you going to leave things like this?”

He’d had enough. It was time to head home.
He wandered over to the kitchen counter and grabbed his jacket, sliding it on
as Candy followed close at his heels. “Not my call.”

She put her hand on his arm. He stared down
at where it rested on his jacket. “You once gave me some advice and a warning.
Now I’m returning the favor. Don’t hurt Missy.”

He had to bite back his retort. What about
Missy hurting him? He was the injured party here.

“Did you talk about where your relationship
was headed from here?”

“No. We didn’t talk much after those first
few minutes. She ran off after.” No way was he saying more than that. Not that
he had to. Candy understood what “after” meant.

“Think back, T.S. If you didn’t give her
any indication you were ready to talk, to pursue your relationship, then she
might have thought this afternoon was about evening the score, so to speak.”
When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Of course, if today was about
nothing but sex and scoring, then you got what you wanted.”

Could she really have thought that? Women
were so different from men. And T.S. was the first to admit he didn’t have the
first clue about male-female relations. He usually stuck to one-night stands or
hooked up with a woman who only wanted sex and nothing more. Missy was his
first woman he’d ever wanted more with.

He swallowed hard, the lump of emotion in
his throat almost choking him. He wanted Missy in his life today, tomorrow and
for all the days that followed. She wasn’t a one-night stand or a just-for-now
woman. She was…everything.

Candy’s voice softened. “If she doesn’t
mean anything to you, then let her go.” She paused and nibbled on her bottom
lip before continuing. “If she does mean something to you…”

He went to her, leaned down and kissed her
cheek. “Lucas is a lucky man.”

She smiled and her entire face lit up. “He
is lucky, but so am I. I want you both to be happy.” Her sincerity rocked him
to his core. Happy. He wasn’t sure he’d even known what that was until he met
Missy.

In trying to protect himself from more
hurt, he’d driven her away. If he truly wanted Missy, he’d have to man up and
do what needed to be done. The question was did he truly want her in his life?
And for how long?

He pictured the long years ahead, much like
the ones that had come before. He’d been content. He enjoyed his work and his
friends. But there was something missing. Deep in his heart, he was lonely,
much as he’d been as a boy with an absent father, a violent older brother and a
mother who tried her best but was working twelve hours a day, six days a week
to put a roof over their heads.

“I gotta go.” He left and didn’t look back.
He heard Candy closing up behind him. He hit the sidewalk and quickened his
pace. Had Missy misunderstood what he’d meant? What had he meant? He’d been so
sated after making love to her he hadn’t been thinking beyond the moment.

That was the problem. When it came to
women, he rarely thought beyond the moment. All that mattered was the here and
now. If a woman didn’t like it that was her prerogative. He adored women. He
was good to the ones he’d dated, but they knew going in he wasn’t a forever
kinda guy.

He reached his truck, climbed in and put
the keys in the ignition. He sat there, staring blindly out the window at all
the people rushing down the sidewalk. What if he wanted to be a forever guy?

He could easily picture himself and Missy
ten years from now. Hell, twenty years from now. She’d still be hot and he’d
still want her. He swallowed hard. He could reach for what he wanted or he
could retreat behind his protective shell and stay safe. It was up to him.

But whatever he was going to do it had to
be now. Tonight. He couldn’t let Missy think this afternoon hadn’t meant
anything more to him then a quick score.

He turned the key and the engine roared to
life. Checking traffic, he pulled out and started for home. He had work to do.

* * * * *

Missy closed her eyes and listened to the
music softly seeping from her stereo. She’d tried classical, New Age and folk
music. None of it calmed her. Finally she turned on a soft rock station. The
music reminded her of T.S. He was rough around the edges but his appeal would
always endure.

She couldn’t believe she’d reacted so
swiftly, running like a coward from him. That comment about her being called
“icy” by other guys had thrown her for a loop and she’d simply reacted. That
was her only excuse.

It was one of her hot buttons. Her entire
life, guys had accused her of that, going back to high school when she wouldn’t
put out like other girls. They accused her of thinking she was better than
them. They didn’t understand it was more a matter of her treating herself with
self-respect.

Now she’d have to call T.S. and see if he
still wanted to talk. “Better sooner than later,” she muttered.

She opened her eyes and grabbed her cell
phone, plugging in his number. It rang twice before he answered. “Missy?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” She cleared her throat,
which was suddenly tight. “Sorry about running out on you this afternoon.”

“Did I do something to hurt you?” She could
hear the concern in his voice. Missy sat up on the sofa and curled her legs
beneath her, thankful she’d changed into her comfortable sweats. “I never meant
to hurt you, babe.”

“I know. It wasn’t you as much as it was a
reaction to a word, to the past.” She ran her hand over the soft fabric
covering her legs, wondering if she should turn up the heat.

“Icy?”

“Yeah. It’s stupid, I know. I came to talk
to you and then I practically ran away.”

“I think we’ve both done our fair share of
running.” His deep voice raised goose bumps on her arms. His words help alleviate
some of the guilt she was feeling.