MacNamarasLady (21 page)

He tasted desire and acceptance on her
lips. His tongue sank inward and she welcomed him. Their mouths met again and
again as soft as a whisper. There was no hurry, no agenda, only the touch of
two people who cared for one another and wanted to show it in the most pure way
possible.

“You’re a hell of a woman,” he told her
when the kiss finally ended.

A light flush covered her cheekbones. It
was hard to tell in the dim light, but he knew it was there because he’d come
to know her so well. She seemed uncomfortable with the compliment.

“You’re strong and independent. Doesn’t
mean you’re weak if you want to lean on someone else from time to time.” He
placed a gentle kiss on her lips. A promise. “I have wide shoulders.”

“I know.” Her words were softly spoken. “I
have strong shoulders too.”

Her offer warmed him to his core. “I know.”
The words sealed the pact between them. The past was just that. The future was
ahead of them.

He shifted her so she was sitting on his
lap again, his erection pressing against her back. She laughed. “Seems as
though you have a slight problem. Again.”

“Nothing slight about it, babe.”

She pushed back against him and he groaned
as his cock was trapped between her back and his stomach. “I know.” She sounded
smug.

It was his turn to laugh. “Then you have to
help me out here.” He lifted her until she was on her knees and spread the
globes of her ass wide, giving him a perfect view of her pussy. He angled his
cock so it was pressed against her slit. “Are you gonna put me out of my
misery?”

“I don’t have much choice, do I? I can’t
leave you like this.” She eased back, taking him into her tight channel. The
candles flickered as she moved, casting erotic shadows against the walls. The
water sloshed as she moved and threatened to overflow before receding.

He sat up higher, pushing her deeper. She
gasped and he stilled. “You okay?” Last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt
her.

She practically purred. “I’m very okay.”
She put her hands on the side of the tub and began to move slowly, her
movements torturous as she glided up and down his shaft.

“You’re killing me, babe.” But he meant it
in the best way possible.

“Want me to stop?”

In spite of the fact he was harder than
steel, ready to come at any second, he laughed. Only Missy could make him hard
and have him laughing at the same time. “Stop and I’ll have to take drastic
measures.”

“Hmm. Do tell?”

He couldn’t take any more teasing. Not now.
He gripped her hips and began to move her over his cock. The angle made it more
difficult for him to get deeper, but she gripped him tighter than a wet leather
glove. “That’s it. So good. So sweet,” he encouraged as she caught the rhythm.

Water splashed and this time it overflowed
the side of the tub. Neither of them cared. His balls were pulled so tight they
were practically climbing into his body. The lower part of his shaft tightened.
The candlelight danced in the air, casting them in shadows.

T.S. reached around her and found her clit,
teasing it with his index finger. Her breathing hitched and then became faster
as she continued to move.

“Come for me, sweetheart. I can’t hold on.”
Even as he said it he knew it was too late. It started in his balls and shot up
through his cock. His orgasm exploded and he came inside her.

She cried out, throwing back her head and
keening. Her inner muscles gripped his cock hard, milking it until there was
nothing left for him to give. Missy fell forward, splattering water everywhere.
At the last second, he managed to grab her before she ended up face first.
Moaning and laughing, she clutched the sides of the tub and turned toward him.
“I love you.”

T.S. froze. He hadn’t realized how badly
he’d wanted the words until she’d said them. Those three tiny words filled all
the lonely spaces inside him. He somehow felt like more than he’d been only
moments before.

“I love you too.” He cupped her face in his
hands, leaned forward and kissed her. She shivered and he realized the water
had cooled. “Time to take this elsewhere.” He pulled the plug, stood and
dragged them both from the tub. He toweled her off before drying himself.

Then he scooped her into his arms and took
her back to bed.

Chapter Fourteen

“Do you think she’ll like me?”

It was the tenth time she’d asked him that
question since they’d gotten in his truck to make the drive to his mother’s
home. It wasn’t like Missy to be so insecure. It was a testament to how
important this was to her. To both of them.

“She’s going to love you as much as I do.”
He reached out his hand and she took it. As always, she twined their fingers
together.

It had been a week since they’d declared
their love for one another, but it felt like a lifetime. Both of them had
changed so much. Missy didn’t feel the need to be so regimented, so in control.
And he no longer felt the need to protect himself behind a shield. In a way,
that had been his form of control. Show the world a laid-back guy with good
humor and it masked the deeper emotions that bubbled beneath. With each other
they could simply be themselves. It was both liberating and scary as hell.

They’d shared the news with their friends.
Candy and Lucas had both been pleased. Lucas had insisted they come over for
dinner to celebrate. It had been a different experience to kick back with
friends and be part of a real, committed couple. He liked the feeling.

“Are you going to tell her we’re moving in
together?” For the third time, Missy checked the flowers she’d insisted on
buying for his mother. God, he loved this woman so much he could barely
breathe, his chest was so damn tight, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yeah, I am. I’m not ashamed. Are you?”

She scowled at him, wiping away the worried
look that had filled her eyes the entire way over. Now she looked more like his
Missy. “You know better than that.”

He raised their clasped hands to his lips
and kissed the top of hers. “I do.” He released her and concentrated on turning
the truck into the driveway. His mother didn’t have a car, didn’t want one. She’d
never learned to drive and had told him a hundred times she had no desire to
learn at her age. The bus and her two feet did just fine, thank you very much.
He worried about her, but she had refused to let him buy her a car.

He glanced at Missy. She and his mama had a
lot in common. They were both determined, stubborn ladies. Not that he’d ever
tell them that. He did have some common sense when it came to dealing with
women.

He turned off the engine and undid his seat
belt. Beside him, Missy hadn’t moved yet. He undid her restraints and took her
hand. “Everything will be okay.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered. “You
don’t have to meet my family.” They’d discussed that at length. Missy hadn’t
had any contact with her family other than her sister for years. She’d flat-out
told him her father was a bigot and wouldn’t like him because he was white. He
couldn’t care less about what her father thought. He only cared about what she
thought.

They’d decided not to bother to contact her
family. She’d made a life for herself that didn’t include them. T.S. could
understand that. He’d talked to his mother several times this week, telling her
all about Missy. She couldn’t wait to meet her. She had more than enough love
to share.

“Let’s go.” He climbed out and came around
to the passenger side. As usual, Missy hadn’t waited for him, but was already
standing there waiting. He frowned at her but she just laughed and patted his
chest.

The wrapping around the flowers crinkled in
her hand. She took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

He shook his head. Missy had never known
the love of family. Luckily, he had. That and Lucas’ friendship had been the
only things to get him through the dark time in his life. His brother had
wasted his life, losing it far too soon. T.S. hadn’t made the same mistake.

He put his hand on the small of her back
and led her to the front door. He unlocked it and let himself in. “This is
another one of my buildings,” he told her, hoping to take her mind off her
nervousness.

“How many buildings do you have?”

“Six, including the one I live in. Seven,
once we find something you like.”

Missy stopped and stared up at him in
wonder. “What does that mean?”

“It means, I want you to have the home you
want. We’ll go looking at buildings. When we find something you like, I’ll buy
it and we’ll renovate.”

“
We’ll
buy it,” she corrected. “I’ve
got money and I’m part of this relationship.”

“Whatever you want. Whatever makes you
happy.” He dropped a kiss on her luscious mouth.

She shook her head. “Buy me a building,”
she muttered. “Are you crazy?”

He spun her around, crushing the flowers
between them. “Crazy in love,” he agreed as his mouth captured hers. He was
sizzling when he released her a few moments later. “We’ve got to get going or
my mother is going to be down here any second. I know she was watching and saw
us drive up.”

Missy practically shoved him away.
“Ohmygod. Do I look okay? Did you mess up my makeup?”

“You look beautiful, as always.” The
compliment was nothing less than the truth. Beneath her coat, Missy was wearing
a black skirt that hugged her hips and a white silk blouse that made her
chocolate skin look utterly delectable. The gold necklace she wore matched the
hoops hanging from her earlobes. She looked cool and poised and confident.

And if they’d been going anywhere but his
mother’s place they’d have never made it out the front door of her apartment.

They started up the stairs again until they
hit the second landing. “This is Mama’s place. Not too many stairs, but she’s
above the ground floor, which is safer.” He reached out to knock on the door.
Before he’d barely had a chance to do so it was whipped open.

His mother stood there in one of her Sunday
dresses, the ones she kept for church or special occasions. Her dark hair was
styled and there was a huge welcoming smile on her face. “Come in. Come in.”

Missy stepped in beside him. To take some
of the pressure off her, he reached for his mother and gave her a hug. “Hey,
Mama.”

She cupped his cheeks in her hands. “You
look so good. I hope you’re hungry. I made plenty of food.” She turned to
Missy, who was still clutching the flowers to her chest. “And you must be
Missy.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs.
MacNamara.” Missy thrust the flowers toward her.

“Flowers. How lovely.” She took them and
held them to her nose, inhaling deep. “Such a thoughtful girl. Come in. Theo,
take her coat and hang it up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His reply brought an
approving look from his mother and a smile from Missy. She liked seeing his
mother boss him around. That wouldn’t last. Wouldn’t be long until his mama was
trying to boss her around too. It would be interesting to see who ended up
managing whom. With his luck they’d both gang up on him.

He grinned to himself. He couldn’t wait.

“Missy. You are such a pretty girl. Thin.
We will fix that. Come.” Not waiting to see if they were following, his mother
turned and headed to the kitchen.

He almost laughed. Missy looked slightly
dazed. He helped her out of her coat, helping himself to a kiss at the same
time.

“Stop it. What if your mother sees?”

“She’d just start planning the wedding.”

Missy’s eyes widened and she swallowed
hard. “What are you talking about?”

“You. Me. Together forever. I hadn’t
planned to do this here, but…” He took a deep breath. “Marry me. Share my life
with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve ever been about
anything in my life.”

Missy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry
or both. Her nerves were shot. She’d been more frightened about meeting T.S.’
mother than even he realized. He and his mother were close. She’d have to be a
total idiot not to see that. If his mother didn’t like her, it could really put
a strain on their new relationship.

She’d been so focused on this meeting and
the fact she and T.S. were moving in together, she hadn’t thought any farther.
She, who planned everything, hadn’t had any plans other than getting through
today.

Already he’d surprised her with the idea of
buying a new place together. She liked that. It wouldn’t be her place or his
place but
their
place.

But this. This was crazy. “You want me to
marry you?”

“Yes.”

She caught a twinge of uncertainty in his
eyes before he masked it. They were both getting better but had a ways to go.
But they would do it together. Certainty poured through her. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

T.S. grabbed her into his arms and spun her
around. As he kissed her, Missy could hear the sound of clapping. His mother.
How had they forgotten his mother?