Authors: Kaylin Bowen
“Sure thing, Babe,” the woman said.
To Alex and Mac, Buddy said “this way” tilting his head toward the elevators.
Mac and Alex followed Buddy. He took them up to the third floor leading them down the long hallway and gave Mac the key to the last room on the right. Mac opened the door and they all moved inside.
Once the door was closed, Buddy handed Mac an envelope. It had ID’s for both of them and some cash. It also had a set of keys. Mac told Buddy about the guys in the Escort and gave him a description of the car.
“Do you need me to get rid of that Blazer?” Buddy asked without suspicion. Alex thought he might as well have been asking about the weather. She didn’t hear Mac tell Buddy about it being stolen.
Huh
.
“Yes. Which one are these to?” Mac asked, holding up a set of keys.
“The black Jeep. It’s not real pretty, but it runs good and it’s just how you like ‘em.”
Mac nodded and looked to Alex. “You saw us drive in?”
“Yeah, but my video surveillance seems to have malfunctioned. Damnedest thing. Ya’ll need anything else?” Buddy was smiling.
“We had to leave in a hurry. We don’t have anything with us and I don’t want her anywhere that has
working
surveillance equipment.”
“No problem, any preferences.” He was looking at Alex. Alex was a little lost in the conversation. She was almost certain half their conversation was taking place telepathically.
Mac offered, “She prefers a twenty-two. I’m not picky.”
With that Buddy saluted Mac and left.
Alex was still looking at the closed door when Mac cleared his throat and made her jump.
“I assume you have questions.” Mac raised his eyebrows.
Alex nodded then started, “How do you know him? Why is he in a wheelchair? How did he know about the Blazer? What’s with the Jeep? And, how did you know he was talking about guns?” Alex rattled them off so fast she had to stop and take a breath.
Mac was grinning with his arms across his chest, studying her. “I used to work with him. He took a bullet saving one of his witnesses. It did some damage to his spinal cord. The Blazer is not really my type of car and you don’t look like the type to drive it, either. The jeep is armored and fast and has been modified with a wider wheel base so it doesn’t roll easily. And he can tell your size and does pretty well with clothes, but everyone has different opinions or comfort levels on guns.” Mac brought his arms down to his sides and moved closer to her.
Alex looked thoughtful for a minute, then nodded and said, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Mac was just six inches away from her and he was shaking his head and chuckling again, looking down at the floor.
I’ll never figure this woman out.
Alex raised her chin and crossed her arms. “What’s so funny?”
“Do you just take everything in stride? Do you ever get mad about anything? You know like people hunting you, being knocked up and hiding from your daddy, guys sitting in front of the house you’re supposed to be in, driving to Savannah without notice and without anything else.” Mac inched closer to her.
“Only if necessary. There is no point in getting all worked up over things I can’t control. Especially when I have a feeling everything will work out okay in the end. However, when I do get mad I get
really
mad. Nothing to worry about yet.”
Except that he was standing way to close.
Mac reached out and put his hands on her hips. “Would you get mad if I kissed you again?” He tilted his head and watched as her eyes went wide and her lips parted. “Is that a yes or a no?”
Alex moved her hands to cover his, intent on removing them from her body, but as soon as her hands touched his, she stopped moving. That warm sensation started in her belly again, and quickly spread through her body. She could see his eyes had gone to that almost-black color again.
Mac decided he would take that as a no, and pulled her hips to him and leaned close to her. He watched as her eyes closed, and her hands moved to his chest. He slid his lips gently over hers and she didn’t pull away. Keeping his hands on her hips and his lips to hers, he walked her back until she was against the door.
He could feel her hands tighten in his shirt. Mac had one hell of an erection and she had to know what was pressing against her stomach. For a second he thought she was going to push him away. He mentally prepared for her to slap him. Instead, she pulled him as close as she could get him.
Alex thought she really should stop, but her body wouldn’t let her. She had never felt anything like this before. She could feel her body trembling as Mac moved his hand from her hips to touch her neck. She could feel the length of him pushing into her belly. He moved her head just a little with his thumbs and then pulled his hands down her back, to her bottom, pulling her up against him. She felt right against him. He took his lips from hers and she started to complain until she felt his kisses hot on her neck. Her hands moved up to his shoulders. And she whispered “Mac.”
Mac raised his head to look at her. She looked from his mouth to his eyes. He felt his head clearing just a little. “Do you want me to stop?” he said a little hoarse.
Alex didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no either. Mac knew she wanted him, but he did not want her to feel guilty and push him away later. He never cared when other women did it, as a matter of fact, he was usually grateful. But with Alex, if she pushed him away, well, he wasn’t sure he would survive. He wanted her to be sure before they went any further.
Mac was still holding her close, still had his hands on her backside, and leaned down to kiss her again. A light kiss. His breathing was still a little shaky when he said, “Alex, honey, I know you want me.” She started to jerk away from him and ducked her head, but he held her close and raised her chin to look at him. “I want you, too. More than I’ve ever wanted any woman. But I want to wait until you’re sure. I don’t want you feeling guilty and pushing me away tomorrow.” He kissed her again. Then he slowly stepped back. Still looking at her, smiling, with that predatory, wolf-like look back in his eyes, he said “I want more than just one night, sweetheart. I promise whenever you’re ready, I’ll make it worth the wait.”
Alex was surprised she was still upright when he released her and moved across the room. Her legs felt like mush. She should be in a puddle on the floor. She just nodded and tried to decide if her legs would take her to the bed.
She decided they
might
and started to walk towards the bed, and that’s when she noticed there was only one.
Oh no
. Well, that’s what her mind was saying, but her body was screaming, o
h, yes!
She knew which one was winning and she was pretty sure her mind wasn’t putting up much of a fight.
Mac could see the alarm on her face, but turned toward the bathroom, still smiling. He needed a cold shower, a
very
cold shower.
Chapter Ten
Ten minutes later, Alex was still sitting on the bed listening to the water run. Her traitorous mind was imagining Mac with water running down his hard body all soaped up, when there was a knock on the door. Alex left the bed and walked to the door, the Goon Squad was the farthest thing from her mind. She was so distracted she didn’t hear the water shut off or hear the bathroom door open, but she was not distracted enough not to notice Mac, naked, pulling her away from the door. Thank God he’d forgotten the towel again. Lord, help her, that man is gorgeous. She noticed it that night in the alley. She also knew then that she could trust him just by his eyes.
She felt a little guilty watching as Mac looked through the peep hole. He was all hard muscle, still dripping wet, and she really wanted to touch him again. She really wanted to lick the water from his... Mac turned, caught her looking, and smiled. He had a beautiful smile, too. Nice straight teeth surrounded by the most seductive lips Alex had ever seen. He motioned for her to go into the bathroom. She did a very quick disappearing act and closed the door behind her. She knew she was blushing from her chest to her ears.
Busted.
Mac heard a
thunk.
He figured she was her hitting her head on the door. He knew the feeling. He had been mentally thunking his head against doors and walls and steering wheels for the last four days. The only thing that kept him from actually physically doing it was the chance of a concussion. He wouldn’t be any good to her if he was seeing double.
Mac was chuckling when he opened the door to Buddy who didn’t even bat an eye at Mac’s state of undress. He had three bags on his lap. Two with clothes and one with three different guns and ammo to match. Buddy came in and Mac closed the door behind him.
“That bag has some clothes and stuff for her in it,” Buddy said, handing Mac one of the bags.
Mac walked over and knocked on the bathroom door. Alex opened it, still dressed, with a towel in her hand. Mac took the towel and gave her the bag. They both said thanks at the same time, but Alex never took her eyes off the floor. Mac noticed she was blushing again as she closed the door in his face. Her face, neck and ears were all a very bright pink. He wondered for a minute how far down her body the color went. He reached for the door knob, but thought better of it when Buddy started laughing behind him. He would have to find out later. He was smiling again as he turned from the door that had been closed in his face toward his friend.
“You my friend are in deep.” Buddy was shaking his head.
Mac groaned and his smile faded, and he wiped his hand over his face. “She just lost her husband. I feel like an ass.”
“Mac she looks at you the same way you look at her. Lord, boy. Could you please put some underwear on?” Buddy was laughing again as he handed a bag over to Mac.
Mac started digging through the items, then finally gave up and dumped the whole bag onto the bed. There was assorted clothing and a small box. Mac picked up the box and looked at Buddy.
Buddy put up his hands in defense. “Down Boy. You said you didn’t have anything. Can’t ever be too careful. Right?”
“Right. Thanks.” Mac said putting the box in the nightstand drawer. He finally found a pair of underwear and pulled them on along with a pair of sweatpants. He heard the shower turn on. His head instinctively turned to the bathroom door.
Buddy started laughing again. “Gotta go. I’ll send something to eat up in just a bit. You want anything special?”
“No, anything’s fine, but I do have a question. Do you have another room available? One with two beds.”
“Nope. This is the only room I have for now. I wasn’t planning on you being here for a couple of days. There should be another room with two beds available day after tomorrow.” Buddy was heading toward the door. “Let me know if you still need it. If you need anything else, just call.”
“Thanks.” Mac said simply, not really sure whether to believe Buddy or not. Buddy seemed tickled to death over Mac’s dilemma.
“Anytime,” Buddy said already through the door.
Mac crossed the room and closed the door behind him. He stood with his back against it for a while it trying to control himself. He was in bad shape. The thought of her in the shower was doing him in. Of course, when she had been in the bath at Pedro’s house, he’d had the same thoughts. With only the one bed in the room, though…Mac thunked the back of his head against the door and decided he better call Pedro.
Alex stood in the shower for a long time before she got around to washing anything. Buddy brought her some clothes-more sweats-a toothbrush and toothpaste, and razors. She silently thanked Buddy. Then her thoughts wandered-without her permission-to Mac.
She was not used to feeling like this. She had kissed quite a few men, but had never felt like she was going to melt to the floor. Maybe that was the reason she never thought twice about her decision as far as sex was concerned. If anybody would have ever kissed her like
that
she was pretty sure she wouldn’t have said no. Hell, she was
certain
she wouldn’t have said no. She didn’t tell Mac to stop today, but he did. She could tell he didn’t want to, but he stopped anyway. He wanted more than one night.
What did he mean by that?
Pedro answered on the first ring. “What the hell is going on?!”
Mac pulled the phone back, looked at it, and put it back to his ear. Pedro
never
yelled. Of course, he had never seen Pedro worried either. “How did you know it was me?”
“You’re the only person besides Alex who has this number, and since you didn’t call me from your cell, you had to have memorized the number. Now, what’s going on?”
Mac went over everything with Pedro. He told him about the Goon Squad and that Alex thought Lucy was okay. He told Pedro that he told her who he worked for and that she wasn’t mad that they hadn’t told her. He told Pedro where they were and gave him the number to the hotel and the address.