Tipping Point (9 page)

“This will be the garage, workshop, and hydroponic greenhouse once we’re set up. I still have to install the insulation before I can grow anything in it in the winter, but it keeps us dry for now.” Neil nodded intently, obviously listening to everything she was saying.

“Was that a solar set-up I saw on the roof?” She nodded.

“Yeah. The two buildings will have separate systems, though they can be patched together if necessary, so both buildings can be powered by the larger set-up. This one wouldn’t do both buildings. I meant to improve it, but things moved faster than
I
could.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard anything new about what’s happening down there?”

“Well, Kirk and Leigh got as far as Gravenhurst and ran out of gas. The stations there are already empty, from the people in the cities heading north looking for fuel. That will spread to Bracebridge and Huntsville soon. I don’t think it’ll be long before people start to understand what all this means.”

Mac shook her head to dispel the gloom, and Neil kept his thoughts to himself for the time being. Kirk was drifting over with Leigh. They’d already seen Neil at the store, of course, but had never really been introduced.

“Neil, this is Kirk and Leigh. They came from Oakville. Kirk has been Cam’s best friend since her second year of high school in Burlington, and Leigh’s his girlfriend, as well as a friend to Cam. They’re basically family.

“We left without them yesterday, thinking they’d be fine to drive here, but it turned out their car was dead. They rented the blue car out there, which is the one that ran out of gas. At least they made it to Gravenhurst. A lot less dangerous right now than a city with a couple hundred thousand desperate people, anyway.

“As soon as Cam said their timing chain needed replacing I felt like a total shit. I knew there was no way they’d be able to get it fixed in time to get out.”

“Mac, you still managed to get us here, safe and sound. We’re grown-ups. It’s not your job to take care of us.” Mac would have argued the point on any other day, but today she was too tired.

“Hey, there’s someone you haven’t met yet. Two ‘someones’ in fact. This might be a weird surprise for you, or maybe you expect weirdness from me. Come on. Let me show you my chamber of horrors, also known as the future tool crib.” Neil followed her, a bemused look on his face.

Mac opened the door quietly, figuring the boys were probably sleeping. She didn’t really want to wake them up right now. Neil could meet them later. Out of all the things that could have made her nervous about Neil, this was the one that actually did. It was a deal-breaker for her.

“Uh, what are they?” She wasn’t surprised he didn’t know what they were at first, since their faces were sort of buried.

“They’re ferrets. Pickle and Squeaker to be exact. They’re my boon companions, and overlords of this particular castle. In other words, I spoil them rotten.”

“Wow. I never thought I’d see ferrets up here. A friend of Billy’s had one, but I never saw him when he was sleeping. Just when he was bouncing around like he was on a trampoline or something. One of the funniest things I ever saw.”

“They’ll put on a show for you later, I’m sure. They’re pretty tuckered out for the moment.” Her relief was dizzying. If he’d been one of those guys that called them rats, she’d have known she’d made a mistake in letting him into the house.

Mac sat on the edge of her bed. Neil took one look at her and started getting a worried look on his face.

“You’re so tired, Mac. I have to let you get some sleep. Is there a way for me to get out the gate without you having to go down there?”

“There’s a pressure plate that works like a remote.” She paused a second.

“How would you feel about staying?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the twinkle was back in his eye.

“I’d say I feel pretty good about it.” Mac smiled.

“That’s good, because I’d really rather you stayed.” Neil pulled her up against him.

“Oh yeah? Tell me what you want.”

“You,” she whispered. “I just want you.”

7

T
HE
G
OOD, THE
B
AD, AND THE
V
ERY
B
AD

She yielded to the temptation of using her mouth on his neck, the rough skin raspy against her tongue and lips.

“You go in for the kill, don’t you?” His voice was so rough she could barely make out the words.

“Yes,” she murmured. “Right for the throat.” A tortured laugh rumbled in his chest.

“Alright, honey. Have it your way. This is one game I’m willing to play. And I play to win.” Mac shuddered as another spear of pleasure pierced her belly. Neil picked her up and laid her on the bed so fast her head spun. He instantly covered her body with his. If he hadn’t cut off her moan with his mouth, everyone in the house would have heard her.

“Shh, baby,” he cautioned when he finally stopped kissing her. Mac wanted to whimper in frustration, but he was right. Sounds carried in this building.

“We’re going to take this nice and slow, so we don’t keep everyone awake.”

“Okay, you win. Whatever game we were playing, you win.”

“It’s not that simple, honey. I’m not going to accept victory by default. I want your A-game.” Mac felt the challenge rise up inside her, her competitive nature raring to teach him a thing or two.

“Alright. You had your shot, cowboy. Now you’re going down.” She was about to roll them both over when he smirked at her.

“I sure am.” He moved faster than a snake. One second they were face to face, and the next she was naked from the waist down with his mouth clamped over her. She couldn’t even breathe, let alone scream. By the time she managed to draw air into her lungs, her first orgasm had her choking on it. There was no mistaking what he’d done to her, though. Her entire body convulsed with it.

Neil slid up next to her, and whispered in her ear.

“You taste good. I could do that all day, I think. For now, though...” he trailed off, his hand cupping her breast beneath the support tank. His thumb found the erect nipple and circled it, slowly. Her hands latched onto his shirt.

“Why are you still wearing so many clothes, cowboy?” She managed to pull herself together enough to get his shirt off. Then she moved her hands down to the button fly on his old, faded jeans. He was so hard beneath her hand, that she knew he had to be close to agony.

She shimmied down the bed while she popped all the buttons open with a quick flick of her wrist. Then she swallowed him whole. She could tell he was trying to be considerate by not gripping her head. When his fingers tangled in her hair, though, it turned her on almost as much as having his mouth on her.

With what looked like a Herculean effort, he tried to pull away from her mouth. She dug her nails in a little bit and continued. The sharp little bites in his skin seemed to set him off, because his own orgasm took him over almost instantly.

What sounded an awful lot like a growl escaped his mouth when he was done, and she chuckled as she licked her lips and slid back up beside him. They both lay there panting for several minutes.

“God, you’re good at that!” It was Mac’s turn to smirk.

“I’m not done with you yet, though. Won’t be long before I’m ready for the next round, and then you’ll be sorry. I can last all night if I want to now.”

“I don’t think that’s going to make me sorry, Neil.
Sore
maybe, but not sorry.” His laugh was low and dangerous.

“We’ll see about that. I’d say right about now, in fact.” Then he rolled her over and thrust inside her. The sudden shock started a scream in her throat, but he was ready for that. His tongue was tangling with hers, turning the scream to a squeak.

They made love until close to three in the morning, when Neil finally turned off the light beside the bed and pulled the blankets over them. As he pulled her back against his body, he whispered in her ear.

“Sleep, honey. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Something about those words had her whole body relaxing. If he said anything else she didn’t hear it.

When she woke up, as promised he was still there. She checked her phone for the time. It was after eleven. Early enough for her, but she wondered if he needed to be at the store by now. He was a big boy, though. He was capable of handling his responsibilities without her input. Instead of waking him up, she rolled over to curl around him.

At some point in the night he’d turned over, and now she could see the tattoo on his back. She’d spent the entire time looking at his front throughout the night, so it wasn’t surprising she hadn’t seen it then. Her finger traced the lines of the compass rose. She’d always loved that symbol for some reason. Suddenly Neil rolled over, making her yelp.

“Jesus, you startled me.”

“Mmm.” He pulled her into his arms and held her there.

“Serves you right,” he finally said.

“Oh yeah? What on earth did
I
do?” She tried to think for a minute, then was stymied by his answer.

“You touched me. I don’t think you’ve paid a high enough price for your actions just yet, though.” Before she could even worry about having dragon breath, he was kissing her deeply. She could feel him hard against her, and felt the sudden flood of dampness between her legs. She shifted so she could press against him. He didn’t need any additional encouragement.

Her eyes fluttered closed as he thrust inside, and she wrapped her legs around his narrow hips. His hands pinned her wrists over her head, and his hips rocked with hers. An orgasm began pulsing through her in less than a minute, and when she felt him convulse against her, her own pleasure multiplied.

He looked into her eyes and brushed the hair from her face.

“I’m looking forward to the day when I can hear you scream.” Mac took a moment to catch her breath, and then muttered indignantly that of course
she
would never scream. Neil just chuckled knowingly.

She sighed deeply. This might have been an extremely pleasant way to start the day, but the day did, indeed, need to get started. Far too many things needed doing. So, she gave his naked ass a smack, and told him to get his muscle-bound physique off her now-weakened frame.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t ya?” Mackenzie laughed.

“I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that one. Or you have problems with severe memory loss. In a couple of hours I’ll have known you...gee, a whole day...and already you’ve forgotten who I am.”

“Smartass. Fine, I’m getting up. You weren’t complaining about my muscle-bound physique ten minutes ago.”

“A time and place for everything, cowboy.”

“Huh! That’s pretty lousy appreciation you’ve got for some mind-blowing sex, don’t you think?”

“Was it?” Neil laughed at her.

“You know damn well it was. Admit it, or I’m going to have to remind you.” Mac decided she’d just have to call his bluff.

Half an hour later, panting, she was forced to admit that he was right. About all of it. Actually forced to admit it. He wouldn’t let up until she said it. When she relented, though, she did it without the humour.

“It was mind-blowing alright,” she said softly, stroking his shoulder and back with lazy fingers.

“Yeah, it was.”

By the time she’d showered and was starting to dress, Neil was getting ready to go. He didn’t have any spare clothes with him, so he needed to get home to shower before going in to the store. He apparently didn’t need to be there until two, since he had a part-time employee on from nine until three. Billy wasn’t ready to be left alone in the store for obvious reasons. He’d only been working there since graduation at the end of June.

Neil stepped in front of Mackenzie, waiting for her to look up from zipping the fly of her boot-cut jeans. When she met his eyes he smiled.

“I guess you’re getting a later start than you planned, huh?” Mackenzie grinned back at him.

“It’s normal for me to get up later than this. ‘I am the night,’ as they say.” Neil chuckled.

“I hear ya. It’s the same for me. It’s why I was happy to give Samantha the morning hours to fit in with her being able to get daycare. I sure as hell don’t want to get up at seven every morning. Her wife was so happy with me she sent me flowers when I gave Samantha the job.”

“Her wife, huh? You’re telling me this because you think I might be worried about you having a woman working for you. And if I’m reassured that she’s married, to a woman no less, you won’t get a bunch of stress over it. That about right?” She raised her brows at him.

“I suppose. I don’t think it was a conscious thing on my part, but maybe.”

“Neil, I’m not going to play mental games and go on about how you’re still a free agent, because I don’t believe that’s what this is between us. You made it pretty clear you wanted more than that. I don’t see you as a guy who likes to mess around. I’m not insecure about stuff like that. If you’re mine, it’s because you want to be, not because I own you.”

“Well, I want to be.”

“Good. You’re mine then. Ditto. Now get your ass to work. I’ve got things to do.” Then she smacked his butt and shooed him out the door of her bedroom.

“God, I love a woman with sass!” Mackenzie laughed and traipsed down the hall after him. The ferrets were still conked, so she had to assume they’d woken up during the night and played themselves out again. She’d come back and spend a bit of time with them after Neil was on his way.

“I’m just teasing about kicking you out, ya know. You need to be fed first? We’ve got a bunch of healthy shit. There’s some sort of hay-like substance here.” Neil just laughed.

“You sure know how to make a man feel welcome. I guess you don’t subscribe to the theory of getting to a man’s heart through his stomach, eh?”

“Not so much. I prefer a more direct route. Like through the rib cage.”