He guided me to the mattress and removed our clothes. We kissed for a while with our bodies entangled until he spread my legs and slipped inside of me. We weren’t in a hurry, and time ceased to exist as our bodies moved sensually in time with the swaying of the boat.
The next morning we lounged around up top. Mack had taken us to a small secluded cove further down the coast. It was like we’d found our own private paradise. I was surprised to see that the refrigerator was stocked with water bottles and cold foods. We sat together on the lounger under the canopy at the back of the boat. Mack was shirtless and wearing only a pair of shorts. Thankfully I’d chosen to pack a bikini; it was almost second nature to pack a bathing suit, especially when you lived on an island. I rested my back against the seat and leaned so that I could feel the breeze on my face with my legs resting across Mack’s lap. It was a perfect day to be on the water. The weather wasn’t too hot, and the breeze was just right. I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be.
“Today is my birthday,” I said as I lifted my head.
“I know,” Mack said as he ran one hand over my legs and took a swig of his beer with the other.
“You do? How?”
“I told you I make it a point to know everything about the people in my life.”
“I am in your life, aren’t I?”
“Yes, and you’re not going anywhere.” I beamed over at him, and he leaned over and put his mouth on mine. My body melted into his, and my fingers rested on the warmth of his sun-kissed shoulders.
“So, what do you want to do for your twentieth birthday?” he asked when we finally separated. I knew my family was probably looking for me. We didn’t get very good cell reception out here, but I managed to send a text to Drew letting him know that I was fine and that I was with Mack. I turned my phone off before he could respond. It didn’t matter to me what anyone said; it was my birthday, and this was how I chose to spend it.
“I want to do exactly this.” Sitting up, I swung my legs over either side of his waist and he tugged the string loose on my bikini top. When the material fell away he took one of my nipples into his mouth.
“Mmm.” The sound he made caused a vibration against my skin that made me shiver. I ran my fingers through his hair and closed my eyes. His hands caressed my bare back and slid into my bikini bottoms. He pushed them down, and I helped him by adjusting my legs so that the material fell to the floor. Then I leaned forward and ran my tongue up the column of his neck while his fingers found my wetness.
“Do you want me as badly as I want you, baby?” Mack groaned against my ear. “It’s like I can’t get enough of you. Being with you is all I think about. You’re all I think about.” He pumped two fingers inside my warm center, and I let my hips move against his hand while looking into his half-lidded gaze as his eyes grew darker with each of my breathy moans. Finally, I pushed down his shorts and grabbed a hold of his stiff erection and wasted no time sinking down onto him. We hadn’t used protection since the first night at his house. We’d never officially made the decision to stop, but neither of us brought it up anymore.
Plus I loved the feel of him without any barriers. I knew it meant something significant. We were giving parts of ourselves that we’d never offered to anyone else.
“Come with me, Firefly.” He grabbed the back of my head and covered my mouth with his. Our tongues plunged together rhythmically in time with our hips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let my body follow him over the edge as he swelled and pulsed inside of me.
I was in love with him. I knew it as surely as I knew my own name. It was a different kind of love than I’d felt for Dylan. First love felt like floating. Our hearts were pure, and we were naive enough to believe we had forever. True love felt like falling. It was out of my control. My soul craved his attention, my body longed for his touch, and my heart ached for him to love me in return.
I was also worried that it wouldn’t last and it scared the hell out of me.
We spent the rest of the day in paradise, swimming in the cove, then floating on our backs for a while with our hands joined. It felt like we were different people out there. No stress, no worries. Anything in the world seemed possible. I wished Mack could pull up the anchor and we could go anywhere the wind decided to take us.
Mack also did something he’d never done before. He talked about himself. I learned that he was twenty-six and his younger brother Brandon also known as Brando was three years younger. He told me about his childhood and how his father was an alcoholic who didn’t pay much attention to them. He wasn’t abusive, but just seemed to have checked out of his family’s life and made booze his number one priority. Their mother worked two jobs to make ends meet, yet they were still barely getting by. When Mack was fourteen his father went to jail for drunk driving and leaving a woman paralyzed after crashing into her car.
He talked about how his mother couldn’t afford to buy food sometimes so he and his brother had to find ways to earn money. They tried the legitimate way and got jobs doing various things like mowing lawns, working in fast food, and the usual sort of part time jobs most teenagers try out. When Mack’s uncle gave him the Shelby he was introduced into the world of racing, and once he figured out how to make money, it was the start of the life he now led. His mother remarried and moved to Arizona, so he didn’t have much of a relationship with her anymore.
“You’re smart and I know if you put your mind to it you can have your own performance shop or something and make tons of money, legitimately.” We were swaying with the movement of the water while we lay together on the mattress in the cabin below deck. The soft glow of the moon through the small porthole windows was the only light around us.
“I know.”
“You said you would stop.”
“I am.”
“How?”
“Don’t worry. It’s all going to work out.”
“Mack.” I hesitated. “I need to tell you something.” I felt his body stiffen underneath me so I lifted my head to look into his eyes. “First, I want you to know that I had nothing to do with it and I hate that it’s even happening.” He lifted up on his elbow and furrowed his brow as he looked at me.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. I took a deep breath.
“It’s about Detective Rollins.”
“What about him?” It was now or never.
“Woody cut some sort of deal with Rollins. In exchange for Woody’s freedom, he would pass along any information about you.”
“I know,” Mack said matter-of-factly as he rested back down onto the mattress.
“Wait? What?”
“Rollins thinks he’s been watching me, but I have people watching him too.”
“So you knew already?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“Well, probably because my brother is helping Rollins build a case?”
“Woody only knows what I want him to know. The kind of stuff anyone can find out if they look hard enough.” As if it finally occurred to him he turned to me. “Is that why you disappeared on me for four days? You thought I would blame you for what Woody was doing?”
I nodded slowly, and he grabbed my face between his hands. “No, I never thought that for a minute. Plus Woody came to me the morning after the fight. He didn’t know the real reason behind how he came to have the money to pay off Knight. He said that he hadn’t told Rollins anything yet, but he was in a tough predicament, so I gave him information to feed to Rollins while I continued to work things out on my end.”
“God, Mack.” I didn’t know what else to say as I rested my head on his chest. It was such a relief. I knew Woody was an honorable person beneath all the shit he’d gotten himself into. We were all raised the same. I just couldn’t figure out where Woody went wrong, but it was clear that Mack had paid a debt for him and knew he needed to return the respect. Dare I hope that maybe things were going to be okay?
/>
“Hey, listen to me.” He lifted my face to his. “You can tell me anything. Just don’t ever take off like that and shut me out, Jonna.”
“Okay,” I agreed quietly and kissed him slowly. My heart felt so full. We’d had the perfect day and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. “Mack, can we stay here forever?”
“I wish we could, baby.” He brushed curls away from my face as he nuzzled his nose into my neck. “Ah, you always smell so good.” He inhaled again. “You smell like . . . harmony. It’s like when I hold you everything feels right in the world.”
I knew it was time. I had to let the words out or they felt like they would burst out of my chest. I placed a hand on either side of his face and waited for his eyes to meet mine. His hands softly caressed my back and I brushed my lips lightly over his.
“I love you, Mack.” I heard him take a sharp breath as his body when still.
“Jonna.” He swallowed hard but didn’t say anything more. I could feel my heart crumbling into a million pieces. He didn’t love me. Oh shit. I’d said it too soon. I’d taken a gamble and I’d lost. I pressed my face into his neck as tears of heartbreak and humiliation began to form.
“Hey.” His voice was barely a whisper. When I didn’t answer, he turned me onto my back, and I turned my face to the side.
“You love me, Jonna?” I hesitated for a moment before meeting his gaze.
“Yes, but it’s okay. You don’t have to . . .” My voice cracked and trailed off as I shifted my eyes away to look at anything but him. His lips were on my neck as he kissed his way up to my mouth. Then he laced his fingers with mine while our tongues tangled together. And like always, I melted into his body as he parted my legs and lined himself up with my entrance.
“Look at me.” I opened my eyes and tried to focus on his face. Even in the dark I could still see how gorgeous he was. I could just make out his long eyelashes and full bottom lip and I even pictured the tiny gold flecks I knew were there in his brown eyes.
“There it is. That look from my girl,” he said against my ear as he entered me causing goose bumps to form all over my body. I let the tears flow from my eyes as he made slow love to me. I could feel it in his gaze, every time his lips touched mine and with each thrust of his hips. He had to love me. There was no way he couldn’t with all the tenderness he’d showed me that night. Even though he hadn’t said the words, everything felt right in my world.
Chapter Eighteen
It was almost sunset the next day by the time Mack had secured the cabin cruiser at the marina. He grabbed my hand as we took our time walking into town. My mother, father, brothers, Harley, and even Tayia and Blake came storming out of Catch.
“Jonna Lee, I can’t believe you just disappeared like that, on your birthday of all days! I was just about to send the boys out to look for you.” She planted her hands on her hips and glared at me.
“Sorry, Mama.”
“What if we’d planned a party or something?”
“Sorry, Mama,” I repeated.
“What if something had happened and we couldn’t get to you . . .?” Her words came out choked as her voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” I stepped forward and put my arms around her, feeling like crap. She sniffled a few times as I patted her back. I looked over at everyone else gathered behind her and mouthed my apologies to them. Finally, Mama took a step back and glared at Mack.
“Who’s this?”
“Mama and Daddy, this is Mack.”
“Yeah, I know who he is.” Daddy mumbled but stepped forward to shake Mack’s hand. It was clear that Mack didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t smile; in fact, he looked like he was ready to bolt but was doing his best to stay put.
“Where were you?” Mama turned her focus on me.
“Mack has a boat and we spent the night on it.”
She opened her mouth to continue asking questions, but Daddy put a hand on her shoulder.
“Annie, that’s enough for now. Jonna is an adult. She can spend her birthday with whoever she likes.” He pulled Mama against his side, kissed the top of her head, and then looked at me. “Baby girl, your Mama baked a cake for you yesterday so you can understand why she was upset.”
“What kind of cake?” It was Harley who asked the question.
“Chocolate fudge cake,” Tayia answered. “I helped bake it.”
“Sounds delicious. Do y’all mind if we continue this discussion over a piece of cake?” Harley suggested, and I knew she was trying to help me change the focus of the conversation, so I smiled at her.
“Great idea,” Daddy said and turned with Mama and walked inside.
“Listen, I’m gonna go, but I’ll come back later tonight.” Mack kissed me quickly and was turning away before I grabbed his hand.
“Don’t leave,” I pleaded. He stared down at me and shook his head, but before he could speak Mama called out.
“Don’t you even think about runnin’ away, Mack King. You get in here, too.”
Mack looked over with uncertainty as everyone started walking inside.
“I don’t know. It just seems weird.”
“Just for a minute, for my birthday.” Then I stood up on my tiptoes until my lips were level with his. “For me.”
“I’d do anything for you.” Then he kissed me softly. The sound of a throat clearing behind us interrupted our little moment. I turned to see Daddy holding the door open with his arms crossed and his lips drawn tightly together. Just because I was an adult didn’t mean that he wanted to see his daughter kiss her boyfriend. Wait, was Mack my boyfriend?
It felt like he was mine, and I knew I was his. When he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him into the restaurant, I also knew he was doing that for me. So I beamed up at him and let him lead the way.
Mack was right, it was weird. Mama brought my cake to one of the large tables in the dining room, and they all gathered around and sang “Happy Birthday” to me. Mack even mumbled the words. Everyone talked and ate cake. Daddy made small talk with Mack, and he gave simple short answers but remained polite. Drew and Harley seemed to be in their own bubble again as they only focused on each other. Woody and Blake were having a conversation about something, and Tayia was talking to me. It was just strange to see every important person in my life in the same room.
Mama had just taken the cake into the back to put away when the double doors to the restaurant opened suddenly, and we all shifted our eyes in that direction. I instantly recognized a group of matching shiny gray race jackets walking our way. It was Knight.
“It seems like we weren’t invited to the race the other night, King. I thought the rules were that all spot holders had to be informed about races that were taking place for ranking?”
Mack’s chest rumbled with a growl as he stood. “A message went out. Guess you didn’t get it. Call your cell phone provider and bitch about it to them and not me.” Knight’s face remained impassive, but his eyes grew dark with anger.
“I might just do that,” he replied. “But I have a few other items of business I need to take care of. First of which is claiming your title. Seems to me I should have had a chance to race you seeing as you were number two and I’m number three, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“What do you want, Knight?” Drew cut in. “To race me? ’Cause I’m good with that. I schooled your ass once, and I have no problem doing it again.”
“No, I’m here to race for the title, but it seems like motherfuckers keep changing the rules.”
“Well, I’m the motherfucker who makes the rules, and I also have the title right now so you’ll race me.” Mack’s chest expanded as he widened his stance.
“What’s the wager?” Knight nodded.
“Fifteen grand.”
“What?”
“You heard me, fifteen grand, or I want you the fuck off my list. What’s it going to be?”
Knight stared at Mack for a long moment before his
eyes shifted to his left. I turned my head to see a petite blonde who looked to be in her late forties standing in the back of the crowd. Her face looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen her before. She glanced at Knight, then subtly nodded her head.
“If we race tonight then you have a deal,” Knight said.
Mack sneered at him. “Fine, get your shit ready and up to The Spot now.” He pulled out his phone to start making arrangements for the guards to secure the area.
While we waited for Knight’s crew to show, I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. Knight was devious enough and never played fair. On the way up to The Spot, Mack had made several calls. He had his crew bring his car and equipment over to the island, but wasn’t able to find security to cover both ends of the road, so they’d have to make the race a quick one.
Mack was standing next to the GT while his crew was checking under the hood. Even Drew and Blake were nearby observing the activity and occasionally nodding their agreements.
“Mack.”
He spun around and his face immediately softened as he reached out and pulled me to him.
“Be careful with Knight. He’s sneaky.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, I feel bad about you giving up your good luck stash in the glove box, so I was thinking maybe you could start a new stash.” I handed him the red thongs I’d managed to discreetly shimmy off behind the car. His gaze shifted from my offering to my face. His eyes grew heated as his tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip, then his hand glided over my backside. I could feel the warmth of his palm as it moved over the thin material.
“Now, how am I supposed to concentrate knowing you’re bare under that dress?” He tugged on the hem of the skirt.
“Well, just think, the faster you win the race, the faster you’ll have access to what’s underneath.”
King Page 11
