“No problem,” she replied, looking around as she rubbed her hands on her jeans. “Well, I guess that’s everything, so–”
“I’ll walk you home.”
She shook her head. “No need. I’m just…” she gave up when he shot her “the look”. “Right. Police officer. Overly protective.”
He didn’t bother to correct her this time, he just put a hand to the small of her back as he walked with her out the door.
The night was quiet and a bit warmer than normal for November. Still, the silence and the darkness seemed to envelope them, making everything seem significantly more intimate.
Kate opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t sure what to say. She just needed to break the silence.
“Are you okay? With your mom?” Mack beat her to it.
Kate latched onto the subject. “Yes!” she replied, stepping up onto the front porch. “I visited her this morning and she’s doing much better. The doctors ran some tests and don’t think there is any damage from the mini-stroke, but they’re monitoring her closely.” She unlocked the door and turned back to him. “Thank you for tonight. I enjoyed meeting your friends.”
He gave her a half smile. “You mean the other ‘officers’ on my team?”
She laughed, but nodded. “Yes. They’re all very nice. And I enjoyed meeting their wives too. I’ve seen some of Jade’s mosaics when I was in New York. She’s an amazing artist.”
“Have you read any of Sage’s books? They’re pretty great.”
She laughed, wondering when Mack had read a mystery novel, which is what Sage wrote. “I’ll download one off the internet tonight.”
He moved closer. “Kate, I…” he stopped, looking down at her. There was less than an inch of space between them. He kissed her. And Kate kissed him back as if her next breath depended on it! She couldn’t believe that she was kissing Mack – again!
She wasn’t sure who moaned, but she suddenly realized she wasn’t cold. Vaguely, she became aware of movement, then they were inside her mother’s house and he kept kissing her, backing her up so that she was pressed against the wall with his hard body leaning into her.
“Tell me you want this!” Mack growled.
“I want this!” she whispered back, clenching fistfuls of his hair, afraid he might stop. She’d wanted this for so long. And in the back of her mind, she knew that she’d hoped this would happen when she’d come home.
Suddenly, he scooped her up, his hands under her thighs as he carried her up the stairs. “I’m too heavy,” she whispered, but didn’t struggle to get down.
“Shut up,” he ordered, kicking open the door to her childhood bedroom. He didn’t know she hadn’t been sleeping in here, and Kate didn’t mention it. Not now. She’d tell him later. Much later!
He lowered her to the floor, then pulled his shirt up and over his head, dumping it beside the frilly, pink bed. He didn’t say anything, but he picked up her hands and placed them on his bare chest. Kate didn’t wait for a second invitation. She slid her hands over his chest, enjoying the sensations zinging through her.
He pulled her sweater up and over her head, then reached behind her to release the clasp of her bra. Kate gasped when she felt his hands cup her breasts, closing her eyes as she tried to slow down, to control the desire that welled up at his touch.
But it was too much! Mack’s fingers were relentless! Those thumbs teased and tortured her nipples while he continued kissing her, his tongue darting into her mouth to tease and entice. Then his hands were gone and her eyes popped open as he gave her a gentle shove, so she landed on the bed.
Kate wanted to ask him to slow down, but she might burn up if he did! His fingers deftly unsnapped her jeans as his mouth kissed a trail along her stomach before he stood back and tugged, pulling everything off. She was completely naked now and she lifted her head, watching him with anticipation.
Thankfully, Mack understood and stepped back, stripping off his boots, socks, then his jeans and boxers were pushed down over muscular thighs to reveal…!
“Yes!” she gasped, kneeling to wrap her fingers around that impressive shaft. She heard him hiss as her fingers re-familiarized themselves with his length. She remembered…everything! He loved it when she caressed that spot just under the tip. Kate smiled when she heard him groan, but before she could continue her exploration, he grabbed her hands, pushing her back onto the bed.
“I wasn’t finished,” she protested as he moved between her legs. Kate ran her hands along his skin, exploring his shoulders and arms and loving the way he still fit so perfectly against her. It was better than coming home, she thought.
“Later,” he snapped, grabbing a condom and tearing it open. He rolled it down his length and Kate stared, wanting to do that herself. Mack must have realized where her thoughts had gone because he looked intensely into her eyes and shook his head, warning her that he knew what she was thinking, remembering all of the times she’d done it for him…slowly, her lips and tongue leading the way as her fingers had covered him with the protection. It had become part of their foreplay and Kate wanted it all!
Before she could argue, he pushed her on to her back again, wrapping her legs around him so he was pressed more intimately against her core.
“Tell me,” he ordered.
Kate wanted to laugh or scream or…punch him! She was so ready for him, but she remembered how careful he’d always been. “I want you, right now!” she moaned, lifting her hips enticingly. Mack never followed orders. He gave them! It had thrilled her years ago, intensifying the feeling of his need for her. But right now, she was…on fire!
Thankfully, Mack pressed slowly into her body, working his way, inch by delicious inch, into her depths. Deeper still and Kate’s hands moved to his butt, pulling him in closer until he was fully buried in her heat.
Only then did he open his eyes and look at her before beginning to move. Slow thrusts initially, but with every gasp, every lift of her hips, his thrusts became faster, more determined! Too quickly, Kate’s body tightened and she opened her mouth to tell him to slow down, that this was too fast. But he knew her too well and he rolled his hips just right, taking her over the edge and Kate screamed his name as her body exploded with blinding pleasure. All she could do was dig her nails into Mack’s broad, powerful shoulders as he plunged into her, bringing her to entirely new heights of passion.
Mack shook his head, stunned. Never, not even years ago, had it ever been quite that good! He wanted to smile, but his body wasn’t ready to work yet. Lifting his head, he realized that Kate had fallen asleep. How long had he been like this, spooned behind her?
Propping his head up on his hand, he gazed down at Kate, wondering how her skin could be so incredibly soft. He trailed a finger down her hip, then her butt. She really had a great ass. And legs! Damn, her legs were sexy! Lean and muscular from her runs, but so feminine.
He grinned when she sighed blissfully, snuggling back against him. That was another thing he remembered about her. Kate loved touching. Normally, he’d have been gone right afterward. Post-sex snuggling was not something he did. Ever!
Except with Kate.
As the moonlight filtered in through Kate’s old bedroom window, he wondered what her life had been like over the past several years. She’d grown up and matured, obviously. But she was still the sweet, vivacious, beautiful woman he remembered from high school.
Staring down at her wasn’t giving him any answers. Mack also knew that he had an early morning meeting with Dean to discuss the investigation. Yeah, he should head home.
Instead, he reached down and grabbed the blanket, covering them both. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist and, because it was there, cupped her breast in his hand. Moments later, he was asleep.
Chapter 7
Kate woke up and looked around, feeling the stiffness in her muscles. Stiffness that was both familiar and…not. Lifting her head, she tried to reconcile this sensation of…happiness…with the stiffness in her legs
as she shifted. And why was she in the pink bed? She hated this bed!
That’s when the events from the previous night came flooding back. She looked around again, but Mack was gone. Peering over the side of the bed, she found her jeans with her cell phone still in the pocket. She checked the time and yelped.
“Oh crap!” she hissed, rushing out of the bed and jumping into the shower. She had less than forty minutes before she was supposed to be in a meeting. The water was freezing initially, of course. Ancient water heaters and old pipes weren’t particularly efficient. But Kate knew that she didn’t have time to wait for the water to warm up. It took a century for that ancient water heater to deliver warm water.
Exactly thirty minutes later, keys and presentation in hand, she headed to her car. If she happened to glance over at Mack’s house, that was normal. She wasn’t looking to see if he was around, if his car was there. Had he left early this morning? Or right after she’d fallen asleep?
No, he’d spent the night with her. She’d rolled over at one point during the night and woken up because there wasn’t enough room in that annoying pink bed.
She was a little hurt that he hadn’t been there when she’d woken up. At least he’d made her coffee! That was something, right? And he’d left a note right next to the coffee pot, letting her know that the coffee was fresh and he’d call later.
But the whole drive over to city hall, she wondered if the “I’ll call you later” message was just a euphemism for “Thanks for the quickie – have a good life!”
Mack stared at the white board where all of the evidence was laid out. He and Dean hadn’t made much, if any, progress in the investigation. Normally, that would piss him off and he’d be in a foul mood until they’d gone back out and figured out at least one more thread to tug, found one more avenue to investigate.
But he’d spent the night with Kate. And it had been better than ever. Kate was a much more confident lover now. She knew what she wanted and told him. It was hot, hearing her beg for him to do this or that. And he’d loved watching her climax in his arms, and he’d loved the sensation of her heat clenching around his shaft and just…hell, he’d loved every moment of last night.
Until he’d had to leave this morning. He’d left her a note and made coffee, but that didn’t mean his body wasn’t aching to climb right back into bed with her.
But he had to keep it cool and under control. He had to make sure that he wasn’t getting in too deep with Kate. Not again. The last time, it had almost killed him. Literally! Joining the Army in that state of mind had been a stupid thing to do. It had eventually straightened his head and had paid for his college education, but he’d been in so much pain, knowing that he’d lost Kate to the world of higher education.
While in the Army, Mack had volunteered for the most dangerous missions, regularly risking his life. Eventually, he’d calmed down enough that he learned how to survive. He’d pulled his head out of his ass and done some actual thinking.
Now, he was back in control. He was better able to cope with Kate and everything she stood for. He no longer centered all of his hopes and dreams around Kate.
Granted, he’d bought “their” house and fixed it up exactly as they’d talked about during those long afternoons and evenings. But now that he had furniture, he could actually live in the house.
“What the hell are you doing here so early?” Dean asked, yawning as he handed Mack a cup of coffee from the corner bakery.
Mack took the offered cup gratefully as he tapped on the map pinned to the wall. “There’s an underground well over there,” Mack said, stepping closer to squint at the drone photograph of the ranch. “I think we should take a look down there for the murder weapon.”
Dean’s eyes looked a bit blurry. Mack would bet that he hadn’t gotten enough sleep either. Mack could relate, thinking about Kate’s soft curves pressed against him. But whereas Dean was more acclimated to being in love with his lovely wife, Mack had only…he wasn’t in love with Kate. Not anymore. But last night’s marathon of sex had certainly invigorated him. It hadn’t slowed down his senses. In fact, just the opposite, he thought. His senses were alive. Alert. He was thinking more clearly than he had in a long time.
“Yeah,” Dean said, squinting at the dark spot on the photograph. Slowly, his features morphed into a smile of triumph. Then he nodded, taking another long sip of his steaming hot coffee. “Yeah, I think one more trip out to the ranch could be an excellent use of our time. If we can find the murder weapon then…!”
Mack finished for him. “Then we can get fingerprints and figure out who held it last.”
They left the conference room, eager to head out for the day.
“How are things with Kate?” Dean asked. “I liked her. Sylvie liked her too. And that’s saying something!”
Mack chuckled. “Kate’s fine.” As far as he knew. As he stepped into his SUV, he wondered what she was doing today. If she was going to visit her mother again, he wanted to be there for her. He wasn’t sure if she could handle another visit if anything else went wrong. He made a mental note to go home early tonight, just in case. She’d been so upset about her mother’s health a few nights ago.
“Hey, isn’t that Kate?” Dean asked, pointing his coffee cup towards a Jeep Wrangler heading in the opposite direction.
Mack’s eyes narrowed. “Yep,” he muttered, then turned the other way. He wasn’t going to let himself get too involved with Kate. Not this time. The nights…yea, they could have great times at night. But not during the day. Not that way.
“You okay?” Dean asked.
Mack glared at his friend. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
Dean shrugged. “No particular reason. But you did just miss the turn off for the interstate,” he said, settling back in the passenger seat to get more comfortable. Obviously, he was preparing for a long trip.
“Ass!” Mack muttered, then did a quick u-turn, heading back towards the interstate.
“She’s in your head, buddy!” Dean said, laughing as he took another sip of his coffee.
Mack didn’t bother to correct his friend. Dean wouldn’t believe him anyway. This was just sex. Just a fling until Kate headed back to Miami. And she would, he thought. Her life was there. Kate was only here long enough to close up the house and get her mother settled in the retirement community. That’s it. End of story.
Chapter 8
Over the next two weeks, Kate worked hard, packing up her mother’s house. She also worked with a remodeling company to update and repair the house, without going too crazy on the cost. The kitchen cabinets were painted white and new knobs installed. They took down some of the cabinets that blocked the view of the eating area, dramatically opening up the space. Kate took down all of the chintzy, flowered curtains that her mother had bought decades ago and painted the pink bedroom a nice, calm dove grey.
Mack helped when he could, but there were a surprising number of cases he had to investigate.
But that was okay. She wasn’t sure how he would react to her other project, so she kept quiet about it, working on it in quiet moments when he was busy.
The ideas for her secret project were growing by the day! She even had permission from the mayor. No, she wasn’t getting paid. Yet! But, she’d made a deal with the mayor that, if she developed the ideas and organized the events, she’d get a percentage of the profits. If she could bring in enough crafters, train enthusiasts, book lovers, and various other festival participants, then this could actually be a living! It could be a career and, even better, her own business. No more working with bridezillas and emotionally volatile mothers!
But she didn’t want Mack to know about her ideas just yet. If she failed…! Well, she didn’t want him to laugh at her. He was so down to earth, so centered and sure of himself. She absolutely couldn’t let him know how badly she wanted this.
So she worked on organizing everything while he was working. Thankfully, she was making huge progress! After the first week, she had mo
re than fifty people interested in securing a table for the craft festival! She was so excited, she almost blurted out the news several times over dinner. She’d caught herself, although Mack’s eyes had narrowed suspiciously, clearly aware she was holding something back.
He didn’t ask though. And Kate was hugely relieved by his restraint. Once everything was in place and she went back to the mayor with the details, a date, and the number of vendors, as well as a marketing plan, then she’d tell him.
Would he be angry that she was trying to make a life for herself here in Cheyenne? Although he took her into his arms every night and made love to her, he was always gone by the morning. He always started a fresh pot of coffee before he left, but never woke her with a kiss.
Was she setting herself up for pain and heartache?
Possibly. But she knew this was where she wanted to be. And even more, she wanted to be with Mack!
Chapter 9
“You finished packing?” Mack observed, eyeing the boxes stacked neatly against the wall of the small family room.
Kate looked around, hands on her hips as she smiled with success. “Yes!” she laughed. Moving along the stacked boxes, she let her fingers trail along the cardboard. “These are things she’ll need when she moves into her apartment.” She reached the second stack of boxes. “These are items that no one will ever need, but my mother asked me not to throw out, so I’m taking them to the church to be donated. They still have value, although I’m not sure what that value is.” Kate shook her head slightly, then moved to the open boxes. “These are things that are broken, useless, and have no reason not to be thrown out.” She grinned up at Mack. “I thought this would be overwhelming but,” she looked around at all of the boxes, “it was actually pretty cathartic.”
Mack leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, you’re finished? You’re heading back to Florida?”
Winter Awakening (Wyoming Fever Book 4) Page 5
