Mastered: Ten Tales of Sensual Surrender

by Opal Carew

In the fridge, he found fruits and veggies but no meat. He frowned, not recalling whether she ate meat or not. Seattle was filled with health nuts. Though he worked out like a mad man, he didn’t live his life like a monk. He enjoyed a good steak now and then. He found himself wondering what it would be like to sit across the table with Maggie and enjoy dinner.

  For some odd reason, he had bizarre fantasies of just being with her. Nothing sexual, but domestic shit. Like holding hands and taking walks. Going to movies or sitting around, talking. If he’d told Shane any of this, his friend would fall over laughing. Mac didn’t do serious relationships. He’d seen too many of them crumble, his parents a prime example. His uncle, the closest thing he had to a real father, had been taken to the cleaners by a greedy witch who didn’t know how to keep her legs closed. No, Mac didn’t do relationships. He fucked, he had fun, and he moved on.

  He left the kitchen and looked around her dining room, lost in thought. Why the hell did Maggie intrigue him so much? He’d been rejected by women before. Granted, not many said no to him, but he normally accepted refusals with little care. Maggie bugged the shit out of him.

  The rattle of keys and a feminine curse alerted him that it was do-or-die time. The doorknob turned and then the door opened.

  Maggie entered wearing a slender black skirt that hit her at the knee. Black pumps accentuated her small feet and made her calves that much sexier. A wool coat covered her upper body until she shrugged out of it, revealing another of those body-hugging sweaters that kept him up at night. Jesus, Maggie had a rack worth dying over.

  She hung up her jacket and took two steps in his direction before lifting her head.

  The moment she saw him she screamed and stopped dead in her tracks. She slapped her hand over her heart, breathing hard, and stared at him.

  “Damn. Sorry. Shelby let me in.” Mac made sure to keeps his hands in his jeans pockets. No need to startle her further or make himself look threatening. He leaned back against the dining table and tried to look smaller. “So how are you?”

  “Y-you… What the hell are you doing here?” She took a few deep breaths and let them out before moving toward him.

  Relieved she wasn’t scared of him, he shrugged. “I figured it was time we talked.”

  “Talked,” she parroted. “About what? I just saw you eight hours ago.”

  “Nine hours ago.”

  “What do we have to talk about now?”

  “Why won’t you go out with me?” he asked boldly.

  She blinked. “Huh?”

  Not the response he’d been hoping for. “I want to go out with you. On a date.”

  “You want to have sex with me.”

  “Well, that too. But I’d like to get to know you first.” He grinned, but she didn’t smile.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s lay it all out. You’ve been wanting to get me naked since day one.”

  “Okay. Yeah.”

  “You don’t deny it?”

  “Why should I? You’re smokin’ hot. I’ve seen you for four straight months in nothing but tights and sports bras. Hell yeah, I want a shot at your body.” Why the hell did women have to make things difficult? He’d asked her out, flat out told her he wanted to know her better. And now he told the truth about wanting her. Shouldn’t she be flattered by his attention?

  “That’s what I thought.” She sighed.

  They stared at each other in silence, before he said, “You look tired.”

  “Yeah? Well I had too many drinks last night, was forced to watch Avatar for the millionth time, and then woke up to you leering at me. I was also two seconds from being late to work. Now all I want to is to get in my comfy clothes and relax.”

  She looked so worn down, and so damn cute. Mac’s heart felt funny, but he ignored it. Had to be the lust making him feel so weird around her all the time.

  “Should I apologize for barging in?”

  “Whatever.” She walked out of her heels and put herself another two inches shorter than him.

  “Don’t hit me.”

  “Why?”

  Mac closed the distance between them and dragged her into his arms.

  “Mac.”

  Finally. She said his name. He hugged her tight, taking comfort in the feel and scent of her. Her hair smiled like wildflowers, and he had the insane thought he was hugging a fairy—a stacked fairy that could easily have starred in her own adult movies. “You looked like you needed this.”

  She remained stiff for a moment, then eased into his embrace. Like a puppy wriggling to get more comfortable, she moved until her curves fit against the hard plane of chest. Just right.

  “You are so bossy. And so warm,” she murmured.

  He stroked her hair, amused and freaked out about this odd hug. Especially since he’d initiated it. “You have to do me a favor. Promise not to tell Shelby or Shane about this. A freakin’ hug. We should be rolling naked on the floor together by now.”

  She laughed softly, and he ran his hands from her hair to her back, smoothing over her tense muscles. “I never agreed to have sex with you.”

  “You should. Sex is a great stress reliever.”

  “Yeah, well, according to the ladies at the gym, you would know.”

  Oh hell. Maggie hadn’t meant to let that slip.

  He pulled back to look at her, and damn him, but his eyes looked impossibly blue. “Don’t tell me you listen to the rumors at the gym?”

  She blushed but didn’t turn away. “I can’t help it. Jameson’s Gym is like its own tiny universe. It’s hard not to hear that the great stud at the gym has slept with just about all the female members.”

  Instead of being put in his place, Mac grinned. “Not Mrs. Hicks. I mean, I could have had her, but I didn’t want to piss off my uncle.”

  Maggie couldn’t help her laugh. “Better not let him hear you say that. He’s way too young for her. Ida Hicks is ninety years old. Okay, so she’s the one woman you haven’t had sex with.”

  “Please. There are a ton of women I’ve never been with.” He paused. “There’s you.”

  A quiet settled between them, one that made her nervous…and aroused. The man got to her on every level. It just figured she’d been thinking about him all day and her traitor of a best friend had let him into her house.

  “Right. There’s me.” She cleared her throat and tried to move away, but he wouldn’t let her. “Um, Mac? Let me go.”

  “Since you said my name, okay.” He released her and stepped back looking smug.

  This Mac Jameson she knew too well. “I say your name all the time.”

  “When you’re not calling me a jerk, a dictator, or an asshole, you usually call me Jameson.” He crossed those incredible arms over his massive chest.

  She refrained from fanning herself and planted her hands on her hips, wanting to appear strong, not swoony from the sight of his incredible body. “You are a jerk, a dictator and an asshole. Sometimes.”

  “You’re just as bossy. You’re just prettier about it.” He grinned, and the flash of that smile melted her resolve to keep her distance. “For the record, I think I slept with maybe three women who work out at the gym, and the last one was months ago. Not my fault they have big mouths.”

  A surge of jealousy struck her mute. Totally not how she wanted to feel about her boss. She cleared her throat. “Right. Let’s get back on track.”

  “Oh, let’s.”

  “Shelby let you into my apartment. You want to have sex with me, and you want to talk.”

  “I want a date.”

  That surprised her. “Why? If I agree to take off my clothes and let you screw me right now, will that end your pursuit? I mean, we both know what you really want, right?”

  He blinked as he digested her words, and she had the satisfaction of knowing she’d thrown him for a loop.

  In a low growl, he asked, “So you’d fuck me right here, right now, to get me off your case?”

  “Sure. Why not?” God, she would. She really w
ould. She’d been dancing around her attraction for four long months. She trusted Mac, well, not as a boyfriend, but as a man who would never force her or physically hurt her.

  Not unless she wanted him to.

  And there went another pair of panties.

  “Damn.” He scrubbed his hair and took a surprising step back. “Tell you what. Go get comfortable and we’ll have that talk.”

  Not what she’d expected to hear. “Excuse me?”

  His familiar arrogance returned. “Did I stutter? Go put your hot little ass in comfortable clothes and get back here.”

  She wished his bossiness didn’t arouse her so much. She grumbled as she walked away. “I’ll change because I want to change, not because you’re telling me what to do. It’s my freakin’ house.”

  She heard him mutter something about annoying women but had a hard time getting over the fact that he liked the way she looked. He always called her hot or pretty or beautiful, words she’d been hearing her entire life. But when he said it, she actually believed it.

  She returned moments later in clean panties, her favorite flannel pants, her comfy bra, a sweatshirt, and her fuzzy socks. Her relaxing and totally unappealing clothes. A pitiful defense, but if she felt unattractive, she prayed she could stop herself from jumping the man.

  Maggie didn’t want to be another notch on his bedpost. And right now, aroused and excited, she feared she’d look without leaping. The notion of having an orgasm with Mac—no longer Jameson—had indeed become an obsession.

  “Well? I’m here. Talk.” She glared at Mac sitting on her loveseat. He’d started a fire, and the place looked way too cozy not to get closer.

  He patted the spot next to him. “Sit by me.”

  She snorted. “My house. My rules.” She deliberately took a seat in the chair opposite the loveseat.

  He sighed, rose to his formidable height, and crossed the room to loom over her.

  “Did I stutter?” she mocked, repeating him from earlier.

  He lifted her into his arms in one fell swoop.

  “Mac.”

  “You weigh a lot more than you look.” He laughed at her, then sat with her on the loveseat before dumping her next to him.

  When she scrambled to back away and off the loveseat, he took her foot in his hand. “Uh uh. Sit. Stay.”

  “I’m not a damn dog,” she snapped.

  “You know, you saying that just makes me want to collar you.”

  She froze. Collar? Had he looked through her private journals?

  “I was just kidding, Maggie.” Mac chuckled. “I can just imagine a collar and leash on you. Kinky, but I doubt you’d go for that.” He winked at her.

  If the man only knew how often she’d imagined being dominated.

  “Look, I just want to talk,” he continued.

  “Yeah, right.”

  He squeezed her foot, and to her surprise, it felt good. “Do that again.”

  “If I rub your feet, will you shut up and listen?”

  She moaned when he started massaging her arches. “Man, that’s good. Okay, you can talk.”

  He coughed and shifted under her. “Much as I look forward to you making those sounds when I’m coming inside you, I kind of wanted to say something first.”

  She jerked her foot back. “What?”

  He pulled it back. Then he rubbed her toes and she forgot to be angry. “Talk, Jameson.”

  “No. Mac. Say, talk, Mac.”

  “Keep rubbing my feet and I’ll call you whatever you like.”

  He chuckled. “Good to know.” He soothed her tired pads and hit her heels hard. The man was a wonder. “Look. This is awkward. You work for me. Only because you want to, I know. We’ve known each other for months. Your best friend is dating my best friend, and you’re probably freaked out that if you fall in love with me, you’ll make things awkward when we get together for parties and shit.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I want you. You want me. We’re two attractive people. Why shouldn’t we hit it?”

  She wanted to laugh. This was the Mac she knew. Honest. Sometimes to a fault. It made her feel better that he didn’t try to soften her up or seduce her with lies. “Everything you said makes sense. If we did go out and it turned sour, maybe because you fell in love with me, and I left your sorry ass behind, it would make it tough to hang out with Shane and Shelby. Though we don’t do that much with them together as it is.”

  “Only because you go out of your way to avoid me.”

  There was that. “I’m busy. I’m working two jobs, you know.”

  “I don’t know. You never talk to me. Tell me about your art stuff.”

  She took a hard look at him. He seemed so earnest. “Why?”

  “Because I’d like to know more than that I’m fucking the hot blond from the gym. I want a date, Maggie. Wherever we go from there will be up to you.”

  Astonished, she sat up straighter. “Hold on. You think you can get me into bed after one date?”

  He grinned. “Honey, I could have your ankles on my shoulders in about three seconds if I tried. Let’s not embarrass you. I’m a sexy guy. I know it, you know it. I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

  “You aren’t serious?” She drew her foot back, aware he let her. “Think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you?” Yet that was part of his charm. Mac was handsome, and he knew it. He treated all women with politeness and charm—except for her, it seemed. Those lucky few who received his special attention had nothing but good things to say about him.

  “Think?” Mac snorted. “I know I’m damn good. Let me show you what you’ve been missing.”

  And then the conceited hunk did what she’d been dreaming about for months.

  He kissed her.

  Chapter Four

  Maggie didn’t have time to catch her breath before Mac was on top of her, pressing her down into the cushions. He caged her with his strong arms, but he also put space between their bodies, bearing down with his mouth more than his frame.

  She wasn’t penned in. If she wanted to break the kiss, she could. Not that she wanted to. Maggie concentrated on the drugging warmth of his mouth.

  He tasted sweet, as if he’d had something minty. His mouth was firm, his tongue bold. Mac didn’t ask, he took. The kiss had her losing her will to resist in seconds. And the bastard no doubt knew it.

  This was what she’d feared. Their instant, physical attraction couldn’t be denied, not after this. She’d never been so in tune with a man, or so in lust. He moaned and deepened the kiss while keeping himself apart, not touching her with anything more than his mouth.

  Unable to resist, she reached up and pulled him down, wanting to feel him on top of her. She ran her hands over his thick neck and dense chest. All that muscle, so strong. And all hers.

  “Fuck, yeah. Touch me,” he whispered as he kissed his way down her jaw to her throat. He nipped under her ear while she eased her hands under his shirt. The feel of his corded abs contracting under her fingers intrigued her. Mac might be king of the mountain, but she had queenly skills. She pinched his nipples and scratched her nails over his chest.

  His immediate reaction gratified. He let out a curse and slammed his mouth on hers again. Eating her up, sucking her desire to the forefront until nothing mattered but getting him inside her.

  And then he stopped. Stone cold still.

  He rested his forehead against hers, breathing hard.

  “Mac?”

  “Shh. Hold on.” He took big gulping breaths. “I’m two seconds away from fucking you raw. And I told you. I want a date first.”

  She tried to make sense of him. “So you don’t want to have sex.” Had she ever been turned down at this stage of play? A few old boyfriends had used her to get off. But they’d rejected her after the fact. Never in the middle of having sex.

  “What? No. Yes.” He swore again and lifted his head to stare down at her. “Your eyes are so damn pretty.” His gaze lowered to her mouth. “You have no id
ea how badly I want to see you swallow my cock. I want to shove hard up that pussy and come deep inside you.”

  Oh man. Now they were talking.

  “But I want that date first.”

  She didn’t get it.

  “Oh hell. I’m screwing this up.” He sat back, leaving her aching and tired and frustrated. “I want you. But I don’t want to just fuck and fly. I want us to get to know each other better.”

  “You do?”

  “I like you, okay?” he snapped. Then his gaze caught on her mouth again. “Hell.” He kissed her and didn’t stop there. No longer content to just touch her with his mouth, he put those big hands everywhere. Her shoulders, her arms, her breasts. He seemed fascinated with her chest as he kissed her.

  Before she knew it, he had her straddling him on the loveseat while he kissed and fondled her into near-orgasm.

  “I want to see you come,” he growled as he nipped his way down her throat. He lifted her ratty sweatshirt and sucked her nipples right through her bra. At the same time, he shoved his hand under the waist of her panties, seeking the heat of her. His fingers slid over her slick clit and continued into her pussy. “You’re so wet. So tight.” He groaned and kissed her.

  Maggie didn’t know what to think. One minute she’d been having near sex, then he pulled back. Now he was sticking his fingers inside her and bringing her quickly to climax.

  He shoved his tongue in her mouth and echoed the penetration with his fingers. Hard and fast, he plunged them inside her while grazing her taut clit. Then he broke the kiss to nip her neck and shoved his fingers deeper.

  Between one breath and the next, she exploded.

  “Yeah, give it to me,” she dimly heard him say as she clenched around him.

  God, it had been so long, and it had never, ever, been like this. He felt so good. Hard and tough beneath her. He resumed kissing her neck then found her mouth again.

  She kissed him back, thanking him without words.

  When he withdrew his fingers, she felt the loss. And she realized the full import of what she’d just done and with whom. Notch number three hundred and four on Mac’s bedpost. Damn it.

  “You came hard for me.” His satisfaction was hard to miss, as was the bulge still solid beneath his jeans. “Now we’re going to have our date.”