“You really do belong here, you know. It’s practically preordained.” Mac laughed into her eyes. “Anyone who instantly adjusts to life in this madhouse is definitely a fellow inmate.”
He might have been joking, but it was the most seductive thing he could have said to her. She belonged. She’d finally found the place and the people she’d been looking for, waiting for, all her life.
“Thanks. I think,” she kidded back. But her eyes were shining.
Mac’s heart turned over oddly. She looked so sweet, so warm. She looked happy. He was nonplussed by how much that touched him. He was a take-charge, get-things-done type who’d never spent much time thinking about happiness and how to obtain it. Meeting responsibilities and seeing that necessary tasks were completed were the forces that drove him. And he did what was required without pondering whether or not he, and those around him, were happy.
But the warmth and radiance in Kara’s face made him glad. He felt protective toward her, he felt possessive. And he was so aroused he was aching. He wanted her with a ferociousness that might have disturbed him—if he hadn’t been so consumed with desire.
He loosened the belt that held his robe closed, and lay one hard thigh over hers. “Don’t get hung up on time frames, baby. Some people know each other for less than an hour before a one-night stand. Others meet over a weekend and have a fling. Time is irrelevant, especially for us. We’re going to be married.” He brushed his lips tightly across her mouth. “I like the sound of that. I like knowing that you’ll be in my bed every night. Every night, starting tonight.”
One-night stand. Weekend fling. The words swirled around Kara’s head. She imagined lying in Mac’s arms, holding him in hers, making love with him, only to never see him again. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stand it. She couldn’t bear the pain and rejection of a transitory here-today, gone-tomorrow tryst. Which was probably why she was still a virgin at twenty-six. And why she needed to hear Mac talk about permanence before they made love.
In his bed every night. Her body trembled with the inborn need to belong completely to him. She was going to do it. The realization struck her sharply. Until that very moment, she’d been confused and floundering, but now she knew. She was going to marry Mac Wilde. And she was going to make love with him for the first time tonight. She felt a rush of sheer virginal terror so thoroughly mixed with urgency and excitement that she couldn’t begin to separate one from the other.
Mac could, however. “You look like a scared little girl.” The perception did not please him. “I know you’re not afraid of me, Kara.” His voice was deep and rough. “And I know you want me to make love to you. That’s why you came to my room tonight.”
“At the time, I really did think I was simply bringing you dinner,” Kara whispered. But her soft hazel eyes signaled her surrender.
“Pure self-deception,” Mac assured her. “But if that’s what it took to get you in here...” His voice trailed off. He was concentrating on the buttons of her lilac silk blouse.
Kara was astonished at how quickly he undid them. A heartbeat later, he’d unfastened the front clasp of her bra.
“I want you, Kara.” His eyes were dark with desire as he gazed at her breasts. They were high and round, small and very white with dusky rose tips. He drew a sharp, shallow breath as another bolt of desire shot through him.
Trembling, flushing, Kara resisted the urge to grab her opened blouse and cover herself. The hot assessing gleam in Mac’s eyes as he stared at her bare breasts both embarrassed and excited her.
“You’re beautiful, sweetheart,” Mac murmured tenderly, and his words flowed over her like a honeyed balm, bolstering her confidence and reassuring her. “And I’m not handing you a line or a generic compliment,” Mac added, remembering how his last attempt to praise her had blown up in his face. “I really mean it, Kara.”
“I really want to believe you,” she said wistfully. But whether she did or not, this time she knew she was not going to storm out of the room.
“Believe it, baby.” Mac couldn’t wait another second to touch her. Reaching for her, he possessed her breasts hungrily, first with his hands, then with his lips.
He took one nipple and drew it into his mouth, sucking hard. Kara cried out with primitive pleasure as shock waves of sensation crashed through her. His lips and his tongue teased and laved first one breast, then the other until she was moaning, her hips undulating in an erotic rhythm that was brand-new, yet purely instinctive to her.
He wedged his knee between her thighs and angled his body over hers so that she could feel the fully aroused strength and length of him. Kara moved against him in a way that wrenched a groan from deep in his chest. His mouth closed over hers, hard and fierce, and Kara entwined her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
The kiss went on and on, wild and deep and passionate. Kara clung to Mac, boldly slipping her hands beneath his robe to feel the hard warmth of skin and muscle and wiry soft hair. He was all male, taut and powerful and Kara savored the physical difference between them, learning the shape and the texture and the strength of him. Her explorations made him shudder with pleasure and the arousing impact of his hard virility sent her own senses reeling.
Kara uttered a throaty cry. She was weak and hot and her pulses pounded with a strange mixture of panic and desire. Her body was aching with an almost painfully intense need, yet the rampant intensity of his demands and her own wild craving scared her.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” she gasped, when he lifted his lips from hers, allowing both to gulp for air. “I never knew I could feel this way.”
She was afraid to be drawn into this whirling vortex of sensual pleasure, afraid of being rendered totally mindless by it. By him. The prospect of completely losing control of herself by surrendering to him was as unnerving as it was enticing. And at this particular moment, as Mac was tugging off her jeans and panties, the unnerving aspect of it all was winning out.
“Relax, sweetie.” Mac’s voice was both soothing and seductive. “I know you’re nervous, but there is no reason to be.”
She was naked now, and his eyes feasted on her as he shrugged out of his robe. He tossed it onto the floor, near the edge of the bed, where her clothes had landed in a loosely strewn pile.
Kara stared at him, her mouth growing dry at the sight of his well-proportioned, muscular frame, tanned and hard and breathtakingly masculine. Suddenly, fascination replaced her fear and she reached out to touch him. Her hand closed around the satiny-smooth length of him, feeling the heat and strength and the sheer size of him.
Mac closed his eyes and swallowed a gasp of pleasure, overwhelmed by the delicious rapture sweeping through him, evoked by the exquisite feel of her fingers wrapped around him.
Kara watched him, and a heady surge of feminine power filled her. He wanted her; his desire and his need were undeniable. She could see it, feel it...
Mac opened his eyes and carefully removed her hand, giving her a regretful grin. “Much more of that and we’ll be finished before we’ve even started.”
Kara nodded, recalling what she’d read because it was all she had to draw from. But even the evocative love scenes in the books she’d read hadn’t prepared her for this, for the sheer physicality of sex, the intimacy, the feelings of power and helplessness paradoxically joined.
It didn’t prepare her for the sweet radiating tendrils of heat as her body melted, turning liquid with the flow of desire as one of his hands slid over her stomach, around the narrow curve of her hip to slip between her legs.
Her body arched and she whimpered with ecstasy as he caressed the soft folds, probing the creamy velvet center of her femininity, exploring inside and taking possession of the most secret, private part of her. Wild, wonderful sensations spiraled through her, building in intensity, a sharp tension rising until the pleasure was almost too much to bear.
“Please,” she cried, wanting something she could not name, striving for something she couldn’t e
ven comprehend. Hot, honeyed flames licked through her body like radiant, sensual fire.
Mac watched her, his dark eyes glittering with passion and possession. “Just let go, baby,” he commanded softly. “Let go and come to me.”
“I—I can’t,” she gasped.
“Yes, you can.”
And then she did, giving in to the pulsating tension and rocketing sensation which hurtled her into paroxysms of thrilling rapture, into a dimension of pleasure she never dreamed existed.
He didn’t give her time to come down. While her body still pulsed with aftershocks of pleasure, he opened her legs wide and surged into her, filling her with his masculine strength and power. Kara gave a reflexive cry and felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
Mac raised his head and stared at her in shock. His breathing was labored and raspy. “You’ve never done this before, have you?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.
Kara winced at the incredulity in his voice. “No,” she admitted, closing her eyes against the stark amazement in his. The shock waves that had thundered through her virginal body were slowly receding. But his virile presence inside her was burning hot and still hurt.
“I—I’d guessed you were fairly inexperienced.” Mac tried to moisten his mouth by swallowing. It didn’t work. “But I never expected, I never thought—”
“You sound as if the concept of virginity is beyond your comprehension.” Kara tried to play it light and cool. He was already disappointed with her; the worst thing she could do would be to give in to this perilous urge to burst into tears.
Mac gazed down at her and saw the shine of tears in her eyes. “Oh my God, don’t cry!” he pleaded.
“Poor Mac. The most sought-after bachelor in Bear Creek, trapped with a weepy virgin in his bed.” Kara managed a strangled laugh. “I’m sorry. And sorry for you, too.”
“And to think I told you that you had no reason to be nervous,” Mac muttered as he silently berated himself. He really was a plague-carrying flea on a rat! And if there were any lower life form, he deserved to be called that, too. “But you did, you had every reason to be nervous and wary of me! You really were just bringing me dinner tonight and I completely misinterpreted, I pushed you into this and you’ve never done it before. You’ve never been with a man, you’re a virgin—”
“You don’t have to belabor the point,” Kara interjected with a trace of asperity. “This is humiliating enough without—”
“Humiliating? I thought you were in pain.”
“I am.” She paused to breathe. Strangely enough, the pain was ebbing. Her body was slowly adjusting to him, sensuously stretching to accommodate his hard male virility. “I—I mean, I was.”
He moved slightly. Kara tensed, expecting pain, but there was only a twinge.
“Better now?” he asked huskily.
Kara nodded her head. It was definitely getting better. The burning sensation was gone now, replaced by another one, harder to define. The heat was still there but it wasn’t painful, it had been transformed into a glowing warmth. And that tearing, stretching pain had evaporated and turned into a feeling of fullness. She closed her eyes. She felt warm and full, and she liked it. It was as if an empty ache she’d never noticed had been exchanged for this shimmering good feeling.
“I don’t want you to feel humiliated because I talked you into bed with me, Kara,” Mac said softly.
If he were a gentleman, one of those sensitive beta males, he would withdraw from her immediately, Mac lectured himself. He would let her go to her room and spend the night alone.
He faced the fact that he was neither a gentleman nor a sensitive beta male. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Kara, sweetheart, if you were, uh, saving yourself for marriage...well, I really am going to marry you. It’s going to be all right, honey. We can...sort of pretend this is our wedding night.”
Kara stared at him impassively. “Your ability to miss the point completely is amazing. Absolutely mind-boggling.”
Mac looked so bewildered, she nearly giggled. But she quickly stifled the urge. “I was humiliated because you made me feel like some kind of otherworldly freak because I’d never...” She averted her eyes and blushed, much to her consternation. “Because I hadn’t had sex. Yet,” she added bravely.
She braced herself for his glib reply. And waited. Finally she gathered the courage to look at him again. Her eyes met his.
“I’m sorry if I made you feel like a freak,” he said quietly. “You’re anything but. You’re a beautiful, passionate, responsive woman, and I feel privileged to be your first lover.”
Kara caught her quivering lower lip between her teeth and blinked back the sudden rush of tears. “Thank you, Mac,” she whispered.
He leaned down to kiss her mouth with a controlled tenderness that belied the urgent stirrings of his body, locked with hers.
“And I swear I’m not tossing off some all-purpose line I’ve used before. I’ve never said those words to another woman because I’ve never—taken a virgin.” He moved slowly, carefully within her, a gentle thrusting that made her breath catch in her throat. “Tonight is a first for both of us, baby,” he murmured huskily.
A delicious shiver ran through her, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. Then he kissed her. A long hard wet kiss, his tongue penetrating her mouth in excruciating simulation. Kara moaned softly as a tidal wave of passion built to a crest within her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and arched sinuously against him.
“That’s it,” Mac encouraged her, his voice low and raspy in her ear. His fingertips caressed her intimately, delicately teasing her into sensual torment. Instinctively, her knees flexed as she shifted in response to his maddeningly arousing touch.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he instructed urgently, and she obeyed, taking all of him deep within her. He rocked slowly, tentatively, barely able to breathe as fiery currents flamed with each gliding movement.
Moments later, she was flowing blissfully with the sensuous rhythm he was creating. “It’s good, Mac.” Her voice was thick and husky with awed wonder. “It feels so good.”
Her innocent proclamation acted like an erotic catalyst, sending a riptide of pleasure through him. “Yes, baby,” he rasped, his teeth clenched. “It’s so damn good.”
Though he tried to prolong it, nature took over and his thrusts became deeper and harder and faster, finally erupting into an explosive climax. With a shuddering groan of pleasure, he collapsed on top of her.
Kara held him tight, hearing her heart hammering in her ears, feeling her face wet with sweat or tears or maybe both. Her hands stroked the smooth damp length of his back as she savored the unfamiliar, demanding pressure of his male weight upon her.
Mac lay so sated and replete that he couldn’t summon an ounce of energy to move a single muscle. The thought of separating his body from hers was anathema. His eyes closed, and he felt himself begin to slide into a satiated torpor.
“Mac?” Kara’s voice, soft and uncertain, drew him back.
He pulled himself up to rest on his elbows and gazed down into her wide hazel eyes. “Are you all right?” he whispered hoarsely. “Did I hurt you?” He was still in her and on her, and he quickly pulled out and rolled onto his back. “I’m sorry. I must’ve been crushing you.” He reached over and lazily caressed her cheek. “Can you breathe now?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
She was much better than that; she felt wonderful, dizzy and giddy, as high as the telecommunications satellite beaming down waves to the round dish in the yard. She felt energized, wanting to laugh out loud, to share her thoughts and her dreams, to talk about the pleasure and the intimacy they’d just shared, dissecting and reliving every moment.
Noticing that he’d been on the verge of falling asleep, Kara restrained herself. She mustn’t forget that while making love with Mac had been the most seminal experience of her life, it did not hold the same significance for him. He’d known a number of
women, in the most biblical sense of the word, and she was merely an addition to the tally. The acknowledgement sobered her, puncturing the euphoric high she was flying on.
“I should go back to my room,” she murmured. “I can’t stay here.”
“Why not?” Mac reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
Kara’s heartbeat quickened. “We don’t want the kids to find us together. Anyway, I won’t be able to sleep—here.”
“The door is locked, the kids won’t bother us.” Mac felt her emotional withdrawal and didn’t like it. “And what do you mean, you won’t be able to sleep here? It’s a much better, firmer mattress than that old feather bed in the other room.” He rolled onto his side and hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her back against him, fitting their bodies together, spoon-fashion.
“It’s not the mattress,” Kara countered. Did he actually think it was? She grimaced. He probably did at that. “It’s just that I—well, in addition to never having had sex before, I’ve never shared a bed before, either. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I’m a restless sleeper. If I stay here, neither one of us will get any rest.”
“I’m willing to take the chance.” Mac kissed her temple. “You’re staying put, sweetie.”
“You’re so pushy!” Kara cried, trying to wriggle away from him. Mac’s arm was like an iron band, holding her fast. “You’re overbearing and high-handed and aggressive and—”
“And those are my good points,” Mac agreed congenially. “Good night, baby.”
Anger surged through her. Kara told herself it was irrational to feel angry with Mac for sparing her the generic lines he undoubtedly bestowed on his partners, words of praise for a lust well-satisfied, a passion excitingly slaked. But she would’ve welcomed such phrases, however generic. Even if he didn’t mean it, she wanted to hear him tell her that sex with her was good, maybe even terrific. Oh, she wouldn’t expect an effusive “The best sex I’ve ever had”, that notorious tabloid boast. Right now, even a simple “Wow!” would suffice.
Wilde Bunch Page 14
