Dynasties: The Elliotts, Books 1-6

by Various Authors

  “It’s just a cut.”

  “A cut? Are you saying someone attacked you with a knife?”

  He nodded. “Assault with a deadly weapon. It’s been taken care of. The paramedic team patched me up.”

  Jane’s gut tightened. Dear God. Mac could have been killed tonight. And that thought nearly destroyed her. Her feelings for Mac Riggs ran deeper than she’d believed. “Why didn’t they take you to the hospital?”

  Mac lifted one shoulder in a small shrug as he pulled into his driveway. And then it dawned on her. The paramedics would have taken Mac to the hospital if he had allowed them to. Instead, he’d shown up on Elkwood Street in his patrol car to pick her up. “I’m fine, Jane.” He killed the engine and got out of the car.

  Jane raced around the vehicle to meet him at the driver’s side door. He stepped away from the SUV, hunching over a bit as he did so.

  “Lean on me,” she said firmly, bracing his body with hers.

  He pursed his lips, deciding, then finally nodded once Jane had given him her most obstinate look. He wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and she braced his weight the best she could.

  Together, they made their way slowly to the front door. Mac handed her the key and she opened the lock, then slanted her body sideways so they both would fit through the opening. Once inside, Jane led Mac to his bedroom.

  She helped him sit down on his bed, and he took a minute, breathing deeply.

  “Is your head spinning?” she asked.

  He let out a wry chuckle. “You might say that. Of all the ways I’ve dreamed of getting you into my bedroom, this wasn’t one of them.”

  Jane smiled, reveling in his earnest admission. “Lie down, Sheriff.”

  Mac obeyed, closing his eyes as he lowered his head and stretched out his long legs on the bed. Jane fussed with his pillow, propping it behind him.

  She gave the pillow one last blow, then stood over Mac, gazing down at him. “You know, this isn’t exactly how I’d hoped to get into your bedroom, either.”

  He opened one eye and peered at her, but she held her stance, refusing to let any embarrassment come through. The truth was the truth. “Now, stay put. Your forehead is bleeding again. I’ll be right back.”

  She walked out of the room to the sound of Mac’s groan. This time she knew it wasn’t pain causing it, but her remark. At least Mac knew where she stood. There would be no second-guessing and no mistake. Jane wanted him, but tonight she’d realized something even more powerful. When she’d seen him bruised, battered and in so much pain, she knew she couldn’t deny her feelings any longer. She knew that to lose him would be to lose herself all over again. She’d fallen for him.

  Jane Doe was crazy in love with Sheriff Mac Riggs.

  She took a minute to let her feelings sink in and accept what had been inevitable. She’d seen it coming, yet hadn’t the power to deny or refuse the love that had begun building from the first moment she’d looked up into Mac’s piercing dark eyes on that canyon road.

  With a heavy sigh, Jane grabbed the first-aid kit out of the bathroom and gathered up the other supplies she needed, then headed back to Mac’s room. She found him lying on the bed right where she’d left him, with eyes wide open, watching her.

  She scooted next to him and dabbed at his head wound, the antiseptic oozing onto the cut above his eye. “Sorry, this must sting.”

  He grunted a denial.

  “I think your ribs might be broken.”

  “Nah. I’ve broken ribs before when I played quarter-back for the Wildcats. I know the difference. They’re bruised, that’s all.”

  Jane knew she had to get Mac more comfortable on his bed. “Can you get out of your clothes, or do you want me to do it?”

  Mac cocked her a lopsided smile. “You do it.”

  Jane snorted. “This isn’t funny, Mac. You scared me half out of my mind. It wasn’t so thrilling seeing you bloody and bruised, slumped over the steering wheel. I just about had a heart attack.”

  “Sorry, Jane.” He reached for her hand and she allowed him to hold it. He stroked his thumb gently across her palm, sending goose bumps all over her body. “Fact is, Winchester is a quiet town. We don’t get a lot of excitement around here.” He winced, his eyes shutting briefly, and she sensed the pain he was trying hard to conceal. “But June has been an unusual month. First with a beautiful amnesia victim landing on my doorstep and then tangling with a bunch of out-of-towners looking for trouble.”

  “Don’t forget the joyriders abandoning cars in the lake.”

  “That, too. But for the most part, my job’s pretty mundane. It’s been a curious time in Winchester lately. Now, didn’t I hear something about you undressing me?”

  Jane twisted her mouth. “Taking unfair advantage, Sheriff?”

  “Just need a little TLC, Jane.” Then he lowered his voice, brought his lips to her outstretched palm and kissed her there. “From you.”

  Jane’s heart stopped with that kiss, the moisture from his lips seeping into her skin. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand free to reach for the buttons on his uniform shirt. Carefully, she unfastened each one, then gently slid the shirt off his shoulders. She held back her own wince when she saw up close the bruises on his chest and the bandage on his arm.

  Jane dipped a washcloth into a bowl of water and cooled down his heated skin, her fingers sliding leisurely over his chest. On impulse, she bent down to plant a tiny kiss on one of the larger bruises. Mac lifted his good arm and stroked her head, weaving his fingers through her hair. Then he guided her head up and leaned forward, showing Jane what he wanted. Their lips met briefly, a sweet, healing kiss that made her heart flip and Mac smile. “You give great TLC.”

  Jane withdrew, stood up and headed for the end of the bed. She took a daunted look at his boots, then, with a steadying breath, pulled and twisted and finally yanked, until one boot came off, sock and all. “Not such good TLC here,” she offered.

  “I’m not complaining.”

  The other boot came off easier, and Jane felt a surge of satisfaction. She walked over to Mac, lying there bare-chested, looking vulnerable and sexy all at the same time.

  “Can you manage your pants?” she asked, holding her breath.

  Mac tried leaning forward, then bit back a howl of pain. He rested his head on his pillow. “Don’t think so.”

  “Okay,” Jane said, reaching for his belt. She unhooked it, then slid her hands down to his zipper, the evidence of his bulging manhood hard to miss. “Mac, I thought you were injured.”

  He didn’t bother holding back a devilish smile. “Nothing hurts below the waist.”

  Jane stared down at him.

  “Touch me there, and I can’t be responsible for my actions.”

  Jane swallowed. “Is that an invitation or a warning?”

  “Both,” Mac said, the teasing glint in his eyes gone now. The heat of his gaze penetrated her, warming her all over. “It’s crazy, you know. Denying what we both want.”

  Apparently, Mac had sifted though his own denials, to come up with the truth, too. “I know,” she whispered, though she knew that she wouldn’t deny Mac anything, not ever again.

  Jane reached for his zipper.

  Eight

  Mac had been furious with her when she’d butted into Lizzie’s business. He hadn’t wanted anyone, especially Jane, to interfere in his relationship with Lizzie. Jane had just come to Winchester and she didn’t know his history. She didn’t know the heartache Mac had endured trying to salvage an unsalvageable marriage. She didn’t know how Lyle Brody had interfered on his sister’s behalf, causing even more strife between them.

  But the minute he’d walked out of Sully’s tonight, bloodied and bruised, the knife swipe having just missed his chest, cutting instead into the beefy part of his arm, all Mac could think about was Jane.

  Getting to her.

  Seeing her.

  Wanting her.

  He’d wasted too much time with her, too much of his life. That
close call had him forgiving Jane everything. He’d forgotten all about his anger, and thought only about being with her.

  And as she slowly slid his zipper down, the proof of his feelings were reflected in a powerful erection that only Jane could satisfy.

  He watched her work his pants off without too much difficulty. She looked at him tentatively as she held his trousers to her chest protectively. “Wish I could undress you,” he admitted softly.

  Jane smiled, her lips parting in a subtle move. She dropped his pants, letting them fall at her feet. Without a second thought, she removed her tank top, the material catching on her breasts before being flipped over her head.

  Mac sucked in oxygen. “Wow,” he muttered, watching her necklace catch the moonlight where it nestled in the hollow between her breasts. She wore the jewelry he’d given her every day, and he’d felt a stirring of pride and possession.

  She stood beside him now and leaned over. “You could unhook me.”

  Mac reached up behind her to unfasten her bra. He tugged slightly and the white cotton undergarment fell through his fingers. Her breasts toppled out, full and lush, and he groaned. “You’re killing me, Jane.”

  “That’s not what I had in mind to do to you, Mac.” She bent down for a kiss, but he grabbed her around the waist, pulled her onto the bed and settled her on his thighs. She straddled him, her legs on either side of him. But he needed to feel her, skin to skin, so he guided her body down until her breasts rested on his chest.

  His lips met hers urgently, sealing their fate with a long, hot, wet kiss that went on and on. He drove his tongue into her mouth, searching for and finding its mate. They sparred and teased and played feverishly, Mac stroking his hands through her soft blond hair, his fingers tugging and releasing the strands.

  The feel of her breasts pressing into his chest, the soft subtle sounds she made, the unabashed passion she gave him were almost too much. Mac didn’t think his erection could become any more potent.

  Finally, she pulled away slightly, her breathing as labored as his. “I’m crushing your chest. It must hurt,” she said.

  Mac shook his head. “Only when you leave me.”

  Jane bit her lip, unsure.

  “I mean it, sweetheart. You’re not hurting me.”

  Jane settled back down, and Mac realized that nothing had felt better, or more right, in his whole life.

  He kissed her deeply again, then lifted her easily at the waist, guiding her higher so that he could moisten the very tip of her nipple with his tongue.

  “Oh, Mac,” she moaned as he cupped her breast and continued to slide his tongue up and around and over the rosy tip until it peaked and pebbled.

  Her next long, pleasured moan nearly brought him to the edge. “I need to be inside you, Jane,” he managed to gasp, his voice hoarse with need.

  He reached down to her jeans and fumbled with her zipper. Jane helped him, and he almost lost it again when she shimmied out of her pants. She helped get his boxers off, then did a little wiggle to get out of her own panties.

  “Reach over to my nightstand, sweetheart. We need protection.”

  Mac prayed he still had a condom or two in there. It’d been a while.

  When Jane carefully slid across him, coming up with one, Mac silently sighed with relief and quickly managed to secure the condom in place.

  He held her waist and guided her body, positioning her over him and lowering her. He slipped his full erection inside her, joining them together with one slow, deliberate thrust.

  As she took him in, she closed her eyes, parted her moist lips and tossed her head back as if savoring the moment. Mac had never seen anything quite so beautiful in his whole life. Deep, heady sensations washed over him as he watched this sexy, mysterious woman slowly move on him, her body’s natural instincts taking hold as she raised and lowered with each of his thrusts.

  In sync, in rhythm, they moved together, Jane huffing out little throaty breaths and Mac moving more forcefully now as their momentum escalated, higher and higher.

  He reached up to caress her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her peaked tips until she ground out his name. The intense look on her face brought him a new brand of pleasure as he watched her ride the waves of their passion. Up and down, faster, harder. Mac took hold of Jane’s hands, interlacing their fingers, connecting them in every way possible.

  He felt her shudder. Her muttered moans and pleas as she breathed out his name gave him the ultimate satisfaction. “Oh, Mac.”

  He plunged deeper, thrusting one final time as she came down hard, and then, in tandem, they both shuddered violently with completion.

  Mac lay breathless, Jane atop him.

  They stared into each other’s eyes.

  Moments ticked by and yet neither spoke.

  Jane appeared a little stunned.

  Mac felt the same way.

  Finally, he lifted his lips in a crooked, cocky smile.

  Jane smiled back.

  Then he kissed her deeply. “That was worth the wait.”

  Jane slid her body sideways to curl up beside him, her arms wrapped around his neck. “Mmm. I don’t think I’ve ever…um.”

  Mac lifted his head to stare down at her. “Ever?”

  She cast him a shy smile. “Not that. I mean, I don’t think it’s ever been so good.”

  He inhaled deeply. “You don’t know that, for sure.”

  “Oh, I think I do, Mac.”

  He trusted her on that one. Of course, it did his ego good to do so, and he believed a woman would simply know those things. But there was so much to Jane that neither of them knew about. There was so much he wanted to know and so much he feared knowing.

  He reminded himself that her memory could return at any moment, but it was too late for guarding against his heart. He couldn’t think rationally when it came to Jane. Not anymore. Not after tonight.

  For once in his life, Mac took a chance that fate might work in his favor. He couldn’t think past that. He didn’t want to. This time around, he would take a gamble.

  Jane was worth the risk.

  Bacon sizzled in the pan, eggs boiled and Jane stared out the kitchen window, still in awe, her body humming from making love to Mac last night. He’d been breathing strongly and steadily when she’d left him minutes ago to allow him the rest he needed. He’d been injured last night, and Jane couldn’t contain the fear she’d felt seeing him bruised like that. She couldn’t contain her relief, knowing that his injuries weren’t life threatening. But mostly Jane couldn’t contain the love swelling up inside her. Deep, fresh emotions sang in her veins, and her heart was awash with guarded joy. She wanted to feel every sensation, let it seep in and take hold, but a part of her held back. A part of her worried about Mac’s reaction.

  He had been reserved—resigned, really, to not getting emotionally involved with her. He’d been the responsible one, the one who faced facts. Jane didn’t know her past, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have one.

  She prayed that Mac wouldn’t wake up this morning and tell her that they’d made a mistake last night. She couldn’t bear the blow to her heart if that happened.

  Just as that thought settled in her gut, Mac stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her body up against his. She leaned back against him, resting her head just under his throat.

  “Morning,” he said, nibbling her earlobe, his lips warm and inviting.

  “Oh, Mac,” she said quietly, relishing the feel of his arms around her once again. “It is a good morning, isn’t it?”

  “The best,” he said softly, running his hands up and down her rib cage in a soft, sensual caress.

  The frying pan crackled as the scent of bacon permeated the air, reminding her of the breakfast she’d wanted to present to Mac this morning.

  She turned around in his arms to look at his face. Dark patches of bluish-purple appeared harsher in the daylight, more pronounced, but his eyes held hers with warmth and feeling. She rea
ched up to gently outline a bruise just above his temple. “How are you this morning?”

  “Pretty darn good, sweetheart.”

  “Really? I thought after you got hurt last night you’d wake up sore. How’s your chest? Can I do anything to—”

  He bent his head and kissed her soundly, pretty much cutting off her words. She had trouble formulating any coherent thoughts as well, falling into the kiss with total abandon. Mac was a take-charge kind of guy, and Jane decided she liked that about him, especially now as his mouth claimed hers and his hands took charge, roaming over her backside, stirring up wildly wicked thoughts.

  “That’ll do just fine,” he said, ending the kiss and taking a step back. He sighed and scrubbed his jaw. “I missed you in bed this morning.”

  “I wanted to make you breakfast. You need your nourishment, Mac. Especially after last night.”

  He cocked her a lopsided smile. “Seems to me I held up pretty well. You’re the one who didn’t want a second—”

  “Mac!” Jane’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe he would be so open and earnest about their lovemaking. Jane hadn’t wanted to exhaust him after he’d been involved in an altercation that left his ribs bruised and his body battered. It had been hard refusing him, and Lord knew she wanted him again, but she’d been worried about his physical condition. “I was speaking about the fact that you’d been in a fight last night.”

  Mac laughed and spun around to turn the knob on the stove. “Appreciate the thought, but I’ll have to take a rain check on breakfast. I’m late getting to the station. I need to make out my report.”

  Jane hid her disappointment. She’d hoped it wouldn’t be business as usual today. “Okay.”

  “Are you…okay?” he asked. “About what happened last night?”

  She wouldn’t pretend; she knew he was referring to the night they’d spent in bed together. “It was wonderful, Mac.”