“Well good morning,” she said huskily.
His eyes spoke heat, anger and passion as he glared up at her. She was not forgiven yet for her betrayal over the wedding. He still wanted her to change her mind. Didn’t this man take any breaks for peace? She opened her mouth to ask him just that when his large hand covered the back of her head and he pulled her down for a kiss. The move was so sudden she braced against his chest. He took the move for resistance and, with a growl, rolled her underneath him, his mouth crashing down on hers.
Mack thrust one large, hairy leg between hers, right up to the juncture of her thighs until she arched and moaned into his mouth, the friction against her tender clit was more than she was prepared for. Mack had spent a good portion of the night between her thighs, worshiping every part of her, paying particular attention to her clitoris, bringing her closer and closer to the edge only to deny, before finally surging into her and sending her spiraling over the edge. Now she was swollen and sore, but still wet and squirming beneath him.
She managed to pull her mouth from his and gasp, “Mack… too much!”
He gripped her jaw tight and forced her face back to his, shoving his tongue deep into her mouth, battling her tongue for dominance, silencing her protest. With a moan, Lucy submitted, curling her arms around his neck and accepting the rough ride for what it was. Mack needing to stamp himself all over her.
He gripped her thigh, just above her knee and pushed it up until she was opened wide, then positioned himself at her entrance. Lucy arched against his chest, trying desperately to catch her breath, to latch onto any semblance of sanity as he overwhelmed her senses, but there was only Mack. He pushed into her, driving his full, heavy length right to the hilt. She cried out, but his mouth captured the sound, swallowing it whole.
This was not the gentle lovemaking he’d been giving her lately. No, he was fucking her with savage intent. Lucy gripped his shoulders so hard she was sure there would be bloody marks left behind. He slammed into her over and over, bruising her. Even that didn’t seem to be enough for him. He hooked her leg higher on his arm, stretching her body tighter against his until she didn’t have even a single inch of wiggle room. He forced her head into the crook of his arm and kissed her until she nearly suffocated while he used her body.
Unbelievably she could feel herself soaring higher and higher, speeding toward the peak of orgasm. She wanted to deny him. She wanted to tear her face away from his and scream at him for hurting her, but her body was latching onto his in the face of the storm, desperately seeking the glorious high only he could give her. She screamed into his mouth, arching against him as she was hurtled into the best orgasm she’d yet experienced. It went on and on as he continued to thrust.
Her shuddering body and clenching pussy seemed to call to him, hurling him over the edge of his own orgasm. He refused to give her mouth up and shouted into her, his gritted teeth clacking against hers. He continued to move his hips against hers, his rhythm uneven, his tongue swiping possessively through the interior of her mouth. Lucy collapsed in his arms, completely spent. Black dots swam in her vision.
When Mack finally relinquished her mouth, Lucy took several gulps of air. As soon as she caught her breath she was going to unleash hell on this man for treating her so bad all the time. A tear escaped her eye and her hand fell weakly to her side as she tried to gather the energy to both crawl out from under him and start yelling.
His gravelly voice interrupted her. “I feel like I’m losing you, baby, and I don’t know how to stop it. The tighter I hold you the further you drift away.”
His head dropped against her neck, his soft blond hair resting underneath her chin. She breathed in his scent and brought her hand up to caress his back. “Stop holding so tight then,” she suggested hoarsely. “Give me some space.”
He shook his head against her chest. “I give you space and you run,” he said, his voice hard. “You’re my beautiful free spirit, Lucy. I love you, but I need to lock you down. You don’t need to understand, you just need to listen.”
Lucy’s heart stuttered. “You love me?” she gasped.
“Pretty damn sure that’s why I’m acting like a pussy-whipped asshole,” he grumbled pushing up and rolling off the bed. “And why this god-damned wedding has me so twisted up I can’t see straight.”
Lucy stared after him, her mouth open as he went to the ensuite. He loved her? Should she have confessed her feelings in return? He didn’t exactly give her an opportunity and the time didn’t feel right. He threw his declaration out there like it was a given and then moved on.
She could hear him using the toilet through the open door. She climbed off the bed and reached for her panties and skirt. The toilet flushed and then he ran water in the sink. Lucy tugged her sweater over her head and then peeked around the corner. He was bent over the sink rubbing handfuls of water over his face, his incredible ass flexing with the movement. Now that was a view she could happily get used to seeing every day of her life.
If only she didn’t have to take his rotten attitude with the beautiful package. He turned around abruptly, reaching for a towel and wiping away the water dripping from his chin. He eyed her outfit and shook his head.
“You’ll have to wear something of mine.”
“What? Why?” Lucy protested as he took her arm and steered her back into the bedroom.
He rummaged through his dresser, ignoring her protest and came up with a pair of sweatpants. He tossed them at her, grunting, “Put these on.”
Lucy caught them automatically and then glared at him and tossed the pants on the bed. “Why should I?”
Mack shoved a hand through his hair, upending the blond strands. Holy cow, her one weakness! “Just put them on, Luce! I’m not in the mood for another fight.”
She narrowed her eyes, but reached for her skirt, shoving it down her hips. He was never in the mood for anything except sex and perfect obedience. She smirked behind his back as she turned to grab the sweatpants. He only got one out of the two from her. She pulled his pants on and drew the drawstring in, tying it tight around her waist. She looked down, the bottom of the pants went way past her feet. She looked ridiculous.
She looked up at Mack and pointed at her feet with a raised eyebrow. His lips twitched but he didn’t laugh. Instead, he pushed her back on the bed and knelt at her feet where he rolled up the cuffs until the bottom of each pant leg rested at her ankle. Then he stood, gripped her by the waist and set her on her feet.
“Let’s go shoot something,” he said gruffly and turned away from her.
“What!?” Lucy yelped and lunged out the door after him, disbelief and trepidation clambering through her. “What do you mean we, Mack? What are we going to shoot?”
Lucy hated guns. Hated every part of what they represented. Death. The taking of lives. Aggression. Fear. Power imbalance.
Yet, shooting with Mack was one of the most perfect moments in her life. She supposed how she felt about guns and how she felt about shooting with Mack pretty much summed up her entire screwed up relationship with the big guy. She loved him, but she knew it wasn’t right.
He took her out to the far edge of his property, which was much bigger and more rugged and barren than she’d realized. It was absolutely beautiful. The sun was still making its way sleepily up the horizon as they made their way across the rough rock-strewn ground. The targets were already set up. Much farther away than Lucy thought possible.
Mack let Lucy shoot first. It was the first time in her life that she ever even held a gun, let alone pulled a trigger. He explained the basic mechanics, then placed fluorescent orange earplugs in her ears, stood behind her and showed her how to hold the rifle. Nerves created sweaty palms, so Lucy had to set the gun down, wipe her hands and try again. Then he helped her hold the gun and pull the trigger.
Of course, she missed. But much to her astonishment, an unexpected rush of adrenalin went coursing through her body! She turned to him, a grin plastered across her lips and a f
lush spreading across her cheeks. She felt utterly exhilarated, standing out there in the open country, her man at her back and nothing but a target at her front. He nodded toward the target and she turned back. This time taking aim without his assistance. It took several more shots, but eventually she hit the target.
Whooping in joy, she set the gun down and jumped into Mack’s arms. She couldn’t hear him over the earplugs, but she felt the vibrations of his laughter through his chest. He set her on her feet, took her face between his broad palms and kissed her soundly while she grinned like a loon.
He plucked the earplugs out of her ears and said, “My turn, baby.”
“Okay,” she agreed, breathing heavily from sheer excitement.
They gathered the rifles, ammunition and water bottles they’d brought along and began walking.
“Where are we going?” Lucy asked curiously.
Mack gave her a look. “I don’t shoot from here.”
“Oh.”
They walked for what felt like a long time before he finally stopped. Lucy stared around her in confusion. She couldn’t even see the target anymore. Catching her look, Mack handed her a pair of binoculars and pointed. She lifted them to her eyes and adjusted until she finally caught sight of the same target she’d been shooting at. Her mouth fell open. Was he seriously going to hit the same target?
“No way!” she gasped.
He chuckled. “They don’t pay me the big bucks for no reason, baby,” he told her, setting the rifle up amongst some rocks on the ground. Given the way he lay on the ground and made himself immediately comfortable among the rocks it became clear he’d been shooting in this particular location before. Lucy dropped down beside him. He handed her the earplugs, which she took and put in her ears.
Then he did something unexpected. He pulled her half on top of him and encouraged her to settle so that her chin was against the opposite shoulder he needed for shooting. She thought it might hamper his shot, but he seemed to want her close. So, she snuggled into his side, dropped her chin on his shoulder and put the binoculars up to her eyes while he prepared his shot. She absorbed the feel of his body lifting and dropping slowly underneath hers as he took slow, deep breaths. She felt the subtle bunch of his shoulder muscles as he prepared for the shot, then she watched the paper target shred right through the middle, followed by a muffled boom.
The most perfect moment of her life.
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on his neck. He took another shot while she snuggled in closer and closed her eyes. When he finished his shot she whispered against his shoulder, “I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Lucy?”
“Hmm,” she murmured, turning her distracted gaze from the dancing couples in yet another attempt to find Mack. She knew better. Of all places, her brooding bounty hunter boyfriend would be, the dance floor was the least likely.
“I’m attempting to introduce you to an associate of mine,” Vladimir said drily.
“Oh,” Lucy gasped, her head turning sharply. She set her champagne glass down on the table with a clatter and looked around guiltily. Her focus had been so sharply engaged on finding Mack that she’d spent almost the entire day ignoring her sister and brother-in-law. Jane barely noticed Lucy’s distraction since she despised social gatherings and spent most of the afternoon and evening fidgeting in her Gucci dress and grumbling about her inability to strap a gun anywhere to her person. Vladimir had been kind enough to escort Lucy without comment, though she felt his disapproval at her distraction.
He sat directly to her left, Jane on his other side. Lucy stood with him and Jane and smiled at the couple that Vladimir turned to. “Niccolo, you remember my wife Jane.” Jane accepted a handshake from the tall, darkly handsome man.
“Of course,” Niccolo said warmly, squeezing her hand. “A pleasure as always Mrs. Sitnikov.”
Jane nodded but didn’t say anything. She dropped her gaze from the other man and pulled her hand away quickly. Lucy gazed at her sister curiously. Jane wasn’t the friendliest person in the world, but she wasn’t one to walk away from a challenge. If there was something Jane felt strongly about she was usually the first to say something. Loudly and with emphasis.
“Niccolo, my sister-in-law, Lucy Miller,” Vlad turned to Lucy, a hand on her back. “Lucy, this is Niccolo DeLuca, a business associate of mine.”
Ah, she thought to herself as the other man took her hand and squeezed it politely, another mobster then. His suit and watch were certainly very expensive looking, and he had that same sinister aura surrounding him that Vladimir had. She eyed him closely as he ushered a very beautiful woman in a red dress with long, loose black curls forward and introduced her to their group as Maria. At first Lucy thought she was shy, because she refused to lift her eyes, simply murmuring a polite greeting. But then she did look up, straight into Niccolo’s eyes and Lucy saw fiery, flashing defiance as the other woman excused herself. Then, jerking her arm out of Niccolo’s hold, she strode away. The man stared after her for a moment, his thick, dark brows drawn starkly down, his lips compressed. He looked toward another man, off to the side of their table and jerked his chin in a nod, indicating the man should follow Maria. Lucy blinked, shocked at the interaction, then quickly averted her eyes before anyone noticed her observation.
It was then that she caught sight of Mack, standing across the ballroom, drink in hand, watching their table as though he’d been there the entire time. The breath stopped in her throat and her heart ached at the sight of him. He was handsome beyond words. She turned away from their table without another word, certain she wouldn’t be missed anyway and made her way toward Mack.
As soon as he saw her coming he set his beer glass down on the nearest table and began striding toward her, meeting her in the middle. They stopped a few feet apart. He made no effort to touch her. She could see her betrayal in his eyes. He hated that she was there without him. Not on his arm. But it was his fault for choosing not to come with her. All this was spoken silently, a screaming match without sound.
“Mack,” she said lamely. “You’re here.”
“I was invited,” he said shortly, his voice just shy of an outright sneer. “Why wouldn’t I come?”
She took another step toward him. His eyes flared, heated with that familiar combination of lust and anger. “I just wished you would’ve swallowed some of that pride and come with me.”
“It’s not about pride, Lucy. It’s about loyalties. And in this ballroom, loyalty matters.” He spoke coldly, his eyes even icier. “You made your choice. You can go crawling back to the Sitnikovs, enjoy their unlimited pockets and influence. I don’t need your bullshit. Call me when you’re ready to grow up and make big girl decisions.”
Lucy gasped, her face paling. “Is that really how you want to end things with me?”
He didn’t say anything, just stared back at her angrily until she whirled, blinded by tears and determined to leave before she cried in front of him. He grabbed her arm and swung her back around. She stumbled, falling against his broad chest. He steadied her, but she tried to shove away from him, completely fed up with his terrible behaviour.
“Didn’t say I was ending things,” he growled.
“Well I am!” she snapped back.
“Not fucking happening, baby.”
Jane came flying out of nowhere barreling right in between Mack and Lucy, effectively breaking his hold on Lucy. Without a single word Jane proved exactly where her loyalties lay when she sent her fist flying into Mack’s stomach. Lucy’s mouth fell open in surprise. Though Jane was small, she was feisty. Her time as a city police detective gave her both guts and skills, which is how she’d met and eventually partnered with Mack Hudson. He barely flinched at her tap to the belly and merely smirked down at her as she took a protective stance in front of her sister.
“You’re a great partner, Hudson,” Jane snarled up at him with narrowed eyes, “but I swear to god, if you touch my baby sister one more time
, I will let my husband dismember you. And you know he’s just itching to take you apart simply because you’re male and hanging out with me on a regular basis.”
Lucy blinked a few times to get over the shock of the moment and noticed Laney, the bride’s private bodyguard, standing next to her. Apparently, she’d accompanied Jane to intervene on Lucy’s behalf. Though the two women were barely acquainted, Lucy liked Laney because Boris was head-over-heels in love with the Japanese beauty and she was giving the Russian behemoth a run for his money. Laney touched Lucy’s shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look while Jane continued to give Mack hell.
“Boris speaks very highly of you,” Lucy murmured into Laney’s ear, leaning close to the other woman.
“Is there a problem here?” a deep, accented voice asked from behind the women.
Lucy’s eyes widened and both she and Laney turned on the spot to face Vladimir Sitnikov. Holy horse shit. The Russian mob boss not only looked devastatingly handsome in a tuxedo, but devastatingly deadly when pissed off. Which apparently was what happened when he found his wife in a corner punching her business partner who was threatening her sister. Lucy turned to say something to Laney and found the other woman had simply vanished. Hmm, silent and smart. Score one for Boris.
Lucy decided to take a page from Laney’s book and the moment Vlad turned his deadly gaze on Jane and Mack she fled for the nearest exit.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The nearest exit turned out to be a stairwell with stairs leading both up and down. Lucy stood chewing her bottom lip for a moment and then decided that down was definitely her best bet. Down would lead onto the street, which could lead back to her cozy little apartment if she decided she wanted things to play out that way. Whereas up could lead to being trapped in the same building with Mack for many minutes longer than she wanted.
In His Sights (Fire & Vice Book 7) Page 16
