Redeye

by Becca Jameson

  He picked up speed, stroking faster until she couldn’t even return his kiss. All her concentration was on how he was making her feel, and seconds later, she crested, coming hard against his hand. Her body jerked with the pulses of her orgasm, and Mack flattened his palm over her sex and pressed down as the waves of her release continued.

  With a final shudder, she relaxed into the mattress, every muscle in her body turning to liquid.

  He wasn’t kissing her anymore, and when she blinked her eyes open, she found him staring down at her, smiling. “That was fucking hot,” he told her.

  She flushed, though there was little chance her face wasn’t already fully red. She glanced away, embarrassed at how insanely fast she’d just come without him removing her panties.

  He released her sex and brought his warm, damp hand up to her face, angling it toward him. “I mean it, baby. That was sexy as hell.”

  She could smell her arousal on his fingers. “I don’t…” She swallowed. “I mean, I…”

  He smiled wider and kissed her, shutting her up. When he pulled back, he grabbed her by the waist and repositioned her body so that she was lying on his bed in the correct direction. He lifted her head and pulled a pillow under her, and then he reached over to turn off the light.

  Before she could find words or even fully grasp what his intention was, he was next to her, pulling the sheet over their bodies. He turned her onto her side and slid in behind her, spooning her, his arm around her waist, his hand resting just below her breast. “Sleep, baby.” He kissed her temple.

  Christa’s heart was racing. Here? In his bed? She could feel his erection against her butt. He had just rocked her world and she hadn’t returned the favor. “Mack?”

  “Shh.” He stroked her breast. “Sleep. You have to be exhausted.”

  She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was right. She was exhausted. She’d spent her entire shift at work convincing herself not to worry about his stupid nextdoor neighbor. By the time she’d gotten back to his house, she’d forced the jealousy to a dark corner. And now she was in his bed, in his arms, after the best orgasm of her life.

  It took a while to fully relax, but finally she let her body go limp and fell asleep.

  Chapter 10

  “You look like shit,” Hatch said as Mack dragged himself into the office at nine in the morning. Hatch was standing in the doorframe to his office. “And you’ve never gotten here this late. We were starting to worry about you.”

  “Bite me,” Mack muttered as he passed his friend and coworker, and entered his office across the hall. He dropped into his chair and set his computer bag on the floor.

  Hatch stepped into the room and then grinned. “Oh, damn. You got laid. I know that look. All night.” His eyes widened. “Christa?”

  Tank leaned in. “Did I hear that someone got laid.” He smirked as he more fully entered, shouting out the door. “Hey, Sweets. Kraft got laid.”

  Mack groaned and rubbed his eyes as all three men situated themselves across from his desk, hands on their hips, smirks on their faces.

  “The blonde?” Sweets asked.

  “I did not get laid,” Mack growled. “Christa isn’t that kind of woman. I’m taking my time with her.”

  Hatch laughed. “Damn. That’s serious. She’s staying at your place, sleeping under your roof, and you haven’t slept with her yet?”

  Mack rolled his eyes. “She’s only been there two nights, and I’m trying to show some respect. She’s so damn innocent.”

  “She’s like twenty-seven years old. She can’t be that innocent,” Tank pointed out.

  Mack winced. “I think she is.”

  “Jesus. How long are you gonna be able to keep your dick in your pants, dude?” Sweets asked. “That’s not like you. You must be totally whipped by this woman.”

  Mack dropped his head and rubbed his temples. “I don’t know. It isn’t going to be easy.” He lifted his gaze. “Honestly, I thought I’d blown it entirely yesterday afternoon. I was surprised when she came home early this morning and let me touch her.”

  “What happened yesterday?”

  “My neighbor came over. I think Christa was jealous.”

  “Tina?” Tank asked. “The brunette?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wait,” Hatch drawled out. “Don’t tell me this surprises you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Mack stiffened.

  “Come on,” Hatch continued. “That girl wants in your pants.”

  “Nuh-uh. No way. She’s like my little sister.”

  Sweets chuckled. “Dude, have you told her that?”

  Mack glanced at each man. “Fuck. Are you serious? Do you really believe that? She’s a family friend. That’s all.”

  “To you, she’s like a sister. To her, you’re some idol she’s been batting her eyes at since she could walk.”

  Mack groaned again. “No way. That’s insane.” Surely they were overreacting.

  All three men stared at him, chuckling.

  Enough of this. Time to change the subject. He glanced at Hatch. “Hey, did Libby tell you about an email from the airline about child trafficking?”

  He winced. “Yeah, she was pretty freaked out about it.”

  “Is something specific going on?” Tank asked.

  Mack nodded. “Apparently, because Open Skies sent an email to all their employees reminding them of the warning signs.”

  Sweets frowned. “I’ll look into it. Do some digging. Maybe they’ve got their radar on a specific problem.”

  “Good idea,” Mack agreed. “I can’t imagine Christa or any of the other flight attendants having to decide to alert the pilot and call for the marshal.”

  Tank shoved off the wall he’d been leaning against. “I’ve got a client call in a few minutes, but let me know if you find anything worth nosing around in. Human trafficking gets under my skin more than just about anything.”

  Mack agreed. All four had seen enough of it in other countries for a lifetime, but facing it at home was another story. He was aware it existed, but it was hard to fathom on U.S. soil.

  Chapter 11

  The sound of something shattering yanked Christa from a deep sleep. She bolted to sitting, totally disoriented as she took in her surroundings. Her heart raced as she realized she was in Mack’s bedroom, in his bed, in fact. And she was naked except for her panties.

  Her memory flooded back to fill in the gaps as another noise drew her attention to the closed door. She glanced at the clock. Eleven fifteen. She hadn’t slept long enough, and what the hell was all the noise?

  She slid from the bed and padded to the attached bathroom, peeing and washing her hands without turning on the light. Mack must not have gone to work. She returned to his bedroom and found one of his T-shirts draped over the end of the bed.

  As she slid it over her head, she perused the room some more. It was relatively dark. He had shutters, and they blocked out the sun better than most window coverings would. If she lived in this house, she might actually be able to sleep in this room half the day without needed blackout curtains. That was, if no one woke her up by making loud banging noises.

  She drew in a deep breath. It didn’t seem like Mack would intentionally wake her. He must have dropped something in the kitchen. He was far too considerate to do anything that would disturb her sleep.

  She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. She’d never be able to go back to sleep now. Might as well find out what happened and make some coffee.

  After padding through the living room, she stepped through the archway to the kitchen, and stopped dead, just as shocked as she’d been yesterday. “Seriously?” she shouted.

  Tina had her back to Christa once again, but she spun around, gasping. “Shit. You scared me to death.”

  “I scared you? What are you doing here?”

  Tina set her hands on her hips. “I should ask you the same thing.”

  Christa shook her head. “No. You shouldn
’t. You should go back to your own home. I was sleeping. You can’t just come over here and let yourself in.” She wasn’t ordinarily so confrontational, but this was seriously fucked-up. Someone needed to put this woman in her place.

  Tina set her hand over her heart, eyes wide, gasping dramatically. “I’m not the intruder here. You are. Why on earth are you still here? Didn’t you get enough of Mack the other night? I thought you were looking for a place to stay. You shouldn’t take advantage of Mack like this. He’s too nice. He would never tell you you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

  Christa rolled her eyes. “It’s none of your business how long I stay. And I’m telling you that as long as I’m here, you need to knock on the door when you come over.”

  Tina shook her head. “This is my second home. I’ve been walking in the back door my entire life. Mack and I are like family. You’ve been here like two nights, and you think you own the place and can boss me around? Mack would never side with some bimbo he just met at a bar over me.”

  Christa’s face heated, pissing her off. She didn’t want to look weak in front of Tina. She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. “First of all, we did not meet at a bar. We have mutual friends. And second of all, I work nights, so you interrupted my sleep. You absolutely must not walk into this house while I’m staying here. After I leave, if you want to resume playing house with Mack, be my guest.”

  Tina humphed loudly. Her mouth fell open. “You can’t talk to me like that. I am not playing house. I help Mack out. He appreciates me.” She looked twelve while she whined her excuses.

  Maybe Mack was right. Maybe she was younger than Christa had guessed her to be. “How old are you?” Christa narrowed her gaze.

  Tina stood taller. “I’m twenty-two.”

  “So you’ve been in love with Mack for about ten years then?” Christa hedged.

  “Don’t be such a bitch. It’s not like that.”

  “Isn’t it?” Christa lifted a brow and then glanced around at the counter. “What the hell were you doing?”

  “Making lasagna.” She glanced at the floor. “I dropped the glass pan. I was just sweeping up the mess when you came in.”

  “You woke me up with the glass pan. Don’t you have someplace to be? Maybe you should get a summer job.” Christa crossed her arms to keep from fisting her hands at her sides. Or taking a swing. She’d never hit anyone before, but Tina was pushing her buttons.

  “I’m in college. Summer break,” she stated flippantly, her voice strong, as if this made her old enough to be playing house with a man who was twelve years her senior.

  “I’m well aware. Why don’t you go to the pool or something. Find someone closer to your own age to hit on. If you would have let me sleep past noon, I could have spent the afternoon finding an apartment. Now I’m not in the mood. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” Christa cocked a hip out and shot daggers at Tina even though her last statement had been childish. She hated stooping to Tina’s level.

  Tina gasped dramatically again, and then she started stuffing things into the refrigerator. “Fine. You explain to Mack why his favorite meal isn’t cooked and waiting when he gets home tonight.”

  Christa watched while Tina-the-toddler had her tantrum and stomped out the back door, leaving the shattered glass pan all over the tile. The main thought running through Christa’s mind was that Tina obviously didn’t know Mack as well as she insisted if she thought lasagna was his favorite food. Even Christa knew he was a mac and cheese fan, and she’d only known him a week.

  As soon as she was gone, Christa turned and shuffled back to Mack’s bedroom. She shut the door and locked it. She didn’t trust Tina not to return. All she could do was hope the woman didn’t pick the lock on the master bedroom to continue tormenting Christa.

  Christa climbed back into the bed and drew the covers over her body. There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep, but she was shaking with fury and wanted to curl up on her side until it subsided.

  She took several deep cleansing breaths, inhaling Mack’s scent everywhere, and finally relaxed her muscles enough to stretch out and stare at the ceiling. Jesus. What a clusterfuck. She had no idea what she was going to tell Mack. The man was oblivious to his neighbor’s affections, and Christa didn’t really want to be the one to explain the situation further than she already had.

  Christa had fully intended to find an apartment today, but now she decided to wait until tomorrow out of spite. She might even start leaving her car in the driveway to make a point of flaunting her presence. Maybe that would keep Tina from barging in.

  Unable to keep her mind from wandering, Christa slid out of bed, found her phone tucked in the pocket of her skirt on the floor, and climbed back up to flip through her email and social media.

  An hour later, she got a text from Libby.

  Are you up? I heard about your apartment falling through. Get your ass over here and help me unpack and tell me what’s up with you and Mack.

  Christa smiled and then responded.

  You cannot believe the story I have to tell you. I’ll be there in an hour.

  Good. This gave Christa something to do instead of just lying here fuming and simmering. Libby would understand and help calm Christa down before she took her frustration out on Mack.

  Chapter 12

  “Are you serious? She said that?” Libby was cackling with laughter and slapping her thighs, her eyes watering as Christa finished telling the saga.

  “If anything, it was worse. I can’t possibly demonstrate the facial expressions this conniving crazy woman is capable of. Her mock innocence could win her an Oscar.”

  “What are you going to do?” Libby drew her feet up under her where she sat on the couch.

  “I was hoping you would tell me,” Christa said from the other end of the couch.

  “Does Mack know about this morning?”

  Christa shook her head. “I haven’t spoken to him yet. Not even a text. He probably thinks I’m sleeping.”

  “And you didn’t even clean up the mess?”

  “Nope. I left the glass all over the floor. There’s a package of cheese on the counter, too. I took one glance in the kitchen and passed right by, leaving everything where Tina left it.”

  “Good for you. Let him clean it up. I wouldn’t even go back there until after he finds it.”

  “And then what? I have no idea what to say to him. He absolutely refuses to acknowledge that Tina’s intentions are more than anything but helpful. If I try to convince him, he’ll just resent me.”

  Libby sighed. “You’re right. I don’t think you should say anything. Let him figure it out for himself. It’s not your job. It’s not like he’s sleeping with her. She just wishes he was.”

  Christa finger-combed her hair absentmindedly. “I need to move out of there and fast. I’m going to be a zombie at work if I don’t get a full six hours. I think I got about four last night.”

  “Wait. What aren’t you telling me? Did you climb into that hot man’s bed when you got back this morning?” She leaned forward, eyes wide. “Please tell me you did.”

  Christa grinned and bit her lip before replying. “Maybe. But it’s not what you think. He’s got some sort of weird chivalrous notion that he shouldn’t have sex with me yet.”

  “What?” Libby shouted. “Are you kidding?”

  Christa winced, half wishing she hadn’t said anything. “It’s like he thinks I’m too innocent or something.”

  “Well, set him straight, girl.”

  She shook her head. “You know I’m not that confrontational. I can’t even tell him his neighbor wants to get in his pants. How am I going to tell him I want to?”

  “Don’t say anything then. Just palm his cock while you’re making out. He won’t be able to turn you down if you do that. He’ll get the picture.”

  Christa flushed. There was no way she was going to grab his junk. She wasn’t that bold, either. Maybe the man didn’t want to have sex wit
h her. He could have other reasons. She’d feel like an idiot if she threw herself at him and he turned her down. Nothing could be more embarrassing. She cleared her throat and looked at her friend. “I was kinda hoping he would be more like Jason. You know…dominant.”

  Libby wiggled her brows and giggled. “To be honest, I would have expected that, too, but I’ve never talked to Jason about his friends’ preferences in the bedroom. That would be a strange thing to ask. Maybe Mack isn’t like that. Maybe he’s a softy.”

  Christa groaned and leaned her head back against the sofa. “I don’t know. It’s so weird. Most of the time he looks like he’s about to pounce, and I’ve willed him to do so, but then when he touches me, it’s all tender and sweet.” Christa couldn’t decide how she felt about that. Her emotions were all over the place. Part of her had gone out with him secretly hoping to have a wild sexual experience. She hadn’t really expected to actually like him this much. And she sure as shit hadn’t expected him to keep his hands to himself. Mostly. Well, maybe not his hands anymore, but his…private parts.

  Christa’s phone buzzed and she grabbed it off the coffee table and glanced at the screen, groaning when she saw the incoming text.

  “Shit,” Libby said. “Work? Did you get called in?”

  “Yep. Whoever was supposed to fly to Denver tonight is sick.”

  Libby winced. “I guess they would have called me if I hadn’t worked so many hours yesterday.”

  Christa shot back a response and pushed to standing. “I better go. I’m going to cut it close if I hurry. I’ll have to go back to Mack’s and change.”

  Libby stood and hugged Christa. “Go. Have fun. Keep me posted on your crazy life. It’s better than a soap opera this week.”

  “Far more drama than I would prefer. That’s for sure.”