The Bride of Mackenzie Black: Not Just Royals Book 3

by Dahlia Rose

The words were almost a shout and torn from his lips. He bared his teeth and threw his head back as his balls tightened to the point of pain before his release. Each thrust sent his come into the recesses of her pussy. He felt her hand stroking the sensitive sacs of his balls while his release rocketed through him.

  Mac thrust into her harder, faster, prolonging the sensations and he groaned her name while her cries seemed to echo through him. Nina slumped against the mattress, and he fell against her, his hard body pressing her firmly into the bed. He inhaled her scent, combined with his, and the smell of sex that was unique to them. Time seemed to stand still while he was with her. Nina was all he ever wanted and didn’t know existed out there. She shifted and purred, and the feeling of her ass made him think about fucking her all over again. Mac moved until he lay beside her and stared at the ceiling with a satisfied smile on his face.

  “Nina I was thinking about us, this is good, what we have here. How do you feel about the United States?” His voice was husky as he laced fingers with hers.

  Nina turned to face him. “I feel like I would be starting from the beginning because the immigration and work visa suck. I’d be a first-year nurse, whereas I’m working toward being in charge of a ward here.”

  “I have connections, I can work round that,” he said, hoping to change her mind.

  “That’s not fair; for you it was easy, for a black immigrant regardless of if they are from Africa or the Caribbean, it’s a struggle to find your career dream there. I’d have to start school all over again to get U.S. accreditation,” Nina said gently. “Then, I would feel like a complete fraud, if you'd have to pull strings for me. They’re not working against my value, my intelligence, or my experience, it’s a favor to you.”

  “I don’t know if I can stay here, after Donnie,” Mac said the words and heard the plea in his voice.

  “I never asked you to,” Nina said bluntly. “And you shouldn’t ask me to change my life for you.”

  “Then where are we in this relationship thing?” Mac asked.

  Nina smiled. “At the very beginning, enjoying each other without restrictions or reservations. If you leave, I’ll remember you with fond memories because I don’t do long-distance. You’ll find someone, and so shall I in a case like that.”

  “I don’t want to think of you with any other man.” The words were terse when they left his lips.

  Nina leaned over and kissed him. “Stop stressing this, whatever is meant to happen will happen.”

  Mac glanced at Nina. “I don’t know if I should be worried that this isn’t bothering you.”

  “You shouldn’t,” Nina said slowly. “But if this is one of these things where you need an insecure woman to bite her nails down then pull the petals off a flower all the while saying he loves me, he loves me not, I am not that girl. Don’t ruin an amazing night; I think the future will work itself out.”

  Mac cupped his hand behind her neck and took her lips, tasting slowly and deliberately stoking the fire within them once more. He hoped his kiss spoke volumes about what he wanted to say but couldn’t. Could he just walk away and go back to a life in D.C.? Thinking of any other man touching her caused a feral growl to escape him, and he covered her body with his. Mac thrust deep swallowing her cry as she arched against him. He fucked her hard, pushing her legs back so he could see himself sinking into her and then see the ecstasy on her face. He was trying to erase the thought of moving on from his mind and from hers. But even as they raced to the edge of sanity in a sexual storm, it only served to imprint Nina more onto his very being.

  Chapter Seven

  Nina hummed as she moved around her small kitchen; her Christmas tree was lit, she was baking pound cake, and a small ham was in the oven. There was a glass of Guinness making a wet ring on her table lightly coated with flour, and she was cutting out cookies for the oven. This was her holiday, it reminded her of home, but it was still was way more peaceful. It never really snowed in Northumberland, but she saw some flakes because of a cold snap. And the weather said they may get at least a few inches before or by Christmas. Nina was super- excited for that to happen because she had never seen snow. The fact that there was a man in her life, albeit complicated as it was, only seemed to make it better.

  A small frown erased her smile for a little bit. Mac definitely was unlike any man she’d ever met. Him thinking she would blindly follow him to the United States and start all over again kind of pissed Nina off. She’d spent so much time being what everyone else expected her to be, so that when she finally started to live for herself, people couldn’t handle it. Moving to Northumberland and taking the opportunities presented to her was the best decision she'd ever made. There was no way she was giving that up to march to someone else’s drumbeat. If Mac wanted her or felt this was worth it, he would stay at home where he belonged.

  If he got on a plane back to D.C., then it meant she wasn’t important enough—and she would move on, too. It would hurt like hell, but Nina had rebuilt her heart, and she could again. Nina already admitted to herself she had come to more than care for Mac, but the ball was in his court. She wasn’t going to let that mar her evening—and the party at work would be receiving her baked goods the next day. Mrs. Claus has nothing on me, she thought with a smile.

  She wasn’t even going to think about the strange car that had followed her a few times in the week after her shift. Gossip was already going around that Trevor Bouchey had some kind of beef with Mac and Haile. Jasper’s name was never mentioned, but Nina knew he would be somewhere in there behind the scenes because he was part of the trio.

  Jasper was more in the spotlight because of his title and his duties as Duke, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t help Mac or Haile when it came to Bouchey. Anyone could tell they were all as close as brothers. With her music on full blast, she took a sip of her Guinness. The apartment had sound-proofing in the floors and wall, keeping out the Friday night. Nina could enjoy her own music without the pub sounds bleeding into it, so she'd almost missed the loud knocking on her door. Dusting her hands on her apron that boasted red candy canes and snowflakes, she turned down the music and went to answer the door. Mac’s handsome face greeted her as he leaned one shoulder against the door frame. He wore the black turtleneck and blue jeans well, but it was the reindeer ears with mistletoe hat that made her laugh.

  “What is on your head?” Nina asked.

  “Haile has them downstairs on the bar, so I grabbed one,” Mac patted the ears. “Why, doesn’t it suit me? I hear it's all the rage in the fashion circuits.”

  “I can dig it,” Nina stepped aside. “Come on in; you can help me bake.”

  Mac walked through the doorway. “Ah, so that’s what’s on your face and hair! I thought you were a frosted sugar plum just for me.”

  “Wanna provide the glaze?” Nina asked wickedly.

  It took a moment before he figured out what she meant, and his eyes widened before a laugh escaped him. “That is simply perverted.”

  Nina shimmied in a little dance before smacking a kiss on his lips. “It really is.”

  “Reggae Christmas music,” he commented as he followed her into the kitchen. “I like it, and it smells good in here.”

  “Grab some oven mittens and take that tray of cookies out and pop this one in,” Nina commanded from her position back at the table. “This is part of Barbadian—well, Caribbean—culture, calypso and reggae can make anything better.”

  Mac did as he was told before lifting the cloth over a mixing bowl. “Sounds interesting. What’s in here? Can I taste it?”

  “No, you may not! It’s not healthy to eat raw batter,” Nina replied. “That’s my pound cake, I like to leave it sitting awhile before I put it in the oven.”

  “Come on, one taste,” he begged.

  She shook her head and cut more reindeer cookies. “It has raw eggs in it, there is a potential for salmonella, honey bun. You can have a cookie instead.”

  Mac took a cookie off the tray and bit the head
off a snowman. “You called me honey bun.”

  She cast a glance at him. “Did it bother you?”

  He shrugged. “It’s cute, no one has ever looked at me and thought well, there’s a man I want to give a cute pet name to.”

  Nina sighed. “Well, I see past whatever you or anyone else thinks you are. By the way, why are you here? You and Haile have been playing secret monkey the last few days.”

  “Squirrel.” Mac said.

  She frowned. “What?”

  He smiled. “It’s secret squirrel not monkey.”

  Nina put her flour-covered hands on her hips. “Monkeys are smarter than squirrels, so they’d have more secrets.”

  “But squirrels secret away nuts to last them throughout the winter, hence the term,” Mac explained.

  Nina took a sip of her dark ale. “Look at you, teaching me something new—you deserve another cookie.”

  He picked another snowman and raised it in a cheer. “Thank you, I think I will. In any case I may need your help with what Haile and I have been doing. The place where we found Donnie, we are going to help facilitate a raid and get those girls out.”

  “Great!” Nina said. She was worried knowing that there was a place like that around where young women were being exploited. “What do you need from me?”

  “Donnie won’t leave this town without Britt,” Mac said. “So far what we’ve found is that she’s clean just scared shitless of Bouchey and his men. She’s like one of his prize possessions, so she hasn’t been tricked out unless there is a pretty penny that can be paid for her.”

  “That’s completely horrific, those poor women,” Nina murmured.

  “I convinced the police to let us take the girls to a safe house,” Mac said. “Bouchey isn’t in this alone, and his partners will come looking for what they consider their property. We need someone with medical training to assess them. I know you worked trauma and emergency, so you would be the best person to help us. We don’t want them at a hospital or anything because that leaves a paper trail.”

  Nina nodded. “I can do that, but what will happen to them after the safe house?”

  Jasper and Zeva are working that end. “We’ll find their families if they want to go home or get them set up and relocated somewhere else, away from here.”

  Nina frowned. “Won’t Bouchey’s partners find them?”

  “The way this works is they usually lure these girls away from home or grab them at a club,” Mac explained. “They toss the bags and phones, so they don’t have any ID or a way to contact home. They don’t care who these women are, they are cattle to make Bouchey and his cohorts’ money.”

  “I wish I could castrate him,” Nina said furiously. It amazed her men like that still existed and treated women that way.

  “This will castrate his money, and with all the hits the police plan to make, his business will be null and void,” Mac said.

  “Where are you sending Donnie and Britt?” Nina felt her heart pick up speed at the next question from her lips. “Are you taking him back to D.C. with you?”

  “He could get a fix there better than he does here,” Mac muttered. “There’s a rehab in Sydney that can treat him, plus therapy for Britt so she can heal. From there I’ll help them get back into school and a place to live. They’ll be on their feet with a new start in a new place.”

  “A lot of work from the United States,” Nina commented while she worked on her cookies.

  “I’ll get everything set up before I leave, or I’ll stick around,” Mac answered casually. “Donnie is doing better now he’s over that hump and not thinking crazy since I told him I would get Britt out.”

  Nina didn’t want to say that it thrilled her he might stick around. Everything was still up in the air. “Well, I’ll get what supplies I can, and you have my help when the time comes.”

  “Haile will get the supplies you’ll need, and that will be Tuesday. We don’t want them spending Christmas in a hell like that,” he moved toward the table. “Now put me to work, you sugar-plum fairy.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to head back downstairs and play darts with the boys and yell obscenities at each other?” Nina teased.

  “I would much rather be here looking at the most beautiful woman in Northumberland with flour on her face and in her hair,” a slow grin spread across his face. “Hopefully I can leave some handprints in some interesting places later, maybe some glaze.”

  Nina laughed. “And you call me perverted.”

  They spent the evening baking and dancing to her music, and he only went downstairs to grab them another pint and some dinner. With her cake and cookies cooling, they slow-danced to a song called “Have a Reggae Christmas,” which had a faster beat than how their bodies moved.

  “This is not how one dances to this song,” Nina told him.

  “Then teach me,” Mac's hands moved lazily over her hips.

  “Ever seen videos of Carnival . . . how the women dance in front of men?” she looked up at him into his piercing eyes.

  “Yeah, they grind their asses on the groin area,” he answered.

  She laughed. “For Barbadians or Bajans, that’s called wukking up.”

  His brows furrowed. “Why?”

  “Our hips are doing a lot of work or wukking,” Nina turned in his arms until her ass was spooned against him. “Now follow my movements.”

  Nina slowly undulated her hips until he slowly caught the rhythm, and then she took it to a higher level as she let the beat of the music take over. Even with flour in her hair and no make-up on this was one of the best times she'd had with Mac. Home, dancing to her music with a great and very sexy man. She felt his cock harden as she danced against him and the evening took on another tone. Her nipples tightened under the thin T-shirt she wore beneath the apron. He was aroused, and she could feel his length through the leggings she wore. Nina pressed her back against his chest as they moved and reached up to twine one of her arms around his neck.

  “Tell me that you have never danced with anyone else like this,” he said against her ear.

  A soft laugh escaped her. “I am thirty-one, and I lived in Barbados most of my life, so that would be a lie.”

  He groaned. “I can’t complain, it was other men that lived on the island with you.”

  “Honey bun, I always liked white men, and tourists are always there all year 'round,” Nina commented. “I danced with German guys, Americans, and I dated an Australian man for three years. I’ve dated black men, too, so basically if I have an attraction to someone and they ask me out, I will see where the date goes. Sexuality and love have no color.”

  The next sound that emanated from him was like a predatory growl. “Don’t tell me any more.”

  “Why?” Nina moved her hips deliberately, enticing him with her sensual dance. “Does it bother you that other men have touched my body?”

  “I would erase them from your memory if I could,” he answered truthfully.

  She moved his hands up to her breasts so he could cup the heavy globes. “I think you could if you wanted to, how about we give it a try?”

  “Hmmm,” Mac was busy nuzzling her neck and sending delicious sensations through her.

  Nina used a breathless voice. “I’ll be the naughty baker’s assistant who is working extra-hard to make money for gifts this year. And you’re my horny boyfriend who wants to taste my sugar plums and who snuck into my job to see me.”

  Mac laughed. “That’s an image.”

  Nina untied the top of the apron from around her neck. She slipped her T-shirt over her head exposing her breasts and without taking the rest of the apron off she removed her leggings and panties. She left the material printed with Christmas symbols as her only cover across the apex of her thighs. Mac sucked in a breath, and she felt the heat of his gaze roam over her body.

  “I think I’ll leave this on to entice you,” she purred.

  “Baby, that only makes me want to rip it off to get at your pussy,” Mac’s voic
e was hoarse with desire.

  “Well, follow me to the bedroom and maybe I’ll bend over, so you don’t have to,” Nina smiled over her shoulder and walked toward the open door to where she slept.

  “Jesus, the things you say make me rock hard.” He was behind her in seconds, and he pulled her against him. Mac reached around to the front of her body underneath the fabric and slid a finger between the soft lips of her sex. “Fuck, you’re already wet.”

  “All the better for you to taste me, my dear,” Nina turned in his arms, and Mac kissed her until she was weak in the knees.

  Mac’s mouth was relentless and demanded entrance, and she gave it to him willingly. She was in awe at how he knew exactly how to touch her and make her sizzle with need. Nina gave herself over to the passion, because Mac’s fierce kisses made her lose all reasonable thoughts except to be connected intimately with him. Standing there, Mac grabbed her hips and molded her against him, and she feel his hard cock heavy against her. The way he played at her full breasts while they kissed only delighted Nina all the more. He cupped one in his large palm, and she could feel the callouses of a man who used his hands for work, rough and still gentle. Using the pad of his thumbs he brought the pert tips to hardness. The heat of his touch and the sweet friction made her moan, and she arched into his hand, silently begging for more.

  “Oh, you like my hands on you,” Mac asked as he trailed soft kisses to her ear.

  “If you have to ask that, then something is so wrong with my reaction,” her laugh ended with a moan when he tweaked her nipple. “Maybe this will be clearer: taste me.”

  He needed no more invitation. Moving his lips downward while his hand was splayed over her neck made her feel wanton. Mac gave her a wicked look just before he captured the first tight cocoa bean tip between his lips. Nina cried out his name as that simple action speared a bolt of heat though her straight to the center of her sex. She parted her thighs with anticipation of his touch, and Mac obliged. Gently, he rubbed her clit, and she moved in his arms, the sensations making her legs weak. Nina writhed against his touch, seeking more from the light flicks of his fingers. She wanted his fingers inside her, to imitate the sexual act until she came against his hand.