“I had a wonderful time,” she said. “Saying thank you for this evening isn’t enough, but…please know that I won’t ever forget feeling like a princess while with my Prince Charming.”
“You’re very welcome,” Mack said. “I won’t forget this night, either.” He shook his head and pulled the knot of his tie down several inches. “Heather, I’m not going to kiss you good night because I’m hanging on by a thread here. I want you so damn much and I don’t want to run the risk of losing control, frightening you in any way or… I’ve got to go. Right now.”
“I thought you said that some risks in life are worth taking,” Heather said.
“Yes, well…” Mack turned and placed one hand on the doorknob.
“Mack.”
He looked over his shoulder at Heather questioningly.
“Yes?”
She took a steadying breath, then lifted her chin. “I’m not ready to give back my title of princess, not yet. It’s too soon. This is a magical night, our night, created just for the two of us. I…I want you, Mack. I want to make love with you very, very much.”
Chapter Ten
The echo in Mack’s ears from his pounding heart was so loud that he shook his head slightly before attempting to speak.
“Are you certain about this, Heather?” he said finally, his voice gritty.
“Oh, yes,” she said softly. “You’ve said all along that this is my choice to make, but now the decision rests in your hands. Do you want me, Mack? Do you want to end this magical night by making love with me?”
“You know I do, but…” Mack stopped speaking and frowned. “I just have to be sure that you won’t have any regrets, that you won’t be hurt or upset or…I couldn’t handle it if I was the cause of your being unhappy, Heather. I really couldn’t.”
“I won’t regret what we share on this night, Mack. I promise you that,” Heather said. “I really don’t expect you to understand, but for these hours I am a woman, just a woman, nothing more.
“That’s a gift you’ve given to me, along with my princess dress. I’m going to wrap up these memories and tuck them carefully away so I can cherish them, because I may never again have stolen time when I’m just a woman.”
Mack nodded and moved toward Heather slowly, his gaze meeting hers in the soft glow of the lamp. A shiver of anticipation swept through her as he came closer, closer, then stopped in front of her and cradled her face in his hands.
Mack held Heather’s gaze for another long moment, then lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers, once, twice, then captured her mouth in a searing kiss.
Heather, his mind hummed as heated desire rocketed through him. On this night, this incredible night, he was going to make love with his rare, and beautiful, and wonderful Heather. It had to be perfect for her, worthy of being a cherished memory. Ah, Heather.
Mack broke the kiss and took a ragged breath.
“Mack, wait,” Heather said, her voice trembling with desire. “Your shoulder. I was so centered on what I wanted that I didn’t think about the fact that maybe you shouldn’t—”
“Shh,” he said. “Don’t worry about my shoulder. It will be fine.” He smiled. “I think we’d better go into your bedroom before we end up not making it that far.”
“You’re right,” Heather said, matching his smile. “After all, Melissa said I had plenty of room in my big bed and she couldn’t understand why I wasn’t willing to share it with you.”
Mack chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll tell her that you came around to her way of thinking on the subject.”
“No.”
“I’d like to be very romantic here and carry you down the hall, but I do believe my shoulder would object to that one.”
Heather stepped back and took Mack’s left hand in her right.
“We’ll walk side by side,” she said. “Equal partners.” She paused. “No, that’s not quite true. I’m certainly not an equal partner as far as experience in…in this sort of thing. Frank is the only man I’ve ever been with, and so many years have passed, and…oh, dear.”
Mack dropped a quick kiss on Heather’s lips.
“Neither of us has a past as of this moment,” he said. “This is a magical night, remember? It’s ours.”
“No past. No future. Just now,” Heather said, nodding. “Yes, that’s exactly how it is.”
“Well, I…” Mack started, then hesitated, feeling strangely chilled by Heather’s words. He mentally pushed away the disturbing feeling. “You’re right. That’s exactly how it is.”
“Come with me, my Prince Charming,” Heather said, tightening her hold on Mack’s hand.
“I’m right here by your side, Cinderella.”
Once they reached Heather’s room, she snapped on the small lamp on the computer table, casting soft shadows over the expanse. Mack swept back the blankets on the bed, then turned to see Heather reach behind her to unzip the peach-colored dress. It fell to the floor, she stepped free of it, then began to remove the remainder of her clothes.
Mack removed his own clothes by rote and tossed them on the chair by the computer, his gaze riveted on Heather, blood pounding in his veins as he drank in the exquisite sight of her.
They stood in front of each other, naked, offering freely all that they were.
“Ah, Heather,” Mack said, his voice gritty, “you are so…so lovely, so beautiful.” He closed the distance between them and sifted his hands through her lush, dark hair, bringing it forward and watching it slide through his fingers to fall over her breasts. “Incredible.”
Heather frowned as she looked at the angry red scar and puckered skin on Mack’s shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed the wound lightly.
“I hate the idea that you were hurt so badly,” she said. “I wish I could kiss it and make it better.”
“You just did.”
Heather smiled at him warmly, then moved onto the center of the bed. Mack stared at her, etching every inch of her indelibly in his mind as if she were a photograph he knew he would keep for all time, then he settled next to her and his mouth melted over hers.
The night was theirs.
And it was magic.
The awkwardness caused by Mack’s attempt to keep too much weight off his left arm and Heather being certain she didn’t grip his damaged shoulder did nothing to diminish the ecstasy of what they were sharing.
They kissed and caressed, discovered and marveled in the mysteries of each other, gave and received and gloried in it all.
Mack took the soft flesh of one of Heather’s breasts deep into his mouth, laving the nipple with his tongue. She closed her eyes to fully savor each heated sensation that thrummed throughout her. He moved to the other breast to pay equal homage and she sank her fingers into his thick, black hair, urging him to take more, take her, all of her.
They were on fire, burning with need, hearts racing and the name of the other whispering from lips that were never still.
Mack left Heather only long enough to take steps to protect her, then returned to the welcoming warmth of her embrace, aching with the want of her, telling himself over and over that this must be perfect for her. Perfect for his Heather.
“Mack, please,” Heather said, a sob of need catching in her throat. “I want you so much.”
He moved over her, entering her slowly, watching her face for any sign that he was hurting her, acutely aware that it had been a very long time since she’d been with a man. But Heather raised her hips and a groan rumbled in Mack’s chest.
“No, don’t,” he said. “I don’t want to rush you, hurt you, or—”
“Shh,” she said, pressing her hands on the small of his back. “Come to me, Mack. I’m waiting for you. All of you. Please.”
And Mack was lost. He tipped over the edge of reason and reality and filled her with all that he was. He began to move, the tempo quickening instantly, then becoming a raging rhythm that Heather met beat for beat.
The night was theirs.
An
d it was magic.
Heather and Mack were one.
The sensual tension within them coiled tighter, hotter, as they neared the climax of their joining, their journey to a place they could go to only together. Tighter, hotter, higher, then flinging them over the abyss with a burst of bright colors.
“Mack!”
“Yes! Oh, yes, Heather.”
They stilled, savoring the last of the rippling waves that flowed through them, awed by the wonder of it all, by the very power and beauty of what they had shared.
Mack kissed Heather deeply, then moved off of her, his energy spent. He settled next to her, ignoring the fiery pain in his shoulder. She splayed one hand on his chest, her fingers nestled in the moist, dark curls, as Mack rested his lips lightly on her dewy forehead.
“I never knew…” Heather said, then paused to take a shuddering breath. “I just didn’t know it could be like that. I have never experienced anything so…so wonderful, so…” Her voice trailed off as words failed her.
“It really was…sensational,” Mack said quietly, “but that’s not a good enough description. All I know is that it was very special, far beyond anything I’ve ever…never mind. Words would diminish it somehow.” He paused. “Just don’t be sorry it happened. Okay?”
“No regrets, Mack. I promised you that and I meant it. Mmm. I’m so sleepy.”
“Then sleep, Cinderella,” he said. “I’ll leave in a little while and I’ll try not to wake you when I go. If I’m still here in the morning, the whole neighborhood would know about it in about five seconds.”
“That’s true,” Heather said. “If it wasn’t for the twins, I’d say let the neighbors enjoy the gossip, but it wouldn’t be fair to the girls, plus I don’t want to have to answer the questions they would most definitely ask.”
Mack chuckled. “Oh, yes, most definitely. How’s this? I’ll come back in the morning, wearing different clothes, you understand, and bring breakfast for us all. Something like strawberries and bagels.”
“Nice,” Heather said, then yawned. “Mmm.”
Heather drifted off to sleep and Mack sifted his fingers through her silky hair. As he gazed at her lovely, peaceful face, he allowed himself to relive what they had just shared, knowing he would, indeed, cherish the memories of this night and all that had taken place between them.
He frowned in the next instant as Heather’s words began to whisper in his mind, then gain volume.
No past. No future. Just now.
Well, yeah, he thought, that was fine, exactly right. The lovemaking they’d shared had been mutually agreed upon, no strings attached, no demands for a commitment hovering in the shadows waiting to pounce.
It had nothing to do with their pasts, certainly didn’t change the future that had him leaving Tucson in a little more than a week. It had been in the now, just as Heather had said. The perfect ending to a fairy-tale night. Yes, what Heather had said earlier was right on the money. No past. No future. Just now.
Then why, Mack asked himself, did the echo of those words disturb him, cause a chill to sweep through him and replace the pleasant warmth of being physically sated? This didn’t make sense, not one bit.
“Damn,” he muttered. Those words were going to ruin this night for him if they didn’t go away and leave him alone.
Mack rotated his shoulder in an attempt to relieve some of the throbbing pain, then sighed. He’d better leave, he thought. He might fall asleep and blow the whole thing by still being there in the morning. No, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep without taking something for the pain in his shoulder.
Maybe if he left Heather, this bed, the house, he could leave her haunting words behind, wouldn’t have to hear them, deal with them, wouldn’t have to question why they were causing him to wish she had never said them.
Mack kissed Heather on the forehead, then eased off the bed and dressed quickly. He stood by the side of the bed and stared down at her for a long moment, filling his senses with the very sight of her. Then he turned and left the room and the house, closing the front door behind him with a quiet click.
“What did you have for dessert?” Melissa said from where she was lying on her stomach on Heather’s bed. “Chocolate something?”
Emma crawled up on the bed and matched her sister’s pose, the pair watching Heather braid her hair as she stood in front of the mirror on the back of the door. She was wearing jeans and a pink cotton blouse.
“No, I was too full for dessert,” Heather said, “because I ate every bite of my dinner. It was delicious.”
“Tell me again about the lights you called that fancy name,” Emma said.
“Chandeliers,” Heather said. “They were so beautiful, like twinkling stars, or sparkling diamonds. It really was a place for a princess and I felt so pretty in my special dress. You saw Uncle Mack when he came to pick me up. He was so handsome in his suit, just like Prince Charming was for Cinderella.”
“Wow,” Emma said. “Cinderella and Prince Charming and stuff.”
“Did you lose one of your shoes?” Melissa said.
Heather laughed. “No, I didn’t need to. Uncle Mack knows who I am and where I am. He doesn’t have to travel all over the kingdom to find the princess the shoe fits. In fact, he’ll be here in a bit because he said he’d bring us a fun breakfast. How’s that?”
“Cool,” Melissa said.
“What did you do when you came home?” Emma said. “Watch TV? We saw a video about a zillion Dalmatian puppies at Becky’s and ate tons of popcorn. It was fun. What did you and Uncle Mack do?”
A warm flush crept up Heather’s cheeks. “Where did I put that rubber band for my braid?”
“It’s on the top of the dresser,” Emma said.
“Oh, so it is,” Heather said. “Do you two want to go out front and wait for Uncle Mack? I’ll set the table for breakfast.”
“’Kay,” the girls said in unison, then slid off the bed and ran from the room.
Heather wrapped the rubber band around the end of her braid, then leaned forward and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
“What did you do when you and Uncle Mack came home, Ms. Marshall?” she said, unable to curb the smile that appeared on her lips. “Oh, my, it was so wonderful, so…”
Heather moved to the bed, sat on the edge, than ran her hand slowly over the spread, the memories of the previous night filling her heart and mind with vivid and exquisite images.
So wrong? she asked herself, her smile changing into a frown. No, she wasn’t going to even entertain the idea that she’d made a dangerous, emotional mistake by making love with Mack.
While she was a bit shocked at her own boldness, announcing to the man that she wanted to make love with him, she did not regret what had happened between them.
And taking that momentous step with Mack was not going to result in her being hurt in any way. When Mack left Tucson, he would not take her memories, nor her heart with him.
Well, sure, she would miss Mack, just as Melissa and Emma would, might even get misty when the final goodbyes were exchanged, but she wasn’t going to ache with that missing, be consumed with loneliness. She wouldn’t cry through the dark hours of the night. Nope. Wouldn’t happen.
“I’m all grown up, so worldly and sophisticated,” Heather said, laughing as she got to her feet. “Ta-da. This is the new me.”
Humming a peppy tune, she left the bedroom and went to the kitchen where she set the table for breakfast. She made a pot of coffee and a pitcher of orange juice, then glanced at her watch.
Mack would probably arrive at any moment, she thought, with a delectable breakfast in tow, and she was definitely hungry.
Mack, she mused, leaning back against the counter and staring into space. What was he thinking on this morning after? Did he regret what had happened between them? Oh, what a gloomy idea. No, she doubted that he had any misgivings about their lovemaking. He was very experienced in this type of thing. If she was comfortable with what had transpired, t
hen Mack certainly was, too. Fine. No problem.
So, bring on the strawberries and bagels, Mr. Marshall, it’s time for the morning meal around here. The girls had never had bagels. And if they stayed true to form, they’d love them for the simple reason that their uncle Mack had brought them and, heaven knew, he wouldn’t ask them to eat anything yucky or—
“Mom!” Emma yelled, running into the house and bringing Heather from her rambling thoughts. “Melissa’s stuck up in the tree, really high, and she can’t get down, and she’s crying, and she was trying to save a kitty that was up there, and…you gotta get her, Mom.”
“Oh, dear heaven,” Heather said, rushing from the kitchen.
Heather dashed out the front door with Melissa right behind her and saw Mack standing beneath the tall mulberry tree in the front yard. Her breath caught as she stopped by his side and looked up into the thick branches of the tree, Melissa far above her.
“Don’t move, Melissa,” Mack said. “Just stay very still until we figure out how to get you down.”
“I’m scared, Uncle Mack,” Melissa said, sobbing. “Mommy, I want to get down from here.”
“We’ll get you, I promise, Melissa,” Heather said. “But, please, stay very still for now. Will you do that, sweetheart?”
“’Kay,” Melissa said, then sniffled.
“Do you have a ladder?” Mack said to Heather.
“No, but Susie does,” Heather said, her voice trembling. “I’ll go get it right now. Keep talking to Melissa, Mack, tell her over and over not to move or…oh, God, she’s so far up there.”
Mack gripped Heather’s shoulders.
“Stay calm,” he said. “If Melissa realizes how upset you are, she’ll become even more frightened.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right,” Heather said, nodding jerkily. “I’m okay. I’ll…I’ll go get the ladder.”
“Good, that’s good.” Mack brushed his lips over hers. “Go.”
Heather turned and ran down the block as fast as she could, fear for her daughter consuming her, causing her to stumble, then regain her balance. At Susie’s, Heather pounded on the door, calling her friend’s name. Susie flung open the door a second later.
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