Riveted (Art of Eros #1) (12 page)

“What did he look like?” Mac’s eyes pinned Jack down through the interrogation.

“He had dark blond hair, baseball hat, and tinted glasses. The dude was a mess, like he’d been out partying one too many nights. He was shorter than you, but not by much. That’s all I know, man.” Jack hoped Mac was done with him, letting him go without injury.

Leaning down, Mac picked Jack up by the shirt. He got in his face, nose to nose, seething. “If I see you anywhere near Mara again, it won’t be your face you need to worry about.” Mac’s accent sounded thick. He pushed him away, and Jack took the hint, running out of the club.

Mac stood there with his hands on his hips, head down, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Some holiday this turned out to be. He played defender for his Italian goddess, but he was spinning his wheels with more questions than answers.

“Mac? What’s going on?” Mara stood behind him, clasping her hands together so they wouldn’t tremble. Her eyes were glassed over from tears. She tried so hard to be strong.

“Mara, are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Mac spun around, wanting to grab her and hold her in his arms, but that move might be too much for her. It amazed him how well he knew this woman in such a short time. He worked off his gut instinct about her every time.

She ignored his questions and focused on her new epiphany. “Do you know that no one outside of my sisters has ever come to my defense? Not even my late husband.” Her face contorted with pain, and not just from the recent incident. Seeming shocked by her own admission, she absentmindedly sat down on the lounger behind her.

Mac straddled the lounger and sat behind her, protectively cradling her in his arms and legs. He stroked her arms up and down in a gesture of comfort, nothing more. He needed to be careful and gentle with her so she wouldn’t run away again.

“I would say you were married to the wrong man. You’re a treasure, Mara, both inside and out. But I need you to be more aware of things around you. That guy was trying to slip you a roofie.” Mac spoke quietly so he didn’t alarm her.

“A roofie? What the hell is that?” She sounded alarmed and irritated at her own naïveté.

“It’s also called the date rape drug. It renders you unconscious while your date has his way with you. You don’t remember anything the next day accompanied by one hell of a hangover. It’s nasty stuff.” He hoped the explanation put her more on guard around strangers. Revealing that Jack had been paid by some stranger to do the deed wasn’t in her best interest. He’d be looking into that later.

The security of his arms calmed her, allowing the panic to fade away. Awareness seemed to be her mantra lately.

What’s the world coming to that men need to drug women?

“How would it make me feel if I did ingest some of it?”

“You might feel drowsy or tipsy. I don’t think you took in enough to have any effects from it.” Mac saved her from a fate worse than death. Had Jack been successful, she wouldn’t have survived it. It became clear that she needed share a part of her abusive past if she wanted to move forward with him.

“Mac, you have no idea what you’ve done for me. I can’t imagine how all of that would have ended for me. I want to share something with you. Not only was Brock the wrong man for me, I recently woken up to the fact that he was abusive, as well.” She closed her eyes briefly, trying to forget the conversations that took place over the last forty-eight hours.

Mac scooted back and turned Mara around on the lounger to face him. Mara folded her legs under her, gazing into a pair of very concerned eyes. “What are you talking about, Mara?” He didn’t lose physical contact her with as he tenderly stroked her forearms with his thumbs.

“What I thought was a normal progression in my marriage turns out to be abuse behind closed doors. Brock was verbally abusive, as well as other things that I don’t want to talk about right now. When Jack held me on the dance floor, not letting go, I started to panic, which is all too familiar for me.” Mara’s emotions bounced all over as she told him part of her tale. Mac’s eyes filled with anger. He quickly let it go, knowing it wasn’t what she needed from him. Brushing his thumb along her jawline, he was at a loss for words, as he let her information sink in.

“That explains a lot. I saw you tense as he tugged you closer. I wanted to put him through a wall. But never again, Marabella. No one is ever going to hurt you again, you understand me? I’ll make sure of that. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here to listen.” His eyes were dark and deadly serious, sounding a tad possessive, but came across as protective in her ears. Mara felt secure with him, relieved to be able to really rely on a man. Mara smiled at his caveman statement, as if he could protect her for the rest of his life.

“I’ll walk you back to your room.” He assumed it would be the logical conclusion to the evening.

Mara suddenly had those eyes on her again. She shivered and goose bumps appeared on her arms. Being hyperaware of their surrounding given what just happened, Mac saw her subtle changes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as his eyes scanned for the man in the baseball cap.

“I’ve got this uneasy feeling like someone is watching me. It gives me the creeps. It’s happened a couple of times since I came to Cancun.” Mara surveyed the pool, a little braver with Mac by her side. But then the feeling left.

The watcher stepped farther away, out of the sight of his target.

Oh, princess, do you think he will be able to save you? You will be mine and I will get what I need from you.

She turned to face Mac. “And no, I don’t want to go back to my room. I came here to dance and have a good time, and I’m not letting some asshole keep me from that.” Mara surprised herself with her own fortitude. She refused to let anyone control her emotions.

At first, taken aback by her response, Mac let a smile spread across his face as Mara surprised him yet again.

“Hey, watch your mouth, young lady,” he teased her. She earned the right to swear after realizing what could have happened. He needed to keep a close eye on her. Something didn’t quite add up.

She jumped back off the lounger and offered her hand. “Mara says, let’s dance.” She led him back to the club with her head held high.

As they entered the circus-like atmosphere, there perched on saddles were Bimbos One and Two. They saw Mac and waved over to him. Mara snapped her head in his direction and glared at him.

“So, I pegged you correctly. You’re a player.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer, but it was an evening full of surprises.

“About that, I think I need to clear something up. I wasn’t with those two the other night. Yes, I went to the bar and had a couple of drinks. They happened to be there as well, but I went to my suite alone. I used to be a ‘friends with benefits’ kind of guy, but then I met this Italian beauty on holiday and she made me reevaluate things. You’re in my head, Mara, and I want to get to know you, all of you, good and bad.” There was commitment in his statement. Holding her hands, he wanted her to absorb his determination, no wavering. He pressed his lips to hers.

Her stomach flipped at his words. It sounded like he might be going through some changes of his own. Mara stood there, shocked by his admission. But secretly very pleased because that kiss took place right in front of the two bimbos as well as every other woman in the club.

He may be a one-woman man after all.

She didn’t want to admit out loud that he was in her head, too, but as comfort came over her, she wanted to know more about her protector’s change of heart. She stared at him with a goofy grin on her face. More rivets waited to pop out of their secure location. Would the real Mara please step forward? She felt herself come back to life. “Let’s go dance and have some fun.”

Mac questioned his ability to survive dancing next to Mara and those legs. He really wanted them wrapped around his waist.

As they made their way to the dance floor, Mara did a visual check on her sisters. Raquelle cozied up to the man she ‘caught’ the other day, and Leigha entertained one of his friends with a standoffishness that said, ‘I’m taken.’ She made eye contact with both of them to let them know she was okay. They had the ability to use the non-verbal cues that spoke volumes.

She turned to Mac as Enrique’s song “Tonight” started to play. She took the opportunity to turn him on the way he turned her inside out. She started moving her hips, swaying back and forth with the heavy bass, hands above her head, never losing eye contact. He moved very well as he matched her grind for grind.

The man has moves
.

Grabbing her waist, he brought her closer to him as they began to dance together. Together they were so simple and effortless, moving in sync with one another. Mara’s hands traveled to his broad shoulders, wondering what other surprises Mac had in store for her.

The next song slowed down with a sexy groove as Paula Cole sang “Feelin’ Love,” and Mac pulled Mara even closer. In her four-inch heels, her forehead came right to his lips. He brushed them across her forehead before he circled his arms around her waist. She inhaled his masculine scent then closed her eyes, leaning into his shoulder, such a contrast to her encounter with Jack. As her thigh rested between his legs, she felt his excitement. She smiled to herself and decided to be a little daring. She rubbed her thigh up and down against his hard cock. Hearing a groan come from him, a wicked grin spread across her face.

“Did you say something?” she looked up at him using her most innocent voice, batting her eyelashes.

“Woman, you know exactly what you’re doing. Don’t play innocent with me.” Mac’s eyes were stern but playful.

Mara giggled as she turned her head into his shoulder again, heady with the idea that just dancing with her turned him on.

Mac’s cock strained against the zipper of his jeans, pointing to the exact location it wanted to go. The head on his shoulders played cock blocker as his body screamed for release. Based on her reaction in the water and in light of the new information he’d learned, Mac knew he needed to move carefully not to scare her off. However, his body waged a battle with his head.

Her giggle made him even harder, as if that was even possible. He lightly caressed her back and skimmed his hand over her gloriously round ass. She tensed a bit but then relaxed into his touch, moving closer to him. He let his hand linger but not for long; just a taste. His lips found her neck as he kissed his way up to her earlobe, giving it a light bite. Her breath hitched at the spark of pleasure.

When the song ended, Mac led them off the dance floor to order something to drink. Otherwise, he would have taken her right there in front of everyone and not thought twice about it. Mara ordered another Blue Dragon and he got another Guinness, hoping it might cool the fire. She sat on one of the saddle stools while Mac stood to the side of her in a guarded stance. The combination of Mac and alcohol made her a little tipsy.

“Thank you for the flowers and the kind words. It means a lot to me. It’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever sent me. You certainly have a way with words while cutting right to the chase. By the way, Raquelle was the one who sent the text. She’s a sneak.” Mara eyed him to gauge his reaction, glancing at the lips she loved to kiss. Her eyes glazed over as they flitted between his mouth and eyes. His clean-shaven look made him so kissable while the scar above his eye did things to her she couldn’t explain.

“You’re welcome, and I meant every word of it. You are a classic beauty and need to be spoiled by beautiful things and words.” He suggestively drew his thumb across her lower lip, wondering about the sensuality of those lips all over his body.

“I suppose you’re just the man to do it.” Her eyes sparkled with interest. Her gaze kept returning to his lips as she softly sucked on her lower one.

“Oh,
leannan
, I’m the only man to do it and if you keep looking at me like that, I can’t be responsible for my actions.” He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers as his tongue grazed her lower one. She let out a small moan of satisfaction.

“Hmm, we’ll see about that.” Her face glowed with half-mast eyelids, indicating the alcohol had settled in. Mac knew if the ‘abuser’ were still alive, he would have taken advantage of her. If he had ever come across him, Mac would have his way with him. He knew how to torture a man, in all the unforgiving ways, long and slowly.

He nuzzled his mouth near her ear. “Mac says, we call it a night and I’ll walk you back to your room.” He liked that she was into the game of ‘Mac says.’ She used it to her advantage one too many times already. After all, the game was ‘Mac says,’ not ‘Mara says.’ She glanced at his mouth again, licking her lower lip. He needed to move them out of there before he grabbed her and had his way with that lip of hers.

Mara said goodnight to Raquelle and Leigha, briefly filling them in on the night’s events. She didn’t know where Raquelle would be sleeping that night, but she knew Leigha would be coming back to the suite later.

Mac held her hand as he led them out of the club, past Bimbos One and Two, who were trying to gain attention on the dance floor. They looked at her with pure disdain in their eyes. Mara couldn’t help but wave to them as she left with Mac. There was great satisfaction in letting them know just who Mac chose from the group.

Take that, bitches.