Secrets and Satin: A MacKenzie Novel (Romantic Suspense) (MacKenzie Family) (10 page)

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to taste you here?” he asked, kissing just above her pubic bone.

He looked up her body from where he knelt between her legs and her eyes burned with the fire of his touch.
His gaze stayed steady on hers as his tongue slid up the syrupy seam of her pussy until he found the swollen bud of her clit. And then his eyes shuttered closed and he was lost in the taste of her.

***

Jade thought she knew what to expect—what it would feel like to have Max’s mouth on her there—but the heat of his tongue and the way he seemed to know exactly where to lick and suck had her going wild almost as soon as he touched her.

His tongue rasped
across the sensitive bud, over and over, until she was straining against his mouth. If he’d only press a little harder, move a little faster, she’d be able to reach that pinnacle.

“Please, Max—don’t tease,” she said, her head moving back and forth against the sheets. He spread her legs wider, opened her further, and his tongue moved lower, kissing the weeping entrance of her vagina.

“God, Jade. You taste so sweet. Better than I imagined. And look how wet you are for me.” His finger probed at the entrance of her pussy, dipping inside once before he added another finger.

She felt stretched to the limit, even with only his fingers, and she sucked in a breath as he worked them slowly inside, preparing her for more. Her body arched and her breasts ached as his mouth joined his fingers, and she reached for his head, her fingers tangling in his hair as she pulled him closer. She felt the orgasm building, her body tightening and straining against every lash of his tongue. And then his fingers curled inside of her, finding the sensitive flesh that was sure to drive her mad.

“Max!” she screamed as his tongue moved faster and faster. Perspiration sheened on her skin and her body went molten as little electric shocks pulsed in her clit and shot through her body. Her hips bucked against his face and mewling cries grew louder and louder as she spun into oblivion and exploded against his lips.

“Fuck, you are so beautiful,” he said
, pulling away.

“No, don’t leave me,” she begged. “More—more.”

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”

He scooted her fa
rther into the center of the bed and crawled between her open thighs.

“Shit
.” He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Condoms. I don’t have any here. Please tell me you’re on the pill.”

“I’m protected,” she finally managed to say.

“Thank God, because otherwise you and I were about to make a baby. I’m going to shoot so deep and far inside of you, that would be the only outcome.”

Jade froze as
emotional pain overwhelmed her, but he didn’t seem to notice the change in her. She could do this. She wanted him, and her body was throbbing with need. All she had to do was turn off her mind and just feel.

He
hooked her knees over his shoulders and held open the lips of her pussy with his fingers, watching her from dark hooded eyes. Just that small touch was enough to get her back in the game. He grasped his cock in his hand and rubbed the thick head against the opening of her slit.

“Watch, baby. Watch me take you.”

Jade couldn’t tear her eyes away. He pushed the head in slowly, splitting her in two as he worked his way inside of her. She sucked in a startled breath and her vaginal muscles flexed around him as he kept pushing. Her tissues were swollen and his fingers hadn’t been preparation enough for the size of him, no matter what he’d said about them fitting like hand and glove. She whimpered as his thumb began to rub her clit in circles, and he had to pull out and push in several times before he was finally buried to the hilt.

She took a deep breath once he was seated fully inside of her, and e
ven that tiny movement made little electric shocks sizzle across her skin and gather in her womb. She relaxed around him and tried to focus on breathing.

“Fuck. I’m not going to last. It’s been too long.” Sweat glistened on his skin at the effort it took to hold back, and he closed his eyes and clamped his jaw shut so the cords in his neck stood out at the effort.

He pulled all the way out again, so just the head was still buried inside of her, and the sight of her juices coating his cock was enough to have her hips rising and searching for him. The discomfort quickly turned to pleasure as he pushed back in to the hilt. She flexed her muscles around him again and he gritted his teeth even harder.

“God, don’t move.”

“Look at me, Max,” she said, waiting until his eyes opened and settled on her.

His eyes glowed brilliant blue and she could see the control he was fighting to maintain. Her hands reached out and touched his chest and she drew them down his body until they reached where they were intimately joined. She licked her lips and tightened her vaginal muscles once more, loving the way his gaze darkened and became even hungrier for her.
And then she trailed her hands over her stomach and up higher until she cupped her breasts and tweaked her nipples between her finger and thumb.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Fuck me. Hard.”

Wildness entered his eyes a second before he came down on top of her, and she screamed out his name as he gave her exactly what she’d asked for. His thrusts were hard and deep, and his long fought control shattered as he gave in to the beast inside of him. Her heels dug into his flanks and her nails bit into the skin of his back as her hips raised to meet him.

“Yes, yes,” she cried as she felt the pressure building inside of her, spreading from her womb and through her whole body. Their eyes locked and held as she tightened around him.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me. Milk my cock.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and she let go as the orgasm overtook her and sent her spiraling and shuddering out of control.
He stiffened above her and shouted her name as he erupted inside of her, each spurt of hot come felt straight to her soul.

They collapsed in each
other’s arms, a sweaty, tangled heap, and Jade felt a single tear escape from her closed lids. What she and Max had just shared had been more than she’d expected—more than she’d hoped for—and she felt the memory of her husband slip further away as she began this new chapter of her life. It wasn’t a tear of sadness—or maybe just a little—but a realization that there was no turning back.

Being with Max had shaken her to the core. He’d been her friend first, and she’d loved
him as a friend. But that love had shifted now that he was actually her lover. Despair filled her soul as she realized that she
could
love again—that it did happen twice. But she could never keep hold of the man in her arms. The clarity of it hit her in the face like a slap. It would be best if this mission and their affair ended quickly, and then she could go back to her life and Max could move on to the next woman.

Max felt her try to draw away, and he somehow found the strength to lift himself so he could see her face. Her eyes were closed and a single tear coursed down her cheek, and he wondered if she regretted what they’d just done.

He knew without a doubt nothing in his life would ever be the same. Nothing had ever felt as right as being connected with Jade mind, body and soul, and he knew he was thirty-six years old and could say he hadn’t realized what making love was until just now. It made a difference when you actually loved the person you were inside of.

He wiped the tear away with his thumb. “Did I hurt you?”

Her tear-drenched eyes opened and she shook her head. “No. You didn’t hurt me. I’m just a little overwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting it to be so—powerful.”

“I’d never ask for you to forget him,” he said softly. “He was a good man, and he loved you.”

“I know that. I wasn’t thinking about him. Not really.” She licked her lips and he leaned down to kiss her before he pulled out of her and rolled to the side. He gathered her in his arms and brought her close, so they were face to face. “It’s just—I feel like I’ve broken away from that part of my life. Almost as if it never happened.”

“Shh—” he said, touching the side of her face. “Of course it happened. And no one, least of all me, would ever want you to forget what you had with Donovan. But you need to know that I think he’d be proud of the woman you are now. The strength you’ve shown over the last coup
le of years. And I think he’d give his blessing that you chose me.” The tears she’d been fighting fell down her cheeks, and he kissed each one away. “And I think if he were talking to me, he’d slap me on the back—God, he had giant hands, didn’t he?” he said, making her smile. “Then he’d warn me that I’d better love you the way you deserved or he’d make me sorry.”

Her smile froze and panic shone in her eyes, but he put his finger over her lips when she opened her mouth to speak, halting the denial he knew would come out of them.

“And I’d tell him he didn’t need to worry. Because I’ve always loved you the way you deserved. Even when you belonged to someone else.”

Her breath hitched on a sob and she rolled out of his arms until she lay flat on her back.
Something felt like it was ripping inside of him. It was obvious she wasn’t comfortable with his confession, and he tried to tell himself it was okay. That she probably just needed time. But part of him wondered if she had no deep feelings for him—wondered if he was just someone she felt comfortable with to move onto this next stage in her life.

She scrubbed her hands over her face and then sat up on the side of the bed, so her back was to him.  “You think maybe we could grab something to eat?” she asked. “I’m starv
ing.”

He stayed silent for only a second, reminding himself to be patient. “Sure. I’ll grab the groceries out of the car and you can grab a shower. Then you can cook while I get my own shower.”

“What if I can’t cook?” she asked, finally turning to face him, a smile tugging at her mouth.

“I figure if you can calculate the wind and distance when you’re firing that rifle of yours, then you can probably follow a simple recipe.”

Her laugh was low and husky as she pushed off the bed and made her way into the bathroom. “You’re taking a hell of a chance,” she called back. “I hope you like burnt toast.”

He was pretty sure she was kidding.

***

“We’ve got
the ingredients for oatmeal or omelets,” Max said half an hour later after she’d gotten out of the shower. They’d stopped at a corner store at the last town and stocked up, and it was a good thing because there’d been nothing more than a few cans of soup in the pantry.

Her travel bag had been sitting on the bed and she pulled out a pair of loose sweats and a tank top. She looked to the door where he stood and saw h
is own hair was wet and droplets of water still rested on his shoulders. She figured he’d made use of another shower somewhere in the house. He wore jeans and nothing else, and it was a distracting sight.

“I’ll make o
melets,” she said. “You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to eat oatmeal.” At his confused look she explained. “It’s the breakfast staple of orphanages everywhere. Seven days a week, summer, winter or fall, there’d be a bowl of oatmeal sitting on the table.”

“Omelets it is,” he agreed and she followed him into the kitchen. 

They worked in companionable silence, her whisking the eggs while Max set out ingredients on the counter for her to easily reach. The savory smells of onions and butter and melted cheese filled the air.

“I didn’t realize you had a pool,” she said, looking out the wide kitchen window into the backyard. A large arbor shaded the porch and the blue water gleamed crystal clear and looked welcoming against the already warm temperatures.

“I didn’t get around to giving you a tour.” His smile was sheepish as he set the table. “The house has three bedrooms, two baths, a game room and a living room. Hopefully you’ll get to see the ceilings of all of them over the next couple of days,” he said, wagging his brows.

She couldn’t help but laugh at his obviously cheerful mood. Max went over to the stereo and flipped on the switch, turning it down low so the music was only background noise.

“Was it all bad?” he asked.

Jade didn’t have to ask what he was referring to, though she tried not to dwell on her childhood much. “It wasn’t great.” She slid the omelets onto plates and then sat them on the knotty-pine kitchen table, taking the chair across from him. “It was the little things that made it difficult. Never havi
ng any privacy. Making friends but never getting to keep them. Nothing belonged to you—not the clothes on your back or the battered schoolbooks that had been donated. It was harder for me because I was almost ten when I went into the system, and I knew what it felt like to be wanted. And then all of a sudden I wasn’t.”

“I read your file when you joined my unit,” Max said. “Your parents were killed just outside of New Orleans?”

“Mmm,” she murmured, pushing the food around on her plate. She’d never been comfortable talking about her past. Not even with Donovan, but Max just sat there patiently and waited her out. “It’s just one of those stupid, senseless things. We were eating lunch at a little restaurant one Sunday afternoon, and some asshole drives his pickup truck straight through the plate glass window in front and opens fire. My dad shoved me down and behind the table so I was hidden, otherwise I probably would have been killed too.”