“It’ll be dark soon.” MacGyver’s disapproval displayed across his face, and he started to wag his head.
“Kellie’s been walking these hills in the dark since she was sixteen. There’s nothing out there she hasn’t met head-on before.” Charlie winked, and the sorrow Kellie had been fighting for the past few minutes ached for release.
MacGyver shook his head. “That was before there was a lunatic after her. She’s not walking anywhere.”
“You’re right, Son. You’ll have to forgive a forgetful old man. I got so excited with the news about Anna, I forgot why we’re here for a second. Of course it’s not safe for Kellie to walk, but she might accept a ride, if you were to come back.” Pop gave MacGyver a smug grin, and Kellie rolled her eyes. “I’ll let you two settle this and meet you downstairs in the car. I’m looking forward to having a talk with that marshal.” Pop strode to the screen door.
Chip sprang to his feet, stretched and trotted after him. The door banged shut behind them.
MacGyver waited until they were alone before he knelt beside her chair. “For the record, I never believed you stole the money, but I should have told you the truth from the beginning. Sorry, Champ.”
“Yes, you should have, but I hardly have room to talk. Maybe we could start again?”
He leaned toward her until he was so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. Was he going to kiss her?
“I like that idea.” He murmured the words a hair’s breadth from her mouth before he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped, following the sting with the soothing stroke of his tongue.
So many reasons this was a bad idea. The words to stop him caught in her throat, and she never uttered them. Instead, her traitorous body hummed with need, and reasoning became a chore she was no longer capable of.
Kellie trembled as he drew her toward him. His lips and tongue traced a heated path across her jaw to her earlobe. He moved her hair aside to bare her throat and kiss the spot that throbbed and pulsed with every beat of her wild heart. Her nipples hardened against the lace of her bra, and she pressed shamelessly against him, unable…or unwilling to heed the warnings that sounded continuously in her head.
She gasped as he flicked his thumb over one swollen peak. His arm circled her waist and pulled her flush with his hard, muscled body. A moan escaped when his hand burrowed beneath her shirt and found the bare skin of her stomach, then moved upward until he grazed the swell of her breast.
A wicked grin curved his lips, and he pulled the cup of her bra down, freeing the swollen nipple to his touch. She drew a shuddering breath, and an ache of yearning shot straight to her core.
Suddenly, he stood, pulling her up, lifting her until she sat on the edge of the table. Parting her knees, he stepped between her legs and hauled her against the hard thickness of his manhood. The heat of his closeness awoke parts of her she’d nearly forgotten about, and she wrapped her legs around his hips, needing to be closer.
What am I doing?I have to find Anna. I should be concentrating on that—not wondering how he’d feel inside me. This is foolish and wrong.But stopping would have taken more strength than she possessed.
She fisted his jacket and pulled his head to her lips. He obliged, covering her mouth, devouring her, his heady, masculine scent overwhelming her senses.
He slid his hand between their bodies, undid the button of her jeans and slipped inside to cup her throbbing mound. He swallowed her moan as he worked his thumb over her swollen center while he slipped two fingers inside her channel, slick with her need. Pressure built, expanding within her. She squirmed against him, seeking release from the crescendo of sweet torment. When she’d reached a feverish turmoil, with no alternative but to combust and fly apart, he rolled her aroused bits between thumb and forefinger, and she shattered into a million tiny shards.
When her trembling finally stopped, MacGyver still rocked her, his face buried in her neck, while his large hands traced comforting circles on her back. My God! The man had played her body like an instrument.
Coming apart in his arms, being intimate and vulnerable with a man she hadn’t known existed two days ago, had to be the dumbest thing she’d ever done—but she’d just climaxed harder and quicker than she’d thought possible, making it damn hard to feel remorse. Besides, his large body wrapped around hers, holding her as though she were someone special, felt right. Maybe shewasthe bimbo Tony’s uncle had thought she was, because all she could think about was wanting more.
After a few minutes, he unwound his arms and leaned back enough to look at her. A crooked grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean for that to happen but—”
He didn’t mean to?Kellie felt the slow burn of humiliation as she pushed him away and shoved herself from the table. “Of course not. Neither did I. We were simply caught up in the moment—relieved that everything’s out in the open. It didn’t mean anything, and it won’t happen again. Let’s agree to forget this lapse in judgment.” The words tumbled out, one after the other, with apparently no direct connection to her brain. Her face tingled with the influx of blood that was no doubt creating blotches on her cheeks.
MacGyver frowned as he gripped her arms, stopping her escape. In spite of her hands braced on his chest, he pulled her in for a slow, smoldering kiss. He smiled when he pulled back to see her face again. “You didn’t let me finish. I didn’t mean to let that happen, but I’m not sorry it did. There’s not a chance I’ll ever forget how you respond to my kiss—my touch. Or how soft your skin is—how we fit together. I damn sure won’t forget those sexy sounds you make when you come.” He brushed her hair behind her shoulders. “And darlin’, if I live to be a hundred, I won’t forget what it felt like for you to trust me that much.”
He kissed her again, then pushed her an arm’s length away. “I have to go before Charlie busts through that door to see what’s taking me so long. But, I’d like to come back and explore whatever this thing is between us. Can we agree on that?”
Kellie wanted that more than she cared to admit, but it was crazy to continue on this path, wasn’t it? She didn’t know anything about him, and though she’d spilled her guts, telling him far more than she’d intended, he didn’t know everything about her either. There were still things she hadn’t told him. Things he might hold against her. No, it would be better for both of them if they stopped here before they got in too deep.
He had the sexiest damn smile she’d ever seen. She smiled back, and the pendulum of her doubts swung back the other way. “I’d like that.”
His pupils dilated, and desire shone from his normally controlled countenance. He kissed her one last time, and then he was gone, running down the stairs. She dropped her head into her hands.
Wait. Did I just say that out loud?
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, Bro. It’s about damn time. I thought we might have to go looking for your sorry ass.” At the stove, Travis stirred a pot of something that smelled good enough to eat, while Blake smirked, opened the refrigerator door and perused the contents. US Marshal Jeremy Dahl carried plates and silverware to the table, as though he hadn’t just held Kellie at gunpoint.
Apparently, the dust had settled after the whoop-ass she’d heaped on their intruder. Travis seemed satisfied the marshal didn’t pose a danger. Hell, even the damn dog thought Jeremy was okay, excitedly greeting him and the others with maniacal wags of his tail. Who was MacGyver to argue with either Travis or Chip?