Chapter 6
RECKLESS
WESLEY
“Do you have something I can wear to bed?”
At Mackenzie’s question, I set my gun on the top of the table and lift my head. I see her standing across from me, looking more beautiful than ever. It’s not that she’s wearing makeup or that the button-up silk top she has on outlines her breasts and accentuates her waist or that the heels she has on make her legs look miles long. It’s that for the first time since meeting her, I can see that she’s really here with me. She’s not trying to plan an escape or trying to come up with an excuse for why this won’t work between us.
“No,” I answer as I remove my holster.
“No?” She frowns. “You don’t have a T-shirt I can borrow?”
“Nope.” I hide my smile when she plants her hands on her hips.
“Why not?”
“Why would I give you a shirt when I’m just going to take it off as soon as we get into bed?” I ask, raising a brow.
Her gaze turns heated. “You seem pretty sure of yourself.”
“You gonna deny me?” I ask, watching the pulse in her neck start to thump away. “You won’t deny me.” I answer the question for her. “I know you want my mouth and my cock. I can see your nipples through that shirt, so I know they’re hard. Just like I know that in a few minutes, when I run my fingers between your folds, you’ll already be wet for me. And I know because you keep squeezing your thighs together, trying to get rid of that ache you know only I can fix.” I take a step toward her, watching as she squeezes her legs together once more. “One of the things we’ve got figured out is chemistry, gorgeous. We have that in the bag. I can’t be in the same room with you without getting hard,” I say as I take her hand and place it over the front of my pants. My cock is testing the limits of my zipper. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you, and I know by the way that your body reacts to me and my touch that you feel the same.”
“You’ve never felt like this about anyone else?” she asks, softly searching my gaze for a lie.
“Never,” I admit as I start to unbutton her top. It’s true. I haven’t felt like this about another woman. I have never wanted another woman the way I want her. I take a seat on one of the chairs in the kitchen and pull her to me so she’s standing between my spread legs. “You make me crazy.” I kiss between her breasts.
“Just crazy?” she asks.
I pause from working at her buttons and look up at her gorgeous face.
“You make me want more.” I continue undoing the buttons and kissing down her chest and stomach until her shirt falls completely open. I roam my hands up her waist, over her breasts, and onto her shoulders.
“More?” Her breath hitches as I slide the shirt off. I reach around to unhook her bra, letting it fall to the floor.
“More.” I skim my thumbs over her nipples before cupping her breasts. “A future.”
“Oh . . .” Her breath hitches again as I lean forward and take one nipple into my mouth. I lick its tip before blowing across it and watching it tighten.
“Do you still want a shirt?” I pull my mouth away to look up at her.
Her head shakes side to side, and I smile. I take her other nipple into my mouth while pulling her down to straddle my lap.
“Wesley.” She holds on to my shoulders as I suck and lick her nipple while tugging the neglected one between my fingers.
“Lock your hands behind your back, gorgeous.” I reach over and grab my cuffs off the table. She pants and leans back. I don’t know what she sees in my gaze, but her eyes close, and she takes her hands off my shoulders and does as I say. “Good girl.” I cuff her wrists together, then pull them down until her body arches back. “I like you like this. At my mercy, unable to run. I think I may have to keep you like this all the time.” I lick over one nipple again, then the other. I listen to her moan, feel her hips shift until her core is directly over my cock. I’m so hard, it’s painful.
“Wesley, please . . .”
“Please what?” I slide my hands up her waist and then back down. I run my fingers along the top of her pants. “What do you want?”
“You. I need you.”
“Are you wet?”
“Yes.”
The word hisses out as I flick open the button of her slacks and slide down her zipper.
Seeing the barely-there panties covering her pussy, I growl. “Up.” Once she’s standing in front of me, I help her out of them. Before guiding her back onto my lap, I adjust her so her back is arched and her pussy is exposed. “Are you okay like this?”
“Yes.” She nods, swallowing. My cock throbs. I kiss along her jaw, down her neck, and then over her breasts. Her breath hitches as I slide two fingers down between her folds and on either side of her clit. I slide them deep inside of her. “Ride my fingers.”
“Wesley . . . ?” I hear the apprehension in her voice.
“Ride them. I want to watch you make yourself come.” I roll her clit with my thumb, and pink spreads from her cheeks and down her neck. “Don’t be shy, gorgeous. I plan on getting to know your body better than you know it yourself. I plan on knowing every single inch of you, inside and out,” I say against her mouth before taking a kiss. I lean back to watch her ride my fingers to orgasm. Freeing myself from my jeans, I wrap my hand around the base of my cock and watch her lick her lips. “Do you want this?”
“Yes.” Rubbing the head over her clit, I groan when she arches back. I slide the tip inside. “You’re soaked.” I lock my hands around her hips to hold her in place. “What are you doing, gorgeous?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers, rocking against me—and proving that she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Mackenzie,” I warn as she swivels her hips. Already strung tight, I know I’m two seconds from losing it when her hair slides across my skin. “Do not fucking tease me.”
“I’m not . . . ,” she lies on a moan.
My muscles tighten even farther in response. Sliding one hand up her thigh, I roll her clit with my thumb and cup a breast with my free hand, tugging at her nipple.
“Wesley.”
“I told you not to tease . . . dammit!” I hiss. My neck arches as she glides slowly down my length. I know I should tell her that we should be using a condom, but hearing the sounds she’s making and feeling her walls tighten around me makes it impossible to stop. “If you’re going to start this, you better be a good girl and ride me hard and fast,” I growl.
She moans again, lifting and falling on top of me exactly like I instructed. Sliding my hand up to the back of her neck, I drag her mouth down to me. I keep her locked in place so that I can kiss her and thrust my tongue into her mouth, mimicking the way she’s fucking me.
“Wesley, I’m so close,” she pants.
I know she is—her walls are squeezing me so tight that it’s almost painful.
“Fuck me, Mackenzie. Don’t stop until I say,” I tell her.
She sits back on my lap, taking me hard—so hard that my spine starts to tingle and my balls draw up.
Knowing I’m about to lose it, I warn her, “I’m not wearing a condom. You keep fucking me, and I’m going to come inside your hot, tight, pussy bare.”
“Come inside me,” she whimpers.
I let out a curse, wrap my hands around her hips, and pull her down onto my hard length over and over until we both shout out our uninhibited release.
Breathing heavily, I tuck my face into her neck and wrap my arms around her to keep her right where she is. Right where she belongs.
“Twice,” I murmur.
Her body jolts before relaxing.
“I know.”
“You need to get on birth control,” I tell her, unlocking the cuffs from her wrist and letting them fall to the floor. I gather her in my arms.
“I know,” she agrees again.
My hold tightens as an image of her holding a little girl with red hair fills my mind.
“I’ll make an appointment.”
“All right.” I roam my hand down her back, then back up and into her hair. “Do you feel like showering with me, or do you want to sleep?”
“I’ll shower,” she says, sounding half-asleep. I smile as she whispers, “But you’re going to have to carry me. I don’t know if my legs are up to holding my weight yet.”
“I can do that.” I stand on shaking legs while staying inside her. She tightens her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.
“Is that supposed to be possible?” she whimpers, digging her nails into my shoulders.
I start to get hard again.
“With you, yeah,” I say, walking into the bathroom and flipping on the light before reaching in to start up the shower. Once the steam begins to fill the room, I step over the ledge and into the tub. I listen to her gasp as my cock slides even farther inside. “One more time. Tomorrow we’ll stop being reckless.”
“Tomorrow,” she agrees as I press her back into the tile and take her again under the warm water.
Feeling the bed shift, I jerk awake. I grab hold of Mackenzie and pull her back down into the bed with me. “Where are you going?”
“I just need to use the restroom.”
Her quiet words fill me with relief. I loosen my hold, then feel her lips touch my shoulder before she exits the bed. Looking for my cell phone on my nightstand, I find it and pick it up to check the time. It’s already seven, which means I need to get up for work soon. Hearing the toilet flush and the water turn on, I wait for her to come back to bed. I smile as I watch her run naked across the room and dive under the covers.
“It’s like the Arctic in here. Do you have the heat on?” She shivers, and I grin as she tucks herself tightly against me, trying to absorb my heat.
“I like sleeping in the cold. I like it more that you have no choice but to use me for body heat,” I say.
She hits my chest playfully, making me laugh.
Kissing the top of her head, I ask, “What are your plans for today?”
“I’ll probably go with Libby to check on Fawn and Levi, then see if my parents need anything. They’re going to be here for a few days,” she says as her fingers draw a random pattern over my heart. “What about you?”
“I have work, but I’d like to see you after.”
“I’d like that.”
Rolling her to her back, I hover over her and slide my fingers through her hair. “Pack an overnight bag. I’ll pick you up tonight when I get off work.”
“This is more than just sex, right?”
Her question catches me off guard. I freeze for a moment, then reach over her head and turn on the bedside lamp. Looking down at her once my eyes have adjusted to the bright light, I take her face between my palms.
“This is way more than just sex. I know I can’t keep my hands off you when you’re close, but I also can’t keep my mind off you when you’re gone. Don’t tell me that you’ve really been thinking that this was just about hooking up?”
“I haven’t.” She shakes her head and closes her eyes for a moment before looking at me once more. “I’ve never had a one-night stand before. I—”
Covering her lips with a finger, I shake my head.
“You still haven’t had a one-night stand. We didn’t just hook up and call it quits. Even if you hadn’t forgotten your phone, I would have eventually found you.”
“You would have?”
“Don’t you feel this thing between us? How strong it is? Do you think that I could just let you go without trying to find out what exactly it is?” I kiss her jaw. “Since the second I saw you, I knew that I wanted you. But from the moment you smiled at me and told me that you got stood up, I knew that there was something about you that I had to have. Lucky for me your date didn’t show up that night. If he had, I can’t guarantee that I wouldn’t have tried to talk to you anyway, even with him sitting right next to you.”
“Oh,” she whispers as a small smile plays on her lips.
“I know that nothing about us is traditional, but I’m okay with that as long as there is an us. So are we on the same page now?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” I kiss her, then roll to my back and pull her over on top of me.
“Wesley . . .”
“Yeah?” I run my hand down her arm as she slides up my body so she can rest her chin on my chest. I slide her hand up the side of my neck before wrapping it around my jaw.
“I know you may not want to, but if you do want to talk about what happened last night, or”—she pauses—“what happened before, I’m here,” she says quietly.
My stomach muscles tighten, and my heart constricts.
“Thanks, gorgeous,” I say quietly.
She turns her head and kisses my chest before resting her cheek against my pec. In a few moments, she’s back asleep.
Before my boot even makes it over the threshold at the hospital, I hear my name. I look up to find Mackenzie’s mom rushing toward me down the empty hall. She’s wearing dark slacks and a Christmas sweater with bells on it. I had called Mackenzie a little while before, and she told me that she and Libby were at the hospital. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone: get a few minutes with my girl and check on my partner.
Now, seeing the look on Katie’s face, I remember that Mackenzie also mentioned telling her parents about us. I should have held off trying to see her until this evening. Mackenzie was right—her mom is crazy.
“Oh, I’m so happy to see you! So, so happy.” She pats the side of my face before yanking my head down. Forced to bend, I hug her awkwardly as she kisses my cheek. “I knew, I just knew that you and our Mac would hit it off. I have a sick sense about these things.”
“I think you mean sixth sense, Mom,” Libby says, catching up to her and giving me a one-armed hug while rolling her eyes.
“That’s what I said—a sixth sense.” Katie shoos away her youngest with one hand and takes mine with the other. “Mac is in talking to Fawn and Levi. I’ll lead you that way, and we can talk.”
“Mom, what did Mac say about scaring off her boyfriend?”
“I’m not scaring him off,” she says as she turns to look up at me. “Right?”
“Not at all,” I deny.
She smiles, wiggling her head side to side in a way that reminds me of a hyper Chihuahua I had growing up.
“So . . . before we get into the room, I want to talk to you about Christmas. I know you mentioned at Thanksgiving that your family lives in Seattle, and that you would be here in New York for the holiday, so I wanted to invite you myself to Long Island.”
“That’s really nice, but my mom and stepdad will be coming here,” I say.
She stops to look at me.
“Oh! Well, I’d love to meet your mother! Bring her along.” She smiles, and I fight back a laugh.
Maybe Mackenzie had the right idea about keeping our relationship from her family. I can see now that her mom is going to be difficult to disappoint—and even harder to keep out of our business.
“I’ll see how my mom feels about that. I’m sure that she would like to meet you, too.”
“Meet who?”
Lifting my head, I smile at Mackenzie. She’s standing just outside Levi’s door wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that is about ten sizes too big for her small frame. Her hair is down in a wavy mess. It reminds me of what she looks like after we make love.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I say.
Her eyes soften for a brief moment as she looks at me. Then she looks at her mom and narrows them.
“Who are you meeting?”
“Wesley’s mom, when she comes into town for Christmas,” Katie says.
The color drains from Mackenzie’s face as her eyes fly to meet mine. “Your mom is coming into town?” she asks.
Libby takes Katie’s hand and begins to drag her into the room. She closes the door behind them, leaving Mackenzie in the hall with me.
“She is.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Why do you have the look on your face that you always get when you’re about to run away?”
“I don’t.”
“You do—I have that look memorized,” I say.
She looks away, takes a deep breath, and then looks at me once more.
“Do you want me to meet her?” she asks.
I know she’s nervous by the way she wrings her hands together.
“Yeah, I’d like you to meet her. I know she’s going to want to meet you, too.”
“But I’m a tomboy!” she blurts with wide eyes. I frown, confused.
“Pardon?”
“I’m a tomboy. How will your mom feel about you dating a tomboy?”
“Who the hell told you that you’re a tomboy?”
“I’ve always been a tomboy. I like wearing jeans and sneakers. I don’t like makeup. I love sports, beer, and hanging out with the guys.”
“I already know all this about you. I know that you’re a woman who likes to be comfortable, who looks amazing without makeup, who enjoys sports and beer and has male friends. Who the fuck cares about any of that? You’re beautiful, and my mom will think so, too.”
“But I’m not like most women.”
“Thank fuck for that, gorgeous. If you were like most women, I wouldn’t want you like I do.” I uncross my arms and step toward her. “Now stop stressing about this. If you can handle your mom, I guarantee you can handle mine. She’ll adore you.”
“If you say so,” she huffs as I drag her against me and plant a kiss on her lips.
“I know so.” I kiss her again as she winds her arms around my neck.
“Is it weird that I missed you today?” The question is barely audible, but I hear it. Relief fills me—she’s feeling exactly what I am.
“Probably, but I don’t give a fuck about that, either.” I kiss her again and she smiles.
“I kinda like you, Wesley Jameson.”
“I just straight-up like you, Mackenzie Reed,” I say.
She smiles, dancing her fingers across my neck. Her eyes watch them move across my skin.
“Why don’t you call me Mac, like everyone else?”
“Because I don’t want to be like everyone else to you,” I say.
She looks up at me, and her lips part.
“Are you two going to stand out there all day, or are you going to come in?” Levi breaks into the moment.
Mackenzie blinks, then shakes her head before looking at him.
“Glad to see you up and about, man.” I shake his hand and he gives me a one-arm hug.
“Thanks, man.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask when he steps back and runs his good hand through his hair.
“All right. Ready to get out of this place. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“Oh, stop being an angry bear,” Fawn says as she comes toward us down the hall.
I see how he turns to look at her, his gaze turning soft.
“I’m not angry.”
“You’ve been growling at everyone since we woke up,” she tells him, tucking herself into his good side and resting her hand on his stomach.
“I woke up with both of our moms hovering over us. That’s not exactly my favorite way to start the day,” he huffs.
Mackenzie and Fawn laugh.
“I know, but they are just trying to help. What are you doing up anyway? You are supposed to be in bed.”
“I needed to get out of the room for a minute. Plus, you were gone a long time. I thought that you were just going to the gift shop,” he tells her.
She shakes her head.
“I was gone ten minutes tops. Now come on. It’s time to go back to bed. The doctor said to take it easy.”
She ushers him back around and through the door toward the bed. The moms are in there at a small table, playing cards with Libby.
After saying a quick hello to everyone, I head to the bed. Fawn is helping Levi get back in.
“I can’t stay long. Someone needs to do a shit ton of paperwork, and since my partner decided he’d take a paid vacation, I got stuck with it,” I joke.
Levi grins. “Thanks for that, man.”
“No problem.” I pat his good shoulder lightly. “If you need anything, just send a text.”
“I might need you to help me escape,” he says quietly.
Fawn narrows her eyes at him, and he shrugs while giving her a smile.
“Like I said, just send a text.” I look at Mackenzie. “Walk me out?”
“Sure.”
When we reach my truck, I make out with her for ten minutes before I head back to the station.
Feeling Mackenzie’s warm breath brush across my neck, I tighten my fingers around her hip with one hand and sift my fingers through her soft hair with the other. She fell asleep twenty minutes ago, sprawled out on top of me on the couch wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of my boxers. We had just eaten half a pizza and watched Die Hard and Die Hard 2.
When I had asked her what she wanted to watch, she told me she loves action movies. I honestly expected her to tell me that she loved romantic comedies or dramas—the types of movies that make me fall asleep halfway through. Once again, she surprised me.
Just like she surprised me on our first date by not wanting to eat at the restaurant I had chosen for us. Most women I’ve dated would rather pick at a forty-dollar salad than eat a twenty-dollar pizza covered in meat and cheese. Then again, I’m learning quickly that she isn’t like most women I’ve known—she’s better. She’s exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for. I love that she has no problem devouring a pizza without apology and looking sexy doing it, and that in bed she gives as good as she gets. I like that she’s comfortable in her own skin. That she doesn’t feel a need to hide herself under makeup. I appreciate that she’s strong and independent, but that she can be vulnerable at times.
I know without a doubt she was made just for me. Now I just need to convince her that I was made for her, too.