Just My Type (32 page)
She stood, water sluicing off of her body, bubbles trailing down her hips and thighs. “You sure?” She reached out for his hand, bringing it to her breast. “I’m wet and warm and smell like strawberries.”
“My favorite.” He cupped her breast, then plucked the nipple. “But I can keep you wet and warm no matter where we are.”
He reached for her waist with both hands, lifting her from the tub and up against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he slid home that easily.
They both groaned. But Mac started for the bedroom anyway, not stopping until he laid her on the bed, where he had plenty of room to move and took full advantage of the fact.
She stopped minding about ten seconds in.
It wasn’t until later that she realized Mac still hadn’t lost his mind over her.
180
Chapter Twelve
“Did I tell you Sean is teaching Sara to drive the old pickup in the barn?”
“That thing runs?” Dooley asked, fishing his car keys from his pocket on his way to the parking lot from the hospital.
“Now it does.” Mac shrugged. “Sean overhauled the engine.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to. To help Sara.”
“Ah, she’s charmed him too.”
Mac nodded. Not that it was a surprise, of course. There were very few males on the planet who would be immune to Sara.
“But if it runs, what does Sean have to teach her?”
“It’s a stick shift,” Mac said with a grin, stopping beside his car. “With an ignition that needs wiggling just right, terrible shocks and a driver’s side door that has to be opened from inside.” Dooley shook his head. “And she hasn’t complained once?” Mac was amazed too. He’d been expecting the whining to start the first day she realized she was stranded without a car. Instead, she’d made friends with the neighbor and bummed rides from him until she was fed up. Then, instead of insisting someone bring her own car to Oscar, she’d asked Sean for lessons in driving the beat-up pickup that Mac’s grandfather had parked in the barn years ago.
She hadn’t told him, of course. Sean had. When he’d called to ask Mac if he could work on the engine. She was resourceful and showed no signs of leaving Oscar. Not that the truck would make it far, likely.
“They named it Sully,” Mac said.
“Sully?” Dooley asked.
“Like the big blue monster in that Disney movie,
Monsters, Inc.
” Dooley laughed and Mac grinned wider.
“I like that. Sara’s so cute,” Dooley said.
Cute. He supposed Sara was cute. He used to think the same thing. But it was really such an inadequate word for everything she was.
“Apparently she can make it from the barn to the end of the driveway only killing it once.”
Erin Nicholas
“It’s amazing she’s stuck with it.” Dooley smiled affectionately. “She’s never been very good about doing stuff that isn’t easy for her.”
Mac looked at his friend in surprise. “You noticed that?” Dooley was right, of course.
“Yeah, I noticed.” Dooley slugged Mac lightly on the arm. “You’re not the only one who’s loved her a long time you know.”
“I know…” Mac trailed off, uncertain suddenly. “At least…” Dooley rolled his eyes. “Not like that.”
“You sure?” Mac wasn’t sure why he asked. Of course Dooley wasn’t
in love
with her. But he still wanted to hear it. Out loud. In English. Maybe twice.
“Yes, I’m sure.” But Dooley clearly hesitated.
“
What
?” Mac fought not to grit his teeth.
“I just, well, I’ve always seen Sara as amazing, of course. And she’s turned into a beautiful woman.
But that’s a fact, not just an opinion. Like the sky is blue and the Yankees are the best team in baseball.” Mac snorted.
“I just don’t see her like you do,” Dooley said. “I think she looks gorgeous in those heels she always wears, stuff like that. At the same time, I’m not
attracted
. I can’t imagine kissing her. It would be—
awkward.”
Mac shifted. “I wouldn’t say…”
“Not for you,” Dooley said quickly. “I didn’t mean that. But…” He stopped and shook his head.
“Forget it.”
Mac scowled at him. “But what?”
“Nah, I shouldn’t ask you this.”
“Why?”
“It’s inappropriate.”
Well, so much for normal conversation and being fine. “When has that ever stopped you?” Mac asked. “Most of the time that’s
why
you say things.” Dooley shrugged. “Yeah, good point.”
“What do you have to say about this?”
“Was it weird? The first time you kissed Sara?”
The word “weird” reverberated in his head. Dammit. Mac flashed back to Sara climbing onto his lap at the wedding reception. Surprising, yes, Sexy as hell, yes. But weird?
“Maybe a little.”
“I just…” Dooley paused and looked at Mac cautiously. Then clearly made up his mind to continue.
“Seeing her naked, all of that, when did it stop being weird?” 182
Just My Type
Mac supposed that this was inappropriate. Still, he and Dooley had talked about nearly every inappropriate thing under the sun. “Seeing her naked was…”
Lots
of words. Amazing, breathtaking, the most erotic thing in his life. Unexpected. Definitely unexpected. Guilt-inducing. Oh, yeah definitely that last one.
Dooley, never one for deep ponderings, seemed unconcerned with Mac’s inability to describe it. “I’m glad it’s not weird for you anymore, man. Seriously. That would suck.” Mac shifted his weight again, definitely uncomfortable.
“I should have known it was fine between you two when she seemed pretty damned comfortable with the body powder,” Dooley commented.
“Yeah.” Over the past month or so, she’d tried getting comfortable with all of the stuff in the box she’d ordered. Fortunately, he’d been able to distract her from the toys fairly easily. So far.
Not that using toys with Sara would be weird. No,
weird
was too harsh. He’d liked the body powder just fine and the pink wedge had been fun. But that had been spontaneous, spur of the moment, fueled by basic biology and chemistry. And lack of real thought. It was when he got to
thinking
that things seemed not quite…uncomplicated.
“She keeps up with you then?” Dooley asked.
Mac knew exactly what he meant. Mac had shared lots of stories with the guys—some of them were even true. Knowing Sara as they did it was no wonder Dooley had a hard time reconciling Mac’s style with how they thought of Sara.
They had no idea what a seductress she could be. How hot, how curious, how enthusiastic she was.
He suspected all of it was a surprise to her as well.
“I can’t talk about my wife like this,” Mac said, shoving Dooley back a step. Rather than admit that Sara could very likely keep pace with him and enjoy every minute, or that for Mac it was…a little weird, Mac decided instead to keep a few secrets from his friends. For the first time since meeting them.
He thought about the conversation all the way to Oscar.
He was content. That was absolutely the best word to describe how he’d felt in the past month. He drove home, to a real home rather than an empty apartment, every day after work. He now had throw pillows on the couch, a wife who made a habit of having breakfast ready for him when he got home—
though the cinnamon rolls were from downtown Oscar and she stuck with French toast after the one incident with the pancakes—and an answering machine that said
Mac and Sara
.
He loved it.
It was the last thing he’d expected, but he liked hanging out at home, grilling on the back patio, going downtown for ice cream, talking about some landscaping ideas for next summer, sitting with Sara at the football games.
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It was stuff he’d always wanted but hadn’t thought he would have. He’d always assumed he would choose the drinking-dancing-clubs-I-only-need-your-first-name-tonight lifestyle over the dinner-at-home-mow-the-grass-watch-TV-with-one-woman-every-night lifestyle everyone else seemed to find satisfactory.
Turned out he’d just been waiting for Sara.
Sara definitely made him want to be home with her every night.
It was undeniable he loved his new life and didn’t want it to change. Seriously. He’d turned into Ward freakin’ Cleaver and he loved it.
He had no idea what had happened other than to attribute it to being in love, for real, finally.
Mac breathed deep as he came through the front door of the house. It had become something of a habit. Strange, sure. But he loved the way his house smelled since Sara had moved in.
She liked scented candles, she wore lots of lotions and body sprays, she used furniture polish and carpet freshener and all kinds of other things that made the house smell good. Like home. Like Sara.
He tossed his duffle to the side and started for the stairs, taking them two at a time and strode through the bedroom door, ready to smell her up close and personal.
Sara wasn’t there.
But the room smelled like her. Stronger than anywhere else in the house. It was arousing and comforting at the same time. He inhaled deeply. “Princess?”
“Hi.” She came into the bedroom from the master bath, rubbing lotion on her arms and hands. Her smile was sweet and seductive.
“Hi.”
He started around the edge of the bed, but stopped as his eyes dropped below her chin.
“Oh, my…”
“You like?” She twirled, showing off the sheer floor-length robe she wore. It was white—kind of. It was really mostly see-through. Except for the red satin hearts right over her nipples and the bright red bow tied between her breasts.
“You’ve…” He cleared his throat. “You’ve been shopping on Angie’s computer?”
“Yep.” She smiled.
She might as well have been naked. She was underneath. Which he could see clearly.
Mac couldn’t move. He was used to Sara greeting him dressed for the day. Not that she always stayed that way, of course, and she wore pajamas to bed, but they consisted of soft cotton short shorts and a matching tank top. Which were quite sexy enough.
He hadn’t seen her in lingerie.
“Do you like it?”
“Princess, there’s nothing there not to like.” Except his tenuous hold on his control.
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Just My Type
“So how come you’re standing way over there?” She came toward him, fingering the bow between her breasts.
“I’m so stiff I can’t move.”
She grinned at him and he felt his desire grow.
“Then I’ll have to do the work.” Her hands began tugging at his T-shirt and he let her slip it off over his head. Then her fingers went to work on the snap of his jeans and the zipper.
As the metal tab dragged down his length, his breath hissed out between his teeth.
He kicked the jeans off, but before he could remove his boxers, she put her hands on his chest and pushed. “Sit.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and she climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs and facing him. His hands went to her hips, drawing her against him, rubbing her sweet cleft against his barely covered erection.
She kissed him long and deep, making his fingers curl into the softness of her butt. When she let him up for air, she ran her hands over his head.
“I have a surprise for you.” She wiggled her hips, eliciting a groan from him.
“I love it already.” He lifted his hands and untied the bow between her breasts, then skimmed the robe off of her shoulders. He cupped her breasts, thumbing the tips and making her moan.
“It gets better,” she breathed.
“Never.” He kissed her again, plucking at her nipples.
She pressed down against his straining erection. Mac reached to remove the final barrier between them, but Sara said, “Suck on me, Mac.”
He paused, wanting to be bare against her, but not able to ignore a plea like that.
Palm flat against her back between her shoulder blades, he pushed her forward as she lifted herself.
He took her nipple into his mouth, swirling the tip with his tongue, then sucking slightly. She cupped the back of his head, urging him to give more. He sucked harder.
When her right nipple was hard and wet, Sara pulled away and reached past his left hip.
“Look what I got.”
Before Mac registered what was happening, she leaned back and applied a little silver clamp to her right nipple.
Mac felt like he’d been punched in the gut.
The sight was shocking and erotic and amazing and horrible.
He throbbed with lust and his chest felt tight. Sara’s nipple was clenched in the teeth of a tweezer clamp. All he could focus on was the sweet pink flesh being squeezed and how wrong it looked on her. Too dark, too slutty, too…like his old life.
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Erin Nicholas
“
No
,” he said firmly. He released the clamp and promptly pulled the nipple into his mouth. Rather than foreplay, the suction provided some relief from the pain that occurred after releasing a nipple from a clamp. The clamp cut off blood flow and the sudden return could hurt. She’d only had it on for a few seconds, but he still reacted to prevent any pain at all.
Sara squirmed on his lap, pushing his head away. “Stop. Mac, stop.” He let go but was breathing hard, working on controlling the emotions coursing through his body.
God, he’d never seen anything like that. Other nipples, other clamps, other women, yes. But on Sara it was…weird. Part of him wanted it. He couldn’t deny it. He wanted Sara’s body pushed to the limits of pleasure. For her sake. For what she could feel and experience. But he couldn’t—obviously—handle what that would mean. He couldn’t do it for
his
pleasure.
A bruise from taking her on a table, a scrape from being thrust into against a rough wall, a mark of any kind caused by him, for him, would make him crazy.
He knew it was an irrational reaction, that Sara had bought and applied the clamp herself. But he’d given her the idea. She was doing it for him, because he’d said it was what he wanted.