Chapter 5 #3
“You said you were thirsty,” he murmured, his eyes focused on her lips. Hell, he was holding on by a thread. Now his X-rated fantasies were going to include the knowledge of how soft her skin was and how red was a fantastic color on her.
She didn’t take the glass from him, so Devin placed it on the counter beside her and willed himself to walk away, put some distance between them. Logically, he knew it was what he should do. But he couldn’t seem to make his body cooperate.
MacKenzie’s eyes were wide as she studied him and…
wait…did she move closer, or did he? It was hard to tell.
When her hand came up and rested on his bare chest, Devin closed his eyes and tried–again–to remember why he should be putting space between them.
Why he should wish her a good night and simply go back to his room.
Then she whispered his name and that was it.
He was lost.
Closing the distance between them, he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek as he lowered his lips to hers.
In all the times he’d imagined it, Devin thought it would be a frenzied coming together, but it wasn’t.
It was slow and sweet and the kind of kiss you just sort of sank into and went back again and again for more.
MacKenzie’s arms slowly snaked up to wrap around his shoulders before her hands raked up through his hair and it felt better than he thought possible.
Their movements were slow as they pressed together and all Devin could think was how he would gladly forego sleep and stand here all night kissing her if she’d let him.
Which–by the way she was responding to him–she might.
He needed to breathe.
He needed to keep kissing her.
But more than anything else, he just needed her .
Reluctantly, his lips left hers and forged a path across her cheek and down the slender column of her throat.
Doing his best to keep from overwhelming her–and himself–Devin slowly lowered his hands.
They skimmed across her shoulders and down her arms before touching her bare legs.
Hell, he wanted to spend a whole lot of time right there, but decided to wrap around and gently grasp her hips before he went back to kissing her lips.
She hummed with approval as his tongue teased hers.
His arms banded around her waist as he took the kiss deeper.
MacKenzie’s legs wrapped around him as she pressed impossibly closer, and Devin knew it would take very little effort for them to take this to the next level.
Unable to help himself, he rubbed against her center, could feel her wetness through her panties and his boxers and it was almost more than he could stand.
Just another minute.
One more minute and he’d be able to stop and form a coherent thought.
Then maybe he’d be able to ask her if they should take this to his bedroom–or hers.
He wasn’t going to be picky about it. Just the two of them–minus the little attire they were wearing–and a soft surface.
Not that there was anything wrong with right here in the kitchen either.
Hell, with the slightest bit of encouragement, he’d be more than willing to give it a shot.
Just one more kiss and…
“Devin?” she panted, tearing her mouth from his. Her voice was soft–almost as if she were far away.
It took a moment for his gaze to focus. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was in sexy disarray. Her lips were swollen from his kisses and she was breathing hard.
A damn fantasy come to life.
She said his name again and that snapped him out of his lust-filled fog. “What are we doing?” she asked quietly.
A nervous chuckle came out before he could stop it. “Um…”
She laughed with him and rested her head on his chest. “I mean…I know what we were doing but…”
He knew what she was getting at. And not one for lying, he told her exactly what he was thinking. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you.”
Lifting her head, MacKenzie looked at him like he was crazy. “I looked like a drowned rat.”
Shaking his head, Devin tucked a finger under her chin. “You were sexy as hell. You are sexy as hell.”
She swallowed hard. “Devin…” She sighed.
Regret. He heard it loud and clear and mentally cursed himself.
It took all the strength he had to step away from her.
And rather than have an awkward conversation, he decided to change the subject and make a quick retreat back to his room.
“So…um…your foot. Is it okay? Do you think you can walk on it?”
“I think so.”
“Good. That’s good.” He cleared his throat. “Well…um…it’s late and we’ve got to be up early, so I’ll…um…I’ll see you in the morning.”
When she didn’t say anything else, Devin ducked his head and walked out of the kitchen and didn’t breathe freely until his bedroom door was closed behind him.
There was no awkwardness the next morning.
If anything, Devin acted as he always did.
He greeted her with a smile and talked to her about what his plans were that day for her car and for the business.
MacKenzie knew she should be relieved, but she wasn’t.
Did the kiss mean nothing to him? Did he regret it?
Or was he just so damn nice that he was going out of his way to make sure she didn’t feel awkward?
She groaned at the last option because it was just so typical of Devin.
And how crazy was it that she knew what was typical of him after knowing him for less than a week?
They rode together to his shop and while she got set up at the front desk and checked in customers, Devin went about his business and started working on her car.
Now it was lunchtime and she wanted to scream.
Would it have killed him to just say…something?
! It didn’t even have to be major, just something like “Hey, I guess we got carried away last night” or maybe “I’m sorry about that kiss.
It won’t happen again.” But then…pretty much anything he said was going to rub her the wrong way.
She didn’t want him to apologize or regret it, but a little compliment about how hot it was wouldn’t hurt.
Looking up, she saw two women heading through the door.
They were both blondes and clearly looked like they were on a mission.
Maybe their car broke down and they were here for an emergency tow?
Or maybe…she cut off her train of thought because suddenly they were right there in front of her.
Smiling brightly, MacKenzie welcomed them.
“Hey! Good afternoon! How can we help you today?”
The two women looked at each other and grinned before looking back at MacKenzie. “Um…hi,” the shorter of the two began. “Are you MacKenzie?”
Eyeing them warily, she nodded.
“Okay, good!” the taller blonde chimed in. “I’m Ashlynn Donovan and this is Avery Hudson and we’d like to invite you to lunch!”
“I was handling this, Ash,” Avery said. “You don’t need to be the one in the spotlight, issuing all the invitations.” She rolled her eyes before looking over at MacKenzie. “Yes. We would love to invite you to lunch. We’re not too late, are we? Have you eaten yet? We meant to get here earlier, but…”
“But I was finishing up a color job on Mrs. Banyon, and she was very chatty today.”
“Um…” MacKenzie began.
“If you have, we’ll just tell Devin you’re taking an extended break.
He won’t have a problem with it,” Ashlynn stated firmly–as if she knew Devin well enough to know he’d be okay with the whole thing.
“We’re just going to go over to Sweetbriar Cafe.
You’ve been there, right? They have a little bit of everything you could want for lunch on the menu. So what do you say?”
“Um…”
“Ladies,” Devin said with a grin as he stuck his head into the waiting area. “You’re not scaring MacKenzie, are you?”
Both women shook their head, looking as innocent as nuns in church. “Who, us?” Avery asked sweetly.
“We were just here to invite her to lunch,” Ashlynn said. “We wanted to welcome MacKenzie to Sweetbriar Ridge and…”
Devin chuckled. “I swear you do a better job of welcoming people to town than the local Welcome Wagon.”
Ashlynn frowned at him. “Leave old Gladys alone. She’s 93 for crying out loud,” she protested. “And besides, this is simply about being friendly. MacKenzie’s stuck here with all you guys and smelly, dirty cars. We just thought she’d like to take a break and have a civilized lunch with the girls.”
Devin didn’t look completely convinced. He turned toward MacKenzie. “If you’re okay with it, go on. We can cover the phones and the desk while you’re gone.”
Not sure if his being agreeable was a blessing or a curse, she shrugged and reached under the desk for her purse.
Besides, the girls looked nice enough–although she had a sneaky suspicion this lunch invitation wasn’t purely for her own benefit.
Judging from the town’s reaction to her the last few days, MacKenzie was pretty sure Avery and Ashlynn were simply looking to get the dirt on her and Devin’s relationship.
Something that was completely confirmed the second the door to the shop closed behind them.
“So…you and Devin, huh?”
“Is it true you just met him when your car broke down?”
“And you’re staying with him? Ooo…nice!”
“And working with him too? That is so sweet!”
“But you like him, right? Like really, really like him?”
“Devin is one of the best guys I know. Believe me. Many women have had their eyes on him for a long time, but he hasn’t seemed interested.”
“Have you kissed him yet? I bet he’s a great kisser.”
They hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot when MacKenzie stopped in her tracks.
“Okay,” she began diplomatically. Honestly, they weren’t being catty or snarky.
They were genuinely excited about the prospect of MacKenzie and Devin being an item.
But… “Those are a lot of questions in such a short amount of time,” she went on.
“Could we maybe pull back a bit and just…I don’t know…
get to know one another before you start the inquisition? ”
Both women stopped and looked at her–all wide eyes and serious expressions.
For about three seconds.
Then they burst out laughing.
“You know what,” Avery stated, “I like you.” She put her arm around MacKenzie and started walking toward the cafe again. “You’re going to fit in perfectly here.”
“Oh…no,” MacKenzie protested. “I’m not…I mean…I’m just…”
Ashlynn came up on the other side of her. “Sweetbriar Ridge is literally the greatest place to live. Are you coming to the reunion stuff this weekend?”
“Um…”
“Has Devin told you about the upcoming festival at the ski resort? Because seriously, it’s going to be amazing. The food, the games, the rides…”
“Careful,” Avery whispered loudly to MacKenzie. “Her family is solely responsible for all the fabulous things happening here in Sweetbriar Ridge, and given the opportunity, she’s prone to start waxing poetic about it. You can tune her out.”
And honestly, MacKenzie kind of did. Not because she wasn’t interested in hearing about the town, the reunion, or the festival, but because for the first time in a long time, she felt like she actually fit in somewhere.