8. Kayla
8 KAYLA
“What in the hell was I thinking? I can’t host a rock star for dinner at my house; this is ridiculous.” I shook my head as I stood in front of my closet, freaking out.
“You were being bold,” Rob assured me, smiling through the mirrored sliding closet door.
“No!” I turned and shook my head. “This is something you would do, not me. I’m not bold or brave—at least not outside the ER.” And Mac was a lot. He was too much. Too masculine. Too nice. Too hot. Too sweet and too damn thoughtful. “Why did I do this?”
“Because you like him. That was clear the night at the pub. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, Kay.” Her smile was wistful. “For the record, I’ve dated actors, a maestro, and too many models, but never a rock star and never anyone who looked at me like that.” She shivered. “Give this a chance.”
I glared at her and yanked out a pair of black leggings and a sweater that covered my generous backside. “This seems like a bad idea.”
Rob’s eyes glittered with amusement. “But a fun one. Nix and Torey both agree that you should approach this with a positive attitude. He’s hot, charming, and he likes you; let that be enough for now.”
“And what happens if I develop feelings?”
She shrugged. “If you need an emergency ex-fil,exit, call me.”
My brows shot up. “Ex-fil?”
“Been watching a lot of military dramas.” She rolled her eyes. “The point is, no matter what happens, you have us to help you through it. Unless you’d rather regret being a scaredy cat?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No more scaredy cat. I’m done with that. Mostly. At least circumstantially.” Having fun with Mac was an easy way to be brave compared to jumping out of airplanes, anyway.
“Exactly. Go with the red flats; they’re sexy without trying too hard.”
“Thanks.” I shouldn’t be this nervous. Mac and I were friends—sort of. “Okay. I can do this. I have to, because he’ll be here soon, and I need to get the potatoes boiling.”
“Mashed potatoes, the way to a man’s heart.” She wiggled her brows and followed me down the hall to the front door. “Good luck. Call if you need me.”
“Will do, and thanks for coming over to talk me off the ledge.” I wrapped Rob in a tight hug and closed my eyes. “I’m glad you’re back home. I missed you.”
“Missed you too. Call me after, or in the morning.” With those final words, I was left alone with my thoughts.
And my nerves.
I cracked open the bottle of bourbon I bought at the grocery store after leaving Mac’s place and dropped two ice cubes into a glass, using the brown liquid to calm my nerves.
“Okay. Better.” My limbs slowly relaxed as I chopped the potatoes and put them into a big pot of water while the chicken and mushrooms went into the oven. It was a simple meal, but it was something I did well.
I jumped when the doorbell rang, then laughed at myself. I finished the last sip in my glass and answered the door with a smile. “Mac.” My voice came out low and breathy, which felt ridiculous since I’d gone running with him in nothing but a pair of thin shorts. But seeing him in a plain white t-shirt and thigh-hugging jeans sent my libido into overdrive. “Hey. Come on in.”
His gaze raked over me, and a slow smile appeared. “Lookin’ good, Kayla.”
“Thanks.” I felt myself blush and turned away, causing Mac to laugh.
“Damn, it smells amazing in here. You actually cooked?”
“Yeah, Mac, I cooked. That’s what happens when you invite someone over for dinner.”
He blinked, surprised. “I’m shocked.”
“Our lives really are different.”
“Maybe. I brought whiskey. Jameson, aged eighteen years.”
“Fancy,” I teased. “Very different lives.”
“Maybe,” he agreed, following me into the kitchen. “But I like our differences. Need some help?”
“Nope. We have some time before dinner is ready, but there’s cheese, fruit, and booze.”
“Ice?”
“In the freezer, but you know Mac, it’s just beer we’ll be drinking, not whiskey.”
“Or bourbon,” he said, noticing the bottle I bought. “Great minds think alike. And it’s St. Patrick’s Day; it would be blasphemous to drink anything other than Irish whiskey.” He poured two generous glugs into each glass, topping them off with two ice cubes. “So, Kayla, why did you choose emergency medicine?” He handed me the glass, and I accepted it easily, ignoring the way electricity zapped my fingertips when we touched.
“Oh,” I stammered at the unexpected question. “Because it’s the most immediate impact on saving a life, and every day is different. It keeps my mind sharp, and I’m always learning something new.”
“So you’re into learning and instant gratification?”
Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn’t anywhere on the list. “Learning, yes. I can see how you gleaned that from what I said. So, yeah, I guess I’m into instant gratification.” Even saying the words made my cheeks flush furiously. “I haven’t had enough to drink for this conversation.”
His laughter was loud and boisterous, sexy because he wasn’t trying to be. “Drink up, then.”
“Did you mean it? All that stuff you said to Edith about your job?”
He nodded. “Yes. I love my job, just like you do. But press and gossip, overzealous fans for me, are like dealing with insurance and death for you.”
“A necessary evil.”
“Exactly.” He smiled, as if pleased that someone understood him. “Last relationship?”
I sighed. “We’re getting right into it, huh?” I laughed and finished my glass. “I was seeing someone when I started medical school. He couldn’t handle it, which was fine until he started sabotaging me—stealing my books, partying all night so I couldn’t study or sleep, and sleeping with someone I thought was a friend.”
“Asshole.”
I smiled at his immediate defense. “I agree. You?”
A little over four years ago, I dated Angel Santos. It worked for a while because we were both busy—me recording all the time and her on photoshoots around the globe. We were so busy that she decided a photographer was a perfect substitute.”
“Dammit. What a bitch. I’m sorry, Mac.”
He grinned widely. “Thank you.”
I listened to Mac talk about his bandmates while I mashed the potatoes and plated the meat and mushrooms on a serving platter. “Sounds like you guys really like each other.”
“You have to, or else touring is a disaster, and these days that’s what we do most.” The pride and joy in his voice only made him more attractive. “It’s like having five brothers you can’t escape from for months, even years, at a time.”
I cackled as I brought the food to the table, smiling when he jumped up to help. “Sounds rowdy. And amazing for an only child.”
“It’s better these days. Back when we used to crisscross the country in a beat-up VW van, it was crazy. And smelly. When we upgraded to the bus, it was an improvement but still smelly. Now we travel by air and stay in nice hotels with our own suites. It smells a lot better.”
“It’s good to move up in the world, isn’t it?” He wasn’t just a pretty face; he was a talented musician and singer who had worked his way up to become one of the biggest stars in the world.
“Damn good.” He waited for me to sit before he did, taking the seat beside me so our legs brushed under the table. “To new friends, hot kisses, and understanding.”
I smiled at his sweet toast. “I’ll drink to that.” The cold, fiery whiskey was surprisingly smooth, and I moaned before licking my lips. “Can I say something? It might be a weird thing to say considering we just met, but screw it. I’m proud of you, Mac Lancaster. You are the American dream, living your dream of creating music and bringing joy to people with your voice and lyrics. Screw anyone who looks at that beautiful face of yours and sees anything less than your talent.”
His gaze was intense, focused on my face until my heart raced wildly in my chest. “You, Kayla, are making it impossible to keep my hands off you.”
His words sent a shiver down my spine.
“Luckily, I’m starving, and my aunt would kill me if I let your hard work go to waste.”
Bummer. We ate quickly, as if we both sensed that something better than dessert awaited us after dinner. Between bites, we exchanged stories—he shared about growing up with his aunt and uncle, and I recounted losing my parents just before graduating from college. By the time dinner ended, it felt like we had formed a connection.
That was amazing.
It was also terrifying.
“Thank you, Kayla. That was delicious.” He licked his lips, and never in my life had I wanted to be a pair of lips so badly.
“You’re welcome.” My voice was breathless, filled with desire.
He stood and grabbed the bottle. “Come on.”
I followed Mac to the living room, captivated by the movement of his ass and his powerful legs in those jeans.
“Doc,” he groaned.
I looked up to find him staring at me while I was clearly checking him out. “Oh, um. Sorry?”
He stepped in close, his laughter reverberating against my chest. One hand cupped the back of my neck and slid up until his fingers tangled in my hair. “I’m not,” he growled, and then—finally—his lips were on mine again. His tongue plunged between my lips with force, taking control and kissing me until all the breath left my body.
He kissed me until I shook with need, clinging to his broad shoulders. I pressed my chest against his, eager to get as close to his hard muscles as possible. My hands roamed freely down his back and around his narrow waist, resting lightly on the waistband of his jeans, brushing against the dusting of hair that disappeared behind the hem.
“Kayla,” he growled, pulling back to press his forehead against mine. “I want you. I need to have you.”
Yes, please. “I’m right here, Mac. Wanting and needing you right back.”
“Fuck,” he moaned, capturing my mouth again, hotter and hungrier this time. His hands worked quickly until I stood before him in nothing but black lace. “Holy fuck, Kayla.”
“You like it?”
“That image is going into a song,” he growled, and then he made my lingerie disappear. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” he said before his mouth descended on my nipple. His tongue swirled around the stiff peak while his hand massaged the other.
“Oh, yes!” His teeth sank into the sensitive flesh of my nipple, and my hips bucked. “Mac.”
He pulled back, his green eyes full of heat. “Say it again.”
I smiled, feeling hot and playful. “Make me.”
He switched his mouth to the other breast and did a hot tongue-rolling move that made me weak in the knees. He groaned and devoured my breast until he heard that magic word.
“Mac, yes!”
He rewarded me by kissing his way down my body, over my soft belly, and parting my thighs.
“Mac!” His tongue slipped past my lips and found my clit, swollen, wet, and vibrating with need. My fingers tangled in his hair as my hips rolled against his mouth, savoring the way he devoured me like I was dessert.
He grabbed one leg and flung it over his shoulder, licking my clit while two thick fingers sank deep inside me. “Fuck,” he growled against my core. “So tight.”
I was close—extremely close. This was even faster than my vibrator, and I rode his mouth and fingers until the orgasm detonated from my core. “Oh. My. God. Mac, oh fuck!” My legs gave out, and Mac was right there, guiding me onto the sofa.
“I love to hear my name on your lips.”
A shaky moan escaped as he kissed his way up my body. “Mac, that was… amazing. Please don’t tell me you’re good at everything.”
He laughed and stood, slowly removing his clothes until he was gloriously naked in front of me. He was all lean muscle, tattoos, and a long, thick cock.
“Damn, you’re even more gorgeous naked.”
He smiled. “Honey, you know all the right things to say.” Then he covered his body with mine and slid his cock deep inside me. He was long and thick, stretching me out deliciously. “You feel absolutely perfect, Kayla.”
“No,” I shook my head and smiled. “That’s all you. I’m so full.”
“Keep talking like that, and this’ll be over far too soon.” His hips moved in a slow and steady rhythm that pushed me closer and closer to orgasm number two.
“Oh, yes!” My back arched, and my fingernails dug into the flesh of his biceps as he hit that special spot over and over. “Don’t. Stop.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” That killer smile was driving me even crazier. “Kay, oh fuck.” I wrapped my legs around his narrow waist, and he sank balls deep.
I felt the orgasm building. “Mac,” I warned, and he picked up the pace, smiling as I met him stroke for stroke, thrust for thrust.
“I feel you, greedy pussy hugging me like she never wants to let me go.”
“Dirty,” I panted around a smile. It was the good kind of dirty, the kind that made my body react, my pussy clamping down harder.
“You like it.”
I loved it. “Don’t stop. Please.”
He reared back onto his knees and fucked me harder and deeper, moving faster with every stroke until that band of tension around my body snapped. “Kayla,” he groaned as I squeezed around him while pleasure coursed through me.
“Mac, oh my god! Mac, yes!”
Moments later, he filled me with warm jets of his orgasm, his hips pumping until every last ounce of pleasure was wrung from our bodies.
“That was even better than I imagined.”
He froze and pulled back with a smile. “You thought about sex with me?”
I nodded. “I did more than think. And I promise the real thing was even better. Much better.”
He let out a low moan as our bodies separated. “Well, now I have to reward such dirty talk.” Mac scooped me into his arms and carried me to my bedroom, where he rewarded me beautifully.
Twice.
We fell asleep in my bed, with Mac’s arms wrapped around me and a smile on my face.
Too bad when I woke up the next morning, his side of the bed was ice cold.