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Excerpt : Sweating, Mac looked at the clock. He still had another five minutes before she’d shut the water off. His mind painted a picture of her actions. Once she shut the water off, she’d take another five minutes to dry off and wrap her hair up in the towel. Then came the scented lotion she wore. He hadn’t actually seen her applying the lotion, but he’d found the bottle in the bathroom and recognized the scent when she was near him. After the lotion would come the baby powder, then she’d get dressed and— What was that? Mac’s attention immediately shifted to the rattle of the doorknob. A crunch of footsteps sounded outside. Rolling out of bed, he clicked off the light and pulled Caitlyn’s gun from under the pillow where he kept it. Crawling on all fours to stay below the window line, he crept his way to the bathroom. The water was still running and he could hear Caitlyn singing softly. Reaching up, he turned the handle to the door and crawled through. “Caitlyn,” he whispered. “Mac? What are you doing? Is something wrong?” She shut off the shower and poked her head out. “Someone’s at the door. Grab a towel and get down.” Mac turned to give her some privacy and save his sanity. The bathroom window was boarded up—the landlord swore the glass was on backorder—so Mac couldn’t look out to see who was trying to get in. If ever he needed a visual distraction, it was now. With nothing to look at but the wall in front of him, his ears picked up every single movement Caitlyn made. And his imagination supplied the pictures all too vividly. “Who do you think it is?” she asked. “I don’t know, but I think if it was one of your brothers they would have knocked or called first.” He didn’t dare look over his shoulder. Her clothes were on the counter in front of him, so he knew only a towel covered her. One yard of terry cloth and about six inches of space was all that separated him from a naked Caitlyn. At this point, he almost hoped it was one of the Children, just so he had a reason to punch someone. Another crunch of footsteps on gravel sounded loud in the silence of the night. Mac heard Caitlyn’s breath catch as someone pushed against the board covering the window, testing its strength. He released the safety on the gun, readying himself for an attack. Seconds ticked by as he waited for something to happen. The board bulged as someone pushed on it harder. There was no way the half-inch plywood would hold up against a concentrated attack. Mac shoved Caitlyn farther back and stepped to the side. If someone was going to slam into the board, he didn’t want to be crouching underneath it. Sweat dripped down his back and every muscle tensed as he waited for something to happen. And waited. A horn honked and Caitlyn gasped. The footsteps retreated and tires squealed off into the night. Mac clicked the safety back on the gun and put it on the counter in front of him for good measure. “Oh God, I don’t ever want to go through something like that again.” Caitlyn dropped her forehead to his shoulder, and tension of a different sort shot through Mac. He cleared his throat to hide the huskiness from his aroused state. “You’re fine now, everything’s okay.” She laughed weakly. “I know, it’s just, that was really tense, ya know?” Mac could feel her shaking. Probably a reaction from the adrenaline. Hell, he was none too steady either. Without thinking, Mac turned and pulled her into his arms for a hug. He’d forgotten she was only wearing a towel. Caitlyn wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. The only thing holding the towel up was the press of her body against his. “I was so scared. I thought they were going to come right through the window.” “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now.” He tried to hold his lower body away from her to hide his growing erection, but she snuggled closer. Her delicate shoulders shook, so he couldn’t let go. What started out as a way to comfort her quickly turned into a disaster. Her skin was so soft, and he could feel a great deal of it. Mac closed his eyes. He was in hell, absolute hell.
Mac’s arms felt like heaven around her. Caitlyn had been dying to touch him for days now. To finally have his strength surrounding her sent a delicious warmth straight to her toes. Among other places. She could feel his erection pressing against her stomach, even though he was trying to hold his body away from her. So he wasn’t unaffected. But then why didn’t he take the next step? She was practically naked for God’s sake. And she was more than willing to go wherever he wanted to take her. Having Mac in her place was slowly driving her crazy. She wanted him so badly her teeth ached. As he healed, she had a harder time relegating him to the “patient” category. Not that it had been all that easy to keep him there in the first place. Something about Mac called to a part deep inside her that she’d never felt before. Caitlyn took a deep breath and drew his scent into her lungs. He smelled like sweat, soap and her laundry detergent. The combination sent little flares of heat zipping through her blood stream straight to her core. What was he waiting for? His hand stroked her back gently, giving her goose bumps. She could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and his breath blew hot and heavy against her cheek. What more did he need? A personalized invitation to kiss her? Maybe he was waiting for her to make the first move? He’d struck her as a take-charge kind of guy but maybe he was nervous around her. Caitlyn was willing to try anything to ease the growing need inside her. If nothing else, at least she’d know where she stood with him. With a nervous flutter in her belly, Caitlyn reached her arms up to his neck and pulled his head down to hers. Standing on tiptoes she was able to meet his mouth and draw him into a kiss. Soft lips caressed her own as Mac responded. She gasped as the towel loosened. He took advantage of her open mouth and dipped his tongue in for a taste. Heat shot through her, straight between her legs. His hands were everywhere, running over her shoulders and down her back. The ends of the towel slipped between her breasts and fell to the floor as she pulled him even closer. The soft cotton of his shirt rubbed against her nipples, teasing her with the contact. Her breasts felt full and heavy and ached to be touched by him. As if he could read her mind, one large hand cupped her, gently stroking the underside of her breast. A groan slipped from her lips at the touch and Caitlyn rubbed her hips against his. She was dying to see him naked, feel his skin against hers. Her hands slipped under his shirt and she ran her fingers across his abdomen. She was reaching for the elastic on his waistband when he stopped her. “Caitlyn, we can’t.” He held both her hands in his now. “Why not?” She vibrated with desire for him. Every atom of her being screamed to finish what she’d started. “It isn’t right.” “If it got any more right my bones would melt.” She stared into his eyes. Eyes that were still dilated with desire. He wanted her, she knew he did.
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