Dare to Play Chapter 1
What did you buy for the couple who had everything?
Macy Walker spent over an hour in a luxury department store searching for the perfect wedding gift for Damon Prescott and Evie Wolfe. They’d gotten engaged at the end of Fall and were getting married this Saturday, January seventh, in a small ceremony at his mother’s house, unlike his sibling Austin and his fiancée, Quinn, who had a huge Valentine’s Day wedding planned at a Miami hotel. There were five Prescott/Dare siblings, two in serious relationships and three to go.
Although to hear each of them tell it, nobody had been looking for permanence. It just happened to find them. Macy wondered who was next up to fall in love.
To say Macy had left the gift to the last minute would be an understatement. Unable to discover anything original for the professional football player and his private investigator fiancée, Macy left the store with an expensive vase, gorgeously wrapped, and headed home to her fifteen-year-old sister of whom she had custody.
As she approached the house, a bright red Mazda Miata she didn’t recognize sat in the driveway, top down. If her sister had an older friend over, thinking Macy wouldn’t find out, she’d be in trouble. Hannah had a tendency to act out and misbehave, and in many ways, Macy understood. Hannah had a lot of abandonment issues, but she still needed discipline and guidance.
Macy pulled her Jetta around the other car, opened the garage, parked, and exited her vehicle. Letting herself inside, she walked through the laundry room area and into the kitchen, stopping short when she saw who sat with Hannah at the table. Tons of makeup and other items covered the surface, with Sephora bags surrounding them.
Oh, hell. Life was about to get interesting and not in a good way. “Hi,” Macy said, making her presence known.
“Macy, look! My mom’s back!” Hannah popped up from her chair, a smile the likes of which Macy had never seen on her sister’s face, and Macy’s stomach twisted painfully.
Hannah was a pretty girl who hadn’t learned the concept of less is more when it came to makeup. She’d just started to wear it last year, and after their dad died, she’d gone full-out rebellious. Black eye liner and heavy mascara. But there were worse things than too much makeup on her face or the pink stripe in her hair. Macy actually liked the coloring if only Hannah hadn’t done it without asking permission, along with a second piercing in her ear. Anything she could do to defy Macy, Hannah tried.
Ever since Lilah walked out when Hannah was ten, she’d grown angrier over time and tried to get away with whatever she could on principle, her bad behavior progressing since their dad died. The last thing Macy needed was Hannah’s mother’s return to give Hannah false hope that her mother was back to be with her. As far as Macy knew, other than a rare happy-birthday email, Hannah hadn’t heard from her mother since she’d left.
Lilah had left her family for someone with more money and who could give her a better lifestyle than Macy’s father had been able to. Richard Walker had made a good living as an accountant, and their family hadn’t wanted for anything. There had also been inheritance money from her grandparents that had boosted their lifestyle, but it hadn’t been enough for Lilah.
“Lilah, this is a surprise,” Macy said coolly as she placed her keys in a basket on the counter.
Lilah looked up at Macy, not a shred of embarrassment in her expression. “I’ve done a lot of soul-searching, and I decided it was time to come home to my baby.” She reached across the table and squeezed Hannah’s hand, her long, manicured nails obviously freshly done. “And I arrived to find her by herself. Where were you, Macy?”
Oh, she would not question Macy’s abilities as a parent. She had no right. “None of your business and Hannah is old enough to be home alone.”
“Can Mom stay with us?” Hannah looked at Macy with wide, hopeful eyes, and Macy silently cursed Lilah, whose smug smirk told Macy she’d put her daughter up to asking the question.
Narrowing her gaze, Macy wondered what Lilah’s agenda was, because the woman always looked out for number one.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We have a schedule and a routine, and I’d like to keep things as they are.” Mostly she didn’t want Hannah to get used to having her mother around only for her to take off on her once again. The less time she was exposed to Lilah, the better.
“It’s okay, honey, I can stay at the hotel.” Lilah sighed dramatically.
Ignoring the guilt Lilah tried to lay on, Macy smiled. “Good. Now that that’s settled–”
Hannah pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. “You’re such a–”
“Watch it,” Macy said before Hannah could finish her sentence. “Don’t be rude to me. Now I think we should order dinner.” Gritting her teeth, she turned to Lilah. “Would you like to stay?”
She shook her head, and her brunette hair highlighted with blonde swept beneath her cheeks. Lilah rose to her feet and gathered her Chanel tote, which must have cost four thousand dollars easily, and smiled. “I wish I could but I have a date.” As she stepped around the table, Macy took in her obviously designer outfit and shoes.
So she was divorced again and hunting. And here playing up to Hannah. Why?
“Come walk me out,” Lilah said to Macy, her tone not boding well.
Macy waited for Hannah to say goodbye to her mother, glare at Macy, and storm off to her room before turning to her ex-stepmother. “Okay, cut the sweetness-and-light act. Why are you back? It can’t be for Hannah since you haven’t bothered with her since you left.”
Lilah straightened her shoulders, her attitude turning into the real bitch of a woman beneath the fake nice façade. “Because she’s my daughter. When I left, I knew your father would take good care of her when I couldn’t–”
“Wouldn’t,” Macy corrected her.
Lilah pursed her lips. “Listen, she’s my child. Her father died, and I needed to wrap up a few things before I could come back for her, but I’m here now.”
Bullshit, Macy thought. “Nobody heard from you after Dad passed away. You didn’t even come to the funeral or extend condolences. I’m not buying this act. I don’t know what your angle is, but I know you have one.”
Lilah’s cheeks flushed red. “It’s no act. I plan to take care of my girl.”
“Good luck. I have custody. You signed it over to Dad, and I’m her legal guardian now that he’s gone.”
“Something a court can easily overturn.” Lilah had started for the door, then turned back to face Macy. “It’s not like you’re doing a decent job parenting. Not only was she alone, she told me she’s grounded for no good reason, that you’re strict and difficult. She’s mine and I plan on getting custody.” On that note, Lilah walked out the door without looking back.
Macy’s heart pounded inside her chest, fear and concern filling her at the thought of losing the sister she loved and the only family she had left. Macy’s mother had died from ovarian cancer when Macy was six, and it had just been her and her dad. True, he’d dated like crazy, hating the idea of being alone, but he’d loved Macy and been a great dad.
Life had been good until the stepmother from hell arrived when Macy had turned thirteen. Her teenage years had been a nightmare with Lilah picking on her to be perfect, but Macy had managed. And when Lilah had disappeared, Macy was there for Hannah.
At twenty-eight years old, Macy had moved into her own apartment a few years ago, and though she’d helped her father with her half sister, Macy had had a life of her own. But when it became clear her father couldn’t handle raising Hannah alone, Macy had moved back into her childhood house, a patio home in a residential neighborhood just north of Miami. With her father gone for eight months now, killed in a car accident, it was just Hannah and Macy.
She’d all but raised her sister, and she had no intention of losing custody to a woman who didn’t know how to be a parent.
* * *
Although Macy hadn’t slept well because Lilah’s threat to take Hannah stayed with her, she pushed herself to go to Damon and Evie’s twilight wedding that evening. She dropped Hannah at a friend’s for the night and headed over to Damon’s mother’s house.
She placed her present on the gift table, picked up a glass of champagne, and because Damon’s sister, Brianne, Macy’s friend and the connection that had brought her to this party in the first place, was upstairs with the bridesmaids, Macy wandered around by herself. She glanced out the windows, the flowers and white arch for the ceremony a beautiful sight.
When everyone made their way outside, she chose a seat on an aisle, a tissue in her hand because she always cried at weddings. Under a setting sun and in beautiful weather, the bridesmaids wearing pale peach and the groomsmen in tuxedos, Macy sighed with happiness for the couple.
The ceremony was brief but beautiful. As Damon and Evie held hands, whispering vows only they could hear, Macy couldn’t help but think she’d never see this kind of love. At her age and with her responsibilities, with no real time to have a social life and working from home, meeting someone interested in a lifetime commitment was almost impossible. And the men she did meet had no patience for her priorities.
She glanced at the groomsmen, her gaze coming back again and again to Jaxon Prescott, Bri’s Major League Baseball-player sibling, the word player having more than one connotation in his case. Jaxon’s reputation for partying and sleeping around was legendary. Of all the Prescott brothers, Austin, the sports agent, Damon, the football player, and Braden, the doctor who she’d only seen in photographs since he was out of the country for Doctors Without Borders, Jaxon was the best looking, at least in Macy’s mind. Clean-cut, jet-black hair, chiseled features, full lips she wouldn’t mind kissing, and muscles galore, he’d tempt a nun to sin.
He met her gaze, and though she blushed at being caught staring, she didn’t look away until he smiled and winked at her, causing her to glance down.
Damn, the man tempted her. He flirted in a way that made her girly parts sit up and take notice. And she was long deprived in that area. But as much as he liked to tease and flirt, she didn’t take Jaxon seriously. He was a ladies’ man in every sense of the word, and she was the kind of woman who wanted a forever kind of relationship someday. The type that would send Jaxon running at the mere thought of the permanence she desired.
When the vows were complete and the ceremony finished, the bride and groom walked out hand in hand, excited and satisfied smiles on their faces. The bridal party followed, and finally the crowd made their way back inside.
Despite Jaxon standing out, as she looked around at the guests, she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the sexiness of the men in the room, and the fact that they were dressed up only added to their appeal. Most of them were athletes, and Macy had to admit she’d come up in the world since meeting Brianne Prescott at an exercise class and becoming fast friends.
Finally Bri joined her, snagging a champagne glass off a waitress’s passing tray. “Whew, it was hot outside.”
“But so beautiful,” Macy said of the wedding itself. “And let me tell you, there’s a lot of testosterone in this room.” She waved a hand in front of her face.
“Eew.” Brianne wrinkled her nose in disgust at Macy’s comment. “Three of those men in that group you’re talking about are my brothers.”
“Oh, come on. Besides them. Look around you. You can’t deny the hotness.”
Brianne, a publicist at Dare Nation, a sports agency owned by her brother Austin and uncle Paul, was used to dealing with professional athletes, while Macy had been taken out of her comfort zone at many of these events. But going to football games and other PR occasions gave her social life a boost she wouldn’t otherwise have in between raising Hannah, and for that she was grateful.
She didn’t want to spoil Bri’s enjoyment of the day by telling her about Lilah’s visit yesterday, despite the fact that she couldn’t shake the incident or fear of the future from her mind. Losing her sister couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.
“Oh, look at the motley crew coming our way,” Bri said with a grin on her face. “Evie excluded, of course.”
Damon, Evie, and Jaxon strode over, the bride and groom obviously making their rounds, Jaxon tagging along, and as his gaze locked on hers, her stomach did a sensual flip.
“Hi, ladies,” Jaxon said, his gaze sliding over her, making her shiver. “You’re looking good, Macy. White looks great with your tan. Hot.” He treated her to yet another wink, that adorable grin on his face one she couldn’t ignore.
Though she was shocked he’d noticed the white halter dress she’d taken an hour to choose, at least that fluttering feeling in her stomach took her mind off her problems.
“Thanks, Jaxon.”
“Just telling it like it is. You’re blushing.” Reaching out, he stroked a finger down her cheek, the calluses on the pads rough, masculine, and making her tingle. “You must not get complimented enough. I could change that.”
And crazily enough, under the right circumstances, she might let him. Lord knew she wouldn’t be having a relationship of any substance for at least another three years, until Hannah graduated high school and moved out. Did Macy intend to be celibate until then? She shook her head. What the hell was she thinking? Jaxon flirted but he wasn’t seriously interested in anything with her.
Just then, Bri slapped her brother’s arm. “Leave her alone. So what were you three whispering about?” she asked Damon, Evie, and Jaxon.
“Just asking Jaxon what he’s been doing,” Damon said.
“You mean who he’s been doing,” Bri muttered, because Jaxon did tend to get into trouble. Months ago, there’d been a viral video with his manager’s young – though of age – daughter. Not that he’d known who she was at the time, at least according to Bri, whose job it was to make him look good in the media.
Macy stifled a laugh at her joke, and Jaxon narrowed his gaze at his sister. This was their usual dynamic, Bri calling him out, Jaxon getting not seriously annoyed but letting her know he didn’t appreciate the jab.
“Come on, Macy. Let me introduce you to a few people from work. I think you’ll like Adam Martsoff,” Bri said in an obvious attempt to pull her away from Jaxon.
“He’s too boring for her,” Jaxon said in what actually sounded like an annoyed tone.
Ignoring him, Bri ushered Macy away from her brother, and Macy told herself she didn’t mind. That it couldn’t hurt to meet a nice guy who would stop her from thinking about what it would feel like to have Jaxon’s solid body rubbing against hers.
Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed as she spent the next few minutes talking to a pleasant, if boring, like Jaxon had predicted, agent from Dare Nation. She couldn’t stop comparing this poor staid guy to the more exciting Jaxon Prescott, but she had no legitimate reason to leave until the sound of yelling from across the room caught her attention and she excused herself to see what was going on.
She approached to see Bri and Jaxon mid-argument, family encircling them from all sides.
“What’s wrong?” Damon asked.
“Ask Jaxon.” Bri folded her arms across her chest, her glare one she used when in business mode.
A glance at Jaxon showed his face was flushed, and Macy wondered what he’d done wrong.
“Come on, let’s go have a talk,” Damon said to his sibling but Bri shook her head.
“You’re not leaving me out of this. I’m his publicist and he’s damn well going to need one,” she insisted.
“Why?” Damon asked.
Jaxon opened his mouth to explain, when Bri chimed in first. “He neglected to mention he got into a brawl at a lowbrow bar downtown.”
“Dude!” Damon shook his head in disbelief.
“I was backing up a teammate! I didn’t start the damned thing.”
“But as usual, someone caught it on video.” Bri’s frown wasn’t one Macy would want to face.
Austin came up beside them. Grabbing Bri’s cell, he watched the screen with a wince. “God dammit. Don’t you know what behave yourself means?” he asked, and as his brother’s agent, he had every right to know the answer.
Still, Macy felt sorry for Jaxon if he’d been backing up a friend as he claimed.
“And to say the video has gone viral is an understatement. I’m getting notifications like crazy.” Bri continued to shoot daggers at her bad-boy brother.
“Dammit, Jax, when are you going to get your shit together?” Austin asked.
“Some asshole in the bar was throwing shit at Dale Macaffrey for his missed catch in the playoffs. And he swung first. His friends jumped on and Mac needed reinforcements.” Jaxon folded his arms across his chest defensively.
“Come on, guys. You never know where the paparazzi or asshole fans are going to be,” Damon said in an attempt to help his brother out.
“My point exactly!” Bri poked her finger at her brother.
“Not my point. I was saying cut him some slack. A decent teammate helps out his buddies.” Damon tried again to stand up for Jaxon.
Austin groaned. “Regardless, it looks bad, and management is going to be pissed. But we are not doing this here. Not today. Today is Damon and Evie’s celebration.” Always the head of the family, he took the lead, and his siblings usually listened.
Glancing at Jaxon, he said, “I hope you’re prepared for a meeting with ownership, because once they see this video, you’re going to be in for it. So will Mac but I don’t represent him.”
Everyone, including Macy, grimaced at Austin’s furious tone, but Jaxon just looked pissed off.
After some more family discussion and murmuring quietly, Damon and Evie said their goodbyes, leaving for their honeymoon to celebrate their happiness, while Jaxon headed for the bar and asked for a drink.
Macy waited until Bri was alone and walked over to her friend. “Hey, are you okay?”
“If I kill my brother, will you bail me out of jail?” she asked, a wry smile on her face.
“If I can afford it, you know I will.” Macy laughed. “Is he in that much trouble? Because it sounded like he was just helping out a friend.”
Austin joined them. “Doesn’t matter. A brawl reflects badly on him.”
Bri grasped the drink out of Austin’s hand and downed it all in one gulp. “And Jaxon tends to find trouble.”
“He needs to mature and settle down,” Austin said, as if that were the answer to Jaxon’s reputation and problems.
“As if any sane woman would marry him,” Bri muttered.
Macy strongly disagreed. “Come on. I know you can’t see him this way, but he is easy on the eyes.”
Bri made a gagging sound. “I’m going to make some calls,” she said and walked away.
Macy kept an eye on Jaxon, who, looking pissed at the world, made his way outside to the patio, where the chairs were still set up, and sat alone on a cushioned chair.
Feeling like he needed company, Macy headed outside to join him.
Dare to Play Chapter 2
Jaxon resented being humiliated and called out in public even if Bri was his publicist and Austin his agent. Jaxon was a grown man, dammit, and could do whatever he wanted, including backing up a teammate when a jackass made fun of him in public and swung first. His brother had played on a team and damn well knew what it meant to be a stand-up guy. Fucking hypocrite giving him shit now, Jaxon thought.
“Want company?” a familiar female voice asked.
He glanced up. Macy, his sister Bri’s friend, had been coming around family gatherings more often lately, and with her understated sensuality, beautiful smile, and charming personality, he’d been intrigued. Flirting came naturally to him, but Macy knew his reputation with women, which was legitimately earned, and he was sure his sister had warned her away from him. She might have blushed a time or two at his compliments, but she hadn’t truly engaged with him.
Smart woman.
But that didn’t mean the sexual chemistry wasn’t there. He felt it and knew she did, too. In fact, he’d caught her watching him when she thought he wasn’t looking, like during the ceremony earlier. But he was surprised she’d come out here now.
“Have a seat.” He gestured to the free chair next to him.
She lowered herself onto the white folding chair. “Sorry it got ugly in there.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not here to tell me what a dumb move I made?”
A smile curved her lips. “I kind of admire the fact that you stood up for your friend. Are you really going to get in trouble with management?”
His shoulders stiffened at the thought. He’d given them enough aggravation over the years that they wouldn’t be happy no matter the reason. “Probably. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“What’s going on with you?” he asked, curious about this woman he’d only seen from afar. This was their first real conversation.
She sighed. “You really don’t want to hear my problems.”
He tilted his head and glanced at her pretty profile. “Try me.”
She shrugged. “Well, I have custody of my fifteen-year-old half sister, and her mother showed up after five years, making noises about wanting custody.”
Resting his elbows on his knees, he turned her way. “What happened to your parents, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“My mom died when I was six, and Dad passed eight months ago.”
Knowing what it was like to lose a parent, even one he hadn’t liked that much, because the Prescott family tree was complicated, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it compassionately. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”
Her smile was grim. “Thank you.”
They sat in silence for a while, the sun beating down on them. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he took in her pert nose, those lips he’d imagined kissing, and looking lower, her tanned cleavage, making his mouth water.
“I meant what I said earlier. You look gorgeous in that dress,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Thank you.” She smiled, her cheeks turning pink in the way they did every time he flirted or complimented her.
It was sweet and endearing. Most women he dealt with were more assured of their sexuality and usually came on to him. He didn’t have to work hard for it. There was something captivating about Macy and her air of innocent sensuality.
He glanced down, realizing he still held her hand in his from when she’d told him about losing her parents. “So I take it you have to get home to your sister?”
To his surprise, she shook her head. “Hannah’s sleeping at a friend’s tonight.”
He hesitated and thought, what the hell? He could feel his siblings’ annoyed stare from inside and needed peace. “Want to get out of here? Go somewhere quiet and grab a bite to eat?” he asked, because she was easy to be with and wasn’t giving him shit about his life and behavior.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before releasing it. “Are you telling me there are places you can go and not get recognized?”
He shook his head and laughed. “Not really, though some owners and managers are stricter than others about letting people bother their customers. But as you probably know, that doesn’t always mean a damn thing. I’d say we could go to my house and order in, but you probably think I’m the big bad wolf,” he said wryly.
Her brown eyes met his. “You might be the big bad wolf, but I’m a big girl who can handle you,” she said, surprising him.
He rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “Damon and Evie are gone, and I don’t want to deal with the family. Any reason you need to go back inside?”
“I can touch base with Bri tomorrow. I’m good.”
“Follow me to my place? I’m about twenty minutes from here.”
He watched as she visibly drew a deep breath. “Relax, Macy. It’s just dinner.”
She grinned. “Says the big bad wolf.”
Chuckling, they walked around front to their cars.
* * *
Macy had lost her mind. Somewhere between walking into the Prescott home and sitting down with Jaxon, her brain had retreated and her libido had taken over. Just dinner didn’t have to be just dinner and they both knew it.
As she followed Jaxon’s black Range Rover in her Volkswagen Jetta, she knew she was out of her depth, but she wasn’t turning around or changing her mind. Driving through the luxury neighborhood, she thought she might throw up. And as she pulled into his driveaway, the house the size of a mansion and containing a four-car garage, she figured she’d used up the bulk of her courage getting here. What happened next was all up to her hormones.
After parking, they walked into his house through the garage, where she saw one vintage car, a sports convertible, and an empty spot. Not being a car person, she couldn’t recognize each model but had no doubt they were expensive.
“Let’s go to the den. We can hang out and I’ll order dinner on an app from my phone. How’s Chinese food?”
“Love it,” she said, ignoring the fact that she was in a fancy dress and high heels. Those she kicked off, leaving them on the floor beside her.
“Anything in particular you want to eat?”
She rolled her shoulders. “I’m not a spicy fan. I love pork dumplings and an egg roll. Anything else I’m good to go.”
“I can work with that.” He led her to a huge room with – no surprise – a wall-to-wall-size screen and a massive couch with recliners on either end and gestured for her to sit.
He settled in beside her and turned his attention to ordering dinner.
When that was finished, he moved the remote, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is that screen so you can see yourself life-size?”
Chuckling, he faced her, one arm over the back of the sofa. “Yes, I’m that arrogant.” He shook his head. “No. It’s that I’m a guy and I like big things.”
She laughed, enjoying his sense of humor. She also couldn’t miss the sexual innuendo in his comment, which led her to wonder about the size of his package beneath the trousers.
Which caused her to squirm in her seat, and she decided it was time to change the subject. “So tell me. What’s it like playing ball in front of a crowd?”
He leaned close, and the smell of his cologne wrapped around her, the scent of musk and man arousing her beyond belief.
“It’s a rush like you wouldn’t believe. The roar of the people, the cheers, knowing you can give them what they want.”
In his eyes, she saw how much he loved the game. “I take it you have to be a little arrogant to play pro? And believe in yourself that much?”
“You do,” he admitted.
The food arrived and they ate in the family room, casually, plates on their laps, telling stories and avoiding her problems with her sister and his issues with his siblings. With the world outside his house, she fell under his masculine, seductive spell, the underlying sexual tension never dissipating, and if Macy had second thoughts about coming here on the ride over, they never surfaced again while sharing a meal. Or as they cleaned up together.
And when he turned to her, a predatory gleam in his eye, she knew exactly what he desired and had every intention of giving it to him.
He met her gaze. “You can leave and we can call it a fun night or—”
Before he could finish his sentence, her lips met his in a sizzling melding of mouths she’d been waiting for all evening. If she was going to do this, there would be no regrets or looking back, and she would enjoy every second in this hot athlete’s arms.
He took over without hesitation, backing her against the counter, his hands cupped around her neck, bracing her for the onslaught to come. His tongue slid into her mouth, and she tasted him, her entire body coming alive. Heat rushed through her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him close.
His erection, thick and hard, pressed against her belly, and she no longer wondered about the size. She could feel every impressive inch of him. He kissed her again, his lips biting one minute and gliding gently the next. Every nip of his teeth sent spikes of awareness shooting directly to her sex. And when his lips traveled over her cheek and found the sensitive spot on her neck, her long-deprived body reveled in the roughness of his facial stubble against her skin.
He’d already shed his shoes, jacket, and tie when they got home, and she reached for the buttons on his white dress shirt with trembling fingers. His sizzling gaze on hers, he grabbed the sides and ripped open the material, buttons scattering.
“Holy hell, that was hot.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he replied.
Her own dress had a zipper in the back. If she were home alone, she’d be lifting it over her head and doing an unflattering shimmy to get it up and off, but she was going for sexier and more dignified here. But dignity was hard to come by in the face of this man’s tanned, overly muscular chest, and she placed her paler hands on his fevered skin.
He let out a groan of appreciation and, without a hitch, reached behind her and unzipped the dress, which immediately fell to the floor.
He took in her matching white silk and lace bra and thong set, bought especially for the dress, tracing the scalloped edge with his rough fingertip. “Now that is hot.”
Her sex pulsed at his husky tone, the desire he felt for her obvious in his voice, the darkening of his irises, and the taut lines of his face. She swallowed hard, waiting with bated breath because he obviously wanted to be in charge.
He braced his big hands around her waist and lifted her onto the counter, the granite cold beneath her thighs, but she didn’t have to wait long to be warmed up. He spread her legs with his hands and stepped between them.
Skin quivering, she looked into his eyes, and the heat and desire she saw there took her breath away. With a flick of his fingers, he’d opened her bra’s front clasp. He drew the straps down far enough to confine her arms, dipped his head, pulled her nipple into his mouth, and she saw stars. He devoured first one breast, then the next, arousing her into a frenzy. Moisture coated her thong and desire thrummed inside her.
She glanced down, his black hair in inky contrast with her fair skin, and she wanted him inside her, filling her. To make her point, she shook off the bra and slid her hands between them, undoing the hook on his slacks, and as they dropped to the floor, she curved her finger into his boxer briefs and worked them down his thighs, where they would stay until he chose to push them down the rest of the way.
In the meantime, she curled her hand around his cock, swiping her thumb over the pre-come on the tip, gripping and sliding her hand up and down his straining shaft.
Eyes on his, she lifted her finger to her mouth and sucked on the salty mixture, emboldened by how much he obviously wanted her.
“You’re a dirty girl, Macy. Who knew?”
Certainly not her, she thought, bringing her hand back down and continuing to smooth the wetness over him, pumping her hand up and down his cock. A groan shook his big body, and he yanked her toward him, kissing her, tongue thrusting into her mouth and swirling around, making her dizzy.
He took a step back, kicked off his pants and boxer briefs, and removed his socks, only to return and lift her off the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on as he walked her upstairs to his bedroom. She barely had time for a glimpse of the shuttered windows surrounding the room and the huge four-poster bed in the center before he lowered her to the mattress, yanked her legs so her body slid to the edge of the bed.
He ripped off the thong and she gasped. As she looked up, a sexy grin lifted his lips. “I need to taste you, too.”
And then he lowered himself to his knees, spread her legs, and began to devour her like a starving man. His tongue was talented and never stayed in the same place for too long, licking, nipping, lapping until she didn’t know what sensation was coming next, but each one brought her higher. Waves of need teased her but didn’t hold on long enough for her to let go and come.
Damn man knew it, too.
“Jaxon, please.” She raised her hips and ground into his mouth, unashamed to try and take what she needed.
“When I’ve had my fill.” He slid a finger inside her and began to thrust, taking her off guard.
She’d been empty and needed to be filled, and he’d sensed that need. One finger became two, and she cried out at the insistent movement. And when he curled the tips in just the right motion, he hit a spot that made her go temporarily blind, and then her body exploded, the orgasm the hottest one she’d ever had, and his cock wasn’t inside her yet. She rolled her hips, waves and waves of delicious warm heat rippling through her.
Before she could catch her breath, she heard the rippling of foil from a condom, and then Jaxon poised at the edge of the bed, working his cock into her tightness.
She groaned at his slick fullness. “It’s been a while.”
A softness she hadn’t expected touched his eyes and filled his expression as he slowed, inching into her. Arching her hips, she moaned as she stretched to accommodate him until finally he was completely inside her.
Ripples started to tease her once more. “Move,” she said. “I’m good.”
“You got it, sweetheart.” He spread her knees wide and began to take her hard, slamming into her, only pausing once early on to check that she was okay. Then it was fast and rough, her body feeling his rigid, thick cock tunneling in and out, finding the perfect rhythm.
She’d never had such amazing sex before. No doubt Jaxon Prescott was ruining her for all other men, but at the moment, she didn’t care. A second orgasm was brewing, and that was a unique thing for her. She was lucky if she had one during rushed sex before she had to get home to Hannah the few times she’d allowed herself the luxury. Now?
Jaxon’s rough fingertip slid over her clit while his incomparable cock hit home. And then she was screaming, again something she’d never done. Not even with her vibrator.
“Oh, shit, I’m coming.” But it wasn’t enough. She needed more. She needed him. “Harder, Jaxon, please.”
He complied, thrusting faster, deeper until her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she came, the vibrations encompassing every muscle in her body. Two more thrusts and he stilled, the rough groan that came from inside him something she’d be remembering for a long time to come.
* * *
Jaxon stood in the bathroom with the excuse of cleaning up, but the truth was he didn’t want Macy to see the effect she’d had on him after something that was usually a simple act of two people getting it on. She’d completely undone him and he was in shock. But being the consummate playboy, he shook off the uniqueness of the event and headed out of the bathroom, finding Macy fast asleep on top of the covers.
Instead of waking her, he pulled an extra blanket from his closet, covered her, and climbed in beside her. Though he didn’t typically bring women back to his house, preferring hotel rooms or their place, where he could make an easy exit, Macy wasn’t his normal lay. She was his sister’s best friend. He’d be seeing her again, and he needed to end things on a decent note.
Something he’d deal with tomorrow.
He had his reason for keeping all relationships casual, and it was a solid one. He’d had his heart broken before, and he never wanted to experience that pain again.
Katie, his college girlfriend and the woman he thought he’d marry, had taught him a hard lesson. She had dumped him after he’d been traded to Washington in his first deal, not willing to give up her life to be with the man she’d claimed to love. The lifestyle on the road wasn’t for her, or so she’d said, despite the fact that she’d known what she was getting into going in. Or maybe it had been that his starting salary wasn’t good enough. Who the hell knew.
What he’d learned for sure was that his father, Jesse, had been right. No woman would want him, and Jaxon refused to let that be proven true again. So he’d locked up his emotions and lived life to have fun. Not even being dead eliminated the ghost of Jesse Prescott.
Hell, not even finding out that their uncle Paul had been all the Prescott siblings’ sperm donor, making Jesse not their biological dad, had undone the damage he’d caused. One and done was a joke among the Prescott brothers, but Jaxon meant it. No woman would hurt him again.
The next morning, he woke up to the sun shining through the shutters he’d forgotten to close, and as he glanced over, Macy was dressed in that gorgeous, white, curve-hugging dress he’d stripped her out of last night. His cock, already hard with morning wood, perked up even more.
“Oh! You’re awake. That makes things easier. I don’t have to wake you. Zip me?” she asked, sliding her hair away from her back and over one shoulder and sitting down on the bed.
He blinked in surprise and pushed himself up. “You’re leaving?” he asked stupidly.
What had he expected? That she’d stay for breakfast, where they’d rehash all the reasons this couldn’t happen again? He didn’t know how he was going to bring up the subject as it was. Jaxon didn’t come back for seconds. Although as he watched Macy attempt to untangle her sexy hair with her fingers, he thought he could make an exception. Just this once for her.
“Macy–”
“Jaxon–” They spoke at the same time.
“You first,” he said, leaning against his headboard.
She treated him to a forced smile. “Listen, this was great and all.”
Great? he wondered. How about explosive? Mind-blowing? Anything bigger and better than great.
“I really needed a night for myself,” she went on, speaking quickly. “But it can’t happen again. And there’s no need to tell anyone. Especially Bri. No one needs to know.”
He blinked. She was giving him the blow-off speech? In all his years since Katie, he’d done the walking away. He couldn’t say he liked how it felt being on the receiving end, but at least Macy had made his life easier.
“Agreed?” she asked, her cheeks pink again, embarrassed and nothing like the seductress he’d seen last night.
He nodded. “Agreed. But at least let me walk you out.” His mother had raised him to be a gentleman, and he followed that rule as best he could, depending on the woman and the circumstances.
She nodded.
After climbing out of bed, he pulled on a pair of sweats, his trousers from last night probably still on the floor in the kitchen. That thought brought memories of her sucking the come off her finger. His cock jerked and he willed the sucker not to make its presence known.
Entering the kitchen behind her, he saw she’d folded his clothes and placed them on the counter. She’d also found cleaner and had sprayed down the granite surface, the container and paper towels also sitting out.
“I couldn’t figure out which was your garbage,” she said, face adorably flushed.
“Thank you.” He placed a hand on her lower back, and his body buzzed at the contact.
Holy shit, what was it with this woman? He needed to get her out of here immediately. He stepped in front of her and led her to the garage, opening the door and hitting the button on the wall.
They reached the car and she turned to face him. He could see her struggling with some internal thought.
Finally she said, “Last night really was incredible.” Leaning over, she pressed her mouth to his, swiping her tongue over his lips, the kiss lasting longer than he thought she’d planned.
Then she ducked her head and climbed into the car, immediately starting the engine, then reversing and driving away as fast as she possibly could.
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