Secrets and Satin: A MacKenzie Novel (Romantic Suspense) (MacKenzie Family) Read online

  “What if I can’t cook?” she asked, finally turning to face him, a smile tugging at her mouth.

  “I figure if you can calculate the wind and distance when you’re firing that rifle of yours, then you can probably follow a simple recipe.”

  Her laugh was low and husky as she pushed off the bed and made her way into the bathroom. “You’re taking a hell of a chance,” she called back. “I hope you like burnt toast.”

  He was pretty sure she was kidding.

  ***

  “We’ve got the ingredients for oatmeal or omelets,” Max said half an hour later after she’d gotten out of the shower. They’d stopped at a corner store at the last town and stocked up, and it was a good thing because there’d been nothing more than a few cans of soup in the pantry.

  Her travel bag had been sitting on the bed and she pulled out a pair of loose sweats and a tank top. She looked to the door where he stood and saw his own hair was wet and droplets of water still rested on his shoulders. She figured he’d made use of another shower somewhere in the house. He wore jeans and nothing else, and it was a distracting sight.

  “I’ll make omelets,” she said. “You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to eat oatmeal.” At his confused look she explained. “It’s the breakfast staple of orphanages everywhere. Seven days a week, summer, winter or fall, there’d be a bowl of oatmeal sitting on the table.”

  “Omelets it is,” he agreed and she followed him into the kitchen.

  They worked in companionable silence, her whisking the eggs while Max set out ingredients on the counter for her to easily reach. The savory smells of onions and butter and melted cheese filled the air.

  “I didn’t realize you had a pool,” she said, looking out the wide kitchen window into the backyard. A large arbor shaded the porch and the blue water gleamed crystal clear and looked welcoming against the already warm temperatures.

  “I didn’t get around to giving you a tour.” His smile was sheepish as he set the table. “The house has three bedrooms, two baths, a game room and a living room. Hopefully you’ll get to see the ceilings of all of them over the next couple of days,” he said, wagging his brows.

  She couldn’t help but laugh at his obviously cheerful mood. Max went over to the stereo and flipped on the switch, turning it down low so the music was only background noise.

  “Was it all bad?” he asked.

  Jade didn’t have to ask what he was referring to, though she tried not to dwell on her childhood much. “It wasn’t great.” She slid the omelets onto plates and then sat them on the knotty-pine kitchen table, taking the chair across from him. “It was the little things that made it difficult. Never having any privacy. Making friends but never getting to keep them. Nothing belonged to you—not the clothes on your back or the battered schoolbooks that had been donated. It was harder for me because I was almost ten when I went into the system, and I knew what it felt like to be wanted. And then all of a sudden I wasn’t.”

  “I read your file when you joined my unit,” Max said. “Your parents were killed just outside of New Orleans?”

  “Mmm,” she murmured, pushing the food around on her plate. She’d never been comfortable talking about her past. Not even with Donovan, but Max just sat there patiently and waited her out. “It’s just one of those stupid, senseless things. We were eating lunch at a little restaurant one Sunday afternoon, and some asshole drives his pickup truck straight through the plate glass window in front and opens fire. My dad shoved me down and behind the table so I was hidden, otherwise I probably would have been killed too.”

  “And you didn’t have any other family to take you in?” he asked.

  She snorted out a laugh and shook her head. “My mother was the only daughter of one of the wealthiest men in New Orleans. Imagine their surprise when she eloped with a poor black law student who was on full scholarship to Tulane. They cut her off without a cent and told her she was as good as dead to them. They didn’t even come to her funeral. So they sure as hell didn’t offer to save me from the system. And my daddy didn’t have any family, so I wasn’t left with a lot of choice.”

  “You turned out to be good people, Jax.” Max smiled and took their plates to the kitchen sink. “Your parents would be proud of what you’ve become.”

  “I wonder sometimes,” she said. “I wonder if I would have ended up in the same place, doing the same things if they’d lived.”

  Max held out his hand and she placed hers on top of it, and then he pulled her to her feet and placed his hands on her hips.

  “I like to think you would’ve ended up exactly where you are.” He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. “That no matter where you’d gone or what you’d experienced before, that you’d still end up naked in my kitchen.”

  “I’m not naked,” she whispered.

  “Well—” A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. It was a smile she’d seen frequently from the old Max—the teasing grin and laughing eyes. “My bad.”

  Before she could respond, he’d pulled loose the drawstring of her pants and jerked them down so they fell to her ankles, and then her arms were tangled in her shirt as he pulled it over her head.

  “There we go,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to make a liar out of me.”

  “No, we wouldn’t want that.” Jade walked her fingers down his chest and she felt her nipples harden as he sucked in a shaky breath the lower she went, until she traced just above the edge of his jeans. The folds of her sex creamed at the thought of what she wanted to do to him. “It’s no fun being naked alone.” She kissed the hard planes of his chest as her fingers toyed with the snap.

  “Maybe you should do something about that,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  She smiled against his warm flesh as she began kissing her way down his torso and his hands slid into her hair, pushing her down until she knelt in front of him. Her fingers flicked open the button of his jeans, and she carefully drew down the zipper over his erection and then tugged at the denim until it was pulled down to his knees. He held her head steady as he stepped out of his jeans.

  “I want your mouth on me,” he rasped.

  She nuzzled against the taut muscles of his thigh, inhaling the musky scent of him before letting her gaze travel back up his body to meet his eyes. The blue of his eyes almost glowed with carnal heat and she could see the wildness there—waiting to break free. She loved that she could bring him to the edge of his control.

  Her hand gripped the base of his cock and a harsh male groan echoed from above her. It was thick and ridged, and she couldn’t get her thumb and fingers to touch. Clear liquid seeped from the flared head and she flicked her tongue out, catching the drops on her tongue and tasting the salty essence of him.

  “Don’t tease, baby.” His hands tightened on her head and he tried to move her head so her mouth was perfectly aligned with his dick. “Give me what I want or payback is going to be a bitch.”

  Jade moaned as her lips stretched over the glistening crest and the flat of her tongue rubbed against the sensitive underside. She didn’t take him down farther—not yet. Her fist kept a tight hold of him and pumped slowly while she savored his taste, and her nails scraped down his thigh, causing him to shudder and groan.

  His body was tense and straining against her, and she could tell he was fighting the urge to thrust inside her open mouth. A light sheen of sweat glistened on his torso, and his head was thrown back in ecstasy.

  “Enough playing,” he growled. “Take it all.”

  Jade pulled back with one last lick and blew a soft breath across the flushed and swollen head, making his cock jump in anticipation. Bringing him pleasure like this heightened her own arousal and her pussy was drenched with need for him.

  “Now, Jade. Suck me. Open that sweet mouth.”

  He pushed his cock against her lips, nudging for her to open and take him in. Her eyes met his as she let him inside—as she sucked down the hot, thick stalk of flesh. She relaxed her throat and
flattened her tongue against the underside, and when he reached as far as she could take him, she began to swallow so the undulations were just another added pleasure.

  “God, baby,” he groaned.

  Jade loved seeing him like this—past the point of control and so caught up in need for her that nothing else seemed to exist. His fingers tightened on her scalp and he began to move with slow, deep thrusts, pulling all the way out so she could flick her tongue across the tip of him and then pushing back in to the base of her throat.

  But it wasn’t long before the slow thrusts became short and hurried. She tightened her lips around him and continued to rasp her tongue against the sensitive underside of his cock. His flesh was hot, and the taste salty and male, a deep rich flavor that had her pussy creaming and her mouth suckling harder to taste all of him. Her hand reached up to cup the taut sac between his thighs and his groans became louder, his thrusts more erratic.

  “Fuck—”

  Before she could protest he pulled out of her mouth and jerked her up by the arm, spinning her around so she was bent over the kitchen table.

  “No—” she gasped. “I wanted to finish—”

  “Not this time, baby.” His hands clamped over hers and moved them so she gripped each side of the table, and he pushed her forward so she was standing on her tiptoes, her legs spread wide. She barely had time to gasp before he was pushing inside of her.

  “Max!” she cried out. Her pussy wept for him, but the fit was still snug as he stretched her to accommodate his size, and she was still a little sore from their time before. But it was a glorious pain and pleasure all rolled into one. A kaleidoscope of colors burst behind her eyelids as he seemed to penetrate her very soul.

  “So tight,” he groaned, pushing inside her with a steady pressure that had her whimpering with the need for something more. His hand palmed her ass and she let out a sharp cry as his hand came down on her cheek, leaving a hot, burning sensation. “Oh, fuck!” he rasped out. “Do you know how wet you just got?”

  His palm came down again on the other cheek, and she rose up on her toes, feeling the burn all the way through her body. Her clit and nipples ached and she lifted her hips and pushed back against him.

  He leaned over her, his breath coming in shallow pants, and he placed small kisses up her spine to the base of her neck. And then he bit down gently and her vaginal walls clamped around him. She shuddered at the primal feel of him taking her this way.

  “Please, please—” she begged.

  And then she screamed.

  Max stood up straight and gripped her hips in an iron grasp before pulling out so only the flared head remained inside of her. And then he thrust hard and deep and her senses imploded. Her body quivered with every animalistic thrust and her cries and his groans melded together so they were only a distant echo in her ears.

  Her hips moved back against him and flesh slapped against flesh in a steady rhythm. She pushed herself up and tossed her head back as he hit somewhere far deep inside of her—a place that had her womb convulsing and her clit throbbing for release. Her shrieks filled the air and Max brought his hands around to cup her breasts. He pinched her nipples between his finger and thumb and her legs tensed and her back arched as she shook and shuddered around him. Brilliant pinpricks of light danced behind her eyes as every nerve ending she had exploded into fractals of shape and color. Her pussy spasmed, tightening around his cock as her orgasm reached its pinnacle.

  “God, Max!”

  “That’s it, baby. Come all over my cock.”

  The eroticism of his words sent sizzling pulses shooting to her clit, and the maelstrom of wicked pleasure spiraling through her body made her tongue less cautious. She knew the words were forming on her lips before she could stop herself, and she shook her head, almost as if that would be enough to keep them inside. But it wasn’t, and the words came out in a rush.

  “I love you. God—I love you.” She could only pray he didn’t hear them over the thudding of her heart.

  His thrusts became faster, harder, and he pushed inside her one last time before she felt the hot spurts of semen filling her. His body stiffened and his groans echoed in her ears as they both fell limp to the table.

  Their breaths were erratic and Jade closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of him against her back and the kiss he placed on her shoulder. And then she stiffened, remembering the words that had escaped her lips. It wasn’t fair to let him think there could be more than what they had, but she hadn’t been able to keep her feelings contained.

  “That’s what I wanted to do to you nine months ago when we were in my kitchen and you were wrapped around me like my every fantasy come to life.” His fingers trailed up her hip and he pulled out of her slowly, making her moan at the absence of him. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to send you away that day. I didn’t want to.”

  “But it was the right thing to do,” she said softly. “I didn’t realize it then. You’re a good man, Max.”

  “I can be even better.” His hand smoothed over the sting in her bottom and then he pulled her limp body off the table, swinging her into his arms and heading to the bedroom. “We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

  “As long as you don’t try to make it all up in one day. I’m practically half-dead here.”

  He laughed and tossed her on the bed and her eyes widened as she saw he was already hard for her—again. And then he was inside her and she didn’t think for a very long time.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Almost a week passed with nothing more to do than wait, talk or make love. And Max wasn’t afraid to admit a certain amount of frustration where Jade was concerned. He knew he’d heard her tell him she loved him. That’s not something he’d have imagined. But she acted as if she’d never uttered the words, and any attempts to bring it up or talk about possibilities for their future were met with a change of subject or her distracting him with sex.

  It was almost as if she didn’t believe him when he tried to tell her he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. And he knew she was keeping something from him, something that made her afraid of taking the next step, but damned if he could figure out what it was.

  Even now, after another attempt, her satiated body lay limp over his in one of the lounge chairs by the pool, perspiration dotting their skin and their breaths returning to normal. The sun was an orange ball of flame high in the sky and temperatures had reached well over a hundred degrees that day. They’d fallen into easy companionship and regular habits through the week—going for a run just before dawn, followed by showers then breakfast. Jade had set up small targets and they’d gotten into a friendly, if very spirited, shooting competition. It stung his pride a little to know she was ahead in points.

  Their afternoons had consisted of long, lazy swims and their lovemaking had gotten so creative he was considering taking out extra health insurance. She was a generous and attentive lover, and she was willing to try anything he demanded of her. As long as he didn’t try to push the emotional aspect. He almost laughed. He never would have thought he’d be in the position where he was the one who wanted more. He was living every man’s fantasy—a dream woman in his bed and no strings attached. It was any man’s fantasy but his.

  “Any word from Declan?” she asked lazily, circling her fingers on his chest.

  “Mmm,” he said, his hands skimming down her spine in a long, languid motion. “Dec said he’s starting to hear rumblings from Vassin’s camp. They’ve been digging deep into both of our files, trying to find something that isn’t there. He also said Vassin is putting feelers out, trying to find out how to locate me. This property isn’t listed with my other holdings, but it’s not impossible to trace. I wanted him to have to work to find me.”

  “You’ve never said how your family feels about what you do.”

  He snorted out a laugh. “I was never their favorite person to begin with. I’ve always been a bit of a disappointment to them.”

 
; Max rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the sudden tension there. He didn’t like to talk about his family. The wounds were still deep from the loss of his parents in a plane crash, even though he’d been very young when it had happened, and there’d been a void in that part of his life that his grandparents hadn’t been able to fill once they took over his care. He would have gotten more love and affection from strangers.

  “Grandfather liked me the most once I joined the Marines. It gave him a better standing with his constituents to have a grandson in active combat. He also thought it would be good for my record when I was discharged and decided to take my place in politics.”

  She lifted her head and a smile quirked at the corner of her mouth. “I must have missed that phase of your life.”

  “Yeah, I missed it too.” He felt the tension he carried whenever he talked about his family lighten and was able to laugh a little. “I took up the MMA training while I was overseas, and it became addictive. So you can imagine his surprise when I signed up to fight in the ring and chose to ignore the family summons home so he could throw a big party in my honor and introduce me to all of his campaign contributors. And then the DEA recruited me and I never looked back.”

  He’d made a lot of detours in his life, searching for something to give him purpose and support as his family never had. Carrying a badge had given him that purpose, and he was grateful for it.

  “Like you, I often wonder if I’d have taken a different path if my parents had lived. It’s hard for me to remember them other than what I see from pictures. I remember my mother’s laugh and the way dad looked when he tied his tie in front of the mirror. I remember they loved me and reminded me how important it was to bring honor to the Devlin name. To always remember where I came from and be grateful to those before me who’d made sure we never had to worry about where we’d get our next meal.”

  “They’d be proud of your service,” she said. “You’ve more than brought honor to the Devlin name.”