Tuesday night, sitting in the car in front of her parents’ house, Cass didn’t think she’d ever been so nervous. She felt like a major doofus for letting anxiety about the night affect her.
“Relax. I’m telling you. Parents love me.” Mack patted her on the shoulder.
“Easy there, Captain Ego. I’m not nervous.”
“Sure you aren’t.” He glanced at her fists clenched around the steering wheel. “You’re super chill.” He got out of her car and headed up the walkway, not waiting for her, carrying two bottles of wine.
Who knew the firefighter was an oenophile? And, yeah, she’d looked the word up after losing at Scrabble earlier in the day. Mack liked to play games, and he hadn’t pulled any punches at his favorite game while she’d been distracted by furry busybodies crawling all over her.
The afternoon spent at his house, making love and playing together, had been the highlight of her week so far. And that was including the lovefest on Sunday. She had no idea when their time together had gone from “having sex” to “making love.” Maybe because Mack stared into her eyes when they were together or because she couldn’t separate her affection for his smiles and cheery personality from the stud-muffin proportions of his perfect, naked body.
She only knew she had totally become the clingy, possessive, obsessed woman she hadn’t wanted to be. But she didn’t know how to stop what she was feeling.
Or if she should.
Mack paused with his finger at the doorbell and turned to wait for her. “Well? Shall I?”
She yanked his arm down and pounded on the door. “Be good, Revere, or you’ll pay later.”
“I’m properly terrified.”
She snickered.
Her father opened the door, looked them both over, and smiled. “Well, you are a real boy. I had no idea my daughter hadn’t been lying about bringing one over.”
“Dad.”
Mack laughed. “Hello. I’m Mack Revere.”
Her father took the bag Mack handed him, studied the bruise on his face, and shook with his free hand. “Aaron. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Come on in.”
Mack passed him, but Cass had to wait to pay the toll to enter with a kiss on her dad’s cheek.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Cass. I’m so glad you guys could come over. Your mom made her famous lemon chicken.”
“Oh, nice.” Cass’s favorite dish. They normally had something exotic and different on Thanksgiving, none of them needing a typical turkey. But lemon chicken definitely counted as the perfect meal. “With the couscous salad?”
“Of course.” Aaron walked them all past the spacious living room and dining room into the kitchen.
“Wow. My mom would go ape in here,” Mack muttered and goggled at the kitchen. “This place is amazing.”
“Yeah. My mom doesn’t cook that much, but when she does, she has pretty much every doodad needed to make anything, from bread to macarons to soufflés.”
Stainless-steel appliances, a walk-in pantry, and a huge island with a butcher-block space, prep sink, and marble countertop, which could also seat six, made the kitchen a designer’s dream.
“Cooking is Mom’s hobby. Well, that and Dad.” Cass laughed at her father. She moved to kiss her mom on the cheek. “Hey, Mom. This is Mack. Mack, my mom.”
Her mother blinked. “I sure hope Cass isn’t responsible for that bruise.”
Mack grinned. “A love tap. I’m kidding. Just a scuffle with a guy at work. No biggie.”
“Ah. I see. I’m Jennifer. So nice to meet you.” She waved at him, her hands gunked in something she’d been making. “I’d shake your hand, but mine’s covered in flour.”
“Hi, Jennifer.” He smiled.
Cass frowned. “Flour? That implies you’re baking something. Aren’t we eating at six?”
“Six-thirty,” her dad said. “We need time to grill your date.”
“Seriously?”
Mack laughed. “Hey, at least he’s honest.”
Her mom chuckled. “Aaron’s kidding.” She gave him the death glare. “We just wanted to spend some time with you, Cass. We hardly ever see you.”
Talk about exaggerating. “We talk all the time and only missed dinner last week because you guys had a thing to attend.”
“It was your father’s thing,” her mom said. “And it was very nice, though the meat was dry.”
“Terrible.” Her father shook his head. “But our award dinners usually are.”
“Award? Did you win something?” Mack asked, taking a seat at the counter to watch her mother work, as if he came over all the time and tonight was nothing new.
Her mom smiled at him. “Apricot tarts for dessert. And an apple one in case you don’t like apricot.”
“I like everything.” Mack smiled wide. “Especially Cassandra.”
“Oh, how sweet.”
Mack hadn’t been lying. Parents did like him. Her mother glowed as she smiled at him, and her father laughed. Sean had once made a similar comment, and her parents hadn’t so much as nodded in his direction.
Her dad was saying something about being nominated for his clinic, and she turned to him. “You never told me that.”
“You never asked.”
She sputtered, “Well, I mean, I just assumed it was another one of those fancy dinners for the letter people.” At Mack’s look, she flushed and mumbled, “You know, people with letters in front of or behind their names, like DR or PhD or MD…”
Mack’s eyes widened. “W. O. W.”
She glared at him, but her parents chuckled.
“My clinic didn’t win this year, but to even be nominated is a huge deal.”
Jennifer added, “And it looks really good when you’re trying to get new clients. Not that you are, honey, I’m just saying.”
Her dad blushed and accepted all their congratulations. Cass noticed Mack wasn’t overly effusive, just sincere. Such a great guy, she seemed to think just about all the time.
Her father glanced at the bottles Mack had given him. “Oh, Mack, very nice. Special reserve.”
Mack shrugged. “I didn’t know what you’d be having, so I brought a white and a red. I thought you might like them.”
Ha. He didn’t fool her. He’d asked a ton of questions about what her parents liked to drink and had apparently chosen nice blends of a richer quality.
She muttered, “Suck-up,” but he ignored her.
Instead of moving into the living room to let her mother finish cooking, they all settled in the kitchen to talk while Jennifer continued to work her magic.
Her dad had poured them all drinks, though Cass settled on a nice lemonade, wanting a clear head since she’d driven over.
Her parents spent the next fifteen minutes embarrassing her, bragging about how smart and athletic she was. But Mack seemed fascinated, not put off, and contributed his own observations.
“She’s clearly intelligent. Fast, sporty. Of course, attractive.” Mack winked at her, and she blushed. “You should see her in uniform though. I watched her deal with some big guys in a fight, and when one came at her, she took him down. Not excessive about it either. She used calm and some amazing physicality to bring the man down. And she was there backing up Jed and the other cops on scene. I was impressed.”
“You were?” Cass looked at him, surprised.
“Yeah. I also wanted to rush in because that guy looked like he wanted to grab you again, but I didn’t. I mean, you can totally handle yourself.”
She smiled. “Yes, I can.”
“Plus Brad was holding me back and told me not to blow it with you.” Mack gave a self-deprecating laugh. “So I waited until you gave the all clear.”
She liked that he told her the truth. “Mess with my job and I’ll lock you up.”
“I figured.” The warmth in his smile made her feel treasured.
She smiled back until she realized how focused her parents were on them. She didn’t think they’d blinked in minutes. She cleared her throat, and her mom elbowed her dad.
“Cass hasn’t told us much about you, only that you’re a firefighter?” her dad prodded.
Mack nodded, sipping from a white wine her father had already had chilling. Apparently, the white stuff got refrigerated. Who knew?
“Yep. I’ve been a firefighter for five years. Was in the Air Force for seven before that. I really love my job.”
“That’s terrific,” her mom said. “So many people work at what they don’t like, and it causes a lot of additional stress. Aaron could dissect the topic at length—trust me, he’s done it before.”
“Hey.”
Jennifer smirked at her husband and continued, “But he’s right that stress kills. With such a high-pressure job like firefighting or police work,” she said with a nod at Cass, “you’d have to really love your job to reap the joy along with all the hazards that come with service. Trust me, I know.”
“I told you Mom’s a doctor,” Cass said.
“A cardiologist,” Jennifer specified.
“Yeah, you’d know all about stress,” Mack agreed. “My family is all law enforcement.” He sounded positive, but Cass sensed something off about his tone. “My mom works in administration in the police department. My dad retired after thirty years. My three brothers are all active-duty police. One’s a detective, one’s SWAT, and, well, you know Xavier,” he said to Cass. “A patrol officer who works in Cass’s precinct.”
“Interesting.” Her dad sipped his wine. “Cass used to have a policy of not dating anyone she works with or anyone who’s related to anyone she works with.”
“Well now, I realize that.” Mack sipped from his glass, looking like he’d been born sophisticated. Whatever. She’d never forget the sight of him covered in mud. “But I like to think it was my incredible skill at bar games, not to mention my fine soccer legs, that had her taking a chance on me.”
Her parents chuckled.
He exaggerated his win over pool and his failure at darts. Then he continued to embellish about her loss at Scrabble. He’d hit double word score twice and barely beat her by a few points.
“He makes up words,” she said when her parents stopped laughing, doing her darndest not to smile. “That or he sleeps with a dictionary under his pillow.”
“Your inability to choose words with care put a damp squib on our game.”
“See what I mean?” she said to her parents, then turned to Mack. “‘Damp squib’? What the hell are you talking about? And don’t even try fobbing me off. I know words too, you supercilious rapscallion.”
Mack’s eyes shone. “You should have used those earlier.”
Losing had been such a treat though, especially since she’d had to obey Mack for a solid hour. And hadn’t that been a mass of orgasms she’d never forget.
He winked at her, and she blushed.
Her parents exchanged smiles, and her mom asked the big question, “What does Jed think? Because he’s the real bar you need to pass.”
“He tolerates me, I think.” Mack sighed. “But it’s his wife I’m after.”
“Mack.” Cass would warn him later not to make statements like that in Jed’s company if he wanted to keep his face in one piece.
“What? Her pot roast was killer good. I mean, I’m still thinking about it five days later. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I can’t help it. I like food.”
Her father just stared. “You had dinner with Shannon?”
“And Jed?” her mom added. “And survived?”
Cass chuckled. “Well, he plied the kids with liquor so they’d like him.”
“Don’t listen to her. It was kid beer—apple juice in cans.”
Her dad winked. “Smart man. Jed and Shannon are lovely. Their children are especially fun. Very smart.”
“Bordering on psychotic,” Cass muttered, which had Mack nearly choking on his wine.
Her dad frowned. “That’s not any kind of real diagnosis, and we don’t diagnose children anyway, Cassandra.”
“I hate it when you call me by my full name.”
“I know. That’s why I do it.”
She turned to Mack, who watched them all with such fascinated amusement. “Do you see what it was like growing up with them? It’s a wonder I’m normal.”
“Well, normal is relative,” Mack said with a large smile. “But I like you.”
Her parents died laughing.
And the night got better from there.
By the time they returned to her house, Mack was still laughing over a pun her mother had made. He really did love words.
“God, Cass. I think I’m in love with your mom.” He stumbled over the doorjamb.
She shut and locked the door behind him, hearing the kittens meow as they entered. Since Mack hadn’t wanted to leave them alone, he’d brought them to Cass’s house. They raced to her, and she lifted one up while Mack lifted the other one, kissing it on the nose.
Warm fuzzies took up space in her brain, and she watched a man she was coming to care for, very much, as he cradled a vulnerable kitty with so much care and attention.
Oh wow. I could really grow to love this guy.
Love. Seriously? She kept spinning head over heels with jumbled affection and confusion because Cass didn’t fall fast in love. Heck, she rarely felt instant like for anyone.
Yet with Mack, she feared she’d started falling and had no inkling how to stop before she hit rock bottom. And then what?
She set the cat down and drawled, “First Shannon, now my mom. If I make you something that tastes good, will you be in love with me too?”
He grabbed her sweater and yanked her close, the kitten in one hand, her in another.
“Hey.”
Mack kissed her, and she forgot why she felt upset. “Ah, but I don’t have too far to fall, do I?” He tilted into her and nearly fell putting the cat on the ground. Then he used her to straighten himself.
Mack was acting a little loopy, which she found more than entertaining. He seemed like a man always in control of himself. She respected that because he was like her in that way. Yet she loved his endearing grin. The way he stared at her too long, showing her exactly how he felt. And right now, he seemed awfully enamored.
“Mack?”
“Put the cat down and take me to bed,” he whispered, turned, and started getting naked. Articles of clothing dropped in a trail to her bedroom.
“What cat? You mean the one I already set on the floor?” She laughed and gave the furballs a treat before following Mack to her bedroom.
He lay naked in the middle of her bed, his arms outstretched, a goofy smile on his face.
Completely asleep.
She wished she had the stones to take a picture of him like this. So much for thinking he’d been a little loopy. Hell, the man was a lot loopy and hadn’t seemed drunk at all.
With a sigh because the night wouldn’t end up as she’d hoped, she put on a sleepshirt, grabbed a thick blanket to throw over them both, and joined him in bed.
She wouldn’t be getting any panty-melting sex, but she’d get the next best thing. Mack, all to herself.
***
Cass woke up to someone caressing her cheek and poking her in the arm asking, “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, you awake?”
Then someone else purred in her ear and licked her.
She opened her eyes wide, only to see a tiny, furry head staring at her. The kitten licked her nose and backed away then used Cass’s stomach as a launching pad. “Oomph.” She turned on her side.
“Hold on,” Mack said and left the bed to put the two kittens on the floor before returning under the blanket to spoon her. He kissed her neck, moving her hair aside, and continued his kisses up to her ear. “I opened the curtain to let in some moonlight, but it’s still dark out. So it’s still technically tonight.”
“Hmm?” She pulled his arm over her middle and sighed when he cupped her breast through her shirt. Cuddling on their sides, feeling closer than close.
“I wanted tonight to have a great ending.” He nuzzled her neck.
Something hard prodded her backside.
She smiled. “Let me help you.”
She felt him tug at her waist and lifted so he could pull her panties down. He settled her sleepshirt over her hips, leaving her bare from the waist down underneath the blanket.
Mack pulled her leg over his, spreading her thighs wide, and shifted his hand from her breast down between her legs to stroke her.
Still muzzy with sleep, Cass fully wakened as pleasure arced throughout her body.
“Yeah, that’s it. Just relax.” He kept touching and kissing her, giving her the best wake-up she’d had in some time. He angled closer to her bottom then pushed, easing inside her already-wet sex. “Fuck, you’re tight.”
Especially in their position, on their sides. Mack thrust in and out, slowly at first, his fingers like magic over her. He knew just how to touch her, moving softer then faster, gauging her responses. And he kissed her, constantly loving her with his mouth wherever he could reach.
“So sexy. God, Cass, you make me so hard.” Mack whispered naughty thing, funny things, loving things. And through it all, he held himself back, seeing to her desires. Making her feel as if only her pleasure mattered. He teased her nipples, knowing how much she loved when he did that.
His big strong hands held her tight, controlling her movements while he rode her faster. His arousal increased her own. Knowing how much he wanted her was its own kind of aphrodisiac.
His fingers danced across her flesh, tugging at her clit while he stroked that spot inside that had her seeing stars and hurdled her into an orgasm she hadn’t expected. As she clamped down on him, he moved his hand back to her breast, squeezing and playing with her while he pumped harder and faster. To her shock, she kept coming.
The pleasure held her in its grip, refusing to let go as Mack groaned her name and shuddered, finally stilling inside her.
Only then did she realize she hadn’t asked if he’d been wearing a condom.
“Oh, fuck, you’re really hugging me tight inside. Keep doing what you’re doing,” Mack rasped as he pumped once more and hugged her close.
After her heart rate slowed and he caught his breath, she asked the question she’d been dreading. “Mack, ah, did you… Are you wearing protection?”
“Yeah.” He kissed her neck and moaned. “If I hadn’t, I would have lost it as soon as I entered you. You’re fucking hot.”
The tension of the moment passed, and she relaxed in his arms. “Good.”
He gently eased out of her and kissed her cheek. “I swear, I’ll always do my best to protect you, and, yeah, I know you don’t need protecting. You’re strong and smart and can kick my ass. But when I can, I will. I’d never not use a condom with you unless you said it was okay.”
She flushed, feeling bad for having doubted him.
“I’m not mad you asked,” he said, reading her mind. She felt his smile against her neck. “I’m actually kind of flattered.”
“Huh?” She turned around so she could look at him, not that she could see much since the moonlight through the window had shifted, now angled on the floor. “Flattered?”
“That you were so caught up you didn’t ask before you came.” His white smile glinted at her. “I made you lose your mind, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, well, you got lucky.”
“Did I.” Not a question but a statement with a smug grin attached.
She choked on a laugh. “Okay, you deserve a medal for waking me up the way you did. I don’t think I’ve ever had multiple orgasms before.” And hadn’t that been incredible. She had no idea her body could experience so much pleasure from sex.
“Er, yeah.” He rolled away and left the room, returning to join her once more under the blanket. “All clear.”
“What?”
“Condom free. I wrapped it and put in the trash.”
“Oh, right.” She felt herself blush, which was silly.
He stroked her hair and leaned in for a kiss. “Cass?”
“Yeah?” She kissed him back, feeling closer to him than anyone she’d ever been with.
“I meant to ask you earlier about something, but I kept going back and forth on it. And well, I kind of need to know.”
“What?” He could pretty much ask her anything and she’d say yes, as lethargic and contented as she now felt.
He sighed. “Tomorrow night, well, technically tonight, I guess, my mom and dad are having a Thanksgiving for the family. We almost never have all our off-time together. Mom wants us all to celebrate at dinner.”
“That’s nice.” For as large a family as they had with differing schedules, she could see how important it would be to get together when they could.
“I’d like it if you came with me. As my date.”
She tried to see him through the dark and couldn’t, so she reached around him to turn on the light. “Really?”
He looked both sleepy and a little alarmed, though that could just be her imagination. “Well, yeah. But it’s not really fair. I had so much fun with your parents tonight. My family dinner won’t be nearly as nice.”
“Why not?”
“My brothers can be a pain, and my mom’s pushy.”
“Not your dad?” She smiled.
He didn’t smile back. “Maybe you should forget I asked.”
“No, I want to come.” To see him with his family and figure out the weird dynamic she could sense but hadn’t yet seen.
He sighed and hugged her. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Aw. You sure don’t.”
He tickled her as payback, and she howled with laughter as she tickled him right back.
But all that wrestling woke them both up.
“Aw, hell.”
She looked down at Mack from her vantage, sitting on his stomach and holding his wrists down on either side of his head. “What’s your problem now? That you’re losing?”
“That you woke Junior up,” he complained, a twinkle in his eye. “Now you have to put him back to bed.” He arched up against her, and she felt something hard against her butt.
She grinned. “Junior, huh?”
“You can call it whatever you want. A big old tent pole. God’s gift to women. Your favorite beef jerky.” He guffawed. “Just don’t bite too hard, eh?”
“But, Mack, why use my mouth when I have something so much better?” She wriggled against his belly, rubbing back against his erection.
“Why indeed?”
They fell asleep much later. And Cass had the absolute best dreams, wrapped up in her lover’s arms.