The silence was broken by his low moan as she reached inside his boxer briefs and found him hard, his slit wet.

“You know why.” She leaned close to kiss him again and started pumping him.

He met her more than halfway, wrapping his hand around hers over his cock. Their groans mixed until he was bucking and she was stroking faster, harder.

“Fuck, yeah. I’m coming,” he moaned.

She pulled harder and felt the sticky jet of his desire all over her hand while he whispered her name. She leaned back from him and looked down, enthralled with his large cock covered in cum.

“You made a mess,” she teased and kissed his jaw.

“Shit.” He was breathing hard and leaned his head back against the head rest. His eyes closed, and he sat there, panting.

“For such a bully, you’re surprisingly sexy.” She rubbed his seed over his semi-hard cock, wondering when she’d finally feel him inside her. “Now we’re even.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Even?”

“For last night.”

“Hell, no. We’re not even.” He tugged her hand from his cock and cleaned them both with a few tissues he grabbed from the tissue box on the floor. “I gave you an orgasm last night, and I made you dinner tonight. One measly orgasm from you is way less than I deserve.”

She frowned while he buttoned up. “Measly? Nothing small about the mess you made in your lap. I’d say that was a whopper of an orgasm. Heck. You owe me another dinner for that handjob.”

He just stared at her.

“What?”

“Hearing you say handjob. That innocent face and the sex talk. I’m hard again.”

“Shut up.” She blushed. “Well, I suppose I should get going. My boss is an ogre, and if I’m late tomorrow, he’ll probably fire me.”

“Not if you blow him in the office. You know how many fantasies I’ve had of you on your knees, or bending you over my desk and—”

Goodnight, Mac.” She scooted away and yanked on the door handle.

He stopped her before she could leave. “For the record, we’re not even. When I’m coming deep inside you and you’re crying out my name? Then we’ll be even.”

“Well when will that be?” she asked, annoyed he seemed to be toying with her. “Why wait? Let’s just get it over with.” She wanted to end her sexual dormancy with the man, and he didn’t seem to be getting the hint.

“Get it over with?” He scowled. “Seriously, Doran. You need help with that attitude. Make sure to wear something tight tomorrow.”

Interesting how natural it felt to revert to their previous roles as combatants. She liked that she felt at ease with him. After their recent intimacy, she would have thought she’d be blushing and stammering. Yet Mac made it all seem normal to be so close to him. “Don’t be an ass, Jameson.”

“It’s okay, honeybuns. I’m your ass for the time being.” He smiled and wiggled his brows. “Now get inside. It’s cold out. And don’t be late tomorrow.”

She left the car and slammed the door on his laughter. But he was right. It was cold outside. She hustled inside her apartment and locked the door behind her. Then she peered through her curtains, not surprised he’d waited until he’d seen her inside before he left.

Mac Jameson. An ass. A dictator. A skilled lover. A true puzzle she had every intention of figuring out. Because he’s a potential friend with benefits and nothing more.

And wasn’t that what she wanted? No more emotional pitfalls, just a sexy man with whom she could end her dry spell. So why did she sense her date with Mac as the beginning of so much more?

Chapter Six

Mac thought he’d done an impressive job by holding out last night. He hadn’t jumped Maggie when he’d seen her wearing those form-hugging jeans and pretty pink tee. When she’d fallen asleep on him, he’d been the perfect gentleman, even though her breasts had been pressing into his side and giving him the hard-on from hell.

And even when she’d come on to him in the SUV, he hadn’t done more than let her handle him, when every cell in his body had demanded he take charge, put her in the back of the vehicle, and fuck the shit out of her.

He blew out a breath. So far, so good, Jameson.

As the morning flew by and Maggie did no more than scowl at him before tending to her class, Mac felt on even keel once more. Though the day passed by with agonizing slowness, he didn’t feel as if he’d damaged their relationship, such as it was. He got hives just thinking about the R word, but with Maggie, he defined it as a friendship first, one that would hopefully lead to some fucking incredible sex. He just needed to layer the trust between them, to see if the subtle submissive vibes he’d sensed rang true.

For all that the woman lashed out at him like a Doberman, she obeyed at the oddest times, when she should have been protesting his control. Telling her what to do concerning their date? Taking charge of her climax the other night? She’d melted for him. And he just knew she’d be perfect on her knees, obeying him.

That’s if he could get her there.

Stubborn thing would make him work to own her. Yet he looked forward to the challenge. Nothing worth having in life had ever been easy. And sure as shit, Maggie Doran screamed difficult.

He watched her leave work, heard more chatter about her fine ass, and did his best to steer clear of the women who tended to want more of his attention than he felt comfortable giving.

Normally he didn’t mind their flattery. He admitted it soothed his bruised ego, considering Maggie hadn’t come on to him before he’d made his move. Knowing she’d been celibate helped cool his ardor, but not by much. After their last two days spent with each other, he knew he could seal the deal and make a memory with her he’d never forget.

Yet he didn’t think he’d given them enough time to really know each other. The woman thought he had trust issues? Learning she’d been abandoned as a kid offered some valuable insight. Shelby had been less than forthcoming, and Shane’s knowledge of the blond beauty was limited to what Shelby had shared with him, which wasn’t much more than what Mac had already known. Mac’s future lover had an older brother named Trevor. She worked at an art gallery called The Beholder for a woman named Kim. She designed paper sculptures and worked part time teaching aerobics to make ends meet.

He also knew that she spent a lot of time with Shelby and Mimi Vanzant, Shelby’s Mom, whom Mac had met and taken an instant liking to.

Mimi took flamboyancy to a whole new level, but she had a heart nearly as big as her personality. Although Ron’s inspection had made him uncomfortable the first few times he’d encountered the guy, he’d adjusted. Mac didn’t have a problem with gays. He’d had his share of men come on to him, and he’d easily rebuffed the offers, no harm no foul. He couldn’t care less about orientation. Something his uncle had made sure to drill into his head early on. It wasn’t about looks, status, or background, but about action. If a Marine worked hard, color, race, sexuality, and gender mattered little. Now, if the Marine fucked around on the job, Mac stepped in and kicked some serious ass.

Unlike Ron who apparently liked fucking ass. Sex with a dude did nothing for Mac, but with a woman?

Mac had tried anal a few times with past girlfriends. He wasn’t opposed to it, but he preferred a nice tight pussy. Yet he’d had some tasty fantasies about taking Maggie anywhere and everywhere. The woman made him hard by just breathing. The thought of owning her fine ass, of coming in her pussy or better yet, her mouth, just seemed like something he had to do.

How many more dates before he saw the green light in her gaze? And not as something to get over with, but something to savor?

“There you are.” Shane guffawed from the doorway to Mac’s office. “Down boy. Happy to see me?” He glanced at Mac’s crotch, which as usual, stood at attention at thoughts of Maggie.

Mac quickly sat behind his desk and flushed. “I was daydreaming about Maggie. Happy?”

“Not as happy as you, apparently.” Shane closed the door of Mac’s office behind him and sat across from Mac’s desk to face him. “So how did Saturday night go? You’ve been way too quiet about it.”

“It went okay after I scared the shit out of her.”

“Figured you might. Maggie doesn’t have a lot of guys over, or so Shelby says. She wouldn’t have been expecting anyone else to be there.”

“Yeah, well, after she got over her near stroke, I left. We had dinner last night.”

Shane’s eyes widened, as did his grin. “Oh?”

“So what?” Mac tried for blasé, but Shane wasn’t having it.

“You like her. A lot. This isn’t just lust. I know you, buddy. You normally fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. Sorry to say.”

“As I said before, so what? The ladies know what they’re in for. Hell, that’s why they come to me. They want a fun ride, and I give it to them.”

“Yeah? So did you bone her yet?”

“Don’t be an ass. And since when do you talk like me? ‘Bone her?’”

Shane stood and pointed at Mac. “A ha!”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“You want Maggie as something more than a fuck toy. Amen. The boy has finally grown up.”

“I’m a desk away from putting your face through my wall,” Mac warned, thoroughly aggravated. Yeah, he liked Maggie. But Shane made it sound a lot more serious than the emotion warranted. Mac just wanted to dominate her a little, and to do that, he wanted a tighter friendship between them. They’d have sex, then go their separate ways. No biggie.