I clutched the towel to my chest, my skin prickling for a different reason. I shivered and couldn’t seem to stop.
“You need to get dry,” Mac said.
“In a minute.” But it was hard to talk. Every part of my body was trembling, my teeth chattering.
Mac stepped into my space, this time pulling me into his warm, very hard body. He wrapped those steel arms around me, and I breathed in his masculine scent mixed with sawdust. His warmth was too enticing. I melted into his body as he held me tighter.
I rested my cheek against the soft material of his shirt and the hard pec underneath. He was all man. I’d seen the way he worked around the B&B every day, but being this close to him, touching him, was a whole other thing. The heat unraveled around me, seeping into my skin, and the shivers slowed.
He used the towel to rub my skin dry and squeeze the water out of my hair. I felt warm all over now. His gaze was appraising, his touch gentle. My cheeks flushed as he took me in.
He stepped back, regret on his face. “You should change into warmer pajamas and get into bed. You’ll feel better.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt better than I had in his arms. Definitely better than I’d felt in Carter’s arms. Mac had never appeared to be interested in me before. Was it the unexpected display of skin, my body’s reaction to the cold, or something else? Was he short to mask his attraction? Had he pushed me away because he was attracted to me? I wasn’t sure what to think.
Finally, he said, “I’ll take care of this.”
I swallowed, suddenly unable to have a coherent thought. Confused by my revelation, I stepped back from him, the damp towel loose around my shoulders. Tightening my fingers around it, I felt exposed and vulnerable when I hadn’t shared anything with him.
“Thank you,” was all I could manage before I turned on my heel and hurried toward the door that separated my space from the construction zone. Closing the door softly behind me, I was very aware that Delaney might have heard us. I listened carefully for a noise, and hearing none, I leaned against the door that separated me from Mac.
Was he attracted to me? Warmth spread through my body, my nipples tingled, and my pussy clenched. What would have happened if he’d kissed me? If his hand would have lingered on my nipple or even cupped my breast? I knew I wouldn’t have said no.
I hadn’t felt an attraction to anyone in a long time. Far longer than I cared to admit. Carter cheated on me and moved to Texas to be with his new girlfriend, leaving me living in a town where I wasn’t from, with his parents who weren’t mine.
I’d felt so alone when his parents sided with him. They’d said he needed time to explore what he wanted. That had made zero sense to me because he’d married me. We had a child together. He didn’t have the luxury to explore his attraction to another woman, who’d also left her husband and kids. It was selfish. And every time I stood up to them, our relationship fractured even more.
Feeling more alone than I ever had, I reconnected with my best friend from childhood, Kylie Wilde. She was the one who’d convinced me to come back home, even though I’d never planned to return.
It was her idea for me to buy this B&B so I could work with my daughter. She took pictures of the house and sent them to me. She said I needed space and time away from Carter’s family.
I closed my eyes, feeling the solid door against my back. What would happen if I went back in there and asked for what I wanted? Something told me Mac wouldn’t say no. He seemed like a man who knew what to do with his hands, who’d never leave me aching for more. He knew how to satisfy a woman, and there was a desire in his eyes. He wanted me.
Could I have something physical with a man and keep it separate from my daughter? It didn’t seem feasible, but I wanted someone to relieve this ache in my core, and I knew Mac was the man to do it.
Kylie would tell me to go for it, but then she’d always been a little wild, as her last name suggested. Her whole family was. That’s what happened when you had four older brothers.
I’d always been more cautious, and now I had Delaney to think about. Her father left so abruptly that her entire world and safety net was ripped from under her. I was the one who kept things stable for her. I couldn’t act on a whim. It would make me no better than Carter.
I left South Carolina because there was nothing left for us. I was worried my in-laws were saying things to Delaney that they shouldn’t. I wanted to protect her from what was going on. She didn’t know the details, and my mother-in-law thought it was her duty to feed it to her.
I started a bath in the incredible tub Mac had installed in my suite. When I protested the cost, he’d said I’d need a good one if I was going to be managing the B&B on my own. He told me not to worry about the expense, saying some ridiculous thing about it being a good advertisement for his business, but no one would see it but me. I’d sing its praises to anyone who asked, but it wasn’t the same as putting a tub into a guest bathroom.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the couch, the tub, or the way he’d worked so hard to get the apartment ready for me.
I slipped off my damp pajamas and stepped into the steaming water. I hoped this would relax me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how aroused I’d been from Mac holding me. I sank into the water, resting my head on the lip of the tub. I reached for my tiny vibrator, the one I used because it was so small and quiet, and turned it on. I pressed the tip where I needed it the most, and a moan slipped out before I could cover my mouth.
I was so ready to combust, and it was all because of Mac. I imagined what would have happened had one of us made a move to kiss each other. Dream Mac said he wanted to make me feel good, and I was all for that.
I licked my lips as the vibrator did its job to take me over the edge. It wasn’t the same as Mac touching me, but I’d take my pleasure where I could get it.
Hooking up with the contractor who was renovating my B&B was a bad idea. Ever since his brother, Sam, formed a side company that created outdoor spaces, Mac had taken over as the foreman. I’d see him every day, and I didn’t want things to be awkward—or any more than they already had been.
But the irrational part of my brain pointed out that we were alone. Delaney was sleeping; we could give in to our baser instincts. But every time my naughty side got on board with that idea, I remembered the look on Carter’s face when he told me via video that he was leaving me for his girlfriend.
I wouldn’t be that selfish. I had a child to think about and a business to get off the ground. I didn’t have time for built contractors who had a way with tools. I’d just need to take care of my own needs.
CHAPTER 2
MAC
Natalie’s see-through silky camisole left nothing to the imagination. She was all delicious curves, perky breasts, and hard nipples. I couldn’t get the vision of her pebbled nipples out of my head.
She was either cold or just as aroused as I was. I was doing a fairly good job of resisting the pull until she shivered. I couldn’t resist my instincts anymore. I pulled her into my arms with the sole desire to get her warm, which had the added bonus of feeling her soft body against mine.
I was hard as a rock when she snuggled deeper into my embrace. I had to hold my lower half away from her so she didn’t realize where my head was at.