STORY EXCERPT

He smiled, a hard smile that didn’t even come close to reaching his eyes. “Jazz, you know as well as I do that it stopped being just friendship between us a long time ago.”

Jasmine frowned, shaken at the change in him. “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

For the first time, Mac smiled a genuine smile. “No, you don’t.” He came to his feet with a grace she’d always admired, his gaze steady on hers as he took a step toward her. “I haven’t gone out with another woman in over a year, and you know it. Do you really think I’m going to stand by and watch you go out with other men?”

Her breath caught when he took another step, her pulse tripping at the sensation of being stalked, startled at how it aroused her. Backing away, she lifted her chin, not about to let him see how much he intimidated her. Mortified at the arousal that grew each moment she spent with him, she struggled to keep her voice firm.

“That’s none of your business.”

Mac’s smile widened, the threat in his eyes making him even more intimidating. “Don’t kid yourself. Everything about you is my business. We both know that.” He took another step, and then another. “I’ve been watching over you and your daughters ever since you moved in.”

Jasmine moved aside, working her way back toward the sofa. “Stop stalking me!”

Her heart raced, beating nearly out of her chest. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You’ve never acted like this before.” She’d never felt so aware of her femininity and found herself drawn to his raw masculinity like a moth to a flame.

He came closer, too close for her peace of mind. “I’ve never waited as long for a woman as I have for you. My patience came to an end the minute I saw you ride away with another man.” He took another step, not allowing her to put any distance between them. “I thought you would come to me when you were ready to have another man in your life—not go out with someone else. Last night things did change between us, and I should never have let you get away.”

His voice lowered. “Once again, I gave you time and distance. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.”

Shaken and a little confused, Jasmine took another step back, yelping when the backs of her knees hit the edge of the sofa and she fell backward.

“Mac!”

He caught her, easing her down and taking the seat beside her. Sitting at the edge of the sofa and turning toward her, he effectively closed her in, making it impossible for her to escape.

Her skin tingled at his nearness, the awareness of his powerful body so close to hers filling her with breathless anticipation. Heat radiated from him, enveloping her in a warm cocoon of delight, one that made her pulse race and dampened her panties as the need for him became almost unbearable. The scent of warm, clean male surrounded her, filling her senses. Her nipples beaded almost painfully, the need for his attention making them achy and tight.

With one hand braced on the back of the sofa over her shoulder and the other at the arm at her other side, he leaned over her and smiled, a seductive smile, full of erotic intent.

His gaze lowered to her breasts as if he knew the torment he created, making them feel swollen and heavy. “Do you really think I’d wait all this time for you only to watch you take another man into your bed? You’re lucky he didn’t come in with you. I would have thrown him out on his ass and paddled yours.”

Fighting the alarm and surge of lust at the mental image of her naked and over his lap, Jasmine backed as far into the corner of the sofa as possible, giving him the cold look she’d used to keep men from bothering her for the past three years.

“I can’t believe you just said that to me. I’m not a child, damn it!”

Catching her chin when she would have looked away, Mac leaned in closer, his eyes glittering with hunger. “I’m very well aware of that, sweetheart. It would have been a very adult spanking, one you wouldn’t have forgotten soon.”

Bending closer, he brushed her lips with his, the searing jolt of lust that went through her making her nipples and clit throb. The warm caress of his breath against her lips seduced her into parting them.

“I want you, Jazz. I’ve wanted you for a long time, and if there’s going to be a man in your life, it’s going to be me.”

She only had enough time to suck in a breath before his hard arms came around her, pulling her against an equally hard chest, his mouth taking hers in a kiss filled with possession and a hunger that had her defenses crumbling all around her.

Her body seemed to melt under the mastery of his kiss, becoming pliant, fitting against his as if they’d done this a million times before.

So thrilling, and with a twinge of familiarity that drew her in deeper, his touch created delicious sparks of electricity as his fingers moved over her skin.

She’d never felt so alive, so hungry. She’d never felt so needed.

She’d never met a man as physical as Mac and had never before been on the receiving end of so much passion.

She’d spent many sleepless nights imagining being in his arms, but the reality proved so overwhelming she could hardly breathe.

Her entire body shook uncontrollably at the incredible hunger Mac created inside her, a hunger unlike anything she’d ever known, an all-consuming need to give him everything she had to give.

ADULT EXCERPT

She’d never known pleasure could be so sharp. She’d never known need could be so hot. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision, and it took several seconds to realize that the tortured cries she heard came from her.

Shocked to feel her juices running down her thighs, she fought to open her legs wider, cursing when her sweatpants prevented it. A swell overtook her with a speed and force that startled another cry from her, the tingling of her clit seeming to explode in a shower of sparks.

“Mac!” Screaming his name, she went over, throwing her head back as the shimmering waves of pleasure overtook her.

Stiffening, she held on to Mac like a lifeline, her legs trembling with the effort to support her. Her cries of pleasure seemed to spur him on, his own groans of excitement and the clenching of his hands on her thighs thrilling her, assuring her that his excitement matched her own.

As if he knew her clit had become too sensitive to stand any more of his ministrations, Mac eased back, the long gentle sweeps of his tongue so light she barely felt them. It proved to be enough, though, to keep waves of pleasure rolling through her, dragging it out until she slumped, her legs no longer able to support her.

Her whimpered cries dimmed to soft moans as her knees gave out completely, becoming a sigh when Mac caught her and lifted her high against his chest.

“Mac, we can’t keep doing this. You make me feel so…sexual. This can’t last. I’m too old for—”

Cut off when his mouth covered hers, she found herself lost in his deep kiss, shocked at the taste of herself.

His tongue swept her mouth with increasing urgency, his low groans rumbling against her as he lowered her to the sofa. He stripped her of her remaining clothes with a speed and efficiency she couldn’t help but admire—and appreciate.

Naked, she squirmed against him, frustrated when he slid off of her. Her breath caught when he started throwing off his clothes, another moan escaping when he paused to dig into his pocket and retrieve a handful of condoms, which he tossed onto the coffee table.

Eager for his touch, she stretched her arms above her head and lifted her breasts in offering, remembering how it had felt when he’d held her wrists against the wall.

Delighting at the flare of heat in his eyes, Jasmine smiled, and gestured toward the small pile of condoms. “Feeling energetic?”

Mac’s eyes narrowed as he reached for one of the condoms and began to roll it on. “With you, I’m always feeling energetic.”

Jasmine moaned at the feel of his hands on her as he lifted her against his chest and moved swiftly to the end of the sofa. A whimper escaped when he flipped her to her belly over the arm of the sofa, the ease in which he adjusted her to his liking, increasing the sense of vulnerability that somehow felt so natural with him, but so warm.

Being with a man so strong and masculine and yet so amazingly thoughtful and tender sliced through her defenses like nothing else.

Finding herself facedown over the edge of the sofa, Jasmine tried to lift herself, but with a hand between her shoulder blades, Mac held her in place. Excited, and a little alarmed to find herself in such a defenseless position, she couldn’t help but try to fight him when he made a place between her thighs, positioning her with her ass high in the air.

“Mac! What are you doing?” She cried out in surprise and sharp pleasure when his fingers slid through her slit, his touch firm and so seductively confident. Even through her renewed arousal, she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious about her body. “Please, Mac. Let’s go into the bedroom.”

Mac chuckled, a low rumble of sound that sent shivers of erotic anticipation up and down her spine. Running both hands over the cheeks of her ass, he fitted the head of his cock against her pussy entrance. “I like having you right here.”

Fisting her hands on the sofa cushions, Jasmine sucked in a breath at the thrust of Mac’s cock into her.

Hot. Hard.

He filled her pussy with a thick heat that forced her pussy to stretch to accommodate him. Memories of the pleasure he gave her the night before came rushing back as he held himself still while her body struggled to accept him.

Sucking in several sharp breaths, she began to buck her hips, unable to remain still any longer.

“Feels so good. So deep.”

Mac groaned, his hands tightening on her hips as he began to thrust into her. “Damn, Jazz. You make me crazy to have you. I knew you would be a passionate lover. I sure as hell hope you’re as adventurous as I think you are, because, baby, I plan to shake up your world.”