Fourteen
Mac lay in bed beside Jenna and watched her sleep. He couldn’t shut his mind down even if he wanted to. After their intense encounter against the front door, Mac had carried her to bed where she’d promptly drifted off to sleep. Yet even in her sleep she kept a hand on him.
Swallowing his guilt, Mac stared at her delicate fingers on his abdomen. She’d given herself so completely, so honestly, and he wasn’t worthy of any of it. He’d planned on taking her tonight. Had planned on making her his, when the last thing he deserved was sweet Jenna in his life, let alone his bed.
He’d ordered a kill only hours earlier and the reality still weighed heavily on his shoulders. He’d made the call in the past, but that was when his father had been alive and the situation called for such extremes.
Now his father was gone, Braden was incapacitated and Mac was in charge. Ryker had demanded over and over that Mac let him do his job and Mac knew Ryker didn’t kill just for sport. The man may be their secret weapon, but he was also a professional. If there was another way, Ryker would’ve found it.
Still, Mac had made the final decision.
Delaying any longer could result in Laney getting hurt, even killed. Braden, Mac and Ryker preferred to keep Laney on the technical side of the family business and not in harm’s way. But Shane was a ticking time bomb. Who’s to say he wouldn’t come for Zara—or even Jenna? The man was smart enough to know who mattered most in the lives of the men he was trying so hard to bring down.
Shane had to be stopped, permanently. Braden would understand.
Mac laid his hand over Jenna’s as if to draw some of her innocence into his life. She was sweet, charmingly so, and completely the opposite of what his world entailed.
She arranged flowers for a living, for crying out loud. She literally made things around her beautiful while he dealt with lying, stealing...and murder.
His chest ached because no matter what he wanted, anything beyond a physical connection was impossible. But he hadn’t been able to hold himself back any longer. Jenna had stirred something in him so primal, he needed her like nothing he’d ever known. And that fact scared the hell out of him.
Jenna shifted in her sleep and rolled toward him. Mac lifted his arm, allowing her to nestle deeper into his side. Call him a bastard, but he wasn’t about to push her away. No, he didn’t deserve her, but he wanted her. He was an O’Shea. They saw something they wanted and they took it. Simple as that.
For tonight, Jenna was his. She trusted him with her body and she’d given him full control. Only days ago they’d been friends pretending to be more. Could Jenna slip back into the friend role once this wedding was over?
The bigger question was, could he?
* * *
Jenna stood back and stared at the flower arrangements in the dining area where the reception would be held tomorrow. Everything was absolutely perfect. The purple from the lavender popped against the white tablecloths and the greenery. The fresh, yet simple arrangements were just what Amy had asked for.
The room was breathtaking anyway, with floor-to-ceiling windows encompassing the entire back wall. With the ocean view and the romantic ambiance inside, the small reception tomorrow would be absolutely stunning.
“Looks beautiful.”
Jenna spun around to see Martin standing in the doorway. Great. The last person she wanted to be alone with.
Mac had gone back to the bungalow after he’d helped her carry the arrangements in. He’d stated he had some work to finish up, but she had the feeling something was bothering him so she let him go without question. After the sex they’d had, she was more confused than ever and perhaps he was, too.
“I’m not in the mood right now, Martin.”
She had been given the okay to stay in the event space as late as she needed as long as she found a worker to lock up when she was done. This way no one would bother her...well, no one was supposed to bother her.
“I didn’t come to argue,” Martin told her. “I actually came to tell you that even though I think you’re making a mistake, I’m not going to pursue you—us—any longer.”
Jenna crossed her arms, not bothering to comment on the fact there was no “us” where she and Martin were concerned.
“What changed your mind?” she asked, her attention fixed on his bruised eye, compliments of Mac.
“Whatever you and O’Shea have going on is something beyond what you and I had.” Martin shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “I saw how he looked at you during the rehearsal. He stayed on the sidelines, but his eyes never left you. He’s intense, and I’m not getting in the way of what you have.”
Jenna figured he didn’t want to get in the way of Mac, period, but she kept her opinion to herself.
Had Mac been focused on her the entire time? She’d glanced his way more than once during the rehearsal and had seen him looking her way, but...the entire time? Maybe last night had switched something in him. Perhaps he was looking at her as more than every other woman who came before her. Maybe he’d been telling the truth when he told her she was special.
Jenna focused on Martin, still standing only a few feet away. “I’m glad you’re moving on,” she told him.
Martin nodded, then stared at her another minute as if he wanted to say something else, but finally he turned and walked away. Jenna blew out a breath and turned to survey the room one last time.
The lights went off and before she could fully react, a reflection in the windows caught her attention. Barely had she spun around when hands curled over her shoulders, lips feasted on the delicate spot beneath her ear.
“Stubborn man finally came to his senses,” Mac growled. “And now you’re done and all alone.”
The veiled promise had Jenna shivering. “I thought you had work.”
“I did.”
He snaked an arm around her waist and drew her body back against his. Her head fell against his shoulder as his lips continued to slide up and down her heated skin.
“You know what I’ve thought about all day?” he muttered against her neck.
“Wh-what?”
“Seeing if we can make last night’s encounter seem tame.”
Jenna gasped as Mac whirled her around in his arms, her body crushed against his as he slammed his mouth onto hers. Wrapping her arms around him, she opened, needing to feel that connection and anxiously wanting him to deliver on that promise.
“We can’t do this here,” she managed to mumble against his mouth.
“I locked the door after he left. Nothing to stop us.”
Anticipation rolled through her as she threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged. “Then you better get to work because last night was pretty amazing.”
