The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)(55)

He set out a little dish with water and another with some tuna for the cats and Annie set them down on the floor. They immediately raced to the dishes, mewing happily and scarfed down their dinner.

‘It was good of you to take them,’ she said as they watched the little kitten’s feast.

Mac shrugged. He wasn’t watching the cats. When Annie looked up, his gaze was all for her.

By the time the kittens had eaten their fill and curled up in a little pile together, Annie thought she might need to spend some more time with her head in the freezer.

‘Annie,’ Mac’s voice was gruff when he spoke. He was close to her again and she wished he would touch her.

‘What are we doing?’ she asked, desperate to get a handle on the situation, on herself, on anything. She was slipping again, falling for Mac, and last time it had taken her so long to get back up. Did she really want to do that again?

Mac’s hand slid to the nape of her neck, his fingers strong and firm. She wanted to tell him to squeeze tighter, to hold onto her this time.

‘Let me make it up to you,’ he whispered.

She wanted to. She wanted him to make it up to her. All the years she hurt, all the years she missed him. She wanted him to make it up to her.

‘What’s it going to take, Annie? Do I need to get down on my knees for you?’

The question sent a shiver down her spine. Mac felt it and his eyes darkened. ‘Is that what you want, Annabelle? You want me on my knees?’

She couldn't speak, her voice trapped in a throat that was tight with emotion and desire and fear.

‘If that’s what it takes,’ he said, dropping to his knees in front of her. Annie sucked in a breath. She looked down and found him staring up at her. It was everything she had wanted for ten years. Mac begging for her forgiveness, Mac wanting her. The fantasy in her mind had gone back and forth between her rejecting him and Mac pleasuring her until she forgave him. It depended on her mood, and which mood was she in now?

Should she walk away like he had? Did she have it in her to reject him?

For so many years, she had thought she'd fallen in love with Mac and that he had fallen in love with her, but she’d been foolish and young and the whole thing had just been sex.

But she was older now. She knew sex with Mac didn't have to be anything other than that. It wouldn’t mean love, but it didn’t have to. Maybe she could finally get what she wanted from him.

She held his gaze, letting her fingers run through his hair, savoring the deep groan that rumbled through him. She gave a little tug. ‘And how exactly are you going to make it up to me?’ she asked.

A wicked grin crossed his face, his hands lifting to her hips. His fingertips dug into her flesh. ‘I thought I would start by licking you until you scream.’











Chapter Twenty-Five





Then


Annie was in his bed, sweet and soft and naked. Trusting him, making those breathy little sighs.

She was here and he couldn’t believe it.

She was here and he didn't want to let her go.





Mac was on top of her, surrounding her, his face above her so tender and worried, his forehead crinkled in concern. So, she kissed him and told him it was good.

She liked it.

Keep going.

Keep going.

It was perfect.

She pressed the words into his skin, his shoulder, his chest, his lips. She told him until he believed her.





It wasn’t like his first time. That time felt like fooling around; this time didn't. This time felt like Annie had split him open, like she held his heart in her hands. It felt like he would gladly give it to her.

She wrapped her legs around his waist gazing up at him with big blue eyes. He didn’t want to hurt her. Ever.

‘You sure?’ he asked her again.

‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Yes, keep going.’

She murmured it over and over. Keep going and yes and it’s good and she liked it. And he did. He pushed into her as gently as he could, holding himself back, going slow even though he felt like he might die from the effort.

Her little gasp stopped him in his tracks, but she smiled up at him, pulling him down for another kiss, whispering that she was okay against his mouth.

He hadn’t hurt her. He wouldn’t hurt her.

Ever.





Mac gasped her name in her hair, against her neck, his body moving with hers. She held on tight, loving the feel of him, firm and hot and strong on top of her. Inside of her.

She knew she could never regret this moment. It was too perfect.

Mac was too perfect.

She didn’t want to let him go.











Chapter Twenty-Six





Now


Mac was on the ground in front of her, waiting. Waiting to see if Annie would reject him, push him away like she had every other time since he’d been back. He knew a little part of her wanted to. He knew Annie wanted revenge, but she had been punishing him for years and Mac was ready to repent for his sins.

The porcelain tile he’d chosen for his fancy new kitchen was digging into his knees and Annie’s fingers were still tangled in his hair pulling just enough to sting. He waited, barely breathing, for her to turn him away.