Page 9

Hank loved how open and honest she was about what she was thinking and feeling. He never had to guess with Macie. For a man who’d spent twenty years with the same woman, he was grateful for that. He hadn’t been out there in a long damn time.

“What things?” Hank should have known she’d be ready with a list.

“In addition to the stubbly legs and lingering scent of bourbon, I now have garlic breath. The elastic is shot on my panties. I haven’t been naked in front of a guy in a longish time. I’m sort of pissed that you’ve taken sex off the table, but then I’m also relieved, so that’s annoying. I’m sorry I didn’t drink more wine at dinner because I’m a nervous wreck and I have this funny feeling that despite all that crap floating around in my head, you’re still going to have me naked soon because I can’t seem to say no to you.”

She paused as she tugged away to look at him, wincing. “Shit. Strike that last part. Shouldn’t have told you that.”

Hank listened without interruption. Why wouldn’t he? If he was patient enough, Macie usually managed to tell him everything he wanted to know without him having to ask a single thing. “Just the last part you’re worried about saying?”

She appeared to replay her comments in her head and then nodded. “Yeah. Just that part.”

“We’ll start slower then. Take off your shirt. You can leave the bra on…for now.”

Macie laughed—a full, rich sound that filled the room. “Gee. Thanks for making it so much easier for me.”

Hank knew a way to make it even simpler. He gripped the hem of her Sparks Barbeque T-shirt and tugged it over her head before she had a chance to stop him. He tossed it to the floor, letting his gaze drift downwards.

He was used to seeing her in her work shirts, but on the rare occasion when they ran into each other at social events, he was treated to peeks of her cleavage. Macie wasn’t shy about donning sexy blouses when she was out and about. Seeing her breasts now, showcased by her pretty pale blue bra, he’d be hard-pressed to keep his eyes above the neckline the rest of the night. She was beautifully built.

“I would give you the ‘take a picture, it lasts longer’ line, but knowing you, you’d probably take me up on the offer.”

He glanced up, enjoying her narrowed eyes. Her pink cheeks canceled out the sarcasm he saw there. She clearly hadn’t been kidding about being nervous, and in typical Macie style, she was trying to hide it with humor.

Hank tipped her face up with a finger under her chin. “You’re beautiful, Whiskey.”

“What about your shirt?”

He shook his head. “We’ll get there. First…” He reached around her back and, with quick fingers, unfastened her bra, dropping it to the floor with her shirt.

Macie’s hands flew up to cover herself. “Thought you said I could leave that on.”

Hank grasped her hands in his and tugged them away from her body. “I lied.”

Despite her nervousness, the woman had spirit. She didn’t look away as Hank gazed at her full, firm breasts. Unable to look without touching, he pressed her hands against the wall at her back. “Keep them right there.”

Then he reached out to cup her breasts, loving the way they filled his hands. He kneaded them gently at first before squeezing the generous flesh more firmly. Macie’s hands remained where he placed them as her eyes drifted shut and her breathing accelerated.

Hank bent forward, lifting one tit to his mouth as he sucked deeply on the nipple.

She gasped and her fingers found their way to his hair.

He started to admonish her, expecting her to push him away. Instead, her fingers tightened, gripping, holding him in place. He was long overdue for a haircut, but Sharon had always trimmed it for him. He hadn’t had the energy to find someone else to do the job so he’d tried to do it himself a couple of times. That had been a disaster and he’d basically just let it go for the past few months. Now he was glad he had. He liked the way Macie used it to hold onto him.

He teased the tight nib with his teeth and her head flew back against the wall. “God!” she cried. Her response encouraged him to suck harder.

He repeated the same process on the other nipple, and then he returned to the first. Hank figured he could suck on her pretty breasts all night and still never get enough. When he lifted his head, Macie’s eyes were closed.

“Look at me.”

Her eyelids blinked and it appeared to take her a few seconds to find her focus.

“I’m going to take your jeans off.”

She bit her lip and he grinned.

“You’re not still worried about your legs not being shaved, are you?”

Macie lifted her chin haughtily. “No.” God, she was the sexiest thing this side of the Mississippi. Fire and fun melded in such a way that it left a man longing to get burned. “At least, I wasn’t until you mentioned it. Why aren’t you losing any clothes?”