Page 22 of Mac (Demented Souls #7)

A n hour and a half later, she'd just finished her second glass and sat a moment, spinning the stem of the glass between her thumb and forefinger as she tried to decide if she wanted another glass. A glance at the clock told her it was only 8:30 p.m.

Why not? she thought as she pushed herself to her feet and headed for the kitchen.

When she made it back to her chair, glass nearly full, and sat back down, she saw her phone sitting on the arm and picked it up.

There were no missed calls or voicemails waiting on her but there were a couple texts.

She frowned and wondered when they'd come in and how she'd missed them.

A few touches and swipes and she pulled them up.

They came from a number that wasn't saved in her phone and she didn't recognize, but it didn't take her long to figure out who had sent them.

How you feeling?

Out of the tub yet?

Are you okay?

The last one was timestamped just a few minutes ago and must have come in while she was in the kitchen. She typed up a response and hit send.

I'm okay, out of the tub a while ago.

Unable to resist the temptation, she sent a second before she could think better of it.

A little lonely, but otherwise fine.

As soon as she hit send and couldn't call them back, she wondered if she should have sent them at all. Too late to worry about it now. She made sure the phone wasn't on silent and set it aside. No point in worrying, either he'd say something or not.

Determined not to think too hard about it, she picked up her glass and took another sip.

She had been staring at the TV, not paying attention for a few minutes, trying to keep from picking up the phone and counting the minutes since she'd sent her message when it chimed an incoming message.

She snatched the phone up so fast, you'd have thought she was getting paid.

It only took her a second or two to pull up the message.

Are you asking for company?

Would you care if I was?

This time she didn't set the phone down, and she didn't have long to wait before it chimed again.

Of course, I would.

Then yeah, I'm asking for company.

She didn't take her eyes off the screen as the bubbles danced that he was typing a message then it popped up.

Be right there.

It seemed like seconds later a knock sounded on her door. She got up, unlocked and opened the door, her phone still in one hand.

"Hey, big guy, want to come in?"

He stayed in place on the porch, but his eyes skimmed down her body then back up again as she leaned against the side of the door, in what she hoped was an enticing pose.

"Have you been drinking?"

"A little wine, that's all." Elyse shrugged.

"How much is a little?"

"A couple glasses."

Mac frowned. "Do this." He held one arm out straight, parallel to the ground then bent it at the elbow and touched the tip of his nose with the tip of his index finger.

Elyse was tempted to touch the end of his nose just like he had but somehow didn't think he would find it as funny as she would. Instead she copied his motion, her finger landing squarely on the end of her nose with no trouble.

"It's just a couple glasses, I'm not drunk."

"Good to hear." He nodded once. "You still inviting me in?"

"I am." She stepped back so he had room to come inside.

"What are you watching?"

"I don't know." She lifted one shoulder as she closed the door and went back to her chair where the remote and her glass waited. "I wasn't paying much attention. You want to pick something?" She tossed the remote at where he'd taken a seat on one end of the sofa. He caught it with ease.

"What kind of thing do you like?"

"I'm not big on sports, other than that, I'm not picky."

He watched her a moment then shrugged.

"I'll be right back, pick something and we'll watch it when I get back.

" Elyse used the restroom, then retrieved her wine and sat on the couch, not far from Mac.

Now that she'd gotten him over here, why sit across the room.

Especially after spending all day sitting so close together. "What did you settle on?"

"It's NCIS: Los Angeles . There's not a lot on Sunday nights, especially if you don't have a DVR or movie channels."

"I don't watch it enough to pay for extras. I've been considering getting rid of the service all together but haven't gotten around to it. Not yet."

Mac shook his head, his eyes going back and forth from her to the tv screen. "I couldn't do it. I don't watch it all the time, but I watch enough that I want to have enough to keep me entertained."

She looked at the screen a moment then back to him.

"I get that. I just figure I can get a few more books every month with what I send them.

Especially picking them up second hand. And I do read a lot more than I watch this.

" She tilted her head toward the TV where some shaggy blond guy was making smart remarks to a woman with long dark hair.

She could see the appeal to the guy but didn't know if one hot guy was enough to keep her watching. She sipped her wine and blinked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think. Can I get you something to drink?"

"What do you have?"

"Wine," she lifted her glass and grinned, "soda, tea, water."

"Is the tea sweet?"

"Nope."

"I wouldn't mind a glass of that."

"Coming right up." Elyse carried her wine with her into the kitchen where she considered topping it off while she fixed Mac's tea but decided not to. "Here you are." She handed him the glass and sat back down, a little closer this time. "What did I miss?" She cocked her head toward the TV.

"Nothing important. And thank you." He lifted his glass and took a long drink. "It's good."

"Thanks." Elyse smiled and leaned a little closer. "You sure you don't mind coming over, just to hang out?"

Mac glanced down, and something in his gray eyes made her freeze. Not because he scared her — no, something in his gaze made heat pool low in her belly. She wished he would kiss her and get it over with, but he stayed where he was, watching her with a dark smolder for long moments before he spoke.

"I don't mind."

His voice, somehow lower than normal, made her belly flip.

"What about if I wasn't really lonely, I just wanted to see you?"

He stared at her a moment. "I guess I'd be okay with that too."

A small smile curved his mouth, drawing her eyes. Elyse wondered, not for the first time, how he would taste and if his lips were as soft as they looked.

"Is that why you wanted me to come over?"

Mac's lips moving and the low rumble of his voice made Elyse realize she'd been staring at his mouth. Heat rushed to her face and she opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again.

"Maybe." Elyse turned back to the TV that kept playing despite her giving it none of her attention. At least she had the excuse of watching it to keep from looking at him, at least for a moment.

" A thasgaidh."

Elyse kept her eyes on the TV, not sure he'd even spoken at all.

"A thasgaidh , look at me please." He put one hand on her arm. Slowly, she turned back, not wanting him to see how embarrassed she was, but still unable to resist.

"What's that mean?" She frowned at the word that sounded like someone had tried to swallow it instead of pronounce it.

"It's a term of endearment," he said with a shrug, "Roughly, my darling or my dear."

Elyse wasn't sure how to take his calling her that, so she frowned, thinking about it. It hadn't been a reaction she'd been expecting so it took her alcohol slowed brain a moment to change gears. She shook her head to jar her wandering thoughts back into place.

"I'm sorry, you just surprised me with that, and it distracted me for a minute.

" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she tried to remember where she'd been going.

She stayed facing him, but kept her gaze lowered.

She licked her lips and beganagain. "I wasn't really lonely. I wanted to see you again."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Elyse hazarded a glance up at his face and found him frowning. She wasn't sure why the frown, so her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she continued.

"I was wondering..." She let her voice trail off, just for a second, then got tired of her own hesitation, took one last drink of her wine and set the empty glass on the coffee table then turned back to face him.

The frown was gone, but now he looked confused.

Elyse couldn't really blame him. She'd almost managed to confuse herself.

She had tried for several seconds to find the words but kept dismissing everything as sounding stupid.

Finally, she gave up on words all together.

Instead, she pulled her legs up under her body, then lifted up onto her knees so her head was more level with his, then leaned in.

She didn't ask permission or give him a chance to say no but leaned close and covered his lip with hers.

It took him several seconds to respond and Elyse almost pulled away, afraid she'd made a massive mistake.

Then he moved. His lips parted and his arms came up to tug her closer and cradle her body against his.

He eased her down, until she sat on his lap, their mouths still locked together.

There was no denying his attraction to her.

Not withthe hard lump of his manhood pressed against her leg.

The question now was how to get him into the bedroom.

Elyse had a few ideas.