Author: Jaci Burton

“Goddamit, Jess.”

Lily couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. Who wouldn’t like Jessie? Even when she was prying she was adorably innocent about it. Lily had always wanted a little sister. Instead, she’d ended up an only child, and lonely. Even her playmates had been scrutinized by her father. Only the ‘best’ for his only child.

She drained her beer, then stood.

“Another?” Mac asked.

Lily nodded. She felt a little buzz from the toasty weather and two beers, but she didn’t care. She’d been high strung and working hard for so long, the stress had finally taken its toll. Yes, she had no business letting her guard down, but she was having a wonderful time and she’d just decided to take the damn day off. Tomorrow she’d go back to stressing and worrying again. As long as she kept an eye on Mac, she figured that was good enough, right?

“I’ll get it,” he said. “Jessie, keep an eye on her. Don’t let her use a phone.”

Jessie arched a brow. “Whatever, Mac.”

Lily sat and waved him off, keeping her gaze glued to him. When he got in line at the beer tent, she was satisfied.

“Like I could think of anything coherent to say at the moment anyway.”

“You buzzin a little, honey?” Jessie asked.

“A little. I never drink.”

Jessie snorted. “Yeah, I’m a cheap drunk, too. I’m such a lightweight in the alcohol department.” She held up her plastic cup. “It’s soda. Two beers and I’ll never find my tent tonight. And since I’m traveling alone on this trip I don’t like to lose my faculties. You know, in case I have to kick some guy’s ass who tries to take advantage of me.”

Laughing, Lily said, “And I believe you could.”

“Hell yeah, I could. You don’t grow up on the streets like I did without learning to take care of yourself. And that means learning how to punch, kick and wield a knife like you mean it.”

Lily couldn’t imagine a childhood like that. She had lived a life of obscene privilege. So much it was almost embarrassing. And she was sitting next to someone who’d had to defend her honor by learning street fighting.

“It must have been really rough for you, growing up like that.”

Jessie shrugged, then smiled. “I’m doing just fine now, honey. I have a great life. Thanks to Mac.”

“What did he do? You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all. He grabbed me one night while I was trying to steal a car. Scared the shit out of me, too. I thought he was a cop.”

Lily couldn’t fathom a fifteen year old Jessie trying to steal a car, but kids did get into trouble. “What happened after he caught you?”

“He brought me to a friend of his, who gave me a job, made me go back to school while I was working, gave me a place to stay since I had nowhere to go.”

“Didn’t you have a home? Parents?”

She frowned. “Yeah, I had a home and parents, if that’s what you want to call them.”

Okay, so Jessie didn’t want to talk about her family.

Obviously an unpleasant situation. “Then you graduated?”

Her face just lit up when she smiled. “I did. Got my diploma, even went to college. So I worked and saved money, paid back all that I borrowed and finally bought my own bike.”

“You’ve done well for yourself. You should be proud.”

“I am. I worked my tail off. But I’d have never made it without Mac. He pulled me off the streets, kicked my butt when I wanted to quit, which at the beginning was often. He forced me to look a few years down the road, to what I could be instead of what I thought I was. He’s an amazing man— more of a father to me than my own old man ever was.”

Tears glistened in Jessie’s eyes. Lily felt a tug in her chest, trying to reconcile the Mac she knew with the one from the story Jessie told.

He’d literally saved Jessie’s life.

Who was Mac Canfield? Was he really one of the good guys, like he said? Had he changed in the last ten years?

Was Lily wrong about him?

Mac brought a beer for Lily and another soda for Jessie.

“Thank you,” Lily said, her gaze fixed on him as he sat.

“What?” Mac asked.

Lily shook her head. “Nothing.”

Mac glared at Jessie. “What did you tell her?”

Jessie batted her lashes at Mac. “Why, nothing, Mac.

Would I reveal your deep, dark, perverted secrets to just anyone?”

Mac lifted a lock of Lily’s hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “Oh, I think she already knows those.”

Warmth coiled low in Lily’s belly. Mac’s gaze never left her face when he said that. And Lily couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

“Oh, this is so my cue to go find my other friends.

Before you two get down and dirty right here on the grass and completely gross me out. I could get nightmares from the visual of that one.”

Mac’s lips curled upward. Lily tore her gaze from his and turned to Jessie. “I’m sorry. Please, stay with us.”

“Are you kidding? You two are putting off ‘hot sex imminent’ signals and it’s icking me out. It would be like watching my parents screw. I’m leaving.”

Lily giggled.

“I’ll catch y’all later. Be good and for God’s sake, get a room,” Jessie said, waving as she walked away.

“She’s adorable,” Lily said.

“She’s a pain in the ass,” Mac replied. “But yeah, she’s a good kid.”

“She told me what you did for her.”

Mac frowned. “She shouldn’t have done that. She’s got the biggest mouth.”

“You saved her life, Mac.”

He shrugged, stared ahead at the band. “She was just a confused kid with lousy parents. I knew where she was coming from. All she needed was a little guidance.”

Lily laid her palm against his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “You saved her life,” she said again.

This time, he didn’t look away. He pulled her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t want to talk about Jessie anymore.”

His eyes were the finest brandy, molten and intoxicating, and she was utterly lost in him. In this crowd of thousands, there was just the two of them.

He was going to kiss her. She should be thinking about where he’d just been. He might have delivered the virus to someone. But instinct told her he hadn’t.

Besides, he was going to kiss her. Some PI she was, huh?

She waited with agonizing impatience for that moment when his lips touched hers, when lightning would strike, when her world would spin out of control as it did every time Mac kissed her.

When his mouth descended on hers, when the tip of his tongue slid between her parted lips to touch hers, she clutched his shirt, her toes curled and she was lost.

Chapter Six

The crowds, the noise, everything around him disappeared as Mac held Lily in his arms and kissed her.

Wrong place, wrong time, as usual, but he didn’t give a shit. She was soft and warm, her lips giving under his, her tongue lapping against his in a lazy, oh-so-sexy way.

She tasted of beer and of Lily. A little spicy and sugary and a lot like the woman he could never get out of his head, no matter how much time had passed.

He shouldn’t do this to her, not again. Not use and discard her. But goddamn, he couldn’t help himself. She was the most potent drug he’d ever come up against and, God help him, he couldn’t resist the temptation. Her scent was the sunshine of a warm day, leather, and the musky perfume of woman.

His woman. She’d always been his woman, no matter what had happened when they were apart. Her lips were meant to touch his, her tongue a perfect match for his, her body fit against him like a matching puzzle piece. He’d never connected to another woman like this before. Even when they fought, they still meshed. He knew it—and he knew she did, too.

But just holding and kissing her in the midst of this crazy crowd wasn’t enough. He wanted to touch her more intimately, delve inside her, have what he hadn’t had in too damn long.

Reluctantly, he broke the kiss, slid her off his lap and hauled her to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He held onto her hand and leaned in, his lips touching her earlobe. “But I’m going to fuck you and unless you want me to do it right here in front of everyone, we need to find another place.”

Her breath expelled in a sigh, her warmth drifting across his neck. He leaned back to look at her. Her lips quirked. Her eyes glittered with passion. She nodded and didn’t say a word, just followed him.

Those were definite “oh hell yes” signals.

His cock strained against his jeans, clearly outlined for anyone to see. Let them look. He could care less. Right now finding a spot to be alone with Lily was all he cared about.

Fortunately, he spotted a friend and hoped he had a solution.

“Jim.”

One of his old biker buddies turned around. In his late fifties, Jim and his girlfriend came to every one of these events.

“Mac!” Jim shook his hand. “Glad to see you here. And I see you brought a pretty lady with you, too.”

Mac nodded. “Where’s Sheila?”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Wandering around the shopping tents. God only knows what she’ll come back with this time.”

“You bring your RV?”

“Don’t we always?”

“Can we borrow it for about an hour?”

Jim took one look at Lily, then back at him, and grinned. “You sure can.”

“I haven’t pitched our tent yet and Lily needs to…uhh…lay down for a bit.”

“I’ll bet she does. A little hot out here today. Go ahead.” He dug his keys out of his pocket and handed them to Mac. “It’s parked over by the trees there,” he said, pointing.

“Door dead bolts from the inside. Sheila and I will make sure no one bothers you. We’ll be near the food tent when you’re done.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.” He clapped Jim on the back as he walked by.

“He knows exactly what we’re going to do, doesn’t he?” Lily asked in a low voice as they headed toward the RV.

“Of course he does. But he’s also stopped by my place to crash a time or two. Jim and I go way back. Don’t worry about it.”

Lily leaned into him. “Did I say I was worried?”

Her face was flushed, her lips parted. Maybe it was the beer, but she hadn’t had all that much to drink, so maybe it was something else.

Like need. Desire. Desperation. Yeah, he liked to think that’s what created the pink across her cheeks.

Jim had found a great parking spot for his RV, set way back from the mass of crowds and secluded behind a thick grouping of tall trees. Privacy. That’s what Mac craved right now. He unlocked the door and let Lily climb inside, then he threw the dead bolt after he closed it.

Lily stood in the tiny living room waiting for him.

They didn’t need small talk or any words between them. He walked over to her and dragged her into his arms, covering her mouth with his. A rush of expelled breaths, tangling tongues, and they started peeling off their leathers.

Mac squatted and undid the snaps on Lily’s chaps, then slowly drew up the zipper on each side. She didn’t speak, just tilted her head down and watched as he undid the buckle on the belt holding her chaps up.

Damn, he really liked undressing her. It was like opening a Christmas present. Next he removed her boots and socks, then started on her jeans, undoing the button and reaching for her zipper. His knuckles brushed her bare skin and he heard the rush of breath as she inhaled.

Good. He liked that he affected her with just a hint of contact. Because if he got that reaction from just his knuckles across her stomach, what would he get when they were full on naked, when he was inside her?