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Chapter Five
MAC got to the hotel in eight minutes flat, driving the Porsche like a maniac as Juno sat trembling in the passenger seat. The scent of leather and man cocooned her in a world of the senses. She tried to focus only on the physical. The painful throb of her heartbeat, the sharp, heady fragrance of arousal that permeated the car and the rush of the warm night air in her hair as the dark countryside flashed past. She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t allow herself to think about consequences, about caution or practicality.
But as she rushed to follow his long strides through the hotel lobby and up the stairs to his suite her mind tumbled back to that long-ago summer. What if she were getting in over her head? What if she couldn’t handle what was going to happen?
She walked through the door into his suite and forced herself to remember she wasn’t that foolish girl any more. She’d grown up. She’d survived the very worst and now she was taking the next step. This night with Mac had nothing whatsoever to do with love or dream
s. And everything to do with purely physical pleasure. Tony had stolen something from her all those years ago and now she was going to get it back. And that was all that mattered.
Mac didn’t ask her permission, he simply strolled through the suite’s drawing room into his bedroom, her hand still clutched tight in his. He hadn’t said a word and neither had she since they’d left the chteau.
Her pulse pounded as he stripped off his jacket and threw it over a chair, then flicked up a switch on the wall. The light dazzled her for a second before he came into focus, looking imposingly masculine and out of place amid the room’s fussy antique furniture. Then her gaze snagged on the distinctive bulge in his trousers and she froze.
‘What is it?’
Her eyes shot to his face. ‘Nothing,’ she mumbled, feeling like a naÏve fool as a whole new set of doubts crowded in.
What if she was terrible at this? What if she made a mistake? In the comforting shadows of the balcony, with him kissing her, holding her, the physical chemistry between them had seemed so simple, so natural, so right. But now, under the bright lights of his hotel bedroom, with his body so obviously hard and ready, it didn’t seem simple any more.
She knew next to nothing about sex. She hadn’t made love in six years and the little she remembered about that one brief liaison hadn’t exactly prepared her to sleep with a man like Mac Brody.
A man who’d probably had more good sex than she’d had hot dinners.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped.
‘Easy, darlin’,’ he said, stroking his thumb into the hollow of her collarbone. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. ‘Relax. This’ll be good for both of us, I promise.’ He took her hand, led her to the bed. ‘Let’s lie down. Take it slow and easy. I’m not going to jump you straight off. I swear.’
She couldn’t speak, the rapid beats of her heart hammering against her throat. If only he would jump her. Then she could get this over with quickly, before she lost her nerve completely.
He settled next to her, his long, lean body making the mattress dip.
Pushing her hair back, he nuzzled the sensitive skin beneath her ear. The kiss was barely a whisper, but the sizzle of awareness shot through her, giving her a much-needed burst of courage.
Stay in the moment, Juno. Just stay in the moment.
She reached for his shirt, yanked it free of his trousers with clumsy haste. As he teased her neck with light butterfly kisses her palm explored the hot, muscled flesh, discovering the ridges of his six pack and the thin trail of hair bisecting his belly button. But then his fingers slipped under the straps of her dress, easing the bodice down and exposing the lace at her cleavage. She shuddered, her hands trembling to a halt on his belly.
She didn’t think she could do this.
He moved back. Lifting her fingers, he kissed the knuckles. ‘Okay, enough of that now.’ His voice rasped, the strain clear. ‘You look scared to death. What’s wrong?’
She swallowed, the tiny bit of courage deserting her. Could he see? Could he already tell how useless she was at this?
‘Can we turn the lights off?’ she whispered. She didn’t want him to see her naked. Her breasts were small, her hips narrow and boyish.
He cupped her cheek, a tenderness in his eyes she hadn’t expected. ‘No, we can’t. I haven’t waited two long weeks to make love to you in the dark.’
She opened her mouth to object, but he pressed a finger to her lips.
‘Let’s compromise.’
He left the bed to turn off the main light switch, leaving only the pearly glow from the bedside lamp. Even so, panic consumed her as he returned.
This whole scenario had the potential to be a total disaster. Why hadn’t she thought it through?
She shut her eyes and braced herself, expecting him to continue undressing her. But he took her hand and flattened the palm against the front of his shirt.
‘How about you set the pace?’ he said.
