AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Feeling more alone than I ever had, I reconnected with my best friend from childhood, Kylie Wilde. She was the one who’d convinced me to come back home, even though I’d never planned to return.
It was her idea for me to buy this B&B so I could work with my daughter. She took pictures of the house and sent them to me. She said I needed space and time away from Carter’s family.
I closed my eyes, feeling the solid door against my back. What would happen if I went back in there and asked for what I wanted? Something told me Mac wouldn’t say no. He seemed like a man who knew what to do with his hands, who’d never leave me aching for more. He knew how to satisfy a woman, and there was a desire in his eyes. He wanted me.
Could I have something physical with a man and keep it separate from my daughter? It didn’t seem feasible, but I wanted someone to relieve this ache in my core, and I knew Mac was the man to do it.
Kylie would tell me to go for it, but then she’d always been a little wild, as her last name suggested. Her whole family was. That’s what happened when you had four older brothers.
I’d always been more cautious, and now I had Delaney to think about. Her father left so abruptly that her entire world and safety net was ripped from under her. I was the one who kept things stable for her. I couldn’t act on a whim. It would make me no better than Carter.
I left South Carolina because there was nothing left for us. I was worried my in-laws were saying things to Delaney that they shouldn’t. I wanted to protect her from what was going on. She didn’t know the details, and my mother-in-law thought it was her duty to feed it to her.
I started a bath in the incredible tub Mac had installed in my suite. When I protested the cost, he’d said I’d need a good one if I was going to be managing the B&B on my own. He told me not to worry about the expense, saying some ridiculous thing about it being a good advertisement for his business, but no one would see it but me. I’d sing its praises to anyone who asked, but it wasn’t the same as putting a tub into a guest bathroom.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the couch, the tub, or the way he’d worked so hard to get the apartment ready for me.
I slipped off my damp pajamas and stepped into the steaming water. I hoped this would relax me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how aroused I’d been from Mac holding me. I sank into the water, resting my head on the lip of the tub. I reached for my tiny vibrator, the one I used because it was so small and quiet, and turned it on. I pressed the tip where I needed it the most, and a moan slipped out before I could cover my mouth.
I was so ready to combust, and it was all because of Mac. I imagined what would have happened had one of us made a move to kiss each other. Dream Mac said he wanted to make me feel good, and I was all for that.
I licked my lips as the vibrator did its job to take me over the edge. It wasn’t the same as Mac touching me, but I’d take my pleasure where I could get it.
Hooking up with the contractor who was renovating my B&B was a bad idea. Ever since his brother, Sam, formed a side company that created outdoor spaces, Mac had taken over as the foreman. I’d see him every day, and I didn’t want things to be awkward—or any more than they already had been.
But the irrational part of my brain pointed out that we were alone. Delaney was sleeping; we could give in to our baser instincts. But every time my naughty side got on board with that idea, I remembered the look on Carter’s face when he told me via video that he was leaving me for his girlfriend.
I wouldn’t be that selfish. I had a child to think about and a business to get off the ground. I didn’t have time for built contractors who had a way with tools. I’d just need to take care of my own needs.
CHAPTER2
MAC
Natalie’s see-through silky camisole left nothing to the imagination. She was all delicious curves, perky breasts, and hard nipples. I couldn’t get the vision of her pebbled nipples out of my head.
She was either cold or just as aroused as I was. I was doing a fairly good job of resisting the pull until she shivered. I couldn’t resist my instincts anymore. I pulled her into my arms with the sole desire to get her warm, which had the added bonus of feeling her soft body against mine.
I was hard as a rock when she snuggled deeper into my embrace. I had to hold my lower half away from her so she didn’t realize where my head was at.
When her tremors subsided, I had to let her go. I was seconds away from tipping her chin up and taking her mouth. I wanted her with an intensity I wasn’t used to.
No one had ever aroused me so quickly. But then again, I didn’t run into half-naked women who were soaking wet. It was an image I wouldn’t get out of my head anytime soon. I had a feeling I’d be jerking off to it in the near future.
I imagined her taking a bath in that gorgeous tub I’d installed in her suite. It was the same one my brother’s fiancée, Alice, wanted for their new house. Since Natalie was living on her own with a daughter, and opening a business, she deserved something special.
I had no idea where Delaney’s father was. Natalie hadn’t even told Alice, and they’d become fast friends since Alice opened a shop in the front room of the house.
I shouldn’t care why Natalie moved here—if she was running from something or looking for something in particular. I gave up on the idea of a committed relationship a long time ago. I’d been burned enough to know it wasn’t meant for me.
Seeing my youngest brother fall for Alice didn’t even have me questioning my vow to never get serious with another woman again. But a part of me knew that if she’d given me a sign that she was interested in more, I would have taken it. But she deserved more than a quickie when her daughter was asleep next door.
Natalie was a woman who deserved a man who’d take care of her and support her in her business but stand aside so she could blossom on her own. She didn’t need a guy who only wanted something physical and was incapable of commitment, even when the voice in my head said I used to want a relationship. That was then, and this was now. Everything had changed. I was smarter. I couldn’t go down that road again.
Natalie Anderson wasn’t the woman for me, no matter how many times I would run into her half-naked and soaking wet.
I ran a hand through my hair, knowing that was a lie. Nothing like that could happen again because there was zero chance I’d be able to resist her a second time. I was so screwed.
Next door, the water turned on. I imagined Natalie stepping into the steaming water. With blonde hair and those long legs, Natalie was a vision that would haunt me forever.
