He could swear the word that left her lips was “fuck,” and he couldn’t resist a grin. Already loosening her tongue. He was knuckle-deep in her sweet heat, and sweat beaded on her brow. He eased his mouth back down to her clit and teased it with languid sweeps of his tongue, groaning at the sharp spice of her need. Oh yeah, she wanted it all right. She was practically dripping. While he distracted her with slow swirls of his tongue, he inched his finger deeper until she’d accepted all he could give her.

When she came, muscles clamping desperately on him, he slowly pulled it out. The keening moan that tore from her throat was a sound he’d hear in his dreams from now on.

It seemed forever before she settled. Her eyes were wet, her ni**les beaded, her skin rosy. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She lay limp, panting, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her skin in the light from her windows.

“I really can’t take any more,” she said weakly.

“That was hardly all day,” he complained, lifting on his elbows, his knees and then climbing off the bed to his feet. If he stood and stared down at her for a moment admiring his handiwork, well, he figured there wasn’t a dude on earth who’d blame him or who wouldn’t do the same. Most of them would probably try to sneak a picture on their cell phones.

She drew her knees together, hiding her flushed slice of heaven from his view. Damn. He imagined the pout on his face as she did so was akin to a kid learning there was no Santa Claus.

Once she’d caught her breath, Macy giggled, lifting a hand to cover her face.

Well, that was a guaranteed way to dispense with any awkwardness with her. And he didn’t want to find himself in that situation again. He trotted into her bathroom to wash his hands. Then, bracing on the bed with his hands, he leaned over and brushed his lips across her cheek. She turned her mouth to his. Knowing she tasted both of them as she kissed him offered no relief to his raging hard-on.

He pulled back. She whimpered, curling her fingers around the back of his neck, attempting to hold him to her.

“I have to go, lovely.”

“But…” Her gaze drifted down to his fly, where he strained against his zipper. He smiled and traced her delicate jawline with his thumb.

“I’ll catch you later.”

Before she could reply, he was gone.

Chapter Eleven

“I’m ready to come clean.”

Candace looked up from her steaming mug, one taupe eyebrow arched as she studied Macy from across the booth. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

Macy glanced around the coffee shop across the street from Dermamania. The girls had ducked in just before closing time to assuage a sudden craving for hot chocolate. “I’m pretty sure.”

Candace grinned from ear to ear. “Not that I didn’t know something was going on, but I’m glad you’re finally filling me in. Spill.”

Macy shrugged, feeling so out of her element. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her friends or didn’t like confiding in them about some things. She’d always prided herself on being the type who didn’t spread her drama around for everyone’s amusement, and swallowing that pride felt like choking down a bowling ball. Her face flamed, and she fanned herself. Candace broke into laughter.

“Damn, it must’ve been good.”

“Oh, it was good.”

Candace reached over and placed her hand over Macy’s—she was wearing black-and-pink-striped fingerless gloves—and squeezed. “I am so happy for you. I’ve noticed a glow about you the past couple of days.”

“Don’t go picking out shower gifts or anything.”

“Well, I know, but…you needed a pick-me-up. I take it he sufficed.”

“More than. I just…I don’t know. He’s great.”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming on.”

“A big one.”

“Macy, if you like him, go for it. Don’t worry about anything else. When Brian and I were getting together, I wasted so much time worrying and—no offense—listening to you and everyone else tell me to forget it, that it would never work. I hurt him, I tortured myself…and for what? It didn’t have to be that way. I should’ve trusted what I was feeling.”

“You and Brian already had a lot in common, though. It’s like he brought out the ‘you’ that was already there. You guys make a lot more sense than me and Ghost. All we have going for us”—she glanced around, leaned across the table and hissed—”is great sex.”

“Hey, that’s more than some people have.” Candace winked.

“I’m afraid that’s all it’ll ever be. He’s got a lot going on right now, you know? It’s really bad timing. Not to mention the psycho ex.”

Candace scoffed. “Don’t worry about her. Everyone cringes when she comes around, and she likes to run her mouth, but I think she’s pretty harmless.”

“What’s with this other girl who apparently broke his heart a long time ago?”

“Oh God. Brian told me a little about that—I don’t think I got the whole story. Apparently this girl totally wrecked him, and he still gets bitter over it sometimes. That’s all I know.”

“Fantastic. That’s exactly what I need—a man who’s hung up on someone else.” And it was essentially what Raina had been hinting at. “That whole baggage thing I was talking about. I could really do without that.”

“I don’t think it’s so much that he’s hung up on her. I think it’s that he was f**ked over, and it still pisses him off. Bruised that fragile male ego and all.”

Macy thought about how he’d shut down at the mention of that girl. Oh, it had done more than bruise his ego. It had beaten it to a bloody pulp.

Candace twirled her mug slowly in her hands. “Brian is really loyal to him. They might talk a lot of crap to each other, but one of them couldn’t jump off a bridge without the other close behind him.”

“I gathered. And that’s another problem.”

“What?”

“Honestly? I get the feeling Brian doesn’t like me. And I definitely wouldn’t want to cause any problems between you and him or put you guys in a position to take sides if Ghost and I didn’t work out.”

As expected, Candace was already shaking her head. “Brian likes you—”

“Like he would tell you if he didn’t.”

“Knowing him? He would. But he’s never said anything to me to indicate he doesn’t, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“You have that line between your eyebrows. Stop.”

Macy chuckled and drained her own mug, licking the last of the chocolate from her lips. “This could just as easily go nowhere, and I’ll have stressed over nothing.”

“Take it slow; give it a chance. Keep an open mind.”

“I really don’t think that’s the kind of advice I need at this point. I’m beyond it. I…I can’t quit thinking about him, Candace. It’s driving me nuts. I’m trying so hard to be casual about it because…” She shook her head. “It just seems so impossible right now.”

“Believe me, it’s not impossible. If it worked for us, it can work for you.”