It was that, despite all of it, I foolishly wanted him anyway.
His deep voice was empty. “I’ll walk you out.”
I wished desperately I could have stayed put. What would have happened if I had? Was it crazy to think he was having similar thoughts to mine, and he’d stepped closer because he wanted to be near?
We marched wordlessly through the house toward the entryway, and as Macalister fished my jacket out of the closet, a soft meow drew my attention into the front sitting room. It was dark out, and the wood paneled room was cave-like, but I made out the black coil of fur on one of the couch cushions. My feet carried me toward it.
Lucifer stretched one paw and then the other as I sat beside him and scratched behind his ears. Who was lonelier in this house and more starved for attention . . . the cat, or the backlit man holding my coat in the arched doorway, watching me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve?
Macalister tossed my coat onto a side chair and moved swiftly toward the couch, only to shoo away the cat with an irked look. Lucifer hopped down with a protesting meow and scurried away, and I threw an accusing look upward.
“Rude.”
“I agree,” Macalister answered. “This is a priceless antique couch, and he knows he’s not supposed to be on it.”
It had been lingering in the back of my mind, but his bossy gesture finally broke it free. “You have to kiss her at the end of the night.”
He was too controlled to let his entire body jolt with shock. Only the snap of his shoulders gave away his surprise. “Excuse me?”
I swallowed hard, even though my mouth had gone dry. “Your dinner with Evangeline. People might think it’s business or you’re just friends. You need to kiss her so there isn’t any doubt.”
Macalister Hale wasn’t known for public displays of affection. In fact, in all the years they’d been married, had I ever seen him kiss his wife? I couldn’t recall even a picture. Maybe he didn’t know how.
God, please don’t let that be true.
He stared at me now, his eyes glittering in the dark with an unclear emotion. Displeasure? He did not like being told what to do.
My body was tight with apprehension, and I treaded carefully. “I prepared her already, so she knows it’s coming.”
His tone was ice. “Did you?”
“She’s nervous. She hasn’t kissed anyone since her husband, but I told her it would be okay. I mean, I assume it’s been awhile for you, but you probably haven’t forgotten.” The weight of his stare was crushing, and I could barely meet his eyes.
“No.” He said it like he was wielding a scalpel and cutting me slowly piece by piece. “I have not forgotten.”
As he gathered strength, all my power seemed to slide his direction and my voice became a ghost. “How will you do it?”
“Kiss her?” When I nodded, the cold draft of him flipped on its side and turned to heat. The corner of his sexy mouth lifted in a sinister smile. “I’m not sure yet. The way I do it depends on the woman. How I kiss her will be entirely different, for example, than the way I would kiss you.”
I pulled all the air I could find into my lungs in an audible sweep, and my reaction was unmistakable. Victory claimed him and pushed into his expression, but he was controlled as he sat beside me on the couch.
It was the opposite for me as my insides began to fly apart. He was so close, the side of one of his powerful legs pressed against me, and I had to fight the couch to keep from falling into him.
Excited panic gripped me. “What are you doing?”
Shadows played across his face, highlighting his authoritarian look. “Demonstrating.”
I turned into a statue as he dragged his cold fingertips across my cheek and threaded his hand into my hair. Static played in my ears and hummed through my body. I was imagining this. There was no other explanation. Like I did with shooting, I’d visualized this moment so many times I’d made it real.
My lips parted, although I wasn’t sure if it was to gasp, or say something, or maybe I’d done it subconsciously to welcome his kiss. Or perhaps I was under his power now, and he’d silently commanded it. My eyes fluttered closed as he leaned in and the hand at the back of my head prevented my escape.
His fingers had been cold, but his mouth was hot when it pressed to mine.
And that was all the kiss was at first, just the gentle meeting of our mouths.
But my heart pounded, blood roared through my system, and my breathing went so shallow, I grew lightheaded. Macalister’s kiss was like being connected to a power source. The electricity of him raced along my nerve ends and lit me up.
I didn’t realize that was only the first wave until his lips slowly teased mine apart and his tongue slipped inside my mouth.
A noise of satisfaction drifted from the back of my throat, and it was all the encouragement he needed to deepen his kiss. His tongue was lush and oh-so-soft as it slid across mine, making a muscle between my legs clench against the ache he caused. His lips controlled. They dominated and took, and I gave in willingly.
I struggled for air while enduring his greedy kiss, which grew more overwhelming with each second. The temperature around us skyrocketed, threatening to incinerate me. Even in my hottest dreams, those kisses weren’t half as good as the one he was delivering now. How was I going to come out the other side of it and not be singed?
The desire between us swirled like water circling a drain, pulling me deeper and faster into him with each pass. It was terrifying and fucking thrilling. He wasn’t impervious either. His breath had gone ragged, and his other hand slipped behind me, his palm pressed against my back.
My fingers, which had longed to touch, finally got their wish, and I cupped his jaw, my fingertips sanding over his skin along his cheekbones—
Abruptly, Macalister’s hand came off the nape of my neck and wrapped around my wrist like a shackle, pulling my touch away from his face before I’d had my fill. Whatever restraint he’d had on himself seemed to break down and dissolve. His mouth turned wild and aggressive as he forced me down onto my back, pinning my wrist to the couch cushion beside my head.
He’d moved us so quickly, it wasn’t until I felt the pressure of his knee between my legs that I realized he was on top of me, one leg sandwiched between my thighs. White-hot pleasure burst through me, causing goosebumps to dot my skin, despite the growing heat in the room and the way we were both sweating.
It was awkward on the little couch, and he was huge, but he made it work.
And there was something about the way his strong hand held me down that was dangerous. Powerfully seductive and erotic. His thumb pressed against my palm and dug in, and although I still had one hand free, I felt dominated. Locked in beneath him, completely at his mercy.
It was exactly where I wanted to be.
He subtly moved his knee again, rubbing against me and bringing on a new wave of pleasure. His mouth was incessant, alternating between slow and languid kisses to passionate and demanding ones. Thoughts swirled in my mind until they were a bleary mess. All that mattered was that Macalister was now kissing me and that he continued to kiss me forever.
I moaned my satisfaction, and the hand wrapped around my wrist tightened, his thumb pressing into the center of my palm so hard, it bordered on uncomfortable. But I loved it. I set my free hand flat against his chest and enjoyed the hurried beat pounding inside. More proof he was human after all.