Page 101 of The Gingerbread Bakery
Surprisingly, she didn’t argue but huffed an angry little sound that blew her warm breath over his neck. Her hands were on his shoulders, holding him at a distance like they were at some sort of middle-school dance and had been lectured by the chaperones to keep space between their bodies. His hands were on her hips and, every once in a while, his fingers grazed the bare skin of her back. He wanted to press his whole hand there and tug her closer. Hewanted to feel the full length of her body, in that damn dress, pressed up against him.
‘I think we regress when we’re together,’ he said, and Annie looked at him with a bemused expression.
‘Oh, yeah?’
‘Yeah, we act like we’re teenagers again,’ he said, taking her hand from his shoulder and twining it with his. He slid his other hand to the small of Annie’s back and savored her small intake of breath as he pulled her closer. ‘But I’m not a teenager anymore, Annie. I know what I want now.’
‘And what’s that?’ Her voice was low and breathy and right beside his ear. She was close to him now, so close he could feel the rapid beat of her heart against his chest.
‘You.’ It was as simple as that. He'd been too scared to take what he wanted before. Too young, too unprepared. But not anymore.
‘I want you, Annie, and I don't care if you need to fuck me like you hate me but you're leaving here with me tonight.’
‘Is that so?’ she said, like she was going to fight him on it, but there was no argument in her tone. Only curiosity,interest.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘As soon as we’re done here, with whatever little tasks you come up with to stall for time and whatever bridesmaid duty you feel like you need to do, whenever that’s done, I’m taking you back to my place to finish what we started.’Or to start something brand new.
It was a dangerous tactic, being that forceful with Annie. He was still half expecting to get a knee to the groin, but he was out of patience, out of time, out of sanity. Maybe Annie needed him to be stronger in his conviction that this could work, strong enough for the both of them. Strong enough to prove to her that this was right, that he wanted her and that he wasn't going anywhere. Maybe that's what he should have done from the start.
Judging by the way Annie hadn’t kneed him in the balls, and instead had curled up even tighter against him, he might be on to something.
He didn’t push his luck, but held her close, rocking her to the music, amazed that they had made it this far, that she was letting him hold her in public. That, in and of itself, was a miracle.
He trailed an index finger under the line of her dress and Annie shivered. A little further and his finger found the dimples above her ass. Torture.
‘Are you not wearing underwear?’ he whispered.
‘Of course not, not with this dress,’ she said, and he could feel her smile pressed against the side of his neck. Christ, if they weren’t in a room full of people, he’d lift her dress right now and check for himself.
‘Maybe we’re not going to stay till the end after all,’ he growled against her ear. ‘I can’t wait that long.’
Annie gasped at the feeling of his words on her skin.
‘I can’t just leave,’ she said.
‘For once, put yourself first, Annabelle. What doyouwant to do.’
She pulled back a little, finding his gaze. Her eyes were a bright, beautiful blue as she studied him. She wanted to say yes. He could tell. But she was holding back again, not wanting to make another mistake with him.
But this time wouldn’t be a mistake. He was sure of that, too.
‘What do you want?’ he asked again, holding his breath. Praying for the answer that got them the hell out of here.
‘You,’ she said finally, the word barely more than a puff of air, but Mac heard it. It was all he needed. He took her by the hand leading her back to her now-empty table. ‘Find your shoes,’ he whispered a little too harshly in her ear, but he was a desperate man. ‘I’m going to get our coats.’
He left her there in stunned silence and hoped she would still be there when he got back.
ChapterThirty-Seven
Now
‘Hey, there you are.’ Logan came up behind her while she was grabbing her strappy heels from where she'd left them under the table.
‘Hey. Everything okay?’ Annie said, glancing around the room for Mac, afraid her plans were written all over her face.
‘I wanted to thank you,’ Logan said. ‘For everything, but mostly for tracking down Nana today.’
‘She told you, huh?’
