Page 71 of The Gingerbread Bakery
She knew she could never regret this moment. It was too perfect.
Mac was too perfect.
She didn’t want to let him go.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Now
Mac was on the ground in front of her, waiting. Waiting to see if Annie would reject him, push him away like she had every other time since he’d been back. He knew a little part of her wanted to. He knew Annie wanted revenge, but she had been punishing him for years and Mac was ready to repent for his sins.
The porcelain tile he’d chosen for his fancy new kitchen was digging into his knees and Annie’s fingers were still tangled in his hair pulling just enough to sting. He waited, barely breathing, for her to turn him away.
‘Okay,’ she said, her voice a throaty whisper that made Mac’s heart race and his cock stiffen.
‘Okay? You’re going to let me eat you out?’ he asked, needing confirmation before he did something insane and ended up getting his ass kicked.
Annie clapped a hand over his mouth. ‘Don’t say it out loud!’ She gasped and Mac laughed, barely believing what he was hearing.
‘I can do it, but I can’t talk about it?’
‘Yes, exactly. We don’t need to talk about it.’ She held his gaze. She didn’t want to talk about any of it. She never did.
Mac would take it. He didn’t know if this was a second chance or one last time or an apology, but he wanted it whatever it was. He wanted this moment with Annie.
No regrets this time. He wasn’t going anywhere and, if Annie still wanted him after this, he’d be ready.
He leaned his forehead against her hip bone, breathing her in. Her little moan when he reached around and grabbed her ass made him glad he was already on his knees. That sound had haunted his dreams for over a decade.
‘This ass is still perfect,’ he said, his voice a low rumble.
‘Mac.’ Annie’s voice was nearly a whine. Her legs were already trembling, and he hadn't even unbuttoned her pants yet.
Mac chuckled, looking up at her.
‘Just do it,’ she bit out, and it was so different from the last time when she had been gentle and nervous. When she’d kissed him and trusted him.
But this felt more honest. There would be no kissing this time. She didn’t trust him anymore. He hadn’t earned it yet. This time was to exorcise their demons. He undid the button on her jeans, tugging down the zipper, urged on by Annie’s harsh breathing and the feel of her fingers digging into his scalp. He pushed the pants down over her hips and groaned at the sight of her tiny lace panties. A pale blue that left nothing to the imagination, a string of satin over her hip and around to a little lacy triangle in the back nestled right between the delectable curves of her ass.
‘If you had been wearing these the first time, I wouldn’t have made it past getting your pants off.’
‘If this whole thing is going to be a compare and contrast to the last time…’ Annie's voice trailed off as Mac kissed and nipped the flesh of her thighs.
‘It’s not,’ he said. ‘It won’t be. But you should know you were perfect that first time and somehow, you’re even better now.’
Another little gasp as he licked along the string over her hip. And then it didn’t matter anymore what she had been like then because he was here with her now.
Annie wriggled the rest of the way out of her jeans. Mac helped tug them over her feet and toss them aside before going back to his task. He didn’t know if he was a better man now, but he knew he was better at this than he was at nineteen. And, if nothing else came from this night, he was damn well going to settle the score.
‘Hold on, darling,’ he said, looking up at her one more time before he pushed those absurd panties aside. ‘Jesus, Annie, you’re so beautiful.’
Annie tugged tighter on his hair, little whimpers escaping her. He knew he was teasing her, but he didn’t mean to. He had two regrets in his life: one was leaving this woman the way he had, and the other was not doing this the first time around. He wanted to savor it, now that he’d been granted a second chance.
He dug his fingers into her thigh and hooked her leg over his shoulder, opening her up to him.
‘Mac,’ Annie groaned, and the sound was so aggrieved that he was smiling when he finally let his mouth dip to her center. One lick had Annie gasping and Mac groaning. Another and Annie’s legs were shaking, and Mac thought he might die here on his kitchen floor with his head between her thighs.
But now was no time for dying. Mac was a man with something to prove.
