Best Friends…To Lovers. Jules Bennett

so perfectly to his touch. All that pent-up passion just waiting for the right man to come along and release it. For reasons he didn’t even want to explain to himself, he wanted to be that man. He wanted nothing more than to...

      What? He wanted her in his bed and beyond that he couldn’t make plans. He’d be heading back to Miami as soon as this wedding was over because he had an auction that would be in the final stretch of preparations.

      Mac took a long pull of his water and willed his phone to vibrate. After waiting another ten minutes, he shot off another text, demanding a reply of any kind or he’d be on the next flight to Boston.

      After a few minutes, Braden’s reply came.

      Zara and I are dealing with something. Don’t come home, but business is on you for the next few days. Will talk in person later.

      Well, that answered one question but stirred up a whole host of others. What was going on with Braden and Zara? Surely not relationship issues. Those two were so in love it was almost sickening. Braden was so protective, so fierce about keeping Zara safe from their world. Surely nothing had happened to Zara. If so, Braden would’ve called in all forces to deal with the issue.

      Then what was going on?

      Mac finished off his water and sighed. At least Braden was safe, but the fact he’d passed all business decisions to Mac spoke volumes as to the severity of Braden’s problem.

      This also meant Mac would have to make a decision about Ryker’s pressing matter.

      Damn it.

      Mac knew Braden wanted this family to take a less aggressive role in battling their enemies, but Shane had proven time and again that he was nothing more than a menace. He harassed Zara, he’d fought with their late father more than once and now he was getting too close to their main goal of retrieving the scrolls. Mac had to assume that’s why he intercepted the recent art, just to prove he could get that close to their operation and slip beneath their noses unnoticed.

      Unacceptable.

      But, trying to take Laney was an act that could not be overlooked. The man was dead.

      Gripping his empty bottle in one hand, Mac shot off a text to Ryker.

      Finish it. Text me when you’re done.

      And with that weighty decision made, he went inside in search of something stronger than water.

      * * *

      Jenna walked back to her bungalow after an amazing dinner and laughs with her mom and sister, still anxious about being alone with Mac. They’d both had time to reevaluate everything and perhaps they could just ignore the fact that he’d given her the most intense sexual experience of her life. Well, maybe he could, but she wasn’t so sure.

      What would happen when she walked in that door? It was late, nearing midnight. Maybe he’d be asleep.

      Jenna, Amy and their mom had eaten, gone for dessert, then ended up at their mother’s bungalow where they’d discussed memories, good and bad, chatted weddings and even shed a few tears over the monumental day fast approaching.

      Now here she was afraid to open the door to her own hut because she had no clue what waited on the other side.

      Pulling in a deep breath, she adjusted her strapless sundress, gripped her purse and pushed the door open. Darkness greeted her, along with a sliver of disappointment. Part of her had wanted Mac to be waiting up for her. Going to bed with this sexual tension surrounding them would only cause another sleepless night.

      “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

      Jenna jumped and glanced toward the bedroom, where Mac’s outline filled the doorway. His arms were braced on the frame above his head, and in the darkness the moonlight cast a soft glow into the hut, showcasing the perfection of his chiseled arms, his broad, bare chest and his narrow waist.

      Jenna swallowed and dropped her clutch on the accent table beside the door. “We lost track of time. What did you do while I was gone?”

      There. Keep the conversation friendly.

      But when Mac pushed off the door and stalked toward her in that sexy, panther-like way, she had a feeling the friendly talk was finished.

      “I don’t want to talk about what I did.” His growl washed over her body, sending shivers and goose bumps racing across her skin. “I don’t want to talk at all.”

      “Mac—”

      “No.” With the gap closed between them, he placed his hands on either side of her head, caging her against the door. “We’ve danced around this attraction long enough. After today, I can’t ignore it anymore.”

      Jenna licked her lips, aching with the desire to touch him, to be touched by him. “And what about tomorrow? Or when we get back to Miami?”

      “We’ll worry about it then.”

      His lips crushed hers as he gripped her dress and yanked it down, leaving the material to pool at her feet.

      Well, that answered one question. She knew what to expect tonight and she wasn’t about to put a stop to it, no matter what red flags were waving in her mind. For once, she was going to do what she wanted, damn the consequences.

      * * *

      Mac couldn’t touch her enough. Between their excitement at the waterfall earlier and the business decision he’d had to make, Mac was strung way too tight. He needed Jenna, needed to feel her desire, her passion.

      She pressed her lush body against his as he continued kissing her. Delicate hands gripped his shoulders. The bite of her nails into his skin only added to the pleasure.

      Reaching behind her back, he unfastened her strapless bra and flung it to the side. Hooking his thumbs into her panties, he jerked those down, too. He wanted her completely naked, completely his.

      “Mac.” She pulled away, panting.

      He trailed his lips down her throat and palmed her breasts in his hands. “I have to have you, Jenna.”

      She cupped the side of his face, pulling his attention up toward her heavy-lidded eyes. “Then have me.”

      Mac took her hands and put them on the waistband of his shorts. “Show me you want this.”

      Without hesitation, she removed his shorts, leaving him just as bare as she was. “I can’t go slow,” he warned. “I want you too much.”

      “I won’t break, Mac. Do what you want.”

      Like a dam that had burst, he captured her lips once again. With one hand firmly gripping her waist, Mac slid his other hand between her legs. As she stepped apart, he touched her just enough to have her moaning into the kiss.

      When he said he couldn’t wait, he hadn’t been lying. For days he’d been hanging on by a thread and today that thread finally snapped. He broke the kiss, reached down to his shorts and snagged the condom from the pocket.

      “Looks like you planned this,” she murmured, her chest heaving.

      “I’m not sorry.”

      After covering himself, he stepped back against her and grabbed hold of her hips. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”

      “I’m too heavy,” she argued, her eyes darting away.

      “Do it,” he commanded. “And never look away from me again.”

      The second her legs were wrapped around him, Mac slid into her. For a second, he didn’t move, couldn’t move. She was utterly, blissfully perfect, wrapped all around him in every way possible. Jenna held her breath; her eyes widened but remained on his.

      He had no clue what emotions were lurking in his own eyes and he damn well didn’t want to get into analyzing them, especially when Jenna’s curves were all his for the taking.

      Her hips started moving