Luscious(16)

Serena cleared her throat.

“Or three,” Kai allowed before turning back to Ally. “I saw you two watching the scene but there wasn’t a lot of talk between you. You held hands, but I don’t feel the real intimacy. You’re not sleeping together.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a busybody, Kai?” Macon asked, obviously irritated.

“It’s a hobby. This is about being your friend and not your therapist. You’re sad you’re not sleeping with her. I would be sad, too. She’s a gorgeous woman.” Kai gave her a polite nod.

She’d landed in some weird place. At home, no one ever talked about sex. That might be why she’d never had any really good sex. Whatever her new friends were, she could tell one thing. They were happy.

“I’m afraid to sleep with him,” she admitted. “Not because he would hurt me. I know he never would. I’m afraid I would be disappointing. I would rather have him in my life without sex than out of it because I wasn’t enough.”

Macon turned to her. “Babe, that’s not how it works.”

Kai was grinning from ear to ear, like a little boy who’d been given a present. “Why would you think you aren’t enough?”

“Is it because you’re not a screaming orgasmer?” Serena asked. “That’s the guy’s fault, you know. Maybe you haven’t had a decent lover yet.”

“It’s not always the guy’s fault,” Kai disagreed. “What do you think about during sex, Ally?”

Macon sighed as though he knew where the shrink was going.

She didn’t know where any of this was going. “Uhm, I don’t know. It depends on what’s going on in my life. Sometimes I think about what he’s doing and that it’s not working, and sometimes I think about what I need to do the next day. I worry a lot.”

“If her brain works like her body, then she never stops thinking,” Macon explained. “She’s always moving. Even when we sit and watch TV, she’s doing something else. She’ll knit or make lists of things to do. She’s never still.”

“I’ve always been that way.” She’d never seen that there was anything wrong with it.

“She’s anxious. You need to get her out of her head. Why don’t you come by my place and we can have a session?” Kai offered. “I can fit you in on Tuesday. We’ll probably need an hour or two.”

“I think I can handle this, buddy.” Macon patted his friend on the shoulder and then looked to Serena. “Do you mind if we head out?”

Serena shook her head. “Of course not.” She enveloped Ally in a hug. “It was so good to have you here. Jake went over and got Tristan. I think you two are now baby free.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Kai offered.

Macon chuckled at that and took her hand. “Come on, babe. We need to talk.”

She let him lead her out, scared to death of what they were about to do.





CHAPTER FIVE





Macon locked the door behind him and the house was beautifully still. After all the excitement of the night, it was good to come home to quiet and peace. The Daley girls had eradicated any sign that their home had been used as a nursery and everything was back to its neat, peaceful state.

So why was his body humming with energy?

He was only going to talk to her. Kai was right about that. They needed to talk. Sure it would be so much easier to fall into bed and enjoy whatever they could find, but he’d done that before. He wanted more with Ally. So only talk. And maybe some kissing. Hey, if she wanted more, he would give it to her. But if she only needed to talk, he would do that instead. Why was he so damn nervous?

“Do you want some coffee?”

She looked up at him, a pink flush to her cheeks. “You know most guys would offer a girl wine or a drink at this point.”

He shook his head. Did she really think he hadn’t noticed her habits? “You don’t drink.”

“But you do. I’ve seen you drink with Eric and the guys.”

“I don’t if it makes you uncomfortable.” There was a six-pack of beer sitting in the fridge. It had been there since the day before the tornado.

She bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sometimes I think you’re too good to be true.”

“You’re the only person in the world who thinks that. Are we ready? I’d like to talk about something important. We’ve spent a week talking about movies and books and not a thing about our real selves, and that’s what got us in trouble earlier today.”

She turned and walked to the couch and sat down. “Okay.”

She said it like talking would be an unpleasant experience. He was starting to understand that talking wasn’t easy for Ally. It was easier for him since he’d spent months in therapy with Kai. He’d figured out a couple of weeks into his Dallas residence that talking about things didn’t make him less of a man. He’d reevaluated everything about what it meant to be a man since he’d come to Dallas. He sat down on the sofa beside her.

“Do you want to go to bed with me?”

“Yes.” At least she didn’t hesitate answering that question.

“Good. I want to take the next step with you, too. You’re scared that you won’t be enough for me. Well, I’m scared I’m not very good in bed. I know I’m supposed to be some kind of alpha male who never questions that he’s sex on two legs, but I’m damaged here and I’m really tired of pretending I’m not human. I would very much like to be able to be human with you.”

Her whole body seemed to soften and she reached for his hand. “Why would you think that?”

He let her take it, enjoying the warmth. “Because my wife told me I was useless with two legs so I would be completely pathetic with one. She was having an affair with my brother. Not Adam, obviously. Alan. He’s my brother, the firstborn and our father’s favorite. Dad disowned Adam because of the kink. I wasn’t exactly disowned. I walked away. I could go back if I accepted my brother’s new girlfriend. Who happens to be my old wife. Yeah, we’re fucked up.”

Her hand slid over his and then back again as though she was trying to soothe him. “Everyone is, I think. Some people are simply better at hiding it. What if we tried? I mean, we’re never going to know if we have chemistry if we don’t try.”

“Oh, we have chemistry, baby. At least on my side we do. I get hard when you walk in a room.”

“Really?”

At least here honesty worked for her. “Oh yeah. Do you remember that first day you showed up at Top and you were all stuttery and out of sorts? I let you inside and you waited with me until Sean could see you.”

“I remember you were making a chocolate glaze for poached pears and you let me try it.”

“Yep, I had a hard-on.” He shifted back, getting comfortable, though it meant letting go of her hand. “I kind of have one now.”

Kind of was understating it. His cock was rock hard and desperate, but he was determined to give her the time she needed.

Her gaze went down to his crotch and her eyes went wide. “You’re serious.”

“Yes, but I’m not going to do anything about it until you’re ready.”

She groaned. “You’re killing me, Miles. Why can’t you be like every other guy in the freaking world and jump on me? Why do you have to make it hard?”

He put a bit of bite in his tone. Her brat wasn’t needed here tonight. “Because I take this seriously. If you want a quick fuck, you should probably find someone else.”

She flushed. “I’m sorry, Macon. I am ready. And I’ve thought about it and I want to put this in your hands. I want you to be in control of this because I don’t know what I’m doing and honestly, I don’t even know what I really want except to feel close to you.”

“I know what I want.” It felt good to be honest with someone for a change.

“What’s that?”

“I want to make you scream. I want to be the man who shows you how hot you can get because I think you could burn, baby. You simply have to trust me. You have to let go and stop thinking about anything but what you’re feeling.” Kai might be a busybody, but he had gotten to the heart of the matter. She thought too much. She was in constant protection mode and he needed her to let those walls down. “I want to do some sensation play with you. It doesn’t have to end in sex.”

It would likely end in a massive masturbation session if she said no. His right hand was going to get some tonight.

“All right. What do you want me to do?”

He stood up and held out a hand. “Let’s go to your bedroom.” It would be easier to walk away from her than it would be to watch her walk away. Besides, she might feel more comfortable around her own things. “Do you have a scarf?”

“Sure. It’s in my room.” Her hand was trembling when she placed it in his.

He helped her up and held her hand to his chest. “Baby, I know you gave me control, but you understand how this works, right? You’re giving me control to bring you pleasure but the minute you feel unsafe, tell me and I stop.”

She went up on her toes and brushed her mouth against his. “Like I said. Too good to be true.”