Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

O pen Your Eyes

Ruby

I head to my room and take the lingerie I purchased weeks ago online out of its package. I knew this day would come, I just didn’t know when and I wanted to be ready. Thankfully, Finn finally convinced Aaron to go paintballing with him and Charlie because he didn’t want to leave the house at first. Now it was only Mack and me at home. He had gone to shower, and I was staring at my naked body for far too long in the mirror. I finally garner up the courage to slip into the lingerie. It’s a chalk-rose corset with a matching strap lace Brazilian panty. It is very sexy. I brush out my hair, leaving it to fall over my shoulders, and I use a touch of body spray on my neck. I then slip on the silk robe I got in the matching color, and I search the empty house for Macklin.

I am trudging across the main room barefoot when I see him coming down the stairs. His hair is wet and slicked back, he’s wearing a pair of gray joggers low on his waist, and he’s holding his T-shirt in his hand.

He stops a few steps from the bottom. “Periwinkle, I don’t know how we are getting through breakfast with you looking like that.”

“I could say the same for you.” I lick my lips, taking in his bare chest. I can’t stop staring. I don’t think it will ever get old because I found him attractive before he had this big strong body.

“You better feed me if you want me to have stamina,” I warn with playful laughter.

“I need to eat too. I went for a run this morning,” he agrees and we both head into the kitchen.

“What should we make?” I ask him.

“I bought some strawberries and blueberries, waffle mix, and whipped cream, it’s in the fridge,” he says. He takes out a waffle maker from one of the lower cabinets. “It’s a special breakfast but very efficient.” He winks.

“And good call on the whip cream,” I add.

“Periwinkle, I didn’t peg you for having a dirty mind,” he teases conspiratorially.

“Seriously? I think we’ve done some dirty things,” I remind.

“Fuck yeah, we’re hot together,” he agrees as he cracks some eggs and pours some milk into the mix.

I wash the berries and put them in a bowl on the table.

“Have you spoken with Hayden?” he asks.

I nod. “He called this morning. He’s having a great time with the team. He’s extending his stay there because the team invited him to their Christmas party.”

“Wow, go Hayden. I’m happy for him and happy for me. It means I get more time with you,” Macklin says, and he walks up to me and kisses my neck. Little goosebumps pebble my skin. “What about Cade and Luc?”

“They’re coming back tomorrow, then flying out to their families.”

“Sucks,” Macklin says.

“I know. Too bad our alone time is so limited. Hayden said we should head home without him and he’ll meet us at Abuela’s on the 24th,” I say to Macklin.

Macklin nods and pours the batter into the waffle maker.

“We’re going to need to tell him about us,” he says quietly.

“I know.”

“He isn’t going to be happy. I should’ve told him from the start I had feelings for you.”

“We were just exploring things and you were giving me new experiences. We needed this time for ourselves. You were helping me with my issue. . . it had nothing to do with Hayden,” I reiterate. As much as I love and respect my brother, there is certain information he doesn’t need.

“It’s not an issue, Periwinkle.” He chuckles. “You’re right. It has nothing to do with him, but he’s going to feel like I stabbed him in the back. It doesn’t sit well with me.”

“I don’t want us having sex causing you guilt,” I retort, feeling my stomach sink.

“There’s a lot of things I’m feeling right now but guilt isn’t one of them,” he assures. “I feel bad for not keeping Hayden in the loop, but I’m looking forward to taking you to bed.” He leans in and gives my lips a peck.

The waffle maker beeps. He places the first steamy waffle on a plate. We wait for the second to be ready.

“That lingerie is seriously sexy.” He checks me out appreciatively.

I open the silk robe and do a twirl. “You think so?”

He groans. “Fuck, those panties are hot. And that bra or corset thing. Fuck.” He holds his fist up to his mouth like it’s taking all his self-control not to touch me.

“Breakfast first,” I remind with an evil laugh. “And if you’re good, I may eat some of that whipped cream off your dick.”

“Fuck, Periwinkle. I’m going to have to eat breakfast with a semi.”

“That isn’t so bad. I’m pretty wet myself,” I confess, knowing exactly what I am doing.

“Who would have thought that little Ruby would grow up to be a seductress?” he teases as he takes the plate piled with waffles to the table.

“You bring it out in me.” I smile and spin around, taking a seat at the table.

“This looks seriously delicious.” I grab a plate and fork.

Macklin builds his waffle with the berries and whipped cream.

I take my first bite and groan. “Mmm.” I try to be mindful of my carb intake during the season, but the next two weeks are vacation time. I know how to indulge a little.

Macklin nods and stuffs his face.

“What do you think Abuela will say about us?” he asks.

“Uh, uh, we aren’t talking about Hayden or Abuela anymore. This is our day. Let’s focus on us.”

“Sorry, I’ll get out of my head,” he assures. “And I’ll give you a good time.”

“I’ve never doubted that. Every time with you has been amazing,” I affirm to him. “Because it’s you, Mack. There is no one else I want to be doing this with. Is that too much?” I ask, feeling like maybe it isn’t a good idea to lay all my feelings on the line.

“It isn’t too much. It’s exactly what I need to hear,” he replies.

We both finish our breakfast with Macklin eating two waffles during the time I’ve eaten one.

He insists on clearing the table and takes the can of whipped cream. “Just in case.” He grins.

I laugh. He takes me by the hand, and I think we are going to walk up to his room hand in hand together, but he swipes me off my feet and cradles me in his arms.

I squeal, not expecting the move. I’m laughing hard but it dies as we make it to his room and he lays me softly on the bed. He moves to the end of the bed and crawls above my legs. He lifts one leg up and begins to spread slow soft kisses up my calf. He then moves to my other leg and does the same. I realize he is showing me how much he revers me. This isn’t going to be one of our hungry, fast make-out sessions. This is going to be slow and deliberate. He moves up my thigh, kissing the inside. My robe slips open. Everything about this moment feels erotic, including the soft fabric of my robe rubbing against my skin. My senses are heightened. When Macklin reaches the apex of my thighs, I anticipate that maybe he’ll want to lick my pussy, but he moves back down to my other leg and spreads soft kisses moving up my other thigh. My heart is beating fast and my breaths are coming quick as he makes me wetter and wetter by his calculated seduction. He is torturing me at a languid pace. Until he isn’t and he lies beside me and kisses me. The kiss is tender. It holds so much emotion. Years of hidden feelings rush to the surface like a tsunami bursting through me. He breaks the kiss, moving to my neck, sucking at my sensitized skin, licking his way down my nape.

His fingers slowly roll over my nipples. “This corset is so hot, Periwinkle. You look so damn pretty it takes my breath away.”

My breathing picks up at his words of endearment. I don’t know how I was expecting Macklin to be. He’s been with enough girls. I wasn’t expecting him to be this sweet and patient.

He takes off the corset and then his mouth is on my nipple. He flicks his tongue across one nipple as his hand kneads the other.

I grow needier by the second. I reach out my hands to touch his bare shoulders, running them down his chest. I want to grip his cock and watch him lose control because my self-control is snapping. When he sucks my nipple into his mouth, my back arches off the bed, and I moan loudly.

“That feels so good.”

He licks his lips and helps me remove the robe, leaving me in the Brazilian panty. The lace is a clear pink so there isn’t much left to the imagination.

“Are you wet?” he asks.

I nod. “Do you need to ask?”

He dips his fingers into my panties. “You’re drenched for me, you dirty girl.”

His words turn me on more. Because yes, I drip for him. “I need you, Mack.”

“Where do you need me?” he asks.

“Inside me,” I tell him.

He groans a guttural groan. “I need to get you ready for my cock. I need you to be able to take me,” he says because his cock is huge. “Do you want my mouth or fingers?”

“Mouth,” I answer.

He doesn’t remove my panties. He pushes them aside. He sucks on my clit hard and I buck off the bed and groan. The string of the panties is pulling against my most sensitive parts and the mix of his tongue, along with the rubbing sensation, has me unraveling.

Macklin licks my pussy, his tongue flat along my clit down to my seam. He applies just the right amount of pressure, driving me wild. My hips buck against his tongue and I begin to moan loudly.

“I don’t want to come like this, Mack. Please. I need you inside me,” I beg.

“You’re begging is driving me crazy, Periwinkle.” He shifts to stand from the bed and he removes his jogging pants and boxers. His cock stands to attention against his abdomen.

My mouth waters. I sit up and reach for his cock, wrapping my mouth around his length and taking a few pulls.

“If you want me to last, you’ll stop. I’ve been using every ounce of self-restraint. Knowing I’m the only man to be inside you is making me crazy.”

A moan escapes me. I shift on the bed, squeezing my thighs. “I don’t understand it, but even your words turn me on.”

“You’re so responsive to me. It’s such a turn-on,” he admits, reaching for a box of condoms. He takes one and sheathes his cock.

Then he is on the bed, hovering above me. “Are you sure you want this?”

“Mack, if you don’t put your cock inside me now, I’ll put it there myself,” I warn, feeling needy for him.

He laughs.

I grip on to his shoulders, and he slowly places his cock at my entrance but he doesn’t push inside. Instead, he uses his cock to rub my clit and move my juices up and down along my seam. It feels so good my eyes roll back. I grip on to his back, urging him inside me. When he slowly begins to push inside me the feeling is overwhelming. He’s stretching me and filling me in the best way.

“You’re so tight. You feel like heaven,” he groans with his eyes squeezed shut. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

He’s inside me and he isn’t moving.

“I need you to move, Mack.”

He moves at a turtle’s pace.

“Faster, Mack. I’m not going to break,” I assure him.

He picks up the pace and there is a burning feeling, but there is also a feeling of pleasure that’s building. His movements grow faster, and his cock is rubbing me in all the right places. My muscles relax as I feel an impending orgasm.

“Are you good?” he asks, thrusting. His voice is strained. A sheen of sweat has broken out on his forehead.

“So good, don’t hold back, Mack.”

He grunts as he thrusts into me faster and faster.

Suddenly I am moaning from the delicious friction of him moving inside me and rubbing my clit with his cock. Even though there was stinging and initial pain when he pushed through at the beginning it feels good now, so good.

“I think I’m going to come.”

“Open your eyes, Periwinkle. I want you looking at me as you come undone,” he instructs.

I open my eyes, and his gray eyes suck me under as he shifts his body a bit and his torso presses forward, placing his cock at an angle inside me. I go off, thrusting my hips into him. I can’t get enough. I need more. I moan and moan until the waves of ecstasy finish rolling through me. Mack stiffens and grunts and I watch his face strain and know he is coming inside me. My pussy clenches around his cock and I thrust my hips, feeding off his orgasm. When he is done, I still feel my pussy clenching like aftershocks. We are both staring into each other’s eyes and something inside me tells me This is why you waited so long to lose your virginity because you always wanted him.

“Are you okay?” he asks. He’s bracing himself on his elbows, so he isn’t crushing me.

“I’m more than okay.” I swallow, feeling a little choked up.

“Good.” He kisses me and pulls out of me. I feel the loss of him filling me. “I’ll just get rid of this,” he says of the condom.

He walks buck naked across the hall to the bathroom and I hear him turning on the faucet. A few moments later he returns with a warm cloth.

“Let me take care of you,” he says. He places it between my legs and cleans me. “Does that feel okay?”

“Yeah, it’s good.” I yawn.

“Do you want to take a bath? I can fill it for you. It may be a tight squeeze for both of us,” he offers.

“If you’ll join me, I’ll take a bath.”

Macklin leaves the room and fills the bath, and I feel light and airy.

“You look very relaxed,” he observes with a small grin, watching me still buck naked by the doorframe.

“I am.” I smile. “Very, very relaxed.”

“Are you sore?” he asks.

“A little, but it isn’t too bad,” I assure.

“I’ll fill the bath. You look like you’re going to crash,” he says.

I yawn again. “It was a big day.”

“It was,” he agrees. We walk across the hall to the bathroom. Macklin has two large bath towels waiting on the counter and it looks like he used some form of bubble bath in the tub.

He gets in first so I can lean against him. I step in after him. The water is the perfect temperature as I sit against his front. “This is nice.”

He takes a loofa and pours some body wash on it. He uses it to wash my upper body.

“I could get use to this,” Macklin says.

“Me too,” I tell him.

“Does that mean you want us to be together?” he asks. I assumed when we said we loved each other we also meant we want to be together. But I also know that feelings are something Macklin has always grappled with. His parents were amazing parents, and tragedy took them away from him. I don’t know much about his family because it was always so hard for him to talk about them, but they were something special. They must have been to have such a wonderful person like him. He was loyal to the bone and that is also what was making the idea of an us challenging for him. He was loyal to Hayden and Abuela too.

“I do want us to be together.” I lift his hand out of the water and lace my fingers with his. I look at our joined hands feeling like nothing has ever felt so right.

“I’ll speak to Hayden when we get home. I need to tell him before Abuela. I just hope he doesn’t end up hating me,” he says.

“If Hayden knows your intentions are honorable, he’ll be okay,” I assure.

“Okay.” He kisses the side of my head.

I hear a noise coming from downstairs. My eyes turn wide. “I think they’re back.”

“I heard that too. I told Finn to text me and give me good warning,” he complains, sounding irritated.

We quickly get out of the bath, knowing our little bubble has to end and we have to face reality.

“Where should I go? Should I come to your room?” I ask because I am panicking. “Shit, my clothes are in my room downstairs. I only have lingerie up here.”

“Go to my room. I’ll get dressed and see what’s going on,” he whispers. “Just keep quiet.”

We tiptoe across the hall quickly to Macklin’s room. He grabs a T-shirt out of his drawer and passes it to me. He also passes me a pair of jogging pants. He then gets dressed.

“This is huge on me,” I say quietly.

“I’ll try to signal to Charlie to bring you some clothes, but put my stuff on for now,” he states. He walks over to me and kisses me. He looks me in the eyes and says, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” This whole day feels surreal, and this moment also feels like a dream.

He sneaks out of his room and closes the door behind him.

I take a deep cleansing breath. I can’t explain it, but I feel different.

I hear a big ruckus downstairs, and I put my ear to the door to try and figure out what is going on. It sounds like Cade and Luc are here and my panic increases tenfold. They are Hayden’s very good friends and teammates. They cannot catch me in Macklin’s room before Macklin has a talk with him.

I find a brush on Macklin’s dresser and begin to brush out my hair since it got wet in the tub.

A soft knock has me spinning around and my heart stops for a second. When I see it’s Charlie at the door and she’s brought me clothes, I sigh with relief. “Thanks, Charlie.” I walk over to her and hug her.

“How was your day?” she asks.

“Amazing. What is going on down there?” I ask because it’s more pressing right now.

“Cade and Luc left Florida on an earlier flight than planned. They called Aaron to pick them up while we were at paintball. Finn and I offered to go with Aaron. Finn was texting Mack and I was texting you, but you guys weren’t answering.” She winces.

“Shit, I left my phone in our room downstairs.” It used to be my and Charlie’s room down there, but now she mostly stays with Finn.

“I hope we didn’t come home too early,” she says.

“If you’re asking if we had sex, the answer is yes and it was unbelievable,” I tell her with a whisper and what must be a radiant grin.

“You’re glowing. I’m happy for you, Rubes.”

“Thanks. Now we can’t get caught before Mack tells Hayden we’re together.”

“So you guys are official?” she asks with excitement.

“Charlie, I’ve loved that boy ever since I can remember. We were both hiding our feelings for so long, but now that they’re out in the open we’re official in a secretive way.”

Charlie squeals and I hush her.

I take my clothes and get dressed.

“Come with me to Finn’s room. We can act like we were hanging out or something,” she offers.

“But why would I be in Finn’s room when you guys are out?” I ask.

“Good point,” she says. “You can’t go downstairs with your hair half wet. You look like you just had sex.”

“Probably because you know I did,” I reply.

“But Mack came downstairs with wet hair. If you go downstairs, I think it’ll look suspicious,” she points out.

“What am I supposed to do? Hide up here all day?” I joke.

“Maybe,” she says, tilting her head to the side.

“I was kidding,” I say wide-eyed.

“It’s not a bad idea.” She shrugs. “It’s not like you can climb out a window.”

“You’ve seen too many movies,” I chide her playfully.

We hear voices and they are coming upstairs. I run into Macklin’s closet, leaving Charlie in his room by herself.

Luckily, Macklin’s closet is neat and not too full. The voices grow closer. I hear Cade. Then I hear Luc. They must be going to their rooms, which are a few steps up since the house has four floors.

I hear the door to the room open and I am practically holding my breath.

“Charlie?” Macklin sounds surprised. “Where is she?” he whispers.

I don’t hear what’s happening next but when Macklin pulls his closet door open, I’ve adjusted to the darkness in the closet so I squint.

“What are you doing in there?” he whispers.

“I heard Cade and Luc.”

Finn is at the door next. “Is everything okay?”

“Perfect,” I say.

“Now would be a good time to get downstairs,” he mouths, pointing that the guys are in their rooms. He’s talking a lot with his hands.

“Okay.” I tiptoe out of the room and down the hall. Cade leaves his room and he can see down the stairs into the hall because it’s only five steps up to his floor.

“Ruby?” he asks like he’s surprised.

“Yeah,” I reply. “Welcome back.”

“What are you doing up here? I didn’t realize you were home,” he says.

“The faucet in my shower wasn’t working properly so I took a bath up here,” I explain. “How was Tampa?”

“It was the shit. Hayden is one lucky bastard to end up there,” he says excitedly.

“I guess so. I wish he could’ve found something closer to Riverside, but I’m super happy for him,” I say.

“The team is super cool. He’s happy,” Cade shares, and that’s all I want for my brother. He’s worked so damn hard to get to where he is.

“That’s amazing,” I tell him. “You look tired. You probably need sleep.”

I don’t have something better.

He yawns. “It was a sick weekend.”

“I’m sure, I’ll catch you later.”

I head downstairs to my room and close the door. I sag against the door as my heart rate slows down. That was close. I wonder if Cade caught on to how nervous I was.

I go to lie on the bed.

I get a text from Macklin.

Macklin : Are you okay?

Me: Yes.

When I check my phone, I see I have many missed calls and texts from Charlie. When there’s a light knock on the door I sit up. Charlie walks in a moment later.

“Luc just asked me why you lied about being in the bathroom,” she says and my heart drops because it means Cade caught my lie and went straight to Luc or Luc saw me leave the bathroom and lie to Cade. Either way I’m screwed.