The sexual buzz between them had grown steadily over the past few hours. It was thick and meaty and like an adrenaline rush—he was high on the effects of it, and it was a high he’d take any day. It had been a long time since a woman had gotten under his skin like this—a long time since he’d been so caught up in all of it.
The seduction and the romance. He wasn’t an asshole. He knew what women wanted, and he was more than willing to give it to them—as long as they didn’t go getting any ideas about anything permanent.
It was nearly nine, and they’d shared a great meal. The steaks had been grilled to perfection, something Mac had picked up working his way through college at a steak house in the city. The salad Lily had thrown together was simple but tasty—the caramelized walnuts had been a great touch—and the company? His eyes settled on Lily.
The company was outstanding. Lily was smart, witty, and engaging. They’d danced around each other all night, and the sexual undercurrents were something else. Damn, when he finally got her back into his bed, it was gonna be explosive. The fun part was getting there.
Mac took a sip of his red wine and settled back in the chair as he gazed at her over the rim of his glass.
“Something bothering you, Boston?”
Irritation flickered in the depths of her eyes, and Mac leaned back even more, totally enjoying himself.
“Can we dispense with the Boston thing? Please? I get it, Mac. The accent. Ha. Ha. But it’s getting a little old, don’t you think? I do have a name.”
Mac shook his head and answered without hesitating. “Nah.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Excuse me?”
He couldn’t hold back his grin any longer, and her eyes narrowed dangerously as she gazed back at him. “I like calling you Boston.”
“What if I don’t like you calling me that?”
“You know you do.”
She opened her mouth to say something but then snapped it shut. She took a good long sip from her wineglass and set it down carefully in front of her. She stared at the glass for a bit, her long, delicate fingers twirling around the edge. Damn, but she had beautiful hands. Mac thought of her artwork.
Talented hands.
He thought of New Year’s Eve, his mind wandering to a moment when her hands had been all over him. Caressing. Stroking. Holding and massaging.
Lily St. Clare had really talented hands and her mouth…those lips…
He moved a bit, trying to ease the ache between his legs, but it was no use. He’d been sitting across from Lily for the last hour and most of it had been spent with a raging hard-on. Watching her mouth, the way she swallowed, slow and sure, was enough to get the fantasies going. It was a good thing that she couldn’t see the situation between his legs because it would totally blow away his plan to be in control, or at the very least, his plan to appear to be in control.
She looked up suddenly. “Tell me about your family.”
Mac’s smile didn’t waver even though something cold and nasty stirred inside him. “Not much to tell. I’ve got three sisters and a brother.”
“That’s it? That’s all you got?”
When cornered, always deflect. It was a life lesson he’d learned before he even knew what it was. The easiest way to avoid fists coming your way was to place blame somewhere else. Didn’t exactly inspire sibling devotion, but it sure as hell saved his ass on more than one occasion.
Lily wanted to know about his family? Hell, there was no way this Boston princess could even begin to comprehend the tragedy that was his childhood.
“I’m not much for details.” He eyed her carefully. “What about you?”
“Please,” she said, heavy on the sarcasm. “Do you seriously expect me to believe that you didn’t Google me?”
Sure he had. It was the first thing he’d done when he’d gotten back to New York City. He knew all about Lily St. Clare, or rather, he knew what everyone else on the planet could find online. But that shit wasn’t real. It didn’t tell the entire story.
“What’s up with your sister?” he asked.
A slight tightening around her mouth told him that there was a lot there. Her sister was a few years older than Lily and she’d posed for Playboy, more than once, had been involved in an infamous sex tape scandal with some senator’s son, and had appeared in a reality show on MTV. There were numerous other half siblings, due to the fact that her father had remarried four times.
The St. Clares as a whole were famous for being rich and beautiful, much like the Hilton girls, and from what Mac gathered, Lily’s sister was a mess.
“Maddison and I aren’t close. Haven’t been for a long time.” Lily took another sip of wine and paused. “I had a brother