Once Mac was sure they had gone, he turned his attention to what was important. He reached for her hand and wasn't comforted to find her fingers trembling inside his. "Samantha"
She shook her head, cutting off anything he might have said. "I'm fine." But her pallor told him otherwise. "You should have heard the things he said. He was crude and acting I don't know, entitled. Like because I'd served him drinks, I'd like to cater to him in other ways, too." She kept wiping her hands on her clothes, as if she could wipe away the memories as easily. "Just because I serve drinks for a living doesn't mean I'll service any slimeball that walks in here."
She spat the last few words with such anger, Mac didn't think now was the time to remind her she Hell, he didn't exactly know what she did for a living, but he knew it involved high finance and not serving drinks in a backwater bar. But she respected those who did, which made his respect for her inch up another notch.
He glanced at his watch. Closing time was still forty-five minutes away. "Okay, folks. Whatever you drank last, consider it last call." Because the incident had been loud and public, the grumbling remained at a minimum.
Clouded eyes met his. "You don't have to close early for me. I told you I'm fine."
He wasn't. He reached for her, his hand grazing her cheek before he pushed a strand of hair off her too-pale face. "I'm closing," he said with finality. "If not for you, then for me."
"But Bear"
"Left me in charge. I figure that gives me some rights around here."
"Who am I to argue with the boss?" she asked, some color coming back to her cheeks.
He braced his hands on either side of her face. "You did a great job taking care of yourself tonight. But I want you to know I wouldn't have let him hurt you."
"I know. Like I said, he didn't. He just violated me somehow."
A lady like Samantha, from the world Mac thought she came from, wouldn't be used to harsh words from a drunken idiot. "Give me a few minutes to close up and this will all be a distant memory." He'd make sure of it.
Zee returned. "You okay, honey?"
She turned her sunny smile on the older man. "Fine. And thanks for everything."
"My boy doesn't run a trashy joint. I'm sorry"
Waving away his apology, she grasped his gnarled hand. "I know what kind of place this is, Zee. And you don't have to apologize for it. Either of you." Her gaze took in Mac, as well.
Mac the bartender. Suddenly his deception didn't sit well with him. In fact, it turned his stomach.
Zee turned to Mac. "I'll get going and let you take care of things here." The old man shot Mac a pointed look before heading for the door. "Oh" He turned back. "You still planning on taking that drive to Sedona to see your mama tomorrow?" he asked Mac.
"No. I'll put it off a few days." No sense visiting his sister and mother with a woman in tow. Mac didn't have the answers to the questions his family would surely ask.
"Okay, let me know. Maybe I'll tag along with you when you go," Zee said.
Mac smiled. "They'd like that."
"Maybe Sammy Jo would like to join us," Zee whispered as he took his leave.
Mac rolled his eyes, then wrapped his arm around Samantha's shoulders. She curled her body against his, and he took comfort in her being near.
He swallowed a raw curse. Because when sexual desire took a back seat to concern and other emotions he'd never felt before, Mac knew he was in trouble.
6
The small apartment had an even smaller balcony that overlooked the main road. Sam hadn't noticed when she'd first arrived because she'd had other things on her mind-like thanking God she still wasn't stranded in the desert-nor had she become aware of it afterward, because a sexy man had stolen her breath away. But now that she'd discovered the sanctuary, she made it a point to take refuge there now.
Sitting on a folding lounge chair, she curled her legs up and took in the view of the dark road lit only by a full moon and the occasional headlights of a departing vehicle. One by one, the last of the cars pulled out of the graveled parking lot below. Soon not even the roar of an engine intruded on her solitude. A cool breeze wafted on the night air, much the way contentment floated through her veins. Not even tonight's incident marred the sense of peace she'd found.
Sitting on a folding lounge chair, she curled her legs up and took in the view of the dark road lit only by a full moon and the occasional headlights of a departing vehicle. One by one, the last of the cars pulled out of the graveled parking lot below. Soon not even the roar of an engine intruded on her solitude. A cool breeze wafted on the night air, much the way contentment floated through her veins. Not even tonight's incident marred the sense of peace she'd found.
Peace she shouldn't be feeling. Not when she was lying to a man she'd grown to respect, dodging honest questions because she was afraid that if she let him get to know her, she'd want to know more about him, too. How would she leave then? How would she walk out on a life and a man she feared suited her far better than the ones she'd be returning to all too soon?
Choices, she thought. Life came down to choices, and she'd made hers the day she put Tom's ring on her finger. It wasn't important that worry over her father's future had prompted her decision, or that she'd promised her dying mother. She'd accepted. Given her word. Which made her time with Mac temporary. She'd just live their fantasy to its fullest before slipping away too soon. Her heart thudded in silent but furious protest.
The slam of the door jarred the otherwise silent night. She had company. When he joined her outside, he filled the small area with his presence. Big, solid, comforting. That was Mac. If he was in a room, she knew it. Seconds later, comforting turned to wanting. A smile touched her lips for the first time in more than an hour and she welcomed the change.
Everything Mac made her feel was good. Without waiting for an invitation, he swung one leg around and fit himself behind her back, drawing her into his arms.
Why fight it, Sam thought, nestling into his embrace. "I overreacted tonight," she murmured.
"Tossing the beer in his lap? Nah, he deserved it."
"Not that." Next time she'd try for a pitcher instead of a glass. "Getting so emotional."
"Somebody grabs you after you say no, I'd say you have a right to any damn emotion you please."
"I guess. I knew I had nothing to worry about. We were in a public place." And she'd known Mac was standing guard, and she trusted him to be there if she needed him.
"A bar is a different atmosphere than what I'm used to. In the workplace, the episode downstairs would have been sexual harassment." His hands flattened on her belly and she relaxed against him. Warmth traveled from his body to hers in a never-ending current that sensitized her skin and caused a delicious pulse to hammer in her veins.
"Are you saying that guy didn't sexually harass you tonight?" He lifted her shirt and stroked her stomach as he spoke.
"No, just that I wasn't prepared and I should have been." She'd removed her bra when she'd changed into the oversize T-shirt she was wearing, and now his thumbs softly grazed the bottom of her breasts in a rhythmic lulling motion.
She sighed and tried to focus on their conversation, although it was hard to do when his roughened fingertips stroked her already-charged skin. "But a stranger whispering what he thought were erotic things in my ear, and putting his hands on my body" She trailed off because even as she spoke, the realization sunk in.
What would her marriage bed be but a place where a stranger pawed her, groped her His hands on her stomach, not Mac's. Hopefully he'd leave out the titillating whisperings in her ear, she thought as she shivered with dread and disgust. Oh, God, how could she have agreed to the marriage? How could she go through with it now, having known Mac? She felt her stomach muscles quiver and tremble.
Without warning, his fingertips, along with the blissful gliding motion, stilled. "What's wrong?" She tipped her head back so she could see his face, and immediately understood what she read in his eyes.
Turning so she could face him, she ended up straddling his legs and placing her knees on the outside of his thighs. Of course, that meant his groin nestled between her legs, full, warm and inviting, but she couldn't concern herself with that now, either. The heated throbbing wouldn't be ignored, but she tried because his feelings meant more to her than sexual need. Uh-oh.
She forced herself to deal with what was important and looked at Mac. "Whatever you're thinking, stop it now."
"Even if it's true?"
She met his gaze. Clear, slate-colored eyes stared back. "It isn't." This man had ceased being a stranger the moment he'd caught her in his arms.
A connection existed between them, one she didn't understand and couldn't explain. If she was certain of nothing else, she knew he felt it, too. "If you'd stop worrying that I'll fall apart like some china doll, you'd know it, too." She placed her hand on his chest. "Listen to your instincts. Are they telling you we're strangers?"
"They're telling me I want you." A mild way of putting it, Mac thought. Need might be an even better word.
"No, that's your body talking." She laughed a husky, sexy sound that turned him on even more. Considering his erection pulsed between the vee of her legs, he figured she was right.
She was right about something else, too. No way in hell was he a stranger whispering erotic things in her ear. But what was he to Samantha? He had no idea. She never said. In fact, she'd made it clear she never would.
Since he was keeping secrets of his own, he hadn't wanted to pressure her. He'd hoped in time she would confide in him of her own free will, but that day seemed far off. He'd gotten involved in the first place because he sensed there was something special about Samantha. He had omitted a few details because he desired her respect. Now that he had it, parting was the last thing he intended to do.
"So have we resolved that dilemma?" she asked, easing herself more fully on top of him.