She still had no idea what she did to him. The power she held over him. But everything about her sent his feline senses into overdrive. Her smell. Her touch. The way her skin felt against his. That damn voice.

Just thinking about the little noises she made when he had his cock deep inside her made him crazy. Desperate. He forced her back against the wall, practically ripping the laces off the front of her bustier. Once he had it undone, he yanked it off her body, then dropped to his knees to tackle her jeans.

She’d already pulled his sweater off, tossing it into the empty shower. And now her hands roamed over his shoulders and through his hair. Her strong strokes across his flesh brought out the cat in him. His head grazed against her thighs as he pulled off her jeans and boots. He moved up her body slowly, rubbing himself against her the entire way. She growled and he purred back in response.

She undid his jeans, shoving them down past his hips. He pushed them down the rest of the way, snatching the condom he’d grabbed from the bedroom out of his pocket. He didn’t bother taking his jeans off, though. They both knew they were short on time. Her mother would serve dinner soon, but he would have this woman or die trying.

He slid the condom on and lifted her up. Immediately she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. Because they had no time for slow and easy, he kissed her and impaled her against the wall at the same time—her scream lost in his mouth. Already so wet for him, he realized that hadn’t been a scream of pain.

Mace stopped moving. He let himself feel her body against his. Her pussy tight around his cock. God, she felt so good.

Fuck. The families can wait.

Dez pulled out of their kiss. “What? What is it?”

He shook his head as he leaned against her. “Nothin’, baby.”

She cupped his chin with one hand, the other tangling in his hair. “Bullshit. Tell me what’s going on.”

He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth. Then he rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, Desiree MacDermot.”

Dez was thankful Mace had her impaled against the wall like this. Otherwise, she might have bolted for the door. That would have been pure panic, though. She knew once the panic went away, she’d kick herself in the ass for running. She wanted Mace. Not just in her bed or inside her, but in her life.

Christ, she loved a cat.

Mace used his body to pin her against the wall while his hands moved over her face and throat. His hard cock still buried deep.

He waited for her. He wasn’t going to ask her to say how she felt, but Dez knew he needed to hear something.

Well, she wasn’t about to give him the ranch or anything. Short. Simple. And just enough to keep him happy until she’d successfully sorted through her feelings and decided how she wanted to proceed.

“You mean everything to me and I’m never letting you go.”

She closed her eyes. What the hell was she doing?

You idiot!

Mace pushed his fingers through her hair. “Open your eyes, Dez.”

“No.”

“Wuss.”

“Yup.” His grip tightened and it felt so freakin’ good.

“Look at me, woman.”

With a sigh, Dez opened her eyes. He smiled at her. The sweetest, warmest smile she’d ever seen. “That wasn’t exactly I love you…but I guess it will have to do.”

He kissed her as his hips slowly rocked into her. Slow and steady. Sure and confident. She groaned in his ear, and that seemed to set something off in him. His thrusts became stronger. Harder. She grinned. Her voice. Her voice made him crazy. Her body would definitely go, but her voice would last for years. Thank God.

“God, Mace,” she whispered in his ear, “you feel so good inside me. Don’t stop fucking me. Don’t ever stop fucking me.”

Yeah. That did it. With a growl born of pure lust, he pounded into her. So hard she could feel her orgasm tearing up through her body. Mace pushed her head against his shoulder seconds before she started screaming. She remembered they weren’t alone, so she bit into his flesh instead. But she came hard, forcing her teeth past flesh. She tasted blood in her mouth, but her body continued shaking as she came again and again.

Finally, Mace buried his head against her neck, biting his bottom lip so he only groaned as his body spasmed until completely drained.

For long quiet moments, they stayed locked together. Holding on to each other as if that was all that kept them upright.

Dez finally unclenched her teeth from his shoulder. She winced at the clear teeth marks she’d left behind. “Oh God, Mace. I’m sorry.”

He lifted his head and glanced at the wound. Then he grinned. “Let’s just call it your Christmas present to me.”

She frowned. What the hell is he talking about?

Their disappearance didn’t even raise an eyebrow with the two sister teams still going at it. Now, though, they’d moved on to politics.

Mace got downstairs first, fresh clothes on, his hair wet from a quick shower. And a nice clean bandage over his love bite. Dez had marked him and didn’t even know it.

He briefly thought about trying to stop the sisters from fighting, but then…wait…What the hell is that lovely smell? Is that turkey? His mouth watered as he walked past the bickering women and headed toward the dining room.

He found Dez’s mother putting homemade bread on the table. She smiled warmly at Mace as if she’d known him all his life.

“Don’t worry. There’s enough to feed you. I made an extra turkey.”