The Mighty Quinns: Mac

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It was one of those laughing fits that left her gasping and crying at the same time. She grabbed a quick breath. “It’s just—you’re going to hear this anyway if you haven’t already and maybe it best that I just said it up front.”

“Say what? That you’re a virgin?”

“I’m a virgin,” Emma shouted, throwing her arms out. She snapped her mouth shut and stared at him. “You knew?” She pressed her fingertips to her lips and waited for the humiliation to pass. She hadn’t meant to just blurt it out, but it was like an embarrassing medical condition. There was just no way to work it into the conversation.

“Yeah, I heard something about it,” he said.

Emma took a ragged breath. “I wanted you to understand. I mean, it’s best to be honest and I—”

“And you assumed I’d expect the evening to end in bed?”

“I was hoping it would,” she said. “At least that’s how I wanted to feel. But then, that kiss just—wow! I mean, my life flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t think. Or maybe I couldn’t stop thinking. I don’t know. I’m so confused.”

He frowned, then shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

She turned away from him and began to pace, following a short track across the living room. “I want to be completely up front with you. I don’t really care about dinner or talking about the book or going to see the play. I was just really hoping that you’d find me attractive enough to seduce at the end of the evening.”

“I do find you very attractive,” he murmured, reaching out to grab her hand. He pulled her back toward him, then rested his hands on her hips. “And seducing you has been on my mind a lot.”

“Before or after you found out I was a virgin?” He paused before answering and she could see the truth in his eyes. “I get it. It’s a big deal. Huge.”

“It’s just that your first time is supposed to be special,” Mac explained. “Especially if you’ve waited this long for it to happen.”

“And you can’t make it special?”

“Sure I could. But you’ll want more than a quick fix.”

“No, no, no,” Emma said, shaking her head. “I don’t want a boyfriend or a fiancé. I just want sex.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Maybe we should call an end to this now, before I make a complete fool of myself.”

He took her hand and pulled her over to the sofa, tugging her down to sit beside him. “What do you want to do, Emma? Right now.”

“I want to crawl under a rock and stay there until you forget this whole conversation,” she said.

“That’s not necessary. Let’s put aside all the talk about the...the deflowering.”

Emma groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, don’t call it that. I don’t have flowers down there that need to be picked.”

“What am I supposed to call it?”

“I don’t know. Call it...call it, the task at hand.”

“Are you interested in someone who will simply complete the task at hand, or do you want more?”

“Just the task,” she said. “Nothing more.”

“No romance, no dating, no dinner and a movie?”

Emma shook her head. “Just the task.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded.

“You’ve given me a lot to consider. I guess I’ll let you know.”

“You have to consider it? I thought men were able to just do it.” She drew a ragged breath. “Is it because you don’t find me attractive?”

Didn’t all single men love sex? And she’d assumed they weren’t very discriminating about where they got it. Was her offer that repulsive to him?

He chuckled. “No. I find you incredibly attractive, as I mentioned at the beginning.”

“Then why don’t you want to—do the task?”

He paused, as if to collect his thoughts. “Emma, you’re the kind of woman who deserves the best in life. You deserve so much more than I can give you.”

“You can’t give me a single night of mind-blowing sex? Because that’s really all I want. Just one night.”

“One night,” Mac murmured. “All right, I’ll get back to you. I promise.”

With that, he turned on his heel and walked to the front door. But Emma couldn’t leave it at that. She ran after him and grabbed his arm. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you? That’s it.”

He shook his head. “No, I think you’ve taken a very sensible approach to your problem.”

“Exactly. It’s sensible. I’m Emma, the virgin librarian. You’re Mac, the handsome, itinerant pilot. It makes perfect sense.”

“Does it? I mean, what are you going to do after it’s finished? It’s kind of a life-changing event.” He met her gaze.

“That’s just it. I want it to change my life. So it isn’t my life.”

“May I ask you something?”

Emma nodded. “Yes, of course. Ask me anything.”

“We’ve established that you’re twenty-seven years old and you’re still a virgin. We’ve also established that you’re beautiful and smart and sexy. Just how is that possible? Is this some sort of religious thing?”

“No. It just happened. I’ve never dated much, never had serious boyfriends. Believe it or not, the opportunity only presented itself a few times when I was younger and I decided to turn it down. And then the years just got away from me.”

“And you want me to take care of this for you?”

“Yes, I would appreciate that. It would only be one night. Not even a full night. I mean, it could go pretty fast, I think. At least that’s what I’ve heard. And I can guarantee that it wouldn’t be horrible. I’ve done a lot of reading so I know what’s what.”

“You realize that being aware that this is your first time changes everything.”

“I’m kind of just getting that,” Emma said. “Why, though? It’s still sex.”

“There’s a lot of pressure,” Mac said.

“You mean performance anxiety? Believe me, I can relate. Is that why you’re afraid to...do the deed?”

Mac cursed beneath his breath. “No. I don’t get performance anxiety.”

“Then why?”

He thought about her question for a long moment, then shrugged. “Maybe I want more,” he murmured. “Maybe a one-night stand isn’t enough for me.”

The notion that a man like Mac might prefer romance over pure lust surprised her. On the surface, he seemed to be the perfect playboy type, a guy who could easily love ’em, then leave ’em.

“I don’t expect it to be special,” Emma said.

“I want to make it special for you,” Mac said. He glanced over at her and smiled. “Listen, why don’t we just delay negotiations on this tonight and pick it up at a later date.”

“I understand,” Emma said. “If you don’t want to, you can just say so. I won’t be hurt.”

“Oh, I want to,” he replied. “Believe me, I’ve been thinking about it since the moment you walked into the shop. But I’m not sure you understand what you’re asking. So I’d like to take a little time.”

“All right. But if you change your mind, just call.”

“I will,” Mac assured her. “There is one thing we could do right now.”

“What’s that?” Emma asked. It all happened so quickly, she didn’t have a chance to prepare. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, his gaze meeting hers. And in a heartbeat, his mouth came down on hers in a long, delicious kiss.

Emma had already grown to love the way he kissed. His attention fixed on her lips for just a moment before his mouth descended on hers. And after that, a wild whirl of sensations assailed her body. His kiss was a demand, not a request, and she had no choice but to respond.

When he finally drew away, his eyes were closed and her breath came in short gasps. A thrill raced through her. It was obvious the kiss had affected him in the same way it had her. Maybe she should count this as a victory.

“I’ll talk to you soon?” she asked.

“You will,” he said.

She walked him to the front door and opened it. “Thanks for the kiss. It was really nice.”

“Emma?”

“Yes?”

“You don’t ever have to thank me for kissing you.”

3 (#ulink_d41de12a-0b69-5e25-8fde-205c5f2a7303)

MAC CIRCLED BUDDY’S PLANE, checking all the fittings and controls for crop dusting. He was due to go out at dawn the next morning, and he wanted to get a jump on the job. Hell, he didn’t have anything better to do on a Sunday than catch up with work at the shop.

He wasn’t going to fly his own plane because Mac’s old deHaviland Beaver wasn’t typically used for agriculture applications like crop dusting, a job better suited to a small, maneuverable plane. The Beaver was made for transport—of people and their belongings.

Whether he was bush piloting in Alaska or transporting produce in the warmer climates of California, Mac’s plane was the closest thing he had to a home. When he had no place to live, he slept in the tail section.

J.J. watched him as he went through his check, sipping on a cold Yoo-hoo. “So, how did your date go? I didn’t see you at the show last night.”

“It didn’t go. We decided to postpone the date.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Sorry about the show.”

“What happened?”

“It’s far too complicated to explain. We were looking for different things, I guess.”

“You were looking for sex, she was looking for romance?”

Mac shook his head. “No. The exact opposite. She was hoping for an end to her ‘condition’ and I wasn’t willing to provide it. At least not under her terms.”

“Terms?”

Mac ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe I should have said yes. But there’s something about Emma that I can’t get my mind around. I don’t want her to view me as just some solution to a problem.”

It didn’t make sense. He ought to be thrilled that she was interested in no-strings sex. And there was no doubt in his mind that their intimacy would be more than just one night. Once she got a taste of what he could offer in the bedroom, she’d want more.

So why did he refuse? Why not take the chance that he could turn a single night of sex into something more?