matrimony at least once.”
“Unholy state,” she repeated. “Since you feel that way, then why—”
“I already explained. There are four compelling reasons why.”
Tai chimed in with another commanding meow.
Mac rolled his eyes. “I led you to believe I was going to put you out of the car because I wanted that furball with claws back in his carrier so we could talk. I didn’t want him distracting you, and he’s easier to ignore in his cage.”
“Much to his outrage. Poor Tai.” Kara’s fear had already begun to dissipate, but the nervous excitement pulsing through her had heightened and intensified. She felt his thumb glide over the sensitive skin of her wrist, then move upward to stroke her palm. The small gesture was sensual and provocative and her whole body responded to it with a strong swift surge of desire.
“You agree that we do need to talk before we go any farther?”
She drew a sharp breath. “I—I agree,” she murmured, trying to regain her bearings. “I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience and expense you’ve had to—”
“Forget about that,” Mac ordered. “Let’s cut to the chase, Kara. I know this whole situation is a bit unorthodox. I mean, out West mail-order brides have gone the way of the Pony Express and the Wells Fargo Wagon, yet here we are....”
“Mail-order bride? Is that what I’m supposed to be?” She could not suppress the bubble of laughter welling up inside her.
“Yeah, I know. It sounds ridiculous. I laughed too, when the Rev first suggested it.” Mac smiled wryly. He sobered almost instantly, his dark eyes intense. “But I’ve come to believe it’s a damn good idea.” His eyes slid over her. “Now that I’ve met you, it seems like an even better one.”
“Oh, please!” Kara swept an agitated hand through her hair, tousling it. “It’s bad enough that you think I’m so desperate for a man that I would hightail it out to Montana to marry a stranger who paid for my fare. Don’t make things even worse by pretending to be attracted to me.”
“Who says I’m pretending?” His voice grew deeper. “I am attracted to you.”
“You’re playing some kind of role. Saying things you think I’d like to hear.” Kara swallowed hard. Depressingly enough, she realized that she liked hearing him say he found her attractive, even though she knew he couldn’t mean it.
She straightened her spine, holding her head high, as she steeled herself against his insidious virile charm. “You must think I’m downright pathetic if you expect me to believe that you could possibly—”
“Enough about me,” Mac cut in. “Let’s talk about you. I think you’re attracted to me, too, Kara. A little scared of me, maybe, but definitely attracted.” With one deft move, he slipped his hands to her waist, and gripping her, easily lifted her out of her seat and onto his lap. “So let’s work on eliminating the fear and heightening the attraction.”
Kara gasped a protest. “No, Mac!”
Mac grinned, settling her more deeply into his lap, his arms fastening around her like steel bands. “Let’s work on changing that into, ‘Oh, Mac!’”
He held her fast against the hard male planes of his body, making her fully aware of his muscular strength. And of something else. There was no mistaking the blatant arousal of his body. Kara’s stunned eyes locked with his intense, knowing ones.
“I told you I was attracted to you.” Mac lightly touched his mouth to hers.
“I—I’m not as gullible as you seem to think,” Kara whispered. It was difficult to talk and even harder to think. His lips were nibbling at hers, their breaths mingling. “I know I’m not the type to inspire instant lust—”
“You’re not?” Mac traced the shape of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, until she unconsciously parted her lips. “Well, I don’t see anyone else here but you, baby. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“Probably that you’ve been in a—a state of deprivation and that any woman would turn you on.” Kara squirmed on his lap and made a feeble effort to free herself. Her cheeks burned with shame. She was well aware of how very slight her attempts to escape from his lap actually were.
“Don’t underestimate yourself.” His voice was husky and hypnotizing. “You’re the one who inspired my case of instant lust. You, Kara.”
His warm hand closed over her breast. There was nothing alarming or demanding in his touch, no heavy-handed possession. He caressed her gently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to touch her there, to learn the feminine shape of her body.
Kara’s breathing became deeper and heavier. He was seducing her and she knew it. Knew it, and was falling hard and fast. She’d never been exposed to an experienced man’s advances. Her dates had been with quiet young men as unsure and reserved as she was; passion had never been a remote possibility. In D.C., confident, good-looking, assertive men like Mac never gave her a second glance, let alone gazed at her with intense dark eyes while murmuring how sexy she was. Never had she been lifted onto a hard male lap while his mouth and hands aroused this hot, melting sensation that made her close her eyes and wriggle closer to him, helpless in the mounting throes of ardor.
Mac let his mouth wander to her cheeks, then along the curve of her jawline to her ear, where his teeth nipped sensuously on the lobe. “Your skin is so soft,” he marveled. “Beautiful and creamy soft.” He was nibbling on her neck now, and his hand made a bold foray under her sweater. “I want to see more. I want to taste you, feel you.”
With a slow, sure touch he slipped his hand inside her bra, his fingers gliding deeper into the cup to caress her already taut nipple.
“Mac, no!” Kara cried frantically, unnerved by the flooding warmth surging through her body. The sensual heat spread like wildfire through her veins, from wherever his lips and fingers touched her. The most secret intimate part of her felt unaccustomedly swollen and achy and embarrassingly wet.
“No?” Mac reluctantly removed his hand from beneath her sweater. “Am I going too fast for you, sweetie?”
She pressed her thighs together, trying to suppress the too-exciting pleasure he had evoked.
“W-Way too fast. After all, we just met.” Yet she couldn’t summon the willpower necessary to get off his lap and return to her own seat. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, making her achingly aware of his powerful muscular strength.
“True. But we’re not bound by any stupid traditional courtship rules.” Mac’s hands slid down her back to cup the roundness of her bottom, his fingers kneading the firm softness there as he lifted her still closer.
“That’s what’s so great about this whole deal, honey. We’re spared the getting-to-know-you games, the who’s-going-to-make-the-next-move strategies, the is-it-too-soon-for-sex conundrum, the commitment worries. We’re already beyond all that, even though we just met. We know what the outcome is—we’re going to be married. There is no purpose in holding back—or holding out.”
His voice was soft and warmly reassuring. As he talked, his hands grew bolder and more insistent. He caressed the backs of her thighs with long sweeping strokes, the tips of his fingers moving toward her inner thighs with leisurely smoothness. Instinctively, her legs parted, and he began to trace erotic circles, his fingers moving higher toward the place that burned and throbbed for him.
Kara’s pulse was racing wildly. The raw sexuality of his caresses blitzed her natural inhibition and reserve and common sense, the three hallmarks of her personality. She was reeling with pleasure, unable to control the shooting streaks of desire burning through her.
“Kiss me,” Mac growled huskily, but he didn’t wait for her to comply to his sensual command. He cupped her chin in his hand, angling her mouth to meet the hot hard slant of his.