Keiley rolled over, staring into his eyes with a frown. “I’m serious, Mac.”
“I know you are, Keiley.” He cupped her cheek with his palm. “I never imagined or considered sharing you with anyone else. And I never will.”
“Why Jethro?”
He shook his head. “Because he suits us both,” he finally said.
And that was all she was going to get out of him. He was so damned closemouthed about this that she felt as if she were walking through shadows alone, feeling her way through this strange new relationship.
“I love you, Mac,” she said as she turned and rose from the bed before turning to stare back at him. “I love you more than my own life, but you’re starting to worry me.”
“How am I worrying you, Kei?” He turned on his back, lusciously nude, powerfully sensual, that arrogant quirk on his lips drawing a frown between her brows.
“Because you’re playing games.” She leaned forward, placed her palms on the bed, and stared him straight in the eyes. “It won’t take me long to catch on to this new side you’re showing, husband mine. And once I figure it out, this sexy little battle you’re starting will even out. I promise you that.”
His gray eyes lit with challenge and humor.
“I look forward to it,” he drawled with a sensual smirk. “You have no idea how much I look forward to it.”
She opened her lips to inform him how little she appreciated the arrogance when the soft trill of the doorbell interrupted.
Keiley jerked back as Mac suddenly surged from the bed and grabbed his jeans, jerking them on quickly.
“I wanted a shower,” she said mournfully as she grabbed her clothes and rushed to the bathroom.
The slick warmth of sex still coated her thighs, reminding her of the excess of moments past. She hastily cleaned up before dressing and rushing back into the bedroom, where Mac was waiting impatiently.
“It’s Maxine,” he informed her as he glanced out the side of the curtains to the driveway.
“Maxine?” Keiley pushed her feet back into her sandals.
“Jethro let her in.” Mac sighed, his expression rueful. “We’d better get back down there.”
Keiley stared back at him with a measure of concern.
“What will Jethro do?”
He snorted. “With Jethro, who can be sure? It’s according to the mood he’s in.”
Keiley stepped into the living room behind Mac to see that Maxine Bright hadn’t arrived alone. She was accompanied by her quiet husband, Joseph.
Joseph wasn’t rough and rugged, and he wasn’t altogether handsome. But his quiet blue eyes and warm smile were steady and dependable. And his reputation for spoiling Maxine was legendary.
Six feet tall, lean rather than muscular, but with a surprising male grace, Joseph Bright was the complete opposite of his wife. Until Keiley had met his wife, she had imagined he was staid, stuffy, and self-righteous with his carefully combed thinning brown hair, light blue eyes, and carefully controlled lips.
As she had gotten to know the couple, she had learned that Joseph had a wicked, quiet wit, and that he was the perfect counterpart for his vivacious wife.
“There you are.” Max bounced from the couch where she and Joseph had been sitting talking to Jethro. “We’ve been talking to your guest.” She turned to her husband with a grin. “Why don’t you ever have such good-looking friends visit?”
“Because they know you,” he snorted. “You terrify them.”
Keiley smothered her laughter at the frown that pulled at Max’s pretty face and the little pout that pulled at her lips.
“You’ll pay for that, Joseph,” she warned him.
He winced, though there was an edge of laughter in his gaze. “I’m sure I will, Maxine.”
He rose to his feet to meet Mac’s outstretched hand then. “Mac.” He nodded to Keiley. “Keiley. It’s good to see you two. I hope we aren’t disturbing you. Maxine was supposed to have called you before we arrived.” He gave his wife a mocking glare.