Free Spin the Bottle by Rhian Cahill Page A

up in flames, but touch her…touch her and he spontaneously combusted. From the hair on his head to the nails on his toes, Mac exploded in a raging inferno he had no hope of extinguishing without her.
    “Lilli.” Mac breathed her name against her mouth before nipping at her plump lower lip. He suckled at the fleshy curve then licked with the flat of his tongue.
    She shivered. The tremor reverberated through his chest and set off a shudder of his own. He had to have her. Had to feel her beneath him. On top of him. Surrounding him. Inside him. Mac dove back into her mouth, searched out her tongue and sucked hard. This time, when Lilli moaned she sank into him. Her body moulding to his like hot wax. He’d never felt a surrender like it. With one move, she made him ten feet tall and brought him to his knees.
    Lilli tore her mouth from his and gasped for breath. “Mac. Please.”
    “Please what?” He peppered kisses along her cheek to her ear. “Tell me what you want, Lilli. Anything. God, I’ll give you anything.”
    “You,” she sighed as he licked the delicate skin of her neck.
    “Be sure, once we start I won’t be able to stop.” He breathed in her ear. “I’ve wanted too long, Lilli.”
    Her pelvis rocked, her hips bumping into his, and a cry of pain tore from her throat. She pulled away, but he had a good grip and she didn’t get far.
    “What? What the hell happened?” Mac leaned back to look at her.
    She shook her head. “Nothing. It was nothing.” But she couldn’t hide the pain in her eyes.
    “No. It wasn’t nothing.” He clenched his jaw, his back teeth grinding together. “Tell me.”
    Lilli’s perfect white smile appeared strained before her gaze left his and she chewed on the corner of her lip. A move he knew well. She was deciding whether or not to lie.
    “Don’t. Not now.” Mac couldn’t help the plea that followed. “Please, Lilli.”
    Her eyes closed and she lowered her forehead to rest on his shoulder with a sigh. “I’ve got a few bruises from the fall, that’s all.”
    He saw red. Aaron had marked her. Mac’s blood boiled and his muscles tensed. But it was no longer arousal driving his reactions. He’d never been a physical fighter. Always relied on his wits and words to get the better of others, but tonight… Tonight he wanted to smash heads and beat his chest like a caveman. Right after he’d grabbed the woman in his arms by her hair and dragged her back to his cave. Wrapping his arms around her back, he snuggled her against his body and tried to regain his balance. Not an easy feat when he teetered between lust and rage.
    “Show me.” Mac pushed her to arm’s length. “Take that dress off and let me see.”
    “No.”
    “You and I both know I can have that off you in a second.” Mac didn’t want to force the issue, but he would if she didn’t agree.
    “Mac—”
    “Don’t. I don’t want excuses or a fight.” He took a deep breath and struggled to find the words to express the way he felt. “I have to see. Need to see with my own eyes. If I don’t, Lilli… God, if I don’t, I’ll go mad.”
    She stayed quiet, studying him with those all-seeing blue eyes. He thought she would continue to argue when she pulled out of his grasp but she surprised him. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she gripped the dress at her hips and slowly brought the material up her body. As each new inch of bare skin was revealed Mac’s blood pressure shot up. When her see-through panties came into view, he thought he’d swallow his tongue.
    But then the first mark appeared and his blood ran cold. A red blotch that grew darker towards the centre marred her outer thigh just below her hip. It reminded him of the mark left by a slap and he cursed Watson once more. His gaze was glued to the hem of her dress as she raised it higher, but he wasn’t prepared for the bruise on her hipbone. Already shades of black and blue, the darker section along her jutting bone clearly showed the