Chapter 3

"Sarah..." Clay's voice called out between kisses to her mouth and neck. But, Mac wasn't thinking about him or the claim he was trying to lay on her body. She was thinking about Harm.

It was dumb luck when her phone rang stopping her from making the biggest mistake of her life. As she arched up to reach the phone on side table behind her, Clay pushed her hand away. "Ignore it."

"I can't." She said, instinctively knowing who would he on the other line. Something was wrong, she felt it in her gut, that innate need to go to him. "Hello?"

'Mac.' Harm's voice said on the other line and even from the way he said her name, she could sense the desperation. 'I need you now.'

There was something in his voice that held a promise she was looking for. It was eerily familiar from a few years prior when he'd asked her to come to him. "I'm coming." She said despite that insecure feeling in the pit of her stomach.

With a start, she pushed Clayton Webb off of her and went straight to the rack by the door buttoning her blouse. She grabbed her raincoat and tied it around her waist. Clay just watched her, confused as to how things were suddenly out of his control. "You're going to him aren't you?"

"Yes." She didn't bother denying it. "This wasn't going to work out, Clay." Mac admitted out loud what her heart had been trying to tell her, the very thing she was trying to ignore. She suddenly felt ashamed at how far she was going to allow this relationship with Webb to go. Emotionally she was weak and always would be. There was one thing she was sure, a constant that she lived in secret with. "I'm in love with him and I always will be."

Clay stood and made his way towards her. "He's going to fail you and when he does, I'll be here to pick up the pieces, Sarah."

And that's where he was wrong, "Harm will never fail me. I'm the one that failed him." She said and held Clay at arms length when he made to reach her. "I mean it Clay, this is over."

"Give my regards to Rabb." He said on a shrug before opening her door and stepping out of her life.

The drive to Harm's had been nearly impossible with the amount of rain pounding the city. She'd made it though and found herself standing outside of his apartment, her heart beating rough staccato as she pressed her palm against the door. Why the hell did she tell him that they'd never work out?

She didn't have to knock as a minute later Harm threw the door open. He took her in his arms, pressing her body into his before taking her mouth in a deep, breathtaking kiss.

Mac tasted the whiskey on his lips and yet she gave into him, hands gripping onto his shoulders as Harm closed the door and pinned her up against it. Her arms wrapped around him holding him tightly as his kisses wreaked havoc on her senses.

His fingers worked the cinch of her raincoat which he parted to find a black silk blouse beneath. "I wondered what you wore under that." He said huskily and rested his forehead against hers.

Mac couldn't help but laugh at the mischievous glint in his eyes. "Sorry to destroy your fantasies."

At the mention of the word, he backed away and cocked his head to study her. "This isn't a fantasy, is it?" The whiskey was making his head swim and his vision was blurring slightly.

"No, I'm real." To reassure him, Mac hooked two fingers on his belt and pulled him to her. She kissed him then only to have him pull away.

"Mac, I'm a little drunk." He admitted with his head hanging low in shame. Knowing about her past addiction and life with an alcoholic father, the last thing he wanted was to compound the situation.

"I noticed." She smirked at him, finding amusement in his current predicament. Alcohol had a way of forcing people to speak the truth and if his foray had been the cause for his current behavior she welcomed it. "Come to bed." She took his hand and dragged him up the steps to his bedroom.