The next time Mac saw the new girl, he was in Food Canyon, the cleverly names grocery store of his crackpot town. His brother Devon saw her about four seconds after he did and let out a sharp whistle.
"You better hope you get to her before I do." It wasn't sibling rivalry bullshit; it was a threat, a warning. Mac's only response was a low growl. Devon wouldn't touch her as long as Mac wanted her, they both knew that. Nobody else played with Mac's 'toys'.
She was looking for something on the alcohol aisle and was apparently having trouble finding it judging by the frustrated look on her face. He decided to do the gentlemanly thing and assist her. He quietly walked up behind her until there was hardly any space left between her back and his front.
"Whatcha lookin' for?" His voice was quiet, so quiet that she almost didn't hear it, and the unexpectedness of it made her jump halfway down the aisle.
"Holy fuck, Mac! You nearly scared me to death." Her right hand clutched at her chest and she felt her heartbeat thud out of control. He grinned wickedly down at her disheveled appearance.
"I can't find any cooking wine and I'm trying a new chicken recipe tonight." She explained, still trying to calm her racing heart. He studied her for a few minutes, to the point that it almost made her uncomfortable. She was thinking about leaving, to hell with the recipe, but he spoke before she could excuse herself.
"I can help ya find it, darlin', on one condition." That smug smile of his was getting on her nerves; she was tempted to smack it off his face. She wanted to say no, she wanted a lot of things, but that didn't mean she would get them. Melissa gave him a questioning look and his smile widened.
"The condition is I come on over to ya house, and I try this chicken ya plan on cookin'."
Turns out she wasn't as great at saying "hell no" as she thought she was. It couldn't be that bad though, right? He'd come over, eat, and then leave. He's not unattractive either. She giddily stole glances at his ass while he led her to the cooking wine.
"Thank you, Mac. Did you need my address?" she gave him a small smile as he handed her the bottle of white wine. She didn't know he already knew exactly where she lived, where she worked, and her criminal record.
"It's a small town, I'm sure I'll find it, sweetheart." She nodded her head and turned to pay for her stuff, as she was distracted, he menacingly leered at her. She would be his starting tonight and he'd make sure that the whole town knew it.