Seven: Sins
AN: thought I'd try something a little different and have used the theme of the 7 deadly sins to write 7 excerpts about Harm and Mac, using the family from The Path to Healing and In Sickness and In Health. The story line is sequential. If this is format is well received, my next one will involve the themes of the 7 dwarfs!

AN2: With the upgrade on this site of reviews, I have found the review reply feature doesn't work. I have tried to PM those who have reviewed, however some people don't have that feature activated and some had trouble. If you are one of those people, thanks for your reviews of my last few stories / chapters. Hopefully, the site will sort out this glitch soon.

Disclaimer: Not mine...but the mistakes are.

Pride
Definition: A feeling of pleasure from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

It was her secret project. Something she worked on every day, but only when Harm wasn't around. It had started off as just a thought but had grown so strong now she couldn't imagine not achieving her goal. It had been four months in the making and she was full sure it would happen at any time now and she only hoped it would be as well received by others as she was sure she'd be over the moon.
"Come on, Davy," she said, her thirteen month old on her hip, his legs working their way around her six month baby bump. "Say it for mommy."
David looked up and giggled at her. He loved having her undivided attention when daddy and Ella went out bike riding or when they were playing basketball. He wasn't aware yet that in a few short months someone else would be demanding more of his mommy's time than he was.
"You can do it, come on, David," she encouraged. "For mommy..."
Mac watched intently as her boy's mouth moved to utter the very sound she'd been longing to hear.
"Good boy!" she exclaimed smothering him in kisses. "I can't wait until daddy hears it!"

The wait for Harm and Ella to return home seemed interminably long. However, in reality it was no more than 15 minutes. When she heard them riding up the side of the house, Mac picked up her boy.
"Are you going to do this for mommy?" she questioned, giving him a little squeeze. "I'll give you candy!" she whispered, trying to bribe him as the back door opened and Harm and Ella entered with rosy cheeks and a windblown look.
"Hey, how's my little man?" Harm asked, taking his son from Mac. "Did you have a good nap?"
"He did," Mac said. "He's now wide awake and ready to take on the world."
"That's my boy," Harm said with a proud grin.

Ella was the apple of his eye; he loved her deeply and endlessly and he wanted her to be whatever she wanted to be but for David he could see a life in the Navy. He would never admit it to Mac but it was one of the reasons he had chosen the name David – it could be shortened to Davy which was remarkably similar to and rhymed with Navy.
"He's my boy," Mac said, stroking the child's face before whispering to him. "Tell daddy what you said?"
"He said something? His first word?" Harm asked excited.

They had been expecting him to talk for a while but it hadn't happened and both were beginning to get a little concerned, well, more than a little. They had already taken him to their doctor for a check up. The doctor's verdict was that he was a happy, healthy baby and would talk in his own time and when he had something to say.
"He did!" Mac said grinning.
"Was it mama or dada?" Ella asked, joining the conversation.
"Let's see if he can do it again," she said, taking the child back and whispering to him.
Loving the attention, David grinned and watched as Mac mouthed the word she was wanting to hear.
"Oorah!" David said and Mac clapped.
"That's my boy!" she said smothering him in kisses once more.
"Oorah? You taught my boy to say oorah as his first word?" Harm asked in disbelief.
"Me? Would I do that?" she asked with a smirk which was a telltale giveaway.
"Yes," he replied, his face serious, his eyes sparkling in good humour.
"Oorah!" said Ella hoping to hear it again.
"Oorah," David replied, clapping as he did.
"Oorah," Ella said again.
"Oorah," David said giggling. He could play this game all day.
"Now they're both saying it!" Harm said throwing his arms up to surrender.
"Mommy's little marines!" Mac said grinning with pride.
"Maybe this one will be mine," he said rubbing Mac's belly and grinning when he felt the baby kick.
"We'll just see about that!" Mac mumbled.

Envy
Definition: A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

With Harm spending longer hours at the office and there being a newly employed secretary ... young ... energetic ... beautiful, and with herself being at home a week after breaking her leg tripping over the kerb on a weekend run, Mac's mind was starting to wander.

She trusted her husband implicitly. She genuinely believed a complex case had him slogging away at his desk. She knew he had missed the rigours of his JAG career and this case was doing wonders for his self esteem. Still, he was there, all day, with her and she was at home looking a little worse for wear in her sweats, her top decorated beautifully by David and the spaghetti he'd had at lunch.

She had called him an hour ago and spoken to Karla, not plain old Carla with a 'C' but with a 'K', enhancing her exoticness; something that went with her long black hair, Spanish looks and curvy figure which filled out any clothing item perfectly. Mac was sure she'd look like a Miss Universe candidate in a hessian sack. Mind you, she's only seen her once, a few days after she had started. Wearing a figure hugging black skirt, which Mac felt was about five inches too short, white blouse, black stockings and stilettos. Totally inappropriate for the office, well, any office which Mac had ever worked in.

Knowing that Karla's appointment was done by Harm's bosses, and that he had said something about Karla being the niece of one of the partners, and that he'd do nothing improper, did nothing to alleviate her jealousy. Spending the afternoon on the sofa as David napped Mac contemplated calling Harm again. After all, he hadn't returned her previous call and she had convinced herself that it was Karla's fault, that she hadn't passed the message on.

So, feeling a little green, she called his cell and was annoyed when it went to his voicemail. Grumbling, she disconnected her call. Here she was, his wife, with a broken leg, at home with their infant son and he was supposed to be contactable. What would happen if she fell and broke the other one? Or fell and couldn't get up? Or anything else? Would he bother to come home or would he get 'Karla' to do it?

Mumbling to herself, Mac closed her eyes which were a closer shade to green than brown and soon fell asleep.
It didn't feel like it was too long before she felt lips press against her forehead. Positive it would be Ella, Mac's eyes narrowed when she realised it was Harm.
"Hello, gorgeous," he said, dismissing her glaring at him as a waking motion. "How is the most beautiful patient in the world?" he asked, presenting her with a bouquet of red tulips, her favourite flower.
"Like you care," she grumbled closing her eyes once more.
"Of course I care, Mac," he replied caressing her face and propping himself on the sofa facing her.
"Sure, I called you today and you never called back," she said, her eyes still closed.
"Karla gave me the message..." he said, his brow creasing.
"Karla, Karla, Karla," she muttered under her breath.
"But you had said not to bother calling back...so I didn't...I came home as early as I could instead," he said, ignoring her mutterings and leaning down and kissing her forehead once more. "Can I get you something?" he asked.
"Nope," she said in half a huff.
"Okay, I'm going to get out of this suit and check on Davy and I'll be back," he said, moving to stand up.

Mac grabbed his tie and tugged him back to her.
"Love you," she mumbled before kissing him briefly, just in case he had mistaken her mood for disinterest in him.
"Love you too, Mac," he said with a smile. He knew her current mood was due more to the number of restrictions on her for the first couple of weeks since her fracture. She was bored, frustrated and more than a little bit envious.

However, he also knew that it wasn't Karla she was envious of, it was him. After all, he was the one who got to leave the house every day, he could go for a run, take a bath, shower without a huge trash bag taped around his leg. Hell, he could even go to the bathroom without having to leave the door open because his legs both bent, whereas her right leg was in a thigh to foot cast.

Reappearing in the living room a few minutes later, Harm carried with him a double choc shake and a brown paper bag with grease stains on the side.
"I know it's not Beltway Burgers, but I was hoping the Grills Plus burger and shake might do the trick," he said, sitting beside her and kissing her head once more.
"Thank you," she said offering him a smile.
"Anything for you, gorgeous," he replied pinching one of her fries.

As Mac settled in to start on her feast, Harm stood to get David who was calling out. In an instant, the boys were back with Mac and David perched himself on Mac's cast so he too could get access to her food.

Soon, her eyes were back to chocolate brown and the only thing she cared about were the two pairs of matching blue eyes who were watching her every move.

Sloth
Definition: Reluctance to work or make an effort

It was a cold wet miserable holiday Monday morning as Harm sat at his kitchen table dressed in old jeans and a blue sweater. There were a multitude of things he could be doing but he couldn't be bothered. Mac and the kids had flown to DC for the long weekend for Nikki and Michael Roberts' birthday and Harm was left at home awaiting their return the following morning. Initially, it was because he had been working on a high profile case involving one of San Diego's richest citizens. Court was the following day and the legal team had been putting in sixteen hour days of late.

As late as the previous day, Harm had sat in the conference room at his office with two senior partners who were leading the case and put in another fourteen hours. A long, busy day with next to no time to think about Mac and the kids across the other side of the country in full party mode. Unfortunately, at eight last night, all their hard work was shot to hell when their client had a massive heart attack and died. Their case was over.

Now, the weather outside matched Harm's mood; it wasn't as if he had liked the client. Eric Webster had been a large, obnoxious, rich man who believed he was superior to everyone else, even those working their butts off to save his. It was just the ending was so quick and it had made him quite melancholy; now he missed Mac and the kids more than ever.

Deciding it would be a case of to hell with everything, Harm returned to his bedroom, stripped off and climbed back into bed; quite happy to do something very uncharacteristic and spend the day in bed doing absolutely nothing. The creaky door hinge could wait, the cleaning of the car could wait, the payment of the bills could wait. Today he was going to achieve absolutely nothing.

He had slept much of the morning, stirring only when he felt the back of Mac's hand on his forehead.
"Are you not well?" were her first words, concerned to find him asleep in the middle of the day.
"Mac?" he said, blinking hard. "You're home early. Why didn't you call?"
Mac sat down on the bed facing him before caressing his face; something was amiss.
"When we talked last night, I could tell you weren't yourself," she said, squeezing his hand. "So, given we'd had three wonderful days in DC we decided to come home and spend some time with you. Are you alright?" she asked, gesturing to the bed and knowing he hadn't answered the first question she'd asked.
Harm just grinned. Now she was home, he didn't have a care in the world.
"Where are the kids?" he asked, wanting to see them too.
"I dropped them off for a visit with grandma and grandpa," she said caressing his face once more. "Ella had lots to tell her and also wanted to give her Harriet's apple pie recipe she wanted."
Harm grinned again. "So, does that mean I can convince you to change and slip in here with me for a bit?" he asked hopefully.
"And what would you like to do if I do?" she asked as she toed off her shoes.
"Absolutely nothing."

While Mac was still a little concerned about her husband, she stripped down to a tee and panties and climbed in beside her husband. Quickly, he wrapped her up and kissed her head, relishing in the comfort he felt with her just being in his arms.

And for the next few hours, Harm achieved nothing either and he considered it time very well spent.

Wrath
Definition: Extreme anger

The mood was tense in the Rabb household, so tense that even David, at 14 months was aware something was amiss, he just didn't know what. Ella did; she'd been through something similar before when her mom and dad weren't talking. She didn't remember much about their problems last time , just that she had hated it...the same was true of this time.
"Why are you mad at mommy?" she asked after walking into the garage.
"I'm not mad at mommy," he said, his voice flat, his attention still on the bike chain he was fixing.
"Then why aren't you talking to her?" she questioned, hands on her hips.
"Who says I'm not?" he questioned, finally making eye contact with her.
"I do," she replied. "And I don't like it when you're mad at each other." She turned and stalked off back to her bedroom.

Harm didn't like it either and he had sworn he would never let anything come between them again, but he couldn't help himself this time. He was angry...very angry and it wasn't just something he could ignore. As it was, he was trying to avoid Mac altogether rather than running the risk of a full scale confrontation. After all, he loved her with all his heart , not to mention the fact she was nearly eight months pregnant.

Wiping his hands on the rag, Harm drew a few deep breaths. If Ella had had enough of the tension then he needed to do something; he wasn't going to put any of them through any more trauma than necessary.

With Mac out shopping, Harm decided the best way to deal with the situation was for them to discuss it. For that to happen, it would have to be without the kids present because, if he had to guess, he would say their discussion could get loud, very loud.

Dropping the kids off at his parents' house, Harm returned home only five minutes before Mac arrived with the groceries. Doing his husbandly duties, he went out to the car to collect the bags before depositing them on the kitchen bench.
"The kids are with mom," he said before she asked. "She wanted to take them to the aquarium."
"Oh, okay," Mac said with a nod as she put the milk in the fridge. "What time will they be home?"
"Later," he replied coolly.
"Okay," she said again.

The room filled with a stifling silence as they worked to put away the foodstuffs and when it was done, Mac looked for the next task which needed her attention – anything to keep herself away from Harm.
"We're going to need to talk about this," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table.
"I don't think there's anything to say," she replied, standing by the door.
"You don't think?" he scoffed, standing up once more. "You take our son and go out to a secret lunch with Bugme and don't tell me?" he said, his voice wavering. "I had to hear it from David."

Harm was stunned two days ago when he came home with Ella on a Saturday afternoo after coaching her basketball team to hear his son saying, 'Mic, Mic, Mic, Mic...'
"Harm, I told you it wasn't like that," she said, her voice rising. "You and El had just gone out, he called to say he was in town for a couple of hours before getting a connecting flight and could I meet him for lunch."
"And the answer to that should have been 'hell, no!'" he shouted.
"You can't dictate who I see and don't see," she yelled back.
"I can when it's him," Harm spat, thumping the table.
"I know you had your problems with him," Mac said, her frustration and anger evident in every word. "But it doesn't give you the right to stop me seeing him."
"Obviously," he said, jamming the chair back into the table.
"Harm, it was two old friends catching up," she said trying to calm things.
"Sure, so innocent..." he scoffed. "If that was the case, why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to," she protested.
"I bet," he retorted. "And you took our son! I don't want him anywhere near my kids."
"They are my kids too," she barked, hating how this had all gotten out of control.
"Bet you wish they were his," Harm snapped, instantly regretting his words.
Mac burst into tears. "After everything we've been through, I can't believe you've said that."

Turning, she headed to the bedroom and slammed the door so hard a resounding thud was heard throughout the house.
Right at that moment, Harm would have given anything to be able to take back his last words. He couldn't believe that, all these years later, Mic Brumby could still make him this angry and jealous. Sarah MacKenzie was his wife, his loving wife, and had been for most of the eleven years since they were married. She had given him a beautiful daughter, an angel, a gorgeous son, and was a month away from giving him another miracle and he had just thrown it all in her face.

Making his way to the bedroom, Harm stood with his hand on the door and took a few deep breaths. When he had steeled himself for whatever he may find, he opened the door and his heart broke to find Mac curled up on the bed, sobbing into a pillow.
"I am so sorry," he apologised, kneeling beside the bed and caressing her head, "I love you so very much and I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered, his fingers raking through her locks.
"I can't believe you think so little of me," Mac said with a sniffle.
"I think the world of you, Mac, I really do," he said, leaning over to rest his head on hers. "It's just I still hate Brumby, I know it's not rational...I know it's got nothing to do with you...it's just I hear his name and everything from back then comes up again and I react like a jerk."
"Yes, you do," Mac said, struggling to sit up. Harm helped her and then sat alongside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her to him.
"Anything I can do to make it up to you?" he asked, kissing her head.
"I'd say never do it again but you can't seem to help yourself," she said leaning her head on his shoulder. "Mic is no threat to you...not now, not really even then."
"Mac, you were engaged to him," Harm reminded her gently,
"Only because you didn't want me," she said quietly.
"Mac, don't ever believe there wasn't a time when I didn't want you or love you," he said firmly.
"Now, you tell me," she said sighing deeply.
Mac shook her head and sighed again; why was it that things could never be left in the past?

Any quiet time they were going to have ended when the phone rang ; Harm answered it and it was Ella.
"Are you talking to mommy yet?" she asked crossly.
"Mommy and I are sitting here talking right now," he answered, handing Mac the phone.
"Hey, honey," Mac said and Ella's face lit up.
"So, you and daddy are talking again, right?" she asked, wanting to be sure.
"We were always talking, honey," Mac said, resting her hand on Harm's knee.
"No, not always," Ella countered. "I get worried about you two, you know? I don't want daddy moving to Florida again."
"Daddy will never be living anywhere else but with us," she said gently.
"Pinky promise?" Ella asked and Mac smiled.
"Pinky promise," Mac said, linking her pinky finger with Harm's.

Gluttony
Definition: the act or practice of eating to excess

It had been a pretty uneventful pregnancy for Mac, for which she was eternally grateful. She had had enough difficulty coming to terms with the fact she had fallen pregnant when David was only seven months old and would only be sixteen months when his new brother or sister came along. Her tests had all been routine. While the doctor could tell the baby's gender, they hadn't asked, wanting it to be a surprise.

After the initial morning sickness, which had resulted in the pregnancy being discovered, Mac had been healthy and full of energy throughout. She had slept well. She had eaten well. There were no weird cravings, nothing remarkable about her diet at all. Alas, that changed when there was only fourteen days before her due date,

For some inexplicable reason, Mac had developed a strong and non-abating desire for salad. Caesar salad, garden salad, Waldorf salad, Greek salad, tossed salad ... so long as there was lettuce, a few vegetables and some sort of dressing Mac wanted it ... and ate it, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. In fact, she was practically grazing on the stuff all day and night.

Harm found the whole situation very amusing, After pickles and ice cream with Ella, peanut butter and egg sandwiches with Callum and everything being chocolate dipped with David, salads made a nice, healthy alternative.

Mac, on the other hand, wasn't at all impressed. Eating the stuff she usually avoided was one thing, her husband's smugness was something else altogether. She only hoped that once the baby had arrived she would go back to normal.

Dispatching Harm to the grocery store near midnight, Mac gave him a long list of all the salad ingredients she wanted and, dutifully, he got every item she requested. By the time he returned home, Mac was sound asleep. Before putting the items away, Harm decided to make up three different salads and placed them in big bowls in the fridge. All they needed now were the various dressings. He figured it would do Mac for the next couple of days.

After checking the house and the kids, Harm slid into bed and soon drifted off to sleep. It wasn't long after that Mac awoke, a familiar craving ... Begrudgingly she got up and headed to the fridge.

By the time Harm realised he was in bed alone and found her, she was happily sitting on the floor by the fridge, two bowls were empty and she was working her way through the third.
"This is good," she said with a mouth full of lettuce, waving her fork around. "Sorry I can't offer you any."
"You've eaten it all?" he asked surprised as he bent down to pick up the empty containers.
"Yep," she said before burping. "Thank you for making them up for me."
"You're welcome," he said, sitting down beside her and pinching some tomato from the bowl she was working on.
"I'm a bit worried though," she said, leaning against him.
"About what?" he questioned, kissing her head.
"That after all the salad I've eaten in the last few days that this kid is going to come out looking like Kermit the Frog," she said with a yawn. Harm laughed which earned him a soft jab in the leg with Mac's fork. "You think that's funny?"
"No," he said, trying to hide his smile.
"Good," she said, rubbing his leg. "It's your fault you know..."
"What's my fault?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"It must be your genes making this baby crave salad," she said, "It can't possibly be mine."
"No, if it was yours, you'd be using chocolate topping as dressing," he quipped.
"Oooh," she said opening the fridge beside her and pulling out the topping bottle. Before long, she had a light drizzle of chocolate over the rest of her salad. "This is perfect! I want more!"

Greed
Definition: Intense and selfish desire for something

It was 2230, and Harm sat in the armchair in Mac's room on the maternity floor and cradled their newborn daughter to his chest. Beside him, Mac slept deeply after 21 hours of labour, the last 15 being very hard. She had given birth to their girl about an hour ago and after calling Frank and Trish, who had the kids, and Harriet, she had drifted off to a blissful and contented oblivion.

Harm, on the other hand, was making the most of this precious time with his daughter. Ella and David were morning babies and there'd been grandparents and assorted visitors from the get go. This time, it was just him and the darling bundle and Harm couldn't get enough of her.

Every sound, every flicker of her eyes, had Harm mesmerised. The softness of her sick, the fineness of her hair, the newborn baby smell were overwhelming his senses. Glancing over at Mac, he hoped she would sleep for another few hours, not only for her own sake but because he didn't want to share the infant.
"You are going to be daddy's girl, aren't you?" he whispered, kissing her head. "You are going to know how much I love you. You're never going to out of my thoughts, heart or prayers...you are a miracle...you won't understand that until you're older but you beat all the odds and came along unassisted, something I thought was impossible."

There was silence for a while before Harm kissed her once more. He couldn't explain the depth of his feelings at this moment. There was overwhelming love, adoration, devotion towards both of his girls in the room but right now this little one was the centre of his universe; nothing else mattered and wouldn't. Not until tomorrow when his other children would visit. He loved them desperately too.

Carefully, Harm adjusted the baby in his arms before raising his legs and resting them on the undercarriage of the bed. With his free hand, Harm grabbed his jacket from the back of the armchair and placed it over him and the baby before closing his eyes for a few minutes just as it turned midnight.

When a foreign noise registered, Harm opened his eyes and smiled proudly at the little girl looking up at him with her blue eyes and red pouting lips.
"You're just the most adorable thing I've ever seen," he whispered, "Little Miss Ruby Lips.
"Ruby?" Mac asked looking sleepily at the pair. Harm cringed; he was desperately in love with his wife but he wasn't quite ready to share. "Nice name."
"It is," he replied. "Not on our list though."
"I think it's perfect," Mac said, carefully easing herself up in the bed.
"Well, Miss Ruby Patricia MacKenzie Rabb, welcome to the family," Harm said, kissing her head.
"Beautiful name," Mac said holding her arms out to take her daughter for a cuddle.

Begrudgingly, Harm stood and passed over the baby. "Okay?" he asked when Mac had adjusted the baby.
"Not quite," she replied. "Was thinking maybe you could climb in here for a bit."

Harm grinned; "Sure," he said, toeing off his shoes. It was only a little compromise to ensure he spent more time with his daughter. He had never considered himself a greedy man but right now he just couldn't help himself.

Lust
Definition: Very strong sexual desire.

Ruby was the easiest baby they'd had. She slept perfectly, ate well and was content most of the time. She was bright eyed and very much enjoying being the centre of attention in her family. Even David was besotted with his sister, taking delight in everything she did.

Now five weeks old, Ruby was fit and healthy and so was her mother. Mac had recovered well from the birth and was relishing in having a baby who slept so well. David had fallen into a great napping pattern and with her youngest two both content to sleep for at least three hours in the afternoon, Mac could get things around the house done and still have time for a good nap.

It was great news that everyone was doing so well ... everyone except Harm who was finding the restrictions on their sex life very difficult. Lying in bed one night, he watched as Mac came out of the bathroom after showering dressed in a loose fitting red tee and white panties.

As she raised her arms to do her hair, her panties and back came into view and Harm couldn't help but groan. The woman did things to his body that he had to fight to control. Once, he had been very skilled in not allowing his body to respond to her, he'd mastered it during their many years at JAG Headquarters. However, after they had started a physical relationship. He wasn't so self conscious about his reactions.

Taking a deep breath, Harm continued to watch Mac. He remembered all the times they had spent in this bed...in this room...naked, writhing and in the throes of ecstasy Harm's interest in his wife became very visible as the sheet and blanket rose up. Exhaling loudly, Harm imagined what they would be doing if Mac had been cleared by the doctor.

There would be touching and caressing, kissing and nipping, licking and sucking as he worked his way around her body. Knowing Mac was always self conscious about her body after pregnancy, Harm knew he would spend countless tender moments soothing and reassuring her that the 'flab and stretch marks' which she always berated were beautiful symbols of the life they had created.

However, right now, there were few thoughts of tenderness as his desire continued to grow. What he wouldn't give to push her up against the wall and have her wrap her legs around him as they joined or stripping her naked and getting very hot and heavy in the shower or spending the next few hours entwined in a dozen different ways in their bed, enjoying the return of sexual relations in manners which would make Dr Ruth blush.

Turning to face him, Mac wasn't surprised to find her husband aroused. She knew she had this effect on him and it did wonders for her ego, especially when she was a little embarrassed about her baby bulge.
"That for me?" she asked, playfully as she crawled onto the bed and ran her hand over the covers.
"Nope," he said with a shake of his head, shifting uncomfortably in the bed. "Not until the doctor says you can."
"But it seems such a shame to waste such a beautiful thing," she said, her hand disappearing under the covers and running over his boxers. Harm blushed; he'd never consider an erection a thing of beauty although it had resulted in some amazingly beautiful encounters.
"All in good time," Harm said, pulling her hand back.

Not satisfied with that answer, Mac straddled his lap and applied gentle friction, causing them both to groan.
"Mac!" he hissed in a warning tone. He wanted this more than anything but needed it to stop before things got out of hand.
"Harm," she replied in her most sultry voice. Yes, she knew they were on the edge but goddammit, she wanted this man, desperately.
"We can't," he said as she moved in his lap. "Not until..."

In an instant, Mac's lips covered his; devouring, desperate, demolishing all his resolve that this wasn't going to happen. After all, it had been five achingly long weeks since they had made love, she was fit, healthy and if she didn't take him now her utter desire and hunger for this man, for his love, for his taut, hard, aroused body would completely overwhelm her. After all, she was only human.