The six-year-old wore her Christmas best. The girl's dress probably cost more than the Desert Eagle Dez had bought herself a few years back. "Good. Is it true what Mommy says?"

"What's that, honey?"

"That you have issues with men?"

Dez growled. "Well you can tell your mommy to go f-"

"Okay, then!" Mace covered her face with his hand while her father pulled the little girl back into the house.

Once her father removed the little girl to a safe distance, Dez pulled out of Mace's arms.

"I am so leaving." Dez tried to push past him but he blocked the doorway with that gorgeous body she had been all ready to have her way with. Damn family!

"You can't leave. Your family is here for you."

"That's why I'm leaving."

Mace traced her jaw with one big, long finger. "Stay. For me."

"I'd rather chew glass."

"But once they're gone tonight, I have such plans for you and that hot little body of yours."

Dez bit the inside of her mouth. Damn him. He was using sex to entice her to stay in hell. And fuck but if it wasn't working. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

He leaned down to her ear and purred. Damn but she loved when he purred.

"I've been waiting to bury my head between your thighs all day. To take my tongue and-"

"Hi, little brother."

Mace's entire body clenched up. Dez looked over her shoulder and into the eyes of Missy Llewellyn.

Suddenly, she lost all interest in leaving anytime soon.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"That's not very Christmas-like, little brother."

"Stop calling me that."

Mace couldn't believe it. Why was she here? For that matter, why were all four of his sisters here? When exactly did hell come to Earth?

Dez turned away from him and leered at Missy. "Well, well. Missy Llewellyn. In my humble abode. I feel blessed."

"As well you should," Missy tossed arrogantly.

"How the hell did you even know to come here," Mace snapped.

"Ah yes. Mrs. MacDermot contacted my secretary and said you'd be having Christmas dinner at her house. She felt since Christmas truly is the time for family, we should join all of you. And how could I turn that offer down?" She scrutinized her brother closely. "Glad to see you're relatively unscathed after last night's festivities."

True. He could kill her, but that might put a damper on the gift-giving portion of the evening.

Missy then turned that penetrating gold gaze at Dez. "Nice outfit, Detective. Going undercover at a fetish club?"

Dez growled. "Why don't you blow-" Mace wrapped his hand around Dez's face again. Boy, when she went Bronx, she really went Bronx.

Rachel appeared behind Missy. "What's the problem, Missy? Afraid your tiny tits couldn't hold that top up?"

Dez glanced at Mace. He could read her easily now, and the fact that her sister suddenly jumped in to protect her from evil Missy-that might be too much of a shock for his hardened detective.

Missy spun around to glare at Rachel. "Well, I see you can take the girl out of the Bronx but you can't get the Bronx out of the girl."

Suddenly Lonnie appeared next to her older sister. "Wow. Look at the lines in your face, Missy. It's like your bitterness just dug in and stayed."

Allie, Mace's second oldest sister, stood next to Missy. "Well, I heard you'd become a prosecutor, Lonnie. It must be really hard to try and convict all your ex-boyfriends."

Rachel and Lonnie looked at each other while Mace's two other half-sisters went to stand beside Missy and Allie.

No. This really couldn't be good.

Dez pulled away from Mace. "I'm gonna go get out of these clothes before any blood gets on 'em."

She headed up the stairs. The elder MacDermot came back into the room, a toddler in his arms. An old-school Marine, tough as nails, and still sporting his high-and-tight haircut. Marine tattoos on both of his forearms. Pride for his brood, written all over the man's face. Even though, at the moment, the two sister teams were getting into a rather ugly confrontation that made Mace feel like a fourteen-year-old all over again.

"Those are some tough women."

Mace nodded. "Sorry about my sisters, sir."

"No reason to apologize. Dez can't control Lonnie and Rachel and notice she doesn't try."

"That's cause she's brilliant."

Gray eyes with dark green flecks turned to stare at Mace. "Do you really care about my daughter, Llewellyn?"

Barely realizing he did it, Mace's hands went behind his back. His legs braced apart. Being around the man made him feel like he still needed to report to his C.O. before the night ended. "Yes, sir. More than I've cared about anything."

"Good. Because she's special. All my daughters are, of course. But Dez...Dez is..."

"I know, sir." Mace looked him in those eyes that were exactly like his daughter's. "I really do. I've always known."

MacDermot seemed to relax a bit as he nodded. "Good." He took in a deep breath, like he'd prepared himself for a fight. "Oh, and could you let Dez know I locked all her guns away in the safe in her closet upstairs."

Mace winced. They'd both forgotten about the weapons she kept stashed around the house and with kids around..."We forgot."

"Don't worry about it. I know each and every place my daughter hides her guns. Hell, I gave her most of 'em."

The older man gave a big grin, hugging the little boy in his arms tightly and walking back toward the kitchen.

The fight kept growing. This could easily turn ugly. But Mace had other things on his mind. Besides, he'd seen Dez's mother in action. If things turned bad, he had no doubt the tiny female could and would kick some ass.

Knowing that, Mace went up the stairs after his woman.

Dez tossed the sweatpants and Marine Corp sweatshirt she pulled out of her dresser on top of the closed toilet and looked at herself in the mirror. She shot a man without any warning. Faced off against hyenas and lions. But her family downstairs? That was making her break out in a rash.

Yet the weirdness hadn't ended. Not only had her entire family taken over the first floor of her house, but she had Missy Llewellyn and her cretin sisters with her.

Christ, did she really care enough about Mace to put up with those bitches?

What? Are you kidding? Of course you do, you idiot!

Dez smiled at herself in the mirror. Man, could she be more pathetic? Her eyes shifted to the right and that's when she saw Mace standing behind her. She jumped. "Would you stop doing that!"

"I didn't do anything."

She sighed. True, he hadn't. And it would be hard to tell him to start stomping around her house because his creepy cat walk kept freaking her out.

She noticed he studied her shower closely, and for the first time in Desiree MacDermot's life she asked a lover a question she swore she'd never ask. "What are you thinking?"

Of course, Dez's question reeked of trepidation.

Mace shrugged as he examined her shower. "I'm wondering if this bathroom can be enlarged or if we should get another house."

She grabbed him by his sweater and pulled him around so he had to look her in the eye. "Mace Llewellyn, we are not-"

He kissed her before she could get the rest of the sentence out of her mouth and slammed the bathroom door shut with his foot. She couldn't remember what the hell she'd been planning to say. Instead, she let him roughly push her back toward the far wall, his mouth on hers, keeping Dez completely off balance.

Her jacket slid from her shoulders and to the floor. Mace released her mouth so he could kiss her neck. For a minute, she didn't even realize he was unlacing her bustier.

"Mace. What are you doing?" The minute the man touched her, she asked the stupidest questions.

"Stripping you so I can fuck you."

Of course, Mace always gave the most straightforward answers. Delicious answers. If only her entire family wasn't right downstairs. And his!

"We can't."

"Yes. We can. Just to take the edge off. We just have to be a little quiet. So no yelling."

"You're not exactly quiet either with that freakin' roar."

"You love my roar." Dammit! He was purring again. Right up against her ear. Suddenly, she couldn't get out of her clothes fast enough.

She still had no idea what she did to him. The power she held over him. But everything about her sent his feline senses into overdrive. Her smell. Her touch. The way her skin felt against his. That damn voice.

Just thinking about the little noises she made when he had his cock deep inside her made him crazy. Desperate. He forced her back against the wall, practically ripping the laces off the front of her bustier. Once he had it undone, he yanked it off her body, then dropped to his knees to tackle her jeans.

She'd already pulled his sweater off, tossing it into the empty shower. And now her hands roamed over his shoulders and through his hair. Her strong strokes across his flesh brought out the cat in him. His head grazed against her thighs as he pulled off her jeans and boots. He moved up her body slowly, rubbing himself against her the entire way. She growled and he purred back in response.

She undid his jeans, shoving them down past his hips. He pushed them down the rest of the way, snatching the condom he'd grabbed from the bedroom out of his pocket. He didn't bother taking his jeans off, though. They both knew they were short on time. Her mother would serve dinner soon, but he would have this woman or die trying.

He slid the condom on and lifted her up. Immediately she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. Because they had no time for slow and easy, he kissed her and impaled her against the wall at the same time-her scream lost in his mouth. Already so wet for him, he realized that hadn't been a scream of pain.

Mace stopped moving. He let himself feel her body against his. Her pussy tight around his cock. God, she felt so good.

Fuck. The families can wait.

Dez pulled out of their kiss. "What? What is it?"

He shook his head as he leaned against her. "Nothin', baby."

She cupped his chin with one hand, the other tangling in his hair. "Bullshit. Tell me what's going on."

He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth. Then he rested his forehead against hers. "I've been waiting my whole life for you, Desiree MacDermot."

Dez was thankful Mace had her impaled against the wall like this. Otherwise, she might have bolted for the door. That would have been pure panic, though. She knew once the panic went away, she'd kick herself in the ass for running. She wanted Mace. Not just in her bed or inside her, but in her life.

Christ, she loved a cat.

Mace used his body to pin her against the wall while his hands moved over her face and throat. His hard cock still buried deep.

He waited for her. He wasn't going to ask her to say how she felt, but Dez knew he needed to hear something.

Well, she wasn't about to give him the ranch or anything. Short. Simple. And just enough to keep him happy until she'd successfully sorted through her feelings and decided how she wanted to proceed.

"You mean everything to me and I'm never letting you go."

She closed her eyes. What the hell was she doing?

You idiot!

Mace pushed his fingers through her hair. "Open your eyes, Dez."

"No."

"Wuss."

"Yup." His grip tightened and it felt so freakin' good.

"Look at me, woman."

With a sigh, Dez opened her eyes. He smiled at her. The sweetest, warmest smile she'd ever seen. "That wasn't exactly I love you...but I guess it will have to do."

He kissed her as his hips slowly rocked into her. Slow and steady. Sure and confident. She groaned in his ear, and that seemed to set something off in him. His thrusts became stronger. Harder. She grinned. Her voice. Her voice made him crazy. Her body would definitely go, but her voice would last for years. Thank God.

"God, Mace," she whispered in his ear, "you feel so good inside me. Don't stop fucking me. Don't ever stop fucking me."

Yeah. That did it. With a growl born of pure lust, he pounded into her. So hard she could feel her orgasm tearing up through her body. Mace pushed her head against his shoulder seconds before she started screaming. She remembered they weren't alone, so she bit into his flesh instead. But she came hard, forcing her teeth past flesh. She tasted blood in her mouth, but her body continued shaking as she came again and again.