Shadow Keeper

by Feehan, Christine

  The moment he parked the car and turned it off, one-handed, he turned, unsnapping his belt, lifting her up by her bottom so he could bring her to his mouth. He felt like a starving man. She screamed when he plunged his tongue deep, when he raked her clit with his teeth, when he used his fingers and mouth in unison, taking her up again and again until that little musical note had a sobbing melody.

  Hips bucking, she pressed herself to him, looking for release. He lifted his head away, and she chased after his mouth. He wiped his face on her thighs and rubbed the shadow along his jaw over her lips so the bristles stimulated her more.

  “What do you want, baby? Tell me.” He’d never teased another woman before. Never played games like he wanted to play. Never let that side of him out. Now he wanted to hear her little cries. Her pleas. He wanted to hear her ask him for her release, to acknowledge it was Giovanni giving it to her. That shit turned him on even more.

  “I want you to fuck me, but since we can’t do that here, I want your mouth to take me over the edge.”

  He kissed her. Licked her. Pushed his tongue in her, just to reward her. He took his time sucking her clit and then used his teeth again. “I love how hot you are. Ask me for it.”

  “Ask you?” There was a hint of laughter mixed with the desperation. “I was thinking of ordering you.”

  “You could try it.” He used his fingers ruthlessly and stopped before she could get off. “But I doubt it will work.”

  “Giovanni, will you please get me off any way that you can? I’m a little desperate right now.”

  If he hadn’t been falling for her, he would have right then. The laughter in her voice was like music, like magic, sliding over and into him. He had been paying attention to every response, what took her high fast, what she liked, didn’t like, what had her hips moving out of control. She liked that bite he gave her. The deep thrust with two fingers that stretched and burned. Her response was more scorching-hot, liquid honey. He took her over the edge, watching her face while she shattered. Nothing was more beautiful to him.

  He kept his fingers in her, wanting to feel every wave, wishing it was his cock that silken sheath surrounded. He watched the rippling of her stomach muscles, and the way her nipples hardened even more. He was desperate to have her under him, naked, for hours.

  She lay back, trying to catch her breath, while he licked her clean before pulling up her panties and jeans. She didn’t move, her head resting against the door while she stared at him through half-closed eyes. “You could be a little crazy, Giovanni.”

  “The good kind of crazy, and you bring it out in me. And I am compelled to point out, you started the whole sex in the car thing, so you’re just as crazy.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Where do you want to have sex next? The middle of the street?”

  He was grateful she wanted to have more sex with him. He pretended to contemplate the idea. “I don’t think the street is good, but I’ll definitely make a list.”

  “Another list?”

  He nodded and helped her sit up. “You said you liked lists. I’m all for it, especially if you make a commitment to follow the list and get everything on it accomplished.”

  “What kinds of things will be on it?”

  “I have a favorite restaurant. They have this one table right in the center of the room. It’s always gleaming, and every time I go in there, I think, if I had a woman, I’d fuck her right on that table. It’s the perfect height. I can take her so many ways and that table is strong. The ceiling is decorated with diamond-shaped mirrors. And each wall has mirrors so the entire room would reflect us.”

  “A restaurant?” Her laughter rang out. “We’d probably ruin everyone’s appetite and they’d call the cops on us.”

  “We’d rent out the restaurant for the night, silly. I can’t have other men looking at my woman’s body. I’m a pervert, baby, but not that big of one.”

  She glanced away from him. She took a deep breath and let it out. “You know, if you told your cousins and brothers about me giving you a blow job and then letting you devour me, you probably could make a lot of money.”

  His heart jerked hard, laughter fading. “Is that what you think I’d do, Sasha? Is that why you think you’re with me?”

  “I don’t know why I’m with you, but in the interest of reminding you, if you’re ever broke, you could make some cash.” She reached for the door handle.

  He was faster, his hand stopping her. “Look at me.”

  “I need to go in and see my brother.”

  “You need to look at me.”

  He felt her square her shoulders and brace herself. Her chin went up and she turned her head back so she was looking him in the eye. “I’m with you because you’re the one. I’ve looked all over the fucking world for you. I’m not letting you slip through my fingers.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “We’re sitting in a car outside a very expensive brain trauma rehabilitation, live-in center. You’re working two jobs in order to keep your brother in this place. One of those jobs you don’t even like that much. I love family, and clearly you do as well. You gave me a mind-blowing blow job. In a car. I’m a very sexual person. I want my woman to be adventuresome and generous, both things you are. When some asshole went into your apartment, invading your space, taking away your security, you didn’t flinch or fall apart. You handled it. You’re comfortable with my crazy, big family. You’re not afraid of me. Baby, the list goes on and on. I’m giving you my word, I’m dead serious about you. I’ve never taken another woman to my home, to our territory, to the pizzeria, nor have I introduced her to my family. Not ever.”

  “You scare me,” she objected.

  He ran his finger over her lips. That mouth he loved. “It’s okay to be a little afraid, but you have no problem telling me or my brothers and cousins off. And you would have punched Darby right in the nose. I fucking love that. I forgot to include that on my list.”

  A small smile curved her mouth. “I wanted to break it. What I really wanted to do was yank down his jeans. I believe in an eye for an eye. Trust me, his cock isn’t that big. I felt it when he pulled me down on his lap.”

  He especially liked that she believed in an eye for an eye. She needed to believe that in order to be with him. There was so much about his life she would have to accept. “You haven’t said a word about how you feel about me.” Just putting it out there, giving her the opportunity to back out, was scary when he’d always been unafraid.

  “Then you weren’t listening, Giovanni,” she said. “I gave you a blow job in a car while you were driving across town to go to see my brother. Do you think I do that with everyone I meet, because I don’t. I don’t want to be attracted to you, or even like you. Your family is too notorious, and I don’t even know if you’re good or bad yet.”

  Relief made him want to kiss her, but instead, he got out, walked around to her door and took her hand as she stepped out. “Why did you give me a blow job? Especially after the stupid things I said to you in the club.”

  “You’re hot as hell, Giovanni, and you take my breath away every time I look at you. I couldn’t believe how sweet you were to me. Your entire family came to help. I liked them all. No one was pretentious or condescending, especially not you. I felt safe with you. I still do.”

  He knew when their shadows touched, the intensity of their mutual physical attraction was amplified, mainly because they each felt the other’s emotions. She didn’t understand that, nor would she until he told her about shadow riders, what they could do and why it was that she could hear lies.

  “Are we done with that silly game, Sasha, because I never want to hear about it again.”

  She was silent as they walked up to the front doors. He stopped moving, forcing her to stop as well.

  “Woman, you didn’t answer me.”

  “I’m considering. It seems a little too early to just put that aside. I think it’s letting you off easy. I always make it a poin
t to keep my word, so I’m not just going to give it to you without thinking this over carefully. I might need some leverage, something to even the playing field.”

  “I’m beginning to see the appeal of whips and handcuffs,” he groused, pulling her close to him.

  She burst out laughing, the sound carefree and happy. Everything in him should have settled. She wouldn’t laugh like that unless she forgave his idiot game. After all that had happened to her, to sound like that … He tipped her face up to his and took her mouth. Immediately she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. He loved the way she gave herself to him. Everything. She’d done it earlier as well, holding nothing back. That was on his list of things he loved about her. So many. Especially the way she kissed.

  That uneasiness in him didn’t subside when he kissed her in spite of the fact that she was clearly over the game he’d invented. Of course, he wasn’t about to admit to her that he’d been the one to think it up because he was so damned bored playing the role of playboy that he was sulking all the time. He lifted his head slowly, turning slightly so he could angle his body to keep her between him and the facility’s front door and the street. He looked carefully around. His uneasiness grew.

  Her fingers tightened on his jacket sleeve. “Giovanni?” Her voice trembled slightly. She kept it low, so it wouldn’t travel past him.

  “I know, baby. He’s out there. He was following us. The boys set up a trap, but he didn’t fall for it. I thought we lost him though. I don’t see how he wasn’t spotted the way I drove here.”

  “I wondered why you took such a roundabout route.”

  “Let’s get you inside. I’ll tell Emilio and Enzo he’s still watching you. We’ll visit with your brother and ignore the asshole. Let the boys try to find him. If they can’t, when we get back to my home, believe me, there’s no way in for him. You’ll be safe there tonight. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning when we’re both fresh.”

  “But …” She trailed off and then nodded.

  “Good. Have fun with your brother. Take your time and put everything else out of your head. I want you to introduce me to him. He might not remember this time or next that I visit, but hopefully, he’ll come to accept me with you.” He was already texting Emilio as they went inside and shut the door.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sandlin Provis was a good-looking man in spite of the head-on collision. There were very few scars and none of them were prominent. He had a small one up by his temple and another curving close to his cheekbone, but other than that, he looked as if he was in perfect health and always had been.

  Giovanni could see the resemblance to Sasha the moment they entered the common room, where he was sitting quietly in a corner reading a book. His curly hair was the same nearly platinum blond his sister had. His eyes were that exact sapphire blue. The scruff on his jaw was mostly blond.

  “Sandlin,” Sasha greeted, her voice filled with genuine love. “You look good tonight. I’ve missed you.”

  The man looked up, blinking at her, and then a slow, almost childlike smile slipped over his face. “Hello.” He marked his place in his book and carefully closed it, his actions unhurried and deliberate. “Are you looking for someone?”

  Giovanni was looking at Sasha and he saw the hurt and sadness in her expression, hastily covered by a smile. “You, Sandlin. I was looking for you. I would very much like to visit with you if you have time. My name is Sasha, and I’m your sister. I’ve brought a friend with me. This is Giovanni Ferraro.” She indicated him, but kept her gaze fixed on her brother.

  He stood, using the same slow, deliberate movements that he had when closing his book. Giovanni stepped forward and held out his hand. Sandlin took it without hesitation. Surprisingly, his grip was strong.

  “I’m the man who is with your sister,” Giovanni explained. “I wanted to come and see you so you’ll know she’s well looked after.”

  Sandlin regarded him with an open, sweet expression. “That’s good.” He indicated the chairs closer to the fireplace. “Let’s sit over there. I like being close to the fire. It keeps me warm.”

  They walked toward the fireplace. The flames gave off shadows, some dancing across the wood floor. Giovanni stepped into one and felt the pull against him, the way the shadows tugged at his body. When he stepped out of that one into the next he had a shock. Sandlin’s shadow, thrown by the light, had connected with Giovanni’s. Like Sasha, he was a potential shadow rider, his shadow throwing out tubes to connect with every shadow around him.

  Giovanni watched his face very carefully and saw the exact moment information and emotion hit him. Sandlin turned his head to look at Giovanni, to study his facial features. There was no guile whatsoever in him, but his shocking blue eyes were speculative as he stared at Giovanni.

  “Do I know you?”

  Giovanni shook his head. “No, I came with your sister to make certain you knew I would take good care of her.” He wanted to reiterate that Sasha was his sibling and that Giovanni was good for her.

  “You feel … scary.”

  Giovanni nodded. “I can be scary to some people. Not to you. Certainly not to Sasha.”

  Sandlin frowned and shook his head. “I meant another word. I don’t like it when I can’t think of what I want to say.” His expression cleared, changed at once to glee. “Powerful. You’re powerful. Our shadows touch and I know you.”

  Giovanni nodded. “That’s right. When our shadows touch, you can tell whether or not someone is lying to you, right?”

  Sandlin sank into one of the armchairs. He gripped the arm with strong fingers. “I don’t like lies. They hurt my ears.” He rubbed at his temples as if remembering a painful experience.

  “That happens to me as well,” Giovanni said. He caught Sasha as she started past him, pulling her to him so that her back was pressed tight against his front, his arms around her waist. He moved them both into the next shadow that touched Sandlin’s. The jolt hit him hard. All three were connected now, tubes reaching for one another, their shadows intertwining.

  Sasha gasped and looked up at him, but he kept his gaze fixed on Sandlin’s face. The man felt it, too, that initial hit, a rush of information crowding in, too much to be analyzed all at once. Sandlin and Sasha definitely could have been riders, both of them sensitive to the pull of the shadows as well as to the intelligence pouring in. The ability in them was extremely strong.

  Giovanni had known Sasha’s character from the moment their shadows had touched. He’d felt her sweet, compassionate nature coupled with her independent, fiery side. Sandlin had a will of steel, but his childlike, open qualities overshadowed that will. He wanted to please those around him, for the most part.

  It was important for Giovanni to protect his woman, even from her own brother if it was necessary. Mariko, Ricco’s wife, had been targeted by her own brother and the woman who had raised the two of them. Giovanni wasn’t about to overlook any threat to Sasha. He was adept at reading shadows and hearing lies. He’d been trained from the time he was a child. He couldn’t imagine Sandlin being a threat to anyone, but he wasn’t about to make mistakes based on compassion or any other gentler emotion. Sandlin, for all his childlike ways, and the fact that he couldn’t hold on to information, at least anything in his memory banks, was a shrewd man.

  “I’ve never felt anyone as powerful or as dangerous as you,” Sasha admitted in a low voice. “When all three of our shadows touched like that, your pull was so strong I had to move into you. That was extraordinary and a little scary. I’ve always been able to hear lies, and so has Sandlin. I can feel other people’s emotions, but never that strong. It’s nowhere near that strong.”

  “I’ve been trained in the use of shadows,” he said by way of explanation. He couldn’t go into his family’s legacy, not there.

  Giovanni stepped out of the shadow and led Sasha to the low-slung love seat across from Sandlin. The flames rose up, dancing, as if a breeze had entered the room. Sandlin
watched him the entire way. He looked a pale child, helplessly watching a predator draw close.

  “What have you been doing today?” Sasha asked as she settled on the small love seat.

  Giovanni sat next to her, one arm sliding out along the back of the couch to circle behind her shoulders, trying to offer her reassurance. Her body trembled, small little continual tremors he doubted she was aware of. She kept her smile with a steady, concentrated effort as she regarded her brother.

  He ignored her, staring at Giovanni. “You have done bad things.” It was a child’s accusation, sounding a little twisted coming from a grown adult.

  Giovanni stayed in complete control, not wincing away from the truth, refusing to give away anything to Sasha through body language. He had done bad things, at least those things could be considered bad if the wrong people knew about them. He was a rider, and that meant his job was to bring justice to those who had escaped the law.

  He nodded his head. “Yes, Sandlin, that’s true. I have done bad things. Not to your sister, but many people might say I’m a bad person, judging me on things they don’t understand. But I’m not bad to your sister nor would I ever be. Bad people are afraid of me, not your sister.” His voice rang with sincerity and he hoped Sandlin would quit regarding him with suspicion.

  Sandlin continued to stare at him with the same frown that Giovanni liked seeing on Sasha’s face. She could melt him just with her expressions alone, which didn’t bode well for his future. She would be able to play him so easily and, sadly, he could tell he was going to be one of those men who gave her anything and everything she wanted. He bent his head to brush a kiss through her thick hair.

  “You don’t feel like the other man did,” Sandlin said. “He felt funny. I didn’t like him.”