Captured In Ink (Art of Love Series)

by McDonald, Donna

  “Hey,” he said quickly, his stomach dropping as he had to keep her from forcibly turning away from him. “It’s still me. I’m just embarrassed to touch you.”

  Silently swearing at his fumbling because of ego nagging at him, Shane pushed past his reservations and tugged Reesa back to him by her smooth jacket lapels for a genuine kiss that actually communicated how much he’d missed her, even if he did end up keeping his tongue to himself.

  “That’s a hell of a serious business look for an accountant,” Shane said against her mouth. “Love the matching heels though. Is that comment too much macho guy for you?”

  Reesa laughed and reached up to run manicured fingertips through his beard. “No, but this is too much macho guy. Lose the beard, Larson.”

  “It will be gone soon, I swear. By the way, I’m heading to Johns Hopkins next Thursday to defend my dissertation on Friday,” Shane told her. “You won’t even recognize me by the time that happens. I’ll be as yuppie as you.”

  Reesa rolled her eyes. “It boggles my mind to think of you dressed up. Don’t strain that much—just lose the beard. Everything else is okay.”

  Shane had to believe her because she was using her I-mean-business tone of voice that she usually reserved for the kids when they were misbehaving. It made him smile.

  “Are you here to talk to Carrie?” Shane asked.

  He hadn’t missed his sister-in-law pretending to be busy when she was really eavesdropping on their entire conversation. Shane hadn’t missed her knowing grin either.

  When he looked back at the woman he held by her lapels, Reesa was nodding in answer to his question.

  “Yes. I’m here for a job interview to see about some part-time work,” she said.

  “Let me watch Sara then, and you two can talk more easily,” Shane said turning loose and thinking the suit made sense now.

  Still, Reesa sure had gone to a lot of trouble dressing up for Carrie, and Shane found himself wondering what kind of job Carrie was offering Reesa. Neither Michael nor Carrie had said anything to him about talking to her, much less needing gallery help.

  Sara was twirling a few feet away, singing a song as she danced.

  “Sara is full of energy today, and I can’t seem to pay enough attention to keep her calm. Just don’t let watching her stop you from what you’re doing,” Reesa said firmly. “Send her to the conference room. She can wait patiently when she has to. Don’t let her fool you.”

  Shane nodded, watching Reesa’s legs and hips move very nicely in her skirt as she turned and walked back to Carrie. He sighed with a longing that didn’t stand a chance in hell of being satisfied for at least another four days. He couldn’t make love to her again until Monday morning.

  For Shane, the time constraints on their sexual relationship were quickly becoming an intolerable situation. He wanted to marry Reesa, to be with her every day, sleep with her every night, and to have a relationship sanctioned by whomever she needed to bless it.

  So what if it hadn’t even been two months since he met her? He knew who she was, or at least he knew the important things. He knew that inside that expensive suit was a woman who danced in the kitchen with as much abandon as Sara twirling in the gallery. And under that makeup and controlled hair was a woman who moved his hands to show him how to please her in bed.

  Okay, the uber professional clothes had thrown him off for a couple of beats, mostly because he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to match her level of maturity in professional clothes. She was dressed for Wall Street instead of downtown Lexington.

  Well, he just would find a way, Shane decided. He would be the best dressed research doctor at the university if that’s what it took.

  “Hey, Sara—come hold the door open so Michael and I can bring in some heavy furniture,” Shane said.

  Sara snorted and took Shane’s hand to walk back across the large open space with him. “I told the lady this place needed some furniture. I was right,” she pronounced regally.

  Shane laughed. “Yes, princess. I guess you were,” he said, gently squeezing the little hand tucked confidently in his own. “But a gracious princess would never be so rude as to mention it to her loyal subjects. In order words, you still have to talk nice.”

  Beside him Sara sighed in resignation.

  Chapter 16

  Saturday evening was movie night, as Shane had quickly learned in the weeks he and Reesa had been dating.

  Zack was out of town at an away ball game and would be dropped off by a friend later. Chelsea and Brian were quibbling over whether to watch a comedy versus an action adventure movie, even though it was Brian’s turn to pick again, just as it had been the first Saturday Shane had spent with them. While her siblings argued, Sara passed the time singing to entertain herself.

  Shane laughed at the fact that her singing level proved effective in drowning out most of her brother’s and sister’s fierce statements. That was a pretty good coping mechanism for a five-year-old, Shane decided.

  He happily sat at Reesa’s feet again where she played with his still shoulder length hair with one hand while she ate popcorn with the other. Leaning back into her stroking hand, he sighed in pleasure of her touch, dreading having to cut his hair off in the upcoming week.

  One thing though was clear in the midst of the domestic scene Shane was so willingly immersed in this evening. He knew he could definitely get used to this family routine. It reminded him of happier times before his mother and father had started having problems.

  Shane sighed and reached behind him, pulling one of Reesa’s feet out and down to rub. Like the rest of her compact body, her feet were small and easily swallowed by his large hands. Touching her always reminded him of their size differences and brought out the protector in him. Her quiet moan and sigh at what he was doing had him chuckling. The woman rarely stopped working, but when she did, Shane had learned to massage and rub anything she would let him to help her relax. It calmed her down fastest and sometimes even put her to sleep.

  Movie finally chosen at last, Chelsea and Brian took up seats on each side of Sara, who cuddled into Brian’s side without a thought of what he probably thought about it. Shane watched amused as Brian tucked her up and kissed the top of her head while simultaneously reaching and smacking Chelsea on the back of hers for laughing and teasing him about hugging his little sister.

  Shane shook his head at the loving rivalry. It hadn’t taken long to figure out Brian was a big softie, but he absolutely hated anyone to point it out to him. The boy kept to himself still a great deal of the time, but frequently came out when Shane was around. Probably because Brian loved to torture him, Shane decided, uncaring of the fact.

  Truthfully, the boy was very clever with his mouth and fast with his hands. One day, when Shane was more sure of how it would be taken by the kid, he was going to chase Brian down for his torture and show him what happened when a puppy took on the alpha dog. If Brian wanted to be alpha in the family, he was going to have earn it as far as Shane was concerned.

  Smiling at the idea of wrestling the boy into submission, and then hugging him until he literally cried uncle, had a wicked smile lighting Shane’s eyes and face. Brian would probably hate the hug worse than being bested because he pretended not to need the love, even as he cuddled his little sister like you would a giant teddy bear.

  “You are not allowed to look that wicked until Monday morning,” Reesa said softly, leaning forward to whisper it in his ear. But she couldn’t resist tucking his hair back while she was that close to him, using it as an excuse to touch him. It was all she could do not to dive into him for a kiss when Shane swung his wicked gaze to her.

  “I was just thinking about how much fun I’m going to have when I finally get my revenge on Brian for all his torture,” he whispered, smiling back at her hand weaving through his hair as she petted him. He couldn’t even remember what it was like not to be in her life, and he didn’t ever want to be reminded.

  Reesa smiled and sighed. “I
owe you big for coaxing Brian out of his shell,” she whispered. “He’s informed me that he doesn’t need therapy anymore. Brian told me his art was going to be all he needed. I don’t suppose you know where he got that big idea do you?”

  Shane grinned and shook his head. “No idea,” he lied. “But I think you should listen to him.”

  Reesa nodded and eased backwards, letting Shane drag the other foot out for a massage. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the quiet moment. She hadn’t enough consciousness to even care what movie was on. She would rather focus her attention on the man thoughtful enough to rub her feet.

  Her lovely break from reality lasted until the doorbell rang.

  Shane patted her foot and rose. “Stay. Don’t ruin my relaxation work. I’ll get the door.”

  He opened it to find his mother standing expectantly on the step, and was rendered speechless.

  “Hello, Shane,” Ellen said sharply, narrowing her eyes at her son. “I want to meet your new girlfriend and her family.”

  When she heard a strange woman’s voice speaking, Reesa popped up beside Shane to stare open-mouthed at a female version of his face staring back at her with no small amount of interest.

  “Hello,” Reesa said finally, finding her composure after several awkward seconds passed with only staring.

  “Hello,” Ellen said in return, smiling at the tiny, bright eyed woman who barely cleared her son’s elbow. “I’m sorry to interrupt your evening. I’m Shane’s mother. I would have been here sooner to meet you, but I just found out you existed.”

  Reesa laughed at her accusatory, sarcastic statement. She couldn’t help it. It was surreal, and more so when she looked up at Shane, the giant bad-ass who was wide-eyed with shock to be surprised by his mommy.

  It was also interesting to Reesa that Shane hadn’t told his mother, but he’d told his father and brother about her the day after they’d spent the night together. Men were such big babies about dealing with their mothers.

  Of course in her brother-in-law Jackson’s case, it was hard to blame him when his mother nagged him constantly about the wife and mother of his four children. Hopefully, Shane’s mother wouldn’t prove to be that unyielding in her disapproval.

  Elbowing Shane, and then shoving him sideways with both hands when the elbow hint wasn’t taken, she pushed open the screen door and held it wide for his mother to walk through.

  “Come in please. Excuse the dark room. It’s movie night,” Reesa whispered as the elegant blonde woman slipped inside, wafting expensive perfume and smelling like heaven.

  She used to be like that, Reesa remembered, smiling at Shane’s mother’s beautifully maintained appearance. Now she rarely bothered with mascara, much less worried about wearing makeup, keeping nice clothes, or having perfect hair. She’d gotten used to a steady uniform of jeans and T-shirt, but now and again she really missed the ritual of looking and smelling nice.

  “Thank you. I would have called first but Shane didn’t give any of his family your phone number,” Ellen whispered, trying to be as quiet as she could despite being so mad at her son that she wanted to grab him by the shirt and shake the shock right out of him.

  “No problem—really. Let’s go to the kitchen where we can talk,” Reesa said, leading the way for a now slightly smiling woman who looked at the three siblings leaning together on the couch. Chelsea looked up briefly and waved while Shane’s mother looked back and waved herself in a sort of auto response.

  Royalty in England would have been proud of the polite exchange, Reesa thought, ducking her head to hide her grin.

  When they got to the kitchen, Reesa motioned to the mostly clean dining table and suggested that Shane’s mother have a seat. After sitting, Reesa put out a hand. “Hi. I’m Reesa Callahan,” she said simply.

  “Ellen Cannon,” Ellen said, taking Reesa’s hand and acknowledging the confident handshake of a woman whose grip said she was not going to let much disrupt the peace in her own household.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Reesa asked. “I think I have some red wine.”

  “I’d love some, but I can’t have it. I drove myself. Maybe a soft drink?” Ellen asked.

  “Sure. Cola or non?” Reesa asked, heading to the cabinet for a glass, and then to the refrigerator for ice and soda.

  “Cola’s fine,” Ellen said, looking around at the tidy, homey space.

  “I guess Shane got lost on the way to the kitchen with us,” Reesa said dryly, looking in the doorway, but seeing no cowardly, blonde giants.

  So, she thought, the big, hairy Viking throwback was afraid of his mommy. Wow. Just wow. What a weenie. Ellen Cannon seemed pretty nice to her.

  “Shane is delaying to give himself time to formulate his excuses. He damn well knows he’s in big trouble for leaving his father and Jessica to tell me about you and the children. I’m sure he’s hiding out in the living room building a psychological defense that the mother-phobic Dr. Freud would be proud of,” Ellen said bitterly, softening her statement by smiling when Reesa snorted and laughed. “Not that I’m going to buy that nonsense. I’d kill him, but I’ve invested too heavily in his education. After he gets his doctorate next week, I’ll reassess—unless you want to point out some value in keeping his cowardly ass alive.”

  Reesa thought her respectful smile was going to crack her face.

  “Well, let me think,” Reesa said as seriously as she could, making herself a soda and bringing both glasses to the table while she thought carefully about what to say. “So far I’ve discovered Shane is not very handy around the house when something breaks, but he is friends with a fairly good contractor.”

  “Don’t be too hasty to put Joseph in the plus column,” Ellen said wisely, sipping her drink and watching the smiling woman over the rim. “Shane’s best friend comes with his own brand of trouble. He and Shane have been inseparable since middle school, and in trouble pretty much that same amount of time.”

  That set Reesa to chuckling. Her impression of Joe had been pretty much on target then, she decided.

  “Okay—Joe goes in the minus column. Let me think. Oh I know—Shane’s good at carrying heavy things. And I just found out recently that he gives a good foot massage. Puts me to sleep every time,” Reesa said, acting proud of herself for thinking of something positive she could say to Shane’s mother other than that the boy she had raised was the most mega talented, open minded man she’d ever let into her bed.

  Ellen snorted at Reesa’s reply. “Hardly seems worth feeding him for those few things. Is that all?” she asked dryly, baiting the younger woman whom she could see was being careful with her.

  She smiled as Reesa laughed again. Great sense of humor and quite pleasant, Ellen decided. And the woman was quite beautiful with those sharp, green eyes glowing like emeralds when she was thinking hard.

  “No, that’s not all. You’re really going to make me spill my guts about him, aren’t you?” Reesa asked.

  Ellen nodded and laughed back.

  “Your son is definitely not a boy scout, but he’s patient with the kids, has a great sense of humor, and probably the most positive outlook on life of any male alive,” Reesa recited, “which is why I let him hang around even though he’s seven years younger than me. I’ve dated my fair share of men, and Shane’s probably the best one I’ve ever known.”

  Ellen sighed, satisfied at last. “He gets that positive attitude from Will,” she explained gently, softened by Reesa’s declarations and the woman’s complete sincerity in offering the praise. “And honey, I’m a lot more than seven years older than my husband, so I will not be saying anything about my son dating a slightly older woman. The hypocrisy would be a family joke long after they buried me.”

  “So what kind of concerns do you have about us dating?” Reesa asked directly, taking the opportunity to ask when it was offered, but still put her gaze on her hands as she waited for Ellen to answer. However brave and confrontational nature had made her, Reesa still wasn’t ready for open cen
sure about Shane.

  Hearing shuffling footsteps in the kitchen doorway, Reesa and Ellen both looked up to see a red-faced Shane standing there staring at them with an empty bowl clasped in a death grip.

  “Movie intermission,” he said, brandishing the bowl. “We need more popcorn.”

  “Come talk to your mother while I make some,” Reesa said sharply, rising and patting her chair, then pointed at him and it again when he didn’t move.

  Sighing, Shane walked over and sat down facing his mother. Seeing no seething anger in her expression nor evidence of an impending crying jag, he risked looking at Reesa who was stretching to retrieve the popcorn from the second cabinet shelf. The sight of her body stretched and straining had him sighing with a longing to go stand behind her and help until she wanted a lot more than popcorn.

  When Shane heard his mother laugh, his gaze swung guiltily back to her.

  “So what have you got to say to me, Shane Reginald Larson,” Ellen demanded, leaving his full name hanging in the air. She didn’t have to ask how serious he was about Reesa Callahan. His feelings for the woman were on his face. Just like his father, her youngest son was an open book to anyone who knew how to read him.

  “Reginald?” Reesa repeated, laughing loud enough to be heard even over the microwave running. “Reginald Larson—I’m definitely writing that one down for future reference.”

  “Just so you know Teresa Ann, I really hate my middle name too,” Shane told Reesa.

  “Too bad,” Reesa said, unsympathetic to his pleading gaze. She opted to let her sarcasm show how displeased she was with him for letting her face his mother alone. “How can you hate a name that suits you so well, Reggie?”

  Shane turned back to his mother, frowning at Reesa’s teasing. “Mom, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you I was seriously dating someone, and I’m sorry you had to find out from Dad. I meant to tell you about Reesa and the kids. I just haven’t slowed down and made time. I was trying to finish my latest novel and schedule the dissertation defense...”