And it was more than just sex for him, too. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to keep her safe from Kline, or from anyone or anything in this world that threatened to hurt her. To hell with Tyler’s contract. Beth was his to protect now. She was… his.
As soon as the thought entered his head, he knew he was entering new territory. He’d never felt this way about any woman. In the past, he’d dated one woman after the next, moving on after a few dates. It was better that way. He’d learned early on that if he dated one woman for very long, she started to get long-term ideas. And he’d never been interested in settling down like that. But now… the thought of moving on from Beth was repugnant.
After double-checking that she was indeed asleep, he let himself relax and fall back to sleep.
* * *
Shane had learned years ago to be a light sleeper, back in his days in the military when his life had depended on it. He’d learned to grab sleep when and where he could, whether it was in a cot in a military barracks or behind a rock or under a bush. He’d also learned to awaken fully alert at the slightest whisper of sound or movement.
Like now. He came instantly awake.
Beth.
He lay still, listening.
It wasn’t anything overt really, but her breathing was shallow and fast. And even in her sleep, she had a death grip on his arm, which was still wrapped around her waist. Her legs shifted restlessly against his, and a small sound escaped her, barely more than a whimper. She was having a nightmare.
Her entire body shuddered, and she cried out in her sleep, a frightened, desperate sound that broke his heart.
Shane held her loosely as she began to move in earnest, struggling against invisible bonds that confined her. He wanted to hold her closer, tight to his body, but restraining her would only make things worse. So he forced himself to remove his arm from around her waist. “Shh, sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking her arm lightly. “You’re okay.”
She continued to struggle, and when she started crying, he couldn’t take anymore.
“Beth, honey.” He shook her shoulder gently. “Wake up.”
She jerked suddenly and threw back her head, nearly hitting him in the face. She was struggling in earnest now.
“Beth!” Shane rolled her to her back and shook her enough to startle her awake.
“What!” she cried, looking around with wild eyes.
“You were having a nightmare,” he said.
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Christ, there’s no need to apologize,” he said, brushing back her damp hair.
“What time is it?”
He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. “Three-thirty.”
She groaned. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s not a problem.” Shane rested his hand on her bare belly, stroking her.
“Mmm, that feels good,” she said, turning toward him and snuggling into his chest. “You’re so warm.”
“That’s me,” he said. “I’m your own private bed warmer.”
Beth laid her hand over his heart. “Shane?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for last night. It was wonderful. I meant to tell you that last night, but I think I must have passed out.”
“I thought it was pretty wonderful, too,” he said. “And you did pass out on me, by the way, but that’s quite all right. I took it as a compliment.”
“It was a compliment,” she assured him, stroking his chest. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so good in my life.”
His warm hand cupped her buttock and he drew her closer. When he leaned down to kiss her soft pink nipple, she shivered.
“How do you feel?” he said.
“Fine.” And when he sucked the taut little pebble into his mouth and leisurely bathed it with his tongue, she gasped. “More than fine.”
Shane’s head lifted. “Are you sore?”
She moved a bit, not surprised to feel a tenderness deep inside. “A little.”
“You know, there are other ways to have sex that don’t involve you being pinned down.” He rolled her over so that she was facing away from him, and he pressed up against her back.
Beth wriggled her bottom against his loins, smiling when she felt his erection prodding her.
Shane tucked her legs up a little and angled his pelvis just right. The hand that had been around her waist slipped down between her legs and he touched her, his finger skimming through her curls to her core. His finger zeroed in on her clitoris and began to tease it, and he leaned forward and pressed a trail of kisses behind her ear, down her throat, to her shoulder.
Beth squirmed in his arms. “Shane,” she moaned, rocking against his finger.
“Yes?” he said, pleased to find her already wet.
“Why are you torturing me?”
“I’m not torturing you.”
“Then what do you call that?”
“I’m stimulating you.”
She chuckled. “I think I’m already stimulated.”
“Do you want me to stop?” he said, his voice low and rough.
Beth had learned to recognize the subtle changes in his voice when he was aroused. She thrust her bottom back, pushing against his loins, thoroughly gratified when he groaned into her ear. “No, don’t stop.”
“What do you want me to do?” He pressed his face into her hair.
“I don’t know. Just don’t stop.” She could feel herself growing hotter and wetter with each stroke of his finger on her clit.
Shane’s finger slipped past her clitoris and he nudged her legs apart so he could insert his finger into her core. “So hot and wet,” he murmured, nibbling on her shoulder as his finger explored her sex.
“Shane!”
“What?”
“Do something!”
“I am doing something.”
“I mean stop teasing me and make love to me.”
“What, again?”
She laughed. “Yes, again!”
“All right.”
He reached for another condom and quickly sheathed himself. Then he shifted his hips and pressed forward, guiding his erection to her opening. He tucked the head of his cock inside her warm wetness, reveling in her tightness and slowly pushed inside. “You mean like this?”
Beth pushed back against him. “More.”
Shane smiled as he pushed into her slowly, groaning when her swollen tissues parted and accepted him. There was no sign of anxiety in her this time. She was relaxed and aroused, and he felt pretty damn good about that. When his hips met her buttocks and he was fully seated, he sighed. “How’s that?”
She rocked back against him. “Oh, God, that feels good,” she said.
Shane chuckled. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, pulling out almost all the way out, then thrusting forward in a single smooth glide that buried him balls deep inside her.
“Ummph!” she gasped, clutching his arm, which had snaked around her waist to hold her to him.
He stilled. “You okay?”
“Yes!” she said. “It’s just that you’re really deep this way.”
“Yes, I am,” he said, not bothering to hide the gloating in his voice. And then he started to move, slowly at first in long smooth movements, and then a little faster and a little deeper. The feel of her, so hot and tight around him, threatened to steal his control, but he gritted his teeth and paced himself. He wanted this to be good for her. He wanted to give her time to build to her own climax.
“God, you are so tight, sweetheart,” he said, as her channel nearly strangled him in its tight grip. He kept up the measured slow and steady thrusts. He reached around and found her clitoris and began stroking the little nub with deliberate movements designed to fuel her orgasm. When his finger and thumb lightly plucked her clitoris, she cried out.
At the sound of her cry, he increased the pace of his thrusts, unable to help himself. The snug fit of her sex as it clung to his cock was driving him crazy, and he didn’t know how much longer he could
hold out. Her felt his balls tighten and draw up, aching with the need to release. His tempo picked up, and his cock started battering her channel relentlessly, rocking them both in the bed. “Okay?” he managed to get out, breathless.
“Yes!” Her own voice was little more than a croak.
“Tell me if you’re not,” he said.
‘Oh, God, I’m fine. Please.”
Shane began a relentless campaign against her clitoris, stroking and rubbing her flesh, driving her higher and higher. He could hear her panting in the dark, her breaths coming fast and shallow, and the small sounds she made deep in her throat. When he felt her muscles tense, he knew she was near. He angled his cock just so.
When her climax hit, Beth cried out loudly. Pleasure battered her body, radiating from her core outward like jolts of lightning. She shivered in his arms, and he held her close as the tremors coursed through her body.
His own body took its cue from hers and he followed her, his body exploding in a hot rush as his hips bucked urgently against her body. His guttural cry was hoarse in her hair as he emptied himself into her.
“My God, Beth,” he said.
She could feel his hot breath on the nape of her neck as he tried to catch his breath.
He pulled gently out of her clinging sex and rolled her to her back so he could see her face. “Are you all right?” he said, brushing back her hair.
She nodded, a little short of breath herself. She was more than just fine, as she reveled in the residual tremors of her orgasm.
He stroked her face, brushing the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone. Looking at her gave him such pleasure. He could lie there and stare at her for hours. He certainly wanted to, but he had a condom to dispose of. Once that was taken care of, he brought back another warm washcloth and cleaned her up. Then he slipped back into bed with her and spooned against her limp body.
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” he said, kissing the nape of her neck.
They fell back to sleep, satiated and comforted by the warmth of each other’s body.
Beth came awake slowly and realized she wasn’t in her own bed. Then it all came rushing back – she’d spent the night in Shane’s bed. And after that first disastrous attempt, they’d had sex – twice! The relief she felt was staggering.
She was lying on her side, and Shane was pressed up against her back, his arm hooked around her waist. She could feel his erection prodding her bottom.
“Good morning,” Shane said, kissing a spot on her shoulder. “Looks like I gave you a hickey last night. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sorry,” she said, turning to face at him. “Good morning.”
“What’s on the agenda today? Breakfast? A shower?”
“I’d like to take a shower first, if you don’t mind,” she said. “And then breakfast. I’m starving.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan.” He gave her a hopeful look. “Can I join you in the shower?”
Shane led her by the hand to the walk-in shower. With one push of a button, hot water sprayed out from multiple shower heads.
“Come on in,” he said, pulling her into the water. “The water’s fine.”
Beth leaned her head back in bliss, letting the warm water rush over her skin. “Your shower is decadent,” she said, pushing her hair back from her face as she wetted it under the warm spray.
Shane poured some shampoo into his hands and massaged the lather into her hair.
She groaned when his fingers began massaging her scalp. “That smells good,” she said, inhaling the strong minty scent.
“It’s my sister’s. She uses this shower when she stays here.”
“I don’t blame her,” she said, groaning with pleasure. “Which sister?”
“Lia, the youngest. She’s stays here a lot,” he said. “Lia works for McIntyre Security,” he said, taking the opening. He had it in his mind that Lia would be the perfect bodyguard for Beth. “She’s an operative.”
“An operative? That sounds very cloak-and-dagger.”
“You’re not far off,” he said. “Lia often works undercover.”
“Do your other sisters work for you?”
“No, just Lia. Sophie’s an interior designer here in the city, and Hannah’s a student at University of Chicago. Lia’s the only one crazy enough to work for me.”
Shane positioned Beth’s head under the warm spray to rinse away the suds. Then he reached for a bottle of body wash and lathered up his hands.
“This is a full-service spa,” Beth said, when he laid his soapy hands on her shoulders and began to work his way down her arms.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than running my hands all over your wet, naked body.”
“You’re waxing very poetically this morning,” she said, smiling in bliss as his soapy hands massaged her body.
“Co-ed showers make me poetic, what can I say?” His hands came around her torso to cup her breasts, his thumbs swirling soap gently over her nipples. “I’m in a shower with a gorgeous woman who is naked and wet.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a simple man.”
She chuckled. “You’re easy to please.”
He leaned down and kissed the side of neck. “No, I’m easily pleased by you. All you have to do is crook your little finger and you’ve got my attention. No other woman has ever had that effect on me.”
Shane’s hands traveled down her back and to her waist and hips. He soaped her buttocks, then his hands moved around to her front, where he soaped her belly and thighs.
When she was rinsed off, Beth turned in Shane’s arms and reached for his shampoo bottle. “Now, it’s my turn,” she said.
* * *
Shane stood with a towel wrapped around his hips as he towel dried his hair. “There’s an event next weekend I have to attend,” he said. He stood next to Beth, who was brushing her teeth at the bathroom sink. “It’s a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital Foundation. I’m on the Board of Directors, so I have to be there. Will you come with me, as my date?”
Beth froze and looked at him. Hospital fundraiser? That sounded like a very crowded event, and she didn’t fare well with crowds. But still, she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to do something like this with him. “I’d love to,” she said.
“It’s a black-tie event,” he warned. “And there’s lots of schmoozing. It could be really boring.”
“I don’t mind,” she said. Then she made a face. “But I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything suitable to wear to a black-tie event.”
“Why don’t we go shopping then, after breakfast? I’d love to buy you a dress.”
She made an effort to keep it cool. “I thought guys hate shopping.”
“Well, as a general rule, I do,” he said. “But if I get to watch you model sexy dresses, then I’m good.”
Beth swatted his shoulder. “Okay. But you don’t have to buy my dress. It’s nice of you to offer, but I can pay for it myself.”
Chapter 20
After dressing, they went in search of food. Beth followed Shane to the kitchen, where they found Cooper standing in front of a double-door refrigerator peering through the glass doors at the contents inside. Cooper was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and scuffed up boots. The air was filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
“There are plenty of leftovers from last night,” Shane said to Cooper. “We can have those, or we can make breakfast.”
“We can make breakfast?” Cooper said, raising a sardonic eyebrow at Shane.
“Yes, we. I’ll help.”
“Shane, you’re good at a lot of things, but cooking isn’t one of them.” Cooper smiled at Beth. “Don’t let him fool you, Beth. He’s just trying to impress you with his nonexistent kitchen skills.”
Shane led Beth to a seat at the breakfast bar and kissed her. “What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea? OJ?”
“I’ll have some of that coffee,” she said. “It smells divine.”
Shane poured two
cups of coffee and handed one to Beth. Then he brought her sugar, creamer, and a spoon, which he set on the granite counter in front of her.
Cooper turned to Beth, his arms crossed over his lean, muscled chest. “What would the young lady like for breakfast?” There was a smile on his face, and he seemed genuinely pleased to see her.
Beth smiled back. “Anything’s fine, really,” she said. “I can make it.”
Shane put his hands on Beth’s shoulders, giving her a light squeeze. “You relax and drink your coffee. Cooper and I know our way around a kitchen.”
“Let’s try this again,” Cooper said. “What would you like for breakfast, Beth? Eggs? Pancakes? Waffles? French toast?”
Her face lit up at the mention of French toast.
“French toast it is,” Cooper said. He opened one of the fridge doors and pulled out a carton of eggs. “And what you would you like with your French toast? Eggs? Bacon? Sausage? Hash browns?”
“Please don’t go to any more trouble,” she said. “The French toast is fine.”
Cooper frowned. “French toast alone is not a sufficient breakfast, is it, Shane?”
“No, it’s not,” Shane said, sipping his coffee. He was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, watching the interplay between Beth and Cooper with an indulgent smile on his face.
“So, what’ll it be, kid?” Cooper said.
“Bacon then, please?” she said, shrugging apologetically. “If it’s not too much trouble?”
Cooper nodded, apparently satisfied. “And hash browns,” he added. “Coming right up.”
Beth watched in fascination as Shane and Cooper set about making breakfast. While Cooper cracked a half-dozen eggs into a shallow dish, Shane loaded a large griddle pan with enough bacon to feed a small army. The two men worked side-by-side, smoothly and efficiently.
Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) Page 17