Love's Taming (The Love's Series)

by Maryann Jordan

  A guilty look crossed her face as she raised her eyes to his. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t want you to be sorry, Annie. I just wanna know what is goin’ through that beautiful head of yours.”

  “Shane, I don’t know anything about you. I was just thinking that I’m sitting here with someone that I know intimately, but don’t know at all.” Shrugging, she added, “It just seems weird that’s all.”

  Finishing his food, he stood and took their plates to the sink and rinsed them out. Returning to the table, he took her hand and assisted her to her feet before leading her over to the old sofa. Sitting down he pulled her down into his lap. “So let’s talk, baby. What do you want to know?”

  Smiling, she said, “Now I can’t think of anything with you staring at me like that.”

  “Okay, how about I just start out telling you what I think you might want to know.”

  Giving him a curious look, she agreed.

  Shane settled one hand on her hips while the other rubbed lazy circles on her back, willing her to relax.

  “Okay, baby, here it is. My full name is Shane Patrick Douglas. I grew up outside of Richland in a suburb and my mom still lives there. I’ve got a younger brother, Rick, in college. He’s thinkin’ about going to the police academy but mom’s hoping he decides to go into something safer. I’ve got one sister. Megan. She’s the middle one. Married to a good guy and they’ve got a couple of kids. They live near mom so I know they’re close if she needs anything.”

  He paused, watching her carefully. Her brow crinkled as she pondered what he had just said.

  “You didn’t mention your dad,” she said.

  Shane inhaled deeply and let his breath out slowly. “Yeah. My dad. He was a policeman and was killed about seven years ago while on duty.” He heard the gasp from Annie’s lips as he continued. “Drug bust gone bad.”

  The silence loomed between them, each lost to their own thoughts.

  “Is that why you do it? Why you go after them so hard?” she asked softly.

  He looked beyond her for a moment, then pulled his gaze back to hers. “Baby, I can’t tell you exactly why I went into police work. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Dad saw me graduate from the academy and hoped I would come work with him on the force.”

  Annie looked at him sharply. “You don’t blame yourself, do you? For what happened to your dad?”

  “Maybe if I had been there with him instead of here, things would have been different.”

  “Shane, you can’t possibly believe that. Who knows what would have happened, but you can’t blame yourself,” she said adamantly.

  He gave her hips a squeeze while shaking his head. “Don’t know, baby. But I know I can’t go back and change anything, so I just decided to do whatever it took to bring those fuckers down.”

  “What does your family think?”

  His hand continued to move up and down her back as he continued. “Rick? He gets it. Understands it. Hell, he may even be after it himself. Megan and mom? They wish I’d do something else. Mom knows I gotta do what I gotta do, but I know she’s afraid of the phone call in the night, just like with dad. But she gets it.”

  They sat quietly for a few moments, each to their own thoughts. His hands drifted upward until they cupped her face, holding her gently. His pale blue eyes captured her green ones before he pulled her forward. His lips met hers in a kiss that held promise, then quickly became wild and untamed again. Just like before, sparks ignited. He pulled back, waiting to see what her reaction was going to be. He didn’t have to wait long.

  Annie grabbed his face in her hands, pulled him forward and latched her lips onto his. Tired of waiting. Tired of analyzing. Tired of sitting on the sidelines. Tired of overthinking everything. In that moment, she decided that the sparks she felt every time she was with him were worth jumping into the unknown. He seemed unsafe, but when she was with him, she never felt safer. Slanting her head to give him better access to her mouth, she kissed him with all that she had.

  Feeling her moan in his mouth he immediately stood, lifting her in his arms with his hands on her ass. Striding to the bedroom, his mouth never left hers. He slowly lowered her, holding her steady until she was standing. Feeling her breasts pressed into his chest, he slid his hands up under her shirt moving it upward until he peeled it off of her. His hand quickly divested her of her bra and it landed in the floor next to the shirt.

  While she was being undressed, her hands were pulling his t-shirt off of him as well. She began to unbutton his jeans when his hands came to hers and covered them.

  “Hold on, Sunshine. We keep goin’ this fast and it’ll be over before I’m ready.” Looking deeply into her eyes, he continued, “You asked me earlier about bein’ my woman. We do what we’re gettin’ ready to do and this time will be different. This time, make no mistake, I will be makin’ you my woman. Just want to check, Annie girl, you with me on this?”

  She peered into his pale blue eyes…eyes that no longer seemed hidden, unexpressive. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw into the depths. He was looking at her with compassion. She could actually see the care in his eyes. Warm. Glowing. Just for her.

  Nodding slowly, she replied, “Yeah, I’m with you.”

  Closing his eyes he lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers. “My sunshine,” he whispered. “Only light in my darkness.”

  Before she had a chance to speak he took her mouth again, this time possessively. His lips latched onto hers, kissing her with a force that threatened to overtake both of them. Plunging his tongue deeply, he explored every crevice. Sucking on her tongue, nipping her lips. She wasn’t aware he laid her back on the bed until he stopped kissing long enough to slide her pants and panties off of her legs, tossing them into the ever growing pile of clothes on the floor.

  While standing, he quickly divested himself of his jeans and boxers after pulling a condom out of his pocket. Sliding it over his impressive cock, he joined her back on the bed, covering her body with his own.

  He looked down at the woman beneath him, knowing she was different. Knowing she was the one he wanted. Knowing she was the one who saved him. And yet frightened. This one tiny beauty held so much power over him. What if she’s repulsed once she knows what I have had to do for the past two years? What if she decides that I’m too much of a wild card? What if…

  He felt hands gripping his face as his eyes moved back to hers.

  “Hey, where’d you go?” she asked. “You were laying with me but your mind was somewhere else.”

  Smiling down into her perfect face, “Sorry Sunshine. I was chasing shadows, I guess. But I promise, right now with your body underneath mine, there is nowhere I’d rather be.”

  He watched her face a few minutes later as his long lazy strokes drove her wild and she came apart in his arms, screaming his name. Dipping his head back down, he sucked her nipple in his mouth, prolonging her orgasm as he quickly followed in his release.

  This time it was making love. She felt it. He knew it.

  * * *

  Lying in bed tangled up in each other, they listened to their hearts beating in unison.

  “Sunshine, as much as I hate to do this now, we got some things to talk about.”

  Annie turned so that she was facing him, a questioning look on her face. “What is it?” she asked with fear in her voice.

  He quickly looked down at her and assured her, “It’s nothin’ bad, baby. I just need to let you know where things stand right now with me ‘cause it’s gonna affect the next week.” He slid up in the bed, leaned against the headboard, and pulled her up with him. Tucking her in his embrace, he began.

  “I’m gonna be leaving tomorrow morning and be gone for most of the week.”

  She twisted around to look into his face, deciding that when they talked she wanted to see his eyes. Eyes that could now let her know how he was doing.

  Smiling he continued, “I’ve got two days of debriefing since coming back
from undercover. Got meetings about the big takedown we did last week and need to check on the progress of the three goons we picked up from your assault. Right after that, I want to head to Jefferstown to see my family. I’d love for you to go with me, but I know you can’t close the clinic right now.”

  “Honey, you need this time with your family. You need to see them and focus on just you and them right now.”

  Giving her a squeeze, he nodded. “Yeah, I want to spend more time with you before throwing my mom into the mix.”

  Annie’s eyes widened. “You don’t think she’ll like me?”

  Shane threw his head back and laughed. “Like you? Sunshine, she’ll be picking out china patterns the minute she lays eyes on you!”

  Rolling her eyes, she lay her head back on his chest. “Is there more?”

  “Yeah, there is. For one thing, my stuff is in storage ‘cause I had to give up my apartment when I went under. When I get back, I gotta find another place to live.”

  “You can stay here until you find a place,” she offered quietly, keeping her face pressed to his chest.

  Shane lifted her chin with his fingers and looked into her eyes. “Sunshine, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than spendin’ my nights in your bed, but I was thinkin’ more along the lines of getting a nicer place and hopin’ you’d move in with me.”

  “What’s wrong with this place?” she asked, giggling while pretending to be insulted.

  “Baby, it’d take more time than we’ve got to go over what all is wrong with this place.”

  “Well, I’m not moving in with you now. Remember, we said we would take it a bit slower?”

  Shane pulled her so that she was straddling his lap. Feasting his eyes on her nude form, he asked, “Don’t you think its a little late to go slow?”

  “You know what I mean. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind and we just need more time to get to know each other.” She leaned in and licked his lips before pulling back. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t get to enjoy this.”

  Growling, he took over the kiss, once again plundering her mouth until they could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. Pulling back, he rasped, “Sunshine, we got more shit to talk about. We keep this up, we’ll never get it done.”

  Pouting, Annie settled once again on his chest. “Okay, what’s next?”

  “We need to talk about where this case is and how it affects you.”

  This had her immediately sitting back up, peering into his eyes with fear. “I thought it was over. I thought they were all in jail.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her back into his embrace. “Slow down, Sunshine. Here’s the deal. I told you that when I went under I thought the mission would only last six months, a year at most. But the shit kept draggin’ on and on. The bastards were slick and trusted real slow. It took almost a year for me to even get close to them. I was gettin’ the dirt on them, but my superiors wanted an air-tight case so they kept me in, wanting me to get as much as I could. DEA was also in on it. They had their own undercover agents in as well.”

  Annie pulled herself back to where she could peer into his eyes, swearing she could see shadows passing through them. “Was it bad?” she whispered.

  “Most of it I can’t tell you, but yeah baby. It was bad. And that was before I even knew about the dogs. Then that shit took me over the edge. I knew I had to get out, and when they involved my own dog for me to prove my loyalty after almost two years of doing their shit. I knew I had to get it shut down before I completely lost myself.”

  He pulled her face back to his, smoothing his hands over her cheeks. “I never lied when I said that your sunshine was the first ray of light I had seen in two years. I wanted you then and I want you now. So I also wasn’t lying when I said I want to see where this goes.”

  This time her wild, untamed man kissed her with the softest kiss filled with gentle promises. Promises of more to come. Promises of protection. Promises of …love? Before she could ponder that last thought, he pulled back again.

  “So Sunshine, I’m gonna be gone this week, but my security buddies and the police will have you under surveillance. We have a huge number of the gang in jail, but there are still a slippery few that got away. They’ve dug in deep and gone way down under. I want you protected, but they won’t risk anything now. Still, you gotta be smart.”

  Her eyes went back to his face. “Smart?”

  “Yeah. No runnin’ in the neighborhood alone. No opening the back door to anyone. Use the security system in the clinic and in this apartment. You gotta do all of that, promise?”

  Seeing the concern in his eyes, she agreed. “Yeah honey, I can do that.”

  Hearing the word “honey” on her lips, he allowed the warmth to slide though him, reaching the dark corners that for two years had not seen the light of day.

  “And when I come back…we continue this,” he said. “You and me. Gettin’ to know more about each other. Nothin’ between us. We will lay all our shit out and deal, so nothin’ will come back on us.” Seeing her questioning look, he said, “Annie, there’s shit I had to do for the past couple of years. No way am I gonna tell you all of it, but I don’t want anything to come up later and bite us in the ass. So when I come back, I will give you as much as I can give you. But you’ll hear it from me, not someone else. You with me?”

  “You’re kind of freaking me out right now, Shane, but I get where you’re coming from. So yeah honey, I’m with you.”

  With that, he was through talking and he showed her just how much when he took her mouth. Then he took her body and showed her just how wonderful untamed can be.

  Chapter 12

  True to his word, Shane left that next morning with promises to be back at the end of the week. Annie, anxious to get back into her routine, took over-the-counter pain meds so that she could perform all the duties necessary to keep the clinic running.

  Leon and Suzanne were just as determined to assist in every way possible. The end result was that they often ran into each other as they were all trying to do the same task.

  Finally, in frustration after Annie crashed into Leon as they were both attempting to pick up a dog from the lab table, she snapped. “Stop! Just stop you two!”

  Suzanne and Leon looked at her in surprise.

  “Look guys. I know you are trying to help, but I am fine. Honestly. My side hurts just a little, but other than that, I’m back to normal. We will work more efficiently if we resume our normal duties.” Smiling at both of them, she added, “But thank you. Both of you.”

  “Group hug,” Leon shouted as he rushed forward with Suzanne in tow, lightening the mood. The girls couldn’t help but giggle, then broke apart quickly as they heard the sound of a client in the front jingling the bell numerous time.

  “Oh dear. It’s Mrs. Scarsdale and Precious,” Suzanne moaned. “Her incredibly fat pug.”

  The three laughed as Suzanne and Annie headed back to the examining rooms. After fifteen minutes of trying to get the client to stop feeding Precious treats, she finally resorted to threats.

  “Mrs. Scarsdale, giving Precious treats all the time would be like you going to Mrs. Greenwold’s Bakery and eating a pastry every day.”

  The silence in the room was deafening. Looking up from Precious on the examining table, she met the icy glare coming from the irate client.

  “And just what is so bad about having a pastry from the bakery every day?” Mrs. Scarsdale asked.

  Annie looked at the plump client and tried to find a way to soften the blow. “Well…I’m sure you are… in very good health, but an…overweight dog can have many health issues such as diabetes, joint, problems, liver issues, even an increased risk of cancer. I know you don’t want Precious to have any of those problems.”

  Mollified, Mrs. Scarsdale finally agreed to place Precious on a diet then picked up her pug and headed back to the reception area to check out. As the pug and its owner left the building, she could hear Leon and Suzan
ne in the back laughing.

  “Oh my God, it’s true!” Leon said between chuckles. “Owners really do look like their pets.”

  “When you tried to compare his treats to Mrs. Scarsdale going to the bakery every day and it was obvious she did…I almost lost it,” Suzanne joined in.

  Annie, always trying to maintain professionalism, couldn’t help but join in the laughter. “I’m afraid it’s a lost cause. Precious is destined to become one of the fattest pugs in history.”

  By five o’clock, the last of the clients had left and the three were involved in the clinic clean-up.

  “So…doc,” Leon started as he was gathering trash. “What’s going on with your hot detective?”

  Suzanne, overhearing his question, moved closer so that she did not miss out on the conversation.

  Annie looked at her two friends and smiled. “We’re just taking it slow. In fact, he had to go out of town and will be gone for this week.”

  “With the drug case?” Leon asked.

  Shrugging, she replied, “I don’t really know. After he got me settled in from the hospital yesterday, he just said that he would be gone for most of this week. I was sort of overwhelmed, so I didn’t ask much.”

  Suzanne spoke up sharply, “I thought he was supposed to protect you, not run out of town.”

  “Believe me, my apartment and this clinic are totally secure with the new system he had put in. Plus, haven’t you seen the number of cop cars driving by!”

  Just then there was a knock on the front door of the clinic. The three friends looked at each other in dread.

  “Oh lordy, don’t let that be another Labrador that ate little Johnny’s toy or a cat that got in a fight!” Leon moaned.

  Peeking around the corner, Suzanne called for Annie. “Hey doc. It’s a delivery and I just bet it is for you.”

  Annie walked to the door seeing a huge bouquet of flowers being delivered. Taking them from the delivery boy, she placed the riot of color on the reception counter. Pulling the note out, she read Miss you already, Sunshine. Thinking of you. We’ll go on a real date this weekend. Shane