Embracing Danger

by Olivia Jaymes

  “She liked you.”

  The moment seemed to stretch on forever and the rest of the world was forgotten until reality reared its ugly head and Aunt Lydia bustled onto the patio, throwing up her hands.

  “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. There are some people I want you to meet. They were friends of your mother, Arden.”

  They both stepped back and Shane instantly felt the loss of warmth from her body. Arden smiled at her aunt but the sideways glance she gave Shane looked wistful. He was sure he was imagining it. It had been a moment but it was over and she was probably glad.

  He, on the other hand, wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight.

  Chapter Seventeen

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  “Don’t take me back to the hotel. Not yet. Take me somewhere. Take me anywhere.”

  Arden had spoken those words when the party was over and before they left for Indianapolis. The fact was she felt restless and it was because of this man next to her. He’d held her in his arms, touched her, comforted her and it had been as close to heaven as she could possibly get here on earth.

  She’d never forgotten how good his body felt pressed so closely to hers, but the memory had dulled over the years apparently because with one touch he’d awoken a million little nerve endings in her flesh and they all craved one thing.

  Shane.

  Keeping her distance hadn’t worked. Then trying to be strictly friends wasn’t succeeding either. This wasn’t even about the past anymore, which shocked her the most. This was about the man he’d become. Shane was strong, caring, protective, funny, and smart and she’d fallen in love with him all over again, but this time as a grown woman. It made her feelings for him then seem small in comparison.

  It was madness, of course. But she simply wanted what little she could have of him while they were together. Soon her father would be found and she’d be back to her old life. Shane would go off with the latest in a long line of gorgeous Barbie dolls and all she’d have was her memories to keep her warm at night. So she might as well make them good because they’d have to last a hell of a long time.

  Now they were racing down a dark street on the outskirts of Hemingdale on the back of a borrowed motorcycle. Shane had seen one of the caterers dismount from an older model bike when they’d arrived and after her declaration had gone back inside the party to hunt him down. Much to the man’s astonishment, Shane offered him a large sum of money for a short term “rental” of the bike. He hadn’t believed it at first but when Shane assured him he was serious and showed him the cash, the younger man had been more than happy to make a quick buck. Especially after Lydia assured him that Shane could be trusted.

  Thankfully it was a warm and humid night, summer’s last hurrah here in the middle of the country. Arden had laughingly hiked up her dress and thrown her leg over the seat, thrilled that they were going for a ride. There was nothing like the hum of the engine between her legs or the way Shane’s muscled back felt against her front, her arms wrapped around him tightly. Their bodies moved in concert with each dip and turn until he finally brought the motorcycle to a halt in a grove of trees far from the lights of the little town.

  A small stream gurgled nearby and a few crickets chirped, but otherwise there was silence all around them as if they were the only two people on the planet. Much like earlier, but this time the tension was strung even tighter after their ride and her legs were shaking as he helped her off the bike.

  Her high heels sunk into the soft ground as she stood in front of him, not wanting any excess distance between them. She could smell the tang of aftershave and the hint of clean sweat mixed with the aroma of earth and night sky.

  “Thank you.”

  There wasn’t anyone for miles, but she whispered anyway not wanting to disturb this fragile peace between them. One wrong move and they’d be back where they’d started that night at the charity party that felt so long ago but had really only been a few weeks. So much had happened, but mostly her heart had overruled her head time and again.

  Even now it pounded against her sternum as she struggled to take in her next breath. Their gazes were locked and she could swear she’d seen that look in his eyes before, but it was probably all just a fantasy her mind had conjured up out of the twinkling stars. A bit of make-believe romance to make herself feel better about falling so far and so fast for him.

  Again.

  She’d been a goner that summer fifteen years ago, practically love at first sight. He’d been the sexier than sin older guy at a picnic and she’d been dazzled from the moment he’d said hello, that dimple in his cheek showing. How she’d ever found the strength to leave him in the end she didn’t know, but perhaps that girl had been wiser than the grown woman.

  “You’re welcome. Are you okay? Do you want to talk?”

  The last thing she wanted to do was talk. Highly overrated, it wouldn’t fix the hole that had been in her heart since the day she’d left. It wouldn’t bring back her blissful ignorance of her family’s past.

  And it sure wouldn’t erase the reason she’d left him to go away.

  But there was one thing he could do to stop the pain, if only for a little while. It was a band-aid on a broken limb, but what was a woman in love to do at a moment like this? The woman she’d become might walk away and worry about her dignity but the girl she’d been?

  Grab onto all she could get with two greedy hands.

  “No, I don’t want to talk. I want…”

  “Yes?” Shane moved closer, his body radiating heat and she pressed her hands to his chest. “What do you want, my princess?”

  Her lips parted to say it but fear clutched at her chest. If he turned her away, she’d crawl away and die.

  Her mouth was dry and she licked her lips, her voice shaking with desire and terror, all at the same time.

  “I…I need…”

  His gaze softened and his fingers traced her jaw before caressing her mouth. Her breath escaped in one painful exhale as her tongue lapped at his thumb. His other arm yanked her against the hard planes of his body, the heat of his flesh searing through the thin material of her cocktail dress but she welcomed the burn.

  It had been so long. Too long.

  Shane bent his head and buried his face in her neck, his voice rumbling in her ear. “Tell me what you want.”

  Arden’s throat was tight but she managed to croak out one word. “You.”

  It was enough.

  His mouth came down on hers hot and urgent as his callused hands plucked at the zipper on the back of her dress, tugging it down so the material fell off her shoulders and pooled at her waist. The sound of his groan tightened the coil in her lower abdomen and ratcheted up her arousal level almost instantly.

  The bulge in his slacks told of his own want and need and she reached down to cup him through the fabric. He felt hot and hard, seeming to grow beneath her fingers and she rubbed his length until he was gasping with pleasure. If she only had tonight, she wanted to give him everything.

  Reluctantly, he pulled back with a grimace. “Easy, honey. We don’t want this to be over before it starts. I’ve got a lot of plans for you. Every inch of you, in fact.”

  She shivered at the promise in his words and was rewarded with another soul-searing kiss that curled her toes and took her breath away. His deft fingers, far too skilled with ladies’ lingerie, made quick work of the clasp on the back of her bra and she felt it slide down her arms. The night air tightened her nipples and she moaned in pleasure when his tongue rasped over an already pebbled bud.

  Her knees gave way and he caught her easily, lifting her onto the seat of the motorcycle, the leather cool on her overheated skin. Facing her, Shane insinuated himself between her thighs as her skirt tangled around her hips, urging her legs to wrap around his waist. She braced her hands behind her and leaned back to give him better access and he immediately took advantage of her bowed torso, capturing a hard nipple between his lips and scraping it with his tongue.

&nbs
p; Pleasure surged through her veins like a fire on the prairie, leaving her panting and wild, her nails digging into his wide shoulders. The untamable need to have him closer, pressed against her own flesh was overwhelming and she groaned his name, a plea for mercy on her tongue. The ache between her legs was almost unbearable and only Shane deep inside of her would ease the pain. She’d fantasized about this so many times but the reality was more, much more.

  “I know what you need. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get it.”

  Dropping to his knees on the carpet of grass, Shane hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties. She felt a tug and then the sound of tearing fabric as a breeze ran over her now bare slit. He tossed her legs over his shoulders and pressed first one finger and then another inside her, so wet they slid in easily. Hooking his fingers, he unerringly found that sweet spot deep inside her that had her keening his name and clenching his head with her thighs.

  Clutching the back of his head, she let her lids flutter shut as his tongue flicked over her swollen clit and a shudder of intense pleasure ran through her frame. He drew a whimper from her lips as he lapped at the pearl while his fingers pumped in and out of her slick channel. White hot flames built inside of her until all she could do was say his name over and over again, her body shaking with the force of not just pleasure but pure emotion.

  This was the man she loved.

  “Come for me.”

  Such a simple request but he still held sway over her body even after all this time. She cried out as her pleasure crested and then rolled over her as bright-hot lights danced behind her lids. She was trembling and tried to gather herself, but Shane didn’t allow that for a second. She heard the telltale sound of a zipper and the press of his hot, hard length against her thigh.

  “Is it safe? I’m clean,” he rasped, his voice deep and dark. It sent a tingle down her spine and she nodded, giving him the permission he sought.

  “Yes. Please.”

  Pushing into her, Shane’s length seemed to drive the oxygen from her lungs. Her breathing ragged, she bit her lip as he stretched her far past anything she’d had since their last time. He filled her completely and totally, owning her in a way no one else ever had or ever would. She belonged to him body and soul.

  His hands grasped her hips and he lifted her up so he could straddle the bike before settling onto the seat with her impaled deeply on his shaft.

  “Fuck, baby. You feel so hot and tight. Ride me.”

  She didn’t bother telling him she was tight because she hadn’t been with a man in a few years. Her marriage hadn’t been the most passionate and at the end it hadn’t been physical at all. She hadn’t mourned the loss of it until she’d seen Shane again, the bad boy waking up her dormant libido and making her remember all the naughty things they used to do to one another.

  Still wearing her high heels, she wrapped her legs around him as he used his considerable strength to lift her up and then down, his length rubbing delicious spots inside and sending her closer to release once again. She leaned back until her spine touched the bike as Shane pounded into her, his feet braced on the ground and his hands on her ample bottom. She’d have a few small bruises tomorrow but what a lovely reminder of their shared passion.

  Teetering on the very edge of the cliff, Arden’s hand slid down her belly to the swollen button between her legs but Shane chuckled and slapped it away.

  “That’s my job, baby girl. Are you ready to come for me?” His thumb brushed the nub over and over until her body was strung tight as a bow. “Come hard. I want you to scream my name so everyone knows where you get your pleasure.”

  His name was on her lips when her release exploded in her abdomen and radiated out to her extremities like waves lapping at the shore, pulling and pushing until she was wrung out and breathless.

  Shane’s own head was thrown back, the cords of his neck in stark relief as he found his own climax. She watched fascinated as a muscle worked in his jaw but his gaze never wavered from her own. It was hot, sexy, and incredibly beautiful to witness.

  When they were done, he pulled her into his arms so they were skin to skin, his face buried in her hair. They didn’t move for a long time until eventually she felt him pull away slightly, a warm breeze caressing her damp flesh.

  “That was worth the wait. How about we head back to the hotel and do it again?”

  There were a million reasons to refuse and only one to say yes, so of course she nodded her head in agreement.

  She’d think about the consequences tomorrow.

  * * *

  Shane’s lids opened halfway, checking the digital clock on the nightstand. It was just after five in the morning and still dark outside the heavy drapes in their hotel room. He’d fallen asleep only a few hours ago but he wasn’t complaining. He also wasn’t unhappy in the least about the warm, womanly form draped over him, her breasts pressed to his chest and her head cradled on his shoulder.

  He was still in something of a daze. Arden had expressed her need for him last night and he hadn’t hesitated to make love to her, even in an unusual locale such as on a bike seat in the woods. Afterwards, he’d returned the motorcycle to its owner and driven her back here, where they’d proceeded to try out shower sex for the first time.

  Clean and sated, they’d gone to sleep but now that he was awake he was finding that all parts of him were awake. He couldn’t wait another minute to be with the woman he loved. Who needed food and sleep when he had this unbelievable happiness filling every nook and cranny inside of him and making his heart almost burst out of his chest?

  He’d been given a precious second chance with the most important person in his world.

  They’d been apart so long he didn’t want to waste a moment now that they were back together. In fact, he had a fun idea as to how to wake her up for a little pre-dawn romp.

  Sliding under the covers, he gently rolled Arden onto her back and positioned himself between her legs. He pressed kisses onto the sensitive flesh behind her knee and then up toward the apex of her thighs, nipping and licking along the way.

  Arden’s hips twitched and jerked and a soft moan escaped from her lips but her limbs were still heavy with sleep. Running his tongue along the folds of her slit, he pressed a finger in her already dripping channel, the walls hugging his digit tightly.

  “Shane.”

  He lifted the covers to take a peek and Arden’s eyes were closed but the lids were beginning to flutter with wakefulness. He bent his head again, getting back to work and lapped at her swollen button until her fingers twisted in his hair and his name was being groaned in a sleepy tone.

  “Good morning, princess,” he said against her most private place, blowing a breath over her clit and feeling her tremble in response. Her legs moved restlessly and she tugged at his hair until he slid up her body.

  “It’s not morning,” she mumbled crossly, although her hips were grinding against his so she didn’t seem to mind the early wake up call. “The sun isn’t even up. You’re evil, Shane Anderson.”

  Shane grinned wickedly as he ran a fingertip around an already pebbled nipple. “It’s morning somewhere in the world, but if you want me to I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

  Arden snorted, not in the least delicate or ladylike but he loved the fire in her so much it made him ache. “You woke me up, you better finish this.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  She was so wet he slid in easily all the way to the hilt and he sucked in a breath as she surrounded him, hot and snug. He started up a slow, rocking rhythm, savoring every moment of being one with her and in no hurry to end it even as he felt that familiar tingle in his lower back and a flush on his neck.

  Burying his face in the fragrant curve of her neck, he groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his ass as they moved in perfect synchronicity, their bodies acting as one entity. Her nails scraped his shoulders and that primal voice inside of him chanted in his ear, drowning out
their ragged breathing and the slap of skin on skin.

  Deeper. Harder. Faster.

  He lifted her knees on his elbows so he could drive into her very core and that’s when the flutters of her climax began, the walls clenching as he thrust into her again and again. Her orgasm tore his own release from him; his balls pulled up painfully to his body as it turned him inside out and left him exhausted and reeling. Nothing felt as good as being with Arden. How had he gone so long without her, without this? When she’d left he must have become used to walking around without his heart.

  He rolled onto his back and carried her with him, tucking her into his body with his arms wrapped around her. Her skin was soft under his fingertips and he stroked down her arm, delighting in her shivers and giggles as she fell back asleep.

  Shane felt sleep overcome him as well and he gave into the fatigue knowing the morning would bring a new day, but this time he wouldn’t be alone anymore. Their future started now.

  Chapter Eighteen

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  Arden could feel the change in the air when they awoke and began to get ready for their day. Shane was singing in the shower at the top of his lungs a song from that summer so long ago. It had been playing that first day when they met at the picnic on the lake. Before he’d stepped into the bathroom, he’d even grinned and given her a long, slow kiss.

  The kiss wasn’t the kind from a man who had a one night stand with an old flame. The kind a handsome, popular bachelor gave a female the next morning to say he’d had a great time but there was no future.

  No, this kiss held promise. It was all about love and commitment and forever.

  Holy shit, what had she done?

  There could never be a forever for the two of them. The reason she’d left him hadn’t gone away although her love had never died. It had never occurred to her – idiot that she was – that perhaps his hadn’t either. She’d been too lost in her own pain to notice if he was hurting too. Now she was going to have to shoot him down once again. She had no choice.