by Terra Kelly
He had his arms protecting his face from the sand. Dropping them to his lap, he shrugged. “All night.” He shook his head and gave her a light laugh.
“I guess dreams really do become reality.”
Chapter 10
What the hell? She was ready to fucking confess to Danny. Well, there was no going back now. She grabbed onto her knees and arched her back. “So, how about those Chargers?” she said on an exhale.
Danny scowled and then burst out laughing. “Right? Crazy, huh?”
Shawna turned her head toward the ocean. “Did you know that fifty percent of the United States lies beneath the ocean?”
“Fifty percent, eh?”
She stood up and walked closer to the shore. She glanced back toward Danny. “Yup, and the largest mountain range in the world is actually under water.” She turned her head to face the waves that would crash against the posts holding the pier in place. The sound calmed her growing nerves. She laughed. “I would love to explore that mountain someday.” Just as she turned back to ask him another question, she came face to face…well, more like face to chest with him. “Uh…Danny…”
He brought his hand up and brushed a single finger down her cheek. She stilled at his touch. Shawna had a habit of talking too much, especially when put in uncomfortable situations. “Have you ever gone deep sea diving?” she blurted out. “I think that would be amaz—”
Danny let out a soft laugh and leaned forward, probably ready to kiss her. She pulled back slightly. “You know this changes everything?”
He had this sexy grin that was starting to make her melt from the inside out. He turned his head to the side. “Yeah, how so?”
Shawna tried to pull away and explain in further detail, but he made sure she couldn’t move an inch. “Well, your responsibilities change. I have high expectations for what the perfect relationship should be.”
Danny leaned in so he was only inches from her mouth. “Hey red, it’s only one kiss. Let’s see where that takes us, okay?” Her eyes fell in defeat, and he immediately lifted her chin to face him. “Of course, I’m up for the Shawna relationship challenge; it sounds like my kind of gig.”
Shawna didn’t know what came over her, but the way he spoke was sending good vibes all the way to her girl parts. She sprang up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed her mouth hungrily over his. She felt him still and then react instantaneously by pulling her body up so they were eye level with each other. She sighed and closed her eyes, needing more. After so long, she was shocked at her need for his touch. His lips were velvety soft. She loved how he pulled back and brushed softly across her bottom lip. She wondered now why she waited so long for this feeling. She moaned, needing more. She could feel his mouth turn up into a smile, and she leaned back to look into his eyes. “What?”
He bent his head to kiss her neck and move his tongue up to that sweet spot behind her ear. “Nothing.” He chuckled. “Nothing at all.” Then with all his hot firefighter strength, he brought them down to the sand together. Shawna was straddling him and loving the feeling of being that close. He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and spoke again. “Did you know that seventy percent of the planet is ocean?”
She burst out laughing and covered her mouth over his to stop him from sharing any more fun facts. They both went serious. This time the kiss was more demanding. He brushed his tongue along her bottom lip, and she never hesitated to open. She invited him in willingly, their tongues tangling together, almost urgent and exploratory. They stayed together for several minutes, letting out all the pent-up need in this one kiss. When they separated, they were both out of breath. Shawna wanted more. That feeling scared her, and she tried to bolt up.
Danny held her in place. “Don’t go,” he pleaded.
She sank back down and fidgeted with a button on his shirt. In a low voice, she said, “I don’t know if I can control myself around you.” She caught a glimpse of hair beneath his shirt and actually whimpered. “And I don’t know if I want to control myself.” Who was she, and what had this present Shawna done with old Shawna? She brushed her finger lightly over the soft patch of hair, feeling a tingle start at the end of her fingertip.
He leaned back and rested both hands in the sand. He sighed. “Well, let’s think about that for a moment. We met almost two years ago now, right? Which means, we are not rushing anything. Plus, I know what I want, Shawna…you.”
She reached forward and unclasped the first button. Never looking up at him, she brushed her fingers down the patch of hair and needed more. She then undid two more buttons and placed her whole palm on his warm skin. The contact sent shock waves all through her body. Finally, she glanced up, noticing he had his head back and eyes closed. She moved the sides of the shirt farther out and placed both palms on his gorgeous body. She moved them up and down slowly and then clasped them behind his neck. He lifted his head to face her, and she noticed how his eyes were dark with desire. “I haven’t been with a man in almost five years. I may be a bit rusty.”
Danny inhaled sharply, leaned forward, and wrapped both arms tightly around her waist. He kissed the tip of her nose. “I won’t rush it, Shawna. I’ve wanted this moment to happen for too long.”
“Shit,” she said quietly before kissing his lips. Then she started to leave a trail of kisses all the way to the crook of his neck. She sank into his embrace and just stayed there for a while. Staying close to his body, she moved her mouth away from him and said, “What did you do to me, Danny Winters?”
He kissed the top of her head. “I’m going out on a limb here, but guessing, the same thing you did to me?”
Shawna traced circles in the soft patch of hair showing between his open shirt. She smiled and said, “Yeah” before inhaling deeply and leaning up. “Competition.”
Danny turned his head to the side. “Huh?”
She pushed at his chest. “The dance competition. Let’s do it?”
He nodded. “Hell yeah.”
Shawna burst out laughing and leaned forward to take possession of his mouth. What was soft banter, quickly became heated.
She realized at that moment, her hiatus from men was only in effect until she had met him. Now she had to be careful and protect her heart. Hopefully this time it wouldn’t matter. Maybe he would be the one.
Shawna and Isabel were at the local pet store grabbing some cat food for Izzy’s little furry princess.
“I think I want a guinea pig. I’ll name him, Frank.” Shawna pointed at the tri-colored guinea pig eating a carrot. She sighed. “They’re so sweet.”
Isabel had been staring at the two hamsters running on the wheel together in the cage up above. “My cat would devour these little guys.”
Shawna gasped. “Izzy!”
“What?” Izzy tried to look innocent when she said, “It’s the truth. Did I tell how she brought a mouse to us one morning? No joke. Dropped it on my pillow when I was still freaking sleeping. Imagine waking up to that shit.”
Shawna started laughing. “That cat. Now I know why I love her so much.”
Izzy pushed at her shoulder. “Traitor.” Then she laughed and let out her classic snort. “Hey, did I tell you Danny planned to get a dog? So you may want to think twice on your little furry idea.”
They both jumped at the same time when they heard the man in question. “Danny actually did get a dog.” Shawna and Izzy both turned around together. Danny stood there in worn jeans with a few holes around the knees, a Wilmington fire department t-shirt…and flip-flops. He had his hand wrapped around the end of a leash. “Got her yesterday.” He knelt down beside the gorgeous chocolate lab. “She’s a rescue. Her name is, Daisy.” He held out his hand for her to take. “She can even shake. Daisy, shake.” The dog very gently put her paw in Danny’s hand and they moved up and down.
Shawna loved animals. Her one wish was to work with the ASPCA someday and help take down the crazy people who had no clue how to truly love animals. When Danny said that Daisy was a rescue, Sh
awna almost cried. Could he be any more perfect?
She cleared her throat. “Rescue? From where?”
He nodded. “One of the firefighters found an ad in the paper. It said something about needing to find a home immediately for this five-year old dog. The guys knew I had been looking. One visit later and she was mine.” He scratched Daisy’s head and behind her ears. “I can’t understand why the family gave her up; she’s the nicest dog, so laid back.”
Izzy snorted. “Just like her daddy.” She pushed at Danny and asked, “Will this sweet, laid back dog eat guinea pigs?”
Shawna gasped. “Ignore her.” She glanced at Izzy and gave a wide-eyed look of surprise. Then she shook her head and knelt down in front of Daisy. “Hey sweet girl,” she gushed. “You’re a pretty lucky lady.” She bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Awwww, you like kisses, eh?” Daisy took that moment to lick the side of Shawna’s face. She burst out laughing. “Okay, you’re definitely a keeper. We still need to do the ice cream test, though.”
Danny scowled. “Ice cream test?”
Izzy chuckled. “Yup, she’s right.”
“Hey, Daisy. You hungry, pretty girl?” Shawna rubbed both ears and kissed the top of her head. She glanced towards Danny and shrugged her shoulders. “She said, yes.”
Chapter 11
“Hey, Sam and Jules!” Danny raised his hand in a greeting to the two women behind the counter at Jones’ Ice Cream Shop. The little ice cream parlor had been in business for years and was a favorite amongst the locals. Sam and Jules were sisters that took over the place when their parents passed several years ago. Danny had gone to school with them both, and they all knew each other pretty well.
“Danny! What a surprise.” Jules walked around the counter and gave him the biggest hug.
Sam had been refilling the rainbow sprinkles, stopped pouring, and rolled her eyes. “Oh please, we see him almost every day.”
Shawna had been standing directly behind Danny. He heard her gasp, so he turned around. Raising his hand before she could say anything, he spoke. “Okay, maybe Daisy has experienced the ice cream test already.”
Jules burst out laughing. “Like four times already. I would hope she passed with flying colors.”
Izzy whistled. “Ohhhhh, man, you were just working the system, eh?” She bent down to eye level with Daisy. “Did your daddy play us? Do you already love ice cream?” The sweet dog took that moment to lick the tip of her nose.
Shawna squatted down beside Izzy and took the dog’s head in her hands. In a scolding tone, she said, “Your daddy will have some explaining to do now.” Daisy whimpered and lifted her paw for Shawna to take. Shawna shook her head. “Oh no you don’t. You both are in trouble, lady.”
Danny wanted to laugh, but he held it in. He enjoyed watching Shawna talk to Daisy like she was a person. Actually, when he picked up Daisy, his first stop had been Jones’ Ice Cream Shop. The dog seemed sad when he met her, and ice cream always made things better.
Danny let out a breath and said, “Well, to be fair, the place where Daisy lived was about two blocks away from here.” Which really was the truth. The family that fostered the dog lived close to town, so he passed by the parlor on his way home.
Shawna stood up and stepped closer to Danny, pointing a finger at his chest. “We’ll take this up later, mister. Right now we shouldn’t keep Miss Daisy waiting.” He noticed how she winked and turned to the counter to pick what flavor ice cream she wanted.
Isabel walked up beside him, and in an extremely low tone, said, “Take it up later, huh?” She pinched his ass and walked to the counter. He made a grunting sound at the contact and then tried to brush it off like it was no big deal. He cleared his throat and said, “Sorry, stubbed my toe.”
Danny stood there a few feet away from the counter watching Shawna point at each flavor. She sighed, mumbled something, then stepped back and looked at each one again. Finally, she let out a frustrated sigh. “Can I have one scoop of that coconut pineapple sorbet and one scoop of the Jack Daniels chocolate cheesecake?” Shawna turned on her heel to come face to face with Danny. “I hate having to only choose just two. I could easily grab like ten,” she said, pouting.
He reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her eye. “So what’s stopping you?”
“My girlish figure.” She touched her tummy and sighed. “Gotta fit in those fancy corsets.”
He bent to be eye level with Shawna. “Hey, corset or no corset, eat the ice cream.” Some customers had entered the shop, so he pulled Daisy’s leash closer to him. Then Danny turned back to Shawna and asked, “How does grilled banana splits sound?”
He noticed how her eyes lit up at the idea. She turned her head to the side and said, “Grilled?”
“Wouldn’t have them any other way,” he said and headed to pick out his ice cream. “You’ll see. Once you try it, you never want your banana split the boring old way.” He glanced back toward her. “But first we need to get our butts over to see Anya and Gabriel.”
Once they all had their ice cream, they found a table outside on the patio facing the ocean. Izzy had taken Daisy’s leash and was already feeding her the little vanilla ice cream cone they got specifically for the dog. “Man, she does love this treat.” The dog had almost eaten the whole cone in about six licks. Once Daisy finished, Isabel sat back in her chair. Danny noticed her eyeing him. Finally, Izzy said, “So when’s this dance competition happening? I need to put it on my calendar.”
Danny looked at Shawna to make sure he didn’t talk over her. When she didn’t respond, he spoke. “May fifteenth.”
Shawna nodded. “Yup, the fifteenth.” Shrugging her shoulders, she asked, “You want to go tomorrow night?”
Danny thought about holding her again and wondered if he would be able to control himself. After their confession on the beach the other night, he had not been able to stop thinking about her legs wrapped tightly around him. Her lips touching his own.
“Earth to Danny!” Izzy tapped her hand on his thigh. She rolled her eyes. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
Of course he had not. “What? Yeah…sure.” He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, trying to hide his excitement from the girls.
Shawna burst out laughing. “You do, huh?” She straightened up in her chair. “So you plan to wear a speedo to our next dance class?”
Danny just stared at her, unable to speak. Finally, he found his voice. “Wouldn’t you just love that?” he said, joking. He noticed Shawna turn as red as the shirt she had on.
Izzy snorted. “Oh, this is getting good. Somebody pass me some popcorn, please.”
“I knew you both would be back,” Anya gushed and grabbed on to their hands to pull them onto the dance floor. “You’re going to be part of the competition, right?”
Shawna had on a sexy, blue, knee-length dress and high heels so she could be almost eye level to Danny. He had stayed behind her as they made their way into the studio and loved the way she moved and how the dress clung to her every curvy. She was sexy as hell.
“Yeah. If we can still enter?” They both had no clue if they missed the cut-off for signing up.
Gabriel walked up beside Anya and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Of course,” he said and then mumbled something that sounded like, “We already added your names.”
Shawna scowled and looked between Danny and the dance instructors. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Danny chuckled. “I think what they’re both so kindly keeping on the down-low, is they had already signed us up.” Shawna and Danny turned toward them both. “Right?”
Anya waved her hand at him to brush off what he tried to claim. “We’re wasting time standing here chatting.” She clapped her hands together and asked, “Now, are we going to chat all night, or should we dance?”
Danny rolled his eyes and laughed softly. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned towards Shawna and held out his hands for her to take. “I like how you’re taller today.” H
e looked down at her shoes and whispered, “You may need to wear those later.”
Shawna’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t say a word.
He pulled her in closer to his body and heard her suck in a breath. He shook his head. If they were going to dance in this competition, they both would need to expend some pent-up energy…and soon.
Over the next few hours, Anya and Gabriel helped them get each step right for the Tango. The dance was complicated and involved some specific leg lifts in between moving back and forth.
Danny was happy there were only a couple of simple full body lifts onto his chest, but nothing where he had to bring her above his head. Then, he started thinking about how it would be fun to practice some in the water. If they mastered an advanced lift, it could only help them in the competition.
After class, Danny headed over to Shawna. She was reaching down to grab her gym bag. He glanced around the studio before he turned toward her and spoke. “Want to have dinner with me?” He had a messy house and a dog that had been alone for a few hours, but what the hell.
She pulled the bag up on her shoulder and sighed. “I don’t know, Danny.”
He turned his head to the side. “Don’t know what? We talked about this the other night. Did you change your mind?”
Shawna immediately shook her head. “No, no I didn’t.”
Danny gave her a half-smile, and said excitedly, “Good. Then follow me and let’s have dinner. Daisy needs snuggles, too.” He watched her as she appeared to be tossing the invitation around in her mind. He moved closer to her and demanded, “Stop overthinking everything and just have fun. You deserve it, Shawna.”
She exhaled, put her head down, and then looked back up at him and nodded. “Okay, fine.”
He reached his arm out for her to take, and they started heading out. All of a sudden, Anya yelled out, “Night you two, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”