She rolled her hips. “Need you…oh fuck!”
“Need what?” He slid his fingers inside, curling them to stroke over her G-spot.
“Everything, Shane. You. Your cock. Your mouth. Everythi—”
Shane delivered another swift slap to her cunt and as she arched on the bed, he cupped her mound in his palm. His dick throbbed, growing impossibly harder. Her reactions were enough to make him lose his damn mind. Everything he did to her, she liked and wanted more of. “Made for me, Cyn. Goddamn made for me.”
So caught up in the moment, Shane didn’t bother to try and hold back. There was no point in censuring himself anymore. The words weren’t bullshit, every one of them was true. She was made for him.
Rising from the bed, he grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer, tore it open and slid the latex over his shaft. “How do you want me to take you tonight?”
Cyn looked up at him and licked her lips. “All ways.”
“Girl…” Shane stood against the side of the bed, gripped her thighs and slid her to the edge. He placed the head at her entrance. “Watch as I slide inside you.”
Cyn rose up on her elbows and stared between them as Shane slid just the tip in. She let out a moan. “Fuck, that’s so hot. Fill me all the way. Please, baby?”
“So polite. Such a good girl.” Shane’s lips quirked into a grin as he gripped her thighs and drove balls deep inside her.
“Oh God! Yes!”
Heaven help him, this woman was Shane’s every fantasy come to life. Before the night was done, he’d make sure she knew without a doubt that he was made for her too.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cyn sat at her desk in her office well past business hours. She hadn’t been able to focus all day—too wrapped up in thoughts about the prior night with Shane. The sex had been beyond intense, more so than it’d already been between them. Something had shifted in him—between them, and she didn’t know what the hell she was going to do about it.
Leaning back in her seat, she rubbed her hands over her face and let out a breath. Along with the rising emotions over his behavior, her body kept springing to life with arousal each time she replayed the night in her mind. The whole situation was unexpected and crazy, as well as mind-blowing. And no matter how many times Cyn had told herself over the last couple of weeks that she would not—absolutely could not develop feelings for Shane, they’d grown anyway.
Without her permission, yet with her full participation.
Agitation with herself, and the situation, pulsed through her as Cyn finally shut down her computer and gathered a pile of customer files and invoices. Shane would be leaving. And she needed to let him go. But fucking hell, she didn’t want to.
With a sigh, Cyn put the papers back down and propped an elbow on the desk, resting her forehead in her palm. What in the hell was she going to do? Burying her feelings wasn’t working for shit, but there was no way she was going to run home and confess all the hearts and butterflies bouncing around her heart.
Cyn slumped back in her chair and toyed with a loose thread on the seam of her jeans. Shane didn’t need to know how she felt. No one did. Things were just too complicated between them, except not really—just that he lived three states away and she was supposed to be single, working on herself and fixing her broken picker.
Bottom line, trusting her judgment was no longer possible. Cyn hadn’t picked a good man…well, ever. Shane was no different, though she really wanted to believe he was. She just couldn’t be sure. And since he was leaving, the opportunity to be sure wasn’t possible.
Chasing after what her heart thought she wanted was just stupid, and what she’d always done in the past. Instead, she needed to listen to her head—however, that was a mess too. “Ugh! This is crazy. I’m crazy!”
Cyn scooped up the pile of documents again, engaged the alarm system and left the office. The sun had set well over an hour ago and she glanced around the empty lot as she walked across the pavement to where she’d parked. She unlocked the Jeep with the key fob and then, carefully balancing the stack of paperwork in one arm, she reached for the door hand—
Cyn was slammed forward against the still-closed driver’s door. Paperwork slid from her grip as her breath gushed from her lungs with the hard impact.
“Now we’re going to talk.” The threatening growl in Carlos’s whispered words sent an eerie chill down her spine. He grabbed one of her arms, wrenching it behind her back. “Whether you like it or not, bitch.”
What the fuck did he think he was doing? Cyn would’ve been scared if she wasn’t so stunned and pissed off. How dare he manhandle her in such a way! Finally regaining her breath, she turned her head to the side and glared at him over her shoulder. “Like hell!”
“We’ll just see about that.” Carlos yanked her away from the Wrangler, opened the door and pushed her inside. He followed after her, shoving her over the center console to the passenger seat.
Cyn reached for the passenger door handle, but Carlos was faster than she expected and he grabbed both of her wrists. Wrapping a thin scarf around them, he bound them together. How in the fuck was this even happening? Cyn got a good look at his face, the overhead dome light illuminating his features. She cringed. The expression in his eyes was like some sort of crazed mental patient who’d snapped. “Carlos, please? What the hell are you doing?”
“Shut your bitch mouth.” He reached behind his back, and in the next moment he pointed a gun at her face. “It’s not your turn to talk.”
Cyn lost her breath and her eyes went wide. “Carlos.”
“You never did know when to shut up.” Setting the gun in his lap, he produced another scarf from his pocket and shoved it between her lips as a gag, tying it behind her head. Righting himself behind the wheel, Carlos slammed the driver’s door closed and started her Jeep. After backing out of the parking space, he squealed out of the small lot.
Cold dread filled her veins. Holy shit, things had just gone from zero to twelve thousand in a matter of two seconds. Trying not to panic, Cyn stared out the windshield and passenger window, her head spinning as they sped down residential side streets. He’d pointed a gun at her. A fucking gun. Jesus. The tint on her windows was so dark, no one would be able to see her. Cyn glanced over at Carlos. His face had hardened into a determined expression, his lips pressed tight together in a harsh frown. The gun lay in between his legs. What the hell was she going to do? What the hell was he going to do?
Cyn glanced at the floor. Her purse was tipped over, its contents strewn around her feet. Her cell phone was down there—exactly where, she couldn’t see. But she had to do something. Anything…there was no way she could let him just take her somewhere, but how the hell was she going to stop him? Cyn drew a breath in through her nose trying to calm her frazzled nerves. Carlos wouldn’t hurt her, not truly hurt her—at least she hoped.
He rounded a corner and Cyn realized they were nearing her neighborhood. He was taking her to her house? Jesus, this was insane. Sure enough, after a few more turns, he pulled into her driveway, opened the garage door and parked inside. Turning off the Wrangler, he got out, rounded the front end and opened her door. “In the house we go.”
She had a brief moment to wonder what he’d done with the gun as he gripped her bound wrists and yanked her out. Cyn stumbled into him with a grunt as she tried to gain her footing. Carlos tugged her into the house, shutting the door behind them.
She blinked, adjusting to the darkness as he led her through the kitchen. Once in the living room, he sat her down in the corner chair and started pacing in front of her. The room was dark, save for the glow of the streetlights spilling through her front window.
When Carlos turned away from her she caught the brushed metallic reflection of the butt of the gun sticking out from the back of his jeans. God, please help me? Foolishly, she’d hoped he had left it on the front seat. Fear rose
in her chest and bile burned the back of her throat. Holy fucking shit, this was bad. This was beyond bad.
“How could you do this to me? How the fuck do you think you’re just going to walk away from me?” He stopped his pacing and turned to her. “I will not be ignored, Cyn!” Carlos rushed forward and got in her face, his nose almost touching hers. Cyn jerked back from him, blinking. He grabbed her by her hair, yanking her head back before shaking her hard. “Do you fucking hear me!”
Cyn squeezed her eyes closed as tears trickled down the side of her face, dripping into her ears. Oh God! Terror pulsed through her blood stream and her heart pounded in her ears. She sucked in a harsh breath around the gag, trying to calm down so she could think. There had to be a way to get away from him. Cyn tried to recall every television show or movie she’d ever watched where someone had been held captive and got away. So stupid, but it was the only thing that came to her.
With his hold still tight in her hair, Carlos gripped her face hard in his free hand. “Not much to say now, huh? Not with that gag in your mouth anyway. Works for me.” He let go of her and stalked away. “Tell me to fuck off? That you’re done? I don’t fucking think so. I’ll show you done, you fucking slut.”
This was it; she might not get another chance. She pushed all her burning fear down. With Carlos’s back still turned, Cyn rose from the seat, raised her bound hands and plowed into the back of him. Screw the gun, it didn’t matter. The room was dark and Cyn was banking on him not being a good shot, and also her running faster than he could track.
Unable to control her body, she let the momentum carry them both to the ground. They landed with a hard thud and Cyn rolled to her side, scrambling to get to her feet.
Carlos was on her before she got even one foot planted on the floor. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and yanked her to the ground. Cyn landed on her back, her head slamming into the hardwood floor. Pain erupted in her chest and sides as her breath punched out of her with a deep, rattled groan.
Carlos straddled her stomach, his teeth bared with his lips peeled back in a crazed sneer. The gag had come loose and she opened her mouth to scream. But couldn’t. Still struggling to catch her breath, Cyn tried to draw in some air and as she did, Carlos slapped her across the cheek—the blow so hard stars exploded behind her eyes. Oh my God! Taking her by the hair, he raised her head and slammed it down on the floor. Pain resonated loudly through her mind, and then he slapped her again. Cyn’s head jerked in the other direction, and her mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.
“What the fuck?”
“Sha-aane!” The last of his name came out on a wheeze. Cyn bucked her hips, trying to get her ex off her. At once, Carlos’s weight was gone and not because of her efforts. Cyn rolled to her side, and worked to get her feet under her. When she turned around, Shane and Carlos were locked in a struggle. They slammed into the end table and the lamp crashed to the floor.
“Cyn, run! Now!” Shane’s voice echoed around the room. He turned with Carlos, and shoved him away. Carlos came back at Shane and Shane raised a fist and punched him in the jaw. Cyn’s ex flew to the side, hitting the wall, but again came back at Shane.
“Shane, he has a gun tucked in the back of his pants!” Cyn looked around, frantic for something to hit Carlos with.
“Cynthia, fucking run now. And call the cops!” Shane punched Carlos in the stomach and her ex doubled over.
“I’m not leaving you.” With her wrists still bound, she grabbed the vase from the entryway table and held it over her head. “Goddammit, Carlos, stop!”
With Carlos still bent over holding his stomach, Shane hit him with an upper cut to the jaw, then spun Carlos, pressing him face-first against the wall, his arm wrenched behind his back. Yanking the gun from the back of Carlos’s jeans, Shane tossed it away from them. “Big man with a gun, huh? Big man assaulting a woman?” Shane pulled him away from the wall and slammed him against it again. “Not so big now, are you, you fucker!”
Carlos let out a disturbed laugh. “You the one she’s fucking now?”
“Shut your mouth.” Shane glanced over at Cyn. “This is Carlos?”
“Yes.” Cyn set the vase down and swiped her tears away, cringing as her hand passed over her cheeks where Carlos had hit her.
“Call the cops, Cyn. Now.”
She licked her lips, the sting from the cut making her wince. “I don’t have my phone.”
“Back pocket.” He yanked Carlos’s bent arm higher. “Don’t you fucking move, or I swear I’ll rip your arm right the hell out of the socket and beat you bloody with it.” Shane glanced at her again, his breath sawing in and out of him. “Grab my phone, Cyn.”
Carlos groaned in what she assumed was pain, but didn’t say anything. She knew how that felt, having an arm wrenched behind your back. Carlos had done it to her in the parking lot. Asshole. Cyn stood there, her limbs vibrating with adrenaline. Blood rushing loud in her ears.
“Cynthia, babe? Did you hear me?” He paused, his gaze intent on her. “Ah, fuck.”
She blinked, caught in a total daze, unable to respond to him. She frowned, her ears ringing as she tried to focus on breathing.
Shane managed to pull his phone from his back pocket and hit a few keys with his thumb. “Yes. This Shane Conlon, I need an officer and an ambulance at four-oh-sixty-six, Billings Avenue… Yes, ma’am. I have an intruder in custody. The ambulance is for the resident, Cynthia Donnelly… No, she’s conscious, but appears to have been assaulted.” He shook his head. “No, ma’am… Yes, ma’am. There’s a gun at the scene. I need to secure it… No. No.” He glanced at her and then back to Carlos.
Cyn cringed, nerves still bouncing through her like a Ping Pong ball. She still couldn’t believe Carlos had a gun. A shiver raced down her spine and spread over her skin. He could’ve killed her. Glancing around the room, she spotted it in the far corner.
“Fuck this shit. Let me go!” Carlos yelled.
Shane grunted. “Ma’am, I’m holding him against a wall at the moment, so I won’t be able to stay on the line… Thank you.” Cyn looked back to see Shane pull the phone from his ear and toss it to the couch. “Cyn, do you have any zip ties in the garage?”
Raising her bound hands, she looked at them. They were shaking. Curling them into fists, she squeezed, and flexed them again.
“Cynthia! Babe, look at me.”
Cyn snapped her gaze to Shane’s.
“Yeah, you’re the one she’s fucking now.” Carlos spat blood on to the floor.
Shane pushed him harder against the wall. “Last warning, Carlos. Shut your mouth, or I’ll be forced to help you shut it.”
“She’s got a hot mouth don’t she? You like that ass too, I bet.” Carlos laughed.
Shane grabbed Carlos by the back of the hair, yanked his head back and slammed it hard against the wall. Carlos went limp, and Shane let him slide to the ground. “Had about enough of that shit.” Shane crouched down and rolled Carlos to his stomach. “Cyn, I need you to get me something to secure his hands with. Sweetheart, do you have any zip ties in the garage?”
“He had a gun,” she heard herself say. “Shane, he had a gun.”
The room spun and then went black.
Shane ran to Cyn, catching her before she hit the ground. He laid her down on the couch and smoothed her hair away from her face. Goddamn-motherfucking-sonofabitch. Her lip was split and bloody. One cheek red, the other swollen—a bruise already appearing on her flesh.
Anger spread through him like hot lava. He wanted to tear Carlos limb from limb. If he hadn’t already knocked him out, he’d do it again. As it was, it was taking every ounce of self-control Shane had not to get up and kick the fucker in the face.
He’d put his hands on Shane’s woman. He’d hurt her. God knows what would’ve happened if Shane hadn’t gotten there when he did. A shiver raced down his spine and he crin
ged as he gently stroked her cheek. He glanced around the room in search of the gun. Spotting it in the far corner, far enough away from Carlos, he turned his focus back to Cyn and untied her wrists. “Wake up, honey.”
She roused a bit, letting out a groan. Her eyelids fluttered and then she finally opened them. “Hi.”
Relief washed through him, but concern replaced it. “You okay?”
As if she suddenly realized what was going on, she knifed up and looked around the room, a frantic look in her eyes. “Where is he? Oh, God, Shane there’s a gun!”
“Shhh. Babe, it’s okay.” He gripped her arms and gently shook her and she focused back on him. “Cyn, just breathe. You’re safe. Cops are on their way.”
“Oh God! I was so scared.” She threw her arms around his neck and started crying.
“Me too.” Shane cradled the back of her head, holding her tight to his chest. “I’m here now. I got you.” He glanced over at Carlos, who was still passed out, and white-hot rage spiked in his gut. Two tours in Iraq, plus contract work in Afghanistan, and never had he been as scared as he was when he walked into Cyn’s house and found her on the ground, some crazed motherfucker on top of her, slapping her around like she was some sort of punching bag.
Sirens rang in his ears and Cyn sucked in a harsh breath. “It’s okay. Just stay here, I’ll let them in.”
She tightened her hold. “Please, don’t go. Please?”
Shane closed his eyes tight, drawing in a hard breath. “Okay, come on.” He stood with her and then walked to the gun. Picking it up, he removed the clip and checked the chamber. It was empty. Taking her by the hand, he moved to the front door. “Babe, I need to hold the weapon above my head. When we open the door, the officers are probably going to have their guns drawn. Just stay behind me, okay. And don’t panic.” He stared into her eyes, hoping like hell she wasn’t going to lose it. “Sweetheart, do you understand?”
She looked down at the gun as she raised her hand to her throat. “Yes.”
Shattered Heart: The Donnellys, Book 3 Page 17