As soon as my ass met the couch, Shane was on his knees, my foot in his lap as he produced a hanky—yes, the man apparently carried a hanky—from his back pocket and proceeded to dab at the blood while inspecting my injury. “I don’t think we can know for sure without X-rays, but it looks like you could have broken it.”
That was the last thing I wanted to hear, but despite the pain in my foot, I found myself breathing deeply to calm the fluttering butterflies that had taken residence in my stomach.
“I can’t have a broken toe! I’ve got boxes to pack and shipments to deliver to my clients. I–” The fact that Shane’s shoulders were shaking with laughter incensed me. “What’s so funny?” I grumbled.
“What are the odds that I would plan a night that entailed dancing, and this is what happens?” He grins up at me, his eyes displaying heat as he all of a sudden goes completely serious. “And I don’t dance.”
That had me giggling. “Then why would you plan a date like that?”
“Because I found myself wanting to do that with you.” Cue those fluttering butterflies! All hints of my earlier nerves were officially forgotten. “Now I’m thinking, let’s get you checked out, come back here, and settle in for some pizza and a movie. How does that sound?”
My mouth was dry as the desert, but I managed to eke out an, “Okay.” I wasn’t much of a dancer anyway.
“A fucking fractured toe,” I grumbled as Shane got into the driver’s seat. “How many times does someone stub their big toe in a lifetime, and I have to be the one to end up the gimp?”
His laugh was quiet, as he set a hand on my thigh. “Look at it this way, if you structure your days right, I can help you with your deliveries.” He winked, then took his hand back to start his car.
“That’s highly inconvenient, Shane.”
“It’s just until you’re able to do it on your own again, Emberlyn,” he retorted.
I snorted. “Get me that pizza and take me home, will you?”
His rich timbered laugh boomed out. “Your wish is my desire.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.
Those are huge words to live by, big man.
When another boom of laughter hit the interior of the car, I knew I’d spoken my thoughts aloud.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
“I have no problems to live by them, sweetheart.” Putting the vehicle in gear, he grabbed my hand and kissed the knuckles, a shiver coursing through my body as he twined our fingers together and kept hold.
“Hell,” I mumbled, training my gaze through the passenger side window, my breath speeding up, my body heating. Something told me that he was a man of his word.
We’d demolished the pizza and had vetoed the movie, for the time being, in lieu of conversation. Normally, I was a closed book, but with Shane, I found it quite easy to open up to him. Of course, it could have been the bottle of wine we’d emptied. I was good. I was happy. I was feeling no pain at all.
Shane moved my legs so they draped over his lap, causing me to turn and lean my inner arm up on the couch backrest. I rested my head in my hand, my other one holding on loosely to my nearly empty glass of wine.
“So,” he started, “lotions and potions, huh?”
My laugh was light. Relaxed. “Yeah, lotions and potions.”
“How’d you get into it?”
“My grandmother taught me that it’s pointless to buy something when you can make it,” I explained. “I took some of her recipes, dabbled with them, adding things here, taking out things there…Next thing I knew, I had friends wanting my stuff. One of them convinced me to go to smaller shops around Jacksonville and see if they’d be willing to sell my products.”
His gaze was one of wonderment. “And the rest is history, right?”
I grinned. “Not exactly. That same friend stole from me. She put her own line of shit out with some of my recipes. I should have known to copyright them.”
“I take it she’s no longer a friend,” he said rhetorically.
“No, she’s not. Anyway, I ended up starting from scratch again, reinventing my brand, my products, and expanding from there.” I couldn’t hide my prideful smile. “Grandma passed not too long after that, and I moved in here.”
“What about Trevor? Was he part of the reason why you relocated?” he asked.
I nodded, my nose scrunching up. I knew that this topic of discussion would come to pass. “He’s been in jail for three years now,” I explained. “I put him in there with my book, and his brother helped me. I don’t talk to Darren anymore. We figured it would be safer to part ways when the divorce was finalized.”
By book, I meant something more along the lines of a binder filled with photos and diary entries of each time my ex had hit me hard enough to leave a mark.
“I’m glad.” His hand brushed the tendril of hair that dangled at my temple. “I read up on him too, by the way.”
My smile was a sad one. “I figured you probably would after you looked me up.”
“He’s eligible for early parole,” he said, stroking the side of my face. “I know you have a restraining order on him that covers the entire state, but have you given it any thought if he’d try to track you down?”
I hesitated. “It’s why I’m having the security system put in,” I whispered, unable to meet his eyes. We were having such a nice evening, I really didn’t feel like ruining it by broaching the subject of my mystery packages and notes. Not yet anyway.
“Good,” he said softly, his hand moving to just below my chin, tilting my face up. “I want you to know that I’m here.”
“I know.”
“No, Emberlyn.” He licked his lips, then leaned in. “I’m here to help. I’m here to protect you. I’m here to–”
Leaning up the rest of the way, I snared his lips with mine.
God! The man couldn’t be more perfect. He said all the right things.
This kiss was pure sweetness. It was a thank you. It was a capitulation. It was a statement that I wanted more of what was going on between us. Much more. Fuck the one date!
Licking the flavor of him off my lips before pecking his mouth one last time, I ran my nose up his and smiled sweetly. “How ‘bout that movie?”
Chapter 14
Shane
Here we were, lazing on the couch, Emberlyn at my side, but splayed mostly on top of me. We were maybe halfway through Deadpool when I whispered into the crown of her head. “I fucking missed this.”
She lifted her head, studying me. “I take it you haven’t dated much since…”
I shook my head. “Having a child to care for, and a crazy career as a detective, doesn’t really leave me with much time. Then again, I haven’t really felt the urge to make time and get to know someone beyond the superficial, until recently.” My eyes bored into hers.
“You mean me?”
I grinned. Why was she so surprised? “You,” I confirmed, waiting until she settled her head on my chest once more before I gave her more of myself. “I miss cuddling in front of the TV, quiet nights in, good conversation…good company. I miss having someone for myself that gives a damn about more than just themselves. Someone that can challenge me.”
“I miss it too and I’ve never had it,” she admitted at a whisper, squeezing my middle with the arm that was draped over it. “I want it though.”
“You have it, sweetheart,” I told her, pressing my mouth to her hair again. “For as long as you want it. With me.”
She snickered. “You really know how to tempt a girl, you know that?”
“You make me want to tempt you,” I confessed.
Arching back to look down on me again, both her hands came to rest on my chest as she made to center herself over me.
This position could potentially get us in hot water.
Leaning into me, her eyes played between mine and my mouth as she whispered, “I think all you need to do is breathe to do that.”
That’s when I lost my ability to thin
k clearly.
With a hand at the back of her head, the other on her back, I guided her mouth to mine in a savage kiss.
The moment she moaned, I took the opportunity to thrust my tongue into her mouth and get a thorough taste of her.
Her body melted into mine.
Rolling us over was a little tricky, but with little urging on my part, Emberlyn followed my lead, and that’s how I came to lay on top of her, my mouth releasing hers for the sake of exploration.
Lifting her leg to wrap around my waist had made the hem of her dress ride up, exposing the edge of her underwear. My hand traced the smoothness of her thigh, rubbing up until it found lace.
I paused by her collarbone, my forehead dropping there as I struggled to breathe. “She wears fucking lace.”
“I like things that make me feel pretty,” she panted. “You should check out the matching bra.”
I reared back like a shot and stared at her shocked expression.
Seconds later, she covered her face, giggling into her hands. “I can’t believe I just said that. It has to be the wine.”
Chuckling, I pulled her hands down from her face, kissing her nose as I did it. “You can’t tease me like that and expect me not to go looking.” I waggled my brows, generating another laugh from her. “Fuck, I love that sound.” I pressed my mouth to hers in a hard and all-too-brief kiss. “Your say, sweetheart. If you want to continue this, I’m not sure I can do it on the couch.”
“Then take me to bed, Shane.”
With my hands on her hips, my body pressed against the back of hers, Emberlyn led us to her bedroom.
By the time we reached her bedside, I bent my head to kiss her shoulder, toward the back of her neck, as I unzipped her dress.
“Are you sure?” I asked against the smooth skin of her shoulder. She nodded. “Sweetheart, I need to hear you say it.”
“I’m sure, Shane.”
To emphasize her point, she turned in my arms, and allowed the fabric to her blush-colored dress to drop to the floor. Furthermore, her hands made a grab for the buttons of my shirt, working each of them through their eyelets, before pushing the garment off my shoulders and down my arms.
“I’m glad I checked,” I rasped, as she skimmed her hands over my chest, pressing her lips over my left pec in a tender kiss. “It only proves that I was right. You can drive me crazy by simply wearing lace.”
I felt the puff of air over my chest from her quiet laugh. “That’s encouraging.” Pulling back to meet my eyes, I was greeted with her mischievous smirk. “Now let’s do something about those pants, Detective Peters.”
The moment her dainty fingers snuck beneath the waistband of my pants, to undo the button and zipper, my brain short-circuited. Her eyes never once left mine as she shimmied the slacks over my hips and down my ass. Gravity took over the rest as I sifted my hands into the back of her blonde locks and brought my mouth down on hers.
The dazed expression on Emberlyn’s face, when I pulled away, urged me forward.
Guiding her to sit, then lay back over her comforter, I paused, standing above her, admiring the sight sprawled before me.
“Exquisite,” I stated, wrenching my feet from my pant legs, removing my socks in the process.
“You’re looking pretty damn fine, yourself.” She winked.
“Beautiful, smart, honest, sweet, and just the right amount of sass,” I muttered, crawling up onto the bed, before lowering myself over her. “It’s sexy as fuck.”
Her heated gaze turned to one of softness. “Shut up and kiss me, Shane,” she whispered, her voice holding a subtle quiver.
Her words had me grinning. “Any particular place you’d like my kisses?”
“You can start with my mouth.” She cupped the side of my face. “I like your kisses. Anywhere else those lips touch will simply be a bonus.”
Chapter 15
Emberlyn
Oh. My. Sweet. Baby. Jesus!
The fact that the small patch of lace covering my pussy, or the thin layers covering my tits, hadn’t been incinerated yet, was shocking.
Shane had me writhing, simply by using his hands and mouth. His sinfully wicked mouth. The sucking, licking. The nipping. It was the most brilliant kind of torture I’d ever experienced, and I wanted to submit to his every whim.
I was staring down my body, at the head of mussed up dark blond hair that hovered just above my pelvis.
His gaze met mine. “My mouth is watering for a taste of you,” he growled.
God, did I want him to do that. “Please.” He had me in such a heated tizzy that I wasn’t above begging at this point. It had been so long.
Shane reached for the sides of my underwear, my hands covering his, guiding their removal so I could maintain a sense of control.
The man’s nostrils flared at the sight of my bare smooth skin. I was thankful that I’d made the time to see my usual aesthetician for a wax last week. My heat throbbed at Shane’s blatant approval of my grooming choice.
Much to my joy, the man didn’t waste time.
He wasn’t gentle with me like I’d expected. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t rough either. He just had this kind of presence to him. Dominant. Sure. He knew what he wanted, and wasn’t afraid to get it. To take it. I normally shied away from people with dominant personalities, especially since Trevor, but Shane…there was just something about him. Maybe it was because he was a cop, but I just knew—down to the very fibers of my soul—that he would never deliberately harm me.
Shane’s lips surrounded my clit, two fingers maniacally hitting that sweet spot inside me, I had no doubt I was done for. Seconds later, I found myself teetering over the edge of bliss.
“Shane, fuck!” I screamed as my orgasm rushed through me, my body bowed tight.
“Holy.” He kissed my stomach. “Shit.” His tongue licked a trail up my sternum. “That was hot.” He nipped my jaw, then settled between my thighs, his cock nestled against the tender flesh he’d just worshipped with his mouth. “I’m gonna need another taste. But later.”
“Mmm,” was all I could muster. I was basking in the afterglow of Shane’s sensational display of sexual prowess, and if I were being entirely honest, I couldn’t think, let alone see straight, at that moment.
“Sweetheart?” His body shook with silent laughter. This made his very erect cock vibrate over my clit, reminding me of the ache that still lingered deep inside me, despite my orgasm.
Moaning at the sensation, I spread my legs further apart, and wrapped them around his hips, my feet nudging the cheeks of his ass forward. God, you’re such a slut. I ignored my inner voice and pressed against Shane’s ass again. “More.”
“I need to get a condom,” he confessed, running his nose the length of mine. “But if this thing between us continues, I want to feel you bare. I get tested every six months because of work. I’m clean and well…”
I pressed my mouth to his, assuaging his self-conscious rambling. I knew he wasn’t a monk, but I also knew that he didn’t make time for himself often.
I’d never had a man bare before. Not even my ex-husband. “I’m protected,” I told him. “And I’m clean too.”
His eyes darkened at my words. He then proceeded to coat his cock with my juices, sliding it through my pussy lips, making me wetter with each pass. His gaze never left mine.
“Shane,” I pleaded, pulling him closer with my legs.
He pushed his tip in enough to tease me, his head falling forward to rest on my collarbone. With just the tip, I got a real sense of how large he was.
“Fuck!” He didn’t push in any further, or pull out, so I encouraged him with another nudge of my legs, a hiss escaping his lips. “So tight. So hot…”
“Take me.” I was desperate, my arms rounding his shoulders. “Suit up if you have to, then take me. Please!”
His head lifted, his mouth came to mine with a tender kiss, then he pulled back as his hips moved forward, slowly filling me.
I can’t tell yo
u how erotic it was to look into someone’s eyes as he possessed you in the most intimate of ways, because there were no words for it.
Leaning onto his elbows, his hands delved into my hair, Shane’s eyes remained fused to mine, our lips touching, yet not kissing…simply breathing each other in.
“You’re fucking perfect,” he whispered, his girth stretching me with a sweet pain, burying himself as far as he could go.
Pulling out slightly, he plunged himself back in.
My entire body shook as that tingling in my pussy increased. I’ve never met someone that could elicit this quick of a response from me before. My skin burned for him, my heat clenched at him, and my lips craved the taste of him.
Latching my mouth to his, Shane set a smooth rhythm for us, the climb to ecstasy slow and steady.
“Please don’t stop,” I whispered against his lips.
His gaze was intense. “I won’t.” He rocked into me hard, his pelvis grinding against mine, causing all sorts of wonderful sensations to course through me, from head to toe. “I can’t.” He withdrew almost completely, then rammed into me harder, the twisting of his hips hitting a bundle of nerves inside that had me gasping. Shane grinned down at me, his eyes displaying satisfaction. “I’m going to fuck you hard.” His pace picked up. “I’m going to fuck you well.” His words, his body…hell, the man in his entirety, had my body breaking out in goosebumps, my pussy glistening with its need, contracting in preparation for an orgasm I knew would most likely blind me. “And when I’m done, we’re fucking doing this again until all we can do is give into the exhaustion.”
With one final hard thrust, my body bowed into him as I screamed out my release.
“Holy shit! Holy fuck!” Shane groaned over me, his hips losing their rhythm. “Fucking hell!” He plunged deep and stayed rooted. “Em!” His cock jerked with warmth coating my insides, eliciting another tremor from me. My eyes stayed fused at the dazzling picture of satisfied masculinity before me. His head was tilted back, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, eyes closed. The sheen of sweat coating his chest didn’t detract to his appeal. In fact, all I wanted to do was lick the man from head to toe. “My beautiful Em.” His whispered words knocked me for a loop from my perusal.
Night Shift (Nightshade Book 2) Page 6