My eyes darted to his. “What?”
His eyes had lost that animalistic glaze and held tenderness. “I called you my beautiful Em.” He dropped a soft kiss on my lips, his hands feathering into my hair as he shifted his weight onto his elbows so as not to crush me.
His beautiful Em? I melted. No one had called me that before.
“Mine,” he rasped, making my head jerk back.
“I-I…” I hadn’t realized I’d spoken aloud.
He gave me a pointed look. “Mine,” he repeated. “My beautiful Em.” Then he took my mouth as if he owned it.
Normally, I would have run in the opposite direction at this type of possessiveness, especially after my disastrous marriage, but Shane made it feel like it was an honor, like I’d be cherished…treasured…protected. Safe.
Chapter 16
Shane
My phone chiming in my pants pocket woke me at dawn. Careful not to wake Emberlyn, I rolled over and reached to my discarded trousers to fetch it, noticing the time reading out 5:45 as I activated the screen, rolling onto my back.
Mom: Good night?
My mother’s text made me groan. Shit!
I looked over at a soundly sleeping Emberlyn and smiled. I hadn’t planned on our night turning out the way it had, but I’d be damn crazy to say I wasn’t happy at the way things ended this morning.
Me: Set an extra plate for breakfast, please?
Mom: Don’t rush. Rosie and I stayed up late last night. You know how she is.
Oh, I knew how she was all right. She’d most likely suckered Mom into some movie marathon of sorts, and would sleep in. I thanked my lucky stars for small reprieves, because I hadn’t thought what I’d say to my daughter if she woke up to notice my absence this morning. Then again, she’d probably just chalk it up to me having had to leave for work because I was called in. It wasn’t an odd occurrence.
Setting my phone on the bedside table, I rolled toward Emberlyn and wrapped my arms around her once again. The smell of us lingered on her skin. I fucking missed this. Not the sex per se, but the cuddling, sleeping in the same bed with a woman that meant something to me. Having someone to wake up with.
“Sweetheart?” I whispered against the shell of her ear.
“Mmm?” She snuggled further into me, her ass rubbing against my ever-hardening cock. To be honest, the fucking thing had been in a state of semi-arousal from the time she’d answered the door with her bum foot last night.
My arms gave her a squeeze before rolling her onto her back, hovering above her. “Christ, you’re adorable when you’re half asleep,” I said, nuzzling her cheek, as I allowed the hand I wasn’t leaning on to trace the side of her face. Her breath caught. “I want you. Sleep-warm and snuggly. Just like this.”
She gave me a slow drowsy smile. “Just let me get up and brush my–”
Before she could finish, my lips crushed hers in a hard, brief kiss, then I pulled back. “You’re not getting out of bed until I let you.”
Her brows furrowed. “Until you let me?” Bracing her hands on my shoulders, she made to push me back. “Shane…” Her mouth snapped shut at the look I gave her.
“Sweetheart…” I grabbed first one hand, kissing its knuckles before pressing its palm to my cheek, then reached for the other, inflicting the same treatment. “It would defeat the purpose of you being in the state you currently are in if I let you out, wouldn’t it?”
“I suppose you’re right,” she grumbled, but her arms reached around my neck, pulling me closer, not giving me the choice but to push her legs apart and maneuver my body overtop of hers.
I smirked. “Are we a grumpy pants in the morning?” I cajoled.
She groaned. “Only when I can’t brush my teeth.” Her nose scrunched up. “Morning breath isn’t sexy.”
“Em…”
Her gaze softened at my shortened version of her name. “I like that you call me that,” she whispered.
“Good, because if I have my way with you in the next minute, I can guarantee, you’ll be hearing it a lot more before these sheets cool down.” I pounced for a quick peck, before trailing my lips down her chin, saying, “Good morning,” proceeding to her neck, then moving lower.
“Good morning, indeed.” She sighed as I scraped my teeth along her collarbone, her legs widening to allow my hips into the cradle of her thighs.
Last night, or rather earlier this morning, after our third round, we’d fallen asleep completely naked. I was thankful for this fact as I reached down, my hand finding her heat sopping wet.
“Are you sore?” I asked her, my fingers never halting in their gentle stroking.
“Tender,” she panted.
“I’ll go slow,” I promised, taking myself in hand and guiding my length into her core, until I was completely sheathed by her.
It was slow…lazy. I wouldn’t really call it fucking either.
In the early daylight hours, I showed Emberlyn how I could be tender with her, instead of the crazed animal I had been last night.
My cock begged for release, but I wasn’t giving into my urges until the woman splayed below me succumbed to hers first.
Arching down to take one of her nipples into my mouth, I tugged on it a few times before her pussy clamped down on me, and her mouth uttered my name as if it were a prayer.
That was it for me.
By the time I’d regained my faculties, I looked down to find Emberlyn’s gaze trained on my face as she sported a grin, muttering, “I’m loving slow.”
This had me collapsing overtop of her, laughing into the pillow next to her head.
Emberlyn
After Shane’s stellar display of prowess last night, as well as again this morning, it was safe to say that I was a little achy.
And I’d suffer some more if it wielded the same results.
God, you’re such a slut!
The way the man had played my body, as if he was a connoisseur of fine instruments, had me able to get out of my head, stop worrying about if I was pleasing him enough, and had me firmly stuck in the moment.
During one bout of pillow talk, last night, I knew he hadn’t been with anyone for nearing on a year now. Despite this, I got a sense that what we’d experienced together hadn’t been anything either of us had expected. The chemistry had been explosive, and I mean the check-to-see-if-you-still-had-hair-on-your-body kind. I swear, any more and I was sure we’d have burned my house down to a crisp, things had gotten so hot.
“What are you thinking so hard about that’s got you all flushed?” Shane’s lips landed on the back of my shoulder, while his arms wrapped around me under the sprinkling water of the shower.
“Last night.” My body hummed as I leaned back into his chest.
“Mmm.” He scraped his teeth over the tendon at the side of my neck, his cock standing at attention again, while it nestled in the crack of my ass. “It was a great night.”
“Uh-huh.” He pressed himself against me, as if I couldn’t feel the steel rod twitching between our bodies. “I dare say your stamina is quite impressive.”
I felt his soundless laugh through my back. “It’s all you, sweetheart. I can’t help the fact that you make me hard and take notice.”
“Sure.” I turned in his arms to face him and was met with his soft gaze.
“Come over for breakfast?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement of sorts.
“Shane…”
“I already told Mom to set an extra place for you,” he explained, “and I know that Rosie would love to see you.” He kissed my nose, then pulled back to gaze down at me, giving me a brief squeeze. “And I’m not ready to let you go yet.”
Damn the man.
Overbearing, yes.
Controlling, sure.
Sweet…abso-fucking-lutely!
So I did what any girl in my situation—which meant, naked, wet…sated to the core, yet aching for more—would do.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Good girl.�
� He tapped my ass playfully, all the while smirking. “Now let’s get you clean so I can dirty you up again.”
“You’re insatiable,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, leaning in to peck his lips.
“Keep rubbing up against me like that, sweetheart, and we’ll be lucky if we make lunch.” To emphasize his rather excited self, he grabbed onto both of my ass cheeks and ground his hips into mine.
And there went my libido, kicking into high gear.
Chapter 17
Shane
“Where were you?” Rosie stomped toward the front door, hands on hips, and a mutinous look on her face as soon as Emberlyn and I walked over the threshold.
“Oh shit,” I heard Emberlyn mumble under her breath at my side, but slightly behind me.
“I said,” my daughter came to a stop only feet away from me, “where were you two? I’ve been waiting for like forever!”
I tried to remind my little girl of her manners. “Baby girl, won’t you say hi to our guest?”
“Oh, I’ll get there in a minute,” she grumped. “Answer the question, Daddy.”
It was near impossible to keep a straight face. She may look like her mother, but she definitely took after her father in attitude.
“Baby–”
“You’re supposed to tell me when you’re not coming home right away,” she huffed. “I was worried!”
Talk about a sucker punch to the gut. My little one sure knew how to give it back.
“We’ve talked about this,” she went on, her face a deep crimson, her eyes welling up with tears before she threw herself forward.
Bending down to catch her, imagine my surprise when she bypassed me and crashed into Emberlyn, sobbing. Mom came around the kitchen’s corner, eyeing the interaction, a small smile spreading across her lips as she nodded for me to really look at the scene unfolding before us.
Plopped onto the floor, Emberlyn had my daughter on her lap, cradled against her chest, her head buried in those dark curls, that probably smelled like cotton candy, whispering to her.
“But I wanted to have the first sleepover!” she growled, turning her tearstained face toward me, making sure I didn’t miss her ire. “She was my friend first, Daddy!”
My mother managed to just barely cover up the snort that accompanied her laughter, while the woman I’d just spent the most amazing night with cowered behind my little girl, her body shaking silently with her humor.
How the hell was I going to explain myself? “Lana Rose–”
“I get her next weekend,” she promptly decided, Emberlyn’s shocked gaze mirroring mine as they clashed together.
“Don’t you think you should ask–”
“You didn’t!” she argued.
“How’s this, Sweets,” Emberlyn began with a soft voice, “let’s see about making that happen? I’m sure your dad and Grams can use a break, so if it’s okay with them, we can definitely have a sleepover next weekend. We can play games, build a fort, paint each other’s toenails.”
Lana Rose’s nose scrunched up. “Are yours as gross as Grams’s, because I’m not doing that if they are.”
“She has very pretty feet, baby girl,” I broke into their moment, winking at Emberlyn and causing her to blush a beautiful crimson.
“On that note, I’ll get the pancakes on.” Humor laced my mom’s tone as she turned and disappeared back into the kitchen.
We were at the neighborhood park when the call came through, breaking me from watching Emberlyn push my Rosie on the swing set.
“Peters,” I answered gruffly.
“James found something.” Will hung up before I could say anything, effectively ruining the first of rare weekends I got off.
My pulse quickened, my palms grew sweaty. Could this be it? Could it be the break in the case that I needed to catch this crazed killer?
Hurrying to where both females were busy giggling, I made eye contact with Emberlyn first, her smile quickly disappeared as soon as she took in my serious expression.
“Everything okay?” she asked as soon as she made it to my side, Rosie now left to swing on her own.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go into work.”
She nodded, a worried look entering her eyes. “Everything okay?” she repeated.
“We might have a break in that murder case I’m working,” I said by way of explanation, just as my daughter joined us.
“Daddy, can we go for ice cream?”
“I can’t, Rosie. I just got called in. I’ll drop you two off at Grams’s, then I have to get going.” I was never going to get used to the sight of my little girl’s face falling in disappointment at the news that I had to leave her behind. It made me feel like shit and served up the reminder that Dalton’s offer of working for him fulltime and ditching the JPD was becoming more and more appealing, every time I saw that look on her face. Something closer to a regular nine-to-five—with the minor exception, depending on the case—would make parenting a hell of a lot easier.
I stormed into the coroner’s office forty minutes after receiving Will’s call.
“What do you have for us, James?” I said by way of greeting.
The man smirked. “DNA.”
“You’re shitting me?” I stared at the man, waiting for the camera crew to make their appearance because there was no way in hell our unsub could be that sloppy.
“It was damn well, nearly undetectable, but I wanted you two to be the first to see these results for yourselves.” James handed me the report.
Fibers found…
…blood DNA not matching victim’s or victim’s partner swabbed from laceration on left cheek…
“Tell me you ran the sample through CODIS.” I looked up at James expectantly.
The man nodded. “Page three of the report, gentlemen.”
“Fuck me!” Will turned to pace. As soon as he’d reached the nearest wall, he punched it. “Goddamn motherfucker!”
You stole the words right from my mouth, brother.
We finally had our man.
Chapter 18
Emberlyn
You’re mine, bitch.
The message sent chills running down my spine, but it was the little bit of white lace that accompanied the embossed card, sitting atop my dresser, that drove the eerie point home.
Without a second’s hesitation, I’d set the small decoupage box on the side table to the entrance and hobbled to my purse, which I’d left on the coffee table shortly after Shane had dropped me off earlier in the day. Grabbing my phone, with Stan’s business card in hand, I dialed.
“Safe & SEALed, Stan speaking.”
“Hi, Stan.” I swallowed the growing knot in my throat, “Emberlyn Roth. I’m going ahead with the system you recommended.”
“Ms. Roth, is everything okay?”
“No…no, not really. How soon do you think you can get it done?”
“I can be there as soon as tomorrow, if that works? I have everything in stock.” He hesitated. “Do you need someone? I work with–”
Shit! Was I that obvious? Clearing my throat, I said, “I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow?”
“Bright and early tomorrow, how’s that?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“Perfect. Good night, Stan. Sorry to disturb your evening.”
“Don’t you worry about it, and if you–”
“I’ll be okay,” I assured him, or was I trying to assure myself? Nevertheless, I hung up the phone.
Thirty minutes later, there was a light knock on my front door. After hanging up with Stan, I had made my rounds, ensuring once again that my windows and doors were locked tight…and they were.
So how did they get in?
I even went to the point of covering every window with my curtains and blinds. I hated that I was forced to do that. I was someone that liked to see the outdoors; that loved the way the dust motes danced around in the air when the sun streamed through my windows. But I felt too exposed, which meant I had to pick the lesser of all evils.
Hesitantly making my way to the front entrance, and not for the first time, I wished for a peephole to see who had come calling at a little after nine in the evening.
“Emberlyn?” I heard a soft female ask. “Ember, open up, it’s Devolin and Dalton. Remember us? We met at–”
Of course I remembered them. But how had they gotten my address? As if I couldn’t undo the two deadbolts on my door and release the chain fast enough, when I did, I flung my heavy wooden front door open to greet them, throwing myself straight for Dalton, who caught me.
You could say I was spooked.
“Call Shane, babe,” Dalton muttered, his arms holding me upright, rubbing a soothing pattern on my back as he reversed us into my home.
“Shane?” I mumbled against him? He smelled of soap and man, much like Shane always seemed to. It was comforting, although not as comforting as…“Wait,” my head snapped back so I could see the man’s face, “you know Shane?”
The man set me back, lowering me to the couch as I realized he’d led us to my living room.
Crouching down in front of me, his guilty eyes met mine. “We’re friends,” he explained. “As for the rest, I’ll let him explain things. For now, I want you to stay right here with Dev, and I’ll go look around.”
“Wait!” I looked between both of them. “How’d–”
“Stan called me.”
Chapter 19
Shane
Captain Dodge slammed his fists down onto his desk.
Night Shift (Nightshade Book 2) Page 7