Playing With Fire (Sweet Secrets #3)

by Taylor Henderson

  Shane laughed into the phone. “Want some help?”

  I bit my lip, thinking. John didn’t say I couldn’t have anyone over while I watched the twins. As long as I didn’t neglect them, I didn’t see what was wrong with having him over.

  “Are you still there?” he asked, even though I was sure he could hear the twins still crying.

  “Yeah, I am.” My arm shook under Cammie’s weight. “Sure you can come.”

  “Good,” he replied. “I’m outside.”

  The task of putting each of the twins into their crib in the playroom took much longer than expected. It was probably because I practically had to wrestle Taylor into his crib. He kicked and screamed, putting up a pretty tough fight for a one-year-old. When I finally got them both in, I walked down the hall to let Shane in. The cries of my siblings followed me there.

  When I pulled the door open, Shane stepped inside, smiling, and placed a light kiss on my cheek. “Help has arrived,” he announced as I pushed the door shut and locked it.

  He followed me down the hall to the playroom, scooping up Taylor, who had the crib nearest to the door. “Hey little guy,” he cooed, holding Taylor high above his head. Taylor’s crying slowed, and he stared down at Shane with wide, red eyes. His chunky cheeks were flushed from screaming, and glistened with fresh tears. “Taylor, right?” Shane asked me, as he brought Taylor down to his chest. He held him awkwardly, but it was cute that he was trying.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “And this is Cameron, but we call her Cammie,” I explained as I lifted her out of her crib. She had stopped crying and was now sucking on her fist. Drool dripped down her arm. “Thanks for helping.”

  “Of course.”

  Shane carried Taylor over to the couch in the room and sat down, cradling him. I joined him, holding Cammie’s head against my chest as I rocked her.

  “They’re cute,” Shane said, as Taylor’s eyes slipped closed.

  “They’re little monsters, but I love them.” I smoothed down Cammie’s wispy brown hair as her eyes fluttered shut. Her little chest rose and fell rhythmically. I placed a light kiss on her forehead. “How’d you know I would need help?”

  He turned and smirked at me. “I didn’t know, but I hoped you would. I wanted an excuse to see you.”

  “Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.

  He nodded and his hair fell over his forehead.

  My cheeks flushed under his burning gaze. There was an intensity in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, and it made my heartbeat quicken. I bit my lip as I stood and went to place Cammie into her crib, tucking her little body in. Shane did the same with Taylor. Before we left the room I set up a baby monitor on the table between the cribs. When John and my mom got home they would move the twins to their shared room upstairs, but for now they were fine on the lower level with me. After everything was perfect, I ushered Shane out of the room, flipped the light switch off, and shut the door quietly.

  As I backed out of the room, Shane hugged me from behind, moving my hair out of the way so he could place a kiss on the side of my neck. Tingles raced down my spine from his touch.

  I swallowed and scratched at my thigh. Moving away from his reach, I headed toward the kitchen. Now that the twins were asleep, there were no distractions to keep our attention off of each other. We were alone, and we had never been alone like this before. I had to admit it, I was nervous. “Are you hungry? Want anything to eat?” I asked as I moved around the kitchen, gesturing to the pies that littered the counters in preparation for Thanksgiving in two days. I pulled open the fridge, sticking my head in and looking around at the different foods inside. My mom had made multiple cherry cheesecakes for Thanksgiving, but those were specially made and I couldn’t offer them up, so I closed the refrigerator and turned to face Shane.

  He was leaning on the counter, just watching me curiously. He probably thought I was a freak. “I’m not hungry,” he said, meeting my gaze.

  “Okay,” I squeaked.

  Shane smirked and came around the counter, coming closer. He was wearing a pair of low hung jeans, and a plain white t-shirt that hinted at the muscles underneath. When he was right in front of me, he reached out and placed a hand under my chin to tilt my head up until our eyes locked again.

  “When do you think your mom will be getting back?” he asked, flicking his gaze to my lips as he lowered his head slowly.

  “Probably not for a while,” I answered, waiting anxiously as he came closer.

  “Okay,” he murmured, placing his lips on mine. He traced his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, kissing me passionately. His lips were smooth and warm against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair as he lifted me up and placed me on the counter, holding my body to his. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding him against me. This was the most intense kiss we’d had thus far, and after a moment I had to disconnect our lips to breathe. Shane didn’t need a break though. While I took in shaky breaths, he trailed kisses along my jawline and down the side of my neck. I shivered at the feel of his lips against my skin. Once he reached his target, he began suckling on the bare skin in the crook of my neck, causing me to let out breathy moans every now and then.

  When he pulled away, I practically whimpered at the loss of his touch. Thankfully he wasn’t away for long. He brought his lips back to mine, tracing his tongue along my bottom lip and asking for entrance, which I granted instantly. Our tongues danced and tangled together in sweet agony.

  Shane pulled away after a while to take a breath and smile down at me. He brushed some of my hair off of my face, tucking it behind my ear, and just holding my head in his hands as his gaze roamed my face.

  “You are so beautiful,” he murmured, his face void of any emotion as he spoke.

  “Thank you.”

  He came close again and lifted me from the counter easily. He held my body to his as we exited the kitchen and he carried me to the living room. He must have seen it earlier when I let him in.

  Shane carried me over to the couch, and sat down with me straddling his lap. He tangled a hand in my hair and brought my mouth back to his. We spent a long time in that position. We kissed until my lips were almost numb, and he trailed kisses down my neck and over my cleavage. I didn’t let him take off my shirt when he tried, but he let me take his off.

  I let out another moan as he bit my bottom lip gently, and then someone behind us cleared their throat loudly. My eyes snapped open, and I jumped off of Shane’s lap, turning to face my mom and John, who were standing in the doorway with shocked expressions.

  Chapter 9

  Mom sat on the edge of John’s guest bed with her hands clasped together and a knowing expression on her face. I, on the other hand, was slid back so far that my back was pressed against the headboard, and my knees were folded to my chest, trying to be as far from her and this conversation as was physically possible. I was preoccupied with trying to mentally prepare myself for the awkward conversation that was about to happen.

  “So, this boy,” she began, obviously searching for the right words to say. She was probably trying to figure out how to best approach the topic, or even how to handle this situation. This was a first for her. Lena never snuck guys into the house, and if she did then she was really good at it and never got caught.

  “Shane,” I supplied, tucking a stray hair from my ponytail behind my ear.

  Mom nodded. “Yes, Shane. I haven’t met him.” It was a statement, not a question. Maybe even a realization. She hadn’t met the guy who was in my life, and now she was probably wondering why not.

  “Nope,” I replied, hugging my legs to my chest. This was going to get awkward fast. I just hoped the conversation didn’t take a turn for the worst, and she didn’t give me the talk about the birds and the bees. If that happened I would either vomit, pass out, or do both. I couldn’t handle that right now. I was already horrified enough with what happened less than ten minutes ago. When her and John walked in on Shane and I in t
he middle of our most intimate make-out session yet, my heart nearly dropped into my stomach. I went into autopilot mode and hopped off of Shane, tossed his shirt at him, and pushed him out the front door without so much as a goodbye. I just didn’t want to have my mom or John say anything to him. That would’ve just added to my embarrassment, and there was plenty of that already. Shane probably thought I was a dumb kid after what happened tonight.

  Mom slid closer to the center of the bed and placed a delicate hand on my knee. “Gabriella,” she began again, using my full name. “What happened tonight?”

  I shrugged and chewed on my bottom lip.

  Mom raised an eyebrow. “You know what happened. John and I left for dinner, and you invited a boy over. That alone is enough grounds for punishment. Even without what we saw when we came in.”

  I lowered my eyes to get away from her heavy gaze.

  She patted my knee again. “So, let’s start over. Tell me about Shane. Is he your boyfriend?” Her blue eyes were wide as she regarded me.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

  She sighed in exasperation. “This is serious, Gabriella. Take this seriously.”

  I sighed, but nodded nonetheless. “Okay, but I seriously don’t know what he is to me.”

  “Explain,” was her only response.

  Sitting up a little straighter, I said, “We haven’t exactly said that we were exclusively boyfriend and girlfriend, but I really like him. We’ve been…” I grappled for an appropriate word for our situation. “Hanging out since summer.”

  She tried her best to keep her face blank, but I swore I saw a flash of something. Maybe anger? “Is he a good guy?”

  “Yeah. He really is.”

  Mom nodded and was silent for a moment. “Then how come I haven’t met him yet, and you’ve been seeing each other since August?”

  She had a good point there. Karlie’s words flashed into my mind.

  “He uses girls for sex until he finds something better or he gets bored and moves on.”

  I didn’t think she was right, but there was some truthfulness to what she said. Even if he’d changed, Shane had been a player at one point. He wasn’t the “meet-the-parents” type of guy you brought home to your father. He was the guy girls snuck out of their house for so he could deflower them in the backseat of his car. I knew about his baggage, but I definitely couldn’t tell my mom about it. I’m her daughter, and she probably wouldn’t even give Shane a chance if she thought I might be at risk of getting hurt. Maybe I was naïve for liking him, but I truly believed that what I saw in him was more than what others did, and that I was different from the girls in his past.

  “I didn’t want you to meet him until I knew for sure that we were an item,” I finally answered, hoping that reason would suffice.

  “Well, I want to meet him. It doesn’t have to be right away, but I hope it will be soon. I need to make sure he has good intentions.” She narrowed her eyes while she tucked some hair behind her ears.

  “He does,” I reassured her, and myself.

  “Guys with good intentions don’t come into someone’s house and get into a compromising position like that without meeting a girl’s parents first.”

  I rolled my eyes and groaned. “That’s not true.”

  She laughed lightly. “Maybe not on all occasions, but most.”

  “No.” I hugged my legs tighter.

  “Well, guys with good intentions wouldn’t be seeing a girl for months and never meet her parents.”

  I scowled. “That’s not true. Shane is a nice guy. He’s Carter’s best friend, and he knows Lena,” I said, hoping that would make her feel better. She loves Carter. I was also hoping that Lena knowing him would be a plus in her book, but she still didn’t look convinced.

  Mom nodded, taking in my words slowly. She patted my knee a final time and then stood up to leave. When she reached the door, she turned around and said, “Just be careful, honey. I knew guys like Shane when I was your age. I know what they’re capable of. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Chapter 10

  “Do you want anything to drink?” Shane asked, staring at me expectantly.

  I shook my head no and offered a small smile. He was trying to make me feel comfortable, but it wasn’t helping. I was practically shaking from nerves. We were sitting in his room, in his house, alone. I’d been here before on a few different occasions, but this time was different. We’d never been alone here before. Before when I came over, Carter was here. There was even a time when Lena and I both came to swim in his pool. That was crazy fun. Now, without anyone else here, I was intimidated. My heart was pounding against my ribcage so loudly that I was sure he could hear it. If he could, he wasn’t showing it.

  Instead he was just sitting on his desk chair, staring across at me on his bed. His hair was wet and slightly darker than usual. He was dressed in a casual t-shirt and loose fitting sweatpants, and somehow he still managed to look like a Greek Adonis.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you want to pick a movie out for us?” I asked.

  Our plan was to watch a movie together and just spend our Saturday night with each other. When we made the plans, I assumed that his parents would be here, but they weren’t. I was starting to wonder if they even existed. I’d never seen them, and Shane hardly ever talked about them. It was two days after Thanksgiving; shouldn’t they be home still getting over their turkey comas? The fact that they weren’t here made this situation impossibly awkward considering what happened the last time we were alone together. This was our first time seeing each other since my mom and John had walked in on us.

  Shane nodded and hopped up from his seat. “Yeah, of course. What kind of movie are you in the mood for?” He walked toward the TV that sat on a small, wooden entertainment center across from his bed. Beneath the TV were rows and rows of DVDs.

  I went to join him where he was leaning down to view the movie titles. “I love comedies, and I’m a sucker for a good romance.” I scanned the titles, seeing mainly horror flicks and thrillers.

  “I might have something, but no promises,” he said with a breathy laugh. Shane furrowed his eyebrows and continued to look through the movies. After a moment, he raised his hand and reached to grab a DVD case. “Ah ha,” he said with a toothy grin. “The Princess Bride.”

  I raised an eyebrow as I took the case from him and flipped it over in my hands. “Why do you have this?” I asked, dumbfounded that he actually owned the movie. When I was younger, Lena and I would watch The Princess Bride on repeat, and it was one of my all-time favorite movies. I was surprised Shane even knew what it was, let alone owned a copy.

  Shane looked slightly embarrassed as he ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “It was one of my favorite movies when I was younger.”

  “Are you serious?”

  He nodded.

  “Mine too!” I practically yelled. I opened the case and pulled the disk out. My nerves were quickly forgotten and I was ready to watch the movie.

  Shane smiled and took the disk from me. He got it set up while I went down the hall to use the bathroom. I fixed my hair in the mirror and checked my makeup before I returned to his room. When I got back, his light was off and the TV was on the play screen. Shane was lying on his stomach facing the screen, and I joined him. When I lay down beside him, he placed his arm over my back and hit play.

  We watched the movie, laughing like hyenas at all of the parts that seemed cheesy now that we were older, and even quoting lines. At one point, Shane stood up and acted out a scene while I laughed so hard I cried. I couldn’t believe that this guy, who had a reputation as a womanizer and was the big man on campus, could quote a chick-flick like The Princess Bride from memory. It was actually really cute how he was nerding out over the movie with me.

  About halfway into the movie, Shane came up with the idea that every time someone on-screen kissed, we had to kiss too. As the movie went on, sometimes we talked about which parts were our favorite, and any
thing that brought back memories from our childhoods. As the final kiss scene came on screen, Shane pulled my body to his and kissed me so passionately that my heart swelled.

  One hand cupped my cheek, while the other held me to him. His lips were both rough and smooth against mine. He didn’t break the kiss as we fell backwards onto his bed, his body beneath mine. He brushed the hair from my face, holding it back as our mouths molded against each other’s. His hand slipped under my shirt, sliding up my back and leaving a trail of warmth and tingles wherever he touched. A rush of heat started in my chest and slowly spread throughout my body, reaching every last limb.

  A throaty groan sounded in the back of his throat as he rolled us over so that he was on top. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his hips toward me. The pleasure hit me in a sudden wave, causing me to moan against his mouth. He broke the kiss and traced his tongue down the side of my neck, sucking gently at the skin and placing fleeting kisses on every available inch. My breathing was ragged when his mouth returned to mine. I traced my tongue along his full bottom lip, trying to take control. He granted me access and our tongues danced as his hands lifted my shirt slowly. When it was bunched up above my chest, I leaned up and our lips disconnected as he pulled the shirt over my head. His was next.

  When his head lowered again, he began kissing my chest along the top of my bra, following the outline of the material with his warm mouth. As his hands gripped my waist, and his lower body slid impossibly closer, brushing against me in all the right ways, it was as if a bucket of cold water was dumped over my head. This was starting to move faster and much further than I’d intended it to.

  I placed both hands on his hard, bare chest, pushing him away from me slightly. “I’m not ready,” I offered as explanation, when he gave me a questioning look.

  He looked slightly pained as he sat up, balancing himself above me. “Okay,” he responded. “That’s fine. We don’t have to. You know that.”