by Anne Rainey
Shayla rose up a fraction and gazed into his heavy-lidded eyes. “I want to taste more of you,” she said. “Please.”
As if not trusting himself to speak, Vance nodded. She lowered her head to his chest and tasted his salty skin. He was so deliciously male, Shayla knew she’d never get enough. Her tongue darted out and laved his nipple. Her fingers curled in his chest hair, and she tugged a little. He groaned, and Shayla smiled. She slid down his body, oblivious to her own nudity now, and kissed his flat, rock-hard abs. She ran her hands over his steely chest and his thick biceps. Shayla had a need to touch him everywhere at once, to memorize every line and angle.
When she reached his cock, Shayla looked up the length of him and saw the raw need in his gaze as he watched her, his entire body still and tense. She swept her hair out of the way and lowered her head. Without breaking eye contact, Shayla grasped him in her hand and squeezed.
“Fuck yeah,” he growled.
Her tongue darted out to taste his dripping wet tip. A sense of feminine excitement ran through her when she saw the look of pure pleasure on Vance’s face.
His hands came up and burrowed in her hair, pulling her head onto his cock a little more. Soon, Shayla had half his length inside her mouth. She sucked, hollowing her cheeks, and Vance cursed. Without warning, he pulled her upward until she was once again seated on top of him.
Curious if she’d done something wrong, Shayla asked, “Didn’t you like it?”
Vance tapped her nose. “Another few seconds and I would’ve been fucking that hot mouth of yours.”
As his words registered, Shayla decided to tease him a little. “So on a scale of one to ten, I’m a ten. Is that what you’re saying?”
He chuckled. “You’re a twenty, beautiful, believe me,” he murmured. “But I want to be inside you. Deep. You going to make me beg?”
She smiled, enjoying her role as master a little too much. “Vance Jennings would never beg, but it might be fun to try.”
He closed his eyes as if in torment. “You’re a witch. An evil one too.”
She laughed. “If I were a witch, I’d totally use my powers for good.”
His gaze landed on her again, and he took hold of her hips and lifted her into the air as if she weighed nothing. “In that case, use them to guide my cock inside that pretty pussy.”
When Shayla took his hard, thick length in her hand and guided him to her entrance, all teasing fled. She’d managed only an inch before he stopped her.
“Are you sore from earlier?” He frowned. “I was pretty rough with you.”
It touched her heart that he was willing to see to her comfort, but her body hungered for him. She ached to feel the delicious width of his cock stretching her pussy as he drove himself deep. A rush of heat swept through her and her voice was unsteady when she said, “I’ll only be sore if you stop. I need you, Vance. So badly.”
He appeared to consider that a minute. Finally, he whispered, “At the slightest twinge of discomfort, we stop.”
She nodded, then moved her hips until her pussy clasped every inch of his hard length. “You fill me up.” She moaned. “As if we were made for each other.”
“Christ, you’re tight,” he growled. “Fuck me, Shay.”
Shayla could tell that Vance wanted to change their positions. Wanted to be the one in control. But he was determined to allow her to have her way. He stayed put, and Shayla loved him all the more for his restraint.
She moaned and placed her hands on his chest for support, then pushed herself onto his cock.
“God damn,” Vance groaned.
Shayla whimpered and began moving up and down, fucking him, driving his cock deep, then back out again. “Ah, Van,” she breathed out.
“You want my come filling this beautiful pussy, honey?” Vance said as he reached between them and toyed with her clit.
“Oh yes. Now, Vance,” Shayla said, knowing she only had seconds before she flew right over the edge.
Shayla arched her back, and the action forced his cock deeper. Vance pinched her clitoris, then flicked it back and forth with his finger. “Let go, beautiful, I’ve got you,” he softly ordered.
Shayla lifted, then thrust against him once more. Her inner muscles clamped on to his cock, and her passion rose to new heights. As Vance plucked at her little nub, her breaths quickened, and she moved faster. Skin slapped against skin as their movements became frenzied. When Vance glided his thumb over her clit once more, Shayla flew apart. Her orgasm sent her rocketing into outer space.
After the last throb of her release began to ebb, Shayla collapsed on top of him. Vance clutched her hips in his strong grasp and whispered against her ear, “You’re mine, Shay. Only I get to see you like this.”
The declaration had Shayla lifting her head and staring into his dark eyes. He pushed his hips upward, taking over their lovemaking. He thrust into her, fast and hard. All too quickly, he exploded inside her and filled her up with hot jets of his come.
They were both breathing heavily and their bodies were slick with sweat, but as Vance wrapped his arms around her rib cage and held her against him, Shayla knew there was no place she’d rather be.
Oh, God, she was in so deep. She loved Vance. Truly, madly and forever. He’d always been her one and only. Why hadn’t she seen that until now? Sure, she’d come back to Blackwater to take back what her father had ripped away from her, but she’d also come back for Vance. She’d desperately wanted a fresh start. Things were happening too fast, though; they’d only just begun to mend their fractured relationship.
Fear rose up at the knowledge that Vance might never be able to give her what she truly craved—his whole self. As she rested her head against his chest and heard the rapid beating of his heart, she knew she’d given him her heart years ago. It was too late to take it back now.
They were quiet awhile, both of them simply soaking in the moment. “Shay?” Vance said, his voice low and rough.
“Yeah?” she replied without lifting her head.
“What I said, about you belonging to me… I meant it.”
Shayla decided if she was ever going to have the strength to say the three little words, now was the time. Vance might not want to hear them, and it was way too soon for such deep feelings, but the heart wants what the heart wants. There was no going back now.
She lifted her head and stared into his eyes, then murmured, “I love you.”
He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Love?”
Oops. The incredulous tone didn’t bode well. “Yes,” she said, even though she suspected Vance was about to break her heart.
“It’s too early to know if what you’re feeling is love, honey,” he said in a tender voice. “We care about each other, and the chemistry is definitely there, but is that really love?”
Tears stung her eyes. She’d known. Deep down Shayla had known Vance would buck at the notion of having something deeper with her. She’d hurt him too deeply when she’d dumped him. It didn’t matter that she’d had a good reason or that she’d been forced by her father; Vance had still been left bleeding. Shayla feared he might never let down the walls he’d erected around his heart.
“I know what I feel, and it isn’t chemistry. This isn’t about having a good time together either. I’ve always loved you, Vance. The years apart didn’t change a thing.” To heck with it. He might want to backpedal, but Shayla knew her own heart, and tiptoeing around it wasn’t going to change how she felt.
Vance shifted them until they lay spoon-fashion. He pulled her in close, and she cozied her bottom against his groin, content for now to lie next to him. He placed a possessive arm over her stomach and said, “You might know what you feel, honey, but I need a little time to process.” He paused, then added, “And since you’re back in Blackwater for good, there’s no reason to rush, right?”
“It seems to me like you’re dodging the subject,” she said as she caressed his arm.
“No, I’m resting up for round tw
o. There’s a difference.”
Good heavens, round two? “You couldn’t possibly…”
“Oh, I can,” he whispered against the top of her head. “Do you remember that time we went to the drive-in movies? I believe there was a round two and three that night.”
“I remember.” Shayla was thrown back in time as she recalled the night Vance had taken her to the drive-in for the first time. “I had to lie to my dad.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh. I told him I was with a friend. Otherwise he never would’ve let me go.”
“Naughty, naughty,” he said as he caressed her belly with his work-roughened hand. “Did he ever find out?”
“Nope, and I’m not sorry I lied.”
His fingers drifted lower until he was within an inch of her pussy. “Hmm, why is that, beautiful?”
“Because that night turned out to be one of the most magical nights of my life,” she said in an unsteady voice. Vance played havoc with her senses. Between his passionate touches and the walk down memory lane, Shayla wasn’t sure if she was coming or going.
Vance’s hand stilled. “For me too, honey,” he told her in a low voice.
His words sent Shayla’s heart into a tailspin. “Really?” she asked, holding her breath for his answer.
“Really,” he replied. “I don’t even remember the movie we went to see. All I remember is you. How pretty you looked with the moonlight shinning through the windows. The way you sort of breathed out my name when I finally managed to get beneath your pretty jean skirt.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I can’t believe you remember what I wore.”
“I could never forget that night, Shay,” he said as his hand slid a little farther south. When his palm covered her mound, Shayla could hardly breathe without panting. “Especially since I managed to coax three orgasms from you.”
His cocky words had her grinning. “Of course, you were much younger then.”
He stiffened. “Are you saying I’m too old to get it up, woman?”
She turned her head to look into his eyes. “If the shoe fits…”
He took hold of her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips. When she felt a hard length pressing against her bottom, she moaned. “Does that thing ever rest?” she whispered against his mouth. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
His hand coasted upward and covered one breast and squeezed. “Not where you’re concerned.” He turned her to her back and moved on top of her. With his arms at either side of her body, caging her in, he murmured, “And I’m not dodging what you said. I just need time to think it through, okay?”
She nodded. “Just promise me you will think about it.”
He licked her bottom lip. “I will. Later,” he said as he proceeded to take her to heaven once more.
Chapter Ten
As Vance sat at his kitchen table the next morning going over a bid for a small strip mall, Shayla’s words ran through his head. She loved him, she’d said. Just like that, as if it were that simple.
“Damn it,” he muttered as he realized the figures he’d written were wrong. He’d been sitting there for an hour trying to get the damn thing right, but he was distracted. Shayla’s voice kept playing over and over in his head like a broken record.
He wadded the paper up and tossed it in the vicinity of the trash can. He needed to finish the freaking thing already. More coffee; that was what he needed. Maybe it’d help him get his head out of his ass so he could focus for five damn minutes. When he stood and started for the coffeepot, a loud knock on his front door stopped him. Not Shayla—she’d said she had a phone conference with an online vendor and email to catch up on. Apparently, she’d been away from work too long and shit was piling up. Suited him fine. The day away from each other was supposed to do him good. Give him time to think straight. But the only thing he’d done so far was think about Shayla’s little bombshell.
Well, that and the way she’d come undone in his arms. His cock thickened in his jeans at the reminder.
Another knock on his door, louder this time, tore Vance out of his lusty musings. When he reached it and yanked it open, Sammy stood on his porch, frowning.
“It’s cold as hell out here,” he groused. “Mind letting me in?”
Vance stepped back. “Sorry, I was going over a bid.”
Sammy stepped inside and slammed the door shut. He looked around the room before asking, “Shayla here?”
“No, she had some things to do today. We’re meeting later tonight.” And already he missed her. Christ, this wasn’t good.
Sammy unfastened his coat and tossed it over the recliner, then rubbed his hands together to warm them. “How’s it going between you two anyway? You seemed awfully chummy at the diner.”
“She told me she loves me,” Vance blurted out as he headed to the kitchen.
“Already?” Sammy took a chair out at the table and straddled it.
“My thoughts exactly.” Vance grabbed the coffeepot and held it up. Sammy nodded. As he went about pouring them each a cup, he said, “I didn’t return the sentiment.”
“I don’t imagine you did. It’s too soon.” He took the cup from his outstretched hand and blew on the hot liquid. “What did you say?”
“That I needed to think about it.” He shrugged and leaned against the counter. “I don’t think I handled it well, but she blindsided me.” He shook his head. “What was I supposed to say?”
“Women have a tendency to do that,” Sammy replied with a grin. “Julie sure as hell managed to throw me for a loop.”
“A good loop, though. With Shayla, I just don’t know. Sometimes it’s like we’re just getting to know each other, but other times it feels like I’ve known her my whole life. Like the years we were separated didn’t even exist.”
“About that. What was her reason for dumping you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Vance related the story about Shayla’s tyrant father. “Damn,” Sammy said. He took a careful sip of his coffee. “I can’t believe that bastard had the nerve to threaten you. To threaten the Jennings.”
“Well, according to Shayla, she broke it off because she was trying to protect me.” He shifted from foot to foot, suddenly uncomfortable with the discussion. Uncomfortable with the knowledge that Shayla had tried to shield him when he hadn’t even known what she was going through. Oh yeah, he was a real friggin’ catch.
Sammy rubbed his chin. “I remember her dad. I ran into him a few times at the diner. Both times, he tried to get out of paying his bill.”
Vance snorted. “And how’d that work out for him?”
Sammy chuckled and took another sip of his coffee. “Oh, you know Dad. All he had to do was glare and grown men scattered. Riggs was no different.”
Vance sighed. “I still can’t believe Shayla went through all that shit. I should’ve known, God damn it. I should’ve protected her.”
Sammy took one last drink and stood. “She’s a strong woman, Vance. I could see it in her eyes at the diner yesterday.”
“You were giving her the evil eye,” Vance grumbled as he stared at his oldest brother. “What was that, a test?”
He brought his cup to the sink and ran water in it. “I needed to know if she was good enough to date my little brother.” He turned and said, “I haven’t forgotten what it did to you when she left. You were a fucking mess for a long time, bro.”
He couldn’t deny it, so instead, Vance asked, “And did she pass?”
“I like her,” he said with a grin. “So, don’t screw it up by being an idiot.”
Vance shook his head. “Gee, thanks for the words of wisdom, Sammy.”
He chuckled. “Any time, buddy.” He checked the clock. “I need to head to the diner. Will you be there later?”
“Maybe, but I need to see Shayla first.” He wondered if she’d even want to see him, considering how he’d reacted to her declaration.
Sammy hit him on the back, nearly breaking a rib. “I’ve got faith in you, b
ro.”
After his brother left, Vance stood in the kitchen and thought back over the last few days. His stomach clenched as he imagined how different things would’ve been if Shayla hadn’t walked back into his calm little world and turned it upside down. He would’ve lived the rest of his life thinking she’d dumped him all those years ago because she’d gotten bored. The truth was a much harder pill to swallow because it forced him to face up to the fact he’d been wrong about her. She’d tried to keep him safe from her father’s wrath.
Sammy was right, Shayla was a strong, confident woman now, and Vance could easily imagine spending the next fifty years with her. Did he dare risk it? Yeah, she’d confessed her love for him, but what if she woke up tomorrow or next week or next month thinking she’d made a mistake? He couldn’t lose her again. Once had been hard enough.
By the time Vance arrived at Shayla’s apartment, his hands were shaking. They’d talked on the phone, and she’d said the “L” word again. Once more, Vance had managed to evade her. Her ensuing silence had scared him more than he cared admit.
As she opened the door and their gazes connected, Vance saw her stiffen. “You’re here,” she said. Okay, that didn’t sound too damn inviting.
He frowned at her. “We decided on five o’clock, right?”
“Of course,” she said, not letting him in. “It’s just…I have more work to do tonight. I really should—”
Vance planted his hand on the doorframe and leaned closer to her. “Are you blowing me off, Shay?”
“No,” she quickly replied. She looked down at the floor. “Maybe. Gees, I-I don’t mean—”
Vance leaned close and swallowed her ramblings with a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her against him, aching to feel her curves and valleys up close. Vance had a need to taste her. To flood his system with her floral scent and tangy flavor. To forget all the past hurts and start anew. He licked her lips, and they parted for him. Vance thrust his tongue in and teased the inner recesses. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. Vance nudged her backward, into the apartment, then kicked the door shut behind him. He reached back and flipped the lock.