DanielsSurrender (16 page)

“The looks on your faces… Man, that’s priceless.”

Shannon reached down into the bucket and scooped up a soapy
sponge, whipping it expertly through the air, hitting Daniel squarely in the
chest.

Daniel’s eyes narrowed in outrage. She placed a hand over
her mouth, her eyes widening in horror as she realized he was wearing one of
his expensive silk shirts.

Daniel feigned anger, and advanced threateningly on her.

“You seem to have a bad habit of throwing things at me,
angel.” Matt laughed at them, eyes sparking almost as blue as Daniel’s as he
leaned back against the gleaming car. Rushing her in a sudden movement, Daniel
wrapped his arms around Shannon, smacking her firmly on the ass before
maneuvering her backward into Matt’s arms.

He raised his eyebrows to Matt in a silent challenge. Matt’s
arms came around Shannon, locking her to his chest. Daniel bent down and picked
up the hose. Shannon shook her head at the look of wicked glee on Daniel’s
face.

“You’re a bad girl, angel, a very bad girl indeed.”

She was still wearing his dress shirt, and Daniel placed the
hose up underneath it, spraying it full blast. She shrieked with laughter and
struggled in Matthew’s arms as the shirt instantly became transparent and
plastered against her skin. Her nipples went taut from the cold and burgeoning
arousal.

He placed his knee between her thighs, rubbing her clit
through her tiny panties. He kissed her hungrily, exploring her lovely mouth,
sipping water from her lips. One hand slid behind her to rest on Matt’s
shoulder, squeezing it. He drew his mouth from Shannon’s and leaned over her
shoulder, placing his mouth on Matthew’s chin. As Matt ducked his head to
capture Daniel’s lips with his own, Shannon let out a scream. Matt fell back
against the car laughing as he watched Daniel place the hose against Shannon’s
pussy and turn it on.

Chapter Seventeen

At first Daniel couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong when he
walked through his door. It took a moment of standing, listening to the
silence, to realize what was missing. Shannon.

She wasn’t in the kitchen singing bad eighties music. She
hadn’t run to plaster herself in his arms, completely sure of her welcome.
There were no savory smells wafting through the house. It felt…empty.

Daniel flashed back to his childhood. Was this how his
father had felt every time his mother had taken up with another man? His knee-jerk
reaction was to pour a drink and dig out his black book. If Shannon wanted
something more than him, well, he’d have a little something more himself.

He was halfway across the room when sanity returned. Shannon
was not his mother, and he was not in love with her, so it wouldn’t matter if
she was. But she wasn’t, and her absence could only mean something ominous.
Walking through the house, looking for any sign she’d been there, he yanked out
his cell phone and hit speed dial.

“Yo.” Matt’s cheerful voice filled Daniel with more relief
than he cared to contemplate.

“You and Shannon aren’t coming over tonight?” The question
came out a little more ragged than he’d intended, and Daniel desperately tried
to smooth out his voice before Matthew realized the depths of his upset.

“We aren’t?” Matt sounded confused, and Daniel felt his
worry escalate.

“I assumed not. Shannon isn’t here, and by now she’s usually
got my kitchen in an uproar, and is assaulting some poor, defenseless oldie.”

“Daniel, when she left for school this morning, the plan was
for us to meet at your place tonight. That’s where I was headed when I get out
of here.” Matt now sounded as worried as Daniel felt, but somehow that was no
comfort.

“Okay,” Matt continued, “you call her condo and I’ll call
mine. Hopefully she’s in one of those places.” He made a low, impatient noise.
“If she’d just agree to carry a damn cell phone, we wouldn’t be in this
situation!”

The two men quickly ended their call, in perfect agreement
about Shannon’s stubborn refusal to carry a phone even though they’d bought her
one that was pretty, pink and had more bells and whistles than a carnival.
Daniel quickly dialed Shannon’s condo, only to hang up in frustration as the
voice mail picked up.

Feeling more helpless than he had since he was a child, he
sat staring at the phone, willing it to ring.

* * * * *

Matthew sat at his brand new desk in his brand new office
and gave the phone a worried look. Daniel had sounded almost…concerned. And
that just ramped up Matt’s anxiety. He quickly dialed his home number, almost
wilting with relief when Shannon answered.

“What are you doing there, babe?” He didn’t wait for her to
answer before going on. “Daniel’s ready to call out the cavalry, and I thought
we were meeting at his house tonight anyway.”

“It isn’t really a good night for me to be all chipper.”
Indeed, he didn’t think he’d ever heard her sound so flat. “I thought it would
be better for me to stay home. You should go over there, though,” she added
after a moment. “Just because I can’t make nice doesn’t mean the two of you
can’t have a good time.”

“Are you okay, babe?” Something in her voice brought all his
worry back. “Do you need me to come home now?” He looked at his watch. It was
only five o’clock, but he could take off on time for just once. He’d finally
found his niche at the Worthington Group, but Shannon was more important than
business.

“No! No, I’m fine.” She most definitely did not sound fine.
“You can tuck me in when you get home from Daniel’s.” As if he was going to
leave her alone while he played naughty games without her. “I’m just tired.
It’s been a shitty day.”

She hung up soon after, and Matthew immediately dialed
again, this time Daniel’s number.

“Well?” Daniel picked up on the first ring, his voice
abrupt.

“She’s at my place. She sounds upset.” He paused a minute.
“Even if I leave now, it’ll take me a good forty-five minutes to get there.
You’re a lot closer. Will you go?”

Shannon sat alone in the dark. Sometime over the summer
she’d begun to feel more at home in Matt’s condo than she did in her own, and
she needed that comfort now. She wanted to close her eyes, but every time she
did, she saw little Angelo Torres pull out the knife, and she relived over and
over again the moment when he’d started flailing wildly, slicing at anyone
within reach. She glanced down at the bandage wrapped across her palm, and
realized she’d been lucky to escape with only stitches. Sheer instinct had made
her grab the boy to disarm him. Foolish instinct. He could have easily carved
her up as much as he had the little boy who’d shared his worktable.

She was huddled on the couch, staring at nothing when the
door opened. A brief, disinterested look at the digital clock showed it was far
too soon to be Matthew. She laid her head back against the couch and fought the
rush of relief flowing through her as Daniel’s silhouette filled the doorway.
The reason she hadn’t gone to him in the first place hadn’t changed. He wanted
sexy, sassy, upbeat Shannon. Tonight that woman didn’t exist. Tonight she needed
comfort, and she just didn’t know if Daniel had it to give.

Daniel walked matter-of-factly over to scoop her into his
arms and settle her into his lap as he sat.

She burrowed into his chest like a wounded animal, and her
breath shuddered out in a low rush.

“Wanna tell me about it?” He kept his voice soft, soothing.
She shook her head violently against his chest, and he began to stroke her
hair. “I’d like to know,” he urged. “I was worried when you weren’t at the
house tonight.”

She looked up at him, though she didn’t meet his eyes. “I
figured you’d rather not have a weepy, sloppy woman hanging around.” He looked
incredulous, which confused her just a little bit. After all, Daniel had made
it very clear that, for him at least, this was all about the sex.

“I should have called though,” she added softly. “I didn’t
mean to make either of you worry.”

Daniel shook his head and pressed her closer to his body.

“Shannon, I want you around whether you’re Little Mary
Sunshine, angry and cranky, or weepy and sloppy. Now tell me what’s happened.
Let me help.”

She figured he didn’t really mean it, but it was exactly
what she needed to hear from him. Slowly, and then in a rush, she described the
tragedy at her school. How she’d had no warning one of her students was unstable
and had a history of violence and carrying weapons to school. How he’d argued
with the boy who shared his desk. The knife. The blood.

The little boy he’d stabbed was going to make it, but he’d
carry the scars on his face and chest forever. She showed Daniel her own
injury, and trembled at the rage filling his eyes. As he very gently pressed
his lips to her bandages, he whispered, “You idiot. He could have killed you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, laying her hand against his cheek. “Matt
wouldn’t survive losing you.” He laid a trail of soft kisses down the line of
her jaw before settling back into the couch and holding her close enough to
feel his heartbeat.

In the safety of his arms Shannon finally let the tears
come.

He held her for ages, for far longer than she ever would
have expected—and when he finally set her back on the couch, it was gently and
with obvious reluctance.

“I’ll bet you haven’t eaten since breakfast.” She gave a
watery sniff and shook back her hair. “Well, Matthew is bound to have something
here I can’t ruin.” Her smile was weak, but it was impossible not to respond to
his wry self-deprecation.

He was flipping his phone open as he walked into the
kitchen, and Shannon knew he was calling Matt. She strained to hear his side of
the conversation.

“There was some trouble at school. A kid with a knife. Get
your ass home. She needs a soft touch, and God knows she won’t get it from me.”

She could hear the drawers and cupboard doors banging and
figured she should go out there and rescue Daniel from kitchen duty, but she
just couldn’t make herself do it. Her cry had exhausted her, and all she wanted
now was to curl up and sleep for a week. If only she could erase the grisly
pictures in her mind’s eye.

She must have dozed a little, because when she opened her
eyes Daniel was sitting next to her, balancing a bottle of wine, glasses and a
woefully over-cooked TV dinner. Pouring the wine, he gave the food a sheepish
look and said, “Well, at least you won’t get food poisoning from it.” He poked
at it with a fork. “I think.”

It coaxed a damp laugh from her, and she snuggled against
his side.

“It’s a relief to know you’re not good at everything. You’re
already far too perfect for my peace of mind.”

He gave a small snort and poked the loaded fork at her mouth.
“You’re obviously delusional from lack of food. Eat up.”

He spent a long time coaxing her to eat when she had no
appetite, and feeding her sips of wine until the knots in her neck and stomach
began to ease. When she finally pushed away the tray and glass, he rose and
dumped everything on the coffee table.

She blinked sleepily at him as he headed for Matthew’s
bedroom, and on through to the bathroom. She closed her eyes as the water began
to run, and didn’t bother to open them when he came and lifted her effortlessly
into steady arms. She stood docilely in front of him while he undressed her.
She was cried out, numb and exhausted. Too wrung out to feel much of anything.

When he lowered her into the tub, the water covered her like
a warm, safe cocoon. Fragrant bubbles tickled her chin. She soaked in the
comfort, savoring the knowledge that Matt kept her toiletries in his bathroom.
Daniel’s hands were slow and soothing as he smoothed thick, velvety soap over
her shoulders and arms.

She kept expecting him to initiate sex, but he never did.
Instead he stroked shampoo into her tangled hair, sliding his fingers through
the strands until they lay like silk over her shoulders, and then using the
shampoo to lubricate his way through a deep massage of her scalp and neck. In
spite of herself, Shannon heard a low purr coming from her throat as she lost
herself in the beauty of the moment.

She wasn’t aware of it when Matthew entered the room—wasn’t
really aware of anything but Daniel’s hands. She did, however, notice when the
lights dimmed, and slitted her eyes open to find Matt lighting various candles
scattered throughout the room before flipping on the whirlpool feature in the
garden tub.

Daniel scooted over to make room for him near her head, and
he knelt on the floor by the tub and leaned over to bury his face in her wet
neck, breathing deeply as she wound one hand around his ponytail and clung for
a moment.

He touched her bound hand gently and drew a ragged breath
before bringing it to his lips for a tender kiss. Sharing a look with Daniel,
he settled down next to the tub, holding her hand while Daniel went to work on
her feet and legs with sure, soapy fingers.

When he’d kneaded all the knots out of her body, Daniel
pulled off his shirt and lifted her from the tub. Together, he and Matthew
began drying her with the thick, fluffy towels Matt had draped over a warming
rack beside the tub. They’d cared for her in tandem enough times now that it
was natural. They worked together in perfect harmony, stroking over her skin
until a warm flush replaced the shocky chills she’d felt earlier.

Once they had her dry, Matthew dropped one of his t-shirts
over her head. The neck slipped off one shoulder, and the hem came almost to
her knees. Scooping her up against his chest, Daniel hugged her tightly for a
moment before laying her in Matt’s big bed. When he started to stand, she
gripped his hand and whispered, “Don’t go.”

He only paused a moment before he answered.

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”

As they stripped down to their boxers, Matthew murmured,
“For someone who doesn’t have a soft touch, you seemed to be doing all right
for yourself.” He just grinned at the dry look Daniel shot in his direction.

“God,” he continued more seriously, yanking the tie from his
hair. “The thought of her hurt…” He let his words trail off, but Daniel had no
trouble picking up where he left off.

“If she’d been seriously hurt, there’d be no hole deep
enough for the kid’s parents to hide in.”

They shared a look of perfect understanding before turning
to the bed where Shannon waited.

Matthew let Daniel take the lead, as he often did, watching
with obvious appreciation as Daniel spooned against her back protectively, and
pillowed her head on his arm. Once they were settled, Matt slid in on her other
side, lying facing them. With one hand wrapped around her waist, he caressed
them both.

Matt blinked in surprise when Daniel slid his lower arm
across the pillows to tangle his fingers in Matthew’s loose hair. Hell, the
action surprised Daniel himself. They held each other’s eyes over Shannon’s
head until her breathing evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. Only then
did the men allow themselves to drift off as well.

* * * * *

Daniel woke as Shannon slipped from the foot of the bed,
obviously taking care not to disturb him or Matthew. At first he thought she
just needed to visit the bathroom, but when she didn’t return, he realized
there was something more to her absence.

Giving Matt a rough nudge in the shoulder, Daniel slid from
the bed. Matt blinked a couple of times, and then focused on the sliver of
yellow light bleeding under the bathroom door. When he moved to get up, Daniel
shook his head and said, “I’ll go,” before padding to the closed door.

She stood in front of the sink, hands braced on the marble
counter, head bowed and eyes closed. She wasn’t crying, but she looked as if
she wanted to. When she lifted her head and met his eyes in the mirror, the
stark grief in her eyes pierced him to the core.