Embracing Danger (16 page)

Her knees gave way and he caught her easily, lifting her onto the seat of the motorcycle, the leather cool on her overheated skin. Facing her, Shane insinuated himself between her thighs as her skirt tangled around her hips, urging her legs to wrap around his waist. She braced her hands behind her and leaned back to give him better access and he immediately took advantage of her bowed torso, capturing a hard nipple between his lips and scraping it with his tongue.

Pleasure surged through her veins like a fire on the prairie, leaving her panting and wild, her nails digging into his wide shoulders. The untamable need to have him closer, pressed against her own flesh was overwhelming and she groaned his name, a plea for mercy on her tongue. The ache between her legs was almost unbearable and only Shane deep inside of her would ease the pain. She’d fantasized about this so many times but the reality was more, much more.

“I know what you need. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get it.”

Dropping to his knees on the carpet of grass, Shane hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties. She felt a tug and then the sound of tearing fabric as a breeze ran over her now bare slit. He tossed her legs over his shoulders and pressed first one finger and then another inside her, so wet they slid in easily. Hooking his fingers, he unerringly found that sweet spot deep inside her that had her keening his name and clenching his head with her thighs.

Clutching the back of his head, she let her lids flutter shut as his tongue flicked over her swollen clit and a shudder of intense pleasure ran through her frame. He drew a whimper from her lips as he lapped at the pearl while his fingers pumped in and out of her slick channel. White hot flames built inside of her until all she could do was say his name over and over again, her body shaking with the force of not just pleasure but pure emotion.

This was the man she loved.

“Come for me.”

Such a simple request but he still held sway over her body even after all this time. She cried out as her pleasure crested and then rolled over her as bright-hot lights danced behind her lids. She was trembling and tried to gather herself, but Shane didn’t allow that for a second. She heard the telltale sound of a zipper and the press of his hot, hard length against her thigh.

“Is it safe? I’m clean,” he rasped, his voice deep and dark. It sent a tingle down her spine and she nodded, giving him the permission he sought.

“Yes. Please.”

Pushing into her, Shane’s length seemed to drive the oxygen from her lungs. Her breathing ragged, she bit her lip as he stretched her far past anything she’d had since their last time. He filled her completely and totally, owning her in a way no one else ever had or ever would. She belonged to him body and soul.

His hands grasped her hips and he lifted her up so he could straddle the bike before settling onto the seat with her impaled deeply on his shaft.

“Fuck, baby. You feel so hot and tight. Ride me.”

She didn’t bother telling him she was tight because she hadn’t been with a man in a few years. Her marriage hadn’t been the most passionate and at the end it hadn’t been physical at all. She hadn’t mourned the loss of it until she’d seen Shane again, the bad boy waking up her dormant libido and making her remember all the naughty things they used to do to one another.

Still wearing her high heels, she wrapped her legs around him as he used his considerable strength to lift her up and then down, his length rubbing delicious spots inside and sending her closer to release once again. She leaned back until her spine touched the bike as Shane pounded into her, his feet braced on the ground and his hands on her ample bottom. She’d have a few small bruises tomorrow but what a lovely reminder of their shared passion.

Teetering on the very edge of the cliff, Arden’s hand slid down her belly to the swollen button between her legs but Shane chuckled and slapped it away.

“That’s my job, baby girl. Are you ready to come for me?” His thumb brushed the nub over and over until her body was strung tight as a bow. “Come hard. I want you to scream my name so everyone knows where you get your pleasure.”

His name was on her lips when her release exploded in her abdomen and radiated out to her extremities like waves lapping at the shore, pulling and pushing until she was wrung out and breathless.

Shane’s own head was thrown back, the cords of his neck in stark relief as he found his own climax. She watched fascinated as a muscle worked in his jaw but his gaze never wavered from her own. It was hot, sexy, and incredibly beautiful to witness.

When they were done, he pulled her into his arms so they were skin to skin, his face buried in her hair. They didn’t move for a long time until eventually she felt him pull away slightly, a warm breeze caressing her damp flesh.

“That was worth the wait. How about we head back to the hotel and do it again?”

There were a million reasons to refuse and only one to say yes, so of course she nodded her head in agreement.

She’d think about the consequences tomorrow.

*     *     *

Shane’s lids opened
halfway, checking the digital clock on the nightstand. It was just after five in the morning and still dark outside the heavy drapes in their hotel room. He’d fallen asleep only a few hours ago but he wasn’t complaining. He also wasn’t unhappy in the least about the warm, womanly form draped over him, her breasts pressed to his chest and her head cradled on his shoulder.

He was still in something of a daze. Arden had expressed her need for him last night and he hadn’t hesitated to make love to her, even in an unusual locale such as on a bike seat in the woods. Afterwards, he’d returned the motorcycle to its owner and driven her back here, where they’d proceeded to try out shower sex for the first time.

Clean and sated, they’d gone to sleep but now that he was awake he was finding that
all
parts of him were awake. He couldn’t wait another minute to be with the woman he loved. Who needed food and sleep when he had this unbelievable happiness filling every nook and cranny inside of him and making his heart almost burst out of his chest?

He’d been given a precious second chance with the most important person in his world.

They’d been apart so long he didn’t want to waste a moment now that they were back together. In fact, he had a fun idea as to how to wake her up for a little pre-dawn romp.

Sliding under the covers, he gently rolled Arden onto her back and positioned himself between her legs. He pressed kisses onto the sensitive flesh behind her knee and then up toward the apex of her thighs, nipping and licking along the way.

Arden’s hips twitched and jerked and a soft moan escaped from her lips but her limbs were still heavy with sleep. Running his tongue along the folds of her slit, he pressed a finger in her already dripping channel, the walls hugging his digit tightly.

“Shane.”

He lifted the covers to take a peek and Arden’s eyes were closed but the lids were beginning to flutter with wakefulness. He bent his head again, getting back to work and lapped at her swollen button until her fingers twisted in his hair and his name was being groaned in a sleepy tone.

“Good morning, princess,” he said against her most private place, blowing a breath over her clit and feeling her tremble in response. Her legs moved restlessly and she tugged at his hair until he slid up her body.

“It’s not morning,” she mumbled crossly, although her hips were grinding against his so she didn’t seem to mind the early wake up call. “The sun isn’t even up. You’re evil, Shane Anderson.”

Shane grinned wickedly as he ran a fingertip around an already pebbled nipple. “It’s morning somewhere in the world, but if you want me to I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

Arden snorted, not in the least delicate or ladylike but he loved the fire in her so much it made him ache. “You woke me up, you better finish this.”

“Your wish is my command.”

She was so wet he slid in easily all the way to the hilt and he sucked in a breath as she surrounded him, hot and snug. He started up a slow, rocking rhythm, savoring every moment of being one with her and in no hurry to end it even as he felt that familiar tingle in his lower back and a flush on his neck.

Burying his face in the fragrant curve of her neck, he groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his ass as they moved in perfect synchronicity, their bodies acting as one entity. Her nails scraped his shoulders and that primal voice inside of him chanted in his ear, drowning out their ragged breathing and the slap of skin on skin.

Deeper. Harder. Faster.

He lifted her knees on his elbows so he could drive into her very core and that’s when the flutters of her climax began, the walls clenching as he thrust into her again and again. Her orgasm tore his own release from him; his balls pulled up painfully to his body as it turned him inside out and left him exhausted and reeling. Nothing felt as good as being with Arden. How had he gone so long without
her
, without
this
? When she’d left he must have become used to walking around without his heart.

He rolled onto his back and carried her with him, tucking her into his body with his arms wrapped around her. Her skin was soft under his fingertips and he stroked down her arm, delighting in her shivers and giggles as she fell back asleep.

Shane felt sleep overcome him as well and he gave into the fatigue knowing the morning would bring a new day, but this time he wouldn’t be alone anymore. Their future started now.

‡

A
rden could feel
the change in the air when they awoke and began to get ready for their day. Shane was singing in the shower at the top of his lungs a song from that summer so long ago. It had been playing that first day when they met at the picnic on the lake. Before he’d stepped into the bathroom, he’d even grinned and given her a long, slow kiss.

The kiss wasn’t the kind from a man who had a one night stand with an old flame. The kind a handsome, popular bachelor gave a female the next morning to say he’d had a great time but there was no future.

No, this kiss held promise. It was all about love and commitment and forever.

Holy shit, what had she done?

There could never be a forever for the two of them. The reason she’d left him hadn’t gone away although her love had never died. It had never occurred to her – idiot that she was – that perhaps his hadn’t either. She’d been too lost in her own pain to notice if he was hurting too. Now she was going to have to shoot him down once again. She had no choice.

She loved him so very much and wanted only the best for him. His happiness was miles more important than her own. She could only hope he would forgive her someday, although she wouldn’t be forgiving herself for last night. Not ever. It had been weak and indulgent and she despised herself for what she’d done and was going to have to do.

“Do you want to go somewhere for breakfast or order room service?” Shane asked when he joined her in the main room. He’d put on a pair of blue jeans and a white button down shirt, the seams straining at his wide shoulders.

She was about to take the light out of his beautiful green eyes and she hated herself for it.

“Actually, I have a few things to do this morning. I was thinking about just grabbing a muffin and coffee on the way.”

She began gathering up her sunglasses and room key, stuffing them into her purse. She heard Shane moving behind her and then he was standing right next to her, his fingers twirling one of her still damp curls. “That’s fine with me. What are we doing today? Just remember that we need to check on that detective that worked your mother’s case.”

Licking her suddenly dry lips, she zipped her bag closed, keeping her gaze studiously away from his. “Why don’t you do that and I’ll go run my errands?”

His warm chuckle sent shivers down her spine and her body stiffened when he pulled her into his arms. “Why would we do that separately, sweetheart? I don’t mind taking you where you need to go. If you want to do some shopping, hell, I’ll even hold your packages.”