Sworn to Protect (19 page)

She shivered. “Don’t say that.” He had been shot last year and had come damned close to dying. She never wanted to be that afraid again.

“Sorry.” He changed the subject. “Ready to get dried off?”

Nodding, she stood. He wrapped her in a thick towel and patted her dry, then did the same with her long hair, mindful of the stitches. Then he had her sit in a chair while he gently brushed out the tangles and blew her hair dry.

At last, he cut off the dryer. “All done.”

“It takes a while. Maybe I should just cut it all off really short.”

“Only if you want to see a grown man cry.”

She laughed at his fake pout. “No worries, for now.”

He gave her a T-shirt of his that was too big, but it would work for taking a nap. Showing her into the guest room, he turned down the covers and tucked her in.

“Will you be okay while I go get you some clothes and things?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to take a nap, not run around the block.”

“All right. But I’ll be back soon, and Drew will be home in a bit, too, if you need anything.”

“Go, you, before you give me a bigger headache.”

“Smartass.”

After giving her a sweet kiss on the lips, he left, pulling the door shut behind him. She snuggled in and drifted for a while, basking in his care and obvious feelings for her.

Maybe this thing between them had a chance after all. If only she could be sure.

•   •   •

She must’ve dozed, because the next thing she knew, she heard a noise and opened her eyes to see that Shane was sneaking into the guest room. And he was wearing only a towel.

She smiled at the delicious sight. “I’m guessing Drew’s not home from school?”

“Nope. Tommy picked him up for me, and he’s staying over there for a while.”

“Those two are becoming awfully chummy, aren’t they?”

“I’m not complaining. That boy needs all the positive role models he can get.” He stalked closer, then crawled onto the bed with her. “I’m not feeling like anybody’s role model right now. In fact, I’m feeling rather naughty. I wish your head wasn’t hurt.”

“My noggin is much better, thank you.” She eyed his spectacular form. All those sleek muscles were just begging for her hands and her lips. “I think you should take care of me before I burst into flames.”

“We can’t have that. But are you sure?”

“Very much so.” She lifted his chin and kissed him. Searching at first, gentle. A sharp intake of breath betrayed his pleasure, then his spiky lashes swept down and his lips parted. He melted into her, holding her close, splaying his hands across her back.

Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, exploring his mouth, savoring the taste of him. His spicy male scent mingled with the aroma of soap on his skin.

Her body heated in reaction to being pressed against Shane, who was almost naked, save for the towel. Her nipples tightened, and she imagined he must feel them through the thin old T-shirt, brushing against his smooth, bare chest. He broke the kiss and she rested a palm against his pounding heart.

“Babe, if we don’t stop . . .” He sucked in a breath.

“Do you
want
to stop?”

“No.” His gaze bored into hers, an intense gray storm.

“Then don’t.”

“Daisy, you’re hurt—”

“I’m more than okay, and I want you. Please.”

Indecision warred with desire, then he stood. The towel had loosened so that it rode low on his hips, and the proof of his arousal had made a sizable tent underneath. A tantalizing thatch of dark hair peeked over the cloth.

“Take it off me, sugar.”

The husky command sent a delicious shiver through her. She searched his handsome face for a trace of the laughing, teasing Shane she knew. This man wasn’t him. Something dark and dangerous lurked behind his eyes, an eerie sense that the man about to make love to her wasn’t Shane at all. Anticipation tingled along her spine, and an aching warmth unfurled between her thighs.

The towel slid off easily, and she let it drop to the bed. Oh, lord. He was two hundred pounds of naked, masculine perfection. Well, nearly perfect. A small circular scar on his abdomen marked where a bullet had come close to ending his life. Her world would have crumbled that day if it had.

His shaft jutted proudly at the apex of his muscled thighs, daring her to touch . . . and she wasn’t strong enough to resist. She curled her fingers around his velvety length, and he groaned.

Scooting closer, she slid her hand in a slow pumping motion, enjoying the way he sucked in his breath, body tightening in response. Emboldened, she cupped his sac, rubbing, enjoying the weight of it. She looked up at Shane, and the feral desire etched on his face scorched her to her toes.

“Do you want me?” he demanded.

“Yes,” she managed.

“Sweetheart, I’m yours.”

She dipped her head and tasted. The tip of him was fine silk, a salty pearl delight. She licked the drop away, then let her tongue explore the rest inch by inch. Tracing the ridge underneath, she worked her way to his balls and laved them. Shane buried his hands in her hair, careful of her head, and cried out.

“Oh! Oh, honey . . . Yes, yes!”

Daisy took him in her mouth, sucking deeply, relishing this feeling of power as he quivered. Shane’s voice, hoarse with passion, brought her such pleasure.

“Oh, God, stop. Raise your arms.”

She did, and he grabbed the edge of her T-shirt and yanked it over her head, baring her. Totally. Daisy had never liked sleeping in underwear, preferring freedom instead. Shane’s face darkened and he growled low in his throat.

“Lie back.”

Daisy settled on the pillows, watching him. He gripped her knees and spread her legs, moved between them, then released her.

“Wider,” he coaxed. His hot gaze lifted to hers as she complied. “That’s it, baby, let me see you, taste you. My turn.”

He dipped his head and trailed the inside of her thigh with his tongue, until he found her center. Delicious shockwaves of erotic pleasure radiated through her limbs to her fingers and toes as he flicked her. She squirmed under him, craving more. More . . .

Shane laughed, a deep baritone sound of male satisfaction. “Like that, do you?”

“Yes!”

“Want more?”

“
Please . . .”

With a low groan, he rose to his knees, lifting her hips in his strong hands as though she weighed no more than a feather. Only her shoulders rested on the bed. Though he supported her easily, she admired how the position emphasized the corded muscles in his chest and arms. He gazed down at her, lips turned up in a knowing half-smile, an expression oozing with raw sexuality.

When Shane spoke, his voice was a sensual caress. “I’m going to feast until you scream, sweet girl. Until you beg me to fuck you. And even then I won’t stop unless I’ve tasted every last drop.”

Words failed Daisy and her heart pounded. Shane was such a sexual creature. Never in her wildest, most torrid fantasies had she dared to dream that he might one day be hers. Even when they’d been together before, there had been doubt. That was fading away, almost to a distant memory. He brought her to him and nibbled gently, unraveling her thread by thread. The shock waves became warm pools, bathing her. His teeth grazed her again and again, heating her blood until she began to whimper.

“Oh, please!” She tugged at his hair, trying to pull him closer. He chuckled and answered her plea, fastening his mouth on her. A tidal wave of sensations carried her away in a languorous sea. He suckled, licked, and she gave herself to him completely. Tremors began to shake her as she watched him love her that way, the lamplight playing off his sable brown hair, his face buried in her soft folds. Giving and taking.

“Tell me what you want.”

“You
know
.”

“Say the words.”

His sex talk was sending her over the edge, stripping her inhibitions. “Fuck me.”

“Not yet. Come for me, sugar. That’s it.”

She came undone with a sharp cry, flew apart with the force of her orgasm, and he drank deeply, lapping her honey until she was certain he’d taken his fill. She was wrong. As she drifted back to earth, he lowered her to the bed once more, then covered her body with his. To her amazement, the feel of their naked skin pressed together rekindled the fire.

Shane brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I can’t get enough of you.” He kissed her, a hard, possessive kiss, rich with their mingled sex. “Taste us? I’ll carry the essence of you on my lips until the day I die.”

Tears stung her eyes. “Oh, Shane—”

“Shh, sweetheart. Let me give you what we’ve both wanted for so long.” Quickly, he rolled on a condom.

She gasped as he plunged inside her. Already slick and wet from his attentions, she sheathed him smoothly. His rigid shaft impaled her, and she realized that he’d made his entry easier for her by pleasuring her first. His strong arms braced on either side of her head, he began to pump his hips, riding her in a slow grinding motion, his length stroking her sensitized bud.

“Ohhh.” Wicked pleasure unfurled between her legs. He increased the tempo, slamming into her harder, faster. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she arched her back, allowing him to fill her as deeply as possible.

“Mine,” he whispered against her. “Say it.”

“Yes,
yours
. Shane,” she said.

Relentless, he drove into her with long strokes. The fire consumed her, burning out of control until she met his thrusts with mindless abandon. She clung to his shoulders, nails digging into his skin, the rhythmic slap of their sweat-slickened bodies bringing her to the brink of climax.

“Daisy, baby, I can’t stop—”

With a hoarse cry, Shane crushed her to his chest and buried himself to the hilt. The volcanic force of their release rocked them, and they remained locked together as the hot rush of his seed spilled into her. Spasms shook them in rolling waves that gradually gentled, leaving them trembling in each other’s arms.

For several minutes neither of them made a move to separate. He seemed content to hold her, which was more than fine with Daisy. If she could, she’d keep him inside her forever.

“Wow,” he breathed, smiling down at her.

The effect short-circuited her brain. With his too-long brown hair falling into sparkling gray eyes, he was devastatingly handsome. And his gorgeous smile was genuine, all for her, just the way she’d always dreamed.

Please, please let the doubts stay away. Let him be mine.

“Yeah, wow,” she smiled back.

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “You’re beautiful, Daisy. Inside and out. I’m just sorry I didn’t take off my blinders a hell of a lot sooner. Months ago.”

Her spirits soared. He’d said it before, but that she was finally beginning to believe him was a major victory. “Me, too.”

Shane laughed, then slipped out of her and rolled to his back. A sharp sense of loss stabbed her with disappointment, but he pulled her with him, cradling her body against his. She sank into him with a contented sigh.

From the moment she’d first laid eyes on Shane years ago, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling, silly as it seemed, that this sexy man was hers. Or would be eventually. She’d clung to that feeling for years. That he only needed time to come to his senses. To see her as more than a friend and colleague.

Now that he had, she was damned afraid of something happening to ruin her happiness.

•   •   •

Carl Eastlake snapped the Sunday newspaper closed, curling his lip at yet another article lionizing the poor, tragic figure of Brad Cooper. What a friend, what a committed dad, what a supporter of charities, what a great all-around guy.

“What an insecure, aging asshole holdin’ on to his youth by chemical means,” Carl said, laughing. “You bought the lie because you had the money.”

On the table next to his coffee cup, his cell phone rang and he glanced at the display. Sanders, that pain in the ass. He picked up, already annoyed before the man said a word. “Yeah?”

“Carl, we gotta talk.”

“No, we really don’t. Just do your job and I’ll do mine. End of story.” Picking up a nearby pen, he began to doodle a stick figure in the margin of the newspaper. Just for grins he tried to make it look like Irvin Sanders, with glasses and a little goatee.

“No. I want a meeting face-to-face,” Sanders insisted. “We have to work out the kinks in this thing before we broaden our client base. I insist. Otherwise, I may have to take my skills elsewhere.”

“Is that so?” he inquired pleasantly. That alone should’ve been a clue, should’ve made the man leave town in the dead of night. “In that case, I’m all ears. I’m busy this coming week, so let’s do a week from Thursday, the usual time and place. Call Johnson and tell him.”

He wasn’t that busy, but irritating Sanders made him happy. Without waiting for an answer, Carl ended the call and set the phone aside. Humming, he continued his doodling, finishing his artwork with a big X over the figure he’d drawn.