Command: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Amélie S. Duncan

  I raised the glass and met his sexy, angry face. Fuck everything.

  He closed his hand around mine and pulled, spilling the shot all over the counter.

  I laughed. “I’ll give you that one. But I just started.”

  Nathan’s jaw ticked. “No, you’re not, Shadow. You’re done.”

  Nathan

  Shana peered at me through her lashes. “I’m not supposed to take illegal drugs. I chose not to take anything else. But not anymore. Barkeep, another round.” She raised her hand to wave for Candace, the bartender, who used a towel to clean up her spilled drink.

  Amber echoed her, slamming her fist on the bar rail. “Another round.”

  Candace eyed her coolly and raised a brow at me, asking what I wanted to do. I’d apologize to her for knocking the drink later. For now, I shook my head and jutted my chin toward Shana. That was enough to ensure she wasn’t getting alcohol at Hooligan’s. Technically, she could drink, but the dull, hollow look I hadn’t seen in the last five weeks had returned in her eyes.

  I flexed my jaw. On our call earlier, Shana had seemed fine. But something must have happened, because she’d showed up at Hooligan’s in a painted-on dress that just covered her ass, with her hair down and high heels. She looked hot as fuck. But she also lit up like a red flag as an available piece of ass to take home—and the bulls were circling. My fellow cops knew her and would stay away, but the other men were eyeballing her. With the bar crowded and desperate Amber in tow, our line of conversation would lead to a sideshow. I tried to reason with her like I hadn’t before I snatched her drink.

  “Shadow, this isn’t you.”

  Shana’s eyes flashed then narrowed. “This is me, Nathan. This has always been me. You just don’t like the real me.” Her voice broke, and she tried to cover what she said with a laugh, but I knew better.

  “That’s not true. You’re better than this.”

  “Oh, come on, Nathan.” Amber snaked her hand down my chest, feeling me up. “Hang with us.”

  I pulled her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

  “You’re an ass,” she said, loud enough for the rest of the people to turn their heads our way if they hadn’t been looking already.

  I touched Shana’s arm. “Let’s talk.” She yanked away from me like I had more of a grip than I had.

  “Talk. Talk. Talk. I’m not out tonight for talking,” she said in a snarky tone.

  Amber snickered. “That’s right, girl. You tell him. We’re out for fun.”

  “Stay out of it,” I told her.

  “Fuck you, Nathan,” Amber spat at me.

  Shana grabbed Amber’s hand, and they went by the jukebox and danced. A couple of guys came over, and I recognized one, Rookie Rich, who danced along with them.

  I stood there like an idiot drinking the beer the bartender brought over while watching the show. My conscience tried to talk to me. You have no right. Be cool. Walk away and let her have fun. Shana wasn’t taking drugs. She won’t risk all she’d worked for. Let her blow off some steam. We weren’t together. Why shouldn’t she find someone?

  She swayed her hips back and forth to the beat—her hands up above her head. Rich came up behind her and clasped her waist. Shana hesitated. Her eyes sought mine.

  I crossed my arms and pressed my lips together. Don’t do it. Shana could read me well if she wanted to listen. I got the message from her attitude at the bar. She was upset with me. Now she was fucking with me too.

  She thrusted her hips and he ground his hips behind her. What was that shitty dance called? Twerk? I hate that dance. Her dress rose higher, and I saw a peek of her butt that wasn’t covered by her thong. She tugged it down, but Rich tugged it higher.

  My brain disappeared, and I turned into a juiced-up Frankenstein’s monster fixed on smashing Rich’s hand. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d crossed the room and grabbed his wrist. “Get your fucking hands off her.”

  “What the hell, man?” Rich said, snatching his wrist free.

  “Rich is right,” she said and then hesitated. “You know each other?”

  “He’s a cop,” I pointed out.

  “So?” Rich said. “We jog together. She already knows I don’t care what people at the precinct say about her. She’s hot and rich. I can handle messed-up crazy.”

  Shana turned her head away, but I caught the hurt there from his words.

  “You need to shut the hell up and walk away right now.” I spat the words out.

  “I’m bored, and you’re not worth it. Don’t follow me,” Shana told him. She turned her back and danced by herself. That scrap of a dress kept fighting to stay down.

  I cursed under my breath—one fire at a time.

  “Seriously, what is your problem with me?” Rich brought my attention back to him. “Shana chose me. You need to back off.” He stepped closer to me.

  I towered over him. One throw and he’d be flat on his back. Bring it, asshole. Go on and try.

  The bouncer came over and told Rich, “You pull any more of that shit, you’re out of here.”

  “I didn’t do anything she didn’t come in here begging for,” Rich told him but walked off.

  I saw red. He did not just go there. Fuck. He wouldn’t get away—

  “Nathan. There you are.” Shit.

  Kylie.

  Of all the nights, tonight I’d agreed to meet up for a drink with Kylie and her friends.

  “Hey, one sec.” I was about to go over and speak with Shana, but Amber joined her and they danced together.

  Kylie’s lips curled up. “Oh, there’s Shana. I see she came here tonight too,” she said, her tone flat. She waved her hand to get Shana’s attention and motioned for her to come over to us.

  Shana hesitated, but she lifted her head high. Amber came walking slightly behind her.

  “Hi, Shana, interesting dancing style, though I bet you wish you wore a different dress. Just kidding,” Kylie said, laughing. “But now that I’m here, I’m stealing Nathan away to hang out with me like you heard me discuss before you came here tonight.” She moved close enough to brush my arm with hers.

  Shana’s eyes shifted between us. “I came, so what?”

  Kylie curled her lip. “You knew I was meeting up with Nathan. I just find you coming here odd after our conversation.”

  Shana knew I was coming here and was upset?

  Amber snorted. “You’re on a power trip. Shana doesn’t need your permission to go to a bar.”

  “Kylie’s right. Nathan should leave me alone. Have fun,” she muttered. Shana’s face fell. What? Shana wasn’t acting herself tonight. She was all spit and fire moments ago, and then Kylie’s comment just . . . shut that down. What was going on?

  Kylie touched my arm. “Should we get a table?”

  I put on a smile and looked around the room. “Where is your group?”

  “Group?” she questioned and then probably remembered what she’d told me.

  “Oh, they had more work to do. It’s just the two of us tonight.”

  I wasn’t blind or dumb. Kylie liked me, and I did use that to get Lucy a ride. Kylie was pretty and polite. Except the way she’d gone after Shana. I was definitely missing something.

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  Kylie led us to a table on the other side of the room from Shana and Amber. I ordered a drink, and she ordered a meal. Well damn.

  I turned to look at Shana. Amber must’ve said something that made her throw her head back and laugh. I’d always loved the way she laughed. Jackson and I used to make her laugh to hear the light sweetness of the tone that contrasted with her low, husky voice. Her face lit up like a child receiving a present. Her whole body would shake, like her joy couldn’t be contained. It was a laugh from the soul.

  “Lucy was so excited at the dance,” Kylie said, breaking into my thoughts.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Lucy wanted to wear her necklace, and Shana promised her, but then we couldn’t find it. It’s so annoying when volunt
eers and people they choose to assign to the homes don’t know basic child psychology or know how to work with kids. I had to calm her down on the ride. Her date met her in front of the school, and I hung back enough to give her a chance to be a teen. She really has grown up.”

  “Yeah. Shana got Lucy opening up.”

  “I don’t think it was just Shana,” Kylie said. “It was our whole team. The counselors, your baseball, her teachers. After the incident with her mom—”

  “You know what? I don’t talk about work here,” I said with a tight smile.

  She let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. Time off, when do you find it? I mean, I feel like I’m always working. It might sound boring, but I belong to a rock-climbing club here.”

  My brows rose. “You do? I rock-climbed for a while.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  “Red River gorge,” I muttered.

  My eyes drifted over to Shana again. She wiped her eyes with Amber standing next to her talking. What’s wrong? They both headed toward the back of the room. I didn’t trust Amber. She stirred up trouble to entertain herself. She wasn’t good company for someone needing help. Hell, I still partly blamed her for encouraging Shana to party after Jackson died. I’d agreed to have a drink with Kylie in thanks for her assistance to Lucy, but Shana needed me.

  “I’ll need to cut this short, Kylie. I want to check on Shana. She seemed upset tonight.”

  “I’m sure Shana can take care of herself,” she said, her smile tight. “She heard I was coming here to meet you, and she caused a scene. She’s childish. Leave her to make a fool of herself. She’ll never learn to behave differently if you run after her.”

  Kylie must’ve seen more than I thought. Admittedly, there was some truth in her words, but she didn’t know Shana like I did. “I don’t turn my back on my friends to get them to learn lessons when they struggle. See you later.”

  “Wait, Nathan. I didn’t mean any harm,” she said. “I thought you weren’t together anymore, and I’d heard she left town. Left you. If that’s your intent, that’s great she has a friend.”

  It almost sounded like Kylie had just given me permission. I didn’t like it, but decided to ignore her. I called the waitress over and paid for the meal.

  “Thanks, Nathan. See you next week at the team meeting. Maybe we can talk more about climbing. I can show you more about our club.”

  I didn’t answer, but headed to the back of the bar. I didn’t know what I would say when I caught up to Shana. Maybe something along the lines of what I said to Melody when she visited and gave me advice. How crazy proud Shana made me. How I couldn’t make it through a day without hearing her speak or laugh. What I realized and what I needed to admit was even if she left again, I didn’t want to keep my distance. Because having her for a short time was better than a lifetime without her.

  I found her arguing with Amber, but she stopped. Our eyes fused, and my blood went hot. I caught her delight at seeing me come after her before she pushed her lips out and flounced into the ladies’ room.

  “She can have fun if she wants. Leave her alone.” Amber pushed at my chest.

  I moved away, not bothering to answer. Amber’s idea of fun included drugs, and that wasn’t good.

  Pushing the door open, I found Shana standing there, facing the door. I closed the door behind me and locked it.

  “Get out,” she said, but there was no demand in her tone. She squirmed in place, jiggling her tits in that too-tight, too-tiny dress. My gaze dropped to the hem, noticing that her movement made the fabric slip higher on her thighs. She didn’t tug it down. Instead, she let it move above the tiny sheer thong that didn’t cover her pussy.

  “What the hell do you have on?” The words came sharp and hard out of my throat as heat rushed through my blood.

  Her full, sultry lips pursed in a pout. “Whatever I want to wear,” she sassed.

  I sucked in air to calm myself, but my cock swelled with pain behind my jeans button fly. It wept to get inside her.

  I adjusted the front, keeping my eyes on Shana, following my hand. Her tongue slid over her lips, and she shifted her legs together like she wanted to soothe her own aching need. And I’d give her what she needed. But the asshole in me wanted to call her out on her shit.

  “You wear next to nothing out, then dance all over an asshole. You’re right. I should leave.”

  Her head lowered, and she hunched her shoulders. “Then go.”

  “That’s not what you want. Tell me how much you want me.”

  “Forget it. You can stay. I’ll leave.” She crossed over and stood in front of me, grabbing the door handle and twisting it like she hadn’t watched me lock it.

  “Let me out.” She pushed her body against mine, rubbing her hard nipples against my chest. She pulled on my shirt and hit my shoulders. “Just . . . just let me leave,” she hissed, but her voice was thick. I could hear her tears behind it.

  I might pretend to ignore things, but she wasn’t hard for me to read. She was jealous. And probably in her mind, I’d hurt her. I shouldn’t have stayed quiet when Kylie spat at her. Shana hadn’t deserved that, and right now, she looked lost. But she also looked like she’d let me save her. Take her. She wanted me so wild with lust that I’d tear down her tough armor and claim her as mine.

  And I would.

  Right the fuck now.

  She wiggled around my body, pressing herself into me. I took her waist and turned her around against the back of the door.

  Her chest heaved as she watched my hand lift and caress her face. My eyes bore into hers.

  “I wasn’t seeing anyone when you showed up, not even Melody. Yes, she stayed over, but nothing happened. I promise you. Don’t throw all your hard work away for me. You want me? Tell me. Because I’m yours.”

  She pressed into the front of my jeans harder. Her breath came out staggered with a sob and a cry. “But you’re with Kylie . . .”

  I shook my head and brushed my lips against hers. “No one but you, baby.”

  Her bottom lip trembled, “Nathan, I want . . . I want you. Please.”

  She pleaded. She surrendered.

  Reaching between her legs, I stroked my hand against the front of her thong. She was soaked through, bare. Soft.

  She inhaled sharply and squirmed against my fingers moaning.

  I shuddered. Fuck. I couldn’t wait. I needed to feel her, taste her. “I have to have you now.”

  Dropping to my fucking knees, I pulled her thong down her long legs and off, then gripped Shana’s thighs to see her wet, pink pussy. I didn’t waste any more time. I licked up her slit, dragged my tongue through her hot folds, and sank inside her entrance. Mmm. Fuck. My Shana. I couldn’t believe this was real. I could touch her like I wanted to again.

  She opened her legs wider for me, and I circled her clit with my tongue and groaned. “You taste so good . . . why do you make me fight for you, baby?”

  I grabbed her ass hard and squeezed, burying my head to lap and suck her clit.

  “Oh, Nathan, yes . . .” She moaned and sobbed, gyrating her hips against my mouth. Someone banged on the door, but I didn’t want to stop.

  She tightened her grip on my head. She didn’t want me to. “Please don’t stop. Fuck me, Nathan.” Her voice was loud. My dick grew harder. I didn’t care either, it turned me on. She wanted people to know what we were doing.

  I stiffened my tongue, letting her fuck my mouth. Her body tightened in my hands. “Oh God, Nathan. I’m going to come.”

  I pushed a finger inside her and stroked her spot. She shuddered, and I held her to me, letting her arousal fill my mouth as I sucked her down. She kept coming, pulling hard on my hair, stiffening and struggling until she quivered. When she calmed, I let her go.

  I stood and grabbed her face and kissed her, sliding my tongue against hers like I just did her pussy. She kissed me back, her nails digging into my shoulders.

  I broke away and watched her sway on her feet. Her skin flushed, her mouth sw
ollen.

  She looked so beautiful.

  “I’m taking you to my house,” I told her.

  Her eyes shimmered, and my heart swelled more in my chest. She was a tough woman, but with me, she was my baby.

  “I’m going to flash everyone in the bar.” She laughed and shook her head putting her thong in her purse. Seeing Shana’s pussy through the thin dress made me desperate to bury my dick inside her right there.

  “Oh, Shana, you have a long night ahead of you.”

  She grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Someone knocked on the door. “You need to open the bathroom back up, Nathan,” Candace’s voice called from the other side. We had to go.

  I knocked on the back of the door twice. A signal back to Candace that I heard loud and clear. There was a problem, though. Shana’s dress was too short to walk out of the bar. I pulled off my button-down shirt. “Put this on. It’s longer.”

  “Hot damn,” she said, eyeing my muscles through my fitted T-shirt, laughing.

  My shirt hung long enough I could let her out without her flashing everyone I knew.

  But I wouldn’t take a chance. I took her hand, we left the bathroom, and I led her toward the back door.

  “Won’t the alarm go off?” she asked, following me.

  “People do it every night here. Now, come on.”

  Nathan

  Shana jumped into my car and let out a joyous whoop into the night. Her arms were up in the air as if she were hugging the world as I drove off like a demon, giving my Trans Am juice. We rode the strip with the wind, and that old invincible feeling took hold. It was what Shana brought out of me whenever we were together. With her, I felt free.

  She took off my shirt and threw it in the back seat, then reached over and squeezed my cock, hard. I was already charged up. How we arrived back to my place, I’d never know. My brain lacked oxygen, and everything went to my dick throbbing in my jeans.

  Pulling into the garage, I gave up on us even making it to my bed. I closed the car door and commanded, “Take that dress off.”