* * * *
The guys spent a top afternoon skiing and even had time for a spot of fishing. Hawk managed to catch a couple that were big enough for a feed. Wolf suggested they head over to his place for a cook out, have a few beers, kick back, and watch the big game.
“You up for it mate?” Havoc inquired as he secured the boat to the pier later that day.
“Nah, can’t tonight buddy, got other plans. I’ll catch you lot later though,” he called over his shoulder as he strode toward the parking lot.
Ice hauled his ass into the pickup, bemoaning his filthy luck. His mood hadn’t improved any by the time he reached home and pulled into his car space. When Liz cornered him earlier, he’d clean forgotten about the game tonight, now it was too damn late to weasel out of it. Unlocking his apartment door he headed straight for the shower where he lingered, taking his time to wash off the salt water. Skiing had been sweet and to kick back with the guys and sink a few cold ones watching the big screen would have been a great finish to the day. He mulled over a few excuses under the spray to get out of dinner, but they all sounded lame, even to him. Resigned that there was no escape, he toweled off quickly, and buck-naked walked into his bedroom to dress.
Still, it wasn’t a total loss. This way at least he could swing by Shenanigans without the guys catching on. He could sure as hell do without their repartee. That thought had him whistling a happy tune. He slapped on some aftershave, dragged a neatly folded pair of jeans from the chest of drawers, pulled them on, and buttoned the fly. Teaming them with a white polo shirt, he ran a comb through his damp hair and calculated just how soon he could politely take his leave after dinner.
With a bottle of Chardonnay from the refrigerator in hand, he locked up and headed next door.
* * * *
Liz sat at the kitchen bench absently popping grapes from the fruit and cheese platter into her mouth as she watched in fascination at how easily Kathy put together the evening’s meal.
“I still can’t believe you’ve done this Liz, Lord only knows what you were thinking?” Kathy scooped sour cream from the carton into a glass bowl, wrapped the herb and garlic bread in foil, and placed it into the oven where dinner was already cooking.
“I was thinking it’s about time you two met, and what easier way than over dinner,” Liz retaliated.
“Mm, let me see if I’ve got this right. You lure Shane here regaling him with your culinary skills, which I might add we both know is a big fat lie, and I wind up doing all the cooking. Yeah, I guess from your perspective that is easy.”
Kathy’s words held no real heat, but Liz still had the good grace to blush. “You’re a magician in the kitchen; you make it look so easy.” She appeased her friend.
“What if he thinks we have ulterior motives?” Kathy tugged at her bottom lip, a nervous habit she indulged in whenever she was feeling apprehensive. Realizing it for what it was Liz did her best to reassure her.
“Relax, it’s not like it’s a date or anything. Believe me Kath, he’s so not your type. But this was the perfect opportunity to meet and patch things up. I couldn’t just let it slide by could I?” Liz prayed she hadn’t made a terrible blunder inviting Shane Jackson to dinner, she only wanted her friend to be happy, and these last months had been very lonely for her. It could only be good to make new friends in the area couldn’t it?
“What if he’s had second thoughts about Cindy? What if he’s going to make an official complaint about me…?”
“What if the sky is falling? Well Chicken Little, as they say in the burbs, you’ll just have to put on your big girl panties and deal with it.”
Kathy rolled her eyes and poked out her tongue, too late for a comeback as a knock sounded at the door.
“I’ll go.” Liz grinned and scooted out of the kitchen.
“Right on time.” She beamed and stepped aside for Shane to enter.
The living room wasn’t small, but the man was a mountain, dwarfing everything with his physical presence. Even she felt petite next to him.
“Something sure smells good.”
“I hope you like chicken.”
“I like anything I don’t have to cook.”
Liz squirmed and called for Kathy to come meet their guest.
*
When she heard Liz call, Kathy’s shoulders stiffened. Mentally preparing to face the brute with the foul mouth, she pasted on a happy face and marched into the sitting room.
The first view of her illustrious neighbor was of his back. He was facing away from her, but at the sound of her footsteps, he turned and Liz made the introductions.
Kathy’s head was at chest level. He was tall, very tall. She raised her eyes to meet his, and when she did the prepared greeting died in her throat. Oh. My. God. It’s Adonis. Her heart did a back flip. Her brain short-circuited. She felt like she’d been sucker punched.
A quirky little smile lit his face as he extended his hand. “So nice to meet you at last Kathy.”
The soft baritone voice cut across her turbulent thoughts and was a seduction of the senses. The nanosecond she left his hand suspended in midair won her a discreet elbow in the ribs from Liz.
“Nice to meet y’all too, Shane,” she said, her nervousness making her drawl more pronounced. As she put her hand in his, electrical pulses shot up her arm. The unfamiliar jolt caused her to pull away in surprise, but she held his gaze.
“I hope you ladies like Chardonnay.”
With her heart fluttering, but with no sign of recognition in his deep blue eyes, she breathed a silent sigh of relief and took the bottle of wine he handed her.
“Perfect, I’ll just get the opener and wine glasses from the kitchen,” Liz offered.
“No, no,” Kathy interrupted. “I’ll get them. I need to check on dinner anyway. Would you prefer wine or beer?” She directed the question to him.
“A beer would be great.”
Kathy skedaddled. She’d absorbed every itty-bitty detail and wanted to process it with breathing space. He was even more phenomenal up close. His size alone commanded respect. His ocean blue eyes edged with ebony lashes held such depth she was in danger of drowning in them. His chiseled jaw, strong and defined with a slight cleft in the center, softened his features and gave him an almost boyish charm. A small white scar, half an inch long, ran perpendicular to his bottom lip and a dimple formed in his left cheek when he smiled. The glaring black and purple bruise on his forehead just above his right eye was incongruous with the rest of his appearance but didn’t dull his good looks; if anything, it made him more bad boy sexy appealing. As she got the drinks and picked up the fruit and cheese platter, she asked herself whether this was what love at first sight felt like.
*
To say he was gob-smacked when she’d entered the room was an understatement. Heck, he felt like he’d been slammed by a Mack truck. Miss Bellamy was no gray-haired spinster but his fantasy girl, Doe Eyes. The gods at last were smiling on him.
She was even more bodacious up close. Words like ravishing and delectable sprang to mind. She had lips that begged to be kissed and come-to-bed eyes, liquid brown with thick black lashes, but she’d stared at him like he was the devil incarnate.
Ice realized that the sight of him had her rattled. Hell, he was a bit rattled too. He wanted things to get off to a smooth beginning, didn’t want to spook her, so decided to play it cool and feign ignorance. His plans of a quick retreat flew from his mind, and his attitude did an about face. This was turning out to be one hell of a night.
“This is Cindy, the cause of last night’s kerfuffle.” Liz butted into his thoughts.
“How could such a little dog make such a commotion?” he muttered reaching down to scratch his new best friend behind the ears.
“Beats me, as I said before, I didn’t hear a thing. Have a seat Shane.” Liz indicated the single armchair as she slid onto the sofa.
Ice folded himself into the chair as Kathy re-entered the room.
“Help yoursel
f,” she said, placing a platter on the table and handing out drinks before taking a seat next to Liz.
He didn’t miss the underlying meaning and gave her a wicked grin. As she picked up her wine and sipped it coquettishly, he cut a wedge of cheese from the platter, washed it down with his beer, and wondered just how long it would be before he got into her pants.
*
For the most part, Kathy was quiet, but Liz made up for it pelting him with a barrage of questions.
“What branch of the Navy are you in?”
“I’m a SEAL.”
When Kathy heard SEAL, she brightened. She’d been sitting on the couch feeling like a dork, but having read an article on the SEAL Teams only last week, she felt confident she could make an intelligent contribution to the conversation without getting tongue-tied. “What division are you in?”
“I lead Team One, but currently I’m involved in coaching the students through basic training.”
The mellow timbre of his voice was soothing to her ears. Kathy could have listened to him talk all night. “I hear the training is rigorous. The stats show that more than seventy-five per cent of candidates opt out before completing Hell Week.”
“You’re well informed, and you’re right of course. It’s a week of an endurance program that requires absolute dedication and is physically and mentally exhausting. My trainees completed it months ago. The survivors were ecstatic of course. In fact, a group of us went to Shenanigans last night for a celebratory drink.”
“You’re kidding! What a coincidence.” Liz gushed, while she in contrast, wanted to dive under the couch and hide.
“We were there last night too. Hey, you weren’t with that group dancing with the girls on the bachelorette night were you?”
Shane’s eyes skidded to hers and with a mischievous wink, he answered Liz’s question.
“Yeah, that was us, but I wasn’t dancing, I was observing the talent from the bar.”
A tide of crimson washed over Kathy. The wink confirmed he’d been playing possum. It was time to make an exit. “If you two would like to take a seat at the table I’ll serve dinner,” she stammered before making good her escape.
*
Ice watched Kathy as she scampered into the kitchen, intrigued that he’d managed to rattle her. Getting to his feet, he turned to Liz. “Where would you like me?”
“You can be the rose between two thorns.” Liz laughed and pointed to the head of the table as she seated herself to his right.
“More like two beauties either side of the beast,” he came back chivalrously, taking the seat indicated. He was impressed, they’d gone to a lot of trouble, and if the aroma wafting from the kitchen was any indication, his taste buds were about to be tantalized.
Kathy glided into the room and leaning in close placed his meal on the table in front of him. He turned to say thanks but her left breast pressed against him. The touch sent electric currents escalating up his arm and the words didn’t form. The unexpected contact made his cock uncomfortable in his low riding jeans as it hardened with interest. He heard her breath catch, and she jumped back as if scalded. Her reaction proclaimed she’d felt it too. He contained a smile but gave her a knowing look that caused her to turn the color of Liz’s hair, and he thought if she got any hotter, she’d spontaneously combust. Perhaps she was embarrassed because Liz was there. Yeah, that had to be it. He wanted to put her at ease so paid them a compliment. “Mm this smells delicious ladies.”
“Thank you,” she muttered. “I hope you enjoy it.”
Liz, oblivious to the tension and emotions being played out around her, responded enthusiastically when he asked what she did for a living.
“I’m an attorney with Brownlow and Wilkins,” she named the high profile law firm. “Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”
“Sure, their cases are often reported in the paper. They’ve got a few offices around the country haven’t they?”
“Yes, there’s one in most major cities.”
“What location do you work out of?”
“Baton Rouge. I’ve worked there since graduating college. Being a Southern girl born and bred, I couldn’t stray too far from home, not like Kathy here.”
“And a very good lawyer she is too.” Kathy volunteered, steering the focus back to Liz. “In fact she’s flying into L.A. tomorrow on instructions from the senior partner of the New York office, who specifically requested Liz assist on a very high profile insurance case.”
While Liz’s career was fascinating, his interest lay with Kathy, so as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he turned the conversation back to her.
“What do you do, Kathy?” he inquired with genuine interest.
“Nothing nearly as exciting as you two, I’m afraid. I teach a class of six-year olds at the local Catholic school.”
“Not Saint Benedict’s? My Goddaughter Meredith Frost goes there.”
“She’s in my class, one of my favorites in fact.”
Kathy gave him a wraparound smile. He frowned, more than a bit disconcerted. He might want to get into her pants, but he didn’t want her invading his private space, and the connections were getting too damn close for comfort. First, she lives on his doorstep, now it turns out she’s Meredith’s teacher. If that wasn’t bad enough, Sarah Frost would probably somehow ferret out that he was screwing Meredith’s teacher, and make no mistake, screw her he would. Sarah would then let it slip to Frosty, who’d blab to the guys, and knowing them as he did, they’d never let up. Damn, if he didn’t want her so bad, he’d split right now.
“What a small world, are you related to one of her parents?” Kathy asked. The phrase—and getting smaller by the minute—crossed his mind. “Not technically, her dad Patrick’s a SEAL. We met at training years ago, so yeah, I guess you could say we’re close.”
Liz topped up the wine glasses and passed Ice another beer. “That’s a nasty bruise on your forehead Shane, compliments of the job?”
“Ah no, to be truthful, Cindy here was the cause. When she woke me, I mistook her yelps as someone in trouble. I leaped out of bed and while pulling on my jeans tripped in the dark and smacked my head on the nightstand. Pretty clumsy, hey?”
“No, not at all,” Liz said.
“Shane, I’m so sorry,” Kathy gushed. “I didn’t have the heart to abandon her, and I promise she’ll be gone tomorrow. I’ve arranged for a friend to take her until we can find her a home.”
“It sounds like you’ve got it sorted out, but Liz told me I scared you last night, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled like that,” he said, making his own apology.
“That’s okay Shane. You shouldn’t have been disturbed at that hour of the morning.”
“Don’t sweat it—you did what you had to do. I probably would have done the same.”
As the evening wore on and the wine diminished the girls became chattier. Liz again lassoed him, this time it was to take them to the beach tomorrow—Kathy couldn’t swim and needed a few pointers. He was happy to be roped in, eager to get an eyeful of Kathy in a skimpy swimsuit.
It was nudging eleven o’clock when he called it a night, not wanting to overstay his welcome.
“Thanks for a great night ladies. Dinner was almost as good as the company.” The compliment came easily as he got to his feet, but before he reached the door the telephone shrilled.
“Who could that be at this hour?” Liz exclaimed looking to Kathy for enlightenment.
Kathy ignored her and rushed to the phone. “Hello,” she said lifting the handset. The single word came out sounding a trifle flustered.
As he watched, Kathy schooled her face into a blank mask and without another word severed the connection.
“Wrong number,” she explained visibly shaken.
“Wrong number my ass, what did they say?” Liz challenged.
“He didn’t say anything really.”
Kathy downplayed the call, but it was clear that the jerk on the other end had said something to unnerve her.
If he had to take a guess he’d say a dumped ex-lover giving her a mouthful, her body language indicated as much. “How long has this been going on?” he asked.
“Only this week, it’s nothing to be concerned over.” She brushed it off as unimportant, and maybe it was. He respected her right not to go into a lengthy discussion so dropped it for now.
“Good night Shane, and thanks again for being a sport about Cindy.”
“Forget it Kathy, it’s all good, and I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“With bells on.” Liz laughed.
As the door closed behind him, Ice was still reeling from the fact that Doe Eyes was his neighbor. She’d been practically living in his pocket for two months without him having a clue. He didn’t even have to ask her out, Liz unknowingly did that for him orchestrating a trip to the beach, and the bit about Kathy not being able to swim was clever. She’d always wanted to go body boarding, maybe he could teach the teacher Liz had suggested, to which both girls had giggled. Yeah right, he’d teach her to swim and a whole lot more.
Liz was leaving tomorrow evening so he planned to continue things of a more intimate nature with Kathy then. She was even more captivating up close. He’d had the hard-on from hell the moment she walked through the kitchen door, and that husky Southern drawl of hers was dead sexy. And she’d recognized him.
She pretended she hadn’t at first and that was fine by him, if she didn’t want her friend to know, he’d play the game. But the way she’d gazed up at him from beneath her lashes, blushing every time he spoke, acting for all the world as if she was an untried virgin was actually very alluring, and that little girl act she had down pat was kind of cute too. If he didn’t know better, he’d have fallen for it. But the sight of her grinding her hips with junior’s last night was engraved in his mind in Technicolor. The wink was a nice touch though and served to let her know that he remembered her too. Yes, it was only a matter of time until they did the wild thing, and when their flesh finally united, it would be explosive, like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Desire Unleashed Page 5
