She was so fucking beautiful she made his brain slow to a stop. She held out her hands to someone and leaned up to give him a kiss.
That Brandon guy.
Brandon’s hand landed on her lower back, and Shane snapped the beer down on the table, wading into the half dozen people between them. Brandon left his hand on her, and Shane bit back a growl.
Before he could make it to her, a commotion at the front of the house brought him up short. Kendall’s friend was holding open the door, her head tipped back and her hands on her hips.
“Well, son of a bitch,” Shane said.
A handful of people turned to Shane as he changed course and went to the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Kain ducked inside the door, his mile-wide shoulders clad in a custom-made pearl gray suit. Kain didn’t have a choice; whether he was wealthy or not, his body was far too large for off-the-rack suits.
Kendall gave a happy laugh and zipped by Shane to throw her hands up and around Kain’s shoulders.
“Hey there, `ânela.”
Bells stared at them both. “You know this guy?”
Kendall hopped down and dragged Bells over. “Belinda Grayson, meet Kainoa N’ai.”
“Kain,” his friend said, his deep baritone cutting through the chatter of the room. People started whispering among themselves.
Bells held out her hand and shook his best friend’s hand quickly before tucking it behind her back. Kain frowned and dipped his hand into his pocket.
Shane slapped Kain on the shoulder. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“It was a last-minute decision.”
Bells looked from Kain to Shane and back. “Do they grow them all this good-looking in California?”
Kain grinned down at Bells. “They do in Hawaii anyway.”
“I have got to get out of Bradley more.”
Kain’s gaze slid over her bare shoulders. “Say the word, and I’ll fuel up the jet.”
Bells sidled over to Kendall, her smile a little wicked and a little uncertain at the same time. “I’ll remember that.”
“All right, Kain. Enough showing off for my best friend.”
“Who’s showing off?”
“Let’s get you a beer.” Shane steered Kain over to the table full of food. He looked over his shoulder at Kendall again, but she was deep in conversation with Bells.
“Nice digs,” Kain said mildly.
“We’re getting there.” Done with small talk, he handed his friend a beer. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Good to see you too, brother. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Kain chuckled, taking a drink. “Kendall told me to come out for the holiday, so here I am.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I would have met you at the airport or something.”
“I wasn’t sure I could get away. I had to make a few appearances at some parties in the city. Then I took the chopper up here.”
“Oh yeah, just took the chopper. You’re such show-off.”
Kain belted back his beer and reached for another. “I needed some time away from the home office.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you.”
“So how’s everything going with Kendall and the business?”
Shane shrugged. “There’s a lot of repairs that need to be done. I’m still trying to decide if the place is worth working on or if we should sell. A developer would love all this acreage.”
Kain nodded. “I know of at least three companies looking to acquire land near the Adirondacks.”
“Yeah?”
“Companies are buying up land cheap and putting together resorts and spas in nice remote spots like this.”
“I’m not looking to sell it on the cheap. I’d like to know what the land is worth at the very least.”
“I’ll set it up.”
Kain stood beside him and looked over the crowd of people. Kendall’s laugh drew their attention. Shane’s shoulders instantly tensed as two men drew Kendall and her friend into the small group of people dancing.
“Are you sure you want to sell at all, Shane? It looks like you have a good life out here.”
He’d been so focused on getting the repairs done to make the Heron profitable, but the last week with Kendall had been more about living in the present than chasing a future. And anything he’d envisioned included the Heron lately.
“I was actually hoping to come here and see that you were miserable so I could convince you to sell and come back to California.” Kain nudged him. “You look surly, but I think that’s more for the hot dress she’s wearing and the dude who’s trying to dance with her.”
Kendall was swaying her hips in time to the music, and Brandon was consistently offbeat. She raised her arms, and her skirt lifted another fraction of an inch.
“Don’t kill him. I don’t want to spend New Year’s in jail.”
“A well-placed rock tied around his waist, and I could lose him in the middle of the lake. It’s supposed to be cold tomorrow night. I’m sure that last bit will freeze over.”
Kain laughed and slapped him on the back. “As I said, you look happy.”
He had a steady bit of cash coming in from his furniture, but instead of putting it back into the business, he kept buying lumber for repairs on the Heron. He always had enough for the next project under Avery, but he wasn’t getting ahead.
Did he really want to keep hoping they’d become solvent?
Kendall clapped and laughed, her head tipping back in pure enjoyment.
For her, he was pretty sure he’d be willing to take that chance.
“Well, go get her.”
Without a backward glance, Shane plowed through the crowd. The entire room parted, but he had a feeling it had more to do with Kain bringing up the rear than his determined face.
He stood before Kendall, his chest heaving and the dozen people shifting to make room for him.
Kendall reached up and played with the open button of his shirt. “I thought you didn’t dance.”
The next song was slower. Dashboard Confessional’s haunting acoustic harmonies and the whispery voice of the lead singer salted the room. He hooked his arm around her waist, dragging her into him. “I don’t.”
“I’m not ready to leave the dance floor.”
“I didn’t say we were leaving.”
She settled her hands against his shoulders and slid her knee between his as they swayed. “You were very rude to Brandon.”
“He’ll get over it.”
She peered around him. “Should I worry about Kain?”
“Should I worry about Bells?”
“Yes.”
Shane let out a quick bark of laughter. “Nice.”
“Her signature song is ‘Barracuda.’ Does that say anything?”
“You’re lying.”
“Maybe.”
He skimmed his palm along the barely-there fabric at her back. From across the room it was dangerous enough, but up close, he saw just how transparent it was. There was some sort of slip thing beneath it, but a man had to be paying attention to see it.
“I was tempted to tie a boulder to Brandon and toss him in the lake.”
“What?” She laughed up at him. “Why?”
“Because he was looking at you like you were the most appetizing thing in the entire room.”
“And that’s bad?”
“Hell no. You’re the most beautiful woman in the room. Period.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
Pretty words didn’t come easy to him, but he wanted to find them for her. Loving her was one of the easiest and hardest things he’d ever done.
“Hey, you guys,” Bells yelled from the corner of the room. She was standing on a chair, her hand on Kain’s shoulder. Kain was grinning up at her. “It’s countdown time!”
“Uh-oh.”
Shane looked down at her. “What?”
“I hope Kain’s ready for Bells
. I have a feeling she’s going to plant one on him.”
“Yeah?” He grinned. It would serve Kain right if Bells shook him up. Kain was far too used to getting whatever he wanted. “I think he can handle it. Besides, I’m only interested in planting one on you.”
“Is that right?”
Chants of twenty, nineteen, eighteen blurred in his mind as he lowered his mouth to hers. He couldn’t wait until the final countdown to one. Her usual apple flavor was missing. In its place was the heady scent of flowers that matched her petal-soft lips. He’d meant to keep the kiss easy and gentle, but when her arms wound around his neck and she slipped her fingers through his hair, he lost himself in her.
She tasted of sweet wine and Kendall. He bent her back with the force of the kiss, and he didn’t give a good goddamn about the whooping crowd. He lifted her off her feet, slanting his mouth along hers.
The room erupted into laughter, the crank of cheap New Year’s toys, and paper trumpets. He set her down, and she backed her way through the people, only eyes for him. She led him upstairs.
There were people on the stairs taking advantage of the shadows. He and Kendall wove around them and up to the second floor. She took a right and then a left down a skinny hallway that led to a tiny room.
He frowned. “Is this your room?” It was a closet. Not an exaggeration. The room couldn’t be formally named a bedroom.
“I gave up my bedroom for B and B space. I only crash here. It’s going to be a bit of a tight fit, but we’re used to tight fits, aren’t we, Oscar?”
Instead of focusing on what her room lacked, he zeroed in on the long, skinny mattress. She scooted back on the bed. Her shoulder glittered in the dim light of her bedside lamp. The large keyhole cutout between her breasts showed curves unencumbered by a bra.
He nosed the material aside, sliding his knee between her legs as he pressed her into the bed. Groaning against her tight little nipple, he twirled his tongue around the tip.
Her nails scraped along his scalp as she shifted under him until the zipper of his dress pants met with her panties. He tugged the stretchy material of her skirt up, anxious to touch her. For the last week he’d contented himself with kisses, determined to see if there was more than just sex between them.
At this point he wasn’t sure if the passion fed the love or the love fed the passion. All he knew was that he was tired of questioning it.
She reached between them and unhooked a tiny clasp, and the dress fell open enough for him to get full access to her breast. He brushed his chin along the fullest part of her breast, staring up at her as he blew on her nipple.
Kendall bowed up under him. He used the movement to slip under her panties and tease his knuckles along her swollen center.
“God, Sunshine.”
She dragged his mouth up to hers, cupping his face in both her hands with just the slightest space between their mouths. “I love you, Oscar. I needed to say it. I know it’s still so complicated, and we’re not sure what’s going to happen, but I needed you to know that it’s not just about the Heron anymore.”
Humbled and at a loss for words, he opened his mouth, but she closed her lips over his.
He held on to her. The words were still lodged in his chest, but knowing he wasn’t the only one hopelessly tangled increased his aggressive nature. He pushed the stretchy dress up her body and over her head, leaving her with just shoes and panties on in the middle of her postage stamp-sized bed.
He gathered her hands together; anchoring her wrists between his long fingers, he drew them up and over her head. With his other hand he tucked a knuckle under the hood of her pussy.
Eyes locked with hers, he stroked her relentlessly as he held her down. She was restless under his touch; gasps and moans were lost against the skin of her arm as she turned her face to muffle the sounds of her pleasure.
He scraped his teeth over the fullness of her breasts that were plumped up in that position. With one finger, then another, he opened her wider.
His name was a whimper, a whisper, a plea as he brought her to the edge, then backed off. His own pleasure was behind glass, throbbing just on the other side—waiting to erupt.
He leaned up. The buttons of his dress shirt dragged against her skin as he transferred his mouth to hers and pumped his fingers inside her. She screamed into his mouth. Her fingers shook under his grip. He could feel the maddening thrum of her heart against his chest and under his palm at her wrist.
Jerking his buckle open, he released the strap of his belt and unzipped. She rolled her hips, seeking him. He had to get inside her, needed to feel her close around him and let the world make sense again.
He needed to show her how much she meant to him, the only way he knew how.
Cheek to cheek, he panted against her ear as he finally slid into her. Where he belonged. The tumblers shot together to unlock his grieving heart and give it the chance to love again.
“Mine. Always,” he whispered in her ear.
He let her hands go, and she surrounded him—a full-body clasp that felt more like home than anything he’d ever experienced.
And he trusted her to be everything he needed as he found his release inside her body.
* * * *
Kendall glided her calf along the inside of his thigh. He was still wearing his dress pants, shirt, and shoes. She, however, was naked, save her heels. And she felt glorious.
For the first time the clawing worry about the Heron faded into the background. She was lying beside the man she loved. The same man she’d actually told, and he hadn’t run like his ass was on fire.
No, he’d loved her until her eyes were crossed. He’d whispered that she was his, and he was stretched out underneath her, as relaxed as any sated man should be.
Everything was perfect for one moment.
And she had a whole new year ahead of her to see just what kind of amazing future they might have together.
She inched up until she could bury her mouth against his neck. She could taste the salt of his skin; the soft bristles of his beard teased her lips. His cedar-chip scent was even more pronounced.
“I have to go back downstairs, you know.”
He grunted.
She smiled into his neck. “Everyone is going to know I went upstairs to get laid.”
“Good, then maybe that Brandon kid will stop fucking flirting with you.”
She propped herself up on her elbow. “Why does it bother you? I don’t want anyone except you. Isn’t that enough?”
Shane slid his hand down her back and cupped her ass. “I’ll try to curb my murderous thoughts.”
“You trust me, right?”
He brushed the side of his thumb along a lock of hair that escaped her pins. “You have too much integrity to cheat.”
The little ripple of warmth that always came when he got jealous glowed hotter. “Then why do you get upset?”
“Because I’m a guy, and I know what kind of thoughts they’re having. And I don’t like it.”
She shook her head. It didn’t make sense to her, but as long as he didn’t do something stupid, there wasn’t much she could do about it. She shimmied her way down the bed and picked up her dress. “I’m just going to freshen up.”
In the bathroom she repaired her makeup and gave up on trying to control her hair. Instead, she left it down her back. Shane liked it down, and right now she was feeling good enough to give him whatever he wanted.
She returned to her room, and he was looking over her DVD collection.
“So that Supernatural crack was true.”
“Yep, I love the boys. You’re a little like Bobby, except your beard is hotter.”
He frowned down at her. “I’m not that grouchy.”
“If you say so.”
He lifted her dress onto her shoulder only to have it drop down her arm again. “It’s made to slip off the shoulder.”
He dropped a kiss on the exposed skin. “Come on, then, before Lily comes up here and bangs on the
door.” He shook his head.
“What?”
“I feel like when I was seventeen and snuck my girlfriend past my dad to stay overnight.”
Delighted, she went on her tiptoes and kissed his scowling mouth. “I think I like that you’re feeling a little guilty.”
He hooked his arm around her neck and led her out into the hallway. The party was still going full swing downstairs. As soon as she got to the bottom of the landing, Bells dragged her around the corner and out onto the porch.
Shane waved at her and wandered off. Probably to find Kain.
“What the heck, Bells?”
“You leave me down here with that…that…that man while you go upstairs for a booty call?”
Startled at the wide-eyed panic in her friend’s eyes, she clutched her hands. “What happened?”
“He kissed me. That’s what happened.”
“Well, it is New Year’s. Lots of kissing happens. Even between strangers.”
“I intended on kissing him. That’s not the problem. I was on the chair and was going to plant a good kiss on him. You know, my second-date kiss?”
Kendall swallowed a laugh. Her friend was obviously gearing up for a story. “Impressive. The second-date kiss doesn’t come out all that often these days.”
“I know. But he’s friggin’ gorgeous, and I thought, hey, why not? I should bring out my A-game.”
“So you think he’s attractive.”
“Did you fall on your head upstairs?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Did he fuck you into the headboard one too many times?”
Kendall felt the blush flame her face. “No.”
“No, he didn’t fuck you into the headboard?”
“Oh, he did. Kind of. He likes to hold me down, so I don’t tend to do too much in the way of head banging.”
Bells’s blue eyes widened. “He likes to what?”
Kendall smirked. “You were telling a story?”
“You can’t distract me with good sex stories right now. My brain is pudding.”
“Sounds like you have a good kiss story. So why are you so mad at him?”
“I was getting to it.”
She didn’t mean to laugh at her friend, but Bells was a little melodramatic sometimes. “Please, go on.”
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