by Jess Bryant
She ran. Just like he’d wanted her to. She ran away. Just like she was good at. She ran as fast as she could down the street. She sprinted instead of jogging until she rounded the corner at the intersection and was halfway down the other block. She didn’t slow down until she was sure she couldn’t look over her shoulder and see them and that they couldn’t see her.
She stopped running and slowed down, trying to catch her breath. Physically, she wasn’t winded but her heart was racing and she felt clammy and cold. She slowed until her pace could barely be considered a jog because she was in no hurry to complete the first mile and circle back to the sight of Shane still smiling at his ex-wife.
Lemon groaned. Was she really this petty and immature? She was afraid the answer was yes. When it came to Shane and more importantly when it came to Holly Martin Lowry, she was definitely petty.
She’d known Holly nearly as long as she’d known Shane. The pretty blonde had always just sort of been around when she went to the Lowry house as a kid. It wasn’t until she was a little bit older that she’d realized why Holly was always around. It had taken her a while to understand that Shane and Holly weren’t friends the way she and Seth were, that they were more than that. And for the first time in a long time she remembered exactly how she’d felt when she found out that Shane had knocked his girlfriend up and was going to marry her and start a family.
Jealous.
It had been a ridiculous emotion for a thirteen year old. It was an even more ridiculous emotion for an almost thirty year old woman. But there it was. Big and sticky and green. She was jealous. Again. Still. Whatever. She hated that Shane shared so much with another woman, a woman that wasn’t her.
A woman that she’d only realized as Holly stepped out of that car, resembled her. Or she resembled Holly she supposed. His ex-wife. And that sick feeling made her stomach turn all over again.
Was that why he wanted her all of a sudden? Because she looked like the woman he’d loved all his life but lost? Because he couldn’t have Holly he’d figured she was the next best thing? Was that all this was between them?
Lemon rounded the last corner back onto their street still so lost in those questions that she stopped running when the sight of the two of them jolted her back into reality. Holly wasn’t gone. Shane hadn’t come after her. She’d run an entire mile and he was still standing in his yard talking to his ex-wife.
She paused in the intersection and tried to figure out her next move. Should she keep going? Just run right past? Shane had seemed pretty intent on keeping her away from his ex-wife when he’d told her to take off earlier. Maybe she should turn back around and go the other way. Walk away before they saw that she was back.
“Hey! Lemon! There you are.” A bright, cheerful female voice decided for her when Holly spotted her and waved, “You took off so fast I didn’t get a chance to say hi.”
Her feet felt heavy as she forced herself to move towards them and plant a fake smile on her face, “Hey Holly. Nice to see you again.”
“Yeah, you too.” The older woman grinned as she looked Lemon over and suddenly her skimpy outfit felt far too revealing, “Didn’t know I was going to be seeing quite so much of you but still good to see you.”
“Holly.” Shane growled a warning as he looked between them and Lemon felt her cheeks flush.
The older woman ignored him and kept her gaze on Lemon, “The girls told me they got to see you at dinner last night.”
“Uh… yeah.” She glanced to Shane but he was still glaring at his ex-wife. “Rosa and Hank invited me to dinner to catch up. It was nice seeing everyone.”
“I bet it was. The girls were ecstatic that they got to hang out with a real, live superstar.”
Lemon fidgeted and shrugged, “I was the one that was ecstatic. It was great getting to see them. They’ve grown so much. I hate that I missed seeing them the last time I was in town.”
“Oh, I think you’ll probably make up for it.” Holly smiled as she glanced back at Shane, “I bet you’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future.”
“Holly.” Shane growled her name again but the woman only snorted and gave him a pat on the cheek in a ridiculously affectionate and condescending way.
“Calm down, Shane. I’m leaving.” She kissed him on the same cheek and Lemon looked everywhere but at the sight of the two of them together until Holly opened her car door, “You two have fun on your little run or… whatever it is you were doing when I showed up.”
Shane groaned, “Goodbye Holly.”
“Later.” She waved as she backed out of the driveway.
Lemon watched her go with a frown on her face.
“Jesus, I thought she’d never leave.” Shane sighed heavily, “Sorry. I didn’t know she was coming over, obviously.”
Lemon turned back to face him slowly, “What did she want?”
“Nothing. She was just being nosy.”
“About what?”
His lips twitched, “Us.”
Was there an us? A them? Lemon felt her brows furrow at the thought. There were too many questions whirling around in her head and she hadn’t slept well. She always felt better after her morning jog but she couldn’t even go for a run now without the thoughts in her head screaming at her.
Shane’s head tilted slightly, “What was that look for?”
“Nothing. Let’s go for our run.” She tried to shake it off but he stepped closer to her and caught her by the wrist.
“No, hold on a second. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
His lips thinned as his eyes skated over her face, “Lemon, tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.”
“Don’t boss me around.”
Shane snorted and drew her closer to him, “We’ve already established that you like me being bossy. Now tell me why you look like you just tasted something sour.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Lemon…” He started to reach for her face but she smacked his hand away and he gaped at her.
“You really want to know? Fine. I didn’t like seeing you with her, okay? I’m a petty, immature, child and I hated seeing her touch you. Kiss you! I hate that she showed up and you sent me away like… like… like you were embarrassed to be seen with me.”
Shane’s eyebrows shot skyward and she winced at the words that wouldn’t stop tumbling out of her mouth. She was having a little bit of a temper tantrum. She knew that. Just like she knew she had no right to be so upset because he wasn’t hers. And she expected him to shut her down, just like he’d shut down his daughter’s tantrum the night before because she knew she was acting the same way. Dramatic and emotional and ridiculous. So she was shocked when Shane laughed.
“Jesus, Lemon, are you jealous?”
She glared at him and he stopped laughing at least. His face softened and he started to reach for her again. She smacked his hand away for a second time and that softness disappeared and his brows furrowed.
“Are you serious? You’re jealous of Holly?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She felt her voice rise and told herself to calm down but it was useless because he was acting as if she was being ludicrous and she wasn’t, “She’s your ex-wife that you’ve never gotten over and don’t think it’s escaped my notice that we look alike. I look like her. If this is all just some sick fantasy where you’re pretending I’m the woman you can’t have then you can just forget it buddy. I’m not anybody’s second best, not even yours and…”
“Lemon.” He cut her off with a growl as his hand latched onto her wrist again, “Get in the house.”
“What?” She stumbled as he wheeled her up the sidewalk by sheer force of will and she had to follow or fall on her face.
“Get. In. The. House. Now.” He stomped up the porch steps with every word and threw the door open.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not having this conversation with you outside for every one of my neighbors to hear. Now get in the hous
e or so help me God I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you in.”
Lemon swallowed hard at the threat in his voice even as that tingling flush began to itch beneath her skin. She told herself it was crazy to get turned on when he was bossing her around and snapping at her. She shouldn’t like it. She knew that. Nobody else had ever gotten away with ordering her around. But instead of arguing or fighting she tipped her chin up and walked past him into his house.
She didn’t get far. As soon as she was over the threshold, he grabbed her again and spun her around. He kicked the door shut and in one move he had her pinned against it. He caught her hands and forced them over her head. His hips pressed hard against her pelvis and she gasped.
Because he was hard.
Heat flooded her core and her breath caught. No. She tried to tell her body that now wasn’t the time. She was upset. Mad at him even for being so high-handed. But she had a difficult time remembering why they’d been arguing when his big, hard body was pressed against her and the feel of his muscles, his scent and heat and every heaving breath surrounded her.
“Shane…” She whimpered softly when he ground his erection against her.
“You’re jealous of Holly why, exactly?” He growled and nipped at her jaw, “She’s not the one that makes me crazy, Lemon. You are. God, you’re impossible and I can’t get enough of you.”
“B-but…” Her voice broke when he licked at the pulse point beating madly at her throat, “I look like her.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Blonde.”
He scoffed at her ear, “I don’t want you because you’re blonde, Lemon. I want you because your smart mouth never says what I think it will. Because those big blue eyes look at me like I’m a present you want to unwrap. I want this sexy little body that you tease me with like this is some kind of goddamned game. And the only time I think about your hair is when I fantasize about wrapping my hand in it and using it to guide you to your knees to suck me off. I want you because you drive me fucking crazy.”
She was breathing so hard she barely heard his last growled words, “But…”
“You have no reason, none, to be jealous of Holly.” He pulled back to look her in the eye, “But I get it, baby. I get it. Because I know there’s nothing going on with you and my brother but I wanted to rip his hands off and beat him to death with them when I saw him touching you last night.”
Something warm and strong tightened in her chest and she managed to shake her head through the fog of lust, “He was right. What he said about me being yours. I’ve always wanted you and I hate that Holly got you instead.”
“Lemon…”
“I know it’s crazy. It was crazy when I was a kid and its crazy now but I’m jealous that she got to have you when I couldn’t and that she gave you things I can’t.”
Shane’s brows furrowed again and her throat felt too tight. She couldn’t get enough air in. She’d said too much. Again. And she thought he was going to ask her what she meant. If he did, she was afraid in that moment, with all of her emotions roiling so close to the surface that she just might tell him the truth.
Instead he only nuzzled at her lips, “Lemon, you’re i…”
“Impossible. I know.” She cut him off but he only shook his head.
“Irresistible. I was going to say you’re fucking irresistible.”
Shane kissed her again and this time she kissed him back.
She wanted him. Desperately. And she’d begun to suspect that she needed him just as badly. Not just for this. Not just for the out of control sexual chemistry. But for the way he touched her even when he wasn’t touching her. With his smiles and his words and his warmth and kindness and understanding.
Shane bit her lip, dragging it between his teeth in the way that sent fire shooting down her spine even when he released her flesh to murmur against her lips, “I swore to myself when I got my hands on you again that I’d go slow.”
“No.” She gasped as he contradicted his words by grabbing the zipper on her sports bra and jerking it down and open with one hard tug.
“But I don’t think I can this time.” He groaned before he buried his head in her breasts and she cried out as he worked her over with his mouth.
The man could kiss. He’d more than proven that already. But now he was using that skillful mouth of his to tease and torture her already sensitive breasts. Lips and tongue and teeth, he lapped and sucked at her breasts until she was burying her hands in his thick, dark hair and tugging on him, trying to get him to do more, or less, or something, she wasn’t even sure.
Shane released her nipple with a pop and growled, “Hands above your head. Don’t move them.”
“No.” She tightened her grip on his hair defiantly, just to see what he’d do.
“No?” His eyes flashed with heat and she nodded. “I don’t think so.”
He took her mouth again with another deeply invasive kiss and she let him. She could feel his hands slide up her arms, forcing them up like he wanted, but she was so focused on the way his tongue felt stroking against hers that she didn’t realize what he was doing until his touch fell away and he broke the kiss. She started to drop her hands, to reach for him, but they moved together and she startled as she looked up to find he’d tied her hands together with her discarded bra.
“Shane…”
“My handcuffs were too far away.” He grinned at her, a glint in his eyes that made her grin right back at him, “Okay?”
She found herself nodding even though she’d never thought she was actually into bondage. Light bondage but still. She tested moving her wrists but the stretchy fabric didn’t give her much room. She couldn’t get away. Not that she wanted to. Not when Shane was looking at her like that.
“God, you’re perfect.” He reverently traced her skin from her collarbone down between her breasts and around her belly-button. He slid his fingers into the side of her shorts and jerked them down just as roughly as he’d removed her bra. He stared at her, naked and bound in front of him for a moment and when he spoke again his voice was hoarse, “Step out of them and turn around, hands on the door.”
Her entire body jumped to obey and Lemon found herself doing exactly that. She was a little unsteady with her hands tied together but Shane held her up as she kicked off her shoes and socks. She stepped out of her shorts and panties and he must have decided she wasn’t moving fast enough because he spun her around and pressed her tight to the door, pinning her again with his front to her back.
“What is it about this cute little ass that makes me want to spank it so badly?” He groaned as he stroked a hand over her cheek and then squeezed. “I’ve never spanked anyone in my life but whenever you get sassy my palm itches and I dream about bending you over and spanking you until you’re wearing my handprint.”
She moaned and her body arched beneath him. She didn’t have any explanation for it either. Couldn’t explain it. She’d never let anyone boss her around. She’d certainly never let a man tie her hands together and smack her ass but just hearing Shane say the words had her body aching for it, for him, and she was so wet she could feel her desire sliding down her thighs.
“Shane, please…”
“You want it too don’t you?” He growled as he traced his palm over her again, “Are you shaking your ass trying to provoke me into it? Because you don’t have to beg, baby. Say the word and I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Please.”
“The words, Lemon.” He growled and she snapped.
“Spank me. Please Shane, I…” Her words disintegrated into a high-pitched, keening cry as his big hand connected with her soft flesh. A loud pop echoed in her ears. The heat and sting of it hit her like a flash of lightening and she moaned. Something she’d never known to expect uncurled inside her and her head fell forward as she pushed her ass back into his hand for more.
“Lemon?” His voice sounded as strangled as hers felt but she nodded quickly to displace any worry or fears he mig
ht have that would make him stop. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t.
“More.”
“Oh, baby…” He whispered and then his hand connected with her cheek again, harder this time.
“Yes.” She cried out as another bolt of electricity shot through her veins and her empty body clenched, needing to be filled.
“Damnit I don’t know whether to tell you that you’re a good girl or a bad girl because this feels fucking naughty as hell.” Shane growled as he smacked her cheek again, “But I love seeing your ass pink with my marks and knowing you’ll think of me when you sit down later.”
She trembled as he delivered another smack and another. The sting in her ass spread like wildfire through the rest of her body. She was overheated and breathing hard and it was too much and not enough again. She felt like she was on the precipice of something monumental and was about to fall over the edge.
“Shane.” She begged on a broken pant and the slaps stopped.
“Lemon? Baby?”
“I… I…” She whimpered because she couldn’t get the words out and banged her head into the door.
“Talk to me baby.” Shane demanded harshly and she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Need you now. Please.”
He groaned and she felt him shift behind her. That was all it took and she felt a sense of relief when she heard a rustle of clothes and then his hands were back on her. Bending her over further and softly stroking the warm, stinging flesh of her ass as he guided himself to her entrance.
“Deep breath.” His voice was guttural and she had no choice but to follow his order.
She breathed in and he pushed into her in one brutal shove. She screamed as the orgasm that had been looming burst through her as soon as he impaled her. She ended up plastered to the door with Shane at her back, holding her up, as her body rolled through a tidal wave of pleasure.
