Shane became aware of her wide smile immediately. Each time he saw it, he could feel himself reacting to it, could feel his pulse quickening. He’d given up trying to safeguard himself and shut out his reaction.
It was what it was, and he was just going to enjoy it. He’d be a fool not to.
“Yeah, I do,” he agreed. “Although when I first found out about the connection, I was a little leery about being included in the roll call when someone referred to the Cavanaughs. To me, they were more like a dynasty than a family, but then, I only knew about them from hearsay, not direct connection.” He laughed to himself. “That became a thing of the past quickly enough when Uncle Andrew got wind of Dad and the rest of us.”
As he spoke, Shane heard the ominous rumble of thunder. It was unusual for this time of year, he thought. But then, this had been an unusual September all around. He’d be the first to admit it.
It was starting to rain again. Just enough to be annoying. “Sure I can’t take you straight home?” he asked her.
“We left my car at the precinct,” she reminded him. “How am I supposed to get to it tomorrow?”
That was simple enough. “I can swing by and pick you up tomorrow morning, take you to it,” he volunteered. “No big deal.”
But it was, as far as she was concerned. “You’ve done more than enough for me,” she told him. Feeling a little self-conscious and utterly unfamiliar with being in the position to have to convey her gratitude to someone, she murmured, “And if I didn’t say it before, thank you for today.”
“You did,” he answered. “But you can say it again.” He grinned as he turned down the block toward the station. “I don’t mind hearing it.”
Ashley stared down at her hands. She could face an animal on the loose calmly, but getting personal with Shane made her nervous and fidgety inside. “I know it probably seems silly, feeling like this about a birthday party. I mean, I’m over the age of twelve. But it did feel very special, and I won’t forget it.”
“It’s not silly,” Shane contradicted with feeling. “Birthday parties are important at any age. Everyone likes being remembered.” Seeing that Ashley needed more convincing, he said, “Hell, birthday parties are one of the highlights of the chief’s life. He probably enjoyed throwing you a party as much as you enjoyed being on the receiving end. Possibly even more.”
She sincerely doubted it. She also doubted that Shane could really understand just how much this had meant to her. She would never forget the thrill that went through her when she realized what was going on—or when everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
No one ever had before.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable with all these emotions flowing through her, Ashley was relieved to see the police station come into view.
“You’re almost free,” she told him. “That’s my car up ahead.”
“I don’t consider myself imprisoned or held captive,” he told her. “This, in case you don’t know, is what partners do—they do favors for one another. So do friends,” he added significantly.
As he pulled into the precinct’s rear parking lot, he admitted to himself that he really didn’t want to drop her off here. He wanted to take her home. Hers or his, it didn’t matter, as long as the evening didn’t end yet. After spending the entire day and most of the evening with her, he found that he wasn’t ready to call it a night yet.
But that would be forcing his company on her, he thought, and he didn’t want to ruin the day for her by having her think he was being pushy.
She offered him a quick smile of thanks, as well as acknowledgment over the term he’d just used to label them.
Friends.
Was that what they ultimately were? Or was it more? Was it actually partners?
Or—?
She stopped her imagination from running off with her. There was absolutely no point in allowing it to fill her head with things that couldn’t be.
“Okay, you can just pull up here,” she told him.
When he did, leaving the engine running, she unbuckled her seatbelt and said a quick, “Thanks again,” just as she was about to get out of the sedan. But just before she did, she leaned toward him for a second and lightly brushed her lips against his. The slight contact gave birth to a second pass, a little longer, a little slower.
She could feel her pulse all but leaping out of her neck and her wrists even as her breath backed up in her lungs.
* * *
Taken completely by surprise, Shane absorbed the sweet sensation created by the touch of her lips to his. For a moment he anchored her in place, his hand on her shoulder as he kissed her back.
Kissed her back with feeling.
The next moment he felt her pulling away, a partially wary look in her eyes. Shane had no way of knowing that it was herself, not him, that she was afraid of.
The door closed in her wake even as he upbraided himself for going too fast. If this had been any other girl, the pace he’d taken would have been far too slow, but in her case he had a feeling that he was dealing with shadows of the past, and he had to go slowly to convince her that there was nothing to be afraid of when she was with him.
For a second he thought of apologizing, but decided that might only compound the problem so he let it go. Besides, she was already in her vehicle.
As he began to back out of the spot he’d pulled into, Shane heard her engine whining.
Once, twice and then a third time; each time unable to catch. Pulling back up beside her, he rolled down his passenger window. “Trouble?” he asked.
She nodded, staring accusingly at the non-responsive engine. “I’ve been having trouble starting it lately.”
It was raining harder now, Shane noted. This was not the ideal time to begin tinkering with the engine, even if he knew his way around them—which he didn’t. That was Tom’s domain, not his.
“Looks like you might have to take me up on that offer I made earlier—taking you home and then bringing you back here tomorrow. The rain should pass by then, and I can have my brother take a look at the engine for you—unless you want me to go get him now,” he offered.
Asking him to do that, to inconvenience not just himself but one of his brothers, was out of the question. It was almost midnight, and the rain was beginning to come down in earnest. She really had no option but to take him up on his offer to give her a ride.
“Okay, if you don’t mind taking me home, I’d appreciate it.”
“I offered to take you home in the first place, didn’t I?” he reminded her.
Still, it was obvious she didn’t feel comfortable being on the receiving end of a favor. “But you could just be offering, to be nice.”
“I am nice,” he told her glibly. “But that still doesn’t change what I said.” Leaning over, he opened the passenger door and pushed it open. “Hop in and let’s get going,” he urged.
Grabbing her purse, Ashley abandoned her unresponsive vehicle and quickly got into his.
* * *
With the slick streets devoid of traffic, they arrived at Ashley’s house faster than he thought they would. He pulled up in her driveway and turned off the engine. “Before you ask,” he told her, unbuckling his seatbelt, “I like seeing a lady to her door, if it’s all right with you.”
“It’s fine with me,” she told him, her voice soft.
Ashley could feel the tips of her fingers tingling. It was hard for her to speak up with her heart in her throat the way it was. Anticipation had suddenly filled her to the bursting point. Anticipation that perhaps he wasn’t going to go home the moment he walked her to her house.
That maybe he’d stay awhile and they could talk...
Who was she kidding? It wasn’t talking that she had on her mind.
It was something a great deal more primal.
&nb
sp; And exciting.
Because it was still raining, once she was out of Shane’s car, she made a dash for the front door and shelter. Once she reached it, she shook the raindrops out of her hair.
Turning toward him, she offered, “Would you like to come in for some tea or something?”
“Are your dogs going to jump all over us the second you unlock the door and walk in?” he asked, quietly watching the door, braced for any sign of activity. The idea of refusing her invitation never crossed his mind.
“Just to make sure you’re not a burglar,” she assured him. But the corners of her mouth betrayed her as they curved into a grin.
He played along. Or maybe she was serious, he thought. Either way, he stayed alert and braced—just in case. “And how are they going to determine that?” he asked her.
“They’ll recognize your scent, and besides, they’ll see that you’re with me.” She put her key in the lock, then looked over her shoulder at him. “Ready?”
“Sure, why not?” he said with a cavalier shrug.
As she pushed open the door, all three dogs ran up to check her out, then the man standing behind her.
“He’s okay, guys,” she told the dogs. Taking Shane’s hand in hers, she announced, “He’s a friend, remember?”
Though Shane was skeptical about how much the dogs—any dogs—understood, it almost seemed to him as if the dogs did understand her. Their excitement dialed back several notches when she took his hand.
Conversely, his went up at the same time.
“They’re still watching me,” he told her in an even voice.
“They just want to be sure they’re right about you. There’s nothing to worry about,” Ashley assured him as she led him to the sofa.
“If I kissed you,” he proposed, “would they take it as an assault on you?”
A flash flood of heat all but drenched her as anticipation returned—in spades. “I don’t know,” she replied, trying to speak above the sound of her pounding heart. “Why don’t you try and see?”
“Always ready to do things in the name of science,” he said, then drew her into his arms almost in slow motion. Rather than watch the reaction of the three canines in the room, he was watching her.
Ashley could feel her breath all but standing still in her lungs, waiting.
And then his mouth lowered to hers.
The reaction, the excitement, was instantaneous.
At that moment she realized—she knew—this was what she’d been unconsciously waiting for all day. She felt as if her whole body had just burst into flame.
After several breathless seconds of his lips passing over hers, taking that kiss to deeper and deeper depths, she felt Shane draw his lips away from hers.
She saw him looking toward the dogs.
“So far, so good,” she murmured encouragingly.
“No one ever just runs one test to reach a conclusion. Let’s put it to the test at least one more time,” he suggested, his eyes teasing hers.
She didn’t wait for him this time.
This time, she was the one who began the kiss.
As for what happened next, she would have been hard pressed to say who initiated that or was responsible for all the steps that followed.
All she knew was that her entire body felt as if it was celebrating. As if it had been waiting an eternity just for this shining moment. For the mind-boggling kisses, the long, possessive caresses along her body that only created a desire for more, turning her appetite into an almost insatiable entity she was having difficulty controlling.
Hell, she wasn’t controlling it at all, she secretly admitted. Instead, it was controlling her.
Her appetite was what was causing her to feast on his lips, to revel in the very touch of his hands. On the feel of his hard body pressing against hers.
It felt as if every inch of her craved him, wanting that final, wild burst of fulfillment—wanting, at the same time, for this to go on forever.
Shane hadn’t thought it was possible to feel like this.
Not again.
He’d made love to more than his share of women before he’d fallen for Kitty. And while he’d been with her, there was such happiness radiating within him, he’d found it difficult to believe that he could place one foot in front of the other. That he could go on functioning as a human being, as a police detective when all of his limbs had turned to molten lava. But he could, and he had. Because he continued worshipping her body as he primed her for the ultimate act of sharing, of communion.
After Kitty had left him, he’d been fairly certain that he’d never feel this way again. And yet, here he was, not just feeling that wild, intoxicating sense, but experiencing something even more intense.
The emotion swam through him, almost drowning him, and yet he couldn’t put a name to it, couldn’t, if his life depended on it, begin to adequately describe the sensations slamming through his body, flooding every available space.
Desire was growing at an incredible speed, filling every single empty, aching inch of him.
But even while this all but overwhelming sensation was taking possession of him, he was aware that they had an audience.
Three small pairs of brown eyes were watching every move they made, separately as well as in concert.
There was no telling how long the dogs would refrain from trying to get in on the “game,” however peripherally.
“Where’s your bedroom?” he asked, realizing as he spoke that he was very nearly close to breathless.
It took Ashley a second to process his question. When she did, it was another moment before she could actually form an answer to give him. She was thinking in single words, not sentences.
And nothing was processing except for this wildly insatiable need.
“Upstairs,” she told him hoarsely.
About to get up from the sofa, she found herself being picked up in his arms instead. The next moment, her head swimming, she felt Shane walking toward the stairs with her.
As he reached the staircase, he sealed his mouth to hers. And then he began to carry her up the steps, one by one, prolonging her anticipation, creating a haven for her in his arms.
Utterly lost in desire, it took Ashley a second to realize that they had reached the landing.
He was waiting for instructions.
“First door on the right,” she said hoarsely before he could ask, her desire for the ultimate union all but blotting out her already shaky thought processes.
She both felt and heard the door closing despite the fact that Shane continued to hold her in his arms.
Then suddenly, there was the bed beneath her. And then he was above her, his eyes making love to her moments before his body lowered onto hers.
When had her clothes come off?
When had his?
For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the actual act of stripping away his clothing, or taking off hers. Had he done that?
Had she?
Her breath caught in her throat, then began to echo her frantic heartbeat as she felt him caress her over and over again before entering.
Felt his startlingly gentle first thrust.
The movement grew in momentum, in power. As it escalated, so did her reaction. By the time they raced over the peak together, Ashley was as breathless as if she had run a marathon in double-time.
The exhilaration that shuddered through her was indescribable.
She cried out his name even as she wrapped her legs around his torso, sealing him to her for all eternity.
Or at the very least, a little longer.
Chapter 17
Doing her best to understand, Ashley still had no idea how she had gotten to this place of frightened contentment.
She had never
felt so happy and so afraid before in her life. So stable and yet so unsteady. At the same time.
All in all, it felt as if she was a walking mass of contradictions, and every single one of those contradictions could trace back its origins to Shane.
He was responsible for all the positive feelings going on within her and, in a general sort of undefined way, all the negative vibrations she was experiencing, as well. Not directly, but definitely in the form of the anticipation that shimmered within her.
It was the kind of anticipation involved in waiting for a second shoe to drop.
Ashley didn’t trust being happy.
She didn’t want to give this feeling up, but she knew that she had to. It was inevitable. It was just a question of when. After all, what went up eventually came down, right? It didn’t stay hovering in the sky forever. She was braced for coming down and yet desperately wanted to fight it, to keep it at bay for as long as humanly possible.
She sighed. Maybe she was just going crazy.
“You know,” Shane said to her as he looked across his desk to hers the following Monday after her birthday party, “my partner used to talk all the time. About everything and anything. Drove me absolutely crazy, and I would have sold my soul for a little peace and quiet just once in a while. But you’re so quiet, it’s like you’re not here at all.”
In the middle of yet another fruitless search on the computer, Ashley raised her eyes to his. “You want me to say something?”
“An occasional grunt will do if you can’t think of anything,” he told her. And then he looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. The squad room was relatively empty for a Monday midmorning. He moved his chair in closer to his desk to be closer to hers. He managed to make an imprint of the desk into his waist. Lowering his voice, he asked with concern, “Are you all right?”
An entire day had passed since the impromptu birthday party and the glorious night that followed. She had hardly said anything to him when he’d dropped her off at her car yesterday, and this morning it seemed like just more of the same. He’d found her working when he came in. She’d looked up, spared him a quiet greeting and gone back to doing whatever it was she was doing.
Mission: Cavanaugh Baby Page 18
