His hands left her head, journeying down her back. This time he didn’t stop until his palms gripped her butt cheeks, holding her still as he thrust his erection against her.
Too high. Needing him lower, Brooke rose up onto her tiptoes, pushing against him, causing him to stumble back two steps into the wall. Goodness, she’d transformed into a shameless hussy in a matter of seconds. “I’m sorry.” She tried to move away.
He held her close. “Don’t be.” Using the wall to his benefit, he let it support his back as he lifted her leg, lifted her and thrust again.
Yesssss. Right there. Completely without shame she rubbed against him, her arousal rising, lust taking over.
He moaned, gripping her butt, moving her where he wanted her, which coincided nicely with right where she wanted to be. “You feel so good.”
“So do you.” She wanted him now, could not wait a second longer. “Make love to me.”
The light over the stairs came on.
Shane dropped her leg. “On Monday I am going to look for my own apartment,” he said angrily, adjusting his pants.
Brooke laughed, nervously tucking her blouse into her slacks and fixing her hair.
Patsy came down the stairs in a bathrobe carrying a cup and saucer. “I thought I heard you two come home. Did you have a nice time?”
“We were…” Shane huffed, standing behind Brooke. She covered her mouth and coughed to cover her laugh.
Patsy eyed them both suspiciously.
“We had a lovely time,” Brooke answered. “Your son is a wonderful dinner companion.” And kisser. And she had no doubt, lover.
Patsy continued on to the kitchen.
Brooke turned to Shane. “I should probably go upstairs.”
“To change into something more comfortable?” he whispered, teasing yet hopeful at the same time.
“Not as long as your mother is awake,” she whispered back. Then louder she added, “I promised Neve I’d call her when I got home. It’s getting late.”
Patsy headed back to the stairs, hesitating on the bottom step. “You two coming up?”
Shane said, “I’m going to hang down here for a while. I’ve got to think up what I’m going to say at Tommy’s service tomorrow.”
Brooke had gotten so caught up in their date and Shane’s kisses she’d completely forgotten about Tommy’s service. “Do you want me to stay down here with you?”
His eye twinkled in the light as he whispered, “Only if you want to make out with me on the couch.”
So tempting. But he needed to work on his eulogy, and she needed to call Neve or Neve would call Nate and Nate would call Aaron. Patsy stood watching them, waiting. So Brooke gathered up every bit of her self-restraint, turned, and started for the stairs. “I’m coming.”
Quicker than she’d ever seen him move, Shane caught up to her. “Give me ten minutes and I could have you screaming that.”
She had no doubt. But what would his mother think of her? While it didn’t seem it would matter in the long run, it mattered now. Brooke trudged up behind Patsy, understanding what a four-hundred-pound person must feel like when he or she climbed a flight of stairs, regret, indecision, and a powerful yearning weighing her down.
Upstairs Brooke changed into a pair of cotton lounge pants and a T-shirt, listened to an upsetting message from her father, then dialed up Neve. The call took longer than expected due to more bad news that had Brooke pacing back and forth along Lucy’s carpeted floor. Outrage consumed her. Half an hour later, knowing she would not be getting to sleep anytime soon, she snuck out of her room to join Shane downstairs.
As she had the night before, she crept along the dark hallway using only the night-lights for guidance. Following the muted sounds of the television, she found Shane spread out on the couch in the TV room, his boots off, his sock-covered left foot up on the coffee table, and a bottle of beer in his hand. Through the darkness, he stared at the TV, seeming more lost in thought than paying attention to the activity on screen. He brought the bottle to his mouth, closed his eye, tilted his head back, and finished its contents. When he leaned forward to put the empty bottle on the table next to one already there, he noticed her, blinking a few times as if trying to make sure she wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
Then he smiled. “Was it the invitation to make out on the couch or my claim I could get you off in ten minutes?”
Neither. Not really. He must have seen the answer in her expression. “What’s wrong?” He patted the couch next to his hip. “Come sit down.”
She did, cuddling close, reveling in the weight of the heavy arm he draped over her shoulders and the feel of him warm and solid beside her.
“Talk to me,” he said.
Brooke lifted her bare feet to the edge of the coffee table. “Since I wasn’t in school on Friday and no one’s seen me in town a rumor is going around that I’m in police custody.” Shane rubbed her arm. “A ‘Help Ms. Ellstein’ group of concerned students popped up on Facebook.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh is right. Children refuse to believe how dangerous the Internet can be.”
“What happened?”
“A man claiming to be a close friend of mine made a post suggesting a collection to help me with bail money and legal expenses. Kids pledged their allowances and birthday money. Since it’s the weekend, he volunteered to collect donations at the school basketball courts this evening, so I wouldn’t have to stay in jail until Monday.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
She shook her head. “Thank goodness one of the moms became suspicious when her son asked her for a loan on the money he had in his savings account. She contacted the police who found a registered sex offender lurking near the woods.” Brooke shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. “A few students actually showed up with money. They went without an adult to meet a stranger.” She still couldn’t believe it.
“Those weren’t any random kids. They were my kids, my students, there to help me. It’s unconscionable. What is wrong with our society?”
An attack on her was one thing. But some predator going after her students caused a physical pain in her stomach.
Shane gathered her in a strong two-armed hug and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”
Since she hadn’t told him yet, Brooke filled Shane in on the student accusing her of serving alcohol to minors. “Each new accusation means this blight on my name is going to take that much longer to resolve.”
“You can stay here as long as you like,” he offered, still holding her.
“I like it here,” she told him the truth. But at some point she’d need to get back to reality and clear her name and determine what direction her life after false allegations of sexual abuse would take. Then there was her father. “My dad threw a fit that I didn’t go to Albany. He threatened to fire Aaron for letting me come here.”
“Do you think he will?”
“No. I think it’s all bluster.” She hoped it was anyway. “He’s livid that the investigation is taking so long.” Even though it’d only been two days. “He’s worried that the longer it takes the more people—mainly New York voters, I’m sure—will think there’s some validity to the claims. He’s upset about the rumors I’m in jail and wants me to come out of hiding. He’s worried about the election. He’s angry at me. He’s angry at you. He’s angry at Nate and Aaron.”
“What can I do?” Shane asked.
“Keep doing what you’re doing.” Holding her, rubbing her back, and spoiling her with tender kisses. Making her feel warm and safe and cared about, tempting her to stay with him forever.
He pulled her half onto his lap, keeping her weight balanced mostly on his right upper thigh, and held her close to his chest. The steady beat of his heart calmed her. The lazy drift of his touch, up and down her arm and back, soothed her.
Then it started to arouse her, once again.
Who knew when Nate would call her home? Or when Aaron wo
uld give in to pressure and come for her?
Brooke had tonight with Shane and she intended to make good use of their alone time together. “Does your invite for a make-out session on this couch still stand?”
He gently set his knuckle under her chin, nudging it up until he could kiss her in reply, his tongue pushing its way between her lips, delving into her mouth over and over until they both came away gasping for breath.
The message received: a resounding yes!
Hands under her armpits, he lifted her. “Straddle my lap. Be careful of my leg.”
Brooke did as instructed, balancing on her knees.
Both hands on her butt cheeks, he guided the V of her thighs flush with the bulging hardness of his erection for the third time. Poor guy. This time she would not walk away, wouldn’t leave him unsatisfied.
Shane thrust up his hips from below while he pushed her down to meet him. “Do you feel how hard you make me? How much I want to be inside you?” He thrust up a second time, a third, and a fourth.
Yes. She felt that and more. His hand on her breast, his hot, moist breath on her ear, the combined effect rendering her incapable of speech. So she nodded.
His large, rough hands slid under her tee, bare skin to bare skin, framing her waist, pushing her down so he could ground into her from below, again. Done with that, his hands glided up the side of her ribs to the sides of her breasts. Touch me. He did, rolling her nipples with his thumbs, around and around, flicking and squeezing, faster, harder. Exquisite.
“My God that feels wonderful.”
“I have never wanted a woman as much as I want you.”
Awash in sensation, he had her wet and pulsing, puckered and tingling. It felt like he touched her everywhere all at once, her body no longer under her control. He was a master musician and she was his instrument. He fingered her keys, plucked her strings, and used his lips to form the perfect notes of his magical song.
Meanwhile, Brooke’s hands rested uselessly on his shoulders, her body limp with pleasure, slumped on top of him, doing nothing for him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, so attuned to her thoughts.
“I want to touch you.”
“So touch me.”
“I can’t think with your hands on me.”
He leaned back and spread both of his arms over the top of the couch. “This better?”
Oh, yes. She smiled. “Much better.”
Chapter Eighteen
Shane’s heart pounded with anticipation, his dick throbbed with expectation, as he fought to sit still, waiting for Brooke to touch him. He wouldn’t rush her, but damn he wanted to grab her pretty little hands and rub them all over his body.
“What about your mother?” she asked.
“Don’t worry¸ she won’t come back down.” At least she’d better not, or he would disown her.
Brooke leaned in close, pressing her chest to his, bringing her mouth to his ear. “Are you sure?” she whispered, her hot breath sending a quick quiver through him. So…damn…good.
“I’m sure.” He pushed off with his right leg, bucked his hips, rubbed against her. Couldn’t help himself.
Slowly, she slid the hem of his shirt up his chest.
He moved to take it off, ready to get naked.
“No.” She sat back, the move shifting her weight on his boner most pleasurably. “Clothes on, just in case.”
Damn it.
Her cool hands made contact with his hot chest and Shane half-expected to hear a sizzle. Soft palms slid along his skin, down to his belly, up over his ribs, across his nipples, which hardened instantly.
“You like that.” She did it again, this time flattening her palms over his nipples, moving her hands in circles, sending a buzz of pure delight to his balls. He rocked his hips, his dick desperate for contact.
She gave his nipples a pinch.
“Harder,” he said, reaching up and doing the same to her.
As much as Shane wanted to let her explore at her own pace, going slow was going to kill him. He moved his hands to her hips. “You want to know what else I like?”
She nodded.
“When you move on me.” He guided her hips forward and back along the length of him. “Like this.” He let out a half breath, half groan as absolute pleasure flooded his system. God it felt good. She felt good. When he’d told her he’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her, Shane wasn’t lying. Brooke had him wound up tight with desire, and only she could set him free.
She tilted her upper body forward, stopped, and looked unsure.
“Do what your body tells you to do,” Shane encouraged her. “Take what you want.”
Slowly, hesitantly, Brooke lifted her shirt, exposing her pert, perfectly shaped breasts—which he couldn’t see worth a damn because the television didn’t give off enough light.
Didn’t matter. His mouth watered, his tongue tingled in anticipation. He shifted, tried to ease her forward…
She smashed her naked chest to his naked chest, rubbing her taut nipples from side to side; keeping up the movement he’d showed her where her sex met his.
Shane had to move, had to touch her and feel her, caress her and make sure she was as close to exploding as he was. If she kept this up, he wouldn’t last much longer. He skimmed his hands down her back, beneath the elastic of her pants and underpants, to the warm, silky smooth skin of her shapely ass.
“If you slip one leg out.” He pushed down the waistband of her lounge pants. “And I unzip we could—”
“No.” She gripped his hand, pulling her pants back up. “Not when your mother can come down and find us.”
Shit.
He contented himself with squeezing and kneading her bare ass, pulling and pushing, spreading her cheeks wide as moved beneath her, looking for it, waiting to hear…
Brooke let out a long, deep moan.
Shane had found her trigger and he went after it, relentless in his pursuit to make her come, to make her scream and latch onto him, like she’d never held another man in her life, like she’d never hold another man again.
“So good,” Brooke said, her breath coming hot and fast against the side of his neck, her hips rocking just as fast as his.
Good wasn’t enough. Shane wanted spectacular. So he slid his hand below her butt, found her drenched opening and plunged two fingers deep inside of her. So wet. For him.
“Yes!” Brooke cried out as he fingered her, in and out, over and over. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
The devil himself couldn’t make Shane stop he was too close, wanted this too much. “Come for me. Come all over me.” He rocked harder, moved faster, his own orgasm building. “Let me feel your pleasure.”
Brooke met him stroke for stroke, twisting, shifting, and letting her passionate self loose.
“Oh, God,” she cried out, stiffening above him, straining and trembling as her orgasm coated his fingers and palm.
Shane kept moving, giving, taking, and then he was coming, too. So powerful. Intense. Absolutely fucking amazing.
As he sat there, gasping for breath, he realized no moment in time had ever surpassed the ultimate satisfaction he felt right then.
Brooke didn’t move or talk. She just lay on top of him, as spent as he was. Shane closed his eye and hugged her tightly, holding her close, finally finding peace. He felt transported back in time, to Sassy’s couch, to innocent times, happier times, when getting the girl was pretty much all that mattered.
A little while later Brooke started to stir. “That was…”
“Fantastic,” he filled in her blank.
She pushed up to a sitting position. “I was thinking more along the lines of messy.” She leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. “But fantastic works, too.”
Damn right, it did.
“Thank you,” she said almost shyly.
“No need to thank me. I enjoyed every single second of it.” He swirled his finger around her left breast, circling her nipple, hoping to rev
her up again. “If I was living in my own place, I’d invite you to join me in the shower to clean up.” Then to his bed to make love for real.
“If you were living in your own place, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”
Score one point for residing with Ma and Dad.
He wrapped his arms around her low back. “I really, really want to take you to my bed.” To have hot, sloppy sex until they both passed out. But before they got down to business, he’d get her naked, explore every inch of her lovely skin and find her secret. “Anything on your body, birthmarks or tattoos hidden from public view, something only someone who’d been intimate with you would be able to identify?” He hated that, because of the investigation, Nate knew and he didn’t.
“Not going to happen. Not with your parents upstairs.” She squirmed out of his loose hold and off of his lap.
Score one hundred points for moving out, getting his own place, and taking back control of his life.
“Fine.” He looked up at her standing in the light of the TV, all mussed and sexy. “Go get changed then come back down.”
“No.”
She started to turn away, to leave him. He grabbed her arm. “Please.” It came out more begging than polite request. But some nights seemed to go on forever, like the sun would never rise. Tonight, with Tommy’s memorial mass looming, would be one of those nights, he could feel it. “I really don’t want to be alone tonight.”
She placed her hand over his. “Okay.”
Thank God. Simply knowing she’d come back down helped him to relax. “Do me a favor. Go into my room. There’s a laundry basket of folded clean clothes. Toss me down a pair of sweatpants?”
“Sure.”
Cleaned up, changed, and back on the couch waiting for Brooke, an unusual sense of calm settled over him. His eye felt heavy so he closed it….
Shane slowed his Jeep, keeping an eye out for a place to pull over. He remembered a park and ride on this deserted stretch of road outside of town, but where? He glanced at Brooke, sitting in the passenger seat beside him, looking radiant in the glow of a full moon.
Loving You Is Easy Page 18
