“Oh!” Rowan’s eyes opened wide and she looked shocked.
“Shit. Did I hurt you?” Shane was sweating now, desperately trying to hold back.
“No,” she laughed, a throaty laugh that made his cock twitch inside of her. “No. You’re just really big.”
Shane smiled and kissed her lips. “Oh, baby. You know how to stroke a man’s ego.”
She slid her tongue along his mouth and sucked on her lower lip. Blackness threatened Shane. He couldn’t hold back any more, he needed to move. Drawing out almost his entire length and thrusting back in, her legs opened wider, letting go of his waist.
Breaking free from her kiss, he took his weight on his elbows. Cocooning her head, he ran open mouth kisses down her jaw and neck while his hips took on a life of their own, slamming into her over and over again.
Shane had never felt such sweet pleasure before. She was tight and hot, and completely receptive to him, so damn responsive. When he heard her moan, his eyes went to her face. Feeling as if an angel had landed in his bed, he stilled. Her mouth was open, her eyes closed, and a look of pure ecstasy was on her face.
“No. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop,” Rowan moaned, spurring him back into action.
His eyes never waivered, he felt her hips moving in small circular motions, meeting his hips, sending him deeper into heaven. With every moan, every breath she took, he felt as if he was traveling through time and space into a place of complete bliss.
“Oh God. Shane. That is so good.” Her husky voice broke through his haze and tingles started to fly up and down his spine, settling right at the base, gathering strength.
“You’re so beautiful,” Shane told her.
Her orgasm was building fast; her breath was hard and heavy, her head shaking from side to side. Shane lost track of the oh gods and yeses that slipped so alluringly out of her sexy mouth. Suddenly, she pressed up on her hands, changing the angle dramatically, and her insides started pulsating. Slick, hot wetness surrounded his cock and he lost it.
He held her stare and unloaded inside of her, praying that the condom could hold it all. Hearing a growl so loud and feral come out of his mouth would have been shocking except for the ecstasy flowing through him. Rowan smiled, a sultry, sexy, vampish smile. And that’s when Shane knew.
He knew then that this woman didn’t just have secrets; she had layers and layers of secrets. He never expected her to be so open and seductive in bed, he never expected her to steal his heart after just one night. But that was exactly what was happening. He watched, as if he was an outside observer, watched her reach into his chest and take hold of his heart.
She collapsed back down and he followed her. Panting and sweating, he lay unprotected and vulnerable as she stroked his hair. With every stroke, she gathered more of his heart. His eyes fluttered shut. His last thought, before falling into a deep sleep still inside of her, was that this woman owned him.
Chapter Nine
Sneaking back into her apartment, trying not to wake up Justin, Rowan slipped into the shower. She had been up for hours waiting for the right moment to leave Shane. He slept soundly next to her, his arm resting on her hip, the sheet covering his lower body. She had stayed there listening to his breathing.
Racked with emotions she had no business having and seemingly out of resources to deal with it all, she feigned sleep, letting her mind wander in and out of fantasy and fear. After several hours she just couldn’t take it anymore, so with a whispered good bye to Shane, she snuck out, closing the door to his apartment, and hopefully the door to her heart that had haphazardly opened sometime last night.
She didn’t know when exactly, but she knew that something had moved the steel doors she erected the night she walked out on Colt. Having never wanted to experience anything like that again, she was trying not to panic at the thought of a break in the fortress.
Guess now was as good a time to move as any, right? Her job was coming to an end, Justin was here and out of work, so why stay? It made sense to move. Today.
“Morning!” Justin walked into the kitchen and gave her a sheepish smile.
“Morning, Sunshine. What are you so damn happy about?” Rowan grumbled into her coffee.
“Oh! That bad, huh? What happened, he not as good as you hoped?” Justin grabbed a bowl and the cereal.
“Justin Ross. We’re so not going there.”
He laughed. “Just saying.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he went to sit at the cushion that served as a kitchen chair.
She blew out a breath, not wanting to take out her frustration on him. “So, I was thinking it’s time to move on. I’m almost done with my summer gig. One more week of full time, if we leave now, it won’t be too hard on the girls there.”
Justin stopped eating and stared at her. “You want to move? Today?”
“Yeah. I figured we get you settled somewhere, then I could find something for the winter.” Rowan sat on the bean bag looking depleted.
Justin was quiet for a minute and then burst into laugher. “Oh my god. He wasn’t bad, he was good. Really good, and you’re freaking out!”
“God damn it, Justin. We are not discussing my love life.” Rowan jumped up, almost spilling her coffee.
“Fine, whatever. But I’m not leaving today. I found work, so I’m sticking around for a while,” Justin told her, watching her carefully.
“You found a job?”
“Yeah. And I gotta get to it. So I can’t pack.” He got up and dumped the contents of his bowl in the sink and washed it down.
She watched as Justin grabbed his keys and walked out without so much as a glance over his shoulder. Well shit. Now what? Checking the clock, she noted the time; she needed to get to work. Well, not for a few hours, but it was better than sitting here worrying. She could get started on stocking and cleaning. She needed to do something.
She grabbed her keys and stormed out.
*****
Waking up to an empty bed was not how Shane wanted to start his day. Finding his apartment empty was when his mood plummeted to foul. What the fuck? When did she leave? He knew she was still there at 3 AM, when he woke up and covered her naked body with a sheet. Under the green glow from the clock, her body looked like a nymph tempting him with carnal secrets. He had watched her for a while, holding back the urge to roll her over and delve back into heaven. She was sleeping so peacefully he let her be.
And now she was gone. Gone gone; her apartment was empty; her car was gone. The Snack Shack didn’t open for two hours, so where the hell was she? He wondered if she was with Justin. They must have left somewhere together, doing whatever secret things ‘relatives’ do. He didn’t know what was up with those two, but something was.
His phone beeped, making his heart jolt. Grabbing it hoping it was Rowan, he was disappointed when he saw a text from Cody.
“Breakfast. Baker’s Square on 3rd. Now.”
Shrugging, he decided it was better than moping around here.
*****
Pulling into the parking lot, Shane saw both Cody and Rob’s trucks. Whatever was up, it was going to be fun, and just what he needed to get his mind to stop spinning.
Walking up, he didn’t expect to see Justin sitting at the table, acting like he had nothing better to do than hang out with his two best friends, but there he was, eating breakfast.
“Adams!” Rob called over to him as he slowly approached.
“Hey guys, what’s up? Justin.” Shane nodded to Justin as he sat down.
Justin just stared at him and slowly nodded back.
“So, here’s what’s going down. I need back up on a tail. You told me the kid here is good at tailing, so I picked him up earlier when I came by your place. This guy is slippery. It’s like he knows we’re there and cuts loose. Can’t get more than a few hours at a time,” Rob started, but Shane wasn’t really listening.
He wanted to know where Rowan was. If she wasn’t with Justin, than where the hell was she?
“Adams,” Rob
was calling him. “What the fuck, man?”
“Yeah. No worries. Justin, you see Rowan this morning?” He hadn’t shifted his eyes from Justin’s since they sat down.
Justin smiled a tight smile. “Yeah man. She’s cool. Not getting in the middle of it though, but you can thank me later for keeping her around a little longer.”
What? Shane’s brain exploded. Keeping her around a little longer? What the hell was he talking about?
“You guys have plans to leave?” Shane asked, his voice tight.
Justin smiled, sitting back, “Not anymore. Told her this morning I had a job and couldn’t pack. That should hold her another week or so. Maybe less. The rest is up to you.”
As if that was the end of it, Justin turned his attention back to his food while Shane sat dumbfounded staring at him. Just like Rowan, the kid spoke in riddles, and it was really starting to piss him off.
“Adams!” Rob slapped the table in front of him. “I don’t know what the fuck’s got your head up your ass, but I’m going to need you fully on board today. You in, or do you need to go suck your dick somewhere?”
Justin snickered. Shane glared at him, then a slow smile spread across his face. Justin really was a kid; he didn’t need to get in the middle of whatever was going on between him and Rowan. Relative or not. Not his business.
“Yeah. I’m good.” Shane looked at Rob, fully engaged.
*****
One more week. Rowan climbed the stairs to her apartment, exhausted after having spent yet another day behind the grill. The pool had one more weekend, then Labor Day would lead right into back to school. She had fond memories of back to school week. All the kids coming back in from their summers with their parents: Their hair long and dirty, their clothes full of holes and worn, their bodies in need of consistent nourishment and sleep.
Even Justin was out of routine by then. It always took everyone, herself included, some time to get back into it, but within a few weeks everyone would have settled down for a nice long winter, secluded and protected from the rest of their world.
She could do one more week with the grease and the girls. They were constantly getting into dramas with their friends and parents. A few even had boyfriend dramas to entertain her as the days flew by. She would miss those girls; hearing their stories always made her laugh. Today, Tami had been telling her all about how she and her sister both liked the same boy, and he seemed to like them both back equally. Rowan did what she always did, she listened and advised that family, real family, was worth more than some guy. Even a guy that seemed like a great, wonderful, trustworthy person. Never let a guy get in the way of family.
Pulling off her clothes and stuffing them into a large plastic garbage bag, she jumped into the shower. The warm water reminded her of last night. Shane. What a mistake to go to bed with him. Never in a millions years did she think it would be like that. She thought it would just be another roll in the hay-all the other ones were just that, nothing more. Sure, some of them had wanted more than one night, and she usually stuck around for a while, but they had been easy to leave behind. Shane was different.
Shane had the power to take her down. She knew that was the reason she couldn’t sleep. She had realized that he just might hold the power to ruin her, and she vowed never to let that happen again. Even if she needed to run from two people, she would, she knew running. Running was better than being ripped apart by another person’s weakness. Never. Never again.
“Ro?” Justin called her name as she stepped out of the bathroom.
“Yeah baby, what’s up?” Rowan peeked her head around the corner, still in her towel, and stopped short.
Both Shane and Justin were standing in the living room. Shane’s face was full of fury and before she could say anything he turned and walked out.
“Baby?” Justin asked, with a smirk on his face. “Feeling nostalgic, are we?”
Rowan just stood there, stunned. That look on Shane’s face was more than she could bear. No, she didn’t want Shane to break her, but she never wanted to hurt him. Now she was going to have to go over there and explain this whole thing to him. Damn it. So much for just avoiding him.
“Yeah. I was. It was short lived,” Rowan clipped back at him and marched down the hall to get dressed.
When she came back out, Justin was reading in the living room. “You going to go tell your boyfriend I’m not a threat to him?” he deadpanned.
“He’s not my boyfriend. And yes, thanks to you, I’m going to have to tell him something,” she said as she gathered up Justin’s laundry.
“Well, just so you know. I’m cool with it. It’s just better if people know. Besides. I’m not ashamed of it.” Justin stared at her, hard.
“Justin. I’m not ashamed of it. I just think people won’t understand the circumstances, and it’s too exhausting to explain. People don’t need to know our business,” She told him, still gathering scattered clothes and cleaning up the room.
“Yeah, whatever Ro. You’re the boss.”
She felt the cut, but didn’t take the bait. They’d been over this, and they were not getting into it again. She had too many balls in the air already. Justin was just going to have to take his adolescent, sarcastic self elsewhere.
Satisfied with the laundry pile and the state of the living room, she turned to leave. As she got to the door, Justin turned on the radio and cranked the volume, Rowan shut it behind her and headed downstairs.
With a bitter taste in her mouth, she looked over at Shane’s apartment. The windows were covered, but light was glowing behind the curtains and music was leaking out of the doors and walls. Great, now two men were so royally pissed at her that they were both holed up in their apartments, about to get in trouble with their neighbors.
How the hell did this day get so bad? Not 24 hours ago life was easy and exciting-she needed to fix things with both Shane and Justin. At 18, Justin was a hard nut to crack, but she hoped Shane would be easy. She would start with Shane and work up to Justin.
Pounding on his door for what felt like the tenth time, the music finally faded enough, so she called out his name.
“Shane. It’s Rowan. Let me in.”
The door swung open to a shirtless Shane with an open beer.
“Hey baby,” Shane sneered at her.
Rowan pushed herself in. “Oh, please. Get over yourself.”
“Come on in, why don’t cha’,” Shane said with the same caustic tone.
“First of all, Justin is a baby. He’s 18 years old, and if you think for one goddamn minute that I would be with someone that young, you’re sick and need your head checked.” Rowan glared at him.
Shane’s head snapped up to her, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Second. I call him baby because I have known him a long, long time. So if you can’t handle that I have a caring, loving, normal relationship with a close relative, then I can walk out right now. Got it?” She continued.
“Yeah. I got it.” He blew out a breath as a smile played around his lips.
“Good.” Rowan nodded and headed for the door again.
“Where’re you going?” He blocked her way and glared at her.
“I need to go now,” she stuttered, not looking at him in the eye.
“The fuck you are!” He roared over her. “You can’t just leave. Where the hell were you this morning?”
Rowan paused and took a deep breath. That was her first mistake. His scent filled her brain, overwhelming her senses, making her swoon a little on her feet. Putting on a brave face, she looked up at him. That was her second mistake. Her eyes took in his bare, muscled chest and her mouth started to water. His eyes looked hurt and scared as he stared at her, waiting for his answer.
“I hadâI had to go to work,” She weakly lied to him.
Something flashed in his eyes and she knew he caught the lie. Was that disappointment?
“Work? At 6 am?” he asked her, holding her eyes steady.
“Um. Well, I had to run
before it got too hot,” she tried again. This time, his eyes narrowed.
“So did you? Run?” he clipped.
She looked down, not able to take his scrutiny anymore. Her body was being pulled into him while her brain was screaming for her to get out. It was an exhausting battle, and she couldn’t fight herself and Shane at the same time. Defeated, she stepped back and let out a long breath.
He reached for her and she crumbled. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her tight against him. She felt like a little piece of heaven was just offered to her, and she held on with everything she had. She breathed in his masculine scent and for the first time in a long while, she let herself be comforted by a robust man. It was intoxicating.
“Tell me what happened?” Shane whispered.
Not knowing what to say or do, she felt weak, as if pushing Shane away was physically unattainable. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and sleep. She was so tired. And so confused; all her resolve to stay away from him had just evaporated into nothing.
Looking up at him, her eyes watery from the toll of the day, she held his gaze. His hand cupped her face and she leaned into his touch. So weak, she couldn’t hold back; when he brushed his lips gently over hers, almost asking for permission, she had no choice but to lean into his mouth and kiss him back.
As if the keystone to his restraint was torn down, he plundered her mouth. His hands smoothed down her hips, sliding across to her backside, pressing her into his already hard and waiting body. He moaned as she rubbed herself on him, moving her legs so her sex was sitting on his thigh.
Pulling her hair, he forced her head to tip back, opening her throat for him. Shane ravished her neck as shivers ran across her skin. Sounding as if it was being ripped involuntarily from her, a moan rang out into the room.
“Oh God, Rowan. I thought you were gone.” He moaned into her skin, igniting her blood and need. He pulled at her clothes, tugging off her shorts with a desperation she didn’t know he possessed.
She knew she shouldn’t feel so good about this. This wasn’t happening; she was goneâmoving away from himâat least, she needed to be, but right now hearing his voice, feeling his touch, she relished it. Her body became alive with his anguish. Having stripped her of her shorts, he picked her up and slammed her into the wall.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 118
