Jar of Hearts: (Family Stone, # 5 Keisha and Shane) (Family Stone Romantic Suspense)

by Lisa Hughey

  Hickey, Jack mouthed at Keisha, confirming her suspicions.

  She narrowed her eyes at Shane, her temper flashing. “You didn’t?” she hissed.

  He pressed a gentle kiss against the side of her head and then murmured in her ear, “Babe, it was an accident.”

  And if they’d been any place else, she would have let him have it. But she couldn’t let go of the tight rein on her temper, because when she went off, she could forget everything and she couldn’t blow their cover. But she mentally promised retaliation when the night ended.

  She looked forward to giving him sharp edge of her tongue. But instead of yelling at him, another use for her tongue invaded her brain, the vision of her licking up and down his thick, hard cock had her knees weakening and a rush of arousal flooding her sex.

  Accident, her ass. “You’re in for it now.”

  But Shane only smiled, his lips lifted in a wicked smirk. “Lookin’ forward to it.”

  “And there goes my girlfriend, Bliss.” Jack had a ridiculously goofy look on his face as he stared after his new girlfriend, Bliss Lee. She was half-Irish, half-Chinese and absolutely gorgeous. Keisha had never seen her boss and friend so whipped and she’d known him a long time.

  Keisha had met Jack when they were both in Basic at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Michigan. Apparently he and Bliss had a thing before he went into the Navy. Then they reconnected on a case a few months ago.

  Jack took off toward Bliss. He needed to run interference. Part of the plan was for Bliss to keep Shelley, Jack’s stepmother, away from Shane and Keisha. Jack had to make sure that his stepmother didn’t see them at the fundraiser because Shelley knew Keisha from the company and Shane from their charter flights. Since Shelley knew that Keisha and Shane were not together, let alone married, they didn’t want Shelley to accidentally out them.

  “Behave yourself.” Jack aimed a stern look at Keisha before he beelined for his girlfriend.

  Bob Michaels cleared his throat. “So, Mr. Washington—”

  “Call me Shane.” Shane slowly took his attention from Keisha, making it clear he was doing so on his own terms. And he didn’t let go of her but held her tightly against him.

  “What would you like to know about Food for Life?”

  “Take me through your donation and distribution process,” Shane demanded authoritatively.

  For the next ten minutes, Bob Michaels gave a rudimentary overview of the processes involved in collecting donations, sorting, boxing, and distributing food. The other attendees filled in details.

  “We don’t actually distribute to individuals.” Jane, the diamond dripping woman added, “We distribute the food to our partners, food kitchens, churches, after school programs, the county. They hand out the food packages, or actual cooked food, to the individuals in need.”

  Keisha had never really thought about the logistics of feeding a transient community.

  “What about fresh produce?” Keisha stood up straighter. And for a moment, she wasn’t thinking about the job but about the kids. “We’ve got to teach our kids that fruits and vegetables are essential to good health.”

  “Great question.” The older woman’s smile warmed as she expounded on a subject that was clearly one of her favorites. “We get donations from a variety of sources. We are working to put in place a program where donors can sponsor an acre of land and we employ the workers to plant, care and harvest food directly for us.”

  Bob Michaels eagerly interjected. “We also have a healthy gleaning program, where people who have produce trees and vines in their yards allow us to come in and harvest fruit when it is ripe.”

  “Are there any regulations on produce donations?” Keisha wondered since the reason they needed to investigate was because someone was giving large donations anonymously.

  “Not really.” Don Wallaston shook his head.

  So why would someone donate food anonymously? There wasn’t any point to it and they would lose the tax benefit. Right? But she pretended that all that information wasn’t swirling around in her head.

  “That’s fantastic.” Keisha’s mouth curved into a wide smile.

  Shane’s chest was nearly pressed up against her back as Shane wrapped a thick arm around her waist. His embrace was more intoxicating than the mellow, fruity merlot she’d gulped down in a bid to calm her nerves. She’d been rock solid when she’d tried to illegally scam her way in to Henri LeRoy’s mansion in Port-du-Bois…and if she’d been discovered trying to plant poison there, she’d have been dead. Here she’d just be asked to leave. So why was she nervous?

  This assignment was practically a boondoggle. Dress up. Eat fancy food. Drink excellent wine. The good news was that she had enough experience to act as if she belonged in this room with all these wealthy people.

  Keisha could throw attitude with the best of them, so she sucked it up and pretended that she had the money and the right to be a legitimate guest at this party rather than a fake who’d grown up one step away from needing the services of the food bank.

  Shane asked some more questions. “Do the recipients have to be homeless?” He was unbelievably tense behind her. “There are plenty of single mothers out there who work two jobs to put a roof over their kids’ heads and food on the table.”

  “Not at all,” Monica replied. “Many of the county’s recipients are working families who are struggling to pay their bills and rent. There is a misconception that the food bank only supplies to the homeless, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  Keisha had almost forgotten that they were there to garner an invite to the facility, but she was reminded when Monica Peterson said, “Why don’t you come over to the warehouse tomorrow and we’ll show you around.”

  “Sounds good,” Shane’s voice rumbled from behind her, the deep sound vibrated through her. “Would it be possible to actually work in the warehouse tomorrow?”

  “Of course!” Don Wallaston’s smile threatened to split the man’s face in two. Keisha could practically see the dollar signs in his pupils, like the old cartoons she used to watch while her momma cleaned houses on Saturday mornings.

  They made plans to go to the warehouse tomorrow morning. The board members were clearly anxious for the influx of cash. And they would have kept them there for another hour but Keisha saw Bliss Lee signal them. They needed to leave. It was clear that Jack wasn’t going to be able to keep Shelley corralled in the other room of the restaurant. So Shane and Keisha bid hasty goodbyes with the board waved enthusiastically as Shane and Keisha left.

  They sauntered toward Shane’s red Charger. Keisha tried to tug her fingers from his, but Shane held tight to her hand. “Got to keep up appearances,” he argued.

  On the way back to Keisha’s condo, they kept the conversation on logistics for tomorrow and how they would approach scoping out the warehouse facility.

  They finally arrived back at Keisha’s condo. “Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow.”

  She curled her fingers around the door handle, but before she could make her escape, Shane exited the car and had come around to the passenger door. He opened the door for her and held out his palm to help her gracefully exit the bucket seat.

  “Um, there’s one last thing.” Shane shifted uncomfortably in front of her but he hadn’t let go of her hand.

  Keisha tugged discretely. “What?”

  She couldn’t imagine why he looked so discomfited. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders. “I really did want to say I’m sorry.”

  She’d actually forgotten. But now the memory of the old guy leering at her came back. “A hickey? Really?”

  “You’re a potent woman.”

  She couldn’t help the little thrill that zoomed through her at his words. What would it be like to make Shane Washington lose total control?

  She snorted. “Not that potent.”

  At her derisive words, he crowded her against the side of the car, his muscular bulk blocked out her view of the parking l
ot and everyone else. “Very. Potent.” His voice was low and tight.

  And just like that, her brain went straight to the picture of her sucking another part of his anatomy. He was one fine man.

  Keisha’s eyelids drooped, and her tongue swept over lips just thinking about discovering Shane Washington’s naked secrets.

  He groaned low and deep in his throat. “What are you thinking about?”

  Her gaze dropped the large bulge in his pants. “Breaking rules.”

  Jesus, the blatant lust in Keisha’s gaze slayed him. Shane’s cock swelled, growing even harder and all he could think about was him and her and how hot it would be.

  “Fuck.” Shane swiveled his hips so that his erection brushed her body. “Right there with you.”

  He bent to capture her mouth with his, then pulled her bottom lip and suckled lightly. Fuck he wanted to be inside her. “Invite me in,” he demanded huskily. Screw his no fraternization rule.

  Keisha Johnson hit all his sexual buttons. She was more than a handful both physically and attitude-wise. She didn’t back down and gave better than she got. He wanted all that fire and sass in his arms, in his bed.

  “Convince me,” she shot back.

  “I want you. I want to see you naked. Suck on your nipples. Finger your clit and drive you wild. I want your fingernails digging into my skin as I go down on you. I want to fuck you until we’re both sweaty and sated and trembling from the force of how hard we come.”

  She whimpered, and he was pretty sure he had her.

  But he wasn’t above begging. “I ache for you. Put me out of my misery. You won’t regret it.”

  Four

  Keisha knew this was a bad idea. But damn, he was fine. And he set her body on fire with just a few words and the hot suction of his mouth.

  Shane said, “Please.”

  What really did it for her was the fact that what should have been begging was uttered as a demand. A gush of arousal flooded her pussy. She’d been lusting after him since she’d first laid eyes on Shane. And here he was, at her front door. Locked and loaded.

  “Inside,” she commanded. “Now.” She whirled around and headed for her condo.

  Shane fell back a little and she knew he was checking her out. Keisha put a little extra sway in her step and was rewarded when he said breathlessly, “Damn, babe.”

  She hastily unlocked the door and pushed inside. She wanted him. And now that she’d made the decision…she needed to get to a bed, before she changed her mind, came to her clouded senses, and concluded this was an epically bad decision.

  She stalked inside with a sultry swing of her hips and listened triumphantly as his breath caught in his throat.

  His elegant, exquisitely-fitted suit and the very stuffy tie really did it for her. All that ripped muscle packaged in such proper attire made her want to unwrap him like a kid tearing open her present on Christmas morning. Keisha twirled and tugged at the formal tie around Shane’s neck. The action hauled him closer, and the heat pouring off his body was incendiary.

  He bent his head and dragged his tongue from the top of the keyhole down into the valley of her breasts. He wasn’t touching her anywhere else and the wet heat was unbelievably erotic. Then he dropped to his knees and nuzzled her breasts even as he slid his palms up the backs of her thighs.

  Shane marveled at her smooth skin as he pushed her short dress up her legs until his palms met the bare skin of her ass. Keisha clutched his head against her breasts and rocked her pelvis into his abs.

  He traced her thong down until his fingers delved beneath the fragile lace and stroked the swollen lips of her sex. Shane sucked in a breath. “God damn, you’re soaking wet.”

  He slid the tip of his middle finger inside her slick channel, just lightly penetrating her.

  Shane looked up at her. Her head was tilted back in abandon. But her fingers were working at the buttons on his shirt, nearly frantic as if she’d die if she didn’t touch his bare skin.

  Shane pushed her dress up until it bunched beneath her breasts and bared her stomach and the red lace thong to his gaze. “Hot damn, that is gorgeous.”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said breathlessly.

  “Thank God for St. Valentine.” He kissed a path from her belly button down to the waist of her underwear, all the while his middle finger pumped in and out of her sex. Her scent was driving him crazy.

  Musky wetness coated his finger and slicked her pussy lips as she rocked harder into his hand. Shane tongued her clit then sucked the bud into his mouth. She moaned long and loud.

  “Fuck me,” she groaned.

  “You going to be a loud lover, babe?” Fuck, he wanted her screaming.

  “If you’re good enough,” she sassed right back at him.

  Damn, his cock pulsed against the zipper of his fancy black pants. Shane needed to relieve the pressure. He slid his fingers out of her pussy. She rocked closer to him.

  “Minute.” He ripped the zipper down and unbuttoned his pants until his cock sprang free from the confines of the black silk.

  “Turn around,” he said gutturally.

  She hesitated. But then she obeyed the command. Shane unzipped her dress, unhooked her bra, and pushed everything off her shoulders and down her body. Her butt was round and plump and he couldn’t resist the primal urge to nip at her generous curves as he shoved the thong to the floor.

  “No way we’re making it to a bed the first time,” he growled.

  Keisha’s knees dipped. Her dress and underwear pooled at her feet. Shane had never seen a more erotic sight as she waited for him ceding control in this moment.

  He directed her. “Bend over the arm of the sofa.”

  She didn’t even hesitate this time. She took two long strides and bent over. She turned and looked over her shoulder and smiled wickedly. As if daring him to come and get it.

  Keisha had never been more turned on in her life.

  Thick liquid coated the inside of her thighs and she was empty, desolate. “I need you inside me. Now.”

  As he pushed to his feet, Shane’s cock bobbed from the nest of curls at his groin. He was huge. Not a complete surprise since he was a very large man. His long, thick staff stretched toward the ceiling, his erection as dark as the rest of him except for the deep red, engorged head.

  “Oh my god.” Her knees threatened to buckle at the thought of all that delicious man inside her.

  “Just call me Shane,” he teased as he shoved his pants off and strode over to her. His cock bobbed against the flat rippling muscles of his lower abdomen. He still wore the suit jacket and his shirt hung open playing peek a boo with his extremely ripped abs.

  “Damn, babe, you are gorgeous.” He smoothed his palm over her round butt and her entire body reacted to the subtle caress. Her pussy tingled and her nipples tightened into even harder points. Shit, she needed him inside her now. His rubbed his fingers along her slit and spread her juices over her pussy. “So fucking wet.”

  Shane took his hand away and pumped his cock once.

  Keisha whimpered at the sight.

  Shane thanked God that he’d had the forethought to put a condom in his suit jacket. More hopeful than premeditated, but hope was a powerful emotion.

  He snatched the little packet from the interior pocket as he shrugged the jacket off, then rolled the protection over his cock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this hard. Keisha had spread her legs, arched her back, just waiting for him. Her pussy was flushed a deep dark rose, lips swollen and plumped, peeking through her mahogany curls. Just waiting for him to slam home.

  “You want me, babe?”

  Shane was a talker. He liked to tell his lover exactly what he was going to do. He knew from his former lovers that he was big so he tried to prepare them with words before he actually penetrated them.

  “Now,” she snarled. “Hard. Fast.”

  “Can’t.” He brushed the head of his cock against her slit, her juices coated the condom, and a slick
heat poured from her body. She was so freaking hot.

  “Got to take it slow.” Shane pressed just the head inside her and paused. “Too big otherwise.”

  Keisha tried to push back against him to impale herself on his dick. But Shane held her hips, and forced himself to proceed gently.

  With one long, agonizingly slow glide, he buried himself to the hilt in her heat.

  He groaned. His balls snugged up tight against her swollen sex, and her slick channel pulsed around him, eagerly trying to strangle his cock.

  “Move, dammit.”

  Shane started a slow back and forth, rocking his hips into hers and savoring that moment when he was completely surrounded by her wet heat. The slow pace was killing him but he didn’t want to hurt her.

  “Harder,” she sobbed.

  He controlled the pace of his thrusts, trying to make it last as long as possible and to let her body accommodate to the intrusion of his cock. But Keisha was having none of that. She rose onto her tiptoes and with one hard shift of her hips, she slammed back against him. Her ass hit his abdomen so hard she almost pushed him back a step. But the sensation of him fully seated in her tight pussy was too much. “Harder,” she demanded again.

  Shane groaned and gave in to her demands. “I’m going to pound into you now. I’ll hit your g-spot so hard that you’ll see stars, and your sweet pussy will tighten around me.”

  Keisha moaned again. “Just do it already.”

  And Shane let loose. He gripped her hips and shoved his cock hard, she spread her legs wider to give him room to move. And he began a steady, brutal pace until Keisha came with a keening cry.

  Her back arched, she threw her head back, every muscle in her body tightened even as her sex constricted around his cock in intense hard pulls and sucked his orgasm from his body in violent clenches.

  Shane roared as he came. He pumped into her, his head went light and his heart boomed in his chest. A sense of absolute perfection overcame him. Sweat slicked his skin as his cock emptied, and his mind emptied of everything, except her.