Page 21 of Shane
As if!Like a rockstar, Everlee tore her eyes off the unattainable TEAM quarterback standing over there with his Kelsey, and let that foolish daydream go. Everlee wasn’t a homewrecker, damn it. And it was obvious to anyone with two eyes that Alex was well-spoken for.
Everlee killed the stupid high-school-girl crush. Just snuffed it out like pinching the flame on a candle she’d had no business lighting in the first place. She’d entertained the silly daydream long enough. Alex definitely had the whole alpha-male vibe going for him, but Kelsey had cornered that market. Like Libby had Mark, Mei had Zack, Dev had Seth, Judy had Harley, and Everlee had—
Damn.Showing up at these TEAM dinners, parties, and picnics sucked. Everlee knew damned well where her daydream had come from. Despite loving who she’d become and where she was going, there was a hollow space in her chest that ached like a cold fireplace at get-togethers like this. Everyone here had someone to go home with. Even Shane had made plenty of friends, that whole brothers-in-arms bonding guy-thing. The TEAM had certainly welcomed him like a long-lost brother, and that was good. She was happy for him.
So why was she sitting by herself, feeling sorry for herself? Because everywhere she went, Everlee was the third, fifth, or seventh wheel. Forever the good sport and always the odd man out. Yeah, she was really rocking the whole self-pity vibe tonight. Definitely time to leave. Where the hell was Shane?
Setting her empty plate aside, she scanned Alex’s backyard one last time. Mark was still sitting with his wife Libby at one of the twenty or so round tables. Beau Villanueva and Doc Fitz, newlyweds Jameson and Maddie Tenney, as well as Renner Graves and his wife Tara, and Tripp and Ashley McClane were seated with Mark at his table. Renner’s kids, Jessica and Tanner, were two of the many gathered around Harley waiting their turn for root beer floats. He had a knack for handling children and keeping their attention. The three super-trained but loveable Malinois puppies he’d brought with him helped. Kids loved his dogs, and damn, those pups were smart.
There were days Everlee wished she’d hooked up with one of Harley’s pups instead of her pittie. Less drool. But she loved Blade, and he’d proven himself adept at protecting her, as well as heading nightmares off at the pass. Either by sticking his slobbery snout in her face or by sprawling his heavy, muscled body over hers like one of those weighted blankets. Only he whined, which she guessed was his way of telling her she’d be okay. Considering the alternative—sweating, shrieking like a banshee, and fighting her blankets—snuggling a heavyweight like Blade was a relief to wake up to in the middle of scary nights. He always made her feel safe, and, in his way, he grounded her, too.
Her traitorous eyes strayed back to where Shane stood with his arms folded over his chest, his legs spread in that dominant way men stood. Still by the kennel, Alex and Kelsey were talking with him now. Shane’s back was to Everlee. Alex was facing her, not focused on her, though. Instead, focused on Shane.
Bradley was now asleep on his mom’s shoulder. Alex’s black GSD sat at rapt attention at his knee, but just like Alex was attentive to Shane, Whisper’s shiny black eyes were definitely fixed on Kelsey. Which made Everlee smile. Alex might rule the world at work, but here at home? Even his dogs knew better.
She let her eyes scroll down that stiff spine to Shane’s slender waist and from there, to his ass. Just like the rest of him, it was taut and muscled. Was probably as hard as his chest. Or his biceps. Or his forearms. An inkling of attraction sparked to life deep in her gut. What would he be like in bed, bossy or willing? Generous or selfish as shit? Would he think he had to compete with her? Would he respect her?
She blinked those foolish thoughts right out of her head. Respect was a hard line for her. Kindness, too. As for love and all its romantic lies? She’d given up on that fairytale long before she’d ever left home. As much as she had adored her dad, he was a selfish prick who’d never had a problem leaving her and her mother behind while he cruised every last hotrod race between the Evergreen racetrack in Washington to the Daytona in Florida. But after he’d snapped and did what he did? She’d never forgive him.
That Alex had somehow garnered the devotion of gentle, honorable men like himself, said a lot about the guy. He had no tolerance for men who didn’t respect women or women who didn’t respect men. He expected honor from his TEAM and, by hell, he got it.
Just then Shane glanced over his shoulder. His sharp-eyed gaze pierced Everlee as if he knew she’d been watching his ass, which she had. Although, his very masculine front was pretty good eye-candy, too. She fluttered her fingers at him and gave the standard it’s time to leave head nod toward the street. Most guys understood that. But it still surprised her when he nodded politely to Kelsey, said something to Alex, stepped back, excused himself, and headed straight for Everlee.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked quietly, as he folded his lean, muscled body onto the empty bench beside her. His hands fell loose between his knees, and his elbows landed on his thighs. With its top two buttons undone, his shirt stretched in all the best places. Across his taut, wide shoulders and impressive chest, giving her a glimpse of crisp, black chest hairs. Why that sparked her libido said a lot about how long it had been since she’d had sex.
Which was,let’s see… Well over two years ago. That ought to make me damned nearly virginal, right?Probably not. Virginity was one of those seals that, once broken, could never be restored. Like indelible ink, if you chose unwisely, you carried the stain of your stupidity for the rest of your life.
“I am if you are,” she replied.
Automatically, her gaze strayed to his left hand, to his ring finger. Nothing there, not even an indentation or untanned line where a ring might’ve been. Good. Not that all married men wore wedding bands. Not that she cared one way or the other. Shane could do whatever he wanted.
But rule number one in a single woman’s life was:Never date married men.
She hadn’t appreciated being cheated on; she’d never do it to another woman. Daydreaming about her boss was different. That was just stupid, life-is-boring-at-the-moment infatuation. Alex was a dynamic, damned good-looking man, but not once had he been anything less than professional, and she’d never—ever—made a move on him. Hadn’t even flirted. Wouldn’t think of it. Because cheating on your spouse was underhanded, stupid, and just plain mean. Besides, Alex was an extra-happily married man. Blowing out a breath of pent-up sexual frustration, Everlee was done being an idiot.Alex belongs to Kelsey. Case closed. Moving right along…
“And no, I’m not married,” Shane said as he rolled his sleeves up his arm into halves, which showed off his impressive tan, and damned if those forearms weren’t as solid as the rest of him. Even his biceps seemed too bulky for his shirt.
“Well, aren’t you the cocky one?” was all Everlee could come up with. She knew her neck had turned red with embarrassment. She could feel the heat. A flaming crimson tide would soon creep up and over her cheeks like a blazing beacon for all to see. Darn her red-headed complexion. Despite being half Puerto Rican, the fair-skinned Irish in her ruled her emotions.
“Relax. I caught you checking me out, that’s all. How about you? Single, engaged, or still looking?” he asked, his tone indifferent, and his gaze across the yard.
She fluttered the bare fingers on her left hand. “You forgot divorced.”
He shrugged the bulky shoulder nearest her. “You’re kidding. You’re way too young to have been married, much less divorced.”
“Biggest mistake of my life.” Everlee tried for distraction. Her failed marriage was the last thing she wanted to talk about. “Bet you’ve got a girl in every port and every post you’ve been stationed in.”
“Nope. Never played fast and loose. Never had time.” Whatever that meant.
He flexed both hands into fists, then relaxed them, and again, they dropped between his knees. And like the sex-starved fool she was, Everlee’s gaze scrolled over the impressive build of the man beside her. What was it about the dark hairs on this guy’s tanned arms and the purplish veins on the insides of those muscular arms that made her mind wander? There wasn’t one part of Shane that didn’t scream All American Male. His build. His bulk. The scent of him. Yet there was a vulnerable side to him, too. She’d seen it just this morning. How could a man so obviously strong and capable, so capable and fit, ever fall prey to PTSD? He seemed put together. Confident and lethal. Not broken, but okay, maybe fractured a little around the edges. But that just made him like everyone else here tonight.Even me.
Everlee blushed at the semi-still-there, light brown stains down the front of his shirt. Man, she’d gotten him good. He hadn’t bothered to stop at his place to change on their way to the Stewarts’ house, and she knew Mark gave him at least a week’s worth of TEAM polos like he did with new hires on their first day. Yet Shane hadn’t changed into one of them, either. Why not? Was he just that confident that he didn’t care what anyone thought? Seemed like it.
“Alex wants us to tackle a mission.”
She wiggled her boot in case he’d forgotten she was temporarily sidelined from active duty. “Must not be a walking mission,” she teased.
“No. Nothing OCONUS and nothing too difficult. He wants us to locate a Ms. Tuesday Bremmer in Dallas, Texas, and bring her back to DC for questioning. That’s all.”