Page 47 of Shane
“I know, I know,” he agreed hoarsely, still licking her lips, still breathing her air, and holding on tight to her partially clad body. “But understand, Agent Yeager. I’ve wanted to make love with you since we met. Wewillbe doing this again soon.”
“You did?” A breathy sigh of satisfaction huffed out of Everlee. Knowing Shane was on board with the attraction between them was enough. It had to be. For now.
Clearing her throat, she pressed a gentle palm to the center of his magnificent chest. Man, he ought to have a likeness of that chest sculpted in marble. She wished they’d done this right, with him naked. On his back. What a waste that she hadn’t gotten to see him, all of him. She felt cheated.
But later. Yeah, that piece of eye candy would have to wait. Everlee pushed him away, trying to gently remind him who they were and why they were in Smoke’s storm cellar. Setting a boundary she knew she’d destroy the first chance she could.
Shane eased out of her body with a sweet, grumbly growl and set her feet back on the floor. Everlee found him staring down at her. Like a schoolgirl in love, she was smitten all over again. They were so close, still in each other’s arms, yet suddenly, too far away. For the first time in her life, she found herself looking up at a man she respected and could actually see herself living with. A man she could live for. Maybe even die for.
The tenderness in his eyes shone down on her like a full moon setting over the Pacific, blessing her with comfort and tenderness and, okay, yeah, lots of sex and steamy hot romance. A storm of tender emotions was hidden there. Shane was a gunslinger at heart, but what a heart. He didn’t want to let her go any more than she wanted to let go of him. His fingers were still tight, only they’d drifted to her waist. His gaze was steady, as if he’d found something he wasn’t willing to lose.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” she admitted meekly. “I know better.”
Lifting his hand, he smoothed it over her head, ending with his palm cupping her cheek. “I’m so damned glad you took the first step.”
Everlee leaned into the strength of that warm hand and those strong, capable fingers. “Yeah, well, already told you I have no impulse control. Ask Alex. He’ll confirm it.”
A smile lifted the corners of Shane’s mouth. “Alex isn’t here and I wouldn’t ask him if he were.”
The hum of the blow dryer cut off, and Everlee shoved the man she was beginning to have serious feelings for, away. Sort of. Needing one last touch before he got too far away, she traced her fingertips along his square, whiskered jaw, and said “We’d better clean up and get dressed. I’ll check under the sink. Maybe there’s a can of air deodorizer down there.”
“Don’t move. Stay here,” Shane said as he pulled himself together, buckled his belt, tucked his shirt in, and went to the kitchen. He doused a handful of paper towels under the faucet, then checked beneath the sink, and grabbed an aerosol can of lilac-something or other. He came straight back to Everlee, dropped to one knee in front of her, and signaled her to put her foot on his other thigh. He was so kind. So incredibly thoughtful. It was so out of character with every other male she’d ever known. She could have cried when he wiped between her legs and helped her get dressed and decent again. Yeah, he was one in a million. A trained sniper and a heartthrob.
“We should report in now that we’re at Smoke’s,” she told him quietly, her hands on his shoulders while he slipped her feet into her boots. Everything he did, he was doing for her. She had no one to compare him with.
With a soft grunt, Shane lifted to his feet and tossed the used paper towels into the trash. Instead of letting Everlee go and pretending nothing had just happened between them, his hand slid around her wrist. With a quick tug, she was back against his chest, and he was pressing a warm, wet kiss to the center of her forehead. “God bless your lack of impulse control,” he whispered. “Don’t ever change, Ev. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
She wanted to spend more time savoring the sweet sentiments coming from this warrior. She could have stood there until she’d breathed every last molecule of him into her heart for safekeeping. Gallant moments like this one never happened to someone like her, mainly because most men steered clear of strong, capable women. They didn’t want to compete, and they resented female authority. She’d worked with enough airmen over the years to know most of them had talked behind her back. They’d all seemed to honestly believe the only way she could’ve been promoted was on her back, by literally kissing ass. Untrue, but still wildly proliferated. If any one of them had truly taken the time to get to know her, they’d have laughed at the idea that she was that desperate for the next rank. Damned crybabies. But that was reality. Double standards were alive and well, even in this so-called ‘enlightened’ age of women’s lib and ‘alleged’ social equality.
The bathroom doorknob turned. The door opened. A fragrant cloudy fog of steam announced Ms. Smart’s re-entry into their private moment. Damn, she was back. Her long, blonde hair was clean and dry, sleek and shiny and curled just right. And she was smiling. At Shane. Of course.
Everlee took a full step out of his comfort zone, put her hands on her hips and glared at the cold-blooded baby-killer once again in their midst. She stabbed her finger at the four-person dinette between Smoke’s formidable weapons stash and the countertop that passed for a kitchen, and ordered, “Sit down. First, we’ll eat, then we’ll hit the sack.”
“I’ll take the couch,” Shane offered.
“Fine.” Everlee’s gaze was still fixed on their prisoner. “Shane’ll keep guard, Smart, so don’t try anything. You get the bunk to the left, I’ll take the right. It’s closer to the door. No funny business, understood?”
“And then you’ll cuff me to the metal headboard, right?” Damned if Smart didn’t look like a high school cheerleader. Double damned if there wasn’t a glint of compassion—or something—in Shane’s eyes. That had to stop.
“Right,” Everlee snapped, mad at herself and the gullible male beside her. “We have a long day’s drive tomorrow. Might not stop between here and DC, and—”
Damn it! Everlee was so sick of this woman’s poor, innocent me routine. Looked like Shane was falling for it. “Never mind. Let’s just eat.”
Chapter Sixteen
Shane had no idea what he’d done to set Everlee off. One minute she was warm and cuddly; the next, she was back in bad cop mode. Downright rude to Ms. Smart. Downright bitchy. The lasagna Everlee had brought to the table was hot and good, rich and cheesy, though. Between that and the buttery garlic bread sticks, everyone was droopy with carb overload by the time their paper plates were clean and dinner was done. Before Everlee took over like she was prone to do, Shane jumped to his feet, cleared the table, and tossed the containers into the trash bin beside the kitchen sink. Then, because he’d been taught right at home, he located a clean dishcloth, filled the sink with hot, sudsy water, and wiped the table and countertops. He’d already divested himself of most of his new weaponry before he ate, just kept the knives in his boots and the pistols in his hip holster.
By the time he’d finished clean-up, he discovered Everlee and Smart were gone. The bathroom and bedroom door was shut. Darn. They were already locked down for the night. Which meant Everlee had cuffed Smart to the bedframe and that was Ev in the shower. Naked. With suds sliding over her bare shoulders and down her back and—
“No,” he hissed at himself. Not going there. She was probably still mad at him.
But that kiss. The totally unexpected, slamming sex against the wall. Everlee was damned hot when she took control. Just thinking of her bossy mouth jazzed up his body again. It had been so long since he’d—
No. Just no.He refused to revisit what just might have been a once in a lifetime, hot damned sexual encounter. Shane was still armed. No doubt Everlee was, too. He didn’t need to get himself shot. Even one pistol seemed overkill against a woman who acted as helpless as Smart. In no way was she savvy enough to get out of her flex cuffs. He understood the need for caution. People were not always who they seemed. But still... Shane had his doubts.
The bathroom door opened and Everlee leaned out with nothing on but a thick, white towel wrapped under her arms and around her body. Water dripped from her wet, slicked-back hair into her eyes. My God, she was small fully dressed, so much smaller—undressed.Day-um.Just when Shane thought he’d finally relaxed, he wasn’t.
“Shower’s all yours,” she said as she dashed to the bedroom door, her voice breathy and her eyes bright, the tease.