Bidding War (4 page)

“Turn around,” he said, setting his wine glass on the table. “Let me see what I can do about some of these knots.”

She opened her eyes and laughed. “You don’t have to do that, Shane. Really, I’m fine.”

Leaning in, he couldn’t resist the urge to taste her lips. They were stained with wine, full and ripe, begging to licked and nipped. His eyes traveled from her eyes to her mouth, giving her a nanosecond to stop him from taking this further. When he felt her body sway toward him, he knew neither of them was going back. Gliding his tongue over her lips, he silently pleaded with her to let him in. He knew he couldn’t be satisfied until he had all of her. Her body, her trust, but most importantly, he wanted to claim a place in her heart.

She braced her hands on his shoulders and said, “This is probably a bad idea, but…”

That single word gave him hope that she was feeling it too. Finally. “But?”

“But I want you. I have since the first time we met.”

He remembered that day. He saw her ad in the local phone book and called, asking her to meet him at his latest project. When she stepped out of the car that day, he thought the summer heat was making him delusional because there was no way a woman that beautiful and sexy could have walked into his life without a band of gold on her finger.

“I remember,” he said, lifting her hair. He kissed her neck, tentatively at first, but when a soft sigh escaped her lips, he slid in closer, closing the gap between them. “You looked incredible in that blue dress with those strappy sandals…” Growling low in his throat, he remembered having to position his clipboard in front of him to hide his reaction to her. “You made me crazy.”

“You weren’t the only one,” she said, tipping her head back. “I took one look at you and I forgot my own name. I was so sure you would think I was just wasting your time, that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I was trying so hard to make a good impression, and I just got so tongue-tied.”

He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to look at him. “I’d never felt that before,” he whispered. “Hell, I’ve been attracted to lots of women over the years, but something was different about you, something that told me you could be the woman I’d been waiting on.”

She tried to look away, but he settled his hands on either side of her neck, forcing her to look him in the eye. “I know you feel it, too. This thing between us isn’t going to go away, honey. If anything, it’s just getting stronger every damn day.”

Her eyes fell to his lips as she settled her hands on his shoulders. “I know that, but I have nothing to offer you, Shane. I mean, like I said, my life is a mess. Between trying to build my business and take care of Tommy, I…”

He kissed her softly, effectively silencing her. “How about just letting me take care of you?” That’s all he wanted, to be her rock when she needed an anchor.

She closed her eyes and said, “No, I can’t let you do that.”

“Open your eyes,” he said quietly. He wasn’t going to let her run away or hide from him again. They were going to have this out, and he wasn’t leaving this house until she agreed to give him a chance to prove to her how amazing they could be together.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Don’t you see how dangerous leaning on you, depending on you, would be for me?”

He knew it would probably be the biggest risk she’d ever taken, but he’d cut his right arm off before he’d let her down. “I’m worth the risk,” he whispered. “Just let me prove it to you.”

“Don’t you think I want to believe you?” she said, trying to pull back. “Damn it, would you just let me go?”

“No,” he said, forcing her to look at him. “If I let you go, you’re never going to let me back in. We made progress here tonight. You started to trust me. I’m not going to let you retreat again, no matter what you say.” He knew he was taking a hard line and it could backfire, but he had to risk it all or he would gain nothing.

“What happens if I trust you, if I come to depend on you, and you leave me?” She shuddered in his arms. “I know what it’s like to be alone, but I don’t know what it’s like to have a partner. I’m not even sure I want to know.”

“You’ve never had a serious relationship?”

She looked at the buttons lining the center of his shirt. “No, never. I never had time for a relationship. I worked two or three jobs, went to night school, and then tried to build my business.”

Tipping her chin, he asked, “Honey, how old are you?” He’d never thought to ask before. It never seemed to matter.

“Twenty-five.”

He would have guessed she was in her early thirties, as he was. Not because she looked it, but because she seemed so mature, so world weary. “Have you ever had a lover?”

Biting her bottom lip, she shook her head. “No.”

The initial shock of learning that she was untouched was quickly replaced with elation when he realized he had the opportunity to be her first lover, her only lover. “Okay, listen, we can take this slow. We don’t have to make love tonight.”

“I want to,” she whispered.

Her voice was so low he thought he may have misunderstood. “What did you say?”

She looked up, her eyes filled with determination. “I said I want you to make love to me.”

His body responded immediately as his cock strained against his zipper. Shifting to try and alleviate his discomfort, he said, “Are you sure this is what you want, sweetheart? We’re just getting to know each other, and this is a big step for you.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “I know everything I need to know about you. You’re kind, decent, hard-working.” She smiled. “And something tells me you’d know how to make me feel incredible.”

Closing his eyes, he tried to rein it in, but she made it damn near impossible. “I want you to know this isn’t something I take lightly.” He hadn’t taken a girl’s virginity since high school, but he remembered everything about that night. He got up to dress afterwards and she cried her eyes out because she claimed he didn’t appreciate the gift she’d given him. He couldn’t make that mistake with Lacy. If she gave him her body, he intended to treat it like the priceless treasure it was as he showed her, in painstaking detail, everything she’d been missing.

“I know that.” She brushed the pad of her thumb over his lower lip. “That’s the reason I waited for a man like you, someone who would treat me right.”

She had no idea how right she was. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. He would give her anything she wanted or needed, if only she was willing to give him her heart in return.

Chapter Four

Lacy had waited forever for this moment, and she was excited and terrified at the same time. She’d ignored her own needs for so long, pretending she didn’t need a man like him in her life to be happy, but she’d been lying to herself. Pretending to be strong when she felt weak, pretending she didn’t need anyone when she would give anything to have a strong shoulder to lean on. Shane was offering her that, at least for tonight.

Giving herself to him wasn’t the same as sex with a random stranger. They’d spent months getting to know each other, building a friendly rapport, and like he said, the attraction between them was palpable, even from the beginning. It was finally time to act on that attraction, and for once, she was ready to take action without analyzing the consequences.

“I want this,” she said, leaning back against the sofa cushions. Fisting the front of his shirt in her hands, she tugged, taking him with her, pulling him on top of her. She wanted to feel the weight of his body pressing her into the cushions at her back, the length of his thick shaft stretching her, filling her, initiating her into a new world of pleasure. “I want you. Now. I’m tired of waiting for my life to start.”

He moaned, a raspy, choked sound, as though he was trying to restrain himself. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say you want me.”

She slipped the buttons of his shirt free. She knew his body couldn’t possibly be as chiseled as it was in her fantasies, but… Lord have mercy, the man was shredded. Tight abs, powerful biceps.

He grinned. “You like what you see?”

She felt the heat creep up her neck when she realized he’d caught her staring at his chest. She licked her lips. “Sorry, I was just…”

“You don’t have to apologize for staring at me.” He lowered his head, licking the shell of her ear as he whispered, “I love the way you look at me. God, I get hard just thinking about it.”

She’d thought she was being subtle in her admiration of his attributes. Obviously not. “You’re so sexy,” she whispered, running her hands up his bare back. She finally felt free to be honest about her feelings for him. No matter what happened between them, he needed to know. “When I’m lying in bed at night, I think about you. I’ve always wondered what being with you like this would be like.”

“You’re about to find out, baby.” He dipped his tongue inside her ear, making her shudder at the unexpected, erotic invasion. “I promise it’ll be even better than you imagined.”

She had no doubt that he had the experience to make good on his promise, which prompted a new level of uncertainty. The women he’d slept with in the past were undoubtedly skilled at pleasuring a man. She, on the other hand, felt painfully inadequate in that area.

He pulled back to look her in the eye. “Hey, you’re tensing up on me. What’s wrong?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to bury her face. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

He freed himself from her grip before standing up.

“Where are you going?” she asked, certain that he had misunderstood her reaction. “I don’t want you to…”

He held his index finger against his lips to silence her as his eyes locked with hers, daring her to face the unreserved desire darkening his eyes.

He was so intense it almost intimidated her. But she knew the man lurking beneath that mask of longing would never do anything to hurt her.

She sat up and slid her t-shirt up and over her head slowly. Watching his eyes track her movements, she reached around to find the clasp of her bra. Seeing first-hand the power she had over him made her feel feminine and beautiful. The bulge of his shaft was straining against the front of his jeans, and just the sight of it made her skin tingle. The feel of it, buried deep inside of her, would surely send her plummeting over the edge of ecstasy. She couldn’t wait.

“Sweet Jesus,” he muttered when her breasts finally spilled free. “Your tits are spec-fucking-tacular.”

She was gratified by the praise. The size of her breasts had always garnered a lot of attention from the opposite sex, but she knew not all men were turned on by well-endowed women. Thankfully, he seemed to like her exactly as she was, which gave her the confidence to reach for the button on her jeans. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to shed her clothes, to bare herself for his perusal. She was ready for him to see who she was behind the layers of protective armor shielding her battered heart.

She rose to her feet and watched him closely as she unfastened the button and zipper. After hooking her thumbs in her panties, she eased both over her hips as his eyes zeroed in on the movement of her tits.

He licked his lips. “God, I can’t wait to taste you, touch you… Damn, I don’t even know where to start. I feel like I’ve been on a hunger strike for a month and you’ve just set a four-course meal out in front of me.” Taking a step closer, his voice dropped as he said, “I want to start with dessert.”

His words drifted over her, probing her sensitive slit like a gentle caress.

He placed a booted foot between her feet, nudging her legs apart with his knee. “Open up for me.”

She eased her legs apart, allowing her eyes to drift closed as she waited for him to take action.

“Wider.”

She could feel the brush of denim as he moved in closer, and even that brief, abrasive contact heightened her arousal.

He surprised her by dropping to his knees in front of her. Spreading her lips apart with his thumbs, he groaned. “God, your pussy is so wet. I can’t wait to taste you.”

She whimpered as soon as she felt the flick of his tongue probe her clit. She wanted to thrust her hands into his hair, forcing him to give her the kind of attention she craved. But she knew he was already fixated on her pleasure. Anything he did from now on would only heighten her experience, so she braced her hands on his shoulders and let him have his way with her.