No Reason to Run (13 page)

Her head bobbled on
her neck.

Anything. She’d
agree to anything, if he returned to what he was doing.

Shane must have read
her mind. His thumb pressed against her swollen clit and she jerked biting her
lip.
Quiet, he wanted her to be quiet.
Oh, God, Chloe played down the
hall just feet away. Olivia pushed up shifting her attention to the open
kitchen doorway where anyone could see them.

Two fingers joined
the thumb gently stroking her.

“Shane, we can’t-“

“We already are.”
His head ducked back down and he gave his full concentration to the task.

Shane’s tongue
worked in counterpoint to his thrusting fingers. Olivia’s legs squeezed his
head in reaction. “Oh, God,” she moaned, forgetting his instruction to remain
quiet.

Her hips worked
upward in tandem with the hard flicks of tongue. Olivia ran her hands through
his hair encouraging him to go faster. When his mouth closed over her swollen
bud, she cried out. Unable to stop, the climax rolled over her like a steam
engine.

Her hands clenched
tight in his hair, her inner thighs hugging his face and a scream worked its
way up her throat. Shane’s hand reached up and palmed her mouth at the same
time she released. Grateful for his considerate actions, she closed her eyes
and lingering pleasure crashed through her. It may have been moments or
seconds.

His tongue continued
to work her highly sensitized clit until she tried to move her hips back. “No
more,” she gasped, tossing her head back and forth. “No more, please.”

Shane rose to his
feet, his fingers pulling from her with an awkward suction. Another whimper
escaped her throat as she came down from her high. Her body hummed with
satisfaction and another wave of arousal. Heat flooded her cheeks and Olivia
had every intention of avoiding those all too knowing eyes. She pushed back
against his chest and struggled to pull up her jeans.

Shane’s steady hands
helped, going so far as to zip and snap her jeans. She tried to gather her
thoughts but the amazing release scrambled her brain cells. “That might not
have been a great idea.”

“It was fucking
perfect,” he countered, reaching past her for a paper towel and wiping his fingers
then his mouth. “And we’ll do it again until we’re both boneless and can’t lift
our heads from the pillow.”

Olivia wanted to
escape to the temporary bedroom she used. Anything to allow herself a few
moments to get herself together. As close as they stood, she couldn’t miss the
large bulge distorting his jeans.

“Look at me,
princess.”

She raised her gaze
and blinked. The harsh lines of his face stood out in prominence. His breathing
was easy and controlled but his eyes never looked away and the truth stared
back for her to see. He wanted her. No secret and no games. Shane was man
enough to let her see it all.

A night in bed with
him promised Olivia more than what they’d just shared here in his kitchen. This
was momentary insanity on both their parts. Olivia’s instincts warned her to
back away quickly.

Unfortunately, Shane
had other ideas. “We’re not done.” He grasped her under her arms and lifted her
from the stool completely. If her legs hadn’t been wrapped around his waist,
she might have slipped.

His hold firmed and
when her arms instinctively went around his neck, he shifted his hands to cup
her butt. She felt the firm press of his lips at the top of her head.

“What are you
doing?”

****

Fuck it. He couldn’t
be expected to ignore the soft look on her face. Shane took one step toward the
doorway, planning to carry her to bed right away.

“Mitchell.”

Shane froze. What
the hell? He couldn’t take her to the bedrooms upstairs. His bedroom
specifically. Christ, his guys just arrived because he’d called them in. He
couldn’t stop the search for O’Donnell’s men to take her to his room for a
quick fuck.

Shane leaned down
enough to catch sight of Olivia’s expression. Her blue eyes glowed in
unmistakable lassitude. The lids lowered at half mast. Shit. His breath hissed
out.

Striker’s voice came
closer. “The kid says she’s hungry.”

He didn’t exactly
need to shout down the hall. Striker’s words acted as a warning to his leader
of his approach. Shane lowered Olivia to her feet. She blinked rapidly, the
haze slowly cleared from her face. Regret pierced his chest. His hands eased
from her ass to caress her back. Unexpected tenderness guided his actions. Five
minutes and they’d have tangled in his sheets oblivious to everything.

Olivia’s elbow
prodded his mid-section snapping him from thoughts of sex and tenderness.
“You’ve got them calling Chloe the kid.”

Shane ran a hand
down his face and willed his cock to stand down. “Actually they picked up how
much it irritates you and it amuses them.”

She huffed and he
forced himself not to reach for her when she increased the distance between
them.

Striker entered the
kitchen and took in the scene with one sweeping glance. His expression remained
neutral but the black eyes gleamed. Yeah, his man knew what had gone down in
here.

Shane bit off a
curse. Food. Now he needed to prepare stuff for everyone to eat like a damn
housemaid. “I’ll grill some steaks and toss a salad. I’ve got a couple potatoes
I can throw on.”

Shane glanced back
at Olivia, The dark bruise reminded him of the more important things on their
agenda. Ex-husband now, mutually pleasing fuck later.

Olivia spoke first.
“I’m gonna run upstairs real quick. I’ll just grab Chloe with me.” She ran from
the kitchen as if Shane would give chase. Watching her shapely ass disappear,
he considered it.

“You’re really hot
on this chick, Mitchell. Never seen you like this before.”

Shane shook his
head. “No idea what I’m doing, Strike. Can’t seem to keep my hands off her.”

After his admission,
Shane prepared for bawdy jokes, maybe a sarcastic quip at his expense. Instead
he got, “Good. You deserve it. Happiness is fleeting at best. Grab it when the
opportunity comes by.”

“Roger that.”

Counting on fate and
karma never played out in his world. If they did, the bastards he and his teams
fought would drop like flies on their own. Now lady luck, yeah, he believed in
that bitch. She’d had his back too many times to discount.

Chapter 22

Shane had every
intention of finding where the men after Olivia were hiding. When he caught up
with them, he planned to unleash a world of hurt for terrorizing a woman and
child. Shane wiped down the counters and loaded the dishwasher. He’d cooked
more in the last couple of days than he usually did. Typically he fixed a
sandwich on the go.

From the corner of
his eye, he watched Olivia clean Chloe’s hands with a wet paper towel. For some
reason he couldn’t decipher, the kid ate her baked potato with her fingers and
nibbled on the leaves from her salad the same way while leaving the rest of the
greenery on her plate. The small portion of steak received a lick and then a
frown before getting pushed aside. Prime steak wasted since no one wanted it
after her visible actions at the table.

He shook his head
wishing he could call his twin and ask if the kid’s behavior was normal but the
first hint of a woman in his house would bring Eden racing to his doorstep. Vik
and Striker stood after eating and headed back to his basement to wait for him
to join them.

Olivia stood and
watched him, her daughter’s hand clasped in hers. Shane tossed the dish towel
over his shoulder, crossed his legs at the ankle and stared while waiting for
her to speak. Her face was easy to read. She obviously planned on avoiding him
later. He couldn’t catch her eyes one single time during the meal.

“I’m going to get
Chloe settled for bed.”

“Sure but don’t
think we won’t finish.” He quirked a brow in her direction.

She avoided his
eyes. “I can’t talk about it right now.”

As if he was stupid
enough to talk about sex in front of her child. “I’ll be downstairs with
Striker and Vik. They’re close to tracking down the men who chased you at the
hotel. You’re sure they were the same ones from the store?”

That brought her
head back in his direction. “Yes. Do I need to do anything?”

Shane shook his
head. He didn’t want her involved any more than necessary. “No, just keep your
cell close and let me know if you get any more texts or voicemail.”

“Okay.”

Shane was grateful
he’d managed to slip Olivia’s phone back in her hand bag earlier though he
cursed the fact she didn’t have his number programmed in it. If she’d gone
alone there would have been no way to contact her or for her to call for help.
A rookie mistake he shouldn’t have made. All of his numbers were in her
contacts now.

Her presence in
Virginia no longer remained a secret. Shane expected another attempt for Olivia
but he’d be waiting.

“I mean it, Olivia.
Tell me right away.”

“Yes, I will.” Anger
brought color to her cheeks and she tugged on Chloe’s hand to leave the
kitchen.

Chloe paused by
Shane and reached out with one arm to squeeze his lower leg. “Night, night.”
She gave him a sharp nod and waited.

Olivia blew out a
breath at the delay but didn’t rush her daughter. Shane bit back a grin. Her
love for Chloe was tangible. He met Chloe’s eyes and nodded smartly back. Her
pleased smile warmed his heart and he reached up to massage his chest. Maybe
his sister had it right. The innocence of children put everything into
perspective.

After they went up,
Shane joined his men in the basement. Vik rocked in Shane’s chair twirling his
favorite blade through his fingers. The motion increased until the knife danced
between his fingers. Vik’s reputation for handling all sorts of blades remained
legendary. Not one single nick marred his fingers and Shane found Vik doing the
twirling trick more times than he could count when they had nothing to do but
wait.

Striker used another
chair to sit at Shane’s desk, the multiple screens lit up with data. If Vik
claimed sharp object champion that made Striker the techno genius. The bald Marine
handled all electronics like they talked to him.

“Any luck?” Shane
asked. He needed to track down the two men immediately. He allowed himself to
become lax in his vigilance. As a result, Olivia paid the price. No more.

“Petty stuff. Minor
thugs,” Striker mumbled, head down. “Haynes and Baldwin are sloppy. More and
more clients refusing to deal with them. They’re desperate for work and this
O’Donnell contract is big money for them.”

More than likely
they were the men who’d chased Olivia to the hotel she’d hidden at the first
time she’d run in fear. “Any idea on the instructions?”

Vik slammed his
knife back in its sheath. “Detain and question.” His lip curled in disgust.

Shane understood
Vik’s feelings and agreed. All of them knew hiring mercenaries ran the risk of
the subject getting hurt. “They have to be staying somewhere close. Not
Harmony.” The small town made hiding difficult and represented one of the many
reasons Shane liked living here.

Striker spun in his
chair. “They flew into Baltimore-Washington International overnight. No hotel
records reflecting new check-ins in the surrounding area.”

Shane crossed his
arms over his chest and bowed his head thinking. “Check big cities nearby.
Baltimore, Alexandria as far down as Richmond. If they move to Harmony, Aidan
will call me instantly.”

Striker raised his
scarred brow. “The sheriff is cool?”

Shane nodded. “As
ice. Former Ranger.”

“Good enough for
me.”

Shane eyed the
frogman. “Same here.” Vik’s allegiance belonged to Navy all the way as a SEAL
but he respected members of the other elite special ops. Time with Shane’s
Delta Force team instilled all of his men with an equal air of trust for the
brotherhood though they razzed each other often enough for their various
military backgrounds.

“What else you got?”
Shane stood behind Striker’s chair looking for anything of interest. He noticed
the next bit of information at the same time as Striker.

“Fuck.” Striker
voiced Shane’s thoughts exactly.

Vik got up and came
over to read. His low whistle filled the basement. “Haynes and Baldwin setup
the bus bombing. Wonder how they got the poor schmuck to volunteer for a
suicide mission.”

Shane frowned.
“Probably didn’t tell him that exactly.” Bank records scrolled up, the
transactions clear for anyone to see. A hefty deposit for five grand placed in
the account minutes after the bombing. “But it’s more likely he didn’t expect
the guy at the cart to return the briefcase putting him in such close proximity
of the blast. I need to get a hold of Aidan with this.”

“Your bigger issue
is how the woman upstairs handles knowing her ex-husband tried to kill them,”
Vik murmured leaning forward and tapping something on the screen. “He tracked
her phone the moment she started running and knew when she entered the bus
station.”

“Then they know the
location of my house.” That was a given and her location hadn’t changed much in
the last few hours. “He’s been on her ass from the second she left.” Shane
dialed Aidan’s cell and cursed when the call flipped to voicemail. He left a
quick message about this new development.

Striker and Vik both
watched him but it was Vik who asked the question burning in their mind. “How
do you want us to handle?”

Shane tapped his
cell phone against his thigh. “Neither leave the house unaccompanied. One of us
is with them at all times. The security around the house is tight.” He’d
installed the top of the line system himself.

Vik’s eyes gleamed.
“Do you want one of us in the room with them at night, too?”

Shane rolled his
eyes. “If the bastard gets in the house we better all three be dead or out for
the count.”

They nodded and
Shane practiced his deep breathing to key down his volatile feelings.

“Let’s call it a
night and do a sit-rep in the morning.”

Both agreed and got
to their feet. They’d travelled several hours each to get to Shane and planned
most of the day. Nothing compared to the intensity of a mission in the field
and Shane knew for fact they could go for hours longer. Fortunately they
weren’t required to prove their training tonight and Shane’s body eagerly
twitched at the chance to return to the softness of Olivia’s body.

“Where you want us?”
Vik asked, hiking his duffel on his shoulder.

“Take Liam’s room.”
Shane smirked and even Striker paused.

“You’re shitting me.
Those are twin beds.” The look in Vik’s eyes portrayed horror.

“I’m working on the
extra room, Olivia and Chloe are using my sister’s but my mom’s room is free.”

Striker shuddered
and Shane laughed out right. His mom’s room gave new meaning to fluff. The room
had all white furniture and an all white décor. According to Eden who’d worked
on it, his mom dreamed of a room like it.

Shane wondered why
his mom’s room at her house looked normal but he got stuck with the cloud room
he feared dirtying with so much as a fingerprint.

“Shit,” Vik groaned
and trudged up the stairs.