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“Lia, this is a mistake. I shouldn’t have kissed you that night. Rafe’s my best friend. I don’t know how it happened. ”
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Shane. I can kiss guys all I want without my big brother’s permission. As a matter of fact, I can even have sex with them, too if I want,” she said boldly, making Shane want to punch a wall. He didn’t even want to think about Lia ha**ng s*x – unless it was with him.
“If you’re trying to get a reaction, you are doing a damn fine job – and you’re not going to like the results,” he threatened.
“A reaction? Oh, that couldn’t possibly happen. There can be nothing but stiff formality and indifferent looks from the mighty Shane. You know what? I don’t care. I think I’ll just head to the bar and pick up someone who isn’t ashamed to look at me,” she stormed as she turned away.
Like hell she would!
Frustration taking over his good sense, Shane gripped Lia’s arm and swung her back around to face him. The surprise in her eyes was quickly overtaken by desire as he pulled her up against him. Knowing it was a mistake, but still not managing to stop, Shane gripped her head while he captured her lips.
All thoughts fled as he tasted her sweet mouth. There was no slow exploration. He felt like a starving man finally finding food. Pushing Lia up against the wall, pinning her body with his own, his hand moved down her neck, then roamed the front of her shirt while he consumed her mouth.
When she cried out as his hand brushed her breast, his body went solid and he pressed his arousal against her, trying to seek relief.
She greedily accepted all he was giving, encouraging him to take her right there. His hand slid beneath her shirt as he reached for her bra. He needed to feel her bare skin.
“Well, isn’t this interesting? I can see there’s nothing going on between the two of you. ”
Shane froze at the sound of Rachel’s voice. He pulled back from a very flushed Lia, horrified at how he’d been violating her in public.
“I’m sorry,” he said before turning and making a quick exit from the back hall of the restaurant.
“That is one great bathroom break,” was the last thing he heard Rachel say as he went straight outside. He’d call Rafe later and make up an excuse of why he’d had to cut out early. Rafe would take one look at him right now and have no doubt about what he’d just been up to.
Guilt ate him as he hailed a cab and fled the scene. When his phone rang five minutes later, he ignored it. He knew he’d have to face the music sooner or later, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet. Rafe was his best friend – his family. If he lost that friendship, he didn’t know what he’d do.
The situation was impossible because the bottom line was that even fleeing to a third world country hadn’t rid his mind of Lia. He was falling hard for her, and he knew a relationship with her was impossible.
In the long run, he knew he’d just hurt her because he wasn’t capable of having a long-term relationship. An affair with her wasn’t worth losing his best friend. Now, if only he could convince certain parts of his anatomy of that, he’d be just fine.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“If you don’t get a wheelchair and take me to see my daughter right now, I swear I’ll find a sharp object and the first person who touches me gets stabbed through the eye. ”
“It’s okay, Ms. Harlow, I’ll take you to see Ari. ”
Rafe couldn’t hide his smile of amusement as Ari’s tiny mother threatened the two-hundred pound orderly. What was even more comical was the fact that the large man actually looked intimidated.
“Finally, somebody’s saying what I want to hear,” she snapped as she started shifting her legs over the side of the bed.
“Let me help you so you can save your energy for as much visiting time as possible with Ari. She too has been threatening the hospital staff the last few days. I can see where she gets her temper. ”
“I’m very happy that you’re taking me to see my daughter, but don’t push your luck. My body hurts like the dickens, my baby girl has been shot, and these moron doctors keep telling me I need to stay in bed for my own good. I have no room left for anyone humoring me. I want my daughter, and I want her now!” Sandra stated as she held Rafe’s gaze.
He admired Sandra – and that was a problem. She was a lot like his own mother and he had no doubt she’d follow through on her threat if she didn’t get what she wanted, just like he knew that his mom would slice anyone in half who stood between her and her children.