The Mane Event

  “I’m…I’m here for your tutoring session,” she stammered out, and all Brendon could do was lean against the door, staring down at her. She glanced up at him. “Ain’t ya gonna let me in? My momma will be real mad if I ain’t back in an hour.” Her accent was thicker, her voice a little higher and insecure sounding.

  She wanted to play to get his mind off his brother, and he was more than happy to oblige.

  “Guess you better get in here then.” He stepped back from the door and she walked in, doing her best not to brush up against him.

  “Wanna beer,” he offered, making sure to slam the door behind her.

  She jumped and turned around. “Uh…no. No. That’s okay.”

  “You sure? Might loosen you up.”

  “I don’t need loosening up, Brendon Shaw. I need to get this trig down your throat, so I can go home for dinner.” She stormed over to the living room and slammed the books down on his coffee table, then sat primly on the edge of his couch. “I’m just doing this cause Coach Wilson asked me to.”

  “Makes sense. You being president of the math club and all.”

  Brendon sat down on the couch next to her. “So tell me, Ronnie Lee, why don’t you like me?”

  “Don’t like you? Who said I didn’t like you?”

  “You do, pretty much. You never say hi to me or sit next to me in history class.” He brushed the hair falling from her ponytail off her neck. “You look right through me.”

  Her eyes closed when his fingers touched her throat, and a small shudder rippled through her body. “That’s…that’s not true. I just…we don’t…” She shook her head. “I can’t think when you’re doing that.”

  “Doing what?” he softly demanded as he kissed her neck again. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “We need to study.”

  “Study later. I need you to reassure me now.”

  “Reassure you?”

  “Tell me you like me, Ronnie Lee.” He nipped her neck. “Even better…show me.”

  Ronnie’s eyes crossed and she clenched her knees together. She thought she’d have to drag Brendon Shaw into this little role-playing thing. Not a lot of males, human or shifter, were real comfortable with it. Or they did it wrong. Diving right for the good stuff and not even bothering with the little scene she’d created.

  Not Brendon. She could easily imagine him as head of some Texas high school football team, luring young girls to the death of their virginity. As much as she was ready to straddle him and fuck him into oblivion, she had no problems extending the game a wee bit more. How often would she get someone worthy of the effort?

  “You stop that right now, Brendon Shaw! I’m not like those slutty cheerleaders.” She slapped her hand against his face to push him back and squealed when his tongue licked her palm. “I…I’m a good girl.”

  “You don’t have to be, Ronnie Lee.” One of his big hands cupped her breast, the thumb teasing her nipple. “Let me show you how much fun it is to be bad every once in a while.”

  “I…I can’t. It’s wrong. What if my momma finds out? Or the preacher? They’ll see it on my face. I know they will and I’ll burn in hell.”

  With him kissing her neck and massaging her breasts, it took Ronnie a good thirty seconds to realize Shaw had slowly pushed her onto her back.

  “No one will know, Ronnie Lee. I promise.”

  “You’ll tell everybody.”

  “I won’t. I know what your daddy will do to me if he finds out.” He unbuttoned her blouse in record time, slipping it off her shoulders. “It’ll be our little secret, Ronnie Lee. Yours and mine.”

  Brendon’s big hands slid under her skirt and took hold of the plain white cotton panties she had to dig through her entire suitcase to find. She always made sure to keep a pair with her, and she’d never been so grateful before.

  “But…I’ve never done it before.”

  He slid the panties down her legs. “Not ever?”

  “No. Not ever.”

  “I’ll be your first?”

  She gave a shy nod. Amazing, since she’d never been shy a day in her life. Even when she had lost her virginity.

  “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

  She thought Brendon would just get on top of her and go for it, not that she minded, but he didn’t. He played the game of the only-slightly bad boy next door. He rested on his side, staring down at her, his head propped up by one arm.

  “Since this is your first time, we’ve gotta take this slow. I can’t rush you or I’ll hurt you.”

  Oh man.

  “And I don’t wanna hurt you, Ronnie Lee.”

  “Okay.”

  The fingers of his free hand slid down her chest, stopping briefly to unhook the front clasp of her bra and gently cup and squeeze her breasts. Then his hand continued its journey down her body until it reached her legs, slid back up her thighs, and under her skirt. The only thing, besides her white Keds, she still had on.

  He slid one finger inside her, and Ronnie’s eyes closed.

  “No, baby. I want you to look at me. I need to know if I’m hurting you.”

  Oh Lord. The man is good!

  Slowly, shyly, Ronnie opened her eyes.

  “Good girl. Now tell me if this hurts.” His index finger slowly pumped inside her, going in only so much like there was a hymen actually left to break. Normally this wouldn’t do much for her, but the way Shaw watched her and made her watch him, while still keeping their little game going, had her arching into his hand. “You like that?”

  She gave a shy nod and fought her desire to tackle the man onto his back and take him by force.

  “How about this?” His middle finger joined his index, still moving slowly and carefully inside her. “Does that feel good?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good.” He settled himself comfortably on the couch, his head still resting in the palm of his hand.

  The entire room filled with the sound of their heavy breathing and his fingers stroking inside her, all that wetness making squishy sounds that might have embarrassed a lesser female.

  “Now I’m going to try something else, Ronnie Lee. You might get a little scared at first, but what you’re feeling is completely normal. Okay?”

  She nodded and grabbed hold of his shoulders when his thumb brushed against her clit. Her legs moved restlessly over his couch and her breathing turned into hard pants.

  “That’s right, baby. Just go with it.” Shaw watched her with wild eyes, like he couldn’t wait to see her come. Merely the out-of-control high school quarterback triumphant over making the uptight math wiz come all over his hand? Nah. Ronnie knew better. Shaw simply liked to get women off. A rare and mighty attractive trait in a male.

  His thumb pushed hard against her clit and moved in circles. Ronnie couldn’t hold back anymore. Her body bowed, her head thrown back, glasses flying across the room. She vaguely heard them slide across his hardwood floor, then she came. The power of it exploding through her, her fingers digging into Shaw’s shoulders as she rode his hand.

  By the time she floated back to the here and now, Shaw had his clothes off and a condom on, probably from the box he’d picked up earlier at a little drugstore.

  She knew he really liked her skirt when he still didn’t take it off—merely lifted it out of the way—while settling between her thighs.

  “You ready for me, Ronnie Lee?” he demanded between deep kisses.

  Ronnie could only nod. She didn’t want to say anything stupid. Like “marry me.” She didn’t want to fall for this guy, but how could she not? Sure, he was great in bed, but hell, so were a lot of guys. No, Brendon Shaw was a full-fledged, honest-to-God sweetheart with a wicked sense of humor.

  And he liked her. He didn’t just lust for her, he liked her. She could tell. She’d known enough men to know when they only wanted a woman for sex and when they liked her.

  And she liked him. A lot.

  His hands gripped her hips, raising them
a bit. “It’ll hurt a little at first,” he whispered in her ear. “But then I promise it’ll get better.”

  She grinned, loving the fact he was still rolling with the game.

  “Will it be like what just happened?” she panted, loving the feel of his cock sliding inside her.

  “Better, baby,” he groaned desperately in her ear. “Christ, so much better.”

  “Brendon Shaw, you do not know how to share.”

  Brendon looked up from the glass of cold milk he’d just dunked his Oreo cookie into. “Hello? Male lion. Duh.”

  After more than an hour on his couch, they’d somehow ended up stomach-down on his living room floor with a hell of a lot of junk food. But apparently they both favored the chocolate cookies with the creamy center. Too bad for Ronnie there was only one bag.

  Determined, Ronnie reached for another cookie and Brendon pulled the bag back, closer to his body. Ronnie snarled and Brendon roared back.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You roared at me?”

  “And I’ll do it again if you can’t keep your paws off my Oreos.”

  She moved fast, he’d definitely give her that, landing on his back before he could even blink. Couldn’t say he really minded, though. With both of them being naked, it felt really nice to have her wiggling around back there.

  “Give me that cookie!”

  “Get your own, scavenger.”

  Ronnie gasped in outrage and gripped his earlobe with her teeth while her hand reached out and made a wild grab for his cookie.

  “Get those fangs off me, woman.”

  “Start sharing,” she demanded between teeth firmly clenched on his ear.

  “I don’t share.” She bit down harder at his statement. “Ow! Okay. Okay! You can have a little nibble.”

  “I want the whole cookie, cat.” She released his ear and reached over, snatching it out of his hand.

  He flipped onto his back, grabbing hold of her hips before she could wiggle away from him. Realizing he had her, she shoved the entire cookie into her mouth and grinned around it.

  “I can’t believe you stole my cookie.”

  She chewed a bit and stuck her tongue out, showing crumbled, spit-covered cookie and cream.

  “Oh, very nice.”

  “Come on, Shaw. Kiss me.”

  “No way.” He turned his face away and she landed a crumb-covered kiss on his cheek.

  She swallowed and sighed in pleasure. “That was the best cookie I ever had.”

  “I bet.”

  “Don’t be jealous.”

  “I’m not. I just think it’s sad we’re fighting over one cookie and I’ve got a whole package of them right there.”

  “Oh. You do.”

  Ronnie made a move for the cookies, but he held her back.

  “I want another cookie. Now!”

  “Okay. On one condition.”

  She leaned back and stared down at him. “This doesn’t involve me wearing a full nurse’s uniform with spiked heels, does it?”

  “Not tonight, no.”

  “Latex? Furry handcuffs? Entertainment involving me, a vibrator, and—”

  “Please stop.” Brendon ordered his cock to behave and it pretty much laughed at him. “Those things will be for later.” Maybe even tonight if he could track down the nurse’s uniform. “Right now, I want you to promise me something.”

  “What?”

  He had to proceed cautiously here. “If you have to leave for any length of…uh…time, you’ll let me know.”

  She reared back, and if he hadn’t had a firm hold of her, she probably would have bolted. “That sounds like a commitment.”

  “No, no,” he said quickly, already smelling her panic. “Not a commitment. A courtesy. That’s all. The polite thing to do.” Southerners, from what he could tell, were big on courtesy and politeness. “You wouldn’t want me to worry if you and Sissy Mae are only off shopping, would you? Especially with all this stuff going on with my brother.”

  “You’re not asking me to stay forever, are you?”

  “Nope. Just let me know when you’re heading off somewhere.” That way if she’s leaving him, he can convince her to stay forever.

  He could be very persuasive when the situation called for it.

  “This is so you won’t worry, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Not because you’re expecting me to settle down with you or anything.”

  “Never,” he lied. Unfortunately, there were times when a man needed to lie to his woman. The wild look of panic in her eyes…lying was very important at the moment. He needed to lure her over before he pounced and made Ronnie his forever.

  “Okay. That I’ll agree to. And just that,” she tacked on with a large amount of unnecessary vehemence.

  “Perfect.”

  “Are we now done with this frightening conversation?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I want more cookies.”

  “Get your own damn cookies.”

  “Give me those cookies or I’ll kick your Yankee ass.”

  Laughing, his hands sliding along her naked body, “You know there are much nicer ways of getting me to give you those cookies.”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “You’re right.”

  Before Brendon could move, Ronnie pulled out of his arms and turned to face away from him.

  “Ronnie, what are you—”

  Suddenly he had a face full of her pussy and Ronnie’s mouth around his cock. She sucked, causing his eyes to roll back into his head, then wiggled her ass a bit.

  “Get to work, hoss,” she said after releasing him with a wonderful pop sound. “We get done here, we can tussle over the cookies some more.”

  Brendon gripped her hips and pulled her lower. “You know, sexy,” he sighed before taking her to heaven, “I love tussling with you.”

  Ronnie groaned deep and long when he pushed his tongue inside her. “Me too, hoss,” she panted out. “Lord in heaven, me too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ronnie was kind of surprised she could walk at all as she made her way out into Shaw’s living room. Room service had already delivered a huge breakfast, and tightening the belt around her Kingston Arms robe, she sat at the table across from Shaw. He had the Wall Street Journal in front of his face, and there was something amazingly domestic about it all. It shocked her she still hadn’t made a run for it. She would have before.

  Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she checked under the silver covers keeping the food either hot or cold.

  When Ronnie found a big bowl of plain yogurt under one of those covers, she nearly squealed. Tossing some fresh fruit over the yogurt, she picked up the bowl and spoon and sat down in the chair. She’d finished off half the bowl by the time Shaw lowered his paper and looked at her.

  Raising one eyebrow, “You didn’t think to offer me any?”

  Ronnie shook her head. “Nope.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you, kings of the jungle eat first.”

  “And She-wolves love to chase cats into trees, then laugh and laugh. So don’t push me.”

  Grinning, he picked up a slice of thick-cut bacon. “So what do you want to do today?”

  “Don’t you have to work or something?”

  “I am working. I’m staying out of my staff’s way. They love when I do that.”

  “You’re one of those nitpicky bosses, aren’t you?”

  “Damn right I am. I know what I want. I won’t take any less.”

  She refused to comment on that one. Not when he had that intense look again with those gold eyes locking on her.

  “Do you like museums?” he asked. “We can check out a few. Then I can fuck you in the Guggenheim bathroom.”

  “Such respect for the artists.”

  “I try.” He stared at her. “You look good in my robe, sexy.”

  “Thank you kindly.”

  “Open it.”

  She hid her smile by shoveling a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth. “I??
?m eating,” she said around her food.

  He rested his elbow on the table, his chin in the palm of his hand. “Open the robe, Ronnie Lee.”

  With an annoyed sniff that even she didn’t buy, she put her nearly empty bowl on the table and loosened up the belt at her waist. Keeping her eyes on him, Ronnie pulled the robe down over her shoulders and licked her lips. “Like this?”

  Brendon growled and she thought he’d come over the table for her when his cell phone went off. His growl turned into a snarl, and he snatched his cell phone off the table. “What?”

  He glanced at her and Ronnie opened the robe completely, arching her back. His eyes locked on her breasts and he gave a small whimper. He frowned. “Mace who?”

  She covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

  Brendon flinched. “Oh. Llewellyn. Yeah. What’s up?”

  Ronnie watched the humor go out of his eyes. “You can’t tell me over the phone? Yeah. Okay. Okay. One o’clock. I’ll be there.” He sighed and disconnected.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Mace needs to see me. Has information on my brother.”

  Ronnie stood up, pulling the robe back on. “Come on.” She stepped over to him and held her hand out. “Let’s get showered and dressed. Once you’re done, we can still do that museum thing if you want.” Although she doubted that would be happening, she wanted to act as positive as possible. But if Mace didn’t have bad news, he would have told Shaw over the phone.

  “You don’t have to go.”

  “Do you want me to go?”

  He didn’t answer at first, staring at the table. Finally, he slipped his hand into hers. “Yes. I want you to go.” He let out another sigh and allowed her to pull him out of the chair. “I’ll need you to keep me from beating the shit out of Mitch. Who knows what the little idiot has gotten himself into now.”

  Brendon stared blindly while they chatted around him. He stared blindly at the corkboard with its pictures and diagrams. He stared and stared and stared, not sure what he was actually seeing. Realizing he knew nothing about his own blood. His own brother.