“Severance does not a career make,” I say, grabbing my coffee as it’s set on the counter. “I need to get back to work.” I try to step around him.
He is quickly in front of me again. “You aren’t staying, Emily.”
“Yes,” I reply firmly. “I am.”
His eyes glint, and I see the obstinate determination in his stare even before he declares, “You have until the end of day and then I will ensure you’re gone.” He turns and leaves, and anger surges through me. He will ensure I’m gone? He is being so unfair and I can’t believe I thought I could love that man.
“Wow,” Jessica says, joining me. “You’re trembling, honey.” She reaches for my cup. “Let me hold that. What happened?”
“I’ll let you know when it’s over,” I say, taking off after Shane, my steps fast, but not fast enough. I round the corner to the bank of elevators at the same moment he steps into a car. I will never make before it leaves.
Another elevator opens and I step inside, facing forward. Jessica joins me. “What are you about to do? And is it smart?” she demands, punching the button to our floor.
“Very and don’t even think about taking his side right now.”
“Easy, honey,” she says, holding up her hands, and she obviously opted to leave our coffees behind. “I just think you should know that he was protecting you. There’s something nasty going on in this company.”
“You have no idea what has happened between us, so please don’t try to make this about whatever is happening in the company.”
“Oh shit. What did he do?”
The elevator opens and I don’t even consider answering her, exiting in time to spot Shane in the lobby moments before I myself am there too. He cuts down his hallway and I pursue him, my heart in my throat, a cocktail of adrenaline and anger driving my every step. I round the corner and have a brief moment of hesitation when I spy Derek’s door open, but it’s so very brief, my focus on Shane and Shane alone, who is now entering his office. I’m there as his door shuts. Not even bothering to knock, I open the door and enter.
He turns at the sound of my entry, and I shut us inside to face off with him. “You don’t get to fuck me and then do this to me. I need this job. I need the money. I need the security. I need it.”
I blink and he’s pressing me against the door, his big body framing mine, and I shove against him with all my force. “Get off me. You don’t get to bully me, yet again.” He doesn’t budge, in fact, he ups his bully ranking by snagging my wrists. “Damn it. Let go, Shane.”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down?” I demand. “Do you know what saying ‘calm down’ does to a woman? It makes her not calm down. Back the fuck off, Shane.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“Yeah. I saw that last night, but it doesn’t matter. I’m a grown adult. I don’t need you to get rid of me because you fucked me.”
“You think this is about fucking someone else?”
“I don’t care, Shane. I just want to go back to my desk and do my job.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
The absoluteness in his voice slams into me and desperateness, mixed with the tornado of emotions I’d battled all night, and thought I’d defeated, spurs me on. “Don’t do this to me. This job is all I have right now.”
“Emily,” he breathes out, his expression and grip on my wrists softening. “Sweetheart.”
The endearment punches me in the gut. “Please don’t call me that.”
He looks at the ceiling, seeming to battle within himself, before he levels me with a turbulent stare, his hands settling on my arms. “I didn’t sleep with that woman.”
The lie ignites my anger all over again. “You smelled like her,” I hiss, tugging against his hold. “Stop bullying me.”
“Lana’s a user and manipulator. I didn’t expect her last night. She just showed up unannounced.”
“And you let her up.”
“Seth was with me. She works at BP and had information I needed about a problem there.”
“You smelled like her,” I repeat, rejecting his tidy little explanation.
“She refused to share the information with me if Seth didn’t leave, and yes, she pressed herself against me and yes, I knew her in college.”
“Fucked her in college.”
“Yes. I did and I won’t lie to you. For a moment, the briefest of moments, I thought—she’s what I deserve, and you were too good for me, and this screwed-up life I’m living. But even knowing that didn’t matter. She wasn’t you, and you are who I want. You, Emily.” His hands settle on my waist, heating my skin through my clothes. “Just you.”
“You really didn’t…”
“No. I didn’t and Lord help any man who tries to touch you.”
I search his face, and he doesn’t look away, or hide the truth in his eyes. I believe him but that doesn’t erase the pain of last night. “Do you know what you did to me? Why wouldn’t you just tell me last night?”
“Because what she shared with me was bad. Criminal, even. The kind of thing that gets people killed and I saw your anger as the way to ensure you stayed away until I fixed this.”
“I already told you I’d quit.”
“And then left that note on my window that made me need to see you, and touch you. I wasn’t going to stay away from you.”
My fingers curl on his chest where they’ve landed. “So you hurt me,” I say, my throat thick with emotion.
“Yes. So I hurt you.”
“That was really shitty, Shane.”
“Why do you think I ran ten miles this morning after pacing my apartment all night? I’m sorry. More than you can possibly know.” He cups my face. “Forgive me.”
“I’m going to, but I’m still too angry to do it right this moment.”
“Stay with me tonight.”
“As long as you understand that I’m staying here too. I’m keeping my job.”
“We’ll talk about it tonight.”
“No. We won’t.”
His hands drop from my face, and he leans in, pressing his cheek to mine, to murmur, “Do you know how badly I want to be inside you right now?” His hands settle over my ribs, his thumbs tracing the lower line of my breasts, tightening my nipples and sending shivers down my spine.
“Tonight,” I say, catching his hands and leaning back to look at him. “But I’m still keeping my job.”
The intercom buzzes and Jessica clears her throat and says, “Shane, sorry, but the realtor is here with the paperwork for the apartment.”
He curses softly and pulls back, calling out, “Tell him I’ll be right there.” He refocuses on me. “Tonight.”
“Yes. Tonight.”
He leans in to kiss me, and I say, “Wait. I have on that lipstick that—”
His mouth comes down on mine, his tongue stroking deeply, and I forget the lipstick, and that Lana woman, and Rick, and everything else. I lean into him, kissing him back, this man who has become so much to me in such a short time. Every lick of his tongue is a promise of more, and I’m not sure it will ever be enough. Too soon it seems, our lips part, reality returning with his murmur of, “Tonight.”
“Yes,” I say. “Tonight.”
He releases me then, reaching for the door and opening it, and I laugh at the sight of my pink lipstick on his mouth. “Pink really is your color,” I say, before darting away, his low, sexy laughter following me to the edge of Jessica’s desk.
Jessica grins at my smile and winks as I pass, but it’s a short-lived, wonderful moment that ends as Derek steps to his doorway, his stare heavy as it falls on me. I have no choice but to move forward to the hallway that leads to the lobby, leaving me no escape from his attention, until suddenly his gaze lifts above my head. I cut left and pause, turning back to peek around the corner to find Shane and Derek staring each other down, hate etching the air and stealing my breath. They are enemies and it delivers a blade of reality I have yet to face. Blood doe
sn’t mean loyalty, and that’s what I’ve been counting on to save me.
SHANE
It’s nearly eight when I finish an off-site meeting about a trademark dispute and send a car to pick up Emily at her apartment. I arrive at the apartment before her, removing my jacket and tie before filling a glass with whiskey and stepping onto the balcony and finding the railing. I stare out at the city, the past twenty-four hours and all the revelations made heavy on my mind, with no movement on resolution. But nothing weighs as heavily on me as last night with Emily. Regret doesn’t begin to describe what I’d felt when I’d seen the pain in Emily’s eyes over what she thought was my betrayal. Nor does fear begin to describe what I feel when I think of her becoming a target for Derek or the Martina cartel either.
The door opens and I turn in anticipation of her presence, and when she steps into the open doorway, her long hair silky over her shoulders, that unnamed emotion she always makes me feel forms a name.
Love.
I’m falling in love with her and while that’s damn good for me, I’m still not convinced it’s good for her.
I motion her forward and meet her in the middle of the patio, directly under a light. I set my drink on the table next to us, my hands settling on her waist. “Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” she says, that sweet shyness she seduces me with clear and present.
“I have something for you.” I look up, and her chin lifts, laughter bubbling from her lips as she spies the bra hanging there.
“Oh my God, Shane. Why is it still there and how did it get up there?”
“I have no clue how we managed that. Maybe I have a ghost.”
“A ghost,” she laughs. “Who puts bras on lights?”
“Maybe it has a sense of humor,” I offer.
“Why didn’t you take it down?”
“It’s my prize,” I say, my voice roughening with the rise of my desire. “Like you.”
“Shane,” she whispers, the air thickening around us.
I lean in to kiss her and the doorbell rings. “That can only be Seth. He’s the only person with the code.” I lean back and stroke her hair. “Sorry, sweetheart, but with some of the things going on, I have to let him in.”
“Of course,” she says. “I’ll be out here.”
I give her a nod and I head inside, crossing to the door and opening it, bringing Seth into view, the hard lines of his face telling me something is wrong. “Are you alone?” he asks.
“Emily’s on the patio.”
He lifts the folder in his hand and then sets it on the counter. “All the more reason you need to see this.”
A bad feeling rolls through me and I step back, allowing him to enter, and we convene in the kitchen at the island. He sets the folder in front of me. I flip it open and stare down at a photo of Emily. “What is this?”
“I had her checked out and yes, her identity checks out, but it’s a shell created by a hacker. The kind of shell that’s created when someone is hiding who they really are. Witness protection, criminal, or undercover agents.” He tosses an envelope on the counter. “I found that in her desk. It’s a compilation of information ranging from bank accounts to investors.”
“Holy fuck. You think she’s setting us up.”
“I don’t have a clue, but you better find out and now. And because I’m thorough, I checked her fingerprints, too. There not on file.”
The idea of Emily’s betrayal slices through me, a wicked blade that is unforgiving. “Leave,” I order.
He gives an incline of his head and disappears, and I press my hands to the counter, letting my head dip low, my mother’s words coming back to me. Once someone is in your bed, they’re dangerously close to you. Watch your back with that woman.
“Shane.”
At the sound of Emily’s voice, I inhale and push off the counter, turning to find her standing in front of me. “It’s time for some rules,” I say.
“Rules?” she asks, her voice quavering. “What rules?”
I grab her and turn us both, pressing her against the counter, my hands caging her in. “Hard rules. And hard rule number one is, no more lies.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Hello readers!
Remember that super sexy balcony scene where Emily is pressed to the glass enclosed railing, afraid she will fall, but Shane manages to make her forget everything but HIM?! Well, I’m excited to share what was going on in her mind while Shane was pushing her limits and claiming more than her pleasure. This was when he started to claim her heart.
I hope you enjoy!
XOXO,
Lisa
EMILY
Shane’s eyes glint with satisfaction at my agreement but he doesn’t release me. Instead, he spreads my arms until they align with the railing, his body draped over mine and my nipples rasping against the starched material of his shirt. He lingers there, pressed against me, his teeth scraping my shoulder. Tiny darts of pleasure shoot down my arm, intensified when he licks the offended area. I shut my eyes with the impact of a breeze rushing over me, and while it is chilly, it does nothing to cool all the places he’s made hot.
His lips travel over the skin his teeth and tongue have already visited, to my neck, my jaw, and then settling a breath from my mouth, his breath a warm fan promising me a kiss he does not deliver. He lingers right there, teasing me, driving me crazy, his hands flexing over mine, as if in warning. A beat later, he releases them and me, putting a step between us, and leaving me free to let go of the railing, and I almost do but his withdrawal seems to be a message. He won’t touch me if I let go of the railing. My grip tightens on the steel beneath my palm, holding on the way I want him to hold on to me.
“Close your eyes,” he orders.
I blanch, already feeling exposed and vulnerable. “What?”
“Close your eyes, Emily.”
This time it’s a command and I have no idea why, but I not only willingly take the order, I’m wet and achy, and I want this man more than I have ever wanted anyone. My reward is the very thing I want most. Him touching me, anywhere, everywhere, and for now that means his hands cradling my neck. “Don’t open them or—”
“You’ll stop what you’re doing,” I supply.
His breath fans over my ear. “I’m glad you understand.”
“You haven’t done anything to stop yet so I feel—”
He kisses me, a lush slide of his tongue against mine gone too soon. “You feel what?”
“Like I want you to kiss me again.”
“Not yet,” he says, and like his mouth, his hands are once again gone, but I can feel him close. I can feel him everywhere and nowhere. I know he is a lean away, a reach of my hands that might as well be bound. But then, I wouldn’t choose to give him control and I think … I think he is all about choices. I think I’ve given him more control than I’ve ever given anyone.
The air shifts abruptly and I know he is no longer as close as he was moments before. I listen for movement, and there are random, barely there sounds but nothing I can place. Is he undressing? I hope. Maybe? An array of sensations roll through me. Nerves. Eagerness. Arousal. I can barely take it. “Shane.”
“Open your eyes.”
I blink my eyes open and he’s sitting in front of me on a chair. Another blink and he’s moved it, and himself, closer. “Don’t let go of the railing,” he warns and I’ve barely processed that order before he’s cupping my backside and dragging me to his lap to straddle him, the angle forcing me to lean into the glass wall behind me.
Fear rushes through me, my pulse all over the place. “Shane, damn it. What if the glass breaks?”
“Easy, sweetheart,” he murmurs, his hand flattening on my belly. “It’s reinforced and there’s horizontal steel bands supporting it. I have you and I won’t let you go. Relax.”
I inhale and try to calm my body. “You’re sure it won’t break?”
“One hundred percent.” He leans over me and kisses the spot between my breasts, cupping one
of them, and looks up at me, his eyes smoldering as he says, “Trust me.”
Trust. The word guts me and throws me back into a reality I don’t want to visit but he doesn’t let me stay there long. He fingers my nipples, sending a rush of sensation through my body with the delicate, sensual caresses that become rougher and rougher. I am panting again, conflicting pain and pleasure wreaking havoc on my body.
And his assault on my senses doesn’t stop there. His mouth is still between my breasts, tongue tracking toward my nipple. I arch into him, and on some level I know I’m increasing the pressure on the wall behind me, pressing harder, but I no longer seem to be capable of caring. His mouth closes around me and he suckles deeply, and at the same moment, his hand on my belly moves lower, his thumb stroking my clit. Every part of me is alive, aroused, and unaware of anything but what he is making me feel.
I am so on edge that I barely register the way he cups my backside and shifts our bodies. There is just the moment his mouth is in the most intimate part of me, closed around my nub, while his fingers slide inside me. And he is licking and teasing and I am … I am on the edge of that cliff where I want to be but don’t want to leave. But he pumps his fingers into me, and suckles me deeper and I can’t stop it. My body tightens and I can’t move or breathe. Another second and my sex clenches around his fingers, my body spasming with such intensity I’m quaking inside and out. I slip into a sweet, pleasure-laden oblivion that seems to last forever and yet not long enough.
The present comes back to me with several blinks, and Shane seems to know, his fingers sliding from inside me, leaving me aware of the angle of my body that traps me against the glass at my back. “Shane,” I whisper, a plea he answers by flattening his hand on my back and dragging me from the wall to sit fully on top of him.
He cups the back of my head, bringing my lips to his. “Now I taste like you,” he proclaims, his lips slanting over mine, the taste of him, of his desire, raw and ripe, but there is more. There is a salty sweet taste that is me, and I don’t expect it to turn me on, but it does, or he does. And the way my hands are on his shoulders, and his arms, and he isn’t stopping me, only drives my need to a whole new level.