Bodywork (24 page)

“What a strange, strange man. But nice.” She chuckled, recalling what she’d said about Shane
being
nice
. They had an encounter scheduled for later that night. She couldn’t wait to see him in
mean
mode.

*
*
*

Mac returned to work after ordering—
calling
—Maggie to meet him in his office. And again he
found himself waiting on the woman. Twenty minutes later, she
arrived wearing a sexy gray wool business suit, pink blouse, and high heels that made her look fragile, fuckable, and downright tempting.

“There’s that look again.
What did I do now?
” She huffed and threw herself into the seat across from his desk. She
raised her hands skyward and moaned, arching her neck, a
nd his blood pressure shot through the roof. If the woman had a lick of sense, she’d stop
enticing
him with
m
otions that brought attention to those surprisingly full breasts on such a petite frame. If he hadn’t heard her bitching about what a pain her breasts were to
one of the girls a few days ago and how she’d been thinking about having a reduction
—
God forbid
—
he’d have assumed they were fake.

Knowing they weren’t only whetted his appetite to see them up close, without the shirt and bra in the way.
He wondered what color her nipples would be. Rosy? Red? Maybe a peachy brown?

“Hello? Earth to Conan?”

He
forced himself to ignore his sexual fantasies and
growled, “Well,
Tinkerbelle
. We have a problem.”

“Oh boy. What now? I brought Shelby to the gym.”

“Gee, good work. Just a few weeks late.”

She rolled her eyes.

“The woman is seeing someone. And I have a feeling Shane is too.”

Maggie sat up straighter. “Think they’re seeing each other?”

“No way. I’d know if he was into her. We talked about her, but he’s not making a move. I think he’s up to something though.”

“Well, Shelby has been pretty quiet lately. We still get together on the weekends, but she’s been happier than I’ve seen her in a while. I have a feeling you may be right.”

“She flat out told me she had a guy on the sid
e, one who knows how to not be
nice
when it counts.” He snorted. “That’s not Shane. I love the guy, but he’s almost like a woman when it comes to sex and dating.”

She frowned. “
What exactly does that mean?”

“You know. He’s all about relationships and feelings.” Mac mad
e a face. “He’s way to Lifetime-
channel when it comes to broads.”

“Tell me you did not just say broads and mean that in reference to women.”

He grinned. “I did.” On purpose. He liked to tease her, because
her
eyes had a fire to them he liked seeing directed his way.

“You’re such a jerk, especially when you’re trying to be.” But her lips quirked. “Well, my best friend is like Shane. She doesn’t want to be, but she needs emotional stability.”

He groaned. “There you go with the touchy-feely bullshit again.”

“She and Shane sound perfect for each other. But I think Shelby needs to sow her oats. She was with Rick too long.”

From what Maggie had told him, t
he
guy sounded like a dickhead. “Great, but my boy needs her to break his dry spell. And no, I’m not just talking about sex,” he said before she could argue. “I think he really likes her. George sings her praises, you know. And Lorraine and Chad liked her a lot after what she did for
their youngest
. They’d love her.”

“Everyone loves Shelby but Shelby,” Maggie muttered.

He didn’t understand, exactly, so he asked her again, “So what do we do about this?”

“We?”

“Hey, I’m a
paying
client. But you have the inside track with your girl. Get her
to
notice Shane again, would you? I can show up someplace with him. We’ll get them together, then leave.”

“Us?”

He frowned. “Who the hell do you think I mean? You want Mimi or Ron to get involved?” The pair sounded like a trip, but Maggie
violently
shook her head
no
.

“
Remember
,
it was Mimi’s idea to grab a lock of hair from Shane’s brush. She planned to do something with it I’m better off not knowing.”

“
Oh, r
ight. And leaving this to George isn’t a question. He’s a great kid, but hell, he’s seventeen. His idea of foreplay is probably
taking the gum out of his mouth before he kisses his date.
”

She
laughed
. “That’s not fair. He’s cute.”

“Yeah, and he likes blondes. My advice? Don’t wear that purple getup around him again.”
She’d worn the sexiest shorts/tank outfit the other day at the gym, and his young friend had seen her in it and walked into a wall. It would have been funny if Mac hadn’t also
noticed
several of the male patrons eyeing her like a stick of candy. Friends of his who would like nothing better than to try Maggie on for size. The jealousy had stunned him, especially because it hadn’t gone away.

“What are you talking about?”

He cleared his throat. “
Let’s get back on track. One option we haven’t discussed
—
w
e could always leave Shane and Shelby alone, let them
fend for themselves. Maybe they’d get together on a date before they turned fifty
.”

They stared at each other.

“I didn’t think so.” Mac sighed. “They need our help. And hell, if it goes south after all our
efforts
, at least we tried.”

Maggie cocked her head and studied him.

“What?”

“You actually have a heart under all that bluster.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Hey, you
’re
welcome. Trust me, it’s not easy to see past the muscle and that fat
ego of yours.
” She shook her head and stood. She wore her hair down
,
and when she moved, it framed her face perfectly. The woman looked like a walking advertisement for shampoo
or
sex, and he wondered how long he’d be able to resist
putting the two together—Maggie naked in a shower while he washed her hair. That would work for him
.

He
met her by the door of his office and forced himself not to imagine her naked.
“So we’re on then? Let’s have them meet up this Friday. Dinner at that new steak joint on Queen Anne Avenue
.
Say seven? I know the owner, and he’ll hook us up.”

“Okay. But let’s keep this simple. In my experience, when it gets too complicated, everything goes to hell in a
hand basket
.”

He blinked at her. “Hell in a what? What did you just say?”
Didn’t his grandmother used to say something like that?

She
blushed.
“Never mind. Seven, Friday. Don’t be late.”

He watched her flaunt that ass down the hallway. Too complicated, she’d said. As he thought about just what he’d like to do to her, he knew just what she meant.

Cha
pt
er
Fifteen

Shelby followed Shane’s directions. She
walked through the front door of his house, which he’d left
unlocked, and locked it behind her
. Darkness had fallen outside, so the candles lit provided enough light to see by. She followed them upstairs to his bedroom but still didn’t see him.

She was about to turn around and go back downstairs when he grabbed her from behind and startled a shriek out of her.

He chuckled against her ear and held her tightly, caging her back to his front with a strong hold around her waist. “What do we have here? A burglar?”

“Shane, you told me to
—
”

“No talking.” His hands reached up to cup her breasts, and he squeezed with a roughness that excited her. He shoved himself against her, and she felt his erection poking into her lower back. “Move.”

He forced her up against the wall and put her hands up above her head. “Keep them there.”

She shivered, totally turned on. The last time in her house, he’d made her orgasm until she couldn’t any more. She hadn’t realized she’d had a thing for being tied up, but Shane had exploited
her
surprising kink to his advantage.

Tonight, h
e didn’t bother undressing her. Instead he
reached under her shirt and
released the catch on her bra
. Then he u
nbuttoned
and unzipped
her pants. He slid them and her panties down to her knees.

“What are you
—
”

He smacked her hard on the ass. “Shut up. Thieves don’t get to talk. They get punished.”
When he shoved his finger between her legs
,
inside her, she moaned, caught.

“Oh yeah. You’re wet. You want this, don’t you? You want me to punish you.”

“No, wait,” she said feebly, her protest a token and no more. They’d agreed during their last sexual encounter that if anything ever grew too intense, she should shout out a safe word. She’d chosen yellow, and she had no intention of saying it anytime soon.

Shane nudged her legs wider
before
she felt the tip of him squeezed between her legs. He yanked her hips
back, bending her over.
She couldn’t widen her stance enough because of the jeans down around her knees. But he didn’t seem to care.

“Keep those hands against the wall,” he ordered as he worked his way inside her.

He felt huge because of her position, and when he began fucking her, it burned until he
lubricated himself using her cream
. His complete disregard for anything but his own hunger aroused her like crazy.

Shane fucked her like he owned her, and s
he was afraid that might be closer to the truth than she liked. His absolute control, the concentration he dedicated to her when they were together, made her feel more than special.

Even now as he pounded into her, she felt cherished. He gave her the fantasy she wanted, and he got off on it. His cock was thick and bruising as he hammered home. When his hands left her hips and palmed her breasts, she moaned.

“Nice tits.” He squeezed her nipples and bit down on her neck, still thrusting in an out of her, his pace escalating. “I’m going to come inside you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He rubbed her breasts and grunted while he took her.

Her moans and pleas for mercy turned into cries of desperation. She was so close to coming. She just needed a bit of stimulation to her clit…

He must have known what she needed, because one hand left her breasts and trailed down her belly, seeking her pussy. He pinched the bud and then rubbed it as he slammed into her and stilled. “Fuck me. Oh yeah.” He came inside her and groaned again when she shrieked and came with him.

“Squeeze me.
Oh fuck. I l
ove that cunt.” He gripped her hips and
shoved deeper
inside her, his pelvis crushed to her backside while he emptied into her.

After a few moments, he withdrew. “No, don’t move. Let it drip down your leg, thief.”

She shivered, bare from her ass to her knees, her breasts free but still draped in her tee-shirt and unfastened bra.

“Man, if I had a camera on me. This is totally a scene out of one of my fantasies, and it’s even better because I know
how much you love it
.” He caressed her left buttock, where the sting from his slap had faded. “Too hard?”

“No,” she said, breathless. “I liked it.”

H
e
groaned. “You make me hard all the time. I know that sex
is more exciting
when it’s new and fresh
. But seriously, it’s never been like this
for me with anyone
. Ever.”

“I know.” She did, and she didn’t know what to do about it. They met in secret. They had amazing, dirty, non-vanilla sex. And they’d had their first date just a few days ago. How could she be falling for him so quickly when it had taken Rick months to get this close to her? And look at how that had turned out.

He pulled her from the
w
all and turned her in his arms. Then he kissed her, and the heat from their embrace aroused her again.

“Let’s clean you up, hmm?” He smiled, his green eyes so rich, she couldn’t look away.