Fighting for Desire (3 page)

As she came up behind the man she noticed two things. One,
he wasn’t the usual type to come into the diner—he sat straight and actually looked
as if he took care of his personal hygiene.

Two, he was very muscular. His black t-shirt literally clung
to the muscles in his back. And boy did her fingers itch to reach out and touch
them. Seriously, those muscles drew her hands like the forbidden apple had
drawn Adam and Eve.
Just one touch…

She dismissed the unwanted line of thought and grabbed the
pencil from her apron pocket, holding onto it tightly, willing herself not to
do something stupid…such as actually reaching out to him.

If Molly were here, she wouldn’t miss the chance to ask him
to feel his muscles. She would walk up to complete strangers and men never said
no to her. Instead they obliged her, pride showing in their smiles. Well Molly
might have the nerve but Shannon could never do something so forward.

She swallowed back a nervous giggle and said, “Sorry that
took so long. What can I get you tonight, sir?”

The man turned his head and looked up at her with that oh-so-familiar
half-smile on his face. Before she could react he reached out and caught her
hand.

“I’m here for one thing, Shannon, and I don’t intend to
leave without it,” Dev replied.

Her heart began to pound and she said the first thing that
came to mind. “Oh fuck.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the most intelligent thing she could have
said but the phrase felt right in the moment. He stared at her with his dark
eyes until she found herself sitting across from him, though she wasn’t sure why.

“What are you doing here, Devlin?”

“Devlin? A few days ago it was Dev, remember? If I recall,
you were moaning my name,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

Looking down at the table, she tried to get her bearings.
She would not let him do this to her, not when she was already so down in her
life.

Finally she sighed. “Just tell me what you are doing here. I
think you made it clear the other night that you didn’t want me in that way.”

Oh she hated how hurt she sounded but she had never been
able to hide her emotions from him—he could read her like a gypsy read a palm.

"Shannon, I don’t know who you are trying to fool but
you and I both know I wanted you the other night. I stopped because we were in
the middle of a fucking parking lot! And I didn’t have a condom with me.”

Her heart pounded and she tried not to read too much into
his comments. So he wanted her…big deal. Sex had never been the problem between
them. Their issues had been everything else under the sun.

“Then why are you here?”

He glanced over his shoulder and looked around. She wondered
briefly how the diner looked to him. He probably saw this dump the same way she
did.

The dull, chipped, red-and-black-checkered floor tiles had
long ago lost their luster. Every booth and barstool bore wounds of abuse from
years of drunken patrons. The sunset mural painted on the walls was probably
the worst, though. Twenty years ago the image might have looked decent but over
time people had written messages, phone numbers and other crude things over the
paint, turning the wall into a graffiti-filled mess.

Yes, he probably wondered what she was doing in a place like
this. Sometimes she wondered the same thing. Sometimes she wondered why she
couldn’t suck up her pride and call her father for help.

Having a warm, safe place to sleep would almost be worth
dealing with her bossy, overbearing father. But he wouldn’t let her live down
her past and her mistakes. He would make sure she was punished every day until
he deemed her forgiven. No, calling her father for assistance was still out of
the question.

Dev’s gaze finally landed on her. “Why am I here?” His lips
lifted into a smile that didn’t reach his beautiful eyes. “Well that’s an
interesting question, Shannon. I heard the coffee here is amazing so I could
simply be here to try a cup for myself.”

She snorted. “Bullshit, Dev. Just tell me.”

His eyes narrowed until she felt like squirming in her seat
but she didn’t. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure.

“As I said before, I’m here for one thing and I’m not
leaving until I get it.”

This could go on all night, she realized. He held the upper
hand in whatever game they were playing.

“And that would be?”

“You.”

Out of everything he could have possibly said she hadn’t
expected that. Her lips parted in surprise and breath hissed through her teeth.

Before she could respond he stood. “But now isn’t the time
or place for this. I’ll be waiting for you when your shift is over.”

She tried to protest but he held up a hand.

“Oh, we’re going to talk, babe, whether you want to or not.”
He glanced at the gold Rolex on his wrist and said, “Five o’clock and not a
second later. Understood?”

She nodded numbly and he walked out of the diner without a
second glance back. What in the hell had just happened and how did he know what
time she got off work? She ran her hands through her hair. More importantly
what was she going to do?

Tony yelled out, “Shan-Shan, get your butt back here. I’m
piling up with orders.”

“I’m coming, Tony. Don’t get your panties in a wad.”

Grabbing the forgotten pot of coffee, she went back to the
bar to get a new one, surprised to see Joe still sitting there. Had her
encounter with Dev really lasted less than ten minutes? She glanced out the
front window. A battered yellow taxi sat at the curb.

“Hey, Joe, your cab is here,” she said with a slight smile.

“Thanks, Shannon…for everything,” he said.

She nodded absently and looked at the clock. Only two more
hours until she found out exactly what Devlin James wanted.

Time seemed to drag as Shannon tried to keep busy. A rush of
post-bar customers kept her occupied for a little bit and then it became a
battle to find things to do. Scraping the chewing gum from the underside of the
booths had even become an option at one point.

Finally she threw down her rag and sighed. Trying to act
busy was useless and her mind was stuck on one thing. What in the hell did Dev
want after all this time? She debated calling her aunt but she didn’t want to
worry the older woman.

No, her only choice was to wait until five and see what Dev
wanted. Biting her lip, she prayed he hadn’t found out what she had done. She
wasn’t stupid…she knew he had people working for him who could dig up dirt if
he asked.

Her mind ran through a million different scenarios until 5:00
a.m. finally arrived. The relief waitress showed up early for once so Shannon
was able to clock out on time.

She punched her time card on the ancient machine and called
out to Tony. “See you tomorrow.”

Briefly she debated running to the bathroom to fix her hair
and put on some lip gloss but then thought better. If he knew her secret, then
it wouldn’t matter what she looked like anyway. She opted for pouring a cup of
coffee into a Styrofoam cup instead.

Grabbing her purse from the office as fast as she could, she
made her way outside, expecting to see Dev waiting for her. When she stepped
out the door she was surprised to see a black stretch limo parked along the
curb.

A man in a uniform said, “Good morning, Ms. Bray. I have
been instructed to take you to Mr. James’ home.” He held open the door.

“What about my car?” she asked.

“It will be taken care of, ma’am.”

She stood for a moment, contemplating her options, then
acquiesced and slid onto the white leather seat. Being alone in the back of a
limo was strange. The only other time she had been inside a car such as this
was on prom night and Dev had been with her.

Her chest clenched in pain as she thought about that night. Her
“special night” was supposed to be filled with wonderful memories but turned
out to be the opposite.

Dev had gone all out, using three of his paychecks from his
job at the grocery store to rent a tuxedo and the limo. Though she had
protested she’d been secretly excited that he wanted to do up prom night in a
big way. And she was more than excited about the hotel room they had rented for
afterward.

When she’d walked down the stairs wearing her lilac dress
she had heard him gasp but it had been she who was breathless. Always the
jeans-and-a-t-shirt type of guy, he had looked like a god in the black tuxedo.
A small purple flower pinned on his jacket matched her dress perfectly and she’d
spotted a corsage box in his hand.

“Dev, you shouldn’t have.” She had objected as she’d gone
into his open arms, much to the dismay of her parents. “We agreed I didn’t need
a corsage.”

His face had lit up with his million-dollar smile. “Babe,
you are worth every penny.”

She’d stood still while he’d carefully pinned the lovely
flowers onto her dress. Even the brief contact his fingers made with her skin had
sent her heart pounding. Next they had to stand together, wearing cheesy smiles
while her mother snapped photo after photo.

Finally Dev had grabbed her by the hand and said, “She’ll be
home by ten tomorrow, Mr. Bray!”

They were out the door before her father could object…and
knowing him, he would have objected. Loudly.

At the limo Dev had opened the door and let her slide in
before he sat next to her.

“I never thought this could be possible,” he’d said in a low
tone as the limo pulled away from her house.

“What’s that?” she’d asked him.

He’d taken her hand into his. “That I would be going to prom
with the love of my life.”

Shannon remembered how her heart had ached under her breast as
she’d whispered, “I love you, Dev.”

He’d leaned in and kissed her slowly. She had sighed against
his lips, thinking,
this
…
this is bliss
.

“I have something I need to tell you,” she had confessed.

His eyes had lit up. “Your parents agreed to let you go to
college in California?”

She had shaken her head, barely able to contain her
excitement. “No, it’s better than that.” She had bitten her bottom lip and then
burst out with her news. “I’m pregnant!”

Shannon’s head ached and she rubbed her temples as she
forced the memory to end. Dwelling on that night did her no good. Her hand
rested absentmindedly on her stomach and she quickly moved it. She couldn’t
think about that, not tonight. Not when she was unsure what Dev wanted with
her.

After several minutes the limo came to a stop and the driver
opened her door. She shouldn’t have been surprised to find herself standing in
front of a mansion but she was shocked. The big white house stood with large
windows that welcomed a visitor to peek inside. The sound of cascading water came
from somewhere nearby. She smiled wryly. Dev had always wanted to live by the
beach.

She walked up the marble stairs and past two massive
pillars. The house had clearly been designed to look very Greek. A bright blue
door provided the only color but even that felt right. She reached out to knock
but it opened before she had the chance.

An elderly woman wearing a blue maid’s uniform smiled at her.
“Good morning, Ms. Bray. Please come in. I’m Mrs. Ingram, the housekeeper.”

Shannon smiled back, liking the woman right away. She
followed her tentatively into the house, overwhelmed as she looked around. The
massive foyer felt cold with its white marble floor and white walls but the
bright red frames around the wall paintings brought it to life.

A glass table was off to the right, upon which sat a large vase
filled with fresh red roses. Above the table a mirror caught the reflection of
a painting on the opposite wall. She lifted her eyes to scan a balcony on the
second floor that overlooked the foyer. A beautifully ornate, black iron railing
brought a sense of importance to the entry.

Mrs. Ingram said, “Mr. James hand-selected the design for
the balcony. He said it reminded him of his time in Italy.”

Her chest clenched as she struggled to keep her face
neutral. Long ago they had shared dreams of traveling to Europe together. She
tried not to let it sting that he was living their dreams alone.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, speaking the truth.

“I think so as well,” Mrs. Ingram replied. “Now if you will
follow me, I have been directed to take you to one of the guestrooms. Mr. James
thought you might want to freshen up before your meeting.”

Meeting? This was news to her. She didn’t say anything but
followed Mrs. Ingram silently up the grand stairway.

“Mr. James’ living spaces are to the left and your room is
this way.”

Shannon followed Mrs. Ingram to the right and they walked
past several closed doors. Good lord, how many rooms did this house have?

Finally they stopped and Mrs. Ingram opened a door. “Here
you go, ma’am. If you need anything else, just pick up the phone and someone
will assist you. There are fresh towels in the bathroom and you will also find
some clothing in the closet.”

Shannon nodded and walked into the spacious room. The door
shut silently behind her and she wondered briefly if the knob would be locked
if she tried to run. This wouldn’t be the first time she had been locked in a
room. She could admit the irony to herself when she remembered how Dev used to
get locked in his room as a child.

The guestroom was bigger than her entire apartment, which
wasn’t saying much but spoke volumes for Dev’s apparent wealth. Houses in this
area didn’t come cheap and from what she had seen, Dev had gone all out.

She walked to the bed, noticing how the white marble floor
and cream walls worked well together. The bed had to be the biggest one she had
ever seen and her face flushed just looking at it. The mattress sat in a black
iron frame with a black mesh canopy and was covered with dark-red bedding.
Reaching out, she let her fingers trail across the satiny material.

Directly across from the bed was a huge, floor-to-ceiling
mirror. A blush swept across her face. If she were lying in the bed, she could
see herself in the mirror, which was probably the intent. She turned away
before her mind could run away with foolish ideas.

The only other piece of furniture in the room was a chaise
lounge covered in the same red material as the bedding. This room screamed
passion but she refused to dwell on the decadent décor.

Walking to the balcony, she opened the doors and gasped. The
ocean was off in the distance and palm trees lined the rest of her view.
Directly below her room a garden filled with vibrant flowers in every color
gave off a delightful aroma. Oh how she would love to sit on the balcony and
read a book while the scents of the flowers rose to meet her.

Sighing, she remembered she wasn’t here to relax. She went
back inside and made her way to the bathroom. Dev was right about one thing. A
quick shower would refresh her before she faced him and finally found out what
he wanted with her. She just prayed it was something she could deal with. At
this point she wasn’t sure how much she could handle.