Suspended (5 page)

Her chest heaved. “More.”

He slipped out of her and rocked forward again. She clasped
tighter. “Fuck,” he muttered against her neck and repeated the motion. Heat and
pleasure swelled inside him, around him, and fueled him. He let go of her arms
and thrust into her once more. He couldn’t get enough.

Ferocious need seemed to mirror hers. She grasped his
shoulders so tightly the bite of her nails ratcheted up the tension between
them until there was nothing but sweat, the groan of the table bearing their
weight, and moans.

“God, that’s so good. More,” she gasped.

He wasn’t sure how much more he could give her, but he
increased his pace. The dark slide of madness closed in on him. His grip along
her hips was punishing, but he couldn’t stop.

She bumped her hips up on each full thrust inside her, and
the friction of sweat and her excitement heated the air between them. Her cries
pushed him for more. The sweet sound of her moans was all he could cling to as
he held on through the lava-hot tingles rocketing up his spine.

“Fuck,” he growled.

She shuddered. The vibrations shook him as he chased her
clasping pleasure until it wrung him dry.

Slowly her legs slid down to hang off the table. She pressed
her forehead to his shoulder, and the way she trembled made him want to cuddle
her close. But this was just sex. Two people riding anger and grief and
possibly a little hate. He didn’t want to confuse things.

He held tight to the condom and pulled out of her. With her
warmth gone, the emptiness returned twofold. At least now he was just too
fucking tired to hold on to the anger. Her hair fell forward, and he couldn’t
read her. Would there still be a sly smile filled with pleasure? Or would it be
one of regret?

She hopped off the table and swayed once before he caught
her. She hid behind her shield of hair, turning away from him to pull her skirt
down.

“There’s a bathroom through that door.”

She nodded and didn’t say a word before grabbing her panties
off the chair and fleeing through the door.

With a sigh, he took care of his condom. Every bit of those
last fifteen minutes was ill-advised. So why did he want to chase after her and
do it again?

Kendall slumped against the door. Her thighs were still quaking,
and she was pretty sure her system hadn’t quite caught up to the fact that
she’d just gotten fucked within an inch of her life. Because there was no
mistake; that had been sex in its purest and most basic form.

God.

And she had loved every second of it.

Twenty-seven years of playing it safe, of doing exactly what
she was expected to do, and no one was here to see just how far she’d gone off
track. She didn’t have to tell anyone. It was insane, but the thrill of it
still coursed through her veins.

If this was what drugs felt like, she understood why people
did them.

Her skin buzzed, and she was pretty sure she was going to
have a few creative bruises.

She looked down at her wrists. Deep red marks stained her
skin where his thumbs had bitten into her when he’d clamped her hands together.
He’d surprised the hell out of her when he’d done it, but the quick shock had
bumped up the excitement to another level.

A dangerous one.

A stupid one.

But God, she wanted to be stupid for once.

She moved to the mirror and had to lean over the sink. Her
thighs still shook, and every part of her felt stretched to the limit. She
forced herself to look up. Her lips were raspberry red, and her chin was raw.
She touched the abraded skin. Flashes of his ardent mouth let that firefly
loose again. She pressed a hand to her belly, then up to her tender breasts.

She’d never been so deliciously taken. Ever.

Allowing herself a few minutes to freshen up, she stepped
into her panties and faced the door. Now she just had to figure out a way to
act like having sex with a man she’d known less than twenty-four hours wasn’t a
big deal. Oh, and not look like a whore at the same time.

Piece of cake.

She thumped her forehead against the door and took a deep
breath. She swung the door open and froze. Shane’s shirt was still open, though
his pants were buttoned and zipped. The light thatch of hair at the center of
his chest arrowed down over his ridiculously tight abs. He definitely didn’t
have the body of a man who spent time behind a desk.

But it was the rosary that did her in.

It was so old. The chain and the beads were antique and
settled against his skin as if they were simply part of him. He pulled his
shirt closed. When he looked up and continued to slip the tiny disks through
their holes, her heartbeat roared in her head. His golden eyes were wary and
yet still filled with heat. She swallowed the nerves that blasted into her
belly and walked out with her head held high.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. He looked at her with that
eyebrow raise she was coming to expect. Evidently he didn’t want to waste
words.

He glanced at his watch. “I think we need to go and talk to
Kain.”

“Tonight?”

“It’s not that late, East Coast girl.”

For her it was well after ten, but she supposed he was
right. “Well, if I’m not going back home, I’ll need some supplies.”

He nodded and jangled keys in his pocket. “Let’s go.”

She folded her arms over her stomach and followed. His
stride was long and purposeful. He shrugged into a leather jacket that had seen
more years than anything in her closet. When he barely stopped at the door for
her, she quickened her pace. Impatience surrounded him as surely as the
battered leather.

She was fairly sure that it wasn’t directed at her, but when
he climbed into the truck without a backward glance, she didn’t waste time
asking any more questions. She opened the passenger side door and swung her
purse in. The truck was massive. Fortunately there was a running board and
handle, because there was no graceful way to get in with her suit. She settled
in her seat and reached for her seat belt. When she clicked it into place, she
looked up. His gaze traveled up her thigh before she tugged her skirt back down
to her knees.

But there was no burn in his eyes this time. In fact, he
looked even more pissed off.

“What part of the construction business do you take care
of?”

“Evidently none of it.”

The acid tone killed any future plans for conversation. He
pulled down the drive and out onto the winding roads that led to the coast. The
sun had long since set, but the roar of the surf against the shore was worth
the drive. Lights dotted the horizon from slips and docks and the occasional
boat on the water. Otherwise the ride was dark and quiet. Finally he snapped the
radio on, and 30 Seconds to Mars pounded through the speakers.

Leto’s harsh whispers suited Shane’s mood. She leaned
against the door and studied his profile in the dim lights of the dash. She had
a feeling that without the scruffy beard and buzz-cut hair he would be far
prettier than he liked to own up to. His cheekbones were as sharp as his
jawline, but she couldn’t stop thinking about his mouth. It was so wide and
soft in contrast to the rest of him.

When the muscle in his jaw rippled, she averted her gaze.

And still he didn’t talk.

She’d never been the type to need to fill the silence with
chatter, but she could feel the babbling conversation bubbling up in her gut.
Everything was happening so fast. By the third song, she couldn’t stand it any
longer. “What exactly are you going to say to…Kain? Was that his name?”

He didn’t answer her, but his jaw flexed again.

“Shane. I’m so far out of the loop on this. You gotta give
me a little info here.”

“I don’t know the details, or I’d give them to you.”

She wasn’t so sure about that. “Fine. Sit there and let your
gut churn up acid until your voice box fries.”

His eyebrow rose, and his lips twitched. But again, not a
damn word. Her own anger started a slow burn. The entire album finished by the
time he turned off onto another winding road. What was it about California? Did
they have to carve all the houses out of the… Her thoughts drifted away as
Kain’s house came into view.

Glass and steel and sand. She could hear the ocean roaring
below, but she couldn’t pull her gaze from the wall of softly lit glass. There
was no hiding the inside of his friend’s home. Streamlined wood and
contemporary furniture filled the lower level. A huge stainless steel and
granite kitchen flowed around the open-floor plan.

“Holy crap.”

“Kain’s an architect.”

“You think?”

Of course he didn’t reply. The jackass just opened his car
door and left her to follow. She was getting tired of playing puppy behind him.
She caught his arm at the door. “If you don’t stop stalking around and tell me
what the hell the plan is, I’m going to deck you myself.”

He was at least a foot taller than her, and his damn lips
twitched again, but he didn’t say a word, just opened the door like he owned
the place. “Kain,” he called out.

“In my office, bro.”

Kendall slid her gaze to Shane. “Bro?” But he was already
heading up the stairs. Her molars clicked together as she followed—again.
Halfway up the landing, she held on to the banister. The stairs were wide open,
and the entire living room floated under her. She returned her focus to Shane’s
backside and wasn’t sure which was more dangerous.

The upstairs was as impressive as the down. Kain’s office
was the first thing she saw at the top of the stairs. It was a huge room that
was wall-to-wall glass. A panoramic view of the ocean and dark skies stole her
breath. Wispy fog blocked the stars and filtered the moon. More warm furniture
and streamlined couches filled the room. A large desk took up the corner with
the fantasy view as Kain’s backdrop, but it was the man who completed the
holy-crap view.

He was huge. His shoulders were massive under a sleeveless
shirt that hugged his broad chest. Long, dense black wavy hair hung at his
shoulders with a few tiny braids peeking through. His eyes were a direct and
uncompromising bottle green under slashing dark brows. His left eyebrow was
bisected by a deep scar that emphasized the natural arch.

He stood and came around the desk. “I didn’t realize you
were coming out. And bringing company.” He looked down at his long board shorts
and bare feet. “I would have been a little more presentable.” He held his hand
out. “I’m Kainoa N’ai.”

His voice was a deep bass any woman would react to. At least
that was what she told herself when her heart rate kicked up. She tilted her
chin back to keep eye contact. If she thought Shane was impressive, Kain had
another few inches on him in brawn and height. “Kendall Proctor.” Her hand
disappeared into his gentle grip. Shane vibrated with anger beside her, but she
instantly felt at ease with this man.

Kain straightened his shoulders, and she was pretty sure his
chest puffed as he faced Shane. Kendall took a step to her right. “What can I
do for you,
kaikua`ana
?”

“Why’d you do it?”

Kain’s eyes lost their friendly warmth. “Do what?”

“Don’t put that fucking boardroom face on with me, asshole.
What the fuck did you do?”

“Why don’t you tell me what you think I did?”

“I think you swooped in and took my father’s company when he
was financially fragile.”

Kain arched his scarred brow. “Is that right?”

Shane paced the length of the room. “This isn’t one of your
acquisitions that you can just come in and take over.”

Kain folded his arms over his massive chest. “Do tell,
brother.”

“I know you’ve been trying to get a foothold here, but this
is the lowest of the low.”

Kendall’s stomach clenched. Between the prowling tiger and
the stoic linebacker who could be an extra on
Hawaii Five-0
, she was a little worried. Surely they wouldn’t start
a brawl. They circled each other, and she took another step back until her calf
bumped into a couch. She sat down and curled her fingers into the edge of the
cushion. The tension in the room was as thick and virile as the two men.

“My dad always got back on his feet. You know that. What did
you have over him that he’d allow you to swipe up his client list? That list
had been cultivated for decades.”

She frowned. The list seemed to be far more important than
even the company. That was the third time Shane had reacted to it. What could
be so important about names?

“Not this time, Shane.”

Kain’s quiet voice finally halted Shane’s pacing. He looked
up, his golden eyes brittle with pain. Kendall wanted to get up and smooth a
hand down his arm. Christ, what was wrong with her? None of this was any of her
business. She had only the Heron to worry about. Not some name game in the
middle of California’s finest-looking men.

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, your dad had no choice when he came to me. Believe
me. I asked him to talk to you about this.”

“And you couldn’t come to me?”

Kain looked down, and she saw his arms flex with his fisted
hands. “Don’t you think I wanted to? For fuck’s sake, Shane, you’re my best
friend.”

“Yeah? Well, best friends would never betray each other like
this.” Shane turned and headed down the stairs. Kendall rose and slung her
purse over her shoulder.

“Let him go,
`ânela
.”

“He’s not going to leave me here, is he?”

Kain smiled down at her. “No. He’s just going to go hit the
beach.”

“At night?”

“It’s what we do. How we met, actually.”

Kendall slumped back down on the couch. “I’m so freaking
lost. I don’t know what the hell is going on.” She let her head fall back.

He sat down next to her and covered her hand with his. “I
knew when I put this deal together with his dad six months ago that he was
going to lose his shit, but I thought I’d have time to convince Larry to tell
Shane.”