Up In Flames (16 page)

She gasped at the feel of him, so thick and long. He seemed to touch places in her which had never been touched. He gripped her hips, stroking inside her. Then he lifted her legs up to his shoulders and kissed her calf. He began to thrust at this angle, and she felt the divine pressure build again. Harder, faster, stronger.

She watched his face change. The boyish looks were gone, only to be replaced by a savage mask of primal longing. “Jules,” he uttered. “Jules, oh God, you're so tight."

He angled her body yet again and swept deeper into her. His fingers sought out her clitoris and he tugged as he thrust. Once more, she was carried away by a wave of tidal proportions and thrown like a raft onto a beach. Shane increased his speed, engulfed by his own passion, and cried out for her. He spilled his seed into the condom, let her numb legs fall to the bed and collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily in her ear.

They lay like that for many minutes until Shane finally slid out of her body. He disposed of the condom and slid back under the covers with her, pulling her into a warm embrace. She bunched up against his chest, and tucked her head under his chin. For a while, she didn't say anything. She just stared at his chest, at the whorls of dark blond hair there, at the masculine beauty of his tight nipples and the muscles underneath. She traced one nipple with her finger, watching as it puckered under her touch.

"Be careful, woman.” He laughed the deep, lazy chuckle of a well-sated man. “You're going to get me going again."

Jules didn't respond. Her mind was racing. No one had ever made her feel so cherished. So loved. She knew she and Shane were just trying to scratch an itch. For all she knew, he'd soon disappear to his own bed, eager for privacy and sleep. They had just needed the sex, the release.

So why did she feel ready to cry? She bit her lip, forcing back the sting of tears.

Maybe it was the letters. It had to be the letters.

"Jules?” He tipped her head up. “Are you unhappy? If that was horrible for you, please don't tell me, because I don't think I could take it."

She forced a smile. “It was wonderful, Shane. You are wonderful."

He grinned and kissed her forehead and turned her about so he could spoon her. In that position, with her bum nestled nicely against his groin, she listened as his breathing grew deeper and heavier.

And she knew it wasn't just the letters agitating her. It was him, and the fact she just knew it wouldn't last. Sure, he was settling in now, but eventually, he'd go. She knew it.

Only as he fell asleep, did she allow the first silent tear to escape.

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Shane opened his eyes slowly, feeling the sun on his face. They'd forgotten to shut the blinds last night, and the sun was streaming in, warming the bed which was already so warm. For a moment, he just closed his eyes again, reveling in an afterglow which still had his mind spinning.

He'd made love to Jules four times during the night. Four delicious times, and his climaxes had only grown more intense each time. He'd never done that with Alana. Not with anyone. He'd never quite cared enough to try.

Yet somehow, with Jules, even after each earth-shattering orgasm, he'd looked at her and wanted her again. Couldn't get enough of her. His body had never responded so immediately to anyone. In his early days with Alana, he'd been so turned on and she'd been a beautiful woman. But she'd never been as responsive as Jules. Her face had never lit up with such fire and wonderment.

He gazed down at her slumbering figure. When she slept, she resembled an angel. Her black lashes swept the tops of her cheeks, making him remember how they'd swept against his own face when she kissed him. Her hair was all mussed, and it gave him a strange sense of pride to remember he'd been the one who'd mussed it for her. And her beautiful skin was dotted in precious little freckles in the most interesting places. That day at the town square, he'd been curious about her freckles, about where to find them on her body.

Last night, he'd discovered them all. There was a lovely patch of them under her right knee. They were all over her arms and shoulders. And his favorite spot was that intriguing little string of them on her lower stomach. He'd particularly enjoyed discovering those ones. He'd treated her sweet body as a life-sized dot-to-dot picture, and had kissed and licked his way from freckle to freckle.

Leaning over, kissing the freckles on her shoulder, he knew he couldn't wait to do it again.

As he kissed her, she groaned and moved, but did not wake. He laid his head on the pillow next to hers and whispered, “I tired you out, didn't I, baby?"

Smiling, he realized he'd never used a pet name like “baby” on any woman. Even Alana had always been Alana. But something about Jules made him want to use all the silly pet names in the book. Honey, sweetheart, darling. They all rushed to mind when he thought of her, and they'd all poured out of his mouth last night. She brought out the protective instinct in him, and that protective, possessive man wanted to give her all sorts of old-fashioned, sweet names.

Another one had come to mind as well in the throes of passion. Love. He'd almost called her “love,” but had stopped himself in time. He just couldn't do it.

Besides, he wasn't in this for love. Had never wanted love from Jules, or anyone else at this stage of the game. It just wasn't a good time. Especially with some nutjob sending those stupid letters.

But would it ever be a good time?

As he contemplated his unwillingness to fall in love, he got a horrible twinge of guilt in his gut. He didn't deserve love anyway, certainly not with someone as loving as Jules.

When he thought of that last conversation with Alana...

He felt his eyes burn at the memory. He'd been such a pig. He couldn't ever tell Jules he'd been a horrible husband at the end. He could barely admit it to himself. If Jules even got a whiff of the truth, she'd be out like a flash.

And, right now, he just wanted to keep her near. To keep her close, but to somehow keep it light and casual. He couldn't let himself hurt her. Hopefully, she wasn't looking for anything permanent because he was the worst person to give it to her. He wouldn't wish a lifetime with him on any woman.

But she was so sweet and open last night, the perfect lover. Her little cries and moans had done him in. And all he could think about was how to help her make those incredible sounds of pleasure again. To think he could give that to her was the most amazing gift he could have.

Her eyes fluttered, and he swallowed. His cock was already hard, wanting her. As she woke, her naked body brushed closer to his, making him agonizingly hard. He bit down on his lip, and tried to mentally banish his erection.

She looked at him through sleepy eyes which became a little nervous as she focused on him. Morning after nerves, no doubt. But then she tangled her smooth legs around his and the crease in her brow relaxed. She spoke and her soft voice was gravelly and sexy. “Morning, Captain."

Shit. It was no use. He needed her again. His engorged penis thumped against her hip. “Morning."

He leaned in for a deep kiss, and she turned slightly away, amused and horrified at the same time. “I haven't even brushed my teeth!"

He tipped her head back. “I don't care.” And then he kissed her, sliding his tongue deep into her mouth so she'd have no chance to argue. Even in the morning, she was delicious. He ate at her lips, nibbled at her chin and feasted on her warm neck until he felt the scrumptious, ready moisture between her legs.

"Shane, you're insatiable."

"I can't help it. I've been thinking about your freckles all morning.” He lowered himself down her body, kissing a heated trail which left her squirming in his arms. With familiar ease, he located the tiny dots low on her belly and traced them with his finger until she bucked underneath him.

And then, with the urgency of someone who didn't know how long the love affair would last and was too scared to hope, Shane lowered his mouth to her sex and drank her in. She might not be his forever, couldn't be his forever, but he could wrap her legs around his shoulders now and take his fill.

"Ms. Baker? Do you mind if we set the dumpster out front?” The contractor repeated himself. “Ms. Baker?"

Juliet snapped out of her reverie and squinted at the man. “I'm sorry. I'm in a bit of a daze today. Sure, put the dumpster wherever you need. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Shane's roofer pals had arrived and were going to attack the roof today. And she had someone there to work on the old, decrepit wiring as well. Somehow that morning, Jules had managed to sign contracts and confirm shingle choices, even though all she could see was Shane. And every time the poor contractors tried to tell her something, she only heard Shane's sexy, low voice in her ear. Saying the very naughty things he'd said last night.

Memory, she decided, was a dangerous thing.

It turned her into a complete lust-crazed moron today. She couldn't do anything without visions of the evening's sexual acrobatics assaulting her. As she'd slid on some eyeliner that morning, she remembered how he'd kissed her eyelids. As she'd slathered her legs with her daily sunscreen, she recalled how he'd counted the freckles there, kissing each one. Even as she'd washed the breakfast dishes in warm water, she remembered how he'd lapped at her moist pussy. And now, for some reason, as she sought out some ice cubes for her glass of water, she still remembered how very heated their bodies had become.

Entwined. Inflamed. Woven into one pulsing, aching being.

It had been the most incredible sexual experience of her life. But it had left her feeling hollow and annoyingly lost.

Because she knew it would invariably end. She'd mess it up, she knew she would. Her ordeal with Kevin had ruined her, made her paranoid. The proof was in the pudding. Even watching Shane sashay down the catwalk for a charity event had sent her into a tailspin. And it wasn't even as if he were her boyfriend. Or anything.

So, what
was
he? Her lover?

"Jeez, I hate that term. Sounds sleazy,” she said quietly as she poured ice water into five large goblets.
Come on, Jules. Now don't get ahead of yourself. You don't have to label this. Just enjoy this. You want his body and, for some bizarre reason, he wants your body. And he hasn't gotten over his wife, so do not go there
.

She put the water goblets on a tray and headed outside to where the men were working. Before she could turn the corner, one of them said something which caught her attention and she froze.

"Hey Geordie, did your missus go to the firefighter auction?"

"Yeah,” he laughed. “Got her all hot and bothered. Lucky for me.” The men laughed with him.

"My sister went,” the first man, a young roofer named Jim, said. “She came back to the house later with her girlfriends. I had to listen to them all night long. All they could talk about was Shane. How gorgeous he is. What a great body he has. They were so mad when another woman outbid them for him. Boy, that poor man has no idea what's comin’ his way. My sister is bound and determined to get with him."

"We all know your sister, Jim,” another chimed in. “What she wants, she gets. Shaney-boy doesn't stand a chance."

Jules tried to compose herself around the corner of the house while the roofers shared a laugh. She wanted to take the glass goblets of water and smash them one by one against the brick wall. Her blood pressure seemed to have skyrocketed in the space of thirty seconds. She'd gone from a woman who was trying to be philosophical about her love affair to a possessive lioness, ready to claw out the eyes of her female competitors.

So all the women in Riverbend wanted Shane. So what?

He was a free agent and so was she. He hadn't made her any promises, no declarations and neither had she. They had scratched an itch, that's all. If Shane chose to scratch some other itches with other women, it wasn't her concern. Why should this bother her?

Perhaps because she had felt a connection when they made love. She couldn't describe it, couldn't put her finger on it. But when Shane touched her, she'd opened to him. Not only her body, but a hidden part of her soul, too. A part she'd encased in granite after she'd found out Kevin had cheated. Her vulnerability. Her hope. All the parts she thought she'd effectively walled up six months ago. Yet when Shane looked at her with those bedroom eyes, looked into her, she could feel a tiny mallet chipping away at the stone vault inside her.

And that terrified her. Especially when she knew he was such a hot commodity in town. How many other women were vying for a chance with him? There was no way she could ever get into another situation where her trust was abused. There was so little of it left. Kevin had already trampled on it, bruising it forever.

And yet, Shane had done so much to make her feel safe. Lord only knew, Riverbend's police officers were probably cursing up a storm because they were being forced to babysit her, instead of fighting actual crime.

She took a breath and went to greet the roofers, a smile on her face. “Who'd like some ice water? And I have brownies, too."

The men, on their break, thanked her and grabbed up the goblets and brownies eagerly.

The young one, Jim, gawked at her with boyish admiration, until Geordie smacked him over the head. “Stop staring, Jimbo,” said Geordie. “Lord, you'd think you'd never seen a pretty woman before. Don't mind him, Ms. Baker. The boy's a bit touched. Girls make him nervous."

Jim, wide-eyed and flushed, walked away munching on his brownie.

"This is nice of you, Ms. Baker,” Geordie enthused. “Not many people offer us cold drinks and snacks. You're one good woman. No wonder our boss is comping this job."

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"He's comping your roof work. You don't have to pay. Shane's taken care of everything for you.” He smiled at her, as if she should already know this.

She forced a smile, and then carried her tray into the house. And tried to ignore the awful, wonderful flip-flops down in her belly.