Page 49 of Catch and Release

But also.

I like that you’re looking after me.

Fuck, those words were almost enough to melt the ice-cold jealousy she’d pierced him with earlier in the conversation.

Before he knew what he was doing, he barged back inside with such force that he startled Grams enough for her to pause the movie.

“Where’s the fire, Scooby?”

“Willa needs a ride,” he called over his shoulder.

He heard Grams chuckle and turn the movie back on before he grabbed his keys and bolted to his truck. On a busy night, it would be about a 40-minute drive. He was ready to push traffic laws to get there in 30. And every single one of those 30 minutes was agonizingly slow. He didn’t really know what he was doing, just that he needed to see her. Needed to be near her. Needed to make sure she got home safe.

He got to Flora-Bama shortly after 11 p.m., and it was crowded and rowdy. He forgot how many damn rooms there were in this godforsaken place. He started out in one of the smaller rooms, scanning the tipsy crowd for red hair. When he didn’t see any, he moved on. Scanned the next room. Nothing.

He was considering going to check the outdoor areas or head upstairs when he entered the room with the bras on the ceiling. Her red hair shined bright under the neon flashing lights, and her arms were up in the air as she swayed to the music. His heart stuttered at the sight of her, and the tips of his mouth turned up in the beginnings of a smile.

Until he saw the man behind her. Grinding with her. Hands roaming. Face buried in her hair.

It was like he’d jumped into a bucket of ice. Why had he come here? What delusions did he have about showing up? Did he think she’d just throw herself at him, melt in his arms?

He couldn’t look away from her, though. Her body swayed with so much grace, he could tell she’d been an incredible ballerina. Suddenly she looked in his direction and her mouth opened in an O shape as their eyes met. He saw her lips mouth his name, and she stopped dancing for a brief moment.

The guy she was dancing with apparently took that as an invitation, because he tipped her chin toward him and claimed her mouth.

Shawn’s feet carried him over to them before he could register what was happening.

“Get off her,” he growled.

“Woah man,” the guy Willa locked lips with responded, raising his hands, palms forward. “I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

“I don’t,” Willa said, looking at Shawn in equal parts confusion and dismay.

“Whatever,” the guy said, looking annoyed. “You’re hot and I had fun dancing with you, but I don’t want to get in the middle of whatever this is.”

Willa crossed her arms and looked at Shawn.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed.

“You want to dance with a guy?” Shawn said. “Dance with me.”

He grabbed Willa’s hips and spun her so her backside was against his crotch. She yelped at the sudden movement and he clenched her hips, swinging to the beat of the music. She was stiff for a moment before she slowly started moving again, and a minute or two later, she was dancing the way she had been when he arrived.

And Shawn was overwhelmed with lust. It was a struggle to keep his hands in one place. He desperately wanted to run them up and down her sides, to palm her tits, to run a hand through her hair.

But he kept them firmly on her hips, instead focusing on the sensation of her perfect ass riding up against his dick. He was getting hard and he knew she could feel it; she started leaning against him even more, tipping her head back and closing her eyes, hands raised in bliss.

“Were you trying to make me jealous, Greene?” Shawn whispered in her ear, succumbing to the urge to let his hands wander. He reached up and dragged a finger along her cheek before nipping at her earlobe. “Because you succeeded. I’m sporting a hard-on in this fucking club because you made me so damn jealous, and I can’t stop thinking about your ass cheeks hugging my dick.”

She bit her lip, and he felt her thighs clench.

“Is this what you wanted to happen?” Shawn asked, continuing as desire coursed through him. He pressed a kiss to her neck, and she shivered. “Did you want to make me so fucking pissed with jealousy that I drove down here to hold you like this and kiss that perfect neck?”

He ran his tongue up to her ear and grazed his teeth along it.

“You’re a fucking fantasy, Greene. All I want to do is pull this damn dress down and suck on your tits and tongue your pussy ‘til you come all over my face. Want to taste every last inch of you. Want to feel you clench around my dick.”

Willa turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and tugged him down for a kiss. Shawn was startled for only a moment, then grabbed her lower back with his left hand and her cheek with his right, loving the sensation of her messy, needy kisses.

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