Page 45 of Shane

This man. This wonderful, foolish man was taking too long to decide his next move.Operational awareness, big guy. Aren’t you paying any attention to your surroundings?The vault was locked up tight. The shower had just turned on. Ms. Tuesday Smart was out of their way for now. She wouldn’t be back for a good ten, fifteen minutes. But, hello, big guy! Once she opened that darned door, Everlee would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She could almost hear the squeaky gears grinding in Shane’s hard head. What was he waiting for? Permission? Didn’t he know that, sometimes, thinking was over-rated?

He was so close, way inside her comfort zone. The moment she’d tipped her head back to look up at him, his gaze fell to her mouth, and she’d known she had him. There was no flirty exchange between them. No manly glint in his eyes. Only heat and desire so thick she could taste it. Lucky for him, Everlee wasn’t a sit-patiently-by-the-hearthside-and-pine-for-your man kind of woman. Not that he was any woman’s man—or hers. Stretching up on her toes, she grabbed hold of the sturdy knit collar on his TEAM polo, jerked his ruggedly handsome face down to her level, closed her eyes, and slammed his mouth over hers.

Finally!

His lips were soft and warm, pleasantly responsive. Moist. Ready. The heavy five o’clock shadow around his mouth abraded her lips and chin. Everlee didn’t care but dominated the move. Her nose filled with the delicious up-close and personal all-male scents of his skin: sweat, smoke, and spicy aftershave. Not cigarette smoke, but the smells of ash and soot and open flames from the disaster that had darned near claimed Shane’s life today. Maybe he wasn’t the chain-smoker she’d previously suspected. She hadn’t seen him smoke yet. Not like she cared at the moment. Not when a groan broke free from deep inside his throat and vibrated up into her mouth. Or was that a purr?

Not when Shane took hold of her jaw between both hands and cocked her head for better access to her mouth, either. Nor when his lips locked onto hers, like two moving puzzle pieces suddenly joined. He didn’t jerk away, nor did he grab her hands to hold her still. That freedom of choice was all the encouragement Everlee needed. Sliding her fingers carefully around the back of his head, avoiding his burned neck, not manhandling him too much. Not wanting to hurt him, but needing to be crystal clear that—

Jiminy Christmas, yes!She wanted this man, and he wanted her. Her. Not the devious bimbo in the bathroom who killed men and babies. Just her—just boring Everlee Yeager—the woman most men avoided.

The shower was still running.

Shane pulled her tight into him, until her breasts were flat against his broad chest. Everlee thrilled at the tingling sensation of her nipples turning hard. He wanted more? Well, good, because she had a helluva lot more to give. There was so much more to her than just her rank. So much more she needed; so much more she had to give. She was freaking tired of the double standard that branded female officers. She’d worked damned hard to get where she was. Hadn’t once slept her way to the top like the rumors declared. Didn’t have the time, not with her stinkin’ disability. If anything, because of her ADHD, she’d had to work too hard, harder than anyone else to get where she was today. And she wasn’t a slut. Either he wanted her for who she was or he didn’t. Everlee needed to know.

She licked the seam of his mouth, and Shane opened for her. That was all the answer Everlee needed. He thought that closet full of weaponry was heaven? Uh-uh. He was. This man. Them tasting each other and breathing each other’s air. Her luxuriating in the hard, swift stroke of his tongue sliding inside her mouth, tangling with her tongue. Over and under. Around.

The shower was still running.

Needing friction in another part of her anatomy, she rubbed her knees together. His hands were now firm on both sides of her head, holding her still. His long fingers were in her hair, his thumbs on her cheekbones. Shane had taken control, and he was making a growling feast of her mouth.Jiminy Christmas, one kiss wasn’t going to be enough. Not even this warm, wet kiss that was making her feel alive. For once in her life, Everlee wanted all of this man. He could be her safe place to land. Maybe the promise of forever. Was that asking too much?

Maybe. Ever since she’d first seen him, he’d been wound tight and about to explode. With every fluttering beat of her wild, impulsive heart, she wanted that passionate explosion to be with her, inside her. When the sensual exploration of mouths and fingertips led to palms smoothing over clothed, forbidden body parts, Everlee’s fingers strayed into his hair and scalp. She’d expected prickles, but she found soft waves. Once combed back, those silky strands now fell over his forehead. She brushed them back, loving the warmth of his scalp on her palm and the slide of his silky hair between her fingers.

A rumbling moan escaped his throat. Swiftly, his hands slid down her neck to her shoulders, then to her biceps. One hand slipped around to the small of her back, pulling her in tighter against him, the other slipped under her shirt and—

“Yes-s-s-s-s,” she hissed at the startling sensations his callused palm over her warm sensitive skin created. He was touching her. Kneading her breast. Strumming her nipple. Flicking the tender, begging tip of it. Making it sing.

The muscles in her core clenched and cried for his fingers. His mouth.

She lost track of the damned shower.

But oh, the problems this sizzling connection would create back at TEAM HQ. Everlee knew that but she couldn’t make herself say no or step away. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Finally she and Shane were skin against skin, and she was going up in flames. Please, please, please. More of his mouth and his air and this once in a lifetime moment of pleasure and—

Enough thinking! She grabbed hold of his belt and unbuckled it to make room for her hand. He growled something when she unbuttoned his jeans and slipped one hand inside. No way was she stopping. Not holding back either. Not anymore. Not now. Deftly, she maneuvered past the elastic band of his jockeys and through a forest of thick, curled hairs and—

Yes. Greedily, her fingers circled a quivering spike that had to be the largest cock she’d ever touched. Her heart thudded up her throat at the daring danger in this plan. Just when her brain kicked back into thinking mode, Shane’s hand slid from under her shirt to her ass. He lifted her against him as if she didn’t weigh anything, then pushed her back against the vault. Certainly better than the table.

“Hurry,” she growled, her fingers pumping eagerly down, then up, then down, again and again.

“Birth control?” he mumbled against her kiss swollen lips.

“Covered,” she answered frantically. “Don’t stop.”

Everlee didn’t remember how Shane got her pants down and off her legs, or her feet out of her boots. Or if he was still a weaponized gunslinger, still armed, still packing all that heat. That delectable other heat.

By then, her bare legs were wrapped tight around his hips. She didn’t feel any holsters, so somehow, he’d divested himself of his weaponry. His jeans were around his knees. The stiffer hair on his thighs prickled her tender backside. His hips had her pinned to the wall, and they were close, so close to takeoff.

“You’re beautiful, Ev,” he whispered into her temple, one long elegant finger now slipped inside her slick folds, and—

“Ahhh,” she huffed at the warm, wet sensation of that single curled digit stroking where he obviously knew it’d do the most good. Against the feminine ridges created for mutual, maximum pleasure, his and hers if he kept that up. Her body arched into his, begging for more.

“Flattery later, big guy,” she whispered huskily, opening her legs wider and grinding her core against his hand. “Action now. I want action.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, and with one hearty thrust forward—

Jiminy Chrissssstmasssss!Shane slipped deep inside, to the hilt, all the way. They were pelvic bone to pelvic bone, and he was right where she wanted him. Needed him. He was big. Thicker than she’d expected. And he was in deeper. Talk about hung. This guy was a stallion and Butch was a Lilliputian. Ha! The contrast nearly made her laugh.

Instead, she hissed as waves of exquisite pleasure pounded through her blood and stole her breath. Automatically, her hips gyrated to accommodate his impressive girth. Everlee groaned as the massive thing she’d just welcomed home slipped in and out with quick, slick heat and focused vigor. And in again. So far in that she was sure he was hitting her tonsils. Her head thrashed from side to side as she stretched. Her breasts were on fire, aching for his hands. Ah! They’d have to wait. She growled again, her heart thumping like a beast as she held onto Shane for what was fast turning into the ride of her life.

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