Page 79 of Exposed Ink

He pulls me into his arms, so my back is flush against his front. In this position, I can feel his hard length pressing up against me, and I can’t help but rub my backside against him.

My face heats up, and Natalia laughs.

“Neither of you will make it through a single song without jumping each other’s bones. Let’s go. Maybe Kevin will be up still, and we can have phone sex.” Natalia winks playfully, and I groan at how vocal and open my damn family is.

Shane insists on taking Natalia back to her parents’ place, and thankfully, it’s a small town because the entire drive, all I can think about is how badly I want Shane.

He’s dressed casually in a pair of jeans with a blue shirt that has his station’s logo in the corner. The shirt isn’t super tight on him, but it showcases his toned arms and shows off the ongoing tattoo I’ve been working on.

“Like what you see?” Shane smirks when he catches me looking at him.

“I love knowing that I’m the only person who has inked you,” I admit despite Natalia being in the back seat. Then, a thought occurs to me. One that has my blood boiling. “You’d better not let anyone but me finish that sleeve.”

Shane grins and reaches over, taking my hand in his. “You think I’d let anyone touch me but you?” he scoffs. “Not happening.”

“I need to get out of this truck before it combusts with the sexual tension that’s filling the space from you guys,” Natalia whines.

Shane pulls into her driveway, but before Natalia gets out, she leans into the front between us. “I expect a thank-you in your wedding speech since I’m the reason you two met and fell in love. You’re welcome.” She leans over and kisses my cheek and then hops out of the truck, slamming the door behind her.

“I like her,” Shane says.

“Me too.”

“But you know what I like even more?”

“What?”

“Time alone with you,” he says, his lust-filled gaze searing into me. “Taylor is spending the night at her friend’s, so we have the place to ourselves.”

“Mmm.” I scoot closer to him. “Looks like I’ll be screaming your name after all.”

“Damn right you will be,” he says, putting the truck into reverse. “Several times.”

TWENTY-SIX

Kinsley

“There’s a lot of people here,”I say, not realizing I said the words out loud until Shane tightens his hold on my hand.

“It’s for the entire station,” he explains. “I work shift A with four other guys, but there are four shifts at our station, plus everyone’s families.”

I nod in understanding, keeping quiet since there’s a nervous lump in my throat. We live in a small town, and news travels quickly, so the moment I moved into my parents’ pool house, everyone knew about the accident. It’s one of the reasons why I barely left, aside from going to the shop a couple of years later. Everywhere I went, people, especially moms who were my age, would shoot me sympathetic looks while elderly women would offer me their condolences and bring my mom dishes for me. It was all too much. I never knew what to say, so I stopped leaving so I wouldn’t have to say anything.

Honestly, I’m surprised Shane didn’t know my story before I told it to him. The only reason I can guess is because he’s not one to gossip. He seems to stay in his own lane, focusing on himself and his daughter.

“Hey,” Shane says. “Are you okay?” He stops before we make it to where everyone is hanging out and looks at me with concern. “If you don’t want to be here …”

“I do,” I whisper. “I want to be here.”

And that’s the truth. I want to be here for him and Taylor, who got home this morning and hugged me tightly, telling me that she got in for the campus tour at NYU and how excited she is to see the city through my eyes. I want to be a part of their family, to make them as happy as they make me.

“Okay,” Shane says, the furrow in his brow deepening.

I hate that he feels like he has to worry about me. That, instead of simply enjoying the barbecue, he needs to make sure I’m okay. I know he says I’m strong, but sometimes, I feel really damn weak.

“If anything changes, if you want to leave … just let me know, and we’ll go. I’m off today, so I don’t have to be here.”

He leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips, and I sigh into his touch.

---