Bodywork (17 page)

“Um, there’s one thing.” Shelby stopped him. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but we have to keep this quiet.”

“Oh?”

She let out a frustrated breath. “It’s my mother. It’s complicated, but she, Ron—my surrogate dad, you could say, and my best friend are always all over me to get back into dating. They don’t care that I’m happy now, they just want to see me with some guy. And if they know about you, they’ll be all over you about marriage and kids.” At his stunned look, she nodded. “Seriously. My mother runs astrological charts on men she thinks I should date.
She needs to be committed.
I love her, but it’s hell having a quiet, normal social life
around her
.”

He liked the fact that she loved her crazy mother. Shane loved his family too.
“So you won’t feel bad when I tell you I agree, wholeheartedly. My mother is
nuts about the idea of
grandkids. Hell, you met her.”

“Oh yeah.” Shelby’s smile grew.

“And my buddy
,
Mac? He’s totally into women being…let’s just say Mac is a great guy, but I don’t want his input on this relationship between us, or whatever you want to call it,” he hurried to add, not wanting to scare her away. First the sex, now this? Was this woman real? Sex without strings. And she wanted to keep it quiet.

“And let’s not forget George.”

He groaned. “You see my problems? After my last big break up, they
all
think I’m scarred for life.”

She laughed. “Like you can’t manage on your own. You need everyone else’s help to have fun.”

He
nodded
. “You totally get where I’m coming from.”

“Do I ever. Trust me, if you ever run into Mimi Vanzant, of Vanzant Interiors, you’ll know exactly what I mean.”

“
Y
ou already met George and Lorraine.”

She laughed with him.
“Yeah. It’s not that I don’t want help, it’s that I don’t need it, and no one seems to understand that. I just want to live my life, alone or with someone, on
my
terms.
Not to show my friend that I’m healed
over my jerk of an ex, or to give my mom grandkids.”

“Exactly.”

The moment seemed to linger, the satisfaction of clear understanding and empathy for similar situations a bond between them. Shane felt another
push
, a need to turn their simple relationship into something deeper. He shrugged it away and started with her down the stairs
once more
.

All finally seemed right with his world. And then the doorbell rang.

He and Shelby
froze.

“Why don’t you go
—
”

“I’ll wait upstairs,” she whispered and darted back up into his bedroom. He heard the door quietly latch and continued toward the front door.

Who the hell would come visiting at…
A glance at the clock on the mantle showed the hour had reached nine. Man, he’d been making love to
—
having sex
with
—
Shelby for
h
ours. And it wasn’t nearly enough.

He threw open the
front
door with a disgruntled curse and stared at
retired Colonel Chad Collins.

“What took you so
long?” his father
asked and
stomped past hi
m
into the living room.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” His father rarely visited even though he and his mother lived a mile down the road.
It wasn’t for lack of affection, but Shane was usually busy rushing somewhere between his job
and the gym,
and
family get-togethers took place at his parents’ home.

“Your mother sent me to find your errant brother.
He
didn’t come to dinner
and
he
’s not answering his cell phone,
though he did text that he’ll be home on time. S
ome girl showed up at the house looking for him a
n hour
ago. What’s up?
”

“I have no idea.”
Why did his father think it was Shane’s place to keep tabs on his
younger
brother?

“Hmm.” Chad gave him the stare that had broken many men down in interrogation chambers.
It looked odd coming from a face that might just be his own in another twenty-five years.
“Did you see him at all today?”

“Dad, I’m busy.”

“Doing what?” Chad looked around him with suspicion.

Shane read him easily. “
I was relaxing.”
Oh man, was I ever.
“
He’s not here, Dad. He showed up around six, ate my food, begged a beer, which I
didn’t
give him.”

Chad chuckled.

“Then he said he had a date with Gina and took off. I think they we
nt
to a movie.”

His father nodded. “Ah well. Then that explains it. The girl who showed up said her name was Amber. And she didn’t seem pleased not to find the boy home. If you hear from him before I do, tell him to call me. I won’t worry unless he misse
s
curfew.”

“
Sure thing.” Shane walked to the door, inwardly groaning when his father didn’t budge from the middle of the living room. “Dad?”

“You seem awful
ly
eager to get rid of your old man. I thought we could watch a movie or something.” His father shrugged. “We don’t spend enough time together.”

“Ah, right.” They’d just gone golfing last weekend. “Tell you what, I’ll grab a shower, then we’ll
—
”

Something upstairs fell over.

They both stared at one another. Shane, to his embarrassment, felt his cheeks heat.

“So, he
is
upstairs.” His father scowled and started for the stairwell. “I know you love your brother,
Shane
, but he has responsibilities too. He’s old enough to
—
”

“Dad. It’s not George.” Why he felt protective of this new
relationship with Shelby he couldn’t fathom. Not like his dad would ruin things for him, not like his mother, George
,
or Mac might. But Shane didn’t want to share her. It made little sense, but there it was. “I have a friend over.”

His father blinked. “A friend?” Then he grinned wide. “Oh. A
friend
.” His father left the stairs and hustled to the door, laughing low. “Why didn’t you say so? Okay. I see you’re busy. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

“Don’t tell Mom. I’m having fun, not planning to start a new line of the family tree. Okay?”

His father nodded. “Roger that. Have fun. But if you’re not
wanting
little Marines,
make sure you
wear a raincoat
, Son
.”

His father had not just warned him to wear a condom. “Shit, Dad. I’m thirty-one years old.”
Please tell me Shelby can’t hear this.

“I know. I’m just saying. More than one Marine I knew found himself tricked into marriage, led by his dick.”

“Thanks, Colonel. You’re inspiring. I can’t wait to get back to my date now.”

Chad chuckled and left with a warning to meet him tomorrow for coffee.

After making sure his father drove away, Shane raced back upstairs and opened the bedroom door. Shelby sat on his bed biting back a grin.

“Oh man. You heard him.”

In a deep voice, she mimicked, “Wear a raincoat, Son.” She laughed. “I like your dad. Sounds as bossy as Ron, just less flamboyant.” At
Shane’s confusion, she explained. “Ron’s gay and proud of it.”

“Gotcha.” Shane sighed. “I was loving that post-coital afterglow. And then my friggin’ father showed up.”

She laughed with him as they walked down the stairs to the front door. “Well, hey. At least
h
e didn’t ask for you
r sign and do a cold read with t
arot cards. Trust me. My mother is
atypical, to say the least
.”

“She sounds fun.”

“She is, but she’s loud. And I kind of like living a quieter life.” They reached the door. She stopped and gave him a lingering kiss that
raised his
temperature. “But not too quiet.”

When he could catch his breath, he answered, “Right. No more vanilla for us.”

“No more vanilla.” She rubbed his cock through his jeans and grinned. “Call me an
d we’ll meet next week at my place
.”

“You got it.”

Shane shut the door behind her and watched her drive away. He could still taste her kiss, and the sight of her wearing nothing but him refused to fade away. He couldn’t wait until next week.

Chapter Eleven

The next week passed by in a blur. Shelby had enough to do to keep her busy, but the phone calls from Shane had kept her on cloud nine, enough that Maggie had asked her about her upbeat attitude.

Lying to her best friend hadn’t been as difficult as she’d have thought. Shelby wanted to keep Shane to herself for a while. Who knew men actually gave women orgasms without having to beg
or even ask
?

She blushed crimson when she
remembered all they’d done. Shane, vanilla? He was anything but. Sexy, hung, and so ripped. How could any woman turn him aside, unless he turned out to be some macho creep when in a relationship. Yet he didn’t give off those vibes. If she trusted what he’d said, and she did, he hadn’t been with a woman in eight months. A guy like that, going without. It wasn’t for lack of a sex drive.

The messages he’d left her on her cell phone had been
creative, and the exact opposite of tame
. She hadn’t recognized the unlisted number, but she’d known his voice. The things he talked about doing to her made her hot and bothered and eager. Hell, yes, eager.

She wanted to go down on him again. She’d never been into oral, because with Rick he never reciprocated. And she hadn’t
cared for his taste. Just thinking about him like that made her ill. But Shane didn’t bother her at all.
And
then there was
his
mouth… He’d known exactly how to pleasure her. Not once, but twice in one night.
Shelby
hadn’t left a man
’s bed
still hungry for sex
.
Shane had tired her out.
Score one for the record books.

So why couldn’t she be satisfied with the sex alone? The stupid part of her, the girlie part, wanted to hold hands. She’d almost
fallen asleep
on his chest after that last orgasm. Had he not stiffened up underneath her, she might have. But he’d come to his senses and brought her to hers.

After Rick, she wanted to play. No more being tied down to one man and one man’s ideas about being a couple. Shelby wanted raw, dirty, mind-blowing sex. She wanted to try different things, to
feel sexy and powerful and free, the way she’d been with Shane.

Until his father had shown up.

At the thought,
she laughed. She liked Colonel Collins. The one time he’d met him she’d known where George got his charm. H
earing him with Shane had made her like him all the more.
Wear a raincoat.
It had been all she could do to stifle the giggles when Shane had groaned at the advice. To see a man as hot as Shane getting
girl advice from
his father was priceless. It made her feel less of a loser to get constant, unasked for
counsel from her mother and Ron.

Just this week Ron had called asking about Shane’s
sign and bir
th year. As if she knew. And if she did,
did he really think she’d tell him?

Although sh
e didn’t think Shane would mind. He seemed to have a decent sense of humor and an easy way about him. S
he wondered what he’d be like as a boyfriend.
Would he like to go out to movies?
Catch dinner?
Would he ask about her day and she ask about his?
His messages had been sexy but brief. She’d deleted them after hearing them, horrified to think of her mother finding them by accident. But to hear
them
and know he’d called meant he thought about her. She liked it. She liked
him
.

And like that, she sensed a
crazy infatuation developing.
Use him for sex and get on with your life.
Do you really want to connect and give him everything, only to walk in on him getting blown by his secretary?

Did he even have a secretary? She’d seen his office and the main entryway of the building, but little else.
And why do you need to know? So long as he keeps his dick out of everyone but you, you’re golden.

Her
inner voice
had a point,
and she called her doctor to schedule a physical. Just her luck,
Dr. Conn
had an opening the following morning, when Shelby intended to get
proof of her
clean bill of health.