Bodywork (32 page)

His breath came faster. “Or your slick mouth. I haven’t come in anything but my hand once, and that was two days ago because I was so pent up with anger and frustration
I couldn’t wait any longer
. Damn it. I missed you.”

He’d said that. But she liked him repeating it.

“So what now?”

“Now you know
I love you, and I know you love me.” He sounded smug, but she’d grant he had a right to be, especially after giving her that
rush
. She felt so boneless she could barely breathe. “
I’
m probably moving too fast again, but I’ll trust you to slow me down.”

“You’re good so far,” she said sleepily.

“Great. Then
I’ll
tell you
we’re dating.
Committing only to each other.
Boyfriend/girlfriend all the way, and I’m telling everyone I know.”

“Okay.”

“And if you don’t freak out on me in another month or two, I’m putting a ring on your finger.”

Shane pulled out, flipped her
onto her back,
and entered her once more, watching her as he moved. “Yeah, I’m gonna put a collar on you and keep you.”

“Collar?” She groaned and
reveled
in his lips
around her nipple
.
She loved him watching her, because it added a hint of naughty to their loving.
“Shane…”

He bit her, hard enough to jolt a dart of need in her core.
“Not a literal collar. I want everyone to know you’re mine.
And that
I’m yours.” He began making love to her, slowly, and each inch of him was a precious part she wanted to hold onto. Connected physically and now emotionally.
Finally.

“I don’t know. I was thinking a collar might be fun. Not
vanilla
.”
She bit her lip when he turned to her other breast and sucked her nipple with rough pulls.
He pillowed his head between her mounds and nuzzled, inhaling her scent. Then he returned to her breasts and made love to them. To her, while he moved in and out of her with a slowness that drove her insane.

Shane leaned up and
watched
her while he took forever to thrust
back
inside her. “I love your tits. Your body. Hell, I love you, Ms. Vanilla.”

“Soon to be Mrs. Vanilla, h
mm
?” She put her arms around his neck and hung on while he increased his pace.

“Damn right.” He snapped his hips, and he brushed something tingly inside her.
“You have to say yes.”

“
Yes, yes.”

His laughter faded into a groan when she squeezed him inside her.

She gripped his neck and threaded her fingers through his soft hair. “
God, I’m coming again.”

“Good, because I can’t stop. Touch yourself, baby. Come with me.”

She moved a hand between them and rubbed herself, and in seconds, they both crested another wave of pleasure. Together.

Epilogue

A month later,
November
had turned the skies gray and the weather
colder than a witch’s tit
. George used the phrase around his family whenever he could, making sure to include Shelby in his antics.

She rolled her eyes at him and met Shane’s pained expression
, aware they looked goofy
.
They d
ressed as matching ice cream cones
at Vanzant Interior’s quarterly gala. Since Shelby had been depressed over Shane during her favorite holiday, Ron had suggested they make their party a costume bash, and not a week from Thanksgivin
g. But
Shelby
didn’t mind.

Her Halloween had been spent lamenting the loss of a wonderful man. So tonight she planned to make up for her lost
celebration. It was a perfect night for them t
o
giv
e
each other treats. Chocolate syrup they could lick off one another, and maybe some hot wax for fun. She’d never been so happy, and everyone she knew commented on it.

She had a feeling Shane was gearing up to ask her something special. Not an engagement, but they’d been talking a lot about moving in together.
In her mind, a true step toward commitment.
She still had instances of panic, waiting
for
the other shoe to drop on her relationship, but Shane talked her down off the ledge. And on those occasions when he started talking babies and 401Ks for their grandkids, she reined him in without breaking a sweat.

Shelby had no doubt Shane was
it
for her. They promised to keep each other honest, and to never lose that spark that had brought them together in the first place. Lots of bodywork in and out of the massage clinic, and plenty of non-vanilla dates.

“I can’t believe you came as ice cream cones. That is so revoltingly couple-like.” Maggie sneered at her costume.

“Please. I’m cute. You’re… what are you, exactly?”

Maggie opened her large
beige
overcoat. Instead of a sexy teddy or
vampy vixen
costume
, Maggie
wore a flowered frock that looked like something her Aunt May might have worn, loose knee-highs pooling around her ankles, and Mary Janes. She also
had stuffed animals strapped
to her
arms and legs. “I’m now officially the cat lady.”

Shelby burst out laughing, and Shane ambled closer to her, Mac hard on his heels. Wherever Maggie went, Mac seemed to be near. Shelby
had a feeling her friend was due to get
run over by big bad Mac Jameson.
And that pleased her, because
she happened to like him.
A gruff,
teddy bear
of a guy who looked like he ate small children for breakfast, Mac might be exactly what Maggie needed, someone who wouldn’t cater to her every whim. And he wasn’t a loser. From what Shane said, he wasn’t even playing around with random women anymore.

Shane attributed the loss of
Mac’s
harem to “one smart-mouthed blonde who look
s
like God’s personal hooker in pink aerobic tights.” That Mac. He really had a way with compliments.
He’d come as a biker, and he wore his jeans and leather vest very well. Shelby
had
noticed Maggie
keeping a wary eye on
him throughout the night.

Interesting things were heating up in Seattle, that was for sure.

“What the hell is strapped to your thigh?” Mac asked Maggie, his eyes the size of quarters.

“One of my many cats. I’m the neighborhood cat lady.”

“You are not.” Shelby sighed. Maggie and her dire predictions about being an old maid.

Mac choked on laughter and whispered something to Shane, who broke down in tears.

“What’s so funny?” Shelby had to know.

Maggie planted her hands on her hips
, clearly annoyed
. “Yeah
. What are you idiots laughing at?
”
Shelby liked that her best friend and boyfriend got along so well. Maggie treated him like her brother, and he teased her the way he did George.

Mac wiped his
eyes and had a hard time explaining through more laughter,
“You have a
pussy
right near your, um, your
, ah
…”

“For God’s sake.” Maggie yanked the velcroed cat
nestled almost between her thighs
and threw it at Mac’s head.
Then she stalked off to join Shelby’s mother, Ron, and Ron’s new man, Justin Harmon. Shane’s boss.

“You have to admit that’s funny as hell.” Shane chuckled and watched Mac trying to placate the temperamental blonde
by giving her back the stuffed cat
.

Shelby bit back a grin, but Shane saw it. “Okay, it’s funny. You know what’s also funny?”

“What?” He pulled her as close as their puffy cone costumes would allow.

“
You realize
Mac
now
has his hand on Maggie’s pussy.”

Shane died laughing again, and Shelby joined him.
They had so much fun together, and their sense of humor meshed. Hell, everything about them meshed. She spent so much time at his place and he at hers that they were all but living together. She tolerated his neat tendencies, and he allowed her to stack piles of crap everywhere, so long as it remained organized.

As Shelby glanced around at her friends and family, s
he couldn’t wait for the holidays
. This year was special. She
longed to
share festivities with Shane, to see what he
thought of the
Christmas
present she’d already bought for them.

Matching wedding bands and a save
-
the
-
date invitation for August 2
^nd
, the
anniversary of the
day Shane
h
ad run into her and turned her world, and her coffee, upside-down.

About the Author

Marie Harte is an avid reader who loves all things romantic. Reading romances since she was twelve, she fell in love with happy endings and knew writing was her calling. Over twenty years later, the Marine Corps, a foray through Information Technology, and children, her dream has finally come true. Marie lives in Oregon with her family and loves hearing from readers.

To read more about Marie, visit
http://www.marieharte.com