Chaos (4 page)

“Are you going to desert her?” Alyssa asked before she could
stop herself.

“I promised I’d visit her as long as I lived in the city if
she promised not to fall in with any kids who did things that could hurt her.
I’ll keep that promise too. She’s a great kid. So much like Max yet so
different too. I’d never intentionally hurt her no matter what you think,
Campini.”

Alyssa nodded slowly before turning her attention back to
Brett. “My dilemma is which to give to Kiley and Jordan. He’ll see the
expression on her face and surely ask about it. Yours and Penny’s too. On the
other hand, I don’t want to keep them from him either, since they’re such good
shots.”

“Why don’t you save this bunch until Max is gone?” Brett
suggested after giving it some thought. “Max is right. Jordan won’t want to
take Bear from his family, even though he’ll need the dog more than they do.
His parents both told me they only let Max accept the dog since Jordan wanted
him to have it so much. If you show these to him and we tell him what we were
talking about, including you and Penny, Shane, he’ll take the dog without
arguing. That will make it easier on all of them.”

“Good, that’s what I needed to hear.” Alyssa collected her
photos.

“When do we get to see the others?” Jesse asked.

“After the newlyweds, of course. You know it wouldn’t be
right to show you before they see them. I wouldn’t have brought these few if
I’d been able to make up my mind on them,” Alyssa stated.

“As it should be,” Brett agreed, catching the way that Shane
was watching her. “Jesse, our ladies await. Shall we leave these two to their
own devices? Although, by the look on his face, I bet we can guess what they’ll
be up to.” He laughed as Shane scowled at him. “Honey, be gentle with him. I
don’t think he’s really ready for a woman like you.”

“If he can’t handle you, keep me in mind,” Jesse joined in
the teasing. “I’m more than ready to step in for him if you ever need me.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.” Alyssa winked as they were
leaving, just to see Shane’s reaction. He sat back, folding his arms across his
chest and stared at her until Alyssa squirmed uncomfortably. “What are you
thinking, McKade?”

“Lots of things, Campini.” He sounded deadly and his face
went carefully blank.

“Care to tell me? Or would you like me to leave you alone?”

She didn’t have a chance to move before he clamped his hand
on her arm. “You’re not going anywhere without me in that outfit.” He stared
into her eyes. “You really are insane, aren’t you?”

“Get your hand off me,” she warned, not looking away. “I
will go where I want, when I want and with whom I want. It’s none of your
business. We don’t have any kind of arrangement and, with the way you’re
behaving, I’m not sure I want to be here with you right now.”

“Don’t push me.” Shane tightened his grip. “I will follow
you around all night if I have to but there is no way I’m leaving you on your
own, looking like that. Men are pigs and will jump to conclusions. If I’m not
with you, one of them may forget the rules of polite society and attack you. I
couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen.”

“Oh, I see. You’re just being a Good Samaritan, looking out
for my welfare. Well, I don’t need you or your protection. I can take care of
myself, McKade.” She pried his hand off her arm. “Good night, stud.”

“Pixie Queen, why do you have to be so difficult all the
time? Hell yes, I’m concerned for your safety. But that’s not all of it.” He suddenly
looked as tired as he felt as he slumped in his chair.

“What’s the rest?” Alyssa was caught off guard by the
softness in his voice.

“You. Campini, Monday morning, when I dropped you off at
your apartment I thought I’d had my fill of you. Tonight, you show up looking
like the seductress you are and it’s all I can do to keep my hands off you. I
never knew my tuxedo could turn me on like it does with you in it. As much as I
feel that spending more time with you is more dangerous than jumping into a fire,
drenched in gasoline, I want you. God damn, I want you so badly that I can
taste you. I’d like nothing more than to toss you up on this table and lick you
from head to toe and back again. You’re going to burn me, I know it. We’re a
disaster waiting to happen. I should make sure you’re safe and walk away but I
don’t think I can. This is pure insanity and I know it. Why the hell are you
doing this to me?” He was getting angrier with each word.

“Just what the hell do you think I’m doing? You’re the one
who came up with this idea, if you’ll remember correctly. I told you, I don’t
go back on my word. You never once said I was to wear this for you alone. You
said I had to wear this for a drink with you. Where did you have in mind when
you said that? And maybe, just maybe,” she paused, chest heaving with her own
mounting anger, “you’re the one who’s going to burn me. Maybe I’m the one
walking into the fire because, let me tell you, I want you just as much as you
say you want me. I’m not a coward though. I won’t back down from this just
because it feels a little dangerous. It’s up to you now, McKade. Are we going
somewhere so you can slide that iron shaft of yours into me once you figure out
there’s nothing under your jacket or are you going to wimp out on me and leave
us both unsatisfied?”

Shane stared as her words sank in. Finally, he stood,
pulling her with him. Wordlessly he dragged her out of the bar and across the
lot to his pickup truck. Silently, Shane thanked his luck that the light above
it was out. Instead of letting Alyssa in the passenger side, he startled her by
sliding into the seat. “Prove it,” he growled, already lowering his zipper.

Alyssa stood and stared, speechless with shock. He couldn’t
be serious. Did he really expect her to have sex with him, in his truck, in a
parking lot where anyone might see them?

Shane noticed her hesitation as he freed his hard cock from
his pants. “Who’s the coward now? There’s no light. The windows are tinted so
no one’ll see in once the door’s closed. I’m calling your bluff, Campini. Slide
on or tell me to take you home.”

Alyssa glared as she tossed the envelope of photos on the
driver’s seat. “Fine, McKade. You want me like this then hold on and let’s see
if you can keep up.” With that, she straddled him, slammed the door behind her,
raised his jacket so he could see that her claim was true and guided him into
her.

Fiercely, Shane lifted his hips as his hands gripped her
ass, ramming his cock repeatedly into her clenching sheath. She was
unbelievably wet as her flesh tightened around him. Shane managed to hang on
until he heard her moans, signaling her release before he savagely upped the
tempo of his thrusts. In no time, he echoed her pure animal satisfaction.

Panting and holding her tightly against him, Shane realized
what he’d just done. He was worse than the men in the bar who had made no
secret of wanting her. He really had intended to see her safely home, whether
to hers or his, undecided. Instead, he’d let her taunt him into losing control.

“Oh wow, that was incredible!” Alyssa interrupted his
self-recriminations. “I’ll have to get you totally pissed more often now that I
know how you react.”

“Campini,” Shane sighed in confusion. He agreed the sex was
outstanding but he was still ashamed by his behavior.

“What, done being a caveman so soon? You know, McKade, I’m
not fragile. I like my men hard and fast sometimes, if that’s what you’re
frowning about this time.”

“But…” he tried again.

“Do not ruin this,” she warned. “If you say something stupid
now like how you shouldn’t have been so forceful and point out where we are,
I’m going back in that bar to find a man who isn’t be afraid to indulge me when
I’m so obviously looking for an experience just like that.”

Shane tried to read her eyes in the semi-darkness. He
decided to take her at her word and drop it. He’d just have to stay controlled
in the future, since she obviously wasn’t going to. In the future? Where the
hell had that thought come from? “Where to?” he asked, lifting her off him and
climbing from the truck as he rearranged his pants.

“As in your place on mine?” she asked, desire coating her
question as she cleaned herself up with the towel he’d pulled from his gym bag
behind the seat. He nodded, knowing he was begging for more trouble. “Yours
then. Since you probably have food and I’m hungry. Unless, you’d rather take me
out?”

Instead of responding, Shane slammed her door and took a
deep breath. Yes, he was definitely heading for trouble but there was
absolutely nothing he was willing to do to save himself.

“Don’t you ever hold still without a camera in your hands?”
Shane grumbled.

“What?” Alyssa paused her prowling around his kitchen to
give him a quizzical look.

“You’ve been in constant motion since the first time I spoke
to you. You’re starting to make me nuts. Why don’t you put all that excess
energy to good use and chop something?”

She laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You’re not really going
to make stir-fry from raw stuff, are you? I mean, I thought you were going to
order in or pull a bag out of the freezer.” Shane raised an eyebrow but didn’t
comment. “You’re serious. You are honestly cooking this from scratch.”

“It’s just stir-fry, Campini. It’s not like it’s a big deal
or anything. From your reaction, I’m beginning to wonder what you usually eat.
Wait, don’t tell me. You grab whatever fast food is closest. When you said you
didn’t have any food, you meant you literally don’t have any food.”

“Hey, it’s not like I can’t cook if I want to. Why bother
when it’s just me?”

“I’m the only one who’s generally here. I don’t make a habit
of inviting people over for dinner either.” He gave up on the idea of her
helping and began to prepare the vegetables on his own.

“Why do you have all this stuff?” She stopped long enough to
poke around at the supplies he placed on the counter. “Were you planning on
making this tonight anyway?”

“No, this was for tomorrow. I never know when I’m going to
get the opportunity to eat while I’m working. I try to make something
nutritious as often as I can.”

“You’re not what I thought you were, McKade.”

“And that was?”

She hopped up onto the counter, perching next to him. “Well,
at first I thought you were some kind of pervert, the way you kept lurking
around day after day, watching me. Then, when you announced you were a cop and
tried to chase me away all those times, I figured you were some sort of macho
asshole on a power trip. When you showed up with Brett and I heard what he had
to say, I decided you were a stuck-up jerk who went out of your way to be mean
to the people who care about you. Later that night, when you explained what he
was referring to and how he and Jordan misunderstood so many things, I started
to believe you might have a human side underneath it all somewhere. Listening
to Kiley as she got to know you over the last month made me wonder if you might
actually be a decent guy after all. And then, well then, at the reception I
realized that you possess a sense of humor and are capable of being charming
when you choose to. You’re one hell of a lover. You have a nurturing streak and
now I find out that you can honestly cook. It even seems like you enjoy it.
What a mess of contradictions you turned out to be. Too bad you piss me off
ninety-five percent of the time, McKade. I could almost like you if you weren’t
usually so damn aggravating.”

“Thanks for the compliment, Campini. Don’t put so much into
it next time.” Shane’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Want my impressions of
you? Good. At first, you seemed to be an unconscious lunatic, the way you
ignored the position you insisted on placing yourself in. Also, I thought that
maybe you were just too stupid to know better. You’re stubborn and have a
one-track mind, which is probably great for your career but detrimental to your
life expectancy. You’re annoying, arrogant, insufferable and a general
nuisance. You seem to get some kind of weird thrill out of putting yourself in
danger and purposely ignoring me when I was simply trying to keep you alive. I
know it’s only going to get worse now that Kiley is expecting me to check on
you for her. I agree that we are perfectly suited sexually. I’m sure we’d be at
each other’s throats if we spent time together on a regular basis. But, in
spite of all that, I still have to admit that you’re something. You definitely
have balls, walking into the bar the way you did in that getup.”

“How do you know I don’t always dress like this when I go
out, looking for a little action?”

Shane shook his head in disbelief. “If you do, I don’t want
to know about it. Please? Your cousin would die if she found out and I’d have
to quit my job to follow you around twenty-four hours a day.”

“Relax, stud. I’m just teasing, well, mostly teasing.” She
slid off the counter and began opening cabinets. “Don’t you have anything to
munch on?”

“When is the last time you ate?”

She shrugged as she found the bag of cashews he planned to
add to the stir-fry. “I was in the studio most of today. I need to turn in my
series on the homeless and I want to finish up all of Kiley’s photos before I
leave.”

“So, today you ate?”

“I had a few black olives before I got started and I keep
cookies there in case I get hungry while I’m working.”

“That’s it? You’re going to make yourself sick, treating
your body like that. Don’t you have any common sense? How many beers have you
had?”

“Lighten up! You’re worse than my mother and Kiley combined.
I’ve been taking care of myself for years without your help and I’m sure I’ll
continue to be just fine. Jeez, McKade, quit glaring at me like that.” She
helped herself to another beer, just to increase his annoyance. “You’re taking
all the fun out of tonight. I think, maybe I should just call me a cab and
leave you to your veggies.”

“Christ, Campini! You don’t have to go. Okay, fine. No more
lectures. Kill yourself by poisoning your body. See if I care.” He snatched one
plate from the cabinet. “This is ready so I’m going to eat. There’s plenty if
you want to join me. If not, I’ll drive you home when I’m done.”

“What if I’m not planning on going home?” She gave in to the
tempting smell of his stir-fry but instead of sitting at the table with him,
she reclaimed her spot on the counter.

“Then I guess I’m going out this evening instead of
discovering how much pleasure we can share.”

“That’s not fair. You’re trying to trick me.”

“I prefer to see it as wishful thinking on my part. If
you’re not interested, that’s your choice. I guess once was enough for you
today. Surprising really, after last weekend I had the impression that you
would demand more than that. When you showed up earlier, I hoped that I was getting
another chance to explore every inch of you with my tongue. Guess I was
mistaken, huh?”

“That’s so beyond unfair. That’s more like blackmail.”

“What? You’re leaving soon. I figured we could do a little
mutual indulging before you go. Or do you think enjoying each other over the
next two weeks would be too much?”

“Hmm,” she sounded uncommitted as if she didn’t care one way
or the other. “I suppose we could meet up occasionally. After all, I’m sure
Kiley will question you on whether you checked up on me like I know she asked
you to. Since I’m going to be subjected to your company, I suppose we may as
well be naked. I like you better that way anyway.”

“Does that mean we’re not going out tonight?” He’d finished
eating and started cleaning up the dishes.

When he began to put the remaining food away, she stopped
him. “Not so fast. I want some more of that.”

“You know, it’s really not good for you to gorge yourself
either.”

“Oh shut up! I know I heard you say no more lectures. I
didn’t have that much the first time and I only wanted a few more bites. After
all, if I don’t eat enough to satisfy your watchful eye, you might not let me
have another beer.”

“How much are you planning on drinking? I think you should
tell me so I know if I’m going to need to suppress my lecture on the dangers of
getting drunk.”

“I’m far from drunk, McKade. I’ll show you drunk, if you
want to see drunk.” She was furious.

“I didn’t say I thought you were drunk. I asked if you were
planning on getting drunk. There’s a big difference, Campini. You should pay as
much attention to the conversations you have instead of just your photography.
In fact, you should keep a camera in your hands at all times. It might make it
easier for you.”

“You really can be such an asshole.”

“You bring it out. I’ve never had any other complaints.”

“You mean, from your aromatherapy bimbo or from the chickie
who taught you how to cook?”

“Jealous, Pixie Queen? For your information, my parents
taught me how to cook.”

“Jealous! Let me rephrase that to conceited asshole.”

He leaned against the counter and silently watched her as
she paced around the room. “So now what?”

“Now,” she stomped into the living room, yanking off his tie
and shrugging out of his jacket, “You’re going to have to see what you can do
to make up for pissing me off like you just did.”

He caught her in the middle of the room and wrenched her
tightly against him. Cupping her ass with both hands, he thoroughly devoured
her mouth. “Any ideas on how I could best go about that?”

“I recall something about my body and your tongue. Perhaps
that would be a good way to start.”

“My pleasure.” He kissed her again before urging her to the
floor. “I’ll begin here,” he traced a line along her jaw toward her ear, “and
you can give where I go next some thought.”

“You’re keeping your clothes on?” Alyssa felt her desire
grow as he let his tongue wander. Damn, he was good at that. He seemed to know
exactly where and how much pressure she liked everywhere he licked.

“For now, unless you prefer I didn’t.” His hands joined his
tongue in caressing her, giving equal attention to both breasts before drifting
lower to devour the wetness between her folds. “I can’t believe how perfect
your body is, knowing how you treat it. A guy could get addicted to having
access to this.”

“You’re no slouch either, McKade. Why don’t you strip so I
can enjoy some skin while you’re doing that?”

“As you wish, my Queen.” Shane yanked off his clothes and
stretched out on his back on the floor. “Why don’t you come here?” he asked,
tugging her so her knees straddled his face.

“Oh I like that idea,” Alyssa declared, burying her fingers
in his hair, holding his head in place. “Lick me.”

“My pleasure,” he chuckled as she lowered herself to his
waiting mouth. His hands reached up, clasping her ass, helping to support her
as his tongue delved into her wet folds. Shane decided she was the sweetest
morsel he’d ever tasted and could happily lap at her cream for hours. The
sounds she made as her excitement grew spurred him on.

“Suck my clit,” Alyssa gasped between moans. Her legs were
beginning to tremble.

Instantly, Shane did as she commanded. He wrapped an arm
around her to hold her steady. His other hand slid to her pussy. As his lips
fastened around her stiffened nub, he impaled her with two fingers, flexing
them to add to her pleasure.

“God, yes,” she cried, shivering above him.

Shane curled his fingers, stroking over her sweet spot,
sucking her clit harder, flicking it with his tongue. The added stimulation
pushed Alyssa over the edge. Her orgasm flooded Shane’s mouth with the
sweetness he was beginning to crave.

He waited, half-holding her up until Alyssa’s muscles
functioned again. “Stay there,” he said as he slid from beneath her.

Moving to kneel behind her, Shane urged her forward until
they were at the edge of the chair. He shifted her, cupping her chin, twisting
her slightly in order to claim a kiss before positioning her, draped partly on
the chair before him.

“Tell me you want this as much as I do, Pixie Queen,” he
panted, rubbing his cock through the wetness on the outside of her folds.
“Please. Say it.”

“Yes. I want this. McKade, give me your cock. Now.” She
arched her back, displaying herself more fully.

That was all the encouragement he needed to plunge his
swollen cock deep into her pussy. Steadily he pumped, working his shaft through
her silky tightness. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh mixed with sighs
of building pleasure as time was suspended.

“Harder,” Alyssa snapped, pushing back to meet his thrusts.

Shane surged forward, forcing his cock even deeper as his
fingers dug into her hips. “Pix,” he grunted.

“Oh yeah, that’s it,” she cried, meeting him thrust for
thrust. It wasn’t long before the sensation of him filling her completely sent
her soaring in ecstasy.

The feel of Alyssa’s warm pussy squeezing his cock soon had
Shane joining her. He held her hips tightly, sealing them together, until he
was drained. Then he collapsed on top of her, pinning her to the chair while
they both caught their breath.

Finally Alyssa said, “Come on, McKade. Get up. Let’s go get
comfy and do that again.”

* * * * *

“What are you watching?” Alyssa strolled out of the bedroom,
wearing Shane’s tee shirt.

“Max’s video. Brett made us each a copy of it. They were on
the table when I got up this morning so I guess he dropped them off sometime
last night.” Shane motioned for her to sit while he poured her a cup of coffee.

“He was here?”

“Apparently.” He handed her Brett’s note with the cup.

It read, “
Noticed the clothes. Again! Didn’t want to
disturb you but here are the copies as promised, both of them. Is there
something I should know? Call me
.”

Alyssa groaned. “This is turning into a nightmare.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not you. I was referring to the fact that Brett now knows I
spent the night. Again.”

“Ah, I hate to break it to you, Pixie but he would have
already made the assumption that you were here, whether or not he actually
confirmed it. He may not know why you were wearing my tuxedo jacket yesterday
but he’s sure to guess that it was some kind of payback. He saw the way I was
looking at you and I’m sure my desire was obvious.”

She almost giggled. “I’d say so.”

“So, you see, he already had our activities as a forgone
conclusion. I can guarantee that his teasing won’t be any worse now than it
would have been after last weekend.”