Where She Belongs (6 page)

"Shanna?"

"Yeah,"
she said. "Morning, Trenton."

"Hi.
How are you?"

"Exhausted,
I was up until two AM with that proposal stuff. I hope it made
sense."

"Yeah,
it was good. Look, I'm sending over some files that Martin Thomas
from, uh,…"

"He
was from that start-up, DomPlanet, that wanted you to talk to your
dad for them."

"Right
DomPlanet. I knew you'd remember. Anyway, they sent the more
information we requested. I was hoping you'd have a chance to go over
it and let me know what you think, write me up a summary and all that
stuff."

She
sighed, her eyes burning in the early morning sun. God, why did it
have to be nearly summer? If it were winter, there wouldn't be any
sun at this godforsaken early hour. Or at least Trenton-forsaken.
"Sure. I'll put it on my phone so I can read it over. How soon
do you need it?"

"Since
they only want to use my connections, no rush, Monday, Tuesday. You
won't be at the office on the weekend, so you should have some extra
time by then.”

Shanna
realized it was Trenton's normal to work at home through the weekend.
His father was always working at home. That was not the norm in her
world. Well, not here right here world. The factory closed on
weekends. Family was important to her dad. He spent the weekends with
his family and expected his workers have the same privileges.

She
used to try to get Trenton to take weekends off and enjoy himself,
but he mainly got stressed out that he wasn't keeping up with the
others― which might have been true― but she'd shrug that
smug satisfaction off so she could enjoy some downtime regularly. A
twice-a-year trip to Mexico, no matter how nice, didn't cut it.

"Shanna,
are you listening?"

"To
what?" she snapped.

There
was a long pause. "Pardon?"

"Sorry.
I didn't mean to use that tone. I'm tired from being up late so I
could finish the proposal amendments."

"Thank
you for doing that. I should get back to work. I'll shoot the
proposal stuff over to Father. You are one in a million. I’ll
talk to you soon."

"Have
a good day." She closed her phone and laid back down. But no
matter how she tried, tossing, turning, blankets on and blankets off,
she couldn't get back to sleep.

And
she wasn't even thinking about how much she missed Trenton. "No,
no, not I. I wouldn't go the easy route, that would be simple,”
she said to the ceiling. She recalled Gabe's eyes boring into hers,
how it felt when he kissed her cheek, to be hugged against his body.
Seeing his eyes roam her body as if he were some guy on the street.

That
was the most ridiculous part. She'd thrown herself at him five years
ago. Thrown herself. Offered everything to him, her whole self, body,
mind, soul. Heart. And he'd stopped her and said that it wasn't a
good time.

She'd
been humiliated by the whole experience. And her heart had been
broken. She'd planned to tell him she loved him, real love, not puppy
love, but love. They'd known each other forever. She knew all the bad
things about him. He knew all her secrets. They were both lonely and
lost.

The
anger returned as if it had happened yesterday. She wasn't going to
be charmed by anything Gabriel Brande said to her. However sweet his
words or how it played into the fantasies she'd had, until she met
Trenton almost four years ago, her second year of college. He'd been
a year older, handsome, rich and in need of someone to study with
him. Not study the same things, but someone to keep him accountable.

They
started meeting in the library once a week to read together. First,
he'd ask her some questions. Start a discussion with her. Then he
asked her to proof a paper, then more and more. Finally, he took her
out to dinner to thank her for all her assistance so far. When he
took her home, in his Audi Spyder, he kissed her after he walked her
to her dorm door

After
that, he called her "his girlfriend" and she'd been too
thrilled by everything to find a reason to argue. She spent weekends
at his apartment, where she'd sleep on his spare bed, alone. They
made out all the time, but it never went further for the first six
months they were together. Later, he told her he feared rushing her
and thought she was likely a virgin. She wasn't a virgin, but she
wasn't experienced either.

She
sighed and threw her blankets off. She might as well have a shower
and get some coffee and maybe breakfast; visit her dad, then work.
After talking to her dad, she'd thought of a few hundred things she
wanted to look into: contracts, suppliers, permits. She couldn't
recall most of it. The important parts she had noted on her phone.

As
she dressed, she heard a knock on the front door. Who was here this
early? Little surprise her mother was up. She'd never been one to
sleep in either. Shanna headed down stairs then wrinkled her nose.
"Oh it's you."

Gabe's
eyes searched her face. "You look as if I kept you up drinking
all night, or worse. Or is that jet lag?"

"I
had to do some work for Trenton I forgot about, so I was up until
midnight. And with the time change, I'm sure you can figure it out.
And good morning." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Good
morning, Ma." She poured herself a coffee and dumped some into
her mouth. She didn't usually go for black, but now she needed all
the caffeine she could get, as fast as possible.

"Good
morning, my dear," Rita said, cracking eggs into the pan on
stove. "Gabe is having scrambled eggs. What would you like?"

"Maybe
I should move home. Someone making breakfast for me... Maybe next
time I'll order the service in bed."

"Don't
push it, young lady." Rita leveled a spatula at her daughter and
looked as menacing as a teddy bear. "Move in with Gabe, he makes
a mean breakfast spread."

"Stayed
overnight at Gabe's often? Mom, I'm shocked."

"He
has us over for brunch sometimes. Always delicious."

"That's
because it's store bought.” Gabe winked at Shanna. She held
back her giggle.

"It
is not, Gabriel. I've cleaned up after. You cook everything. Very
wonderfully."

"I'll
have two scrambled as well, Ma. Thank you. Shall I put the bread in
the toaster?"

"Sure."

The
three of them had a nice breakfast together, then to the hospital.
After the hospital, Shanna and Gabe continued on to the office
together.

*
* *

Gabe
was certain he hadn't left Shanna alone for more than forty-five
minutes. He had to return to his own office a few doors down. He'd
had an urgent matter with a supplier to deal with. He supposed after
he should have let Shanna listen in, but it was bad enough that it
required his full attention.

When
he returned, it looked like a tornado had hit the filing cabinet.
They didn't name tornadoes, so he'd have to go with Hurricane Shanna
for now. File folders were laid out in stacks on the sofa, little
notes on the top of every pile.

Hurricane
wasn't accurate, as hurricane usually denoted destruction, and this
was orderly and planned.

"Busy?"

"Looking
over things."

"I
wasn't gone that long was I?"

She
looked at her watch. "Nearly an hour. Why?"

"You're
very efficient."

She
beamed at him.

"So
find anything interesting?"

"Yes,
this filing system is all wrong."

"How
so?"

"Nothing
is in any sort of logical order. Not alphabetical, suppliers are put
next to buyers. No order, just hash-mash everywhere. I can't live
like that. I'm fixing it. Categories then alphabetical."

"Better
talk to Rachel first."

"Nope,
my temporary office. Dad wanted me to work here for two weeks, I'm
working. Do you have a problem? Or shall I come look in your filing
cabinet?"

"Stay
away from my office for now."

She
stuck her tongue at him then went back to the filing cabinet. She
closed the now empty drawer and bent to pull the next one open. He
admired the view as her ass blossomed before his eyes. God, why was
that so appealing to him? She stood again and turned to him. He
lifted his eyes immediately. Shit!

"Was
there something you needed?"
Besides to stare at my ass?
She didn't say it aloud. Maybe she hadn’t noticed the direction
of his eyes.

"Uh,
not really. I came to see if you needed anything. I can use the
computer in here in case you need me. If you don't mind."

"Whatever,
as long as you ignore me talking to myself."

"I
can do that."

He
sat at the computer and logged off Bryce's and onto his account. He
let himself get lost in his reading, her sounds and voice moving to
the background with the other office noises.

Sometime
later, he realized he needed a cup of coffee and a stretch. He stood
and turned the chair around. He opened his mouth to speak, but
stopped to watch her graceful movements, like a bee moving from
flower to flower, instead, she went from filing cabinet to her piles
on the sofa. Flipping through the file, making a decision and placing
it on the appropriate pile. Sometimes she'd stop and stare for a
moment, then move it, move it back, then move it again. Finally
satisfied, she'd flit back to the cabinet.

"Shan,"
he said.

She
stopped and turned to him. She had removed her sweater in the
interim, leaving her shoulders bare. He took the four steps over to
her and touched the bit of skin, letting the smoothness roll under
his knuckles.

She
gasped and looked up at him, the rest of her body froze. He didn't
know what possessed him to caress her, but he couldn't seem to stop
himself. He realized that he shouldn't be touching, and pulled his
hand back.

His
sudden movement broke her frozen state and she stepped backward. Only
she stumbled and lost her balance completely, flailing backwards.
Gabe lurched forward and grabbed her to keep her from hitting the
floor.

She
over corrected herself and ended up crashing into him. He caught her
in his arms and looked down at her. He supported her with one hand,
while the other brushed her hair from her face. Then his hand trailed
down the slender curve of her neck, back to her shoulder where it
started. Now that he had felt her skin, he wanted to keep touching
her. He trailed his fingers over her jawline,

He
watched her throat bob as she swallowed the lump in her throat. He
bent his head and brushed his lips over her jaw. He lifted his head
in time to see her close her eyes and her lips parted in a most
enticing sigh. He couldn't resist. He whispered as much against her
lips, then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and
kissed him back.

His
mind was a riot of thought and feeling, as she matched his intensity.
Their tongues thrust and parried, seeking to dominate and possess.
Now that she supported her weight on her own legs, he plowed his
fingers into her hair. She wore long curls that bounced around the
swell of her breast, which he supposed she had done deliberately. She
didn't seem the type to shy away from using her feminine wiles to get
what she wanted. He used it against her now and tugged her head back.
Dragging his lips from hers, he applied them to her neck and tasted
what she offered. He wished he could brand her with his teeth, but he
knew it was a bad idea.

She
rubbed against him. "Gabe," she sighed. Her body went from
limp in his arms to tense. "Oh shit, Gabe." She pushed at
him and he let her go.

Fuck,
what the hell did you say after a second ill-timed kiss. He wanted to
punch something. "I'm sorry. Hell."

He
watched her face go from a confused riot of emotion to calm and in
control. She brushed her hair back into place quickly. "Well,"
she started.

Gabe
decided to cut her off with a shake of his head. He matched her
demeanor and went back to business. He remembered his original intent
when he straightened. "Do you want some coffee? I need a cup."

"You
could summon Rachel."