With Honor (15 page)

Tipping her head, she looked up at him and said, “Yes, you did forget to tell me, but it’s okay. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know. Just as they do now.”

“Yeah? Tell me baby, what are my eyes saying?” Lowering his head, he nuzzled her neck.

“They tell me you want me.” His short hair grazed her bare skin, bringing her senses alive.

“That’s pretty obvious.” The words were muffled against her skin as he rubbed his hard on against her hip.

“Shane, you have no reason to be resentful over Jason McKeever.” She wanted him to know she had no attraction to her boss.

“I’m not jealous over the dipwad. My jet would out-speed his Alfa any day.”

“True.”

He darted his tongue out to moisten her skin. “Not to mention, he’s not the one who is going to have his cock inside your hot body in five minutes.”

His dirty words made her panties wet. “Another truth.”

“And…” He lifted her into his strong arms and carried her to the couch. “He has a pencil dick.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Uhh, how do you know that? Did the two of you compare sizes in the bathroom?”

“No, darling. A man who wears more expensive jewelry than any woman at the party is compensating for something he’s lacking.” In one long stroke, he unzipped the back of her dress and tugged it down her shoulders. His heated gaze fell on her red bra. “Damn, red is my favorite color.”

“I dressed for you.” She kissed his forehead, his cheek then his jawline and finally his lips. He pulled the dress farther down over her hips and along her legs. “And matching panties. You did think ahead, didn’t you?”

“Well, you know me. I’m always prepared. And maybe I had hoped I’d get to show them off tonight. I made a special trip to the lingerie shop. I had a hard time deciding whether to buy the crotchless panties or the thong.”

He lowered his gaze. “Can’t say I’m disappointed in your choice.” He slid his finger along the lacey hem of her undergarment. “But I bet the crotchless panties would have been a hit too.”

“Did I say I made a choice?” She traced the line of his jaw and along his bottom lip. “Let’s see how tonight goes.”

A million dollar smile curved his mouth. “You temptress.”

She grabbed the edge of his shirt and tugged it over his head. Splaying her hands across his solid chest, she rewarded his erect nipples with kisses.

He clutched the string of her thong and glided the material down her hips and off her ankles. The sweet intrusion of his finger made her body buck. He pulled his hand away and brought it to his lips, licking her from his digit. Her insides quivered. Never had a man turned her inside out.

“You taste like cotton candy.” He returned his hand to her core. Welcoming his touch, she spread her legs wide. She brought her hand to the buckle of his pants, unsnapped and unzipped them. His cock was already hard and ready for her. Sliding her hand through the elastic waist of his boxers, she released him from the material. His moist tip was a sign of his readiness.

“I think it’s only fair that I taste you as well. What does a masculine, sexy, egotistical man taste like?”

His groan vibrated his chest. “Baby, sample all you like.”

Pushing him back onto the couch, she tugged his pants down to his knees. Keeping her gaze connected with him, she moved above him and took his length into her palm, stroking him rhythmically with her fingers. Lowering her mouth, she slid her lips around him.

Jasmine enjoyed skimming her tongue along every hard inch, suckling the head, drawing him deeper past her tongue to the back of her throat. She stroked him with the tip of her tongue. His hips thrust forward and his balls tensed against her chin.

Her heartbeat became faster and his breathing turned to panting. “Baby, I’m…going…to go.” His fingers threaded in her hair, stroking her scalp.

In one last pump, his hot liquid squirted inside her mouth. She drank him in, tasting him, until finally his quivering stopped. Lifting her gaze to meet his, she looked at his quenched expression. “Tastes good,” she said the words as she licked the saltiness from her top lip.

He reached down and tugged her up gently until she straddled his thighs. Still hard and warm, he entered her. Holding his shaft in his hand, he rolled his head around the inside of her, sending the trail of his heat ascending through her.

Anticipation became a bittersweet drive. Need became a clutch of desperation. Pushing her hips down, he removed his hand. Her movement guided him fully inside her. They became one.

Chapter 11

“Where are you taking me?”

Shawn eyed Jasmine from across the bucket seats of his Jeep as he drove toward the interstate. He’d surprised her by picking her up from work. When he’d spotted her coming out the front door of her building, he’d met her on the step. He’d enjoyed her expression of shock and happiness.

“I’m not telling.” He turned his gaze back onto the road ahead.

“I do believe, Shane, that you have a spontaneous side.” Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her fluff her hair. He’d half expected her to roll up the window so it wouldn’t mess up her hairstyle.

“I hear women like spontaneity,” he said.

“I can’t speak for all women, but I know I don’t mind it.” Her tongue darted out and moistened her lips, triggering a twitch behind his zipper. He’d think by now the strong urge would have tapered, but instead, he wanted her more and more, instead of less.

He moved his fingers along the steering wheel and gripped it until his knuckles were white. He needed to switch his mind to safe thoughts. “How do you like the job?”

Sliding her sunglasses off her face, she laid them in her lap. Her hair still floated about her face, and her cheeks were rosy from the sunlight streaming in. “I just received a great novel to edit, written by Jon Keaton. You may have heard of him from his last best seller,
The Forbidden Seas
.”

“I’m afraid I don’t get the opportunity to read much. What is the book he’s written now? The one you’ll be editing?”

“
The Trials of the Witches
.”

“Editing books must be different than journalism. Do you miss the magazine?”

“Maybe in time I’ll find another journalism job, but for now, I am enjoying my work.”

He’d convinced her to move when she’d had a thriving career, which made him feel guilty. “Moments like these I feel like I should be apologizing that you’ve had to give up so much.” He glanced down at her rounded stomach visible under the thin shirt.

Twisting around, she locked him with a look of understanding. “We both did this, Shane. You made the offer and I couldn’t deny that moving was best for the baby. Your career isn’t flexible.”

He tugged at the neckline of his shirt as the air heated up. “You gave up a lot for the baby.”

She brought her hand up to fidget with the thin gold chain on her neck. “I guess I’ve always wanted a family and I didn’t want to deny my child the thing I never had.”

Having grown up with a fantastic mom and dad, Shawn couldn’t fathom not having had that. “Tell me, Jasmine. Tell me what it was like.”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

He caught the trepidation in her voice. “Yes.” Wanting to give her his undivided attention, he steered the Jeep into a pull-off and killed the engine. “I’m all ears.”

She shrugged and the scoop neck of her shirt dipped down over one shoulder, giving him an eyeful of ivory skin. He didn’t need to touch her to know how soft she was. “When my mother left, I drew back into a shell. And my father, well…” She exhaled. “Never got over the fact that she ran away with another man. Heartbreak destroyed him. I believe every time he looked at me, he saw her, and that’s why he left me, too. He couldn’t bear it.”

“I’m sorry, Jasmine. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like being a kid in that situation.” A sickening feeling burrowed in his gut.

“I got used to being alone. I guess now that will change.” She laid her slender hand on her stomach. Her fingers splayed across her abdomen in a protective way. No doubt she’d make a great mother. She had a great heart; he could see that. “You’ll never have to be alone again.” A truck passed by and he turned his attention to the semi, but his mind wandered to his childhood. “My mom and dad were inseparable. They never argued. They respected one another. My mother never got over my father’s death.”

“How did he die?”

It always made him sick to his stomach when he thought about the accident that took his dad’s life too soon. “He was driving home late one evening and a drink driver ran a stop sign, striking his vehicle. He might have lived if the drunk hadn’t been going over seventy and drove dad’s car over an embankment.”

Her gulp of air broke the tension. “I’m sorry, Shane.” She touched her fingertips to his arm. “That must have been difficult.”

He continued to stare out into nothing as his memories flooded back. “I was in Iraq at the time, back when the war first started. Six months in and I got a call into my lead supervisor’s office. The first time I’d ever seen humanity in the man’s eyes was when he told me the news.”

Daring a glimpse at her, his emotion went deeper at the sight of her sadness and sincerity. The truth edged to the back of his throat. He wanted to be honest with her, but could he trust her? The stakes were higher now. He found himself not only afraid of ruining his brother’s investigation, but losing the child she carried–and her.

How had he allowed things to get so out of hand?

When had he developed feelings for Jasmine?

He clenched his hand into a tight fist as his inner turmoil spiraled. Why couldn’t he control his damned emotions? He’d been through war, at the end of enemy fire, living in an environment that some people would never survive in, and none of it had weakened him. Yet when it came to her, weakness came over him. He worked up a sweat just looking at her.

His heart slammed hard against his ribcage. All day at work he’d been uptight. Walking on eggshells around his men. They looked at him as if he were a bomb about to explode. The point of him being here, pretending to be his brother, came down to keeping his eye out for anything suspicious. Eventually the person behind his brother’s jet going down would show himself–only a matter of time. He just needed to keep his head screwed on straight until the truth came out.

Then when the investigation ended, how would he tell her the facts?

“You’ve suffered a lot, Shane.”

He couldn’t talk about it anymore.

His shirt felt tight and suffocating, so he unbuttoned the top button to allow his skin to cool. Turning the key, the engine purred alive and he pulled out of the gravel spot. Taking the next exit on his right, the narrow road led them into the countryside. They came to a building and he stopped the Jeep in front.

“An airport?” Jasmine asked as she climbed out of the passenger side.

Shawn smiled. “I wouldn’t go as far to call it an airport. An airfield. I keep my C150 stored here.”

“Your what?” She looked at him, covering her eyes with her hand to protect them from the bright sun.

“My personal plane. She’s a small one, but gets me where I need to go. Have you ever ridden in one?” he asked as he motioned for her to follow him toward the building.

She shook her head and thick locks of her hair bounded around her shoulders. “No.”

Laughing, he took her by the elbow. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” When she didn’t respond, he looked back at her. She looked like she had swallowed a frog. “I thought today would be a lovely day for a ride…an air ride.”

* * * *

Jasmine ran her sweating palms down the legs of her pants as she sat on the chair in the lobby while Shane prepared his plane. Watching him through the glass door, he spoke to an older man. Her heart raced from the mixture of emotions–a cross between excitement and worry. She’d never been in anything smaller than a commercial airplane and even then she’d pegged herself as a flying weenie, which she was a little embarrassed to tell Shane.

The air conditioner’s hum as it kicked on made her jump. Above her the fan shot out a burst of cold air–feeling good against her skin and she basked in the chill. She laid her head back and closed her eyes until she heard the sound of heavy steps. Opening her eyes, she smiled nervously as Shane approached her.