Page 14 of Crossing Every Line


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She moved to the mirror and had to lean over the sink. Her thighs still shook, and every part of her felt stretched to the limit. She forced herself to look up. Her lips were raspberry red, and her chin was raw. She touched the abraded skin. Flashes of his ardent mouth let that firefly loose again. She pressed a hand to her belly, then up to her tender breasts.

She’d never been so deliciously taken. Ever.

Allowing herself a few minutes to freshen up, she stepped into her panties and faced the door. Now she just had to figure out a way to act like having sex with a man she’d known less than twenty-four hours wasn’t a big deal. Oh, and not look like a whore at the same time.

Piece of cake.

She thumped her forehead against the door and took a deep breath. She swung the door open and froze. Shane’s shirt was still open, though his pants were buttoned and zipped. The light thatch of hair at the center of his chest arrowed down over his ridiculously tight abs. He definitely didn’t have the body of a man who spent time behind a desk.

But it was the rosary that did her in.

It was so old. The chain and the beads were antique and settled against his skin as if they were simply part of him. He pulled his shirt closed. When he looked up and continued to slip the tiny disks through their holes, her heartbeat roared in her head. His golden eyes were wary and yet still filled with heat. She swallowed the nerves that blasted into her belly and walked out with her head held high.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. He looked at her with that eyebrow raise she was coming to expect. Evidently he didn’t want to waste words.

He glanced at his watch. “I think we need to go and talk to Kain.”

“Tonight?”

“It’s not that late, East Coast girl.”

For her it was well after ten, but she supposed he was right. “Well, if I’m not going back home, I’ll need some supplies.”

He nodded and jangled keys in his pocket. “Let’s go.”

She folded her arms over her stomach and followed. His stride was long and purposeful. He shrugged into a leather jacket that had seen more years than anything in her closet. When he barely stopped at the door for her, she quickened her pace. Impatience surrounded him as surely as the battered leather.

She was fairly sure that it wasn’t directed at her, but when he climbed into the truck without a backward glance, she didn’t waste time asking any more questions. She opened the passenger side door and swung her purse in. The truck was massive. Fortunately there was a running board and handle, because there was no graceful way to get in with her suit. She settled in her seat and reached for her seat belt. When she clicked it into place, she looked up. His gaze traveled up her thigh before she tugged her skirt back down to her knees.

But there was no burn in his eyes this time. In fact, he looked even more pissed off.

“What part of the construction business do you take care of?”

“Evidently none of it.”

The acid tone killed any future plans for conversation. He pulled down the drive and out onto the winding roads that led to the coast. The sun had long since set, but the roar of the surf against the shore was worth the drive. Lights dotted the horizon from slips and docks and the occasional boat on the water. Otherwise the ride was dark and quiet. Finally he snapped the radio on, and 30 Seconds to Mars pounded through the speakers.

Leto’s harsh whispers suited Shane’s mood. She leaned against the door and studied his profile in the dim lights of the dash. She had a feeling that without the scruffy beard and buzz-cut hair he would be far prettier than he liked to own up to. His cheekbones were as sharp as his jawline, but she couldn’t stop thinking about his mouth. It was so wide and soft in contrast to the rest of him.

When the muscle in his jaw rippled, she averted her gaze.

And still he didn’t talk.

She’d never been the type to need to fill the silence with chatter, but she could feel the babbling conversation bubbling up in her gut. Everything was happening so fast. By the third song, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “What exactly are you going to say to…Kain? Was that his name?”

He didn’t answer her, but his jaw flexed again.

“Shane. I’m so far out of the loop on this. You gotta give me a little info here.”

“I don’t know the details, or I’d give them to you.”

She wasn’t so sure about that. “Fine. Sit there and let your gut churn up acid until your voice box fries.”

His eyebrow rose, and his lips twitched. But again, not a damn word. Her own anger started a slow burn. The entire album finished by the time he turned off onto another winding road. What was it about California? Did they have to carve all the houses out of the… Her thoughts drifted away as Kain’s house came into view.

Glass and steel and sand. She could hear the ocean roaring below, but she couldn’t pull her gaze from the wall of softly lit glass. There was no hiding the inside of his friend’s home. Streamlined wood and contemporary furniture filled the lower level. A huge stainless steel and granite kitchen flowed around the open-floor plan.

“Holy crap.”

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