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But the rest of them were turning out to be pretty great stepbrothers, actually. As I pushed the cards back into the envelope, it registered that a few of the cards were for shops in my neighborhood down in San Diego. They’d done their research.
And Shane was in on it; helping pick out gifts I could use when I got back home…?
Maybe his brothers had picked them out, and he had no idea, just signed the card?
But the fact that he’d given me something to use when I got back to San Diego weighed me down with dread. It felt like another big step in the direction ofgoodbye.
I tucked the envelope into my purse. “Thank you. I would hug you all right now but then I’ll probably cry and ruin my makeup, so… Maybe another time, okay?” I blinked back the tears that were forming in my eyes and starting to burn, partly because I was touched, and partly because Shane still wasn’t looking at me and I had no idea how to take that.
“Anytime,” Joss said.
Before I walked away, I gave Shane a last look. His shoulders were tight. He looked so guarded.
He was mad about the other day, maybe. The conversation we had after his fight. The way I left things.
And now… he was letting me go.
He was tapping out.
He’d given up on me. On us.
It’s over.
I could feel it.
I forced myself to walk away. I made my way out of the banquet room and into the hallway, just seeking relief. Seeking somewhere I could be alone. I pushed through a set of doors and forced myself up the stairs, heading for my hotel room, maybe. I reached my floor and pushed blindly through another door. I almost burst into tears.
But in the silent hallway, I wasn’t alone. I heard footsteps.
When I turned, I found Shane following me. I hitched in a breath, shocked. It almost knocked me over.
“You followed me,” I breathed, my heart thumping. Joy and surprise and that awful dread all mingling together.
“You wanted me to,” he said softly.
Yes, I did. “Thank you for the gift. That was very thoughtful.”
“That was all Joss and Brandon.”
I didn’t know what he wanted me to say. What he wanted me to do.
I stared up into his eyes, waiting for his lead. His command.
Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.
But he didn’t tell me to do anything.
He gazed at me, still looking guarded and like the universe was crumbling apart around him, as he suddenly cupped my face and pressed his thumb to my bottom lip. “You are so fucking beautiful,” he murmured.
Then he drifted his hands gently down my dress, kind of skimming my curves, almost reverently…
And then he knelt down in front of me.
I stood there, stunned and fucking elated at once, as he pushed up my dress, the long slit falling open to reveal my panties. Then he peeled my panties down.
He kissed me, once, above my clit, and I fell back against the wall behind me.
Then he groaned and dove right in, eating me out with such adoration… I pressed myself against the wall so I wouldn’t just fall right into him. As he lavished me with his mouth, his amazing tongue, every touch was only intensified by the fact that it was happening in a hotel hallway where anyone could discover us.
