A surge of joy calmed her ever-pounding, erratic heart. He wasn’t on a date. He was clearly trying to enjoy a drink and instead getting some very unwanted attention. Lia watched as he tried to pry the woman’s fingers from his thigh — without any success.
It reminded her of the old days. The days she’d been in love with him, and he’d still looked at her like a little sister.
Well, those days were obviously long past, but she couldn’t stop herself from moving through the wall-to- wall crowd of people. She’d decided to ride to his rescue.
She even managed to convince herself that she was doing it as a favor for a friend, not because she wanted to stake a claim on her territory, a territory she had no right to.
“Hi, babe. Did you order my drink yet?” Lia asked as she pushed herself in beside Shane and sent him a wink.
He gazed back at her in shock at finding her there, shock that quickly turned to relief as he figured out what she was doing.
“Sorry, I haven’t had a chance yet,” he said, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her close, leaving her no choice but to hoist one leg over his as she half sat on him.
Oh, my, her body heated up fast. She was expecting to save him, but she wasn’t expecting such close contact while doing so. It felt entirely too good to pull back, however. Plus, she rationalized, that would be sending a clear message to the annoying brunette, whose smile had disappeared as soon as Lia showed up.
The entire game would be defeated if she didn’t play along. And that was just no fun.
“Well, you know what I like,” she said, then glanced up with a start, as if just noticing the other woman.
Lia looked the woman in the eye and then raised her eyebrow as she pointedly turned her glance on the hand the woman was pressing down on Shane’s free thigh.
“He’s taken, sweetie,” the brunette growled. “Why don’t you run along?” She squeezed just a bit more closely against Shane’s side. Her breasts were so squished on his shoulder that Lia was getting far more of a view than she cared to see.
“Sorry, doll, but he’s been taken for a long time. If you don’t remove your hand from my boyfriend’s thigh, I’m going to have to get mean — and you won’t like me very much then.” Lia spoke with just enough menace to get her point across.
Shane’s head whipped back and forth between the two women as if he didn’t know what to do. Typical male.
The girl lifted her hand, grabbed the back of Shane’s neck and brought her painted red lips to his, kissing him hard and fast. “When you get sick of her, I’ll be over there,” she said, then released him and sauntered off.
Lia felt a real urge to chase after the skank, but Shane’s arm tightened around her as if he knew where her thoughts were going.
“Thanks for the rescue. I’ve been around some persistent females, but damn,” he said before giving forth an involuntary chuckle.
Lia’s gaze was drawn to the perfection of his lips, and as he caressed her lower back and the crowd pushed her even closer to him, she was forgetting why it was a bad idea for the two of them to make love again.
The reason had to be stupid.
“No problem. You’ve saved me enough times,” she said.
The bartender stepped over to them, breaking the spell Shane had her under, and Lia ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. She’d need the extra kick the drink would give her.
Neither of them said another word as her drink was mixed and set before her. Shane paid the man, giving him a healthy tip and encouraging him to come back when their glasses got low, then waited as Lia took a few long swallows.
She knew she should try to put some distance between her and Shane, but as the crowd surged, the music pulsed, and the drink warmed her blood, she decided that distance was vastly overrated.
Somehow she ended up fully on his lap, with his arm around her waist, his mouth within inches of her own.
She could blame it on the alcohol, blame it on the club — but the reality was that she wanted him, wanted him more than any other man in the universe. More than anything, period. She loved him, and no matter how much she fought it, she was always going to love him.
So why not have one more night together? Soon he’d be gone again, leaving her and going to parts unknown. Wouldn’t she regret it more if she didn’t have this memory of them together? What if the next mission ensured he never returned?
Surely it was better to have a piece of him than nothing at all.
When he leaned forward with the clear intention of kissing her, Lia didn’t hesitate. She met him halfway, groaning in celebration as their mouths joined together.
Yes, this was where she wanted to be. This was where she should have been all night. Who needed alcohol when she could get drunk from his touch?
Shane pulled back. “Do you want to leave, Lia? The choice is yours.” His lips grazed her ear as he spoke so she would be sure to hear him above the noise.
Lia paused for only a second. Could she do this and still stay strong?
Did it matter?
No. No, it didn’t.
“Yes, Shane.”
She didn’t have to say anything else. Shane threw another tip on the bar, lifted her from his lap and set her quickly on her feet. Taking her hand, he parted the crowd with the sheer size of his masculine frame, and they exited the club.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Shane knew he shouldn’t do this, knew she was feeling vulnerable and might regret her decision later, but he wanted her so badly. He wanted it all, but he’d take what he could get.
He also knew she cared about him. Yes, they’d both messed up, but he had come to claim her again, and he wasn’t leaving without doing just that. The only problem was that he wanted all of her — forever.
And he was going to make that happen.
First, though, they had to appease this hunger. Neither of them could think straight otherwise. He would show her, in the one way he was sure of, how much he loved and desired her.
They didn’t have any trouble in the bedroom and that was a step in the right direction.
Walking from the club, he moved swiftly down the street. His hotel was only two blocks away, and he was damn glad he hadn’t taken Adriane’s offer to stay in the palace.
Shane liked his own space, his privacy. Sure, the palace was luxurious, but this hotel was damn nice, too, and it was a hell of a lot closer right now than the palace was.
As his body throbbed, he adjusted his stride. It would be a miracle if the two of them made it back to his room in one piece.
It had just been too long since he’d sunk inside her body. He hoped and prayed she didn’t change her mind, that the cool night air didn’t somehow wake her up and let her think she was making a mistake.
When the two of them came together, it was never a mistake.
He reached the hotel, her hand gripped tightly in his, and he didn’t pause as he swept through the front doors and headed straight to the bank of elevators.
Lia’s step never faltered beside his.
When the elevator doors opened in invitation, they allowed the car to swallow them up and he delighted when the doors closed with just the two of them inside. Privacy was now theirs and Shane couldn’t wait any longer.
