She was on a mission to stop his heart, he was sure of it. That was the only explanation for why she’d dressed like that again.
As Alyssa came up the walkway toward his front door, Shane watched through the window. He gulped, which made his tie feel that much tighter. That wasn’t the same little black dress she’d worn last time, but it had the same effect. Goddamn, she was gorgeous.
When she stepped onto the porch, the skirt lifted up just slightly, and all the breath left Shane’s lungs. A garter? Shit.
He opened the door, and her grin almost put him on his knees. For a moment, they stood there, facing each other over the threshold, his body temperature soaring just from looking at her.
Fuck their dinner reservations.
Alyssa shifted her weight and gestured at the cars in the driveway. “So, where are we going for—”
He cut her off with a kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. She didn’t resist. The second their lips met, she melted in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck as if that was the only way she could keep from sinking to the porch at his feet.
When he broke the kiss, she whispered, “Wow. That was…” She stared up at him, wide-eyed and breathless. “Wow.”
“I think dinner can wait.” He curved his hand over her ass. “I can’t.”
“I’m not… I’m not going to argue with that.”
“So if I suggest going inside so I can fuck you, you’ll—”
“Yes, please.”
Shane kissed her again, then guided her into the house. As soon as the door was closed, he shoved her up against it. She gasped, but he kissed her before she could recover, and she whimpered softly against his lips, hooking a leg around his and pulling him closer. He ran his hand up her leg, fingers drifting over the garter belt, and his head spun faster and faster as he kissed her, touched her, breathed her in.
“It’s a damned good thing I thought to bring a condom with me,” he murmured. “Because I’m going to fuck you right here.”
Alyssa shivered. “Promise?”
He pressed his very erect cock against her. “What do you think?”
She grinned wickedly at him. “I guess this means you’re in charge tonight?”
“Mmhmm.” Cupping her breast through her dress, he said, “Something tells me you’re not opposed?”
“Not in the least.”
“Good.” He slid his hand around her side, then up her back and into her hair, and when he suddenly grabbed a handful, she whimpered. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Y-you’re in charge.”
“I am.” He dipped his head to kiss her neck. “But if you were”—he raised his head again and met her gaze—“what would you want me to do?”
“I want you to…” She paused, wetting her lips and forcing herself to look him in the eye. “I don’t care what you do, as long as you promise to touch me.”
His answer, whether it would have been witty or seductive or just an affirmative, never left his lips, because he had to taste her kiss again. All the while, his free hand moved from her side to her hip, then down her leg. He slid her skirt up, finding the strap of her garter and the top of her thigh-high stockings.
“Touch you?” he whispered. “Like this?”
She sucked in a breath as if to reply, but only nodded, screwing her eyes shut and furrowing her brow as he found the edge of her panties. They both exhaled when his fingertips slipped under the thin layer of fabric and teased her pussy lips. He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers as he slowly pushed his fingers inside her. Not all the way, only as far as he knew she liked it, just—
“Oh God,” she breathed.
There. He bent his fingers just slightly and beckoned gently. Her whole body trembled against his, every breath shallower and faster than the last.
Shane withdrew his fingers and brought them forward. As they found and circled her clit, she gasped, and so did he.
He kissed her. Her back arched off the wall when his fingers slipped inside her again, and her voice thrummed against his lips when he beckoned against her G-spot again. He withdrew his fingers, circled her clit a few times, then slipped them back in as his palm pressed against her clit.
She broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his as she panted. “Oh God…” She wanted to come, but she didn’t. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t disobey, no matter how much she ached for release. Her surrender, her obedience, her submission—they turned him on as much if not more than the sweetness of her pussy against his tongue. Not just any woman’s submission, but hers. Alyssa’s. There were billions of men on this planet, and he was the lucky bastard holding her right to come in the palm of his hand.
“Not yet, Alyssa,” he whispered, his own body trembling almost as badly as hers was. “Not…”
She clawed at his shoulders and squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips were apart, but she didn’t make a sound. Didn’t even draw a breath. Her neck and chest were flush, and her hips rocked to rub her clit against his fingers, and she was absolutely fucking gorgeous. The only way she could be any hotter…
“Come.”
Her eyes flew open. She gasped. She grabbed handfuls of his jacket. And she came. Hard. Shuddering, moaning, unraveling at the seams—she was beyond beautiful. So hot, so sexy, driving him out of his mind with every whimper and tremor, and by the time she came down, his dick was straining at the fly of his trousers. He needed to come, and he needed to be deep inside her when he did, and he couldn’t fucking wait.
“I think I want to take you to bed after all.” He kissed the side of her neck as he slipped his fingers free. “So much more room to…maneuver.”
Her only response was a barely audible, “’Kay.”
Shane laughed against her skin. “No objection?”
She shook her head.
“Didn’t think so.”
He led her into his bedroom, dimmed the lights and pulled her into his arms.
“If memory serves,” he murmured, “you like it when I fuck you while I’m dressed and you’re not.”
“Mmhmm.” She moistened her lips. “It’s…it’s hot.”
“I agree.” He slowly drew her zipper down. “But I’m going to make one small change this time.”
“Hmm?”
“This comes off.” He pushed the straps over her shoulders, and the dress slid down her body to the floor. Then he trailed his finger along the garter strap on her thigh. “Those stay on.”
She gave a quiet, breathy laugh. “Thought you’d like those.”
“Oh, I do.” He kissed her bare shoulder. “Very, very much. Now get on the bed. Hands and knees.”
Alyssa didn’t hesitate. Shane toed off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket. Then he joined her, kneeling behind her as he pulled the condom out of his pocket. Thank God her back was turned—she didn’t need to see how unsteady his hands were. Playing the dominant was fine and good, and hot, but Jesus Christ, he was always a little off-balance around her. More than he ever had been with a woman.
Finally, though, the condom was on. With deceptively steady hands, he gathered her hair and laid it over her shoulder. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her body closer to his, struggling to keep his breathing steady and even as her hot skin warmed his through the fabric of his shirt and trousers. The condom was on, the head of his cock was right against her pussy—he could be inside her at any moment, and the anticipation bordered on fucking unbearable.
Not yet, he reminded himself as he slid his other hand around to cup her breast. Not quite yet.
“Shane.” She squirmed and rocked back against him. “Please. Please.”
He kissed behind her ear. “Please, what?”
Alyssa cursed softly. “Fuck me.”
“Hmm, that sounds kind of demanding.” He teased her with the head of his cock, sliding it back and forth between her pussy lips without actually entering her. “I think you might be forgetting who’s in charge.”
Her whole body tensed, but then she released a breath. “Shane, please. I can’t…think. When you’re—”
Without giving her any warning, he thrust his cock all the way into her pussy.
Alyssa’s elbows almost buckled beneath her, but she didn’t collapse. She arched her back and moaned, and he didn’t give her a chance to recover before he pulled out and slammed into her again. She let her head fall forward, and when she did lose her balance and drop to her forearms, she just clawed at the bedspread and cried out for more as he fucked her good and hard.
Shane grabbed her hair and jerked it back just hard enough to make sure it hurt. She yelped, then moaned, and he said, “Touch yourself, Alyssa.”
As soon as he’d spoken, she shifted her weight onto one side, and her other shoulder fell when she lifted her arm off the bed. He didn’t have to ask if she was doing as she was told: her pussy tightened around his cock, and they both moaned. Jesus. He could keep her orgasm at bay with a command. His own, he wasn’t so sure about, not when her pussy was that hot, that tight, that fucking perfect.
“Not yet,” he said through clenched teeth. “But don’t stop, baby. Don’t you dare stop.”
She didn’t stop. Neither did he. Gripping her hair in one hand, her shoulder in the other, he fucked her until he was absolutely certain it had to hurt, and she was damn near sobbing as she begged him for more, more, more. God, she was so tight, and even the condom couldn’t temper the heat of her pussy, and somehow, hell if he knew how, he managed to whisper, “Come, Alyssa,” and he didn’t even finish saying her name before she surrendered for the second time this evening.
Fuck, he didn’t think she could get any tighter, but as soon as she came…holy hell. Now he had to force himself inside her with every thrust, and every time he did, she whimpered again, and he had never in his life needed to come as badly as he did just then, and with one, two, three more hard, deep thrusts, he lost it. His eyes rolled back as he pulled her hips against him and buried his cock all the way inside her and fucking came.
Still shaking, still panting, he pulled out, and they both sank to the bed. She was on her stomach, and he lay over her, but carefully kept from putting his full weight on her.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispered. “Just taking care of the condom.”
“’Kay.”
“Don’t move.”
“Won’t.”
He laughed and kissed the back of her shoulder. “Didn’t think so.”
Shane got up and slipped into the bathroom to get rid of the condom, and all the while, he avoided his reflection in the mirror. He felt too damned good to let himself think about why he shouldn’t.
Just enjoy it while it lasts, Shane.
After he’d washed and dried his hands, he went back into the bedroom. He thought about stripping out of his suit, but just loosened his tie, took off his belt and lay down beside Alyssa. He wrapped his arms around her and held her warm body close to his. Stroking her hair, he murmured, “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” she breathed. “Really good.”
He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Still want to go grab dinner?”
“Mmm.” She slowly ran her tongue across her lips. “Maybe in a little while. Just want to…”
“Relax?”
“Mmhmm.”
He smoothed her hair and planted another soft kiss on the top of her head. “No rush. We can always grab some takeout or something.”
“’Kay.” Her breathing slowed, and if she wasn’t sound asleep, she was damn close to it.
Shane, though, was wide awake.
Alyssa had no problem dozing off on his shoulder, even for a minute or two. And that shouldn’t have surprised him. She trusted him enough to have wild, breathless sex with him. She trusted him enough to let him tie her sometimes, beat her, send her deep into subspace. She trusted him to bring her back gently and ease her back to earth.
But the same question kept cropping up in his mind—would she trust him like this if she knew him?
He wanted her to know him. He wanted to believe she wouldn’t look at him any differently. He wanted her to know who he really was, and still want him the way she did tonight.
But he couldn’t make himself believe she would.
It was a wonder Shane got anything done at work these days. Sex with Alyssa was as distracting as it was exhausting, and if it weren’t for coffee, Red Bull, and the latest energy drink that the FDA hadn’t thought to ban yet, he would never make it through a work day.
Especially on days like this when he was behind a desk instead of out in the shop. They had a full crew right now, and most of them were competent workers who didn’t need constant supervision. It was ideal for the business, having employees handling the actual body work while Shane and Jake did the more managerial tasks. Ideal, yes, but Shane would’ve preferred to spend all his time pulling dents and detailing cars than doing paperwork.
Still, it meant they were doing well—plenty of cars were coming in, and the jobs were getting done fast and right. Very few errors, mostly satisfied customers, and only the rarest redo. Business was booming, which meant paperwork that somebody had to handle.
And especially now, with Jake out of the shop again, that left only one person.
Shane threw back another Five Hour Energy, then rubbed his eyes as he waited for the damned thing to kick in. Once it did, he’d be able to dive into the stacks of invoices and work orders. He also needed to put in some orders to various vendors today—the shop was getting low on filler and a few shades of paint, and he had to get a replacement on order for the MIG welder that had crapped out this morning.
A knock at his door pulled him out of the fog.
He looked up as Jill, the receptionist, leaned into his office. “Shane? Renee’s here.”
“Oh shit.” He jumped, glancing at his watch. “Crap, it’s already three o’clock?”
“Yes, it is,” she said.
“Could you tell her I’ll be a few minutes?”
“Will do.”
Wide awake now, with “oh shit, no time!” pumping through his veins while the Five-Hour took its sweet time, he pulled the shop’s books out of the drawer. He skimmed over them quickly, making sure everything was where it belonged. Like Jake, Shane was meticulous about these things, but given his compromised state of mind lately, it didn’t hurt to double check before it all went to the bookkeeper.
Everything was in order, of course, so he opened his door and gestured for Renee to come in. She offered a thin smile, and got up from one of the chairs in the lobby, where a couple of customers waited to pick up vehicles or discuss estimates.
Renee stepped in and glanced at Jake’s empty desk. “Oh. Is he still on his honeymoon?”
“No, no. He’s in Atlanta for a trade show. On the road for a few in a row, actually. He’ll be back the week after next.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, sorry to hold you up for a few minutes.” He handed her the books. “Time got away from me, and I wasn’t quite done entering a few things.”
She took the books and tucked them under her arm. “So, you’re handling them while Jake’s gone?”
“Yeah. I promise I won’t keep you waiting next month.”
She gave a watery smile. “Oh, that’s okay. But, um, if you want to wait until he’s back, I can just pick them all up at once.”
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it.”
She shifted her weight. “Well, I’d…” She hesitated, dropping her gaze. “I would like to have Jake look over the invoices and payments, just to double-check everything.”
Shane gritted his teeth. “I triple-checked it myself.”
Renee pursed her lips but didn’t look at him.
Barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes, he said, “You want my parole officer to sign off on it too?”
Her cheeks darkened, confirming his suspicion. She shuffled the books under her arm and, with a hell of a lot of effort by the looks of it, met his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of them.”
“Thank you,” he said through his teeth.
She left his office, and when the cowbells on the front door jingled to announce her departure, he released a sharp breath. What the fuck did she expect, anyway? That he’d rob his own business blind? He’d done some stupid shit in the past, but he wasn’t going to shoot himself in the foot.
Though he was wide awake now, his focus was trashed. He stared at the blinking cursor on his screen, but hell if he could remember what he’d been doing. His mind wandered out of the office, out of the shop, right back into his bedroom and the woman who’d shared it with him the last couple of nights. The exchange with Renee just made him feel that much guiltier about the cards he was keeping from Alyssa. Alyssa had insisted she didn’t want to get into their past lives. There was something in her past that she didn’t want to talk about, and she wasn’t interested in his.
But what did she think he was hiding? She couldn’t have had a clue what the truth was—the only way she would’ve known was if Hannah had told her, and if that had happened, Alyssa probably wouldn’t have come near him if her life had depended on it, especially since her sister wouldn’t have been terribly diplomatic about it. And Alyssa wouldn’t have had sex with him, never mind let him tie her hands and raise welts on her back.
Which made him feel that much guiltier for not telling her. If this reality would scare her away, then maybe she deserved to know. To decide, with all the information instead of partial truths, if she was okay with all of this. He was asking her for far too much trust to keep this up his sleeve.
Except she had a past too. One she’d alluded to. And she was adamant that she wanted nothing to matter except the here and now.
Maybe she was right. Maybe the past was the past, and she was sincere about not giving a damn what he’d left behind as long as he didn’t give a damn what she’d left behind. After all, they were just having sex. Hot, kinky sex with no strings attached.
But was he lying to her by omission? Would she have been so insistent about not discussing the past if she knew what kind of past he wasn’t discussing?
And was he going to be able to sleep at night between now and when he finally came clean?
He stared at his phone beside the keyboard and debated calling her.
No, if he was going to tell her, it would be face-to-face.
And maybe not quite yet. If this thing took a serious turn, then it would be time for confessions and hard truths. For now, though, it was sex. Fun sex with no pressure, no strings, no judgment.
And he just couldn’t bring himself to ruin that.
Not yet.