Fearless: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 2) Read online

  I can still remember the choking panic and anxiety. It wasn’t until I nearly passed out during a full-blown panic attack that Shane picked me up and carried me into the small apartment attached to his office. I haven’t been back here since.

  “I didn’t think being back here again would affect me this badly,” I say, my voice quiet and strained. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s different this time, sweetheart. Everything’s different. Let’s replace the old memories with new ones, all right?”

  I nod because I know he’s right. It is different this time. I’m different this time.

  Chapter 20

  The last time I was in Shane’s office apartment, I never made it past the sofa where I collapsed. This time, I’m a lot more clear headed and able to observe more.

  The apartment is small, but well appointed and very comfortable. It’s a perfect little hide-a-way for him to escape to on long days at the office – even some overnights at the office. It’s very tastefully decorated in Shane’s favorite blues and browns – definitely a comfortable, yet masculine space.

  There’s a small sitting area with a taupe-colored sofa, two side tables with lamps, and a big screen TV on a console. Across the way is a dining table and a small galley kitchen. This time, I notice a short hallway that leads presumably to a bedroom.

  He takes me in his arms. “I have to admit I’ve had more than a few fantasies about bringing you in here.” He nods down the hallway. “There’s a perfectly good bed in there we have yet to christen.”

  Shane swings me up in his arms and carries me down the hallway. The bedroom, like the rest of the apartment, is a masculine, modern space. There’s a large bed with two nightstands and a beautiful mahogany dresser. The floors are dark hardwood and the bed sits on a plush gray rug. The only other furniture in the room is an upholstered armchair and a coffee table situated by the large window.

  He sets me down on the rug at the foot of the bed and takes me in his arms. This quiet, restful hideaway is like a private little retreat, high above the city. Outside the window is all blue skies and puffy white clouds and sunshine. We’re alone here, where no one will disturb us. As if reading my mind, Shane removes his phone from the holder attached to his belt, silences it, then tosses it onto a nightstand, where it makes a loud thud.

  “Do you stay here often?” I ask him.

  “I used to stay here quite often. But since I met you, no.” He pulls back and cradles my face in his hands. “It’s always too far from where you are.”

  The heat in his gaze makes me feel weak in the knees. I think we’re definitely going to christen this big bed. His lips cover mine, and he kisses me tenderly, almost reverently. I suck in a shaky breath as my body starts to tingle.

  “Are you hungry?” he says.

  It is close to dinner time, but food is the last thing on my mind right now. I just want to feel the heat of his naked skin against mine. I shake my head. “What about you?”

  “I’m hungry, but not for food.”

  When I reach between us to unfasten his belt, he drops his arms, holding them to his sides as if offering himself to me. The thought that this kind, caring, sexy-as-hell man willingly surrenders himself to me is both humbling and thrilling.

  I unhook the fastener on his slacks and lower the zipper slowly. I have him all to myself for a while, and I want to take my time. I want to tease him and torture him. I want to make him hard and impatient. I reach inside his slacks and stroke him through the silky fabric of his boxers. Already he’s enormous and hard, his erection pushing insistently against my palm. I look up at him, and the intensity of his expression takes my breath away.

  He reaches for the hem of my dress and pulls it up and over my head in one fluid motion, leaving me in just my panties and bra. At least this time they match. I’m wearing a pale blue silk bra and panty set I bought at Sylvia’s Boutique. Since I’ve acquired a boyfriend who likes to see me half-undressed as much as he likes to see me naked, I’ve started taking a little more care with my undergarments.

  I think Shane approves. He runs the tip of his index finger along the top edge of my left bra cup, stroking the slight swell of my breast as it rises above the silky material. He cups my left breast and his thumb brushes my nipple through the sheer material. Immediately, my nipple hardens to a tight little point, and I moan. I feel a corresponding response between my legs.

  He unclasps my bra and lets it slide to the rug at my feet. His hands are warm when they cover both my breasts, and he molds them to his palms. He leans down to suck one of my nipples into the wet heat of his mouth, his tongue lashing the hypersensitive bud, and my knees go weak.

  As I sink to my knees on the soft, my eyes travel down the hard, flat ridges of his abdomen to the sight of his erection, which is engorged and thick and defying gravity as it lifts upward from the patch of dark hair. I wrap the fingers of one hand around his cock, and I’m amazed at the girth of him. My fingers come nowhere close to meeting. No wonder he stretches me so exquisitely. My other hand gently cups his testicles, which hang heavy and warm beneath his cock.

  I glance up at him as I wet my lips, and I’m stunned by the stark look of arousal on his face. I smile, wanting to make this good for him. When my tongue darts out to lick the blunt head of his cock, he groans, fisting his hands at his sides.

  “Beth.” His voice is low, rough. “Sweetheart, I should shower first.”

  “Shh.” He shudders when I lick a path upwards along the iron-hard stalk of his erection, from the root to the tip, sliding back his smooth foreskin with my fingers to expose the crown. My tongue swirls around the exposed head of his cock, stroking and tasting the warm, salty earthiness of him. Out of my peripheral vision, I can see his hands opening and closing as he flexes his fingers, fighting the urge to grab hold of my head.

  I bathe the head of his cock with my tongue, teasing him as I run the tip of my tongue beneath the rim and over the crest.

  “Fuck , Beth!”

  The tortured sound of his voice tells me I must be doing something right. I lick the glistening pre-come at the tip of his cock, then swirl my tongue around the plush head. My hands grasp him, working in tandem to stroke the entire length of him as I suck the head of him into my mouth. His breath is coming hard and fast now. When I suck harder, my lips and tongue teasing him without mercy, he gives up the battle and grips my head, kneading my scalp.

  “Jesus, sweetheart,” he gasps. “Fuck!”

  My hands and lips and tongue work in concert to drive him wild, and soon he’s thrusting into my tight mouth, gasping and grunting with pleasure as he strokes his cock between my lips.

  “I can’t – Beth, I can’t – ”

  On the verge of coming, he tries to pull out, but I don’t want him to. I want this. I want him, all of him. I tighten my hold on the base of his cock and swallow him down as far as I can.

  When the head of his cock hits the back of my throat, he cries out, his voice loud and sharp as he comes in a hot rush. He’s struggling for breath, his hands caressing my hair as he tries to extricate himself from my hold. But I want it all. I want every bit of him, every silky, salty drop of him.

  When the tumult has passed, he withdrawals from my mouth and sweeps me up into his arms.

  I smile at him. “Take me to bed.”

  As he carries me to the bed, he kisses me with a gentle reverence that takes my breath away.

  * * *

  I awake to the sound of running water and realize Shane’s in the shower. It’s dark outside and I’ve lost all track of time. I don’t even know if it’s morning or night. I check the time on my phone and groan. It’s a little before six a.m. Shane’s such an early bird, ready to hop out of bed and tackle the world’s problems before the sun’s even up. I guess that’s why he’s the CEO of a billion-dollar global corporation and I’m not.

  After making love the night before, Shane made a trip to the deli down the block and brought back sandwiches and soup, and we ate in bed whil
e watching a movie on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. After taking a shower together, we ended up back in bed and made love a second time, then laid in bed talking until we eventually fell asleep.

  I stretch, feeling the delicious, lingering sensation of his mouth on me, of him surging inside me. It’s sweet of him to let me sleep, but honestly, I wish he’d wake me up when he’s awake so we could cuddle for a few minutes before we have to go our separate ways, maybe even have some early morning sex, the kind that’s warm and sleepy and slow. Just thinking about it makes me tingle. I reach between my legs and feel how wet I am still from what we did last night.

  I throw off the covers and walk naked into the bathroom, where it’s hot and steamy as a sauna.

  I pull back one end of the curtain to peek in on him. “Hey.”

  He’s lathering his hair. “Hey yourself. You’re up early.”

  “I missed you.”

  He shoves his head under the hot spray to rinse off. “Join me.”

  I take his hand and step inside the shower stall, and he pulls me into his arms. His skin is hot and wet, and there are rivulets of shampoo running down his chest. I reach up and brush aside the residual shampoo and run my hands along his chest. I like the smell of his shampoo – it’s a masculine scent, so different from my minty, tea tree oil shampoo.

  He kisses me. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  His breath is minty fresh, and I realize he’s already brushed his teeth.

  I pull back. “You brushed your teeth. I should, too.”

  He gives me an impatient scowl and pulls me back into his arms. “Don’t you dare move one inch.”

  His mouth devours mine, until I’m breathless and my knees are weak. Pretty soon we both taste minty. When my fingers brush over his nipples, he moans, the sound low and rough. I’m enjoying learning where his most sensitive spots are.

  He turns me so that the water hits my hair, then reaches for a bottle of shampoo, squirting some into the palm of his hand.

  I recognize the scent of my own shampoo. “How did that get here?”

  He smiles. “What can I say? I’m an optimistic man.”

  I laugh, picturing him sending Diane out to buy girly products just in case I sleep over here one night.

  Now it’s my turn to groan as Shane’s strong fingers massage my scalp. Then he tips my head back into the water and rinses out the suds. I think he has an ulterior motive when he squirts body wash – my favorite vanilla scent – into his hands and starts washing my body.

  After stepping out of the shower, we towel ourselves dry. I towel my hair to get out most of the water. When I’m done, he pulls a clean towel out of the cupboard and wraps me in it, then sweeps me up in his arms and carries me back into the bedroom.

  He lays me on the bed and crawls in beside me, leaning down to kiss me. “Top or bottom?”

  The man’s insatiable. I grin, thinking I’m going to have morning sex after all. “My hair’s a tangled mess. If I don’t brush it out, it’ll dry like this and I’ll look like a freak all day.”

  “You’ll figure something out later,” he says, palming my breast. His hand is warm on my damp, chilly skin, and the contrast makes me shiver. “I’m not about to waste an opportunity to start my day off right. How about we compromise?” With that, he pulls me up onto my hands and knees, then moves behind me, reaching between my legs to tease my clitoris.

  I can’t help laughing. “How is this a compromise?”

  I can’t stop giggling, and Shane swats me lightly on my butt. “Hold still and be prepared to be amazed.”

  I am indeed amazed when he pushes the thick head of his cock into my soft, wet opening. I moan loudly and my head sinks down onto one of the pillows as my arms give way. My bottom is up in the air, and he’s clutching my hips, holding me in place.

  He rocks against me, coating himself in my wetness, thrusting deeper each time. When I squeeze my vaginal muscles tightly, he growls. “God, sweetheart. Fuck!”

  I turn my heated face to the side and grip the bed sheets with both hands. Once he’s in as far as he can go, we both groan loudly.

  “Okay?” he says, his voice little more than a rasp as he rocks himself inside me.

  A nod and a whimper is all I can manage right now, because I’m panting already from the exquisite feeling of fullness. He so big from this angle, it takes my breath away.

  He pulls out slowly, then presses forward, sinking deep into my body. “Oh, fuck.”

  His voice is low and rough, and that makes me even wetter.

  My entire body feels overheated and swollen and aching. My breasts feel heavy, and my nipples are tightly puckered and sensitive. I grab the pillow beneath me and press my cheek into it and hold on for dear life.

  When Shane reaches between my legs and strokes my clit, I cry out and grip the pillow even tighter. His finger slides over that little bundle of nerves easily, slick with my arousal, and he begins to thrust, slowly and steadily. I can feel the head of his cock dragging along the sensitive tissues inside my body, hitting my sweet spot over and over with careful deliberation. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

  The incredible sensations swell and coalesce deep in my core, and I feel my release building. There’s a high-pitched keening sound in the room. My face heats and I close my eyes tightly when I realize it’s coming from me. I can’t help it. I can’t be quiet, not when he’s driving into me like this, relentless and insatiable.

  I cry out when my orgasm hits, and my sex clamps down tightly on his burrowing cock, triggering his violent release. He falls forward, covering my back with his body, and grips my hips hard as his cock erupts, filling me spurt after spurt with liquid heat.

  I collapse on the mattress, and he follows me down, both of us spent. He rolls to the side, taking me along with him so that we’re lying side by side, still joined together. His cock is still firm enough that he can gently rock in and out of my slick passage.

  He brushes my hair back from my heated face, then leans forward to press a kiss on the nape of my neck. I shiver.

  “You drive me insane,” he says, sounding winded, as if he’s just run a marathon.

  I smile. I’m just as winded, my breathing hard and fast.

  He pulls out and presses up against my back, wrapping his arm around my waist and tucking me in close. I turn my head back toward him, and his lips meet mine, our kiss gentle and unhurried.

  He puts his lips to my temple and murmurs, “I love you.”

  Shane disappears back into the bathroom to finish washing up, and then he returns to the bedroom to get dressed for work. I lay in bed, reveling in the delicious sensations lingering in my body.

  I watch him dress, and the final product – Shane in a dark gray suit and white shirt – sets the butterflies in my stomach loose. He’s an incredibly attractive man no matter what he’s wearing, but when he puts on a suit – holy cow. He’s sex incarnate. And those beautiful blue eyes – they’re so unexpected on such a ruggedly handsome man.

  “So, what’s on your agenda today?” he says, sitting on the side of the bed to pull on his black socks.

  “I work at the bookstore from ten until two, and then I’m going to UC to meet with an admissions counselor and get signed up for fall classes.”

  Shane stands and leans down to kiss me. “Lia’s going with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. It’s still early. Stay in bed and relax. I’ll have some breakfast brought in for you.”

  I smile, realizing that Shane’s office is just on the other side of the apartment door. I’ll get to see him again before I leave for work.

  “How many places do you have, anyway?” I say, shaking my head. I know of three – the Kenilworth house, the penthouse apartment, and this place.

  “In Chicago, just the three you know of.”

  “You mean there are others places outside of Chicago?”

  “Yes.” He tucks me in, then brushes back my damp hair, which is a
tangled mess, I’m sure. “Now, go back to sleep. You don’t need to be up this early.”

  “My hair is a rat’s nest.” I’ll have to take another shower.

  He grins. “You look beautiful and well fucked.”

  I realize I have no clean clothes with me. “Oh, crap.”

  “What it is?”

  “I didn’t bring a change of clothes.” Apparently, I didn’t think this office seduction plan through very well.

  “You’ll find some of your clothes hanging in the closet, and some of your undergarments are in the dresser, in the top drawer on the right.”

  “Thank you.”

  He thinks of everything.

  Chapter 21

  I’m up, showered again, and dressed by eight-thirty. When I open the door that adjoins the apartment to Shane’s office, I see him seated at his desk. His brother Jake is sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. They’re deep into a quiet, tense conversation. Neither one of them looks happy.

  I poke my head through the doorway, and both men turn to look at me. “Sorry. Am I interrupting?”

  Shane smiles as he beckons me into the office. “Of course not. Come in.”

  He points me to a credenza along one wall, where I find a bag containing a still-warm breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop just a few blocks from Shane’s office building. I pick up the coffee and inhale the fragrant steam – it’s a caramel, espresso, and steamed milk concoction with whipped cream and caramel drizzle – my addiction.

  I take a sip and moan in delight. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  Shane tips his head at his brother. “You can thank this guy. He played delivery driver this morning. Come join us while you eat. Lia’s on her way to pick you up.”