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

  He knows how much I like this – being on top. Not only does it help with my anxiety, but I can control the angle of his penis and direct the head of his erection right where I need it. Plus, I love to torture him by setting a nice, slow pace – a slow burn – and drawing out both our orgasms.

  His hand is wrapped around the base of his erection, angling it at me. I position myself so that the blunt head of his cock brushes against the lips of my sex, and I tease him, rubbing myself on him.

  “Put me inside you,” he growls, his voice rough now with demand.

  I wrap my fingers around his length and continue to brush the head of him against me, coating him with my slickness. Beneath my fingertips, his erection is thick and hot, pulsing with excitement. His skin is like smooth velvet stretched over a hot steel core. The ropey vein that runs the length of him is throbbing in time with the rapid beat of his heart.

  His eyes narrow. “Damn it, Beth. No teasing.”

  He’s gripping my waist now with his strong hands, encouraging me to sink down onto him. But the build-up is too sweet to rush, so I take my time. I steal some of the silky wetness from my sex and stroke his erection from root to tip.

  His hips are rocking now as he tries to nudge himself closer to his destination.

  I smile as I dip down to leisurely brush the head of his cock with my sex. “I thought you said patience is a virtue.” He’s always telling me to be patient, now it’s my turn.

  He closes his eyes and groans, his fingers flexing restlessly on my hips. “If I have to exercise any more patience, I’m likely to die of a heart attack.”

  My teasing has backfired on me, because now I’m aching to have him inside me. I reach down with my free hand to stroke my clitoris, and that only makes the ache worse. When I groan with pleasure, he opens his eyes and watches me touch myself, his nostrils flaring. To spare us both further torment, I lower myself on his cock and gasp as the broad head pushes into me, pressing through wet, swollen tissues as he opens me wide and stretches me. Slowly I work myself down onto him, wriggling and rocking my body as I sink an inch at a time.

  When I’m seated as far as I can go, I lean forward, bracing my hands on his chest and angling myself so that the head of his cock drags against a tender spot deep inside me, one that steals my breath and ratchets up my release. Pleasure blooms inside me as I begin to rock myself on him at my own sweet pace. I’m not going to rush this, despite his growling and groaning, because the feel of him stroking inside me is exquisite.

  I revel in the myriad sensations bombarding me. The sound of his heavy breathing; the scent of his warm, male body, which tantalizes me to no end; the pressure of his erection deep inside me, hot and hard and thick. I can feel his heart hammering beneath my palms as I brace my hands on his chest.

  When the inevitable explosion hits me, I cry out, a shameless keening sound. Shane throws his head back in the pillow, gritting his teeth as my sex squeezes him like a fist. When I brush my thumbs over his flat, beaded nipples, he bucks into me with a loud, guttural cry and explodes in a forceful rush of liquid heat. I collapse on his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, stroking my back gently as we both come down from the high.

  He nuzzles my temple and breathes “I love you” against my heated skin.

  Shane rolls us to the side, his cock still semi-erect inside me, and he gently thrusts in and out, gliding easily through our combined juices. His movements are unhurried and tender, as if there is nowhere more important he needs to be right now than lazing in bed with me. My chest aches with emotion as I watch his face.

  Warm and satiated, and comforted by the proximity of Shane’s heat and scent, I feel my eyelids grow heavy. Sex always makes me sleepy. It also shuts my brain off for a while so I can find some peace. It doesn’t hurt that we’re tucked away safe and sound in his little office hideaway. I want to stay hidden here forever.

  A huge yawn slips out before I can stifle it.

  “You’re sleepy,” he murmurs, as he trails gentle kisses across my forehead. “It’s okay. You can sleep.”

  I feel bad because I must be interfering with his work. “You can go back to work if you need to. Don’t let me keep you.”

  Shane grabs his phone from off the nightstand and makes a call. “Diane, I’m done for the rest of day,” he says in a low voice, as he strokes my bare back. “No interruptions, please.”

  He turns to me. “Get some rest. I’ll grab my laptop and work here in bed for a while. Then we’ll have dinner.”

  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I know, I open my eyes to a dimly lit room. Shane is sitting beside me in bed, working on his laptop. He’s wearing a pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt. His feet are bare.

  “What time is it?” I mumble, trying to rouse myself from a drowsy fog.

  He glances at the laptop screen. “Seven-thirty.”

  I sit up in bed, and the sheet falls to my lap. “I slept three hours! Why didn’t you wake me?”

  He shrugs. “You must have needed it. It’s okay. I got a lot of work done, and I enjoyed watching you sleep.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and I can tell it’s a tangled rat’s nest. I’m also wet between my legs – a very obvious reminder of what we did in this bed.

  I groan. “I’ve got to get cleaned up.” I crawl as gracefully as possible off the foot of the bed, pretty sure he’s staring at my ass.

  He chuckles. “Need any help?”

  I glance back at him, and he is looking at my butt, that bastard. “I think I can manage on my own.”

  “Hurry, I’m hungry. After you get cleaned up, let’s go eat.”

  We leave the apartment and walk through his office, which is eerily silent. Diane must have come in here and shut everything down, including Shane’s PC, because everything is off. Her desk is vacated for the evening – in fact, we don’t see anyone around the executive suite.

  We head down to the parking garage.

  “Where to?” he says, taking my hand as we exit the elevator. “What sounds good?”

  I feel a little disoriented from my impromptu nap, and I just want to go back to the penthouse and snuggle with Shane on the couch in front of a fire. “Can we go home and order something in? Maybe watch a movie?”

  He reaches into the car to fasten my seatbelt for me, and I smile. Some habits are hard to break.

  “Sure,” he says. “That sounds good.”

  Chapter 26

  We pick up carry-out from our favorite Thai restaurant near Shane’s office building and bring it home with us. As soon as we arrive home, we change into comfy clothes, Shane in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and I in pajama bottoms and a cami – sans bra.

  With our feast spread out on the coffee table before us, we eat sitting on the sofa in front of a blazing fire. There’s something soothing and romantic about the crackle and scent of burning wood in a big stone hearth. We’re the only ones home at the moment, so it’s quiet and cozy, just the two of us.

  Shane opens a bottle of red wine, and we each have a glass with our meal. I’m feeling pretty lazy and sated from the impromptu afternoon sex, following by a nap and now a glass of wine, which warms my belly nicely, along with the deliciously spicy Thai food.

  After we finish eating, we sprawl comfortably on the couch and watch the fire and sip more wine. Shane’s arms are around me, and his warm hand slips beneath my top and palms one of my breasts. When his thumb and finger start playing with my nipple, causing it to tighten and tingle, shooting off all kinds of fireworks inside me, I’m thinking we should take the party to our bedroom.

  I know we should when he begins to press light kisses along the curve of my throat, working his way to the back of my ear. I shiver in his arms, and he chuckles. But then the elevator dings and we find ourselves suddenly with company.

  Cooper walks into the great room – that’s not a surprise as he lives here – but he’s accompanied by Lia, Jake, and Jamie – half of the McIntyre siblings. I have to admit I’m
surprised to see Jamie here. I’ve never seen him anywhere other than the Kenilworth estate. And Jamie’s not alone. He brought Gus, who’s looking very smart in his service dog harness.

  “Hey, guys,” Shane says, casually withdrawing his hand from underneath my top as we sit up.

  Jake makes a beeline for the bar and grabs bottles of beer from the fridge and hands them out.

  Lia plops down on the couch, inserting herself between me and Shane, and inspects our food cartons on the coffee table. “Aw, they’re empty. Why didn’t you save me some?”

  “Because we weren’t expecting you,” Shane says, giving her a wry look. “Next time, call ahead.”

  “That’s okay,” Lia says. “We ate. But I would never turn down ... what is it anyway? Thai? Right. I’d never turn down Thai food.”

  “So, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?” Shane says, not bothering to mask his annoyance at the interruption. “We’re kind of busy here.”

  “Busy making out, you mean,” Lia says, scoffing as she twists the cap off her beer bottle.

  “We came to spar,” Jake says. He takes a long drink of his beer. “You up for a few rounds? Jamie even said he might get in the ring.”

  Shane looks at me and shakes his head. “Sorry, guys. Beth and I have plans to watch a movie tonight.”

  “I don’t mind,” I say, looking from Shane to the others. I love watching Shane and his sibling spar.

  Shane looks at me. “Are you sure? I’d be happy to kick them all out and watch a movie with you.”

  “Really, I don’t mind. I’d like to see what Jamie can do in the ring.” I’ve seen Jamie do some amazing things, but I’ve never seen him in the boxing ring. I have a hard time picturing a blind man sparring.

  “Yeah, Shane,” Lia says. “Princess doesn’t mind. Let’s do it. I feel like kicking ass tonight.”

  “Anyone’s ass in particular?” Jake says, smirking at her as he reaches out and musses her short blond hair.

  She swats at his hand. “Yeah. Yours, asshole.”

  Jake chuckles. “In your dreams, little girl.”

  And the trash talk begins.

  We head into the ‘fight club’ – that’s their nickname for the martial arts studio in the penthouse. And yes, no one’s allowed to talk about it, rule number one and all – apparently that joke never gets old. It’s a big room, very industrial chic with exposed red brick walls, a high ceiling painted black to camouflage the air ducts and the electrical conduits, and chrome lighting fixtures that hang from the ceiling like pendulums.

  There’s a boxing ring in the center of the room, as well as workout areas with weight-lifting equipment and floor mats. There are also several leather sofas positioned strategically around the room for optimal viewing of the action.

  Shane flips a series of light switches near the entrance to the room and the overhead lights come on. He claps Jamie on the shoulder. “You coming into the ring?”

  “Maybe later,” Jamie says. “I’ll sit this first round out. I don’t feel like showing off just yet.”

  “That’s pretty tough talk for a blind guy,” Jake says, lightly smacking Jamie on the back of the head as he passes him on the way to the locker room.

  Shane gives me a quick kiss, and then he and Lia follow Jake to get changed into their workout clothes. Gus leads Jamie to a long sofa which offers a front-row view of the action. This is the first time I’ve seen Gus wearing a service-dog harness.

  Gus failed service dog training because he’s afraid of water – rain, bodies of water like ponds or lakes, even puddles on the ground. Whoever heard of a Labrador Retriever that’s afraid of water? But Jamie had already met the dog a few times during his early training and had bonded with Gus, so he arranged to adopt the dog after he flunked out of service dog school. Jamie’s been continuing Gus’ training on his own, and apparently the pup is doing all right... as long as it’s not raining, that is.

  I take a seat on the sofa beside Jamie. Gus lies down at Jamie’s feet and lays his big, boxy head on Jamie’s boots.

  I pat the dog on the head. “Gus seems to be doing well with his training.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Jamie says.

  We can hear the others in the locker room, talking trash and psyching themselves up for a big match. I try to imagine Jamie in the boxing ring and have a hard time picturing any scenario where he comes out on top. Shane and Jake and Lia are all very skilled fighters. I just don’t see how Jamie can hold his own against them. Not when he can’t see what’s coming.

  “How are you doing?” I ask him.

  I know that Jamie’s been struggling with his circumstances for a while. He told me he loves living at Shane’s estate, but he feels that they – Shane and Elly especially – coddle him too much.

  “All right, I guess. I just finished the first draft of my new book and sent it off to my editor. While she’s reviewing it, I’m taking a couple weeks off to do some serious thinking.”

  Jamie writes military thrillers. Thanks to his distinguished career as a Navy SEAL, he has an endless supply of harrowing stories to tell. After the explosion that destroyed his retinas and left him completely blind, Jamie turned to his other love, which is storytelling. His military experience gives him the perfect fodder for writing thrilling military action novels, all of which I’ve read and enjoyed.

  Gus jumps to his feet and lays his head on Jamie’s thigh, and Jamie absently strokes the dog’s ears.

  “I’m thinking about moving out,” he says, his voice low. “I need to know that I can handle it on my own. Elly’s wonderful – she does so much for me. Too much, actually. She can’t just sit back and let me fend for myself, and that’s what I need.”

  I hate the idea of Jamie moving out of the house, but I guess I can understand how difficult it might be for someone with his background and training to be dependent on others.

  “Have you mentioned this to Shane?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Where would you go?”

  He shrugs. “I’m thinking about getting an apartment in either Old Town or Wicker Park. I’m not going too far away. I just need to be on my own for a while, to sink or swim on my own merit.”

  I feel a sharp pang in my chest, and I realize how much I’ve grown to care about Jamie. I’d miss him terribly if he moved out. I swallow hard as I feel tears prick my eyes.

  Jamie, who has an uncanny ability to read people’s emotions, puts his arm around me and pulls me close. “Don’t worry, I’m not going far. I’ll still be around.”

  “Why don’t you move in here with us? There’s plenty of room. Or move into one of the apartments in this building?”

  Jamie shakes his head. “No. That’s still too close. I need to be truly on my own. I was hoping you would do me a favor.”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Will you come apartment hunting with me? It’s hard for me to accurately judge the character of a neighborhood if I can’t see it. I could use a pair of working eyes.”

  I chuckle and lean into him. “Of course I will.”

  I know Jamie’s capable – very capable. But the idea of him living completely on his own scares me. He’s stubborn and out to prove something to himself. I’m afraid he won’t ask for help when he needs it.

  “Stop worrying,” he says, tightening his hold. “I’ll be fine.”

  For a blind man, he sure sees a lot.

  Dressed in workout gear, Shane and the others come out of the locker room ready and eager for action. They guys are wearing long shorts and gloves – nothing else. Lia has on shorts and a black sports bra. This is going to be fun. I love watching them go at each other. They’re pretty blood thirsty.

  Jake and Shane climb into the ring, padding barefoot across the floor, stretching their shoulders and arms. They fight dirty, and they fight hard. And Lia, even though she’s small compared to her brothers, gives as good as she gets.

  Jake and Shane take positions in opposite corners of the ring as th
ey wait for Lia to give them the signal to begin.

  Lia’s the referee, and I’m going to play the role of sportscaster for Jamie, giving him a blow-by-blow recap of everything that happens in the ring. At first there’s not much to tell. Shane and Jake are just dancing around each other, taking little jabs as they test the waters. But before long, the hits start coming. They’re pretty evenly matched, but Shane manages to get a kick in that nearly knocks Jake off his feet.

  “I thought this was boxing. Are they allowed to kick?” I say.

  Jamie chuckles. “We don’t play by any rules.”

  “If there are no rules, then why is Lia refereeing?”

  “She’s just there to make sure no one gets seriously hurt. She can call an end to it at any time. Sometimes they get a little too serious and a little too competitive, and don’t know when to call it quits. Especially those two. Jake’s a former heavyweight boxing champion, and he likes to rub it in Shane’s face.”

  Both of them manage to score some direct hits, and they each take a fall to the mat. They fight for a good ten minutes, pretty evenly matched. They both takes hard hits and kicks, and they each end up on the floor a time or two. Lia finally calls it, not because either of the guys is hurt, but because, as she says, she’s bored as hell watching and wants her turn.

  So Shane steps out of the ring, and Lia pulls on her gloves. Then Shane takes over the referee job. Lia has a slight advantage over Jake, because he’s been working hard for a while, and he’s already a bit winded, and she’s just getting started. She comes at him hard, pushing him back and keeping him on the defense as she hammers away at him.

  “Wow, she’s good,” I say. I’ve seen her spar before, but I’ve never seen her this focused. She’s relentless.

  Jamie nods. “She’s small, but feisty as hell. She uses her size to her advantage. She’s well trained in Aikido, and that gives her an advantage over the big guys. She uses their size against them, wears them out, and then sneaks under their guard.”