Chapter 2

“You need to let go of me,” I looked straight into her eyes as I calmly spoke and Joan followed, lifting her hand in mock surrender.

“What? I’m not doing anything wrong.” She said, feigning innocence. “I just want to talk.”

“You’re in violation of a restraining order right now,” I pointed out. I stepped to the side so I could get past her but Joan was quick to block my way. I tried to appear unbothered but, God, I was so sick of this!

“Was I supposed to know you’d be here?” My ex scoffed. “Last I checked, this is a public place, and I have as much right to be here as you do.”

“As long as you stay 50 yards away from me,” I shrugged, once again making a move to get past her and once again being blocked. I placed my hands on my hips and looked at her squarely. “Step aside.”

She raised a dark eyebrow at me, her lips curling in a smile that mocked. “What’s this? You’re dating that sex-on-legs I saw you with, so now, you’re too good to talk to me all of a sudden?”

I really couldn’t believe the words that came out of Joan’s mouth sometimes, but I knew she was just trying to get a rise out of me.

“The TRO’s been in place for a year now, Joan,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Now, move, please.”

“What did I ever do to you?” She said. The woman actually had the gall to look hurt, and that just about did it for me.

“How about hitting me, lying to me, cheating on me repeatedly, for starters? I mean—,” I said before I caught myself.

Joan still looked very much like the victim she was playing to be but the subtle triumph in her eyes stopped me from completely playing into her hands. She might have succeeded in pushing my buttons, but I’d be damned if I let myself get sucked into this same conversation again.

“No, you know what?” I sighed in exasperation, and Joan glanced away for a second as I shook my head at her. “I don’t need thi—”

I had to step back quickly when Joan suddenly moved to kiss me, her hands reaching for my face as she tried to close the distance between us.

“Are you goddamned kidding me?!” I gasped in disbelief, holding my hand out while Joan just looked at me innocently. I stepped around her, this time pushing past her shoulders when she tried to block my way. “Just stay the fuck away.”

I kept walking until I was back inside the club and then, at the end of the short corridor—just right outside where the crowd started—I stopped and leaned against the wall.

I closed my eyes and shook my hands out, wanting to calm my nerves before I rejoined my friends. My legs felt weak and I tried to tamp down my anxiety by taking deep breaths. Dance music blared loudly while all the helplessness I had felt after leaving the lawyer’s office yesterday came rushing right back, threatening to overwhelm.

I couldn’t help but think of Shaie.

Things had been going so well with her these past two months and she had been just so… amazing, really, about this situation with my ex. She never pried, allowing me to open up to her in my own pace, and by my own choice. She never made me feel pressured or guilty, and she always managed to make me feel understood.

But how long could her patience last if stuff like this kept recurring? And could I really be okay with subjecting Shaie to the same seemingly endless cycle I was in, even if she was willing? I felt close to tears, just knowing that those questions would have to be answered eventually.

Not yet, I thought, and I didn’t know if it was a statement or a wish.

I opened my eyes to see Shaie in front of me, looking all kinds of wonderful with a simple dark shirt on over tight denims, and her curls framing her face. She had the softest look in her eyes as she gazed at me, and I immediately stepped into her arms. They wrapped around me in response and I hugged her tighter, feeling—now, more than ever—as if we were on borrowed time.

And wanting nothing else but to hold on to her for as long as I possibly still could.

Brad and Kayla found the two of us ten minutes later, back at our table, after their first round of dancing. They both knew Shaie already since our firm handled the ads for Shaie’s business, and greeted her warmly as they both sat down.

“So, this is why we never did get our beers,” Brad teased before asking Shaie how things were at Floe, and the two of them tried to make small talk over the noise.

I loved seeing Shaie interact with people. She was just so at ease, so comfortable in her own skin, and she had a certain way about her that just naturally draws people in. She had her arm around my waist, and I smiled at the way her fingers played with the hem of my white top as she talked engagingly with Brad.

Poor Kayla, though. She couldn’t really fully relax around Shaie since she was in charge of the Floe account. I could just imagine it being like partying with your boss—you’re expected to have fun but you can’t really let loose because… well, it’s your boss. I decided to give Kayla some reprieve by inviting Shaie to dance.

The two of us made our way to the dance floor, and even I could feel every pair of eyes that naturally gravitated towards Shaie as she passed. One thing Joan had gotten right was that Shaie was practically sex on legs, and never more so when she danced. The number of people that she automatically attracts never bothered me because Shaie always seemed oblivious to it and, right now, it seemed she only had eyes for me.

We danced to a couple of fast songs, laughing and generally just goofing around. But then a slower song with one of those sexy beats came on, and Shaie pulled me close. Her arms, which she had been holding up before the music changed, softly fell around me, her hands gently grazing the back of my shoulders and travelling down my sides before settling firmly on my waist.

I felt her body pressing onto mine as we swayed, and my nipples hardened underneath my bra at the barest contact. It didn’t surprise me anymore how Shaie could so easily spark my desires and I found myself leaning into it more and more quickly as of late.

My own hands made their way up her shoulders, settling on the soft curls at her nape. I smiled up into Shaie’s gaze, but what I saw in her eyes had me stopping all movement and catching my breath.

Her desire was there, making the amber orbs seem darker, but there was also something else. Some silent emotion that was both so gentle and intense, I couldn’t look away.

I felt my heart slam against my chest, leaving a soft little ache as it continued its beat and, for the briefest moment, I had the strongest urge to run away. I didn’t know how to handle that look and all the things it could possibly mean, so I closed my eyes and pulled Shaie’s head down for a kiss instead.

I fitted my lips firmly against hers, my tongue darting out slightly and coaxing her ready response. I concentrated on the feel of her tongue against my own, throwing myself into her kiss and letting it drive away the inexplicable fear that I was suddenly feeling. Shaie’s hands fell on the small of my back as her mouth repeatedly slashed across mine.

Soon, we were both lost, and when I finally drew my head back and looked into her eyes again, all I saw in them was a passion that was equal to my own.

“Take me home,” I breathed shakily.

I was sure that my words were swallowed up by the music, but Shaie didn’t need to hear them to know how much I wanted her at this moment. She smiled, taking my hand as she turned and began clearing a path out for both of us through the crowd.

We did our best to restrain ourselves on the short drive back to Shaie’s place, but we were back to kissing by the time we stepped into her unit, our mouths hungrier as we tore at each other’s clothes.

I lifted the hem of her grey shirt, my fingers lightly treading the bare skin at her waist before working on the button of her jeans. Shaie tugged at my top as she walked me towards her bedroom and I heard part of the fabric rip as she hastily pulled it off me, breaking our kiss for just the briefest second.

I answered by unzipping her jeans, but all I could do was hold on to her waistband when my bra came off next. I felt her thumbs on both of my nipples, roughly rubbing and gently pulling on the sensitive nubs as I moaned against her lips.

Shaie gave both of my breasts a hard, little squeeze before her hands moved to support my back as she lowered me onto her bed. She took the rest of my clothes off, pulling urgently at my jeans and panties until I laid naked on her soft sheets. My eyes followed her as she moved off the mattress, taking in every gorgeous bit of flesh she bared as she quickly undressed in front of me.

Her lips broke into a slow smile once she was as naked as I was and I smiled back as she slid on top of me. I closed my eyes as I met her kiss, sighing when her soft, warm mouth began to trace a path from my jaw to my earlobe before moving downward to my neck. I shivered when the tip of her tongue drew a wet circle on the pulse at my throat, then I gasped as her teeth clamped down on the soft skin.

The firm muscles of her right thigh pressed against my center and I gave a soft cry, feeling my own slickness slathered up against my clit as her hips began to move.

But there was something different about Shaie this time.

Her mouth savored rather than devoured, and her hands caressed instead of the usual possessive way they touched my skin. She stoked my desire, slowly and steadily, but it was as if she didn’t want to hurt me for some reason—as if I were this fragile thing she didn’t want to break—and my body strained desperately against hers in protest.

I didn’t want to be savored tonight. I wanted to be fucked.

I cupped her jaw, bringing her lips back to mine before my hands slid down. I gripped her ass, pressing her harder against me while I started grinding my clit wantonly on her thigh. My tongue slashed against hers, coaxing and pleading for her to meet my urgency.

Shaie gave a low growl as my nails dug into her flesh, and I knew I was close to getting what I wanted. I couldn’t help but give the soft, round cheeks a sharp, little slap as I bit her lip just hard enough to make her gasp.

I grinned at her as she drew her head back and gazed down on me, her eyes now dark golden pools of wild desire. Slowly, her surprise gave way to a sexy smile, and there she was.

The Shaie I knew. The Shaie I was familiar with. The Shaie I could deal with.

“Oh, you asked for it,” she warned playfully with a slight shake of her head and I lunged at her, forcing her to adjust her position as I decided to beat her to the punch and began kissing her again.

Shaie grabbed at my left breast as her lips met mine with equal fervor, and we moved around as our hands roamed over each other, both of us wanting to come out of this kiss on top.

I ended up finally pinning her with my hands on her wrists near the foot of the bed, both of us a bit out of breath as I straddled her. And then I felt Shaie relax underneath me, giving up the fight and smiling as I leaned over her.

“Yeah, I did.” I grinned at her, bringing my lips to her ear as I softly added, “But you’re gonna get it first.”

I kissed the smooth skin of her neck, my tongue tracing soft, wet lines downward until my mouth found the turgid nipple of her left breast. I heard Shaie sigh as my lips closed around it and sucked, twirling and pulling on the rosy nub while my hand found her slippery warmth.

“Fuck, yes!” Shaie moaned happily as I spread her pussy lips apart, using my middle finger to drag her juices to her clit before circling it the same way that I was swirling her nipple in my mouth.