She arched her back as her hands came up to clasp his head.
He heard himself make a low sound as he feasted on her.
“Shane, please,” she gasped.
“Please what?”
He heard her swallow.
Grinning to himself, he flicked his tongue over her nipple. “Please what?” he asked again, his gaze seeking hers.
“Last time we…”
“Yes?”
“You brought me to climax with your hand.”
“And?”
“And if you keep up what you’re doing, you’ll do it again.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I want to make love with you.”
“That’s what we did last time.”
“I mean…you know what I mean.”
He was through teasing her. And himself. He was dizzy with desire for her, desperate for the same thing she wanted.
He dragged her pants down her legs along with her panties. She fought with the fabric for a moment, then kicked them away and off the end of the bed.
Easing a little away, he managed to get his belt buckle undone, then his zipper.
When he was undressed, he pulled her into his arms, gasping at the feel of her naked skin against his.
“Shane, oh Shane!” she cried out.
He had never needed a woman more, yet he wasn’t going to rush this. Not when he sensed the moment was so important.
He touched her and kissed her, tasted her, lifting his head to watch her face and judge her readiness as he continued to stroke his fingers through her slick folds.
“You promised,” she gasped out.
He answered with a tight nod, knowing that both of them were near the breaking point.
He moved over her and parted her legs with his knee.
When her eyes met his, everything inside himself clenched, then clenched again as he sank into her.
He wanted to grab on to every sensation he could give and take. Every nuance of being with this woman. Lifting his head, he stared down at her, overcome with emotions he couldn’t speak as he began to move inside her.
Her face was suffused with passion, and he liked that. And liked that she kept her gaze on him as she matched his rhythm, as though the two of them had been lovers for ages and each knew what the other craved.
He felt her fingers dig into his shoulders as she climbed toward orgasm with him. Summoning every ounce of self-control he possessed, he held himself back, waiting for her to reach the peak of her pleasure. When he felt her body start to contract around him, he let go, crying out as climax rocketed through him.
He collapsed on top of her, then hugged her to him as he rolled to his side.
“Elena,” he murmured. “Oh Lord, Elena…don’t…put yourself in danger.”
“I have to.”
“I know. But I had to ask.”
“I’ll be all right,” she said.
He didn’t know if she spoke the truth, but maybe he could give her something important to think about. “I love you,” he said.
She reared back and her eyes widened.
“Oh Shane, are you just saying that to keep me from going out there?”
He kept his steady gaze on her. “No, I’m saying it because I mean it.”
Chapter 25
Shane waited with his heart pounding to hear her response. Once he’d been sure he would never trust Elena or any other woman. She’d changed that. Now he’d worked up the guts to tell Elena how he felt about her, and she didn’t seem to return his feelings.
Finally, she broke the silence. “I want to say the same thing.”
He swallowed hard. “But you can’t?”
“I want to,” she said again. “I mean, it’s what I feel.”
He released the breath he’d been holding. “Thank God.”
Her face reflected a host of conflicting emotions. “But I can’t do it yet. First I have to get you out of the mess I got you into.”
He bit back a sharp comment. But this was the wrong time to let his emotions take control—not when she didn’t need any more stress. The irony of their relationship wasn’t lost on him. He’d wanted her from the beginning, but he’d told himself he was simply trying to find out if she was the one stealing information from S&D. He’d practically stalked her, using surveillance as an excuse to stay close to her.
On the boat, she’d reached for him, giving him a gift that she’d given to no other man. At the time, he hadn’t been sure how he’d felt about that. Today he was perfectly sure of his feelings, but he couldn’t do anything about them until she returned from her self-imposed mission. And he was going to make damn sure she returned.
He leaned to tenderly stroke his lips against her cheek. “Then I guess I’ll have to wait until you come back safe and sound,” he said, hearing the roughness in his own voice.
A shadow crossed her face, and he pulled her into his arms.
“It’s okay to be scared,” he said.
“I know. But that doesn’t change anything.”
He wanted to argue with her. More than that, he wanted to tie her up and keep her in this bed. But he wouldn’t do either one of those things. Instead he said, “The guys will be back in a while. We should get up and get dressed.”
She gave him a flustered look. “Are you saying they left so we could…have some time alone together?”
“Yeah, that was part of it, but they really did need to pick up the equipment we’re going to need.”
The information spurred her to action. “I’m not going to look like I spent the past hour making love.”
She started to get up, realized she was naked, and stopped short. Reaching over the side of the bed, she picked up her blouse and pulled it on before heading toward the bathroom.
He watched her go, enjoying the view because the blouse didn’t hide much.
She closed the bathroom door, and when he heard the shower running, he got up. Without bothering to put anything on, he strode to the bathroom and stepped inside. The shower and toilet were in their own separate room. When he crossed the tile floor, opened the shower door, and stepped inside, she made a startled noise.
He grinned. “We both need to get ready.”
“And you think this is going to save time?” she asked.
“Not really. But it’s going to be more fun,” he answered as he pulled her into his arms, reached for the bar of soap in the wall niche, and soaped his hands before starting to run them down her back and over her ass.
Forty very pleasant minutes later, they were both dried off, and she was using the hair dryer.
He stepped into the bedroom, pulled on clean clothes, and brought her bag to the bathroom.
By the time he’d left the bedroom, Jack and Max were back with some additional bags.
“I’ve thought about how we should work it,” Max said.
“Me, too,” Shane answered. “But let’s wait for Elena before we start discussing strategies.”
She came out of the bedroom trying to look nonchalant, and she was all business when she walked over to the bags they’d brought.
“What do you have for me?”
“A lot of good stuff,” Max answered as he began taking out equipment. “I’ll explain what we’ve got, and then we should talk about what you’re going to say to the contact person.”
She answered with a tight nod as he began showing her what he’d brought.
Shane paced nervously around as Max displayed his wares. His partner finally gave him a direct look. “Could you cut that out?”
“Sorry.” He stopped, then cleared his throat. “I think there’s something we need to do.”
“Which is?” Jack asked.
“I was going to keep Lincoln Kinkead out of the loop, but I don’t think I can. I want him to give me something that looks like the stolen material, in case Mr. Big wants to test it before he turns over Elena’s brother.”