She studied the vibrators arranged on shelves. Rabbits, pocket rockets, bullets. Waterproof. Dual ended. Good lord, there was quite a variety. She’d left her own trusty rabbit back in LA. Along with her love of clothes, shopping and dining out, another thing she’d lost interest in over the last six weeks was orgasms.
She moved along the wall to the lubricants. Another large selection. She studied lotions flavored with strawberry, pineapple and coconut, chocolate body paint and honey dust. Now that was intriguing…
She paused in front of a display of lingerie, fingered the silky fabric of a cami set that was surprisingly pretty. Real silk in a rich gold color.
A rap on the glass door had her whirling around, whiskey sloshing out of her glass over her hand, her heart surging in her chest. She gave a small cry, eyes searching at the dark window. Jesus, was someone out there?
She saw movement, a dark head then a face at the door peering in.
Her feet froze to the floor, skin prickling as every hair on her body rose, pulse skittering. Dear God, the place was being robbed. Run. She had to run. But as in her nightmares, when she tried to move her feet it felt like she was dragging them through thick mud, her legs heavy. She stood there paralyzed, blood pounding in her ears.
Chapter Four
“Keara!”
Oh for— It was Shane. She pressed a hand to her racing heart, the adrenaline rush making her legs go mushy. With the lights on, she had to be clearly visible in there, so ducking out wasn’t an option.
She cautiously moved to the door and glared at him, putting a hand on the door frame to steady herself. In the wake of the adrenaline rush, weakness slid through her.
“What are you doing?” he asked, and she could hear him through the glass as well as read his lips. “Let me in.”
She shook her head. “No.”
He scowled. “Are you all right?”
“No! You scared the crap out of me!” Now she slumped fully against the wall. She sucked in a long breath.
“Keara, let me in!”
“I’m not letting a strange man in here in the middle of the night.”
“Keara. I’m hardy a stranger.”
So he did remember. Her body tightened. Her eyes met his through the glass.
“I’m also a cop, for Chrissake. I’m just trying to make sure everything’s all right.”
“I don’t care if you’re Jesus himself,” she replied. “I don’t really know you.”
He rolled his eyes.
With a sigh, she punched in the numbers to disable the alarm system Maeve had showed her how to use so she could come and go as she pleased. She unlocked the door and Shane stepped into the store, closed the door behind him and flicked the lock again.
“What the hell are you doing down here in the middle of the night?” he demanded.
“I couldn’t sleep. I decided to come down and look around.”
He stared at her and she realized he had a smear of something on his jaw. She gazed at it. “Uh…you have something…” She lifted her hand point at it and realized what it was. Lipstick. “You have lipstick on your face,” she said. “Guess the date went well tonight, huh? Make use of all those condoms?”
Shane blinked at her, lifted a hand to his cheek.
“Other side,” she said. He scrubbed at his stubbly jaw.
Date? Condoms? Oh yeah. Considering he’d only rolled out of Laila’s bed an hour ago, he’d forgotten her pretty damn quickly. Maeve’s niece had knocked him off balance.
She seemed a lot different than the passionate, vibrant girl he remembered. The girl who’d driven him wild with lust. Now she was pale, with dark shadows under those sparkling emerald green eyes that had bewitched him. Now, she could freeze whiskey with a glance of those witchy eyes.
“The date was fine,” he said. “And yeah…” He eyed her and gave a deliberate smirk. “The sex was safe.”
“I’m so glad for you,” she snapped, taking a step back. Which was when he realized she was barely dressed. A thin, ribbed white cotton tank top clearly outlined her small breasts, shadowy nipples prominent, and the little shorts, white with pink hearts, revealed her long, sleek legs. Oh man. He’d touched those breasts. He’d had those legs wrapped around him. His dick hardened.
She held a glass in one hand and gave the other hand a shake, drops flying off it. She muttered something he couldn’t hear.
“Spill your drink?” he asked. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“What the hell else do you think my reaction would be? I wasn’t exactly expecting company. And anyway, what are you doing here?” Her eyes swept over him. Please don’t let her notice my hard-on. “You’re not wearing your uniform, so it’s not like you were out patrolling or something.”
“As deputy police chief, I rarely patrol anymore,” he replied, a smile curling his lips. “I was just on my way home.” He lifted a brow.
“Oh.” She rolled her lips in. Pretty lips, except she seemed to perpetually hold them in a tight line. “So it was a late night.”
“Or early morning.” He shrugged, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Whatever.”
She took a sip of what little remained in the glass. It looked like whiskey. Did she share Maeve’s enthusiasm for a wee dram of the Jameson’s?
“Well, if you’re okay and the place isn’t being robbed…”
She flinched, a flash of something like fear in her eyes, her mouth tightening even more. The whiskey again threatened to leap out of the glass. “That’s why I stopped,” he explained, watching her carefully. “I thought maybe someone had broken in…”
Her eyes shifted, went glassy, and she rubbed her fingers over one eyebrow. “No,” she rasped. “No one broke in.”
And then he remembered. It had been all over the news and Maeve had been distraught with worry about her great-niece. “Fuck,” he muttered, straightening. “I’m sorry. I forgot…”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. “You know about the robbery.”
“Yeah. Are you okay?”
She laughed. Kind of a weird reaction. “Of course I’m okay! It happened six weeks ago. I’m fine.”
The fingers lifting the glass to her lips trembled now and he realized he had indeed scared the shit out of her. Damn. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right? Come on, I’ll make sure you get upstairs all right.”
“That is not necessary,” she replied, her tone frosty. “I’m fine. You can go. Thanks for checking, though, I know my aunt would appreciate you keeping an eye on the store.”
Her cool politeness was only slightly less annoying than it had been earlier. The fact that she’d ignored her old aunt for years still pissed him off, but the glimpse of vulnerability beneath the icy façade appealed to his need to protect. Dammit. After what she’d been through, no wonder he’d scared her. What an idiot he was.
“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to leave her, now he remembered what had happened to her.
“Yes I’m sure!” She scowled at him, a pretty scowl, but it carried a clear message.
“Fine,” he said. “Sorry to bother you.” He turned and opened the door, then paused. “Make sure you lock this and rearm the alarm.”
“I’m not stupid.”
He stepped out onto the sidewalk, and even though he knew she was far from stupid, he waited until he heard the locks click. Then the lights inside the shop went out and he could no longer see her.
Well. In the cool, damp night air, he sauntered back to his car parked at the curb. Fucking weird, because he’d just had several rounds of vigorous sex, but all he could think about was kissing Keara’s tight mouth into a soft pout, like he had all those years ago. Why had she shown up here after all these years? And why was his head full of her instead of the sexy blonde he’d just had hot sex with?