Created In Fire (Art of Love Series) (21 page)

Besides, competing and losing to the blonde wouldn’t faze her. She’d survived the mother of all rejections six months ago when her fiancée of two years had dumped her. Shane Larson’s rejection wasn’t even going to be a blip on her emotional pain radar.

From the corner of his eye, Shane noticed the blonde hadn’t even spared his intriguing tablemate a glance once she’d dismissed her as potential competition. The irony of that wrong assumption was laughable, but Shane settled for letting it bring a wicked smile to his face. It would probably undermine the blonde’s very existence for her to know how much more genuine physical attraction he felt for the diminutive Ann.

Lost in analyzing the situation, Shane sat silent as Ann took a final sip of the beer she’d brought over with her and set the bottle on the table as she slid from the stool. He popped out of his head and had a moment of panic realizing Ann was going to get away before he could solve the mystery of her.

Shane couldn’t let that happen. His instincts had been leaning in Ann’s direction since she’d sat down. The blonde wasn’t even tempting.

“Sorry, but Ann and I were just leaving,” Shane said firmly to the blonde, smiling to soften his rejection.

Shane knew he was giving his tablemate the clear message he was going to deliver the fun she was seeking, though he wasn’t completely sure of the fact yet. Mostly he was stalling for more time to figure her out.

“Your call,” Reesa said with a shrug, unable to really believe the man was passing up the twenty-something-year-old with the long legs for short thirty-four-year-old her. “Look I’m truly okay either way. Mr. Preppie at the bar is still smiling. You don’t have to worry about me one bit. No need to be chivalrous.”

Shane snorted. Was that supposed to be a challenge or a warning? His body took it one way; his mind another.

“It’s not chivalry; it’s rivalry. Mr. Preppie should have made his move on you before you made one on me. Tell me your real name,” Shane demanded, his gaze determined and his voice rougher than he intended.

Reesa laughed at the demand, delighted as the blonde stomped off. Beating out the blonde pretty much made her night. Her female ego was soothed for the first time since she’d learned her former fiancée was dating again. Six months of grieving his loss was enough.

“Ann
is
my real name. Since we’re trading questions, do you have any other piercings that I can’t see?” Reesa asked, deliberately changing the subject.

Shane gathered up his napkin drawings and slid off the chair to stand by the table. He looked sideways and down. Yep, even in the three inch spikes she was still over a foot shorter than he. He’d only been with one other short woman in his life, but even she had been five foot seven. She’d rejected him when he put his doctoral program on hold to finish his first graphic novel.

But what the hell, Shane thought, shaking his head at the teasing amusement in Ann’s gaze. He liked her laugh, and her jean-covered rear was calling to him to pay attention to his needs. He could tell Ann genuinely wanted him to say yes to her, and that Mr. Preppie was barely even second choice. If his ego had needed stroking, that alone would have been flattering. He knew he wasn’t looking his best tonight.

“Kiss me and I’ll show you another piercing,” Shane said huskily, his dark gaze willing at last. If Ann was a bad kisser, he would invent some emergency and just take her home, he decided.

Reesa put her hand on Shane’s waist and stood on her toes, still not able to reach his mouth without his help.

“How freaking tall are you, Larson? You’re going to have to help me out here if you really want that kiss,” she ordered. “You didn’t look so tall from across the room.”

Her bossy order woke up his nerve endings. Everything stilled around him as he looked down into her laughing face. She was really very attractive when you were paying attention, Shane decided, realizing he’d like to stare into her very green eyes for a few endless hours.

And to think—his bad mood had almost made him miss this.

Suddenly glad the woman had been so persistent, Shane bent down as he reached around her and scooped her backside up with one large hand, lifting her hips until her lips touched his. The sizzle and spark of her laughing mouth against his made him want to
really
taste her.

Sorry about Mr. Preppie’s luck
, Shane thought wickedly, stepping closer to her as he deepened the kiss.

Having to fight the urge to devour her mouth caught him off guard and had him wondering why he was reacting so strongly. Shane deliberately kept the kiss fairly chaste just to prove he could. It took a lot more willpower than he’d had to exercise in ages.

Damn
, Shane thought. His senses were buzzing and full of her. The woman was much hotter than she had first looked.

Reesa felt Shane Larson’s tongue skim the edge of her teeth and a stud graze the edges just after it. Her tongue swept out and touched the stud as he opened his mouth just a little under hers.

The man certainly knows how to kiss
, she thought, sighing as they eased away from each other. Shane Larson’s ability to excite her made the evening more appealing than it had been when the beautiful blonde had walked off in a huff.

“You’re an interesting man,” Reesa said, giving Shane a genuine smile.

“The tongue stud is new,” Shane told her, watching her flush with excitement when he mentioned it, and liking her reaction far more than he’d anticipated. “I’ve been wanting to try it out. You’re my first.”

What he left out was that it was almost five months old now. Suddenly anxious to get her out of the noise and all to himself, Shane let her go back down on her toes and finally back as solidly on the floor as her tall shoes would allow.

“Lucky me for getting to take the test drive. Can’t wait to see what you intend to do with it,” Reesa said, dizzy with hope and looking forward to feeling like a sexual woman again.

His macho tendencies manifested physically, so images of what he intended to do to Ann with it flashed on his brain like a slideshow how-to presentation. Not all women liked that much macho in their guy, so Shane had learned to control his urges and dial them down to his partner’s expectations. Ann’s flushed face made Shane want to scoop her up and carry her off, but that would be insane, and she would probably freak over it.

But she did seem to genuinely like him. Her blazing smile of pride as they started walking had him putting a possessive hand on her back as they moved through the club. He kept it there for the entire walk out. Just in case Mr. Preppie was watching and thought about intervening, Shane decided, justifying his need to touch her.

As they left, Reesa saw Jillian wave out of the corner of eye.

Her best friend wasn’t even paying attention to her companion. She was too busy laughing at Reesa and shaking her head.

Reesa gave her a thumbs-up as she walked out the door with Shane.

*** *** ***

Since she had ridden to club with Jillian, Reesa had no problem riding to Shane’s place in his ancient Honda Civic. It was at least ten years old but in very good condition on the inside. How he folded his length into it was a mystery. She never knew seats went back that far.

“A big guy like you needs a bigger car,” she said with a teasing smile.

“What do you drive?” he asked.

“Toyota Sienna Mini-Van,” Reesa said, unashamed that her beloved Mazda Miata was now history. It was the only vehicle large enough for her transporting needs, but she wasn’t sharing that part of herself with him.

“No kidding?” Shane said, laughing at the image. “Do your feet touch the pedals?”

It was only a matter of time, she chastised herself. All men made fun of her height sooner or later.

“I had pedal extensions installed so I didn’t have to be on top of the steering wheel, but it would have been okay even without them. And yes, I’m short at five feet tall. Does my lack of height bother you?” Reesa asked.

Touchy about her stature
, he thought, looking her over in the dark, wondering if it was memories of the tall, leggy blonde making her caustic. He could smell her perfume and feel the heat coming off her in the confines of his compact car. He reached over a hand and slid it down her arm until her palm was encased in his.

“You are at least fifty times more appealing than the blonde whose name I couldn’t remember,” he said truthfully.

“Thanks,” Reesa told him, laughing. “I don’t care if you mean it or not. I just appreciate you saying it so sincerely.”

“
Oh, I mean it
,” Shane said firmly. “I pretty much always say what I mean. That kind of honesty runs through the men in my family.”

She pushed his palm flat and measured her own against his. Her hand looked like a child’s hand next to his.

“You’re a seriously huge guy,” Reesa said a little nervously. “Are you like this everywhere?”

“I guess so. At six foot four, wearing a size fourteen shoe seems pretty normal to me. Or were you asking about some other measurement?” Shane asked innocently, noting she grinned and looked away.

In the darkness it was easy to just listen to his voice and forget the tattoos and the piercings, Reesa thought. She flipped his hand over and used both of hers to move his palm to the inside of her thigh, pleased when Shane responded by tucking his long fingers under her leg and cupping it. It felt so good, she thought, shifting to increase the contact. It had been so long since anyone had touched her intimately.

Another sigh slipped out as Reesa further relaxed into the intimacy of the dark car and the pleasurable company of the man beside her. He had a mesmerizing voice, and it would be easy to forget he was a stranger. She sternly reminded herself about the eyebrow ring, the tattoo, and that it probably wasn’t a good idea to get too comfortable.

Then she looked at his profile and smiled. Something about his appearance didn’t quite match the look in his eyes or the soothing voice. Yet the contrast was strangely fascinating to her.

“I bet you have a hard time finding shoes to fit you. My nephew wears a size twelve, and he’s only fourteen. I can see him being your size before he’s done growing,” she said softly. “Beadman’s at Fayette Mall stocks larger sizes. I’ve had some good luck finding shoes for Zack there.”

“Best place in town,” Shane replied.

It was amazing how they could talk so calmly about buying shoes when his hand was almost touching her crotch. Then he about had a heart attack when she slid down toward his hand, but just as quickly sat back up. He hoped no one saw the car swerving.

“Sorry,” Reesa said, glad the dark hid her blush. “I’m—it’s been a while for me. I’m a little anxious. I’m trying not to scare you off by how excited I am.”

He grunted in disbelief. “Scare me off? I’m the scary looking one,” Shane said, but he could tell she wasn’t scared, and it was suddenly relieving how much his appearance didn’t seem to matter to her.

He slid his hand up the inside of her thigh eliciting a groan from her and sending his own heartbeat into overtime. Her heat was calling out to be stroked. Shane couldn’t even remember the last time he’d wanted to explore a woman the way he suddenly wanted to explore the one he was touching.

He pulled into the driveway of his condo, glad to finally be able to put both hands on her.

“Oh, believe me I’m scared, but not of the way you look,” Reesa said, shaking her head, listening to his laugh. She liked his laugh and wanted to share something with him, just a little something which might make him think fondly of her tomorrow.

“Shane, your voice is as smooth as melted chocolate. It’s sexy as hell and balances out the scary tat and the piercings. They’re sexy too, but in a demon-from-hell kind of way. Your voice—your voice makes me glad you took me home with you,” Reesa told him.

“Ann, you’ve completely seduced me. Climb over here in my lap and tell me what you want so I can be sure I give it to you,” Shane told her, watching her from across the seat of his car.

When she swallowed nervously, he wanted to drag her over to him and take the decision out of her hands. He had to firmly order himself to not rush her.

“I—just touch me, touch me all over, and then I don’t care how you want things after,” Reesa confessed. “I just want to feel desired for a few hours tonight. Can you do that for me, Shane?”

Not trusting himself to give her a civilized answer, Shane got out of the car and walked around to open her door. The moment she stepped out, Shane lifted her up in his arms forcing her to lock her legs around his waist. Her laugh echoed in his mouth as his lips found hers in the dark.

This time he took his time getting to know the secrets he found between her lips. Nothing about her disappointed him. Instead, her small anxious tongue stroking his completely captured his interest and made it imperative to take their exploration party into privacy. Holding her slight body was no hardship for Shane, but he had already hit the point where he wanted more than just to hold her.

“Ready for a ride?” Shane asked, running with her as she clung to him and laughed. He backed her against his front door as he fished his keys out of his pocket and fumbled with the lock. He felt her fingers tentatively touching his eyebrow ring.