Keep Me (Shelter Me #3) (17 page)

“No. More like a Siberian Tiger has my tongue.”

“Nice. That’s the largest tiger there is,” he says cockily.

I roll my eyes.

“Come on. I need a shower, horny girl.”

His hands go back to my waist. As my legs come out from under him, the words ‘I love you’ are on the tip of my tongue. In their place, my chest tightens, my tongue becomes twisted, my stomach flips in a not so good way, and I’m sure if I looked at myself right now I would be the brightest shade of red.

I know Antonio cares about me, but love? He’s told me time and time again he is in this for the long haul, and I believe him. I do. So why am I embarrassed to tell him how I feel yet not ill at ease or even the least bit embarrassed about him taking my virginity or walking around naked in front of him? Doesn’t make an ounce of sense to me at all.

I am gushing with happiness. My heart feels like it’s found a compassionate man who is real, brutally honest, and who deeply cares for his family and friends. Again, I wish I could talk to my sister. Touching my hand to my necklace, for the first time in my life I wish my mother were alive for me to talk to.

“Hey. The water is heated up, you coming?” Antonio calls out from the bathroom.

Good Lord, I spaced out standing here in front of the fireplace, not moving an inch since he helped me stand up.

Come on, Shelby, Markus told you to have fun, tamp this shit down. One day at a time.

“Coming.”

I flinch as my feet lead me to the bathroom. I pause just outside of the door. Realization smacks me in the head. At the age of twenty-five and in a matter of two days, I have made love for the first time and admitted to myself the fact I am in love. Then why in the hell do I feel this stabbing pain in my chest that this happiness I have fallen into is about to be pulled from underneath me?

I’m over thinking again, like I always do. I’m stronger than this. When I feel the time is right, I am going to let those words tumble right out of my mouth, and deal with the aftermath then.

I stand in the doorway of the bathroom gawking at Antonio with my mouth hanging wide open. He has his eyes closed and his head tilted back as he stands underneath the steaming hot spray in the huge shower, water dripping down his chiseled shoulders, perfectly carved abs, toned arms and legs.

Even though he was just inside of me and I can definitely feel him as I stalk his way, my body craves him. I have deprived myself for way too long because I have always felt like half a woman. I don’t need my sister to guide me, tell me what to do. The only person I need is standing right in front of me.

As I place my hands on his toned chest, he opens his eyes, looking at me and smiling so widely. These eyes shine so brightly back at me, looking at me like I’m the only thing that matters. Once again, those three words are at the tip of my tongue again and I know by the time the next nine days are over, they will be tumbling out of my mouth.

Chapter Eighteen

Antonio

I’ve turned into my brother Luke and my good friend Adam. I’m in love. Do I feel like a pussy for knowing this? Hell, no. I could run to the edge of my property and scream it to the world, but the first person who is ever going to hear those words come out of my mouth is going to be this incredible woman standing before me looking at me like I’m her whole world. Her beauty both inside and out seeps into me like a beach soaking up the tide as it washes in.

All of these things need to be told to her instead of being bottled up in my head and my heart. Do I just say them, let the words flow? Shit. I have no damn idea. Right now, though, I need to make sure she is up for what I have planned for today.

She stands before me, the water spraying her back, dripping down her perfect breasts, down her flat stomach and her long legs How badly I want to bury my cock in her and fuck her like there is no tomorrow. Spank her. Tease her. Grab a fistful of her hair as I fuck her from behind, spanking her ass as she milks me dry.

Damn, I sound like a sex-starved asshole, when I should be taking care of her, making sure she is all right. Last night... hell, yesterday was a heaven to hell and back again kind of day for the both of us. Mostly for her as she bared her soul to me about not being able to have children.

The depth of sadness in her eyes and her words... I would give anything to take away her pain. She’s mine now and I am hers. Never again is she going to be in pain. She deserves to be happy. I may not know a damn thing about relationships, but one thing I know is that when you care deeply about someone, you’ll do anything humanly possible to never see them in pain. My number one goal is to make sure she’s overflowing with happiness, but first I need to focus on making sure she is doing okay.

“How you feeling?” I ask, pulling her into my arms so that our slick bodies press firmly together.

“Fine. Why?”

Her forehead crinkles, indicating to me she doesn’t know what I am asking. I chuckle.

“I mean, are you hurting?”

Angling her head to the side, she still gives me a confused look.

“We’ve had sex twice in less than twelve hours, Firecracker. I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

Jesus Christ, I said it. How the hell I can be in way over my head with this kind of shit is beyond me. Her arms fold around my neck.

“It hurts little bit, yeah.”

“Then I’ll go easy on you today. Give you a chance to-”

She interrupts me by bursting out laughing. What the fuck? I am trying to be serious here for once and she is laughing. This isn’t funny.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Changing my body position and taking a step back, I remove my hands from around her waist and run them aggressively through my hair.

“I’m sorry. It’s just...well, here we are two grown adults and you’re asking me if my vagina is sore. Don’t you find the humor in that?” she says with a laugh. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right.

“Oh, come on,” she teases, lightly hitting me in the chest. “Yes, I’m sore, but it’s a good kind of sore. I can’t describe it to you. What I can tell you, if it will make you feel any better, is that my body is now craving those Antonio-gasms you keep giving me. They’re kind of addicting.”

“Antonio-gasms?”

“Well, yeah. Your name is Antonio, and you definitely know how to give orgasms.”

We start laughing so hard that I feel like my knees could buckle at any moment and I could crash onto the tiled floor. If I wasn’t crazy over this woman before, I definitely am now.

“However, if you don’t let me take a shower and clean myself up, you won’t be getting any Shelby-gasms for quite a while.”

I raise my eyebrow at her.

“When was the last time someone told you you’re a smartass?”

She huffs, shoves my ass out of the way, and leans her head back under the spray. Fuck me if my eyes don’t betray me and my heart doesn’t beat profusely in my chest. I love this damn girl.

Cockdamn. Good thing my feet came to a halt as I stroll out of the bathroom after our shower or I would be tripping the hell all over them. Shelby is on her hands and knees in front of the fire with the sexiest pair of black panties on I have ever seen. Half of her ass cheeks are hanging out, and bright pink wording across her butt reads, ‘Kiss My’. Today is going to be one hell of a long motherfucking day.

She shifts her body my way and damn it if her tits don’t look just as good as her ass in her matching black bra. I don’t know if I want her naked, knowing what’s underneath her ensemble, or whether she should keep those on. Either way, I am fucked. I knock my head against the wall in frustration.

“Hey,” she says innocently, twisting her body toward mine, giving me a perfect few of her tits.

Her position now shows me every perfect curve of her body as she rests her hands on her knees.  She doesn’t have a clue that I am going bat shit crazy over here.

“The fire was dwindling, so I put another log on there. I hope I did it right.”

My hands flex into fists at my sides.

“Yeah, sweetheart, you did it all right.”

“You okay?” she says, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah. I’m good. Let me stoke the fire and get it roaring. It’s time for a little show and tell, Firecracker. I want to know everything about you.”

Badly needing a distraction from her beauty, I somehow find a way to get my feet moving. I pick up the poker lying in the brass stand next to the fireplace, and mess with the fire to get the logs just right. The fire roars to life, surrounding us with enough heat to keep us both warm.

My back stays to her as I poke the fire, which really doesn’t need it. I’m the one trying to calm myself down. I’m a dick, an asshole of a dick. That thought alone has me laughing inside like the crazy fool I am.

My cock is calm, my mind focused. I rest the poker back in its place and angle my head in her direction. Damn, she is so beautiful. Even with no makeup on, sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest looking up at me like I’m everything to her, she is the epitome of beauty.

“Be right back. I am going to go grab my phone from the kitchen just in case Luke calls about Shayne. You need anything?”

Her eyes stay trained on the fire.

“Water would be good.”

“Be right back.”

My hands graze her cheek tenderly as I walk by, and she closes her eyes, leaning into my touch. Today I’m going to show her just how much she means to me and later, I’m going to tell her.

When I reach the kitchen I open the fridge, pull out two bottles of water, and snatch both of our phones off the counter. It’s as I am heading back to my room I notice Shelby’s phone shows several missed calls from Markus. My phone does as well.

What the hell? He called last night, why is he calling again? My lawyerly instincts kick in with a familiar feeling of dread. Something doesn’t feel right. Should I call him back, or let her? He’s going to want to talk to her no matter what I do, so she can call him and find out what he wants.

“Shelby.”

I scan my room for her, not seeing a trace of her at first until I come into view of her feet dangling over the end of the couch, moving back and forth to the steady rhythm of the music flowing through my speakers. Aww, fuck. Looking down at her long hair still slightly damp from our shower sprawled all over the place, every damn thing screams at me saying, ‘You can look all you want, but today you can’t touch’. I swallow, taking a deep breath as she turns my way.

“All right.” She sits straight up. “What the hell is going on? You’re not acting like yourself and you’re starting to scare me.”

Her forehead creases and her body tenses up.

“I’m fine,” I object, handing her a bottle of water and her phone. “It’s just that Markus called both of our phones several times last night and this morning. It has me a little worried. Does he usually call...” I check my phone, seeing the number of times he called. “Eight times in an hour?”

I give her a puzzled look.

“That’s just how Markus is. He calls or texts me a lot more than that usually in a day. If it was urgent he would have left a voicemail. I’m not worried about it. In fact-” she says, sliding her finger across the screen of her phone. “I’m shutting it off. I don’t want to be troubled by anyone but you today.”

Dropping her phone on the floor with a thump, she lies back down, giving me that view of her flawless figure.

“I can understand if you need to keep yours on, though, in case Luke calls.”

If she isn’t worried about Markus calling, then neither am I. She knows him better than I do. And hell, no. I don’t want to be disturbed by anyone, either.

“Let me call him and check in,” I say.

I hit the speed dial and it rings twice before going to his voicemail. More than likely he’s in court as it’s well past ten o’clock. I leave him a brief message, letting him know I am just checking in and I will check in with him later. I power off my phone and take a hefty swig of my water, which does nothing to quench my thirst for Shelby. 

Taking the two steps needed to place myself in front of her, I draw her up into my arms, kissing her tenderly as I place her hand in mine and lead her in front of the raging fire. We sit down with Shelby between my legs. I smooth her hair off to the side, place my chin on her shoulders, and begin the inquisition.

“Tell me about living in California,” she says, turning the tables on me after spending an hour telling me all about her childhood, her love for cooking and baking, culinary school, and starting up her restaurant at such a young age.

A sense of pride swelled in my chest when I watched the way her hands moved when she talked, enthusiasm radiating from her as she described her life.

“California was okay, I guess. The first year sucked for all of us, especially Luke. I’m sure you know his and Shayne’s story, so I don’t need to go into details. We both went to law school there. It was nice, don’t get me wrong, but it just never felt like home. Once all that BS cleared up back here, my parents were packed up and ready to come home just as quickly as Luke and I were.”

“You know I have never been there. I’ve never traveled much. I guess my mind was always focused on my restaurant,” she shrugs, as if it’s no big deal.

“Well, we’re both still young, so tell me.”

My hands are itching to touch her, my mouth craving her taste. My tongue darts out to lick the outer edge of her earlobe. Fuck she tastes good. Her breathing becomes labored.

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Anywhere in Italy,” she says through a moan.

God, the sounds of those soft noises coming out of her mouth turn me on.

“Mmm. A woman after my own heart.”

“Yeah.”

Her breathing becomes more erratic as I kiss my way down her neck to her shoulder.

“I just told you I own an Italian restaurant, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did.”

I lick and suck her shoulder, lifting her arm and showering her with tiny kisses. She shivers at my touch.

“That feels amazing.”

The soft declaration of her arousal urges me on until I land at the tips of her fingers. I suck each one into my mouth, then graze them lightly with my teeth on the way out.

“I love your magic mouth,” she moans again, panting and squirming her ass firmly over my erection.

Fuck, I am getting too carried away with seducing her, knowing I cannot bury myself inside of her and fuck her like I want to. Although she did say she liked my mouth...

“The ‘telling’ portion of show and tell is now over, Firecracker. This mouth needs to taste you. It’s time for me to show you exactly what it can do.”

My assault on her fingers stops with a
pop
on her pinky. She groans. I stand with my dick so hard it’s killing the hell out of me. It doesn’t matter because I am about to have Shelby writhing and screaming my name very soon.

“Where are we going?” she asks as I lower my hand for her to take.

“I said the telling is over, Shelby. Now close your eyes.”

Her eyes go wide as I pull her up against me.

“Trust me?”

“Okay,” she says slowly, then closes her eyes.

My stride is quick, moving around her to the closet where I take hold of the first item I see, unclipping it from the hanger. Why I have ties up here I have no clue, but thank you, sweet Jesus. I have never wanted a tie more than I do right now. She jumps the minute my back presses up against hers, making me aware that her eyes were still closed.

“Good girl.”

I run the end of the silk tie whisper-soft down the length of her spine, causing goosebumps to form on her creamy skin.

“What are you doing?”

I say nothing as I bring the tie around to the front of her face, placing it over her eyes.

“You are not.”

She lifts her hands to remove the tie.

“Oh, but I am. Move your hands,” I growl into her ear.