Shane's Fall (The Escort Series Book 2) (14 page)

“She’s got some skills,” Gabe acknowledged and then winked at her. After that, it was like time had been turned back because the two men were joking and sniping at each other in the way that only best friends who’ve been doing it for years know how to do. And when she felt Shane’s hand drop down under the table and stroke her thigh through the thin leggings that Riley had lent her, that damn spark of hope turned into a raging wildfire.

***

“Is this oil?” Shane asked as he studied her fingers. After dinner, she had followed him back to his place and they’d made love on the couch. She was lying on top of him, a thin throw barely covering their still heaving bodies.

“I had a flat tire today. I changed it by myself,” she offered, strangely proud of her little victory and needing to share that with him.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I figured, how hard could it be? People change tires every day. Even though it probably would have been faster and cleaner to call someone, I like knowing I didn’t need someone coming to my rescue.”

“You know that I’ve never thought of you that way, right?”

“What, as someone who could change a tire?” she asked, jokingly.

He laughed but then clarified, “As someone who needed rescuing.” He intertwined their fingers. “You’re one of the strongest people I know Savannah.” She felt tears sting her eyes and then leaned down to kiss him. “Would you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” he asked.

She nodded and then his tongue was inside her mouth and she knew they were both done talking for a while.

***

From his peripheral view, Shane watched as Savannah fidgeted in the passenger seat of his car. He was glad to see she wasn’t snapping the band on her wrist, but he could tell she was starting to suspect their destination as he turned the final corner. She’d shown up at his place for the scheduled date looking relaxed and even flirting with him about skipping dinner and starting on dessert as she rubbed her body against his. Had their evening not been so important, he would have taken her up on her offer in a heartbeat.

His relationship with Savannah was moving at lightning speed and every day he spent with her, he found it harder and harder to consider letting her go. She’d even managed to pull him back into Gabe and Riley’s lives and his friends had been more forgiving than he deserved. Shame still ate at him when he thought of how Logan remained in the dark and he was nearing the point where he was going to come clean with his friend whether Savannah was ready or not. No, he wouldn’t divulge her secrets, but he also couldn’t keep hiding the truth about his and Savannah’s relationship either.

He heard her distressed cry when he pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant.

“No,” she muttered in disbelief. “Why?” she asked as she turned to face him in the seat, her eyes unable to hide the betrayal she was feeling.

He grabbed her hand and said, “You can do this.” She looked back at the restaurant and then the valet was there opening her door. Shane held her hand until she released him and got out of the car. The second she did, he was out and tossing the keys to the valet and then taking her hand in his. Her eyes were on the door, the word “Barretti’s” etched into the glass. She had every reason to not want to go into the restaurant where she’d had her meltdown just a few weeks ago, but he knew she needed to face what had happened. He gave her a tug to get her moving and when he felt her squeeze his hand and her eyes sharpened with resolve, he sighed in relief.

The restaurant was packed for a Monday night. The hostess seated them right away at a table near the back. At the opposite corner from where they sat was the dance floor, a few couples swaying to the music. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the menu, but she still hadn’t gone for the band. She’d had another session with her therapist just that day and had told him before they left his place how well it had gone. He suspected that having to expose herself like that to a virtual stranger left her raw, but he guessed that she also felt empowered afterwards because a little bit more of the pain that had festered inside of her for so long was being allowed to seep out.

The waiter appeared and took their drink orders. Savannah nervously took a sip of water, then started clenching her hands together in front of her.

“I was wondering if you would come with me somewhere on Saturday morning.”

That got her attention. “Of course. Where?” she asked.

“I want to introduce you to my brother.”

If she was phased by the way he had mentioned meeting his brother as if he were still alive, she didn’t show it. She smiled gently and said, “I’d like that.”

The waiter brought their drinks and they placed their orders. When they were alone again, Shane asked, “You want to dance?”

She tensed, but then smiled and said, “Shane, we don’t have to do that. I think we both know that I won’t freak out if you put your hands on me.” He loved her sexy, suggestive smile and couldn’t help but marvel at how she was so much more comfortable with her sexual side then he ever would have guessed.

“I wasn’t thinking it would be us dancing,” he said calmly. At her confusion, he motioned over his shoulder and said, “I was thinking you could dance with him.”

Her eyes widened as she saw Dominic Barretti heading their way. He stopped at their table and reached out to shake Shane’s hand, then his dark eyes gentled as he extended his hand to Savannah.

“Miss Bradshaw, it’s good to see you again.” It took her several long seconds to finally take his hand. “Will you join me for a dance?” he asked. She looked back at Shane uncertainly and then firmed her shoulders and dipped her head in a brief nod. Both men watched her carefully as she stood and when she forced a tremulous smile to her lips, Shane never felt prouder of her. She was clearly terrified, but she was facing her fear head on. He just hoped that he hadn’t overplayed his hand by testing her newfound strength before she was ready.

***

Savannah fought back the nausea that threatened to overtake her as Dom led her to the dance floor. The man was huge like Gabe, but unlike her friend, she didn’t know this man. She’d been too far gone in her meltdown the last time she was here to even recognize him as the man who had not only emptied the restaurant of all the patrons so she wouldn’t have to face them when she left, but had also broken a door down so that he could take the knife away from her before she could cause any significant harm to herself. She did remember his pretty, sweet wife who had comforted her on that cold bathroom floor, her gentle touch and soft voice urging her to come back to reality.

Truth be told, she was a little angry at Shane for clearly orchestrating the entire evening, including the unwanted contact with this man, but the bottom line was that she never would have been able to attempt something like this on her own. Shane clearly trusted this man or he never would have put her in this position.

Her hand felt cold and clammy in Dom’s huge grip, but he was gentle and if she wanted to pull free, she could. When they reached the dance floor, he kept her on the outskirts of the small group of dancers. She closed her eyes as she waited for him to grab her around the waist and she immediately reached for the band on her wrist.

“Sweetheart,” he said gently, his voice incredibly quiet for such a large, imposing person. “Nothing happens here tonight unless you say it does.” He was giving her an out and she badly wanted to take it. She looked over her shoulder at Shane to find him watching her intently. She saw his concern and then he was getting up, clearly about to come rescue her. She shook her head at him and he stopped, but didn’t sit back down. Sucking in a deep breath, she turned back to Dom and stepped closer to him so she could put her hand on his wide shoulder. As his arm slipped lightly around her waist, he held out his other hand and she took it. As he began to move them to the music, he left a wide gap between their bodies.

Her shoulders started to ache from the stiff way she was holding herself so she took another deep breath and forced her muscles to relax. Dom kept them on the outer edge of the dance floor and never once tried to pull her closer.

“Try not to be too pissed at him.”

“What?” she asked in confusion, startled by the intrusion of his voice.

Dom motioned over her shoulder with his head to where Shane had returned to his seat. “I can tell he wants nothing more than to come over here and beat the shit out of me for touching you, even though he’s the one that set this up.”

Dom turned them so she could connect with Shane visually. He did look pretty angry and part of her was glad that he didn’t find handing her off to someone else so easy. The other part of her was grateful for the strides he had taken to try and help her gain some of her confidence back.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked as she watched Shane get up and go over to the bar where Dom’s wife sat. He spoke with her briefly and then the woman was taking his hand and following him to the dance floor. A little bit of jealousy surged through her but when she saw how indifferent Shane’s hold was, how it was as impersonal as the one Dom had on her, she felt marginally better.

“My wife has taken a fondness to you. I give my wife whatever she wants,” he said simply but something in his voice dragged Savannah’s eyes to his. There was pain there – a lot of it. She’d also felt the briefest tightening of his grip at her waist, not enough to frighten her, just enough to show that the man wasn’t as unaffected by emotion as he appeared to be. Whatever he felt for his wife ran deep, but there was some turmoil there too.

“Thank you for doing this Mr. Barretti. And for what you did that night,” she said.

“It’s Dom and you’re welcome sweetheart. Now let’s go get you back to your man.” He led her to where Shane and Sylvie were dancing and the exchange was quick and effortless. She instantly pressed up against Shane. It felt like coming home. They didn’t speak, he just held her against him as they swayed slowly back and forth. Her body had the same sated feeling she got after a night of lovemaking with this man and she couldn’t help but wonder at what that meant.

When the music ended, he led her back to their table and they talked about mundane things. It was comfortable and natural. As they finished off with dessert, she excused herself to go to the restroom.

***

Shane watched Savannah disappear into the bathroom. He made his way over to the bar where Dom and his wife sat. He noticed that when Sylvie saw him approach, she gave her husband a quick kiss and headed toward the bathroom, smiling at him as she passed him. He wondered if she sensed he needed a private moment with her husband. Even better would be if she could distract Savannah to buy him some more time.

“Drink?” Dom asked him as he motioned to the now empty stool next to him. The man was cool as a cucumber and seemed unsurprised at Shane’s intrusion. Dom had willingly agreed to his plan without question when Shane had called earlier that day to see if he could bring Savannah in so she could work through everything that had happened last time. Shane considered himself to be a pretty good judge of character and had known from Dom’s protective nature that night when Savannah freaked out that Dom would be the perfect one to dance with her. He was a big, physically imposing man who could easily take what he wanted, but also had a soft spot for women, as evidenced not only by the way he revered his wife, but by the way he had emptied out his own restaurant to save Savannah the embarrassment of having to face all those people when she’d fallen apart in the very public setting. He’d even gone so far as to break down a door in his own establishment to stop Savannah from hurting herself.

“No, I just have a minute,” Shane said as he sat.

“You have a couple…Sylvie’s good at small talk,” the man said casually, knowingly.

Shane smiled briefly. “You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Barretti.”

Something dark past through Dom’s expression, but it was gone quickly. “Dom,” was all he said.

“You’re not just a restaurant owner, are you Dom?” Shane asked as he toyed with a cocktail napkin.

Dom slid his cool eyes towards Shane and then took a slow sip of his drink but didn’t say anything. Shane ignored the intimidation tactic. “You own Barretti Security Group.”

“Co-own, actually,” Dom finally acknowledged.

“With your brother,” Shane said.

“Brothers,” Dom said, emphasizing the plural. Another flash of darkness. “What can I do for you Shane?”

Shane hadn’t really given him permission to use his first name, but he supposed they were well past formality at this point. “I need you to do some digging for me.”

“I don’t know if you can afford me,” Dom interjected. “Law students usually don’t have a lot of pennies to spare, do they?” he quipped. “But then again, you’re not like most law students either, are you?”

Shane straightened on the stool. The message was loud and clear – it appeared that Dom had already done some digging on his own.

Dom shrugged. “My wife is quite fond of your girl. She was worried about her after that night and I had your phone number…”

“So you decided to take a look behind the curtains, so to speak,” Shane offered.

“I don’t like for Sylvie to worry,” was all Dom said.

“Right,” Shane chuckled. “I think I’ll take that drink now.”