Shattered Heart: The Donnellys, Book 3 (15 page)

Cyn grinned and moved to the other side of the table. “It’s possible.”

Not the answer he was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. Shane took a swallow of his beer. The thought of having Cyn in his home and also on the back of his bike made his insides go a tad soft. The chance to have her in his bed made his dick stir in his jeans. “I think you’d love Texas. Have you ever been?”

“Nope.” She sank a ball. “You’re in the country, right?”

“Not quite. It’s a suburb of Dallas.”

“Oh. I hadn’t realized. Definitely no bulls then.” She pursed her lips and took another shot, but missed.

He took the stick from her. “I think we can find you some if needed.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She kissed his cheek before moving to her beer.

Shane took out the eight ball. “What else will you hold against me?”

Cyn moved back to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “How about me? Can I hold me against you?”

“Always.” He gazed into her eyes. “Give me those pretty lips.”

“Mmm. Come get them.”

Shane bent his head and kissed her. Smoothing his tongue over hers, he slid a hand down to her ass. She moaned and pressed closer. She tasted of beer mixed with the sweetness he knew as his girl.
His girl.
Christ…he loved the way that statement rolled through his mind and fitted around his heart. Breaking from her lips he caught her gaze again. “I do believe I’m winning.”

She frowned and gave him an eye roll. “Two more games to go. Hold your horses, you haven’t won anything yet.”

“Trust me. I’ll win.” With a grin firmly in place, he swatted her ass. “Rack ’em.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Shane slid into the backseat of the Uber car beside Cyn. As the driver confirmed their destination and pulled away from the curb, Shane slid his palm over her bare thigh. He’d had a blast with her. They’d danced…a lot. Drank a lot too. Cyn smiled, laughed and joked with him, and Shane couldn’t keep his hands off her. She’d teased him pretty much all night, rubbing her full ass on his groin any chance she got. The whole date was awesome and he
could not
wait to get her home. And naked. Immediately.

Cyn leaned against him and brushed her soft lips over his ear. “I want you.”

A shiver ran down Shane’s spine and his dick thickened behind his zipper. He trailed his fingers over the bare flesh of Cyn’s inner thigh, then higher. She was wet for him, he was sure.

Shane didn’t need to touch her pussy to prove it. But damn him if he didn’t want to anyway—because she was his, and because she felt like satin beneath his fingertips, and also because making her come anytime he wanted was fucking hot. However, considering the close proximity of the driver, he’d wait.

Cyn parted her thighs ever so slightly and slid an arm behind his shoulders. Shane moved his fingers higher, itching to hit his target, barely able to hold himself back. Cyn gripped the back of his shirt and bit her bottom lip.

Shane stifled a groan. His dick was so hard he could pound nails straight through two-by-fours, and as soon as he got her in the door he was fucking her. Right there in the living room, plus everywhere else in the house he could. As he traced tiny circles on the skin of her inner thigh with his fingertips, he bent to her ear. “Hot and wet for me?”

She nodded. “Touch me. Please?”

Shane nipped at her earlobe and inched his fingers higher, grazing the edge of her panties. “You want my cock, don’t you? Need me to stuff that tight cunt full so you can come all over me?” Cyn gripped the back of his neck and moaned as she bit his shoulder.

Fucking hell, they needed to get home now.

C
yn pulled away from Shane’s neck and stared at him in the dimness of the backseat of the car. He had a look in his eyes like he wanted to eat her alive. And then maybe go back for seconds. Cyn smiled and licked her lips, beyond willing to feed him. She’d almost come from his words alone, and knew, once he buried that absolutely gorgeous and thick shaft of his inside her, he’d make her come hard enough to register a ten on the Richter scale.

Shane moved his hand from her inner thigh, and raised his fingers to her mouth. Without hesitation, she opened and he pressed them inside. Cyn moaned, sucking and curling her tongue around the edges. He bent close to her ear. “Gonna fuck this hot mouth tonight.”

She nodded, his fingers still between her lips and rubbed her hand over the hardness trapped behind his zipper.

Shane grabbed her wrist. “Then I’m gonna fuck your tight pussy until you beg me to stop.”

Good God, the dominant tone of his whispered words had her clit throbbing and every inch of her body clenching in need. The driver needed to hurry up and get to the house before she lost her ever-loving mind. Shane ran his fingers from her mouth, down her chin and neck, to the swell of her cleavage.

She bent close to his ear, sliding her palm up his length. “What if I don’t beg you to stop?”

Shane speared his fingers into her hair, tugged her head back and stared into her eyes. “Girl…” His gaze wandered over her face to her lips before he jerked her forward and planted a kiss on her so consuming that chills skipped over Cyn’s skin and her head buzzed with the intensity of it.

Shane didn’t need to finish whatever statement he was going to make. The kiss conveyed it all. Cyn felt it in her bones and with every fiber of her being. Shane Conlon wanted her so much more than in just a sexual way.

As he stole her breath with his lips and tongue, Cyn wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. The connection between them was electric and wild…and definitive. And Cyn had no choice but to let herself be swept away in all of it.

The car slowed, and he broke the kiss, leaving Cyn breathless, dizzy and completely absorbed in everything Shane.

“Thanks a lot, man.” Shane opened the door and angled out of the backseat, pulling her behind him.

He moved toward her front door, and Cyn trailed behind him, in silence, still in a daze from her little realization in the car while hormones bounced around her insides. She couldn’t think about it—all that she’d felt in that kiss.

She couldn’t give him what he wanted…at least not for a year. After that, she’d be able to tell if he was the real deal genuine perfection he appeared to be. She hoped. Just not now, not yet.

Shane let go of her hand and unlocked the front door. He had a key to her house because he’d been there for a couple of weeks now. It was no big deal. Not like they were living with each other…except it almost sort of was. They acted like a couple, cohabitated like they were one. Fucked like they were one too.

Everything Cyn ever wanted, she had with Shane. Every idea of what a relationship should be, and could be, he’d given her, and more—because she’d never expected sex to be like it was with him.

He pulled her into the house, closing the door behind them. She needed to tell him…to maybe try and explain why things were moving too fast. And why she couldn’t be his girl.

But she didn’t get the chance because his lips were on hers again, and she was lost in his tongue and taste. His scent and strong body enveloped her, and Cyn let it all slip away. The fears. The doubts. And whatever she thought shouldn’t be happening between them.

At that moment, whether it should be or not, was irrelevant. It was happening and Cyn felt powerless to stop it.

She broke the kiss and dropped to her knees. No words were spoken as she unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down. Shane cupped her cheek in his palm and Cyn rested against it, as she pulled his thick shaft free of his boxer briefs.

With her eyes on his, Cyn parted her lips and slid the flushed swollen crown into her mouth. The bead of pre-ejaculate that’d gathered at the tip hit her tongue and she moaned as she swallowed.

Could she really be powerless to stop something she kept volunteering for? She didn’t want to stop, but continuing wasn’t an option either.

Shane stroked her cheek. “Girl…”

Tonight…she had him tonight, and a handful of others. Cyn closed her eyes and took him to the back of her throat. She didn’t need to stop; it was going to happen regardless.

He was leaving.

S
hane stared down in awe at the woman who’d stolen his heart. Something had changed in her expression once they’d gotten inside the house. Maybe it was the kiss he’d given her in the car. He’d been so overwhelmed by all the emotions racing through his mind, kissing her was the only way to best express everything he was feeling.

Cyn slowed her movements, gazing up at him. Shane’s heart clenched in his chest for a million reasons, but the biggest being that he did not want to leave this woman. With a moan, she swirled her tongue around the head and then took him deep into the hot depths of her mouth, and Shane’s head spun.

He smoothed his palm over her hair and threaded his fingers through the soft strands. He wanted her…all of her. Forever and always.

But he wouldn’t tell her yet. Couldn’t risk spooking her and lose what little time he had left in L.A. Less than a week until he had to go, and he intended to make the most of it. But somehow, some way he’d figure out how things could work between them long distance. There was just no way around it.

“Cyn…” She looked up at him and he urged her to her feet. “I want you.”

“You have me.” She kissed him.

God, how he hoped she meant those words in the literal sense. Shane picked her up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom. Cyn wrapped her legs around his waist and nipped at his neck.

A desperate need to absorb and memorize every touch, kiss and moment this night would bring, as though it might be his last rose inside him, tempering his typical urgent need to fuck her senseless. Sex between them had always been explosive, and he loved it that way, but tonight he wanted to take his time.

He set her on the bed and smoothed his palms down her chest. “Take your dress off for me.” She did as he asked, removing her bra too. Shane’s mouth went dry as he took in her body, from her full breasts to her lace panties. “So goddamn beautiful.” He went to his knees in front of her and cupped both mounds in his palms before leaning forward and licking over one nipple.

He bit the tight point and Cyn jerked against him, gripping the back of his neck. “Love when you play with my tits.”

“Mmm.” Shane stood, urging her to lie back on the bed, and then bent over her, as he moved to the other nipple. Still gripping both globes, he lapped at the taut nub, then nibbled it too.

The heavenly scent of her bare skin flowed into his lungs, racing through his blood stream, fueling his desire. He moved down her soft tummy, licking and nipping along the way, stopping to kiss around her belly button as he slid her panties down her legs.

“Shane…” She tugged at his shirt.

“Shh. I got you.” After removing his shirt and jeans, Shane moved onto the bed beside her. He propped himself on an elbow and trailed his fingertip around her belly button and continued lower to her clit.

He loved that she had no pubic hair, loved how smooth the skin of her pussy felt. She gazed at him and moaned as he pressed against her clit, massaging the bundle of nerves with tight circles. “Love how you feel and how wet your cunt gets for me when I touch you.”

“Mmm, babe.” She rolled her hips and cupped her full tits, squeezing them together. Raising one, she dipped her chin and licked over one nipple.

Shane let out a groan and the head of his prick throbbed. “Going to be
the
fucking death of me. Spread your legs nice and wide for me. And keep playing with your tits.”

She did as he asked and he drove two fingers inside her. Cyn rolled her hips and whimpered as she licked her lips. His balls tightened and Shane drew out his fingers and delivered a quick slap to her pussy.

Her hips shot off the bed and she screamed his name.

Oh yeah, that’s what he’d wanted to hear. She moaned and he gave her a quick kiss. “You like that?”

“Yes!” she breathed. “Fuck, yes.”

Shane circled the mouth of her cunt with his fingertips and drew her wetness up over her clit. “Dripping for me now.”

“Need…”

“What do you need, Cyn?” He teased her clit.

She rolled her hips. “Need you…oh fuck!”

“Need what?” He slid his fingers inside, curling them to stroke over her G-spot.

“Everything, Shane. You. Your cock. Your mouth. Everythi—”

Shane delivered another swift slap to her cunt and as she arched on the bed, he cupped her mound in his palm. His dick throbbed, growing impossibly harder. Her reactions were enough to make him lose his damn mind. Everything he did to her, she liked and wanted more of. “Made for me, Cyn. Goddamn made for me.”

So caught up in the moment, Shane didn’t bother to try and hold back. There was no point in censuring himself anymore. The words weren’t bullshit, every one of them was true. She
was
made for him.

Rising from the bed, he grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer, tore it open and slid the latex over his shaft. “How do you want me to take you tonight?”

Cyn looked up at him and licked her lips. “All ways.”

“Girl…” Shane stood against the side of the bed, gripped her thighs and slid her to the edge. He placed the head at her entrance. “Watch as I slide inside you.”

Cyn rose up on her elbows and stared between them as Shane slid just the tip in. She let out a moan. “Fuck, that’s so hot. Fill me all the way. Please, baby?”

“So polite. Such a good girl.” Shane’s lips quirked into a grin as he gripped her thighs and drove balls deep inside her.

“Oh
God!
Yes!”

Heaven help him, this woman was Shane’s every fantasy come to life. Before the night was done, he’d make sure she knew without a doubt that he was made for her too.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cy
n sat at her desk in her office well past business hours. She hadn’t been able to focus all day—too wrapped up in thoughts about the prior night with Shane. The sex had been beyond intense, more so than it’d already been between them. Something had shifted in him—between them, and she didn’t know what the hell she was going to do about it.

Leaning back in her seat, she rubbed her hands over her face and let out a breath. Along with the rising emotions over his behavior, her body kept springing to life with arousal each time she replayed the night in her mind. The whole situation was unexpected and crazy, as well as mind-blowing. And no matter how many times Cyn had told herself over the last couple of weeks that she would not—absolutely could not develop feelings for Shane, they’d grown anyway.

Without her permission, yet with her full participation.

Agitation with herself, and the situation, pulsed through her as Cyn finally shut down her computer and gathered a pile of customer files and invoices. Shane would be leaving. And she needed to let him go. But fucking hell, she didn’t want to.

With a sigh, Cyn put the papers back down and propped an elbow on the desk, resting her forehead in her palm. What in the hell was she going to do? Burying her feelings wasn’t working for shit, but there was no way she was going to run home and confess all the hearts and butterflies bouncing around her heart.

Cyn slumped back in her chair and toyed with a loose thread on the seam of her jeans. Shane didn’t need to know how she felt. No one did. Things were just too complicated between them, except not really—just that he lived three states away and she was supposed to be single, working on herself and fixing her broken picker.

Bottom line, trusting her judgment was no longer possible. Cyn hadn’t picked a good man…well, ever. Shane was no different, though she
really
wanted to believe he was. She just couldn’t be sure. And since he was leaving, the opportunity to be sure wasn’t possible.

Chasing after what her heart thought she wanted was just stupid, and what she’d always done in the past. Instead, she needed to listen to her head—however, that was a mess too. “Ugh! This is crazy. I’m crazy!”

Cyn scooped up the pile of documents again, engaged the alarm system and left the office. The sun had set well over an hour ago and she glanced around the empty lot as she walked across the pavement to where she’d parked. She unlocked the Jeep with the key fob and then, carefully balancing the stack of paperwork in one arm, she reached for the door hand—

Cyn was slammed forward against the still-closed driver’s door. Paperwork slid from her grip as her breath gushed from her lungs with the hard impact.

“
Now
we’re going to talk.” The threatening growl in Carlos’s whispered words sent an eerie chill down her spine. He grabbed one of her arms, wrenching it behind her back. “Whether you like it or not, bitch.”

What the fuck did he think he was doing? Cyn would’ve been scared if she wasn’t so stunned and pissed off. How dare he manhandle her in such a way! Finally regaining her breath, she turned her head to the side and glared at him over her shoulder. “Like hell!”

“We’ll just see about that.” Carlos yanked her away from the Wrangler, opened the door and pushed her inside. He followed after her, shoving her over the center console to the passenger seat.

Cyn reached for the passenger door handle, but Carlos was faster than she expected and he grabbed both of her wrists. Wrapping a thin scarf around them, he bound them together. How in the fuck was this even happening? Cyn got a good look at his face, the overhead dome light illuminating his features. She cringed. The expression in his eyes was like some sort of crazed mental patient who’d snapped. “Carlos, please? What the hell are you doing?”

“Shut your bitch mouth.” He reached behind his back, and in the next moment he pointed a gun at her face. “It’s not your turn to talk.”

Cyn lost her breath and her eyes went wide. “Carlos.”

“You never did know when to shut up.” Setting the gun in his lap, he produced another scarf from his pocket and shoved it between her lips as a gag, tying it behind her head. Righting himself behind the wheel, Carlos slammed the driver’s door closed and started her Jeep. After backing out of the parking space, he squealed out of the small lot.

Cold dread filled her veins. Holy shit, things had just gone from zero to twelve thousand in a matter of two seconds. Trying not to panic, Cyn stared out the windshield and passenger window, her head spinning as they sped down residential side streets. He’d pointed a gun at her. A fucking gun. Jesus. The tint on her windows was so dark, no one would be able to see her. Cyn glanced over at Carlos. His face had hardened into a determined expression, his lips pressed tight together in a harsh frown. The gun lay in between his legs. What the hell was she going to do? What the hell was
he
going to do?

Cyn glanced at the floor. Her purse was tipped over, its contents strewn around her feet. Her cell phone was down there—exactly where, she couldn’t see. But she had to do something. Anything…there was no way she could let him just take her somewhere, but how the hell was she going to stop him? Cyn drew a breath in through her nose trying to calm her frazzled nerves. Carlos wouldn’t hurt her, not truly hurt her—at least she hoped.

He rounded a corner and Cyn realized they were nearing her neighborhood. He was taking her to her house? Jesus, this was insane. Sure enough, after a few more turns, he pulled into her driveway, opened the garage door and parked inside. Turning off the Wrangler, he got out, rounded the front end and opened her door. “In the house we go.”

She had a brief moment to wonder what he’d done with the gun as he gripped her bound wrists and yanked her out. Cyn stumbled into him with a grunt as she tried to gain her footing. Carlos tugged her into the house, shutting the door behind them.

She blinked, adjusting to the darkness as he led her through the kitchen. Once in the living room, he sat her down in the corner chair and started pacing in front of her. The room was dark, save for the glow of the streetlights spilling through her front window.

When Carlos turned away from her she caught the brushed metallic reflection of the butt of the gun sticking out from the back of his jeans.
God, please help me?
Foolishly, she’d hoped he had left it on the front seat. Fear rose in her chest and bile burned the back of her throat. Holy fucking shit, this was bad. This was beyond bad.

“How could you do this to me? How the fuck do you think you’re just going to walk away from me?” He stopped his pacing and turned to her. “I will not be ignored, Cyn!” Carlos rushed forward and got in her face, his nose almost touching hers. Cyn jerked back from him, blinking. He grabbed her by her hair, yanking her head back before shaking her hard. “Do you fucking hear me!”

Cyn squeezed her eyes closed as tears trickled down the side of her face, dripping into her ears.
Oh God!
Terror pulsed through her blood stream and her heart pounded in her ears. She sucked in a harsh breath around the gag, trying to calm down so she could think. There had to be a way to get away from him. Cyn tried to recall every television show or movie she’d ever watched where someone had been held captive and got away. So stupid, but it was the only thing that came to her.

With his hold still tight in her hair, Carlos gripped her face hard in his free hand. “Not much to say now, huh? Not with that gag in your mouth anyway. Works for me.” He let go of her and stalked away. “Tell me to fuck off? That you’re done? I don’t fucking think so. I’ll show you done, you fucking slut.”

This was it; she might not get another chance. She pushed all her burning fear down. With Carlos’s back still turned, Cyn rose from the seat, raised her bound hands and plowed into the back of him. Screw the gun, it didn’t matter. The room was dark and Cyn was banking on him not being a good shot, and also her running faster than he could track.

Unable to control her body, she let the momentum carry them both to the ground. They landed with a hard thud and Cyn rolled to her side, scrambling to get to her feet.

Carlos was on her before she got even one foot planted on the floor. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and yanked her to the ground. Cyn landed on her back, her head slamming into the hardwood floor. Pain erupted in her chest and sides as her breath punched out of her with a deep, rattled groan.

Carlos straddled her stomach, his teeth bared with his lips peeled back in a crazed sneer. The gag had come loose and she opened her mouth to scream. But couldn’t. Still struggling to catch her breath, Cyn tried to draw in some air and as she did, Carlos slapped her across the cheek—the blow so hard stars exploded behind her eyes.
Oh my God!
Taking her by the hair, he raised her head and slammed it down on the floor. Pain resonated loudly through her mind, and then he slapped her again. Cyn’s head jerked in the other direction, and her mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.

“What the fuck?”

“Sha-
aane
!” The last of his name came out on a wheeze. Cyn bucked her hips, trying to get her ex off her. At once, Carlos’s weight was gone and not because of her efforts. Cyn rolled to her side, and worked to get her feet under her. When she turned around, Shane and Carlos were locked in a struggle. They slammed into the end table and the lamp crashed to the floor.

“Cyn, run! Now!” Shane’s voice echoed around the room. He turned with Carlos, and shoved him away. Carlos came back at Shane and Shane raised a fist and punched him in the jaw. Cyn’s ex flew to the side, hitting the wall, but again came back at Shane.

“Shane, he has a gun tucked in the back of his pants!” Cyn looked around, frantic for something to hit Carlos with.

“Cynthia, fucking run now. And call the cops!” Shane punched Carlos in the stomach and her ex doubled over.

“I’m not leaving you.” With her wrists still bound, she grabbed the vase from the entryway table and held it over her head. “Goddammit, Carlos, stop!”

With Carlos still bent over holding his stomach, Shane hit him with an upper cut to the jaw, then spun Carlos, pressing him face-first against the wall, his arm wrenched behind his back. Yanking the gun from the back of Carlos’s jeans, Shane tossed it away from them. “Big man with a gun, huh? Big man assaulting a woman?” Shane pulled him away from the wall and slammed him against it again. “Not so big now, are you, you fucker!”

Carlos let out a disturbed laugh. “You the one she’s fucking now?”

“Shut your mouth.” Shane glanced over at Cyn. “This is Carlos?”

“Yes.” Cyn set the vase down and swiped her tears away, cringing as her hand passed over her cheeks where Carlos had hit her.

“Call the cops, Cyn. Now.”

She licked her lips, the sting from the cut making her wince. “I don’t have my phone.”

“Back pocket.” He yanked Carlos’s bent arm higher. “Don’t you fucking move, or I swear I’ll rip your arm right the hell out of the socket and beat you bloody with it.” Shane glanced at her again, his breath sawing in and out of him. “Grab my phone, Cyn.”

Carlos groaned in what she assumed was pain, but didn’t say anything. She knew how that felt, having an arm wrenched behind your back. Carlos had done it to her in the parking lot.
Asshole.
Cyn stood there, her limbs vibrating with adrenaline. Blood rushing loud in her ears.

“Cynthia, babe? Did you hear me?” He paused, his gaze intent on her. “Ah, fuck.”

She blinked, caught in a total daze, unable to respond to him. She frowned, her ears ringing as she tried to focus on breathing.

Shane managed to pull his phone from his back pocket and hit a few keys with his thumb. “Yes. This Shane Conlon, I need an officer and an ambulance at four-oh-sixty-six, Billings Avenue… Yes, ma’am. I have an intruder in custody. The ambulance is for the resident, Cynthia Donnelly… No, she’s conscious, but appears to have been assaulted.” He shook his head. “No, ma’am… Yes, ma’am. There’s a gun at the scene. I need to secure it… No. No.” He glanced at her and then back to Carlos.

Cyn cringed, nerves still bouncing through her like a Ping Pong ball. She still couldn’t believe Carlos had a gun. A shiver raced down her spine and spread over her skin. He could’ve killed her. Glancing around the room, she spotted it in the far corner.

“Fuck this shit. Let me go!” Carlos yelled.

Shane grunted. “Ma’am, I’m holding him against a wall at the moment, so I won’t be able to stay on the line… Thank you.” Cyn looked back to see Shane pull the phone from his ear and toss it to the couch. “Cyn, do you have any zip ties in the garage?”

Raising her bound hands, she looked at them. They were shaking. Curling them into fists, she squeezed, and flexed them again.

“Cynthia! Babe, look at me.”

Cyn snapped her gaze to Shane’s.

“Yeah, you’re the one she’s fucking now.” Carlos spat blood on to the floor.

Shane pushed him harder against the wall. “Last warning, Carlos. Shut your mouth, or I’ll be forced to help you shut it.”

“She’s got a hot mouth don’t she? You like that ass too, I bet.” Carlos laughed.

Shane grabbed Carlos by the back of the hair, yanked his head back and slammed it hard against the wall. Carlos went limp, and Shane let him slide to the ground. “Had about enough of that shit.” Shane crouched down and rolled Carlos to his stomach. “Cyn, I need you to get me something to secure his hands with. Sweetheart, do you have any zip ties in the garage?”

“He had a gun,” she heard herself say. “Shane, he had a gun.”

The room spun and then went black.

Shane ran to Cyn, catching her before she hit the ground. He laid her down on the couch and smoothed her hair away from her face. Goddamn-motherfucking-sonofabitch. Her lip was split and bloody. One cheek red, the other swollen—a bruise already appearing on her flesh.

Anger spread through him like hot lava. He wanted to tear Carlos limb from limb. If he hadn’t already knocked him out, he’d do it again. As it was, it was taking every ounce of self-control Shane had not to get up and kick the fucker in the face.