Keep (Command #2) (3 page)

“I’m cold,” she said, to explain her reaction.

He didn’t say anything. All he did was bring his lips to hers and set her on fire.

“Don’t,” she gasped, turning away from the kiss. She flung his hand off and awarded him the dirtiest of looks she had. He wore the same expression as before, his face filled with desire.

“You keep refusing me, and I’m going to get my feelings hurt.”

“That’s your fault. I don’t know how to be any more clear.”

Her mind was set, but her body hummed with desire and she struggled to hold it at bay. She would continue to convince herself that she had no interest in him, even as Shawn’s touch made her melt into the seat beside him. He was much too arrogant.

“The only thing you’ve made clear is that you don’t want… to want me.”

She had nothing left to respond with. Her dirtiest of looks had made no impact and what he’d said was the truth. Time was not her friend. Every moment she spent with him was another opportunity for him to attack her resolve. It had weakened considerably under the power of his slightest of kisses. It was the drama from this morning, she assumed. That was the reason why she felt this way.

Thank god.
The car pulled alongside the curb and she flung the door open as soon as it stopped. Kara scrambled out into the rain and darted under the awning of the restaurant, going to the first place she could find where Shawn’s presence didn’t fill every square inch of the air.

He didn’t let her recover. His strong hand was on her back, pressing her subtly forward into the fancy restaurant, not allowing her to go elsewhere.

Shawn assumed she’d ordered the glass of Budweiser to piss him off, and was amused at her failed attempt. “I thought you don’t drink beer.”

“I lied.”

He felt a smirk twitch on his face. She sat across from him, drumming her fingertips absently on the white tablecloth, like she’d rather be somewhere else. She hadn’t lied about her lack of appetite though, as she’d barely touched her lunch. That was his fault. When Kara didn’t order anything, he did it for her, and her pale-blue eyes filled with irritation. He should have known better.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“The incident? There’s not a whole lot to say. He knew he was getting fired and was upset.”

“L said you talked to him and calmed him down. How did you manage that?”

The blue of her eyes was almost silver and intriguing as her gaze sharpened. “Rhodes is going through a divorce, so I talked about mine.”

She gave the impression that she was guarded, so this was surprising. “How long ago did you divorce?”

“It’ll be two years in December.”

“Then you’re through the hardest part.”

“Yeah, I suppose you would know.”

L must have told her about his two divorces. He wasn’t particularly proud to have two ex-wives at thirty-nine, but the fact was, he did. He’d really tried to make it work with both of them.

“Can I ask,” he said, “what happened between you and Paul?”

“You can ask, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why?” He should let this be, but he was curious.

“Do you like talking about why your marriage fell apart? Marriages?”

“There’s not a whole lot to say. Nicolette was pregnant, and her parents required we get married.”

“Oh,” she looked taken aback, “Laurel didn’t mention you have kids.”

“I don’t. She lost the baby a week after the wedding.” He expected that to draw the typical reaction from her, a shocked or sad expression, but she only blinked in response. “We stayed together for a few months, mostly to spite her ridiculous parents. She’s married to a finance guy now and has three kids.”

“You two still talk?”

“Not really. He’s one of my finance guys.” He didn’t tell her that he’d been the one to set them up when it had been clear things weren’t going to work out. Nicolette had been through so much and he was glad to see her happy. She deserved it.

“Oh.” Kara took a sip of her beer. He could see the curiosity building in her and it eventually bubbled over. She asked him hesitantly, “And your other one?”

“My job can be demanding, and Alicia was… needy. She’d say I wasn’t around enough for her, and that was the justification for her affair.”
Affairs,
his brain whispered. One was bad enough, but Alicia had been so angry with Shawn, she’d fucked half the company before he’d found out. That had been a dark day, which he’d rather not go back to. Was this why Kara didn’t want to talk about it? “Was Paul unfaithful?”

“No. Not that I know of.”

“Then what happened?”

“None of your business is what happened.” The fire in her eyes made her so goddamn hot he couldn’t help himself, and he knew immediately.

“It was a sex thing.” He’d hit the nail on the head because she flushed the most gorgeous color of red.

“Thank you for lunch,” she choked out before a calm washed over her, as if composing herself. She was going to bolt, but he wasn’t ready to let that happen.

“Wait, I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s none of my business. Can we talk about something else?”

She threw her napkin on her plate, a clear sign the answer was “
No
.”

“When are you flying back to Maastricht?” he asked, signaling for a check.

That got her attention. “Why?”

He had a plan forming but wasn’t about to reveal that. “I’m not heading back to Munich for a few days, but maybe we could meet for drinks tonight.”

“Even if I wanted to do that, which I don’t, I have to be at JFK early, remember?” She watched him pull his black AmEx from his wallet and all but rolled her eyes.

“Direct?”

“No, it’s not direct. Is there some reason why you care?”

“I have a private plane. It can take you wherever you want,” he said, “and whenever.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “No, thank you.”

Shawn stifled his laugh. “No? You like flying commercial?” He expected her to throw that back in his face, for her to tell him that she didn’t usually have another option, but she remained cool and even.

“Thank you for the offer, but that would make me more uncomfortable than the flowers do.”

Again she refused him. Why did he enjoy that? “Very well. What hotel would you like my driver to drop you off at?” He texted his driver that they wanted to leave.

She made zero effort to sound anything but relieved. “You’re not coming?”

“I need to get back to the office. It’s close so I can walk. I don’t mind a little rain.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“My leaving has strings,” he added.

“There it is.”

“You have to tell me about Paul’s problem next time we meet.”

Confusion overtook her face. “Paul’s problem?”

“Yes, his problem. Why he would let you go.”

She surveyed the drizzle outside, her gorgeous face set. “The Hilton by the Park.”

As soon as the server was back with his card, he signed the bill and followed her outside to wait under the awning. In her heels, she was tall and he wasn’t used to a woman who could stand eye-to-eye with him. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, impatient for the limo, and then her focus went back on him.

“You’re doing it again,” she said.

“What was that?”

“Looking at me like you —”

He put his hands on her hips, bringing her close. “I can’t help it. Stop fighting what we both want.”

There was no strength in her words. “I don’t want this.”

She hadn’t moved from the spot, from his hands, though. The only struggle was with the worry on her face.

“I don’t believe that any more than you do.”

The car pulled up and he released her, opening the backseat door for her.

“You know, Shawn, you’re not as irresistible as you think.” She broke off her gaze when she slid into the backseat.

Oh, really?

“Then get ready to prove it,” he growled, following her into the car.

Kara’s breathing ratcheted up when he was, once again, right beside her. Why couldn’t she keep her stupid mouth shut?

“Let’s go,” he said to the driver.

“You weren’t supposed to get in the car,” she objected.

The tension built to an uncomfortable level as he activated the partition between them and the driver, and Shawn shifted closer to her. All she wanted to do was sleep off the tension from the disastrous day. Alone. She was tired, physically and mentally drained, and couldn’t last much longer.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he said.

“No, you’re not.”

He did it anyway, pressing his soft lips to hers. She ignored him. Didn’t give him any response at all. He drew away a fraction of an inch so his breath was hot on her face.

“Kiss me back. You’ll like it.”

“No, I won’t.” She hated the quiver in her voice.

“Why not?”

“Because,” she said more firmly, “you’re an arrogant prick.”

His seductive eyes went wide with shock, then turned warm. Like he was thrilled. “Oh, that was the wrong answer.”

He assaulted her mouth like he couldn’t care less about what she thought of him. It demanded her participation, though. Hard lips moved on hers, aggressive and dominating, creating a fire deep inside her. The next thing she knew, her hands were on the sides of his face like she was holding on for dear life, her kiss meeting his. And then some.

Holy crap, he knew what he was doing.
The power of the kiss was intense, consuming… out of control. She was the first one to use tongue to deepen it, caressing his with hers. Hands drifted down to clutch fistfuls of the soft wool of his jacket. It only made his kiss more possessive. This was a delicious nightmare she was sure to regret later. But not right now. Not with what he was doing to her, with how her body responded to him.

Her moan when his tongue boldly tasted her was loud and she didn’t realize how out of breath she was until Shawn’s lips settled on her neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses on her sensitive skin. She gasped when he nipped at her earlobe. His concerned eyes found hers momentarily.

But she shut hers and let her head fall back on the seat. Shawn yanked the tie at her waist open to get inside her jacket. It was unbelievably hot inside the car, under his hands that slid around her back, under his mouth that teased and tormented her. She wanted it back on hers and yanked his head to where she needed it to be.

He pulled away, only for a moment, hurrying to kneel on the floorboard facing her, dragging her across the leather backseat so she was centered around him. He set the flat of his palms on her thighs and pushed them upwards, urging the fabric of her skirt towards her waist so her legs could open wide enough to accommodate him.

“Wait,” she whispered, drunk from his kiss.

She felt something she hadn’t in more than a year — a man hard between her legs. Hands shifted her hips down towards him so she was slumped in the seat and pressed firmly and intimately against him. They were only a heartbeat and a zipper away from sex, and there was a stranger less than five feet away, only black glass separating them.