Love's Taming (The Love's Series) (20 page)

Boo, being the ring leader, refused to be persuaded that her walking in the door was not the signal of dinner time and continued to meow loudly.

“Fine, fine. But just remember this later when you get hungry again!”

Once her furry friends were sated, they followed her into her bedroom, piling on her comforter to watch the proceedings as they licked themselves clean.

Walking into her tiny bathroom, Annie looked over at her shower.
What I wouldn’t give for a bathtub. A chance to soak until I was a wrinkled prune.
Knowing that no matter how long she stared at the minuscule shower stall it was never going to turn into a large soaker tub, she stripped and hopped in. Shower, shave, and shampoo.
God, this feels good.

After drying off with one of her fluffiest towels, she began getting ready. As she rubbed lotion on every part of her body, she imagined Shane licking along the trail that she was smoothing. Glancing to the bed where Boo was keeping his eyes on her, she thought,
if I am lucky tonight, Boo, you won’t be sleeping on my bed all night!

Looking at the clock, she was so grateful that her friends had closed the clinic early so that she would have time to get ready. Her long, thick hair took forever to dry and she wanted to have time to tame a few of the natural curls.

Once the curls hung down her back she finished her make-up, deciding to go with simple instead of something more sultry.
The dark smoky eye just isn’t me.

Walking over to her small closet filled with scrubs, two extra lab coats, a few professional looking pants, and blouses, she went to the back corner pulling out a plastic bag. Her one little black dress. It had been her extravagance when she first got out of vet school and assumed that she might actually have a night life. Or a dating life. Or any life that didn’t involve fur, guts, blood, and anal glands.
Yeah, didn’t exactly call that one right
, she thought ruefully.

The dress was still in its store bag with the tags attached. Pulling it out carefully, she cut the tags and then slipped it on. Twisting and turning in front of the mirror checking out her reflection, she couldn’t help but smile. The dress was asymmetrical, high on one leg and flowing down lower on the other. Little straps held the top in place as it dipped low enough to show off some cleavage without screaming ‘check out my knockers’. Finally pairing it with a pair of strappy, sexy heels that had been worn once, she was ready.

“So, Boo. What do ya think?” As usual, Boo just stared before he lifted his leg to lick himself.
Nice job, Boo. Way to make a lady feel special!

Glancing at the clock one more time, she walked into the living area to wait. Butterflies began to flit around her stomach, catching her off guard. Realizing that she did not want to just sit around, she headed back down the stairs to the clinic.

*     *     *

Shane entered the
clinic through the door opened by Leon. The two men shook hands and Shane noticed that Leon held his in a tight grip for a millisecond longer than necessary. Recognizing mans-speak, he raised his eyebrow in question.

Leon smiled as he dropped Shane’s hand. “You good, Shane?”

Nodding, Shane replied, “Yeah. A helluva lot better now that I can move on with my life.”

Suzanne slid up beside Leon, peering intently at Shane. He held her gaze, knowing that she was struggling with accepting him.

While undercover, to stay alive he learned to keep his mouth shut, giving nothing away. No emotions. No thoughts. No explanations. Fighting the desire to tell Annie’s friends to fuck off and keep their opinions to themselves, he knew this was part of being back in the real world. The world of honest, clean living – normal.

Deciding to acknowledge the elephant in the room, he simply stated, “I know you’re worried. Don’t know what to say other than I care about Annie.”

Moving her long, black hair off of her shoulder, Suzanne fixed her blue eyes on his. “I just don’t want to see her hurt again. And you Shane, have the makings of hurt written all over you.”

Shane noticed Leon wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in gently.
That girl’s been hurt. Don’t know that she’s shared with anyone, but that hurt runs deep.

“I can’t make any promises about where this’ll go, but know this – I’m out now. Not goin’ back under. I plan on movin’ in with Annie just until I can find a place for me and Sarge. Things go the way I hope, she’ll want to move in with me sometime. I care about her, plan on taking care of her, and I’m gonna protect her.”

“But who is going to protect her from you?” Suzanne asked softly.

Shane couldn’t help but smile, “Darlin’, Annie soothes this savage and I assure you, she doesn’t need protectin’ from me. I may be a wildcard, but that woman knows how to tame.”

A sudden movement from the back hall had the three of them turning to see Annie standing there, her eyebrow raised in question.

“I feel like a teenager whose parents are questioning my date,” she said as she glided into the room.

Shane stared at the vision in front of him, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes scanned her from the coppery waves falling over her shoulders down to the black dress that somehow covered more than the hooker skanks he had been around and yet seemed to scream ‘here I am” at the same time. The dress showed a hint of cleavage that he couldn’t wait to get his hands on again and flared around her hips that hid the sweetness he couldn’t wait to taste. Her toned legs went on forever, and her tiny feet were encased in heels that he decided he wanted left on when he stripped her tonight. His eyes made their way back up to her green ones that he smugly noticed were taking him all in as well.

Annie totally forgot that Suzanne and Leon were still in the room. Wanting to jump in Shane’s arms, she stood dumbly staring at the wall of masculinity in front of her. His blue eyes moving over her body stood out starkly in his tanned face. His strong jaw, that had just a hint of sexy stubble, had her thinking of burying her face in his neck as he took her. He was dressed in a blue button-up shirt with rolled sleeves, straining to contain his muscles. Wearing khaki pants, she realized that she had never seen him in anything other than t-shirts and jeans. Looking good in both, she couldn’t decide which she liked better.

The silent perusing was interrupted by Leon clearing his throat.

Startled, Annie blushed and Shane just grinned, holding out his hand toward her. “Ready to go, baby?”

“We’ll lock up after you, doc,” Leon announced. “Now don’t be late kids,” he joked.

Suzanne gave Annie a quick hug, whispering, “You look beautiful, doc. I do want you to be happy.”

With that, Annie took Shane’s hand and headed out for their first real date.

*     *     *

Shane lifted her
up into his truck that looked almost new. As he swung himself into the driver’s seat, she couldn’t help but ask.

Smiling, he looked over as he answered. “Not new, but definitely not very used.” Seeing the questioning look on her face along with the cute crinkle above her brow, he explained. “Bought it a couple of months before going undercover. Friend of mine has been keeping it safe for me.”

“That must have been so hard,” she said softly. Her words hung gently in the cab of the truck as they headed toward the restaurant. The silence made her nervous. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything about it.”

Looking back over quickly he just shook his head. “Nah, baby. Don’t apologize. I’m just trying to get used to being back out. That’s almost as hard as havin’ gone in.”

Curious, she prodded, “What do you mean?”

Struggling with sharing too much and frightening her, he sat silent for a moment gathering his thoughts. “It was hard givin’ up my life here to go in. But I was convinced it was needed and I was the man to do it. Just never realized how much I would give up to do it and I’m not just talkin’ about my truck.”

Annie twisted in the seat so that she could focus on him, wanting to know more.

He continued, “Baby, let’s just leave it at this. To survive that world, I did shit I’m not proud of, not happy with. But it became my way of life. A man pissed me off, he got hit. I needed information from someone reluctant to give it to me, I got physical to make sure I got it. I kept my mouth shut and my emotions shut down. The women in the gang were there for a purpose and I had a cover to maintain.”

At this, Annie winced and it did not go unnoticed by him.
Fuck.
He reached his hand across the seat and linked his fingers with her.

“Is that hard to give up?” she asked, pain laced her words.

Pulling into the restaurant parking lot he brought the truck to a stop. He also twisted his body to face hers. “Baby, that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t talkin’ about the women when I said it was hard to get used to being out. That’s got nothin’ to do with us.” Using his fingers to lift her head so that he could peer into her eyes, he asked, “You understand that, right?”

Nodding, she looking into his blue eyes, feeling as though she were the only woman in the world to him and hoping what she was reading was right.

“I just meant it’s hard for me to make small talk or hold conversations.”

Laughing, Annie reminded him of their lack of conversation when she was operating on Sarge. “You wouldn’t talk so I just jabbered enough for both of us.”

“Darlin’, you were pure, fuckin’ sunshine. Brightest light I had seen in a long time.”

Looking down at their clasped hands, she said, “You don’t seem to have too much trouble talking to me now.”

“You’re easy to talk to,” was the simply reply. “But others…even Leon and Suzanne, well…I find myself not wanting to explain anything because for several years, I never explained my actions to anyone.”

She just nodded, then her stomach growled loudly, protesting the meal of a protein bar that she had earlier in the day.

Laughing, Shane swung out of the truck, walked over to her side, and plucked her out of the cab. “Let’s get you fed, baby. And then let’s get you back to your place where I can peel this fuckin’ gorgeous dress off your fuckin’ gorgeous body!”

*     *     *

The restaurant was
right on the river and their table overlooked the water. The lighting was soft, the food was delicious, and the wine was delectable. Annie looked over the candlelight to Shane and realized it was the nicest date she had ever been on. Then thinking of the night ahead, she clenched her thighs to ease the dull ache that had begun.

Shane, noticing everything, smiled at the small movement she had made then realized that the tightness in his pants was a result of the same line of thinking.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asked, his low voice flowing over her.

Smiling while nodding was the only answer he needed. Grabbing her hand, he escorted her back to his truck.

Entering the apartment, he rounded on her as he pressed her against the door, dying to taste her lips.

She flung her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her waiting mouth. She latched her lips onto his, immediately tangling her tongue with his.