Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) (28 page)

When she closed her lips over the head of his cock, sucking him deeply into the wet heat of her mouth, he fisted the sheets at his side and groaned.  And then she started to suck on him, her tongue and lips greedy as she drew on him.

“Oh, fuck!” he cried, raw and shameless as he clutched blindly at the bedding. “Beth!”

She wrapped one hand around the base of his cock and ran her tongue from root to tip, following the path of a thick vein that ran the length of him. The muscles in his thighs tensed as if stretched by taut wires, and his long, muscular limbs trembled. His breaths soughed harshly in and out of his chest. She licked her lips to wet them, then opened them wide over the crown of his cock once more, sucking him into her mouth. His hips bucked and he gathered her hair back from her face to watch her mouth on him.

As her hand and mouth worked in tandem to torment his cock, her other hand gently massaged the soft skin of his scrotum. She continued her gentle assault on his sac, astonished when she felt his balls draw up tight. His hands gripped at her head, almost painfully, but she reveled in his loss of control, thrilled that she was affecting him this way.

“I’m going to come,” he rasped. “Beth, I can’t – ”

She lifted her mouth from his cock for a split second and took a breath, filling her starving lungs with much needed oxygen. “Do it!” she gasped, swallowing him again. A moment later, his body shuddered violently as he bucked into her mouth, releasing himself.

“Jesus, Beth,” Shane gasped, sitting up and reaching for her. He pulled her up the length of his body and wrapped her tightly in his arms. “I’m seeing stars,” he said, his voice little more than a hoarse rasp. He lay boneless, his muscles twitching as his climax rippled through him.

Beth turned her head to catch his mouth and kissed him.

Shane smiled ruefully. “I know you did that to distract me,” he said. “Mind you, I’m not complaining.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now, Shane, please.”

He gazed down at her beseeching expression and caved, even though he knew it was wrong. They needed to clear the air –
he
needed to clear the air. Putting it off was a mistake, but he found it hard to deny her.

Beth looked at the clock on the nightstand. “That pasta’s sounding pretty good right now.”

He kissed her. “All right,” he said. “Let’s eat.”

Beth transferred the leftover pasta to a casserole dish and put it in the microwave oven to gently warm. Shane set two plates for them at the counter, then grabbed a cold beer for himself and a soft drink for her. They sat down together, sipping their drinks, while they waited for the food to heat up.

Shane’s phone buzzed with an incoming message. “It’s Cooper. He’s on his way up. See, I told you he wouldn’t interrupt us.”

Beth felt her face heat up when she heard the elevator ping in the foyer, announcing Cooper’s arrival. Surely Cooper knew what they’d been up to all afternoon, especially after that little show they’d given him in the SUV. Beth stifled a laugh when she realized Shane’s apartment was essentially a very expensive bachelor pad, and Cooper was Shane’s wingman.

“Hey, kids,” Cooper said, walking into the kitchen holding two paper grocery bags.

“Hi, Cooper,” Beth said, giving him a little wave.

Cooper set the bags on the counter, and Shane stood up to peer into them.

“Thanks for doing the shopping,” Shane said.

“There’s more downstairs. Jake and Liam are carrying up the rest.”

Shane glanced at Cooper, and a telling look passed between them.

“My brothers,” Shane said to her, when he noticed she was watching him.

“Oh, good,” she said. “I’d like to meet them.”

They heard the faint ping of the elevator. “And here they come now,” Shane said, glancing pointedly at Cooper.

“I told them you had company, Shane,” Cooper said.

Two men strode into the kitchen, apparently in the middle of an argument over baseball. One of them – a dark-haired, muscular man – carried two sacks of groceries in his arms. He was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt and looked rather intimidating. Both of his arms were covered in complex patterns of swirling and geometric black tattoos. Beth couldn’t decide if he was gorgeous or scary, and then decided he was both. The second man, who was blond and leaner than his brothers, was adroitly juggling four cartons of beer bottles.

Shane stepped forward and took two of the cartons of beer from the blond brother. “Hey, guys,” he said, as his brothers set their packages on the kitchen counter. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

The two brothers turned simultaneously and contemplated Beth. She had the weirdest feeling they weren’t surprised to see her there.

“Beth, these are my brothers Jake and Liam,” Shane said, pointing out which was which – the dark one being Jake, the blond one Liam. “Guys, this is Beth Jamison.”

“Hi, Beth,” Jake said, offering his hand to her. He gave her hand a firm shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Beth smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

She glanced at the blond brother. “Both of you,” she added, extending her hand to Liam.

Liam shook her hand, his grip more gentle. “Nice to meet you,” Liam said, holding on to her hand. “We heard through the grapevine that Shane had a
lady friend
over for the weekend, so we thought we’d come check you out.”

“Okay, that’s enough, Casanova,” Shane said, liberating Beth’s hand and pushing Liam back. “They’re housetrained, Beth,” Shane said, looking at her, “despite appearances.”

Beth smiled. It was obvious that the three brothers were close. Jake and Liam helped themselves to bottles of cold beer from the fridge.

The microwave beeped, announcing that the pasta was ready. Beth opened the microwave door, and the tantalizing aroma of Pasta Bolognese filled the air. She was glad she’d heated it all because she had a sneaking suspicion they’d be sharing.

“What smells so good?” Liam said, popping open his beer bottle. “Is there enough to share?”

Chapter 25

When it became apparent that his brothers hadn’t come to torpedo him in front of Beth, Shane allowed himself to relax a bit. They’d given him a few accusatory looks, but they’d been nothing but cordial to Beth.

While he and Cooper set the dining room table, Beth brought in the hot casserole dish, and Jake and Liam carried in cold drinks for everyone. Shane also brought out the bottle of Chianti they’d opened at dinner the night before, and they ended up having an impromptu dinner party.

He kept a close eye on Beth, afraid she might be overwhelmed by the unexpected company, but she seemed fine, smiling and talking – in fact, she seemed more than fine. She appeared to enjoy all the nonstop talk at the table about everything from the summer’s gas prices to the Chicago Cubs to boxing. 

Shane poured himself a glass of wine. “Would you like some?” he asked Beth.

She shook her head. “No thanks,” she said, sipping her soft drink. “I’m good.”

“To good food, and even better, to family and friends,” Cooper said, raising his beer bottle for a toast, and they all joined in.

There was plenty of food to go around. Shane ate his fill, then leaned back in his chair to relax and sip his wine and watch Beth enjoying herself as she listened to the guys’ conversation.

“So, Shane,” Jake said, abruptly changing the topic of conversation. He leaned back in his chair and eyed Beth. “Have you told Beth about what you do for a living?”

Shane knew he could count on Jake to cause trouble. He eyed his brother sharply.
Shut up, Jake
. “Yes, I have.”

“He showed me his office building when we were downtown this afternoon,”  Beth said, wiping her mouth on a napkin. “You work with him, right?”

“I do,” Jake said. “So does Liam and our sister Lia. I just wondered if the topic had come up yet in conversation.”

Shane tried to be subtle as he glared at his brother. As usual, Jake knew how to push. Shane didn’t like keeping Beth in the dark any more than the others did. And he knew Jake had a problem with Shane seeing Beth romantically when she was a client of theirs – even if she wasn’t aware of that fact.
Talk about a conflict of interest.

“We have dessert,” Shane said, rising from the table. “Give me a hand in the kitchen, Jake.”

Jake grinned at Shane as he stood. “I’d love to, brother.”

As soon as they were in the kitchen, Shane turned to face his brother, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at Jake. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“You haven’t told her yet,” Jake said.

“No, I haven’t. But I will, so back off.”

“When?” Jake said.

“Soon.”

Jake leaned against a kitchen counter. “You’re playing with fire here, dipshit. If she hears it from someone else first, you’re fucked. I’m just trying to do you a favor, man.”

“I know that,” Shane said, grabbing a serving spoon from the cutlery drawer. “But she doesn’t like talking about her past. As soon as I bring it up, she shuts me down.”

“She
shuts you down
?” Jake scowled, pointing at the dining room. “That little girl
shuts you down
? What are you, some fucking pansy? How did a tiny little piece of tail shut
you
down?”

Shane knew Jake was intentionally trying to get a rise out of him. But still. “Don’t talk about her like that,” he said, his jaw tightening.

“You’re pussy whipped,” Jake said, an ear-splitting grin on his face. But when Shane said nothing, Jake stopped laughing. “No, you’re in love. Oh, my God.”

As soon as the words were out of Jake’s mouth, Shane realized they were true. He’d never put those exact words together in his head, but as soon as Jake said it, he’d known. It was different with Beth – it had been all along. Every look, every touch. She could easily bring him to his knees if she realized the power she had over him. Shane didn’t bother denying it. “Jake, I’ll handle this. Just keep your damned mouth shut.”

“Look,” Jake said, serious now. “Either you tell her, or I will.”

Shane got up into his brother’s face, his expression tight. “If you tell her, I’ll beat you senseless, and I mean it,” he said, gritting his teeth. “I’ll tell her when the time is right.”

Jake shook his head in disgust. “You’re taking a hell of a risk here, and you know it. What’s gotten into you? Did somebody hit you with a stupid stick?”

Both men turned when they heard a soft gasp. Beth stood on the other side of the counter, her wide eyes on them. She glanced warily from Shane to Jake and back.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her face burning. “I came to help... I’m sorry.” She turned to go.

“Beth, wait!” Shane said. He reached her side and stopped her hasty retreat. “Sweetheart, wait.”

She turned toward him, her expression inscrutable. “I was just going to help bring in the Tiramisu,” she said. “The others are finished eating.”

“I’ve got it right here,” Jake said, holding the dessert dish and smiling at Beth. He gave Shane a quiet look – a peace offering. “I’ll take it to the table.”

Beth watched Jake as he walked past her, and then she turned to Shane. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine. It was just a sibling squabble. We do that a lot.” Shane observed Beth closely. She must not have heard much of their conversation, or she wouldn’t be standing there so calmly. “Let’s go have dessert.”

After everyone had finished eating and they’d cleared away the dirty dishes, Shane took Beth back to his suite. It was getting late and he knew he’d have to take her home soon. He’d monopolize most of her weekend, and she probably needed some down time at her house. Besides, she had work in the morning, and he didn’t want her staying up too late. But he wasn’t quite ready to let her go.

“Come sit and relax,” he said, leading her to the sofa.

“I’m stuffed,” Beth said as she snuggled against him.

It was well into the evening now, and the sky had turned a deep, dark indigo. The night view through the windows was spectacular, like watching the flickerings of a million fireflies.

“I like your brothers,” she said, her arms slipping around his waist. “And Cooper, too.”

He smiled as he wrapped her in his arms. “They like you.”

“What were you and Jake arguing about in the kitchen?”

He shrugged. “Nothing important. We do that a lot. Don’t you argue with your brother?”

“Tyler?” Beth said, sounding surprised. “Not really.” She laughed. “Tyler tells me what to do, and I do it. Anyway, I’m not the arguing type.”

Shane’s expression grew dark. Tyler had a lot of influence on Beth. He had no idea what the man would do when he found out about the two of them. Tyler would undoubtedly be furious, and he probably try to stop Beth from seeing him.

“What’s wrong?” Beth said.

Shane shook himself mentally and smiled at her. “Nothing’s wrong.” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “I won’t be able to look at your mouth again without remembering what you did to me on that bed this evening. You blew my mind, sweetheart.”

She grinned. “Good. That was the plan.”

He leaned forward and kissed her. Then his expression turned serious. “Beth – ”

“Don’t.” She pressed her fingertips against his lips, and his eyelids drifted shut at her feel of her gentle touch. “This weekend has been wonderful, Shane. Please don’t spoil it by bringing up my past.”

He kissed her fingers, then gently pulled them away from his mouth. She’d guessed right, but now he couldn’t bring himself to ruin the moment. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

Her relief was palpable. “Oh. Then what?”

“I was just going to say how much I enjoyed this weekend.” He gave her a long and lingering kiss.

“Oh.” She relaxed against him and smiled. “I did, too.”

Shane pulled her close for a long, breath-stealing kiss. His hand covered her breast through her blouse, his thumb teasing her nipple until it pebbled beneath his touch. She shivered in his arms.