Irresistible Force (A K-9 Rescue Novel)(53)

His lips spread in a smile on hers and then he deepened the kiss.

They kissed for a long time, trading happy little intimate chuckles as  they learned what sort of kisses were fun, and which were even funner.

She liked the way his hands smoothed over her shoulders and down her  arms. It was much like when he bathed her. Only this time, there was  heat in his palms and an urgency in the curl of his fingers. She  practically purred when his hand moved to her waist and slid up under  her tee. Her tummy quivered under the stroke of his fingers, and then he  reached higher, tracing the curve of ribs in a lazy back-and-forth that  rose higher and higher. Yet he was very careful not to press too firmly  or move too roughly.

The shuddery sigh she let out broke their kisses but not their concentration.

His hand moved over her so carefully she finally grabbed his neck. "I won't break."

"Want to bet?"

She met his eyes, just inches away, and saw a smile of mischief.

She grinned back. "Do your damnedest."

He palmed one breast, using his fingers to tease the nipple. And then he  moved over her, his hand dragging the edge of her tee up to give him  access. He tongued her nipples until they stood shiny wet and hard, and  she squirmed against the sheets.

He shifted again, this time so his hand could slide down into the front of her pj bottoms.

She did not try to be coy, she opened her thighs in welcome.

"Oh!"

She felt his fingers move inside her, slow and easy, his thumb grazing the apex of her folds with each stroke.

Wanting to be as brave and bold, she reached down, pushing her hand into  his jeans. He sucked in a breath and she went deeper and found his  erection. For a while, each rode the pleasure of the other's hand.

When she thought he must be a master at holding back, he whispered, "I think you've won, Shay. I need to  …  now."

A little choke of laughter escaped when he pulled a condom from his pocket.

"What?" He looked at her in doubt.

"You were a Boy Scout, right?"

He grinned. "It's more a case of hoping like hell."

He slid into her like silk, if silk were long and thick and hard. Or  maybe she was silk. All she knew was that he fit. And the throbbing  inside her worked both ways, each stroke a gasp of pleasure and a  promise of more.

Taking his weight on his elbows and knees, he rode her with long easy  strokes, like swells on a lake, gliding in and up then down and out  until his command slipped. Their climax was like dropping down a  waterfall, a deep incredible drop where the rush and ripple overtook any  hope of staying in control.





CHAPTER THIRTY

"You're going to love my family."

Shay dodged James's smile.

They were sitting in a burger place, eating out for the first time since  Shay had recovered enough to go out. James had driven in after work to  meet her in Greensboro, where she had come for a job interview. Perry  had set it up for her. He said he hated to lose a good employee but she  deserved to have a regular paycheck, and the position with the tech  company was a perfect fit for her. It was a bonus that it would be an  hour closer to James.

"Mom's already set a place for you at the Thanksgiving table." He  dangled a fry but when she opened her mouth he snatched it back. "And  she doesn't like to be disappointed." He offered it again, and this time  let her grab it in her teeth.

When she had swallowed the fry, Shay sent him a doubtful look. "I don't know. This all seems kind of fast."

"My mother has been known to invite complete strangers to Thanksgiving  dinner that she met in the checkout line the day before." He gave her a  look that went all over her to pulse in several intimate spots. "You're  hardly a complete stranger."                       
       
           



       

She shrugged. "You've got a lot of family, right?"

"Three sisters. All married. Nephews. Nieces. The family news is, there's a new girl on the way."

"I'm not accustomed to a lot of family."

"The Cannons qualify more as a horde. There will be so many folks there, they won't know you're not related to us."

Shay swallowed a lump. "It feels early."

James knew better than to answer that one directly. "You are sort of  required to be there because I told my sister Allyson that you make the  best fried oysters ever."

"What's that got to do with Thanksgiving?"

James looked down and picked up an extra-long French fry, dangled it before her nose. "Nothing."

* * *

It was possibly the best Thanksgiving meal ever made. Certainly the best  Shay had eaten. James's family seemed to accept her without asking a  lot of questions about her past or her family, or anything else she  didn't want to talk about just yet. She suspected James was the reason  for that. He told her he had already explained her ordeal, and the  reason for the stitches and still smoldering black eye. Even so, she  felt conspicuous and more than a little intimidated.

It wasn't until the pies and cakes were cut that she noticed his sister  Allyson staring at her with a calculating eye. Was that because she had  finally noticed that Shay and James had been playing footsie under the  table for the past hour?

"I've got a bone to pick with you, Shay."

"Allyson, be nice." James's mother flashed Shay an apologetic smile.

"No, we need to establish some things right up front." Allyson folded  her arms. "I've heard about your reputation and I don't care what the  family says about being polite. I don't think I can ignore it."

Shay stiffened and jerked her foot away from James. "Okay. I know you must have heard a lot about me, not all good."

"I don't know about that. What I'm talking about is my brother bragging  on your ability to fry oysters. That's my claim to fame in this family.  The best oyster fryer in North Carolina. What do you have to say about  that?"

Shay glanced uncertainly at James. Grinning, he folded his arms and  leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying the confrontation.

Shay turned back to Allyson. "I respect your position in your family. However, if we're talking best ever-"

"Ouch! You've been dissed, baby." Allyson's husband, Mike, seemed to find this very funny.

"Sounds like a challenge that needs to be met." That comment came from James's dad.

Allyson's two sisters just sat and smiled very satisfied smiles while  various other members of the family more or less ignored the culinary  challenge in favor of dessert.

Allyson sized up her opponent with the barest hint of calculation.  "Tomorrow is Black Friday so that's shopping and leftovers day. But come  Saturday, you're on, if you're up to it."

"I don't know if I'll be here Saturday." Shay didn't dare look at James.

"Oh, so you're backing down?"

"No. I'm just saying, I might have to bring in my own oysters."

"I volunteer to drive to the coast tomorrow to buy gallons of oysters."  James's father looked remarkably like his son when he smiled like that.

Shay shrugged. "Sure. I'm going to need a few secret ingredients. I'll get those. And stuff for slaw."

"You'll make hush puppies, too?" James looked very eager for a yes.

Shay glanced down at Bogart who was napping on the floor between their  chairs. He had already wolfed down his part of the Thanksgiving meal.  "If you promise to keep Bogart out of the oysters this time."

James grinned. So, Bogart had eaten hers that first evening. She'd  offered him what was left, and lied about the fact. She'd been  protecting Bogart and looking after his handler, even when she claimed  not to even like him. Shay Appleton was a mystery that might never be  completely solved. But that was okay. Because he planned on having all  the time in the world to figure her out.

"Did everyone hear about James's ex?" Allyson smiled slyly.

"Now, Ally," her husband cautioned.

"Oh, but you all will want to hear this. She dropped that lawsuit  against our little brother and Shay. Which I say is great news. She told  reporters she had been misinformed and regrets any embarrassment she  might have inadvertently caused."

Shay stared so hard at her serving of lemon meringue pie it should have  caught fire. Inadvertent. That meant unintentional, unplanned,  accidental. Jaylynn's lawsuit had been the exact opposite.                       
       
           



       

"Jaylynn also announced she's been offered a new job out of the state."

"What's she going to do?" James's tone was not a particularly encouraging one.

"That's the best part. She said it's with a morning show in Mobile,  Alabama. But the girl who does my hair also does Jaylynn's. She says  Jaylynn confessed it's as a weather girl because she couldn't find any  other openings."