Love's Taming(52)
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.