Love's Taming(70)
“Babe, what was she warning you about?”
“She said that she thought I might not be safe. She said she just heard rumblings about a vet who had operated on some dogs and she thought of me.”
“Goddamn it! If she’s got intel, she sure the fuck knows she shouldn’t be bringin’ that shit to your doorstep. Babe, listen to me. I’m sending some cruisers to go by the clinic and I’m calling Tony to make sure they have you on their radar. That other shit, I’m shuttin’ it down right now.”
Annie started to tell him not to do anything rash, but she knew he was going to do whatever he had to do. “Shane, please be safe. For me, please.”
His angry voice softened. “Sunshine don’t worry. I’ll see you tonight. And baby?”
“Yeah?”
“Just one more week and we can be in our house. Keep thinkin’ of that.”
Smiling for the first time since her meeting with Rochelle, Annie relaxed. “I know, honey. I can’t wait.”
* * *
The bar was dingy, beer spills on the table from the night before were still sticky. The lighting was dim, so only the most sober of patrons would have even noticed the condition of the tables. Shane sat on one side of the booth looking at the woman on the other side, pissed at what she had done and yet pleased that he felt no residual attraction to her at all.
Rochelle held up her hand, “I know what you’re going to say. I didn’t think you’d want a meeting so I did the next best thing and went straight to the person I thought needed warning.”
“You didn’t think I’d want to know? You didn’t think I’d need to get things set up to protect her? You didn’t think that showin’ up at the clinic in broad daylight was a problem? You just didn’t fuckin’ think and now you’ve brought all this shit right to my woman’s doorstep!”
Rochelle sat in silence for a moment staring at him. Sighing while shaking her head, she agreed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Stoney.”
“I’m not Stoney, Rochelle. You gotta get it through your head. My fuckin’ name is Shane.”
Jerking back, she pursed her lips before going on. “I get it, but for a year you were Stoney to me. And I was your Rocky. Yeah, that’s right Shane. I was yours. I just made the mistake of thinking you were mine also.” Taking a big breath she continued, “And I was wrong today. I should have called it in or reported to my contact. Hell, I could have even called you. I don’t know…I just…wanted to see her. I wanted to the see the woman that finally tamed you. And when I did, I realized that I had nothing against her. I could see it in her eyes that she was yours.”
“No more, Rochelle. You gotta get that. No more Rocky and Stoney. It was a play that helped pass some time and set up cover. But that was it. You’re smart and you’re driven. You wanna go places in the DEA so you gotta learn to play the game. But no more talkin’ to Annie. No more bringin’ this shit to her doorstep.”
The beautiful woman across from him nodded as she gave a weak smile. “You’re right. I fucked up. I’m not sorry I got a chance to meet her, but I fucked up. It won’t happen again.”
Without saying another word, Shane got up from the booth and gave her a head nod before turning and walking out of the bar.
Rochelle sat for a minute more at the table before moving over to the bar to order another beer.
* * *
Lying in bed, Shane waited for Annie to emerge from the bathroom. The tension of the day had drained away when he got home and saw the packing boxes neatly stacked in the corner of the living area.
Annie had explained that if they were moving in a week she wanted to be ready, so she had packed up her books, CDs, out-of-season clothes, and some kitchen items and had them in neatly labeled boxes. Just seeing them made the move to their own home seem that much more real. During dinner she let him explain what had happened when he met with Rochelle, and then after dinner they snuggled on the sofa with the pets for a while watching TV. Heading to the bathroom, she told him to get ready for bed and she would be out shortly.
So now he waited, keeping his eyes trained on the bathroom door. He didn’t have to wait long.
Annie walked out into the dim lighting of the bedroom wearing a smile on her face and little else. The sheer nightgown was fitted over her breasts, allowing the darkness of her nipples to be seen, before flowing down around her knees. She smoothed her hands down the gown looking nervous. “Do you like it? I’ve never had anything like this, but it was on sale so I just…”
“Come here, baby,” Shane ordered gently, his eyes taking in all of her beauty. Her copper hair glistening in the soft lamp light, porcelain skin with pink tinged cheeks, green eyes searching his for approval. His cock was already standing at full mast, its approval evident.