“Elizabeth isn’t just anyone. She’s upstairs,” he said as he poured them each a glass of wine, “sprawled out on my bed.”
The look she shot him was downright lethal. “I see. Well, I hope I didn’t interrupt…anything.”
Yep, the woman was definitely jealous. Vance sat down next to her and took a sip of his wine. “Eh, Elizabeth doesn’t mind, but don’t expect her to come down and visit. She’s shy.”
Shayla tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, then started drumming her fingers on her thigh. Vance knew Shayla well. The twelve years she’d been gone hadn’t changed the fact that she only performed that little ritual whenever she was agitated—and without a doubt, right now she was agitated. “How long have you two been together?”
He swirled the wine around in his glass. “Ten years, give or take.” When her eyes grew wide, Vance added, “Shayla, Elizabeth is a cat.”
Her gaze narrowed. “A cat?”
Vance winked. “Yep. A pretty, slightly obese, gray-and-black-striped cat that I found at the animal shelter.”
She placed her glass on the coffee table and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were putting me on.”
Vance’s gaze zeroed in on Shayla’s breasts. She wore a high-necked, peach-colored blouse, and he could just barely make out the outline of her bra. God, how he wanted to see her strip. He imagined licking her nipples, and his cock stiffened. When an image of her naked and beneath him sprang to mind, he quickly pushed it away. “Yeah,” he said as he cleared his throat, “I was. Sorry.”
She chuckled. “You really don’t sound sorry.”
Vance had to tamp down the need to reach over and simply take what he so badly wanted. He needed to do something and quick, or Shayla was going to find herself sprawled out on the couch. To hell with crazy things like logic and good sense. “I’m really not.”
Vance put his wine next to hers on the coffee table in front of them, then scooted closer. When he took her in his arms, he noticed the shock registering in her eyes. “W-What are you doing?”
“When you came here, did you want more than a clear conscience, Shay?”
She closed her eyes tight and nodded. “Yes.”
Vance’s blood heated. “Do you still have feelings for me?” he asked, all but holding his breath.
Her green eyes opened and held his captive. “I don’t know, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about you over the years.”
It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it was enough that he wanted to shout in triumph. “Maybe we should get reacquainted, then. See where things go.”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Vance cupped her face in his hand and drew her close until she was nestled against him. “Let’s start this off right, shall we?” he murmured as he dipped his head and tasted her for the first time in what seemed like forever. Oh, hell, yeah. The woman was made for him. God, he’d missed her taste. Her scent. Her sweet, bow-shaped mouth. No woman had ever gotten to him the way she did. It was as if with a single kiss the years melted away. His sweet Shay. It pissed him off that she got to him so fast, so easily.
Vance locked his thoughts away and devoured Shayla’s plump lips. He licked, torturing them both with ideas of more. Then he teased his tongue back and forth over the seam, thrilled when she parted them for him. Only him. It was a small sign of surrender, but Vance would take whatever he could get. She twined her arms around his neck, and her curves melted against him. He ached to sink into her hot pussy. To bury his dick deep and feel her shudder all around him as they loved each other.
He moved until she was lying back over the cushion, his body covering hers. He accidentally kicked the leg of the coffee table, and the wineglasses shook. Shayla stiffened. She began to push him away, and Vance let her, but only so he could taste the delicate skin on her throat. His hand wrapped around the slim column. He licked a spot behind her ear, and she moaned his name. His cock grew hard as stone, and he let loose a low groan of need.
“Wait,” she murmured. “Please.”
Vance pulled back and looked into her eyes. Her need tore him up, but there was a good amount of apprehension there as well. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“It’s too fast. Just this morning, you were ordering me to leave.”
Vance smoothed his palm down the side of her body until he was clutching her hip. He squeezed and felt her tremble. “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?” He held himself in check, giving her the ultimate decision.
Her answer was pure Shayla. “I want you like crazy right now, but it can’t be merely sex. There has to be more between us.”
He frowned down at her. “It’s not just a quick fuck I’m looking for here.”
“Are you so sure?” she asked, her voice unsteady.
“Yes,” he growled as he leaned in to kiss her neck. He felt her hands against his chest and wondered if she would push him away or tug him closer. “God, you have the sexiest curves,” he murmured.
“And you’re so hot I could catch fire just looking at you, Vance, but that’s lust. Nothing more.”