Shane reaches behind him, gently taking my wrist in his hand and giving me a small tug. "Cherie, come."
I release his pants instantly, his honey-rich tone washing over me, my body remembering what happens when I do what he says when he's using that voice. He isn't the only one in the room who isn't stupid. My feet shuffle until I'm at his side then his arm is around me and my softness is pressed against his hard muscles.
"Have you been trying to get this man to leave you alone?"
"I have," I answer instantaneously, holding Seth's angry glare with a calm one of my own--nerves no match for Shane's soothing touch.
"Even before we were together, correct?"
"Yes, honey," I continue. Seth gets a little more fired at that. I tried, when we had been dating, to give him a cute name. Unlike Shane, who just laughs me off, Seth would get pissed. I doubt he misses the intentional jab.
"And after?"
"You know I did, Shane."
"Well, bud, you seem to be the one here who's confused. I'm trying to enjoy lunch with Nikki, and we have to deal with your calls because, yet again, you seem to forget you no longer have the right to place those calls in the first place. So before you try to use that bullshit on me, let it sink in that she invited you here after I asked her to."
"You know what?" he exclaims through clenched teeth, his hands thrown up in frustration. "The bitch isn't even fucking worth it!"
Shane's body gets tight, and I have a feeling he's done playing Mr. Nice Guy. He presses a quick kiss to my temple then I lose his warmth. His arm is gone from my shoulders, and he's on the move. Seth, the idiot, doesn't even realize how badly he's screwed up until it's too late. Shane's hand closes around his neck, and he pushes him into the
wall next to my TV with enough force that two of my frames fall off the bookshelf on the opposite side.
"You were doing fine until you called her a bitch. When you leave here, remember this moment because I promise you if we have another run-in, it will end a different way. She isn't yours. Never will be again. Get it through your dumb-as-fuck skull and find someone else to fuck with. Nikki is off-limits--now and always. Is that fucking clear enough, you piece of shit?"
He ends his deadly calm rant with a jerk of his arm--the same arm holding Seth by the neck. His fingers white against Seth's neck and I know he isn't waiting for a verbal answer from him; there's no way he could get one judging by the way Seth's eyes are about to bug out of his head. After another stretch of silence, Shane must get what he wants because he releases him just as quickly as he pounced. Seth wavers on his feet, gasping for breath.
"Get the fuck out of here and remember what I said. You so much as breathe in her direction, and you won't even see me coming before it's too late."
He turns his back, giving Seth an even bigger proverbial middle finger by showing him that he doesn't think he's a worthy threat. By doing that, he makes it clear that Seth is nothing. It's the biggest insult you could have given a man like Seth. Shane's eyes are only for me and mine only for him.
Until Seth proves that he really is as dumb as I thought he was, heaving himself off the wall he had been hunched on to keep his footing while he caught his breath and taking a step forward. My eyes widen, but Shane just smirks.
Then he turns.
I flinch when he steps up, chest to chest ... or something like that with the few inches he has on Seth.
"Fuck you," Seth grunts.
"No thanks, man. I got the best thing already warming my bed."
Seth's arm moves, and I cry out, but I should've known Shane didn't need my help. He ducks then comes back up with his arm already moving with him. His fist clocking Seth in the jaw with the force of his momentum blazing behind it. Seth's head jerks back, and he almost loses his footing.
"You won't best me. The next time you think that's a wise move, I would think twice. Get the fuck out of here."
Seth drools some blood onto his shirt, looks over at me, and then before he can open his mouth, Shane has him by the collar and drags him to the door. He opens it, shoving Seth out. He trips and falls, landing with a bang against the wall opposite my door.
"Last time I'll say it. Nikki's moved on. You're not getting another chance because I'm not fucking going anywhere. You are going to forget about her; do I make myself clear?"
"Fucking crystal, asshole," he angrily says, spitting some blood onto the ground next to him. He looks over at me, opens his mouth, but Shane beats him to whatever he was about to say.
"Try me," he venomously sneers, the words cold, hard, and deadly calm.
Seth shakes his head, climbs to his feet, and starts walking away without another word. Shane shuts the door, engages both locks, and presses both his palms against the door before bowing his head and breathing deeply.
For a man who prides himself on his unshakable control, I can only imagine that--on top of what happened earlier--he's having a hard time with it all. My hands shake, but something deep inside me tells me that he needs me. And I'll do whatever it takes for the man who is quickly burrowing himself deep in my heart to work through the tightness in his stance--wildness in his eyes.
THE ROARING IN MY EARS drowns out everything around me. I focus on my breathing, trying to fight the urge to follow that son of a bitch and kill him. If his words weren't enough to piss me off, just letting him see Nikki like that was a testament to my control. I don't want Nikki to see me like this, but she needs to ... she needs to understand what happens when things around me start to get unraveled and they tangle something inside me. She needs to accept every part of me or all this talk about making the real thing work will be a bunch of shit if she can't.
By the time I'm calm enough that I trust my handle on things and know I won't chase after that motherfucker, a different kind of concern settles on my shoulders. What if she's scared of me? I can feel myself starting to get worked up again, but before I can get too far gone in my worry, I feel the gentle touch of her hand press between my tense shoulders. I hold my breath and wait to see what she does next. Her hand moves, crossing my right shoulder blade before dipping under my arm and across my chest. I look down, watching as she drags her petite hand across my chest before it settles ... right over my racing heart.
And fuck me if that doesn't drain the tension out of my body instantly.
I drop one arm and lift my hand to hold her palm against my chest, closing my eyes as her touch soothes me.
"Shane," she whispers, her mouth close to my back and the warmth of her words hitting my skin. "Thank you, honey."