Latent Danger (On the Line #2)(57)

And she found herself relaxing into the evening.

Until the yawning began. Once she started, she couldn’t stop.

“Clearly, I need to get my partner home, guys,” Hutch said.

Shauna grinned. “This night’s on the house, guys,” she said, but the guys put money on the table for a tip.

Zach leaned in and spoke quietly. “Can I walk you out? Have just a minute to talk to you?”

Shauna nodded and stood. “Give me a minute, Hutch?”

Her partner gave Zach a long look, but that was to be expected.

She led the way outside and around to the side of the pub where a small concrete ledge made for an okay spot to sit.

Zach sat next to her, hands stuffed into his pockets. “I don’t want this to be the end of this. I don’t want us to walk away again.”

“No?” She should put him out his misery. Let him know she’d been thinking the same thing on the way to the bar. That she’d been thinking the same thing the whole night. But she had to admit, she wanted to hear his argument.

“I think we could be really good together, Shaun. We know the heat is there,” he offered a mischievous grin, but kept his hands to himself, “but I really think there could be more to it than that. I like your mind, how sharp you are, how passionate you are about your work and your family.”

She waited and had to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing when he looked a little flustered. “I think I can prove to you there’s more to me now than there was before. I’ve changed a lot Shaun. I’ve done a lot of growing.”

Shauna looked at him and couldn’t stop the smile that formed. “This is killing you, isn’t it? Not using your body to convince me? Not talking me into it with your mouth instead of words.”

“It is,” he said somberly. “It really is.”

Her laughter was light when she turned, standing and moving between his legs. She felt his hands move to her hips, to hold her in place and she looped her arms around his neck. “Fair warning. I want us to date this time. Really date, not hop into bed at the drop of a hat. I want time to learn who this new Zach Reynolds is.”

“New and improved. I promise.”

She leaned in, her lips hovering above his. “Prove it.”





Epilogue





He did. In so many ways and with the patience of a man who was nothing like the Zach she’d known years before.

Shauna wasn’t prepared to let Zach leave tonight. They’d both arranged to have someone cover for them at work, a luxury that didn’t always pan out. They knew if there was an emergency, they might be called in, but for now, they had the night and the next two days off.

He held her hand as he walked her up to the door of her condo. Of course, they’d sometimes sit and watch a movie after dinner and make out on her couch. But tonight, she planned for more.

They’d been dating for three months and he’d shown her there was so much more to him. She’d seen him with his niece, saw how sweet he was with her, how much he loved her. She’d seen him hold his own with her brothers when they gave him shit for dating their sister.

And she’d seen in every gesture that he cared for her, respected her. In fact, she never thought she would say it, but she felt cherished when she was with him. He’d never pressured her to take their late-night petting sessions further than they had, despite the fact it was clear they both wanted to. There had been nights she’d watch him all but limp out the door in discomfort, but he’d just grinned and said, “someday.”

“Movie?” He asked, taking the leftovers she’d brought from the restaurant out of her hands so she could get the key in the lock.

Shauna shook her head at him and watched as he took a step back, disappointment on his face.

“Oh,” he said.

She pressed her lips together to hide her smile and took his free hand in hers, pulling him into her living room.

She set the take-out container down and turned, one hand going to the waist of his pants. She tugged and enjoyed watching as understanding and heat flooded his gaze.

“Oh,” he said again, with a decidedly different tone this time. This tone said he fully understood her meaning.

He turned her, pressing her to the wall and pinning her with his long, lean body and this time, the “oh” slipped from her lips. It was breathless and needy.

Zach’s mouth found hers and she was consumed with the fire and heat she knew hadn’t died between them, just because they took some time off.

“Shauna,” he ground out, as her hands slipped up his shirt, finding the muscled abs and then chest she had missed.

“Yes, Zach?” She was all playful as she asked the question and it brought the growl she’d hoped for. Then he was lifting her, her legs wrapping around him as he carried her to the bed.

He sat on the edge, letting her straddle him, but he was anything but passive beneath her. He pulled her shirt over her head, stripping her bra next, and then his hands and his mouth traveled over her, setting her ablaze with his touch.

She was warm, soft, and wet for him by the time he flipped her over onto the bed and covered her.

“I need you naked,” he said, as though he needed to apologize for it as he pulled down her pants and stopped, staring down at her. She was in nothing but the pink silk panties she’d put on at the start of the night.