Whispers in the Dark (KGI #4)(57)

He dragged his fingers through her hair, stroking, holding her, pulling at her. His movements were frantic and unschooled. It shamed him that he had so little control and no finesse where she was concerned. And yet nothing in her demeanor suggested that she was in any way disappointed.

She stroked him lovingly with her mouth and her hands. She touched him with gentleness that he felt in the deepest parts of his heart.

After a moment, she laid her cheek over the top of his thigh and continued to work him down from his orgasm with her hand.

“Shea, I’m so damn sorry,” he said when he finally got control of his tongue.

She raised her head, her brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you apologizing for?”

His cheeks heated and he prayed she couldn’t see him actually blushing. “I think that might give new meaning to the word premature.”

She smiled then, dazzling him, warming him like a ray of sunshine. She crawled up his body and snuggled into the crook of his arm. She laid her head on his chest and rubbed her hand up and down his side.

“Tonight was all for you, Nathan. I love that you want me so much. That I can drive you crazy. I wanted it to last but only because I wanted to give you more pleasure. You didn’t disappoint me and you have no reason to be embarrassed.”

He pulled her up and rolled until they faced each other. “You did give me pleasure. So much that I can’t even feel my feet. ‘Thank you’ sounds so lame. I don’t even have the words to tell you what you mean to me.”

She smiled again, this time a shy, adorable smile as she ducked her head self-consciously. It delighted him that she could be so bold and wanton one minute and adorably shy the next.

He leaned in to kiss her because he couldn’t stand not to. Just as their lips met, a knock sounded at the door.

CHAPTER 24

SHEA stiffened, her eyes growing wide with apprehension. Nathan scrambled out of bed and motioned her toward the bathroom as he yanked his clothing on.

“Get the pistol. Then go into the bathroom and get dressed. Hurry. Don’t come out until I tell you. Understand? And if anyone but me comes through that door, you shoot.”

She nodded and quickly did as he directed.

He grabbed one of the rifles, made sure the other was within easy reach, and then he eased over to the door. There was no way to know who was out there. It might just be the manager. But Nathan wasn’t taking any chances.

Jamming the rifle to his shoulder, he threw open the door and to his shock came face-to-face with Donovan. And he didn’t look pleased to be greeted with the barrel of a rifle.

Nathan eased the rifle down, even more surprised as he saw Ethan and Swanny standing on either side of Donovan.

Donovan looked pointedly at the gun. “Planning to shoot us?”

Nathan gestured for them to hurry in and he shut the door behind them. “How the f**k did you get here so fast? I just spoke to Sam an hour or so ago.”

“We might have already been in the neighborhood,” Ethan said.

“You didn’t exactly cover your tracks that well,” Donovan pointed out. “We trailed you to Crescent City. We were there when Sam called us and told us you were here. We grabbed a faster gear and hauled ass up here.”

Swanny hung back, his silent gaze taking in his surroundings. While Ethan and Donovan were focused on Nathan, Swanny was checking out the rest of the room. Almost as though he were looking for someone. Shea?

What was Swanny doing here anyway?

When Nathan asked just that question, Swanny finally turned his stare to him.

“You didn’t expect me to just leave you in whatever mess you’ve gotten yourself into. If you did, f**k you.”

Nathan let out a sharp chuckle. “No, I guess I didn’t. I should have expected this. The real question is how you got these hard-asses to agree to let you come.”

Ethan and Donovan exchanged raised eyebrow glances.

“Hard-asses? He’s calling us hard-asses?” Donovan asked in mock incredulity.

“So where’s Shea?” Ethan demanded.

“In the bathroom,” Nathan said in a tight voice. “I’ll go get her.”

The moment Shea was mentioned, Swanny looked uneasy. He turned his face away so that the side that wasn’t scarred was facing the rest of them.

Nathan went to the bathroom door and knocked softly. “Shea? You can come out. My brothers are here.”

The door opened and she stood there, clutching the Glock, looking nervous as hell and so uncertain that he softened from head to toe. He reached in to take her hand and then pulled her to him, uncaring of whether his brothers could see or not.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he murmured.

“But they know about me,” she whispered back. “They’ll think I’m crazy.”

He pulled her back so he could look down at her. “Then I’m as crazy as you are. Swanny’s here too.”

“Swanny?”

She pushed Nathan aside and strode into the room, staring at the three men assembled.

Ethan and Donovan stared at her with open curiosity while Swanny kept his face averted. Donovan’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the Glock that Shea was holding.

“Swanny,” she whispered. She thrust the gun at Nathan and then hurried over to Swanny.

He wore a look of panic as she turned him to face her. She grasped his hands and stared up at him with soft wonder.