Need You for Keeps (Heroes of St. Helena, #1)(53)
“Because the dog is a terrier, and even though he never pretended to be anything else, he loses out,” Jonah supplied, and suddenly Shay didn’t feel like they were talking about the terrier anymore.
“So to help eliminate any potential buyer’s remorse, I bought a wishing couch, where people sit and tell me what they are looking for in a pet. Not on the cuteness scale but on the compatibility scale. I listen to what they are saying, and more importantly what they aren’t saying, then I assess what pets I have that they’d be a good match for. And one by one I bring them in and have a little get-to-know-you session without all the pressure of the adorableness that happens in the front room.”
“Smart.” His gaze met hers in a way that left her feeling completely exposed. “And takes a lot of time on your part.”
She lifted a shoulder, her hands fidgeting with the collar of his shirt. “It cuts down on returns.”
After the lives they’d had, Shay wanted to make sure that none of her pets ever felt unwanted again.
“I’m sitting on the wishing couch, Shay,” he said, his hands spanning each hip as he ran them down her thighs, stopping at the hem of her dress, then back up and—oh my—under. His rough skin on hers gave her a head-to-toe shiver. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I want?”
“What do you want, Jonah?”
“You,” he said, his voice so raw and honest, Shay didn’t know how to respond. Flirty, casual, that’s what she had expected. But Jonah had just taken this to a place she wasn’t sure how to navigate. “I want you.”
It was those three words she’d felt like she’d waited a lifetime to hear. Sure, there were the other three words that also started with I and ended in you. But even though she walked around with her heart on a plate when it came to her pets, Shay was a realist when it came to herself and had accepted long ago that she didn’t have the love-you gene when it came to people.
Not that Jonah was looking for love, or even if he was, that he’d find it in her, but he was looking for something that she could relate to—connection.
A way to ease the loneliness. And that she could handle.
“How do you want me?” she teased, trying to bring a lightness to the moment, bring it back to safe. Her hands went to the tie of her dress, dancing over the knot.
Jonah reached out and stilled her hands, drawing her close. He met her gaze, his serious and heavy. “Exactly how you are.”
Shay stilled, her heart stopping right there in the meet-and-greet room, afraid to beat because she’d heard it all before. But Jonah said it with so much conviction, she wanted to believe him. Wanted to find the courage to ask him the one question that, in the past, hadn’t worked out for her so well.
Over the years, lots of people had wanted Shay for lots of different reasons, but the only person who had ever wanted her for who she really was had been her mother.
And Shay desperately needed to remember what being wanted felt like, without the fear of being returned. At least for one night.
“Are you sure you know what you’re asking for?”
“Oh, yeah,” he whispered without hesitation. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
Shay didn’t know what to say, not that she got a chance to respond. One minute she was standing and the next she was using his lap as her own personal seat, her knees straddling his thighs as he kissed her.
And kissed her.
And, oh my God, the man had lips that could make a grown woman cry. Or maybe it was the gentle way he cradled her face that made this grown woman want to cry. Because even though she was flush with him, all their good parts pressed together, right there for the taking, he didn’t shift course, didn’t cop a feel or go straight for the goods. Nope, Jonah took his sweet time to gently caress, explore her lips, as though he was trying to tell her she was worth his time, worth getting to know.
He held her in a way that was completely unexpected, and it took her by surprise. It was sweet and slightly erotic, and felt so right a small burst of hope welled up in her chest and spread, because Jonah was taking the time to show her that she was special.
To him, in this moment, Shay Michaels was special.
Ignoring the warning bells going off in her head, Shay gave herself over to the experience. Let the what-ifs and fears of tomorrow be left for tomorrow and gave herself wholly to this moment. To this man.
Jonah must have felt her change, felt the shift in her body, because with a groan he tightened his arms around her and slid his tongue across the seam of her mouth. She opened to him immediately, opening everything to him, including her heart.
“I want you too,” she admitted against his lips, breaking the kiss.
“How do you want me?” he asked, his forehead to hers, and for the first time Shay heard doubt in his voice. Jonah was as nervous as she was. She’d never thought about it, but Jonah hadn’t dated all that much since she’d moved to town. In fact, she couldn’t remember a single girl who stuck around for more than a few weeks—and she’d been watching.
Having a job that demanded everything one had to give, and being on call 24/7 couldn’t be easy on relationships. It would make for a very lonely road—and that was something Shay could relate to.
“I want you however I can get you,” she said, meaning it. His job was as much a part of him as her animals were to her. It was one of his most appealing traits—the level at which he gave of himself to his town. “Although I’d prefer you naked.”