of the truck, I freeze, all thoughts of Max disappearing like a mirage in the desert. Shane opens the door into the house and looks at me, one of his eyebrows arching. “Problem?”
My face is flaming and I can’t tell if it’s a blush or the aftermath of my sobbing session. “The plug feels funny.”
“Mmm.” He crooks a finger at me, his amusement deepening as I wiggle a little with each step. “Looks like it’s a good kind of funny.”
“I think so?”
“Keep it in.” He takes the coat off me in the mud room and hangs it back in its place. Then Shane surveys me. “If you need time—”
I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t want to think. Please.” When he still hesitates, I move closer. “This started as revenge, but it’s—When I’m with you, I’m not thinking about him.”
He studies me. “Eventually you have to deal with what you’re feeling.”
I know that. I desperately wish I didn’t know that. I look up at him. “I will. I promise I will. Just…not this weekend.”
For a second, I think he’s going to keep arguing. He knows this time with him is just a bandage on a bullet wound, but Shane finally catches my hips and pulls me against him. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”
“Thank you.” I’m not even sure what I’m thanking him for. Space. Orgasms. Being here for me to crash myself upon with the minimum damage. No matter how destructive my original impulse to seduce Shane, I can’t deny he’s caught me in the middle of a freefall. It’s still a freefall, but it feels more guided now. I try for a wobbling smile. “I’m going to wash my face.”
“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done.” He tugs on the loose fabric of the crop top. “Keep this on.”
I don’t have the energy to push him. Maybe I will in a little bit, but I’m still reeling from the last hour. Good to bad to ugly, a whirlwind of emotions that have left me spinning with no idea which way is up and which is down.
My face is just as bad as I expect. Blotchy skin. Swollen eyes. Black tear tracks down my cheeks. I carefully remove the makeup and spend a few minutes with a cold washcloth over my face. It won’t help all that much, but at this point something is better than nothing. I hardly look like the seductress who started this weekend; more like a scared mess of a woman who doesn’t know what Monday will bring.
I debate putting on more makeup, but it won’t do much good until my skin calms down, and I don’t think Shane is going to let me hide up here for over an hour until that happens. I press my hands to my eyes and take a deep breath. I can do this. He’s seen me without makeup more often than he’s seen me with a full face of it on. I was hardly worried on long pool days when my hair was stiff with chlorine and my nose was sunburned from taking too long to reapply sunscreen.
I also didn’t know what Shane’s cock tasted like on those days.
Or have a plug in my ass that he put there.
I take a deep breath, smooth down my skirt, and give my hair a toss. That will have to do.
Chapter 10
I find him in the little nook connected to the kitchen, setting up a cribbage board, and stop short in the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“It’s been a while since we played.” Shane shuffles the cards, bridging them in a really satisfying sound that takes me back. Max never enjoyed this game, but my grandfather had taught me as a kid and Shane knew how to play, so we’d spent quite a few evenings in this exact spot while Max watched movies in the living room.
“Shane…” I don’t know why I’m hesitating.
He finally looks at me. “We won’t talk about him, but there’s plenty of other shit we can talk about.” His lips quirk up. “Sit down and play with me, Lily.”
It seems simple enough, and I find I do want to play.
I sit, and immediately jump at how it makes the plug move. Shane grins at me, wickedly delighted. “Problem?”
“You know damn well it’s the plug you put up my ass,” I mutter, but I can’t help smiling a little too. This is too ridiculous. And it doesn’t feel bad. Just strange. We cut the deck to see