Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Kinsley
“Did you see the final movie just released?” Taylor asks as she takes a sip of her drink while we wait for the waitress to run Shane’s credit card since he insisted on paying for dinner.
I wasn’t sure how dinner would go, but every time I’m around these two, they have a way of making me feel comfortable, like I’ve known them for years rather than weeks.
“Yeah, my mom hated the series.” I roll my eyes. “But I loved it, so I’m planning to binge them all.”
“I’ve already seen the first two, but I would totally be down for watching them all again. We should watch them tonight,” Taylor suggests. “Casey won’t watch them either, which is fine since she’s never read the books and she won’t appreciate the movies properly.”
“I think Kinsley has given you enough of her time,” Shane cuts in, using a tone I haven’t heard him use with Taylor before. It’s deep and serious, and, holy shit, it’s kind of hot.
“Okay, sorry,” she says without argument, looking completely deflated.
“Actually, I’d love to watch the movies tonight,” I say to Taylor, then glance at Shane, who’s looking at me in shock. “If it’s okay with you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he murmurs. “I love my daughter, but I know how difficult it can be to say no to her.”
“I know, but I want to. But if you’re not up for company, I could have her come to my place.”
“Of course you’re welcome to come over,” he scoffs. “I just don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“Well, I don’t. I happen to like hanging out with Taylor.”
The waitress drops off the receipt and Shane quickly fills it out, then pockets his card.
“Just Taylor?” he asks, as we stand to leave.
“Your dog is cool.”
Shane shakes his head, and his eyes light up with mirth.
“Plus, now, you’re going to be stuck watching them with us.” I playfully stick my tongue out at him and take off toward the restaurant’s exit.
I’ve barely made it out the door when Shane grabs my hand and tugs me toward him, so my back is flush against his front. In this position, I can smell his masculine scent and feel his hard body against mine, both of which do crazy things to my lady parts.
“Watching a movie with you, on my couch, in my home, is the opposite of stuck ,” Shane murmurs into my ear, sending a shiver through my body.
It doesn’t matter how much I try to resist the feelings I’m developing for Shane. They’re there and increasing with every look and touch and minute we spend together. The chemistry between us is sizzling, and if I’m not careful, that heat is going to become a fire and burn him. And the last thing I want is for another person to be hurt from caring about me.
The thought of Shane getting hurt—or worse, dying—because of me has me opening my mouth to tell them I can’t go over to their house to watch the movies after all.
But before I can think of a believable lie to use, Taylor says, “Dad, can we go by the store and get snacks? We can’t have a movie night without all the goods.”
And the words evaporate on my tongue because there’s no way I’m witnessing her disappointment by bailing on her.
“The goods?” I ask, stepping away from Shane so our bodies are no longer touching.
“Yeah,” Taylor says. “Popcorn, soda, Sour Patch Kids, which are Dad’s favorite …”
I can’t help the blush that creeps up when she says Sour Patch, and even though she doesn’t notice, too busy naming all the junk food she plans to get, Shane notices and grins that sexy, boyish grin that’s going to be the death of me.
“Stop it,” I mutter.
“What?” He shrugs.
“What?” Taylor asks, confused.
“Kinsley doesn’t understand or appreciate my fixation with Sour Patch Kids,” Shane explains, his eyes never leaving mine.
He might not be touching me anymore, but with the way he looks at me, it feels like he’s reaching inside of me and caressing my soul.
“But like I told her,” he says to Taylor, his eyes still locked on mine, “there’s just something about getting through the sour to get to the sweet that makes it worth it.”
“I would rather just buy something sweet instead of dealing with the sour,” I volley, even though I already know nothing I say will sway Shane from the way he feels.
The man is nothing if not determined.
“I was always told hard work makes you appreciate what you have that much more.” He smirks. “Besides, who said I didn’t like the sour?” He raises a brow. “I enjoy every … single … part of my Sour Patch.”
And just like that, I’m left speechless … and turned on.
Fuck.
* * *
“Okay, we’ve got the popcorn and drinks and candy.” Taylor points to each item, checking it off her list. “I think we’re good to go.”
She drops onto the couch and pats the seat next to her. “Come on, Kinsley. Sit next to me.”
Without thought, I sit next to her on the middle cushion, but the second I do, I realize what she’s done because the only spot left is the one next to me—unless Shane were to sit on the love seat, but that doesn’t have a good view of the TV, which means …
Shane steps into the room, takes in the situation, chuckles, knowing exactly what his daughter has done, and then sits next to me, so damn close that his scent envelops me while his thigh rubs up against my own.
“Oh! I forgot the chips and salsa!” Taylor exclaims, jumping up from her seat and making a beeline for the kitchen.
“Sorry about her,” Shane says, not at all sounding sorry. “She’s clearly read too many romance books.”
“I get it,” I tell him. “Before my husband died, I believed in happily ever afters. She wants her dad to find love. She’s just picked the wrong person for her dad.”
“Or the right one,” he argues, tilting his head slightly to the side so his eyes meet mine.
This close, I can make out the flecks of gold in his brown eyes and the stubble on his face and the cut jawline that slightly takes away from the baby face he has. Everything about this man is beautiful, and if things were different, I have no doubt I could let myself fall for him.
“Okay, here we go,” Taylor says, rushing back in.
She sets the tray of food on the coffee table, turns off the lights, and sits back down, clicking play on the movie. Since it’s a romance—and a spicy one at that—it doesn’t take long before the couple is getting hot and heavy. Taylor is enraptured by the movie, but I can’t help glancing at Shane, who I’ve caught looking my way several times.
The couple is at a club, dancing just like Shane and I were, and as the guy’s mouth connects with the woman’s, my mind goes to the night I kissed Shane at The Black Cat. The way his mouth devoured mine while his hands roamed my body.
Things between the couple heat up as the guy pushes her against the wall and then lifts her into his arms, similar to the way Shane picked me up like I weighed nothing and brought us to the darkened corner and then deepened the kiss.
The guy on the screen finds an empty room and drops her onto the desk, and without my consent, my thoughts go to Shane and me at the bar.
Me not stopping the kiss.
Him carrying me to the back office.
The two of us ripping each other’s clothes off.
Our mouths consuming one another.
Him spreading my legs and filling me.
My lady parts tingle, and I clench my thighs in an attempt to tamp down how turned on I am. But it’s too late. The fantasy feels too real, and when I shift slightly, I can feel the wetness between my legs.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I say, quickly jumping up without waiting for Taylor to pause the movie.
I take my time going pee and washing my hands, willing my body to calm the fuck down. But of course, when I step into the hallway, I find Shane leaning against the wall with a knowing smirk on his face.
“What?” I snap, my body filled with pent-up sexual tension and no way to release it.
“I saw the way your legs were clenching,” he says, stepping into my space. “The way your eyes went glossy at the couple on-screen.”
“It was an intimate scene.” I shrug, trying and failing to appear unfazed. “It would turn anyone on.”
“Maybe,” he says, “but when I was watching it, I couldn’t help but think about that night at The Black Cat.”
“It was a mistake.”
“You really feel that way?” he asks, lifting my chin when I drop my gaze. “Because it was the best kiss of my life, and I refuse to believe that anything that good could be considered a mistake.”
My eyes snap up to his, and I open my mouth, wanting to argue. But I can’t because he’s not wrong. The kiss was damn good. And as much as I want to regret it, I can’t find it in me to do so. So, instead, I say the only thing I can think of that’s not a lie.
“It can’t happen again.”
Without waiting for him to argue, I skirt around him and quickly go back to the living room. Shane sits next to me, and Taylor presses play. And even though I should be focusing on the movie, I can’t get the visual of Shane and me having sex on the desk out of my head.
When the first movie ends, Taylor starts the second one.
It’s getting late, but I tell myself that I can make it through this one and then tell her we’ll need to watch the last one another day.
As if Shane can sense me slowly losing the battle, he grabs the blanket from behind the couch and drapes it across our laps. With the warmth of the blanket, the fight to stay awake gets harder, and before I know what’s happening, my eyes are closing, and my head is landing on something firm yet soft. And even though I should question it, the masculine, comforting scent lulls me to sleep.
* * *
Warm.
Masculine.
Comforting.
I nuzzle my face further into the scent, wanting to keep this feeling wrapped around me. And then it hits me—Brandon is dead, which means …
My eyes pop open, and I’m met with a hard chest that’s thankfully covered with a shirt.
Oh shit. I fell asleep and somehow ended up spending the night with Shane on his couch. Without moving, I take in my surroundings. Shane is passed out, and his head is at a weird angle that looks like it might hurt. His arm is wrapped around me, and my face is pressed against his chest. We’re in the same positions we were in last night while watching the movie, only closer.
I glance around and find a clock hanging on the wall—ten in the morning. Holy shit, I can’t remember the last time I slept in this late and without waking up once in the middle of the night.
Usually, I suffer from nightmares, my mind replaying what happened the night I killed Brandon and Brenna, and I’ll wake up several times throughout the night, or my brain will kick into overdrive, and I’ll wake up far too early, starting my day before the sun comes up. But last night, I not only slept all night, but I also had zero nightmares and slept in.
And of course, it happened while I was sleeping in Shane’s arms.
“I know you’re awake,” Shane’s raspy voice says, making me tense up. “But feel free to continue to pretend you’re asleep. I happen to like you snuggled up against me like this. Hell, if you want, I can carry you to my room, and we can continue to sleep …”
“No, you can’t,” Taylor says, making me jump out of Shane’s arms. “We have to get ready to leave soon.”
I sit up and glare at Shane, and he chuckles.
“What?” he asks, sounding all innocent, like he didn’t just worm his way into my … okay, not bed. Couch? Cushion? Whatever it was, he wormed his way into it last night.
Okay, maybe he didn’t so much as worm since I fell asleep first, but …
“You know what?” I hiss. “You should’ve woken me up.”
“Why?” He shrugs, then sits up and stretches, and his shirt rises, exposing the smatter of hair that makes up his happy trail.
Jesus, why does this man have to be so damn good-looking?
“Maybe because it’s highly inappropriate for me to be spending the night with your daughter here.”
“His daughter doesn’t care,” Taylor says with a laugh, reminding me she can hear every word I’m saying. “I’m seventeen, and I know how the birds and the bees work. Besides, you two falling asleep during a movie and sleeping on the couch with your clothes on is hardly bad parenting.”
“See, Sour Patch?” Shane grins. “All good.”
I sigh and roll my eyes, and he grins wider.
“What?” I glare.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “You just look cute in the morning with your hair all over the place and a red mark from where your face was smooshed against my chest.”
He runs the back of his finger along my cheekbone, and a shiver racks my body.
“I need to go,” I grumble, scampering off the couch and away from him.
“Oh, don’t go,” Taylor says. “I’m actually about to make breakfast.” She lifts the mixing bowl up for me to see. “Dad, come help.”
“On it,” Shane says, getting up and walking past me.
Since I know where their bathroom is and I suddenly have to go, I excuse myself. After going pee, I wash my hands and then attempt to clean up my face and fix my hair into a messy bun. Since I can’t do anything about my morning breath, I call it good and tell myself after we eat breakfast, I’ll make an excuse to leave before Taylor can convince me to stay.
But then I walk out to the kitchen, and Taylor stops what she’s doing to look at me.
“Guess who we’re going to see today,” she says in a singsong voice.
Before I can even attempt to guess, she reaches across the counter and grabs a book, holding it up. The look on my face must be filled with awe and shock because she smirks and nods slowly.
“Yep. She’s doing a signing in the city today, and I got two tickets to go.”
“What?” I gasp. “I’m so jealous.”
Because I haven’t been reading, I haven’t been keeping track of who’s signing and where. But the book she’s holding up is from my favorite author.
“You don’t have to be,” Taylor says with a laugh. “One of the tickets is for you.”
“What?” I say again. “How? You didn’t even know I’d be here.”
“I know, but it’s only one ticket per signed copy, so I got two so I could get you one. You mentioned it was your favorite book when you came over for dinner, so I planned to surprise you with a signed copy. Dad was going to wait in line with me.”
Oh, my heart.
Why do these two have to be so damn sweet? They’re seriously making it hard to keep them at arm’s length.
“But now, you’re here,” Taylor says happily. “So, you can come with us and meet her yourself.”
Damn it! Looks like I won’t be leaving after all … except …
“I’m going to need to shower and change,” I point out.
“We can swing by your place after we eat,” Shane chimes in. “Now, do you want one pancake or two?”
And just like that, I’ll be spending my day with Shane and his daughter. I was supposed to be working on pushing them away, yet somehow, they just keep on reeling me in closer.