Chapter Six
Stace awoke alone in the bed, the spot where Shep had been cool to her touch. She was a little disappointed. She’d wanted to wake to a warm man in her bed and maybe take advantage of the thick morning wood most sported upon rising. Shep had already proven to be a fantastic lover, and her body ached in great ways this morning.
A smile curved her lips, even as guilt ate at her. Here she was thinking of a man, lusting after him. She liked him, really liked him. While her sister was still missing. The guilt poured over her. Guilt for so many things. It seemed as if there was a multitude of things she’d done wrong when it came to her sister.
She’d gone back to the Marine Corp when their parents died and left Chloe to be taken care of by others. When she’d returned, Chloe had moved in with her, but even then, Stace had gone off on “business trips” for extended periods of time. The longest recovery had lasted six weeks. So even when she was here, she wasn’t.
How ironic was it that her sister was missing? She recovered things for a living, people, documents, objects, and she was damn good at it. A lot of people had begged her not to retire, but she’d reached a point where she wanted more out of life. She wanted to settle down and stay home, get to know her sister and hopefully become close friends. Too late. Too damn late.
She rolled out of bed and padded to the bathroom. She needed a shower, needed to clear her head. She really cared about very little in her life—the one close friend who was retiring at the same time as she was and her sister. She started the water on with a hard turn. She was angry now. This was her fucking job, so why couldn’t she find her sister?
There wasn’t a single clue left behind to point her in the right direction, in any direction. If she’d been here when it had happened maybe, but there’d been nothing left to look at when she’d finally returned. She knew the cops had done everything they could. Yet, she felt that, if she’d been here, they wouldn’t still be looking. The first twenty-four hours were the most critical when it came to finding a missing or kidnapped person. Chloe’s first twenty-four hours? Stace had been in another country working on finding someone else.
She stepped into the shower and let the water run over her. It was a little hotter than she usually liked, but she didn’t care. It was what she needed. She stood under the spray, letting the water cascade over her head, wanting it to wash away the remorse she couldn’t make peace with. She heard the slide of the door, and cool air licked over her skin, sending shivers along her flesh. Then there was heat as Shep stepped close, his chest brushing along her spine as he joined her.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You think I can’t see how exhausted you are?” he asked her.
“I’ve never slept this late in my life,” she muttered.
He reached around and adjusted the water temperature.
“Scalding yourself won’t accomplish anything,” he admonished, but all her focus was on the way his hard body felt against hers.
“I like hot water,” she told him but leaned back into him, enjoying the way his thick cock rubbed against the small of her back.
“So do I,” Shep agreed, skimming his hands around her sides to palm and squeeze her breasts. “But I’d like some skin left when we get out of here.”
She moaned, arching into him while pressing her breasts more fully into his hands. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples making them harder with each touch. Lifting her arms to curl around his neck, she turned her head up to him. His lips touched hers. His tongue flicking out to trace over her bottom lip. He nipped it, and she groaned as she opened for his kiss. He slid his tongue into her mouth, rubbing erotically along hers as he teased her into playing. When her tongue followed back into his mouth, he wrapped his lips around it and sucked. The act sent tingles rushing through her body straight to her nipples and clit.
He alternated between caressing her tongue with his and sucking her tongue, and she almost purred like a well-stroked pussy cat. His hands moved so he could pinch and tug at her nipples with his fingers. He bent his knees a bit so his cock rubbed along the crease of her ass cheeks, and for the first time, she realized he already had a condom on.
She pulled from his kiss and started to lean forward, but he stopped her and turned her to face him.
“No,” he breathed. “I want to watch your face when you come.”
The man should be illegal. She gripped his shoulders as he bent and cupped her ass, lifting her and turning so her back was against the wall of the shower. He stepped in to her, and she raised her legs to grip his hips. He held her with ease, even managing to slip one hand from her ass long enough to guide his swollen cock to her pussy. Then holding her gaze, he slammed home. She arched her back and cried out.
He pounded into her body, and it was exactly what she needed. For a moment, her expression was unguarded, probably showing him everything she felt. He leaned in and gave her another of his consuming kisses. All she could do was feel. Her body was alive with sensual pleasure. The cool of the wall was the perfect contrast to the heat of the man and water that washed over them both.
She kept her eyes open this time without him asking. She held his gaze through the kiss, and it intensified the moment. She’d had no idea that visualization could be such an intensifier when it came to sex. But it was. Everything seemed more when she kept that connection with Shep. He was showing her sex could be more than a physical gratification. So much more.
One wicked hand slipped between them and he found her clit, adding another layer of stimulation. He started with a small brush of his digit, then began making tiny circles that steadily grew firmer. Her breathing picked up as electricity coursed under her skin, sending pulses to all the right places. He read her like a book and knew just when to increase the pressure. She wondered if it was due to their unbroken connection.
The firm circles turned to soft pinches followed by brief tugs that kept increasing in pressure until she grew lost in the rush of pleasure. It hit her like a wave, different from the spray of the shower, leaving her wetter. Shep fucked her harder and faster, his cock hammering inside her, keeping her trapped in the high of orgasm. The magnetic pull of his blue eyes was the only thing that kept her gaze wide and locked on his. Their breaths grew synchronized as he held her fully entranced with him.
He slipped the hand on her clit back around to cup her ass as the tempo of his strokes grew even sharper. Sex had never been this hard or fast. She’d never taken a cock as deep as Shep’s. His jaw clenched as she felt him swell even larger inside her as he came. His eyes were the brightest she’d seen them and filled with the same pleasure she knew she couldn’t hide from her own. She clung to him, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder as they both shuddered with what they’d shared.
She moaned at the pulse of his cock as he continued to spill into the condom and found herself resenting the thin layer of latex that kept them separated. She’d never wanted to feel a man skin-on-skin without the safety of a condom. Why was he different? Why was she different with him?
“Now, that’s the way to start off the day,” she whispered huskily, and he chuckled, giving her a quick kiss before helping her to her feet. His cock pressed deeper before slipping free of her. She missed the connection instantly. It was impossible to fall for a man so quickly. It was sex. Amazing sex.
Holding the condom snug to his body with one hand, Shep used the other to turn off the water before opening the door and stepping out. He made quick work of tying off and discarding the condom then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He shook open another before turning to her.
“Step out,” he commanded.
She moved onto the mat and wanted to purr again as he briskly moved the cotton over her skin.
“I can do that.”
“I know,” he agreed as he continued.
Had she ever been so intimate with a man? At the right time, she could very easily fall for a man like Shep. She shook her head. Not a man like him. Him. And she was already falling, no matter how hard she tried not to.
“I’ll leave you to dry your hair,” he said as he handed her another towel then walked back into her bedroom.
She watched him until he was out of sight. She found herself wondering what Chloe would think of him. Stace had little doubt he’d wrap her sister around his fingers easily, making her an ally he could team up with for any disagreement they might have. Chloe would love his easy manner and calm presence. She would as soon as they found her. No matter what logic decreed, Stace wouldn’t give up hope that Chloe somewhere out there, holding on to the knowledge Stace would never stop searching for her.
Sucking in a breath, she bent to work the towel through her hair, working to blot as much water as she could from the long strands.
“Now, that is a sight to view every morning,” Shep said, and she glanced back to see his gaze locked on her buttocks and what might be revealed between them in her current position. She quickly stood and wrapped the cotton around her body and tucked it in place.
“I’m hoping we didn’t send Griff screaming from the house,” she joked as his gaze flicked briefly to her covered breasts before meeting her gaze.
“He left earlier.”
“Where is he off to?” she asked, turning to the sink countertop and reaching for her brush and a hairband.
“Today’s his nephew’s first birthday, and frankly, his sister would kill him if he missed it,” Shep offered his eyes still glued to her every move.
“Is he staying there or heading back here later?” she asked, pulling her hair into a high ponytail. She reached for the moisturizer on her counter and rubbed it on her face.
“I told him we’d call him this afternoon and let him know if we needed him to come back or not,” Shep said, and she noticed something in his eyes that had her pulse picking up.
“What else?” she queried.
“I’ve made another call to a friend, and they’re willing to offer what help they can,” Shep answered.
“So why am I getting an uncertain vibe from you?” Stace asked.
Shep sighed and turned to move back into the bedroom, so she followed him.
“Ally has a gift some people don’t understand,” Shep offered.
A woman. One of importance, Stace guessed, based on the way he said her name. What gift did she have that would help them?
“Okay,” she replied when he didn’t offer anything else. “What kind of gift? Is she psychic or something?”
“She is. Before you scoff, I’ve seen her abilities firsthand. Ally’s been able to help both the police and our group with several cases,” Shep said. “With all the dead ends we’ve encountered, I didn’t see the harm in giving her a call.”
She kept her gaze on him, seeing past his frown to the uncomfortable way he didn’t meet her eyes this time. That was a huge tell for a man who demanded it in every other circumstance.
“Is she your girlfriend? A past girlfriend?” she asked, her stomach clenching. He’d told her that he was single, and she didn’t see him as a man who’d be unfaithful.
“No,” he answered immediately. “Ally’s a friend, and she’s engaged to my best friend, Blake Summers. He’s the fire marshal in Legacy.”
“But?” Stace prompted when he didn’t finish what she felt was a still open sentence.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He reached for his boxer briefs and dropped his towel before pulling them up his legs.
“We have a close relationship,” he admitted.
“How close?” she asked, still unsure what he was getting at. She took his lead though and started pulling clothes from her drawers and closet and began dressing.
“Blake and I have been friends longer than either of us has known Ally,” Shep said. “It was almost love at first sight for Blake, ignited by a lot of lust.”
“And you lusted for her, too?” she asked.
“I thought I did,” Shep answered and sighed again, his fingers working through his hair once more. Stace had to hide a grin. Obviously, he wasn’t sure how she’d take what he had to tell her. Which meant she was more than just sex for him, or it wouldn’t matter to him. He seemed to care what she thought.
“Did you have sex with her? With both of them?” she asked.
“No. Nothing like that,” he answered. “But had the opportunity been there, I might have, and I would have ruined a great friendship. She never had eyes for anyone but Blake.”
“But you wanted her,” she said, reading it so clearly in his eyes.
“No,” he denied, and she barely held in the scoff tickling her throat. “Listen to me. I don’t lie, Stace. Ever. I thought I wanted her, and maybe, Ally saw it before me, but I realized I didn’t. I wanted what she and Blake had.”
“What are you trying to say?” she demanded. “Not to read too much into how well you’ve fucked me?”
He gripped her arms and pulled her close before she finished the last word. “Fucked? Is that all we’ve done?”
“It’s been what, Shep, two days,” she replied. “Not even that yet. What do you want from me?”
“I’d like to think I was more than a good fuck,” he said.
He was. Incredible. Magnificent. The best sex of her life. Everything she wanted at exactly the wrong time. “I’ve got a lot going on right now.”
“And you feel guilty for having me, being with me, while your sister is still missing,” he replied.
“I don’t know what I feel,” she admitted. “I’m a fountain of emotions right now, and I’m not used to that.”
“It’s hard to be detached when it’s family,” he agreed. “Or when you might feel something you never have before.”
“I don’t—”
“Will you at least admit there’s more than sex between us?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I don’t know how to do this. You’re the best sex of my life. There’s no denying that. Can we continue without labeling it for now?”
“Best sex of your life, huh?” he teased, but there was no missing the emotion in his gaze. She saw it through the grin he forced onto his lips.
“You have to know how amazing you are,” she said, working with him to lighten the mood. “I lose myself when I’m with you. I’ve never had sex like this before.”
“It’s the same for me,” he admitted, leaning in to give her a soft kiss. “Now, we better finish getting dressed. Nicole will be here soon.”
Stace startled. She’d completely forgotten about Nicole stopping by. Possibly because she’d already spoken to her sister’s friend and got nothing of use from her. Still, she needed to focus.
“And your friend? Ally? When will she be here?” she asked.
“This evening,” Shep answered. “I told her to pack an overnight bag.”
“Okay.” She sat to pull on her shoes. She felt the weight of his gaze on her as if he didn’t trust her relaxed acceptance. “She can have the room you’re not using.”
“Stace?”
She ignored his question.
“Nicole should be here in another hour. I’ll let you take the lead and ask the questions this time. In fact, I’ll move to the other room after introductions are made. I don’t want to influence what she says or what you ask in any way. We can compare notes afterward, see if anything different came up with you.”
“Sounds good,” Shep agreed, but before she could move to the door and out of the bedroom, he pulled her close again and took her mouth with another scorching kiss she felt all the way to her toes.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” she asked, breathless again.
“Just because,” he said with a smile on his lips.
She was smart enough to know it was to assure her she had nothing to fear with Ally coming here.