Chapter 5 #2
“No one’s going anywhere if you lick those luscious lips again.
” He pulled her back to him, ran a hand down her body and into the front of her pants.
She sucked in a breath and felt a sweat break out on her skin, the kind bidden by the anticipation of pleasure.
He stroked her slick center in a perfect tease and pulled his hands from her pants.
Then he put his fingers to his mouth and tasted.
“You taste ready for making love. Don’t be too long trying on dresses.”
Then he left her, heading for the shower while she stood there in the kitchen with her heart hammering away and her knees weak with need.
Hell. She wanted to wring Dirk’s neck.
Shana tore herself with some massive force of will from her sexed-up state and rushed into their room to change her clothes before Dane got out of the shower.
She couldn’t let him catch her there in a state of undress, but she needed to wear something suitable for wedding-gown shopping.
And something that wouldn’t send the wrong signal to Dirk.
Double hell. She ripped a bright-blue sweater dress from her closet and threw it on with her high black boots.
It would have to do. She grabbed her bag, realized her mini Glock was still in it from the last time she’d used it but didn’t bother stopping to take it out.
She had grabbed her old coat from the hook by the back door and fled outside when she heard the shower water shut off.
Then she ran for the Jeep and prayed it would start for her.
*****
The Lucky Parrot was nearly empty. This time of year, it wasn’t much of a lunch place.
She was early on purpose and went to the bar to say hello to Tom and talk to him about the phone call from his extortionist. There was something missing to this story as Dane had told it, she was sure.
Like why this Mangas character had called out of the blue and why here and not anywhere else on the island.
She’d checked with Cap and he’d checked the other year-round establishments in the area and no one else had been contacted. People could have been lying to him, but Cap didn’t think so and he had a good sense about when people were lying. Not as good as Dane, but enough so she trusted him.
The whole Mangas extortion scheme smelled fishy to her and she hoped Dane wasn’t hiding anything, but she suspected there was a missing piece—like the motive. And she suspected the motive for this extortionist might have something to do with Dane.
She pumped LP Man for info and he told her about his suspicion that Mangas was threatening Dane.
“But I’m ready for the show down. I got the cameras all angled and the mics in place ready.”
“You’re recording our meeting?”
“With Dane’s permission.”
“What about Cap’s permission?”
Silence. He looked sheepish and began wiping down the bar with vigor.
She let out a big sigh and had lifted her wrist to check her watch when she stopped mid-motion.
“And there she is.” Dirk had walked through the door with Billy a step behind him. He headed right for her with the brilliantly charming smile she remembered and a full head of steam, like he was a giant horseshoe and she was a powerful magnet.
She didn’t feel very powerful at the moment and that bothered her a great deal. In fact, the sight of him brought back too many memories, not all of them bad, if she were honest. That bothered her even more.
She stood automatically. In spite of her antipathy toward Dirk, in spite of Dane being the love of her life, nerves crowded in her chest, making it tighten as Dirk strode to her and took her in a hug.
She didn’t hug him back. She was too stunned at the residual emotions from the past welling up and warring with her newer real-time emotions.
The first thought that came to mind when the pressure of his arms around her spread and sent their message of sensation, stimulating undercurrents and circling back to the moment, was that this was not a Dane Blaise hug.
It wasn’t what she’d become used to, what she now craved with everything in her down to her bones.
She took his arms in her hands and let him go, moved him from her and gave him her smile. The kind of smile she’d give Cap, or even her brother Billy if he were on good behavior. Like now.
She turned to Billy and saw the wariness in his eyes.
He looked like he’d been holding his breath waiting for her to explode, maybe punch someone.
But she wasn’t a teenaged girl looking after her unruly brothers and Dirk wasn’t worth punching in the mouth though that had been in doubt up to the minute he’d walked into the Lucky Parrot.
“Let’s sit.”
Shana waved at the booth behind her. It was Dane’s booth.
Their booth. He wouldn’t be happy that she’d played hostess to Dirk the ex in their booth today, but she didn’t bother worrying about that now.
Not that he wouldn’t find out because she knew he would.
He knew everyone in the place and they liked her, but he was one of their own. They loved him.
Dirk slid in next to her, taking Dane’s place while Billy took up the position where Cap usually sat.
“You look well, Dirk.”
“And you look spectacular, Shana. But then you always did. I always told you I didn’t know how you didn’t have one of those beauty queen attitudes with a head as big as a mountain.”
“It’s been a while since I left Sydney. What brought you to see me now?”
He shrugged and averted his eyes.
Then he looked back at her, his gaze wide, clear and honest—very un-Dirklike. A spark of panic ignited making her wonder if he had terminal cancer or something.
“I’ve had a bad few months, darling. I won’t lie to you. It made me realize I needed someone solid in my life, someone trustworthy, a good strong relationship. Like the one we had. Up until the very end.”
“What’s wrong, Dirk?” She felt the spark heating up, making her pulse pick up in that pre-adrenaline rise.
“Don’t torture her, Dirk.” Billy said. “Tell her your girl left and your Pop passed away.”
Dirk shook his head to confirm Billy’s bluntness.
“I’ve been at odds without my father. To tell the truth, I could have used the support of a wonderful woman such as yourself—”
“What happened with the girl?” Shana wanted to cut to the straight of it. If this was all about Dirk being on the rebound, she wanted to get past it and on to lunch and the part where they became good buddies. Platonic till the end.
“I sent her away. It wasn’t like what you and I had. She was seeing someone else. She said she was too young to commit.”
“The bloody girl was twenty-two. Of course she was too young. You idiot.” Billy waved Mary Lu over to their table with a wild gesture and a wilder smile. A lesser waitress would have run the other way.
Shana studied Dirk and saw his discomfort, bordering on shame but not quite.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not why I’m here. I miss you. I miss us. I never wanted you to leave. I always thought you were too quick to give up on us.”
“I know it seemed that way to you.” Shana gentled her voice as much as she could and wished Billy weren’t there now. But things had to be said. “Maybe the truth of it is, we were never suited in the first place.”
Dirk shook his head. Complete and utter denial was in his eyes. He took her hands.
“I know what we had. I was there. We had it all.”
Mary Lu rescued her and took their orders.
“What’ll you have, sweetheart?” She had a special smile for Billy.
“Scotch. My friend is buying so I’ll take the best you have.”
“I’ll have Nob Creek.” Dirk passed the drink order baton with a look in Shana’s direction. Shana looked at Mary Lu and extracted her hands from Dirk’s. The waitress’s face was polite, but Shana could tell it cost her. Mary Lu was undoubtedly bursting to know what this lunch was all about.
“I’ll have my usual, Mary Lu. This is my brother Billy in from Australia for a visit with his good friend Dirk.”
Dirk’s smile faltered at the introduction, but he did his best to charm the waitress. She went off and Shana hoped to hell she’d bring their drinks in record time.
“So you’re a regular here?” Billy asked. But Shana knew he was really asking whether or not she’d get found out by Dane and whether or not that might get her in trouble.
“Yes.” She lifted her chin. She wouldn’t dignify his unspoken questions with a spoken answer.
Dirk was more direct, however.
“Is you being here with me going to get you in trouble with your fiancé?” He didn’t bother hiding his delight at the possibility.
“Don’t you worry about me. It’s your hide I’d be concerned about.”
“I can take care of myself. You know that.”
She raised a brow. “Playing Rugby at university doesn’t exactly qualify you to go up against a special ops legend. I’d buy a return ticket for tonight if I were you.”
He sat back and laughed.
“You’re playing me. You wouldn’t set me up like that. Tell me why you left?”
“Why I left you? Or why I left Australia?”
“Honestly.” He lowered his voice and put his hand back over hers. “You know they’re one and the same thing.”
Damn it, he was right.
“If you two are talking serious, I’m heading for the bar.” Billy rose from his seat as Mary Lu came their way and took his drink from her tray.
“He’s still paying for my drinks, but I’ll be sitting at the bar, gorgeous. If you want to come visit me.” Billy winked at Mary Lu and Shana thought the waitress would drop the drink tray in their laps, but Dirk grabbed them in time.
“Sorry. Are you ordering food or is this a liquid lunch?”
“Food,” Shana said.
“Liquid lunch,” Dirk said.
Shit.
Mary Lu left with a shake of her head. And an accusing look over her shoulder at Shana.
Not good. She needed to put an end to this. She picked up her glass to knock back the tequila and get this over with, but Dirk interrupted her.
“To old times, good times. May they never end.” He lifted his drink, but he kept his eyes on her. She’d forgotten how blue they were. She’d forgotten about his dimple. She’d forgotten how good-natured and easygoing he was.
The hell of it was, she didn’t care. Not one. Single. Bit.
She downed the shot and didn’t mind the slight sting in her eye as she put the glass down on the table.
“You and I are going nowhere, Dirk. Listen to me and listen good.” She kept her voice low and he leaned in. She leaned back, but kept her eyes lasered on his.
“I left you then because you didn’t understand me. Not because I didn’t like you, not because you’re not a good guy, but because you’re not right for me. You didn’t understand about my pride. Or about my need for independence.”
“What are you talking about? I know all about how you wanted to be independent. I always admired how ambitious you were.”
“Not enough to let me succeed on my own.”
“That again.” He looked down and then over his shoulder at the bar as if he wanted another drink. “How many times must I apologize. I was only trying to help.”
“I know. It was very kind of you.” She said it now and saw the shock on his face. He hadn’t expected it. She hadn’t expected to tell him, to acknowledge it. But it was true.
“The problem is that your kind gesture was lost on me. It was like buying a bald woman a hair clip. I had no need for it and, in fact, didn’t want what you wanted to give me. You don’t understand me.”
“You never gave me a chance.”
He had her there. But she shook her head.
“You never would. I would frustrate you and you would frustrate me because you wanted me to be that woman who would appreciate your grand gestures. I never had a use for them. Still don’t.”
Then she realized Dane was at that very moment planning a grand gesture for their Valentine’s celebration. The thought made her smile, but she refocused on Dirk and wiped the smile from her face.
He took her hand again and she would have doubled down on her rejection in a less tolerant manner, but her phone rang. Or rather it played the theme song from Mission Impossible. Apt.
“You still have that old ringtone?” Dirk smiled as she extracted her hand from his to answer it, leaning away from him.
Of course, it was Dane.