To Love and Protect Page 17

  Really? Was she trying to kill him? He squeezed his eyes shut, drew in a deep breath, and blew it back out again. “Sure.”

  He had the entire trip down the hall to mentally prepare for the sight of her, dress unzipped, in his bedroom. The entire hall, and his breath still shortened with every step he took. The door was ajar, and when he pushed it open, he froze on the spot as his mouth went dry.

  Holy fuck.

  Shelby kneeled on the bed in the late afternoon light, long, dark hair flowing down her back, wearing a nude-colored negligee edged in black lace. The nearly see-through silk stretched taut across her full breasts before skimming down to her thighs.

  “I-I didn’t want to wait,” she said.

  He swallowed past the lump in his throat, and then still had to clear it twice before any sound would come out. “Is that the same one?”

  She nodded and glanced down as she lifted a hand to fiddle with one of the tiny straps at her shoulder. A grimace flashed across her face, but she lifted her chin and met his gaze. That’s when he saw the vulnerability in her eyes and realized the courage it took for her to recreate the scene from nine years ago.

  But so much had changed—and thank God it had.

  He walked over to his dresser, removing his Beretta and concealed carry holster on the way. After tucking them in the top drawer, he drew in an unsteady breath and pivoted to face her. As he crossed to the bed, he slid his gaze down her body and back up with open appreciation. This time, he didn’t want her to have any doubt as to whether or not he wanted her.

  His pulse raced as his whole body practically vibrated with anticipation.

  “You’re as beautiful now as you were then.”

  She bit the corner of her bottom lip. “It’s a little snug.”

  Only across her breasts. “It’s perfect.” He reached for her waist, and the heat of her skin seeped through the silky fabric as he urged her forward to the edge of the bed. “You’re perfect.”

  He started to lean down to kiss her, but she pulled back slightly. “Are you okay with skipping dinner?”

  “You really think you have to ask?”

  “It’s just…you’re all dressed already—and you look very nice, by the way.”

  Dev stepped back and stripped down to his briefs in world-record time. As he kicked his pants aside, he said, “There. No longer dressed. Any other questions?”

  She shook her head slowly, her gaze dipping down to his chest, then his stomach, and lower. As her attention lingered, he wasn’t sure if she was checking out his erection stretching the front of his briefs, or staring at the scars on his left leg. Surprisingly, the second didn’t bother him anymore. Not with her.

  “You still look just as nice.”

  The huskiness of her voice sent his blood surging through his veins as he bumped his knees up against the mattress and reached to pull her to him.

  Shelby kept a few inches of space between them, with her palms pressed to his chest. She tilted her head to the side, her gaze sweeping over the floor. “You’re just going to leave your clothes and shoes lying all over the place?”

  “Right now, I don’t give a flying-fuck where my clothes are.” He suddenly paused. “Are you making fun of my OCD because you’re nervous?”

  “A little,” she admitted while ducking her head.

  He wasn’t really OCD, he just liked things put in their place. Usually. When he didn’t have much better things to like.

  Dev lifted his hand to tilt her chin up with his knuckle, then skimmed his thumb along her bottom lip. When her lashes fluttered down and her lips parted with a shallow breath, he leaned in to fuse his mouth with hers. He teased and nibbled, keeping things soft and gentle until she sighed in surrender, wrapped her arms round his neck, and leaned her whole body into him from breasts to thighs.

  Her lips parted, and her tongue sought his, tangling and retreating, luring him in to explore the addicting sweetness of her mouth. He lost himself in the kiss, stroking deep while his hands roamed and caressed, learning her curves and how they fit so perfectly against his angles.

  When he palmed her ass and didn’t feel the telltale line of panties or a thong through silk, he skimmed up under the hem to find nothing but bare skin. Need flexed his fingers on her firm flesh, and his erection swelled against her belly. The urge to lay her down and bury himself to the hilt made him tremble.

  He left her mouth to kiss his way along her jaw, and over to her ear. She raked her nails through his hair, her breath rapid little puffs that revved up his arousal. He worked his way down the delicate line of her throat to the swell of her breasts, then bent to suck one nipple into his mouth through the silky slip.

  Her sharp gasp was followed by an inarticulate sound of pleasure. Pulse strumming, he switched to the other side. Her fingers clenched in his hair, tugging at his scalp even as she held him closer.

  “God, that feels good,” she breathed.

  With one hand at her back, he turned just enough to brace his other hand on the mattress to lower her down. Lying beside her, he ran his forefinger along the neckline of her negligee. The material stretched, and he skimmed back and forth, moving farther down with each swipe, until the silk slipped underneath the curve of her breast, leaving the rose-tipped mound exposed in the gathering twilight.

  When he moved to do the same to the other side, Shelby asked, “Should I take it off?”

  “No way.” He watched with mouth-watering anticipation as inch by inch of her second breast was revealed. “I’ve dreamed about this scrap of silk and lace for nine years, and I’m going to make the most of every second.”

  Her chest rose and fell with each aroused breath she took, and he drank in the sight of her before dipping his head to run his tongue around the tip of one nipple. He took his time playing and caressing, until she breathed his name again, and he suddenly needed to hear it in the height of her passion.

  Dev skimmed his hand down over her belly, dragged the hem of her nightie up, and slid a finger between her folds to find her wet and ready. Her body tensed, but the first skim of his finger over her nub as he sucked hard on her breast had her bucking her hips with a gasp.

  Switching sides, he worked her almost to the edge before kissing his way back up to her mouth. Tension gripped her body, and moments later, she bowed beneath his touch as she cried out his name. While she caught her breath, he dug a condom from his nightstand, and stripped off his briefs to roll on the protection. He turned back to find her watching his movements, her expression revealing that seductive mix of innocence and siren from years ago.

  She sat up to strip off silk and lace, and then lay back down, her dark hair fanned across the pillow.

  He skimmed the vision of her now naked body with a low hum of approval. “Good call.”

  Then, despite the desperate need thrumming through his body, he trailed a finger from her collar bone to her breast, teased both nipples back into tight little buds, and then skimmed over her ribs and stomach.

  “Dev.”

  His name fell from her lips as a question and a plea. He leaned in to kiss her again, and as her tongue twined with his, he moved over her, nudging her legs apart, easing his tip inside her, until he was right at the moment of thrusting home.

  She turned her head just enough to break the kiss. “Dev.”

  Something in the breathless note of her voice made him still. He lifted his head, his arms trembling slightly with the effort of holding back.

  Her expression was a mixture of uncertainty and…guilt? She bit her lip and lowered her gaze as she whispered, “I’ve never done this before.”

  It shouldn’t have shocked him, yet of anything she could’ve said, he never expected that.

  Chapter 26

  Shelby held her breath as she waited for Dev’s response. She almost hadn’t said anything, but if it hurt and she couldn’t mask her reaction, she didn’t want him to think it was his fault.

  Now, as seconds ticked by, she worried he was upset.
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  “Are you serious?” he finally asked.

  She gave a sheepish nod.

  “Shelby…all this time?”

  The wonder in his voice and implication in his words had her rolling her eyes with a self-conscious little smile. “It’s not like I saved myself or anything, it just…never happened, that’s all.”

  Though in this precise moment, she was so very glad it never had.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “No!” she exclaimed when shifted as if he might pull away. She tightened her hold on his shoulders. “No, definitely not. It’s just, I’ve heard the first time can be…not so great, and I didn’t want you to think it’s you.” When his brow furrowed, she quickly added, “But before was…” She paused, and all she could come up with was a slow smile and, “Oh, my God.”

  His frown cleared with his slight smile. “It’s going to be oh my God again.”

  She shivered at the husky promise in his voice and pulled his head down to kiss his lips. “Good, because I want this. I want you.”

  His mouth covered hers, and once again, his hot, heady kisses consumed her until the whole world was only him as he eased inside her with a slow, rocking motion. There was no pain, only a slight uncomfortable sensation at the tight fit, but that gave way for something more as he moved inside her.

  “You okay?” he whispered against her ear.

  “Um-hm.” She lifted her hips to meet his, and he thrust a little harder. Sensation intensified, and yeah, she could definitely see oh my God in her near future.

  Buried to the hilt, his sweat-slick body covering hers, he said her name in a gravelly tone that set off a whole host of butterflies in her stomach. She opened her eyes, and when she saw the intensity in his, her pulse skipped hard.

  He lifted a hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her cheek, took a moment to tuck it behind her ear, then brought his gaze back to hers. “I love you.”

  Three little words and she suddenly lost the ability to breathe. Or at least it felt like it with the way her heart was thumping high up in her throat.

  “I’ve loved you since we were kids, I noticed you about the time you turned fourteen, which was extremely inconvenient for me at nineteen.”

  “That’s why you stopped hanging out with me back then.”

  He gave a slight smile of confirmation as he bent his head for a feather-soft kiss on her lips. “As I said, extremely inconvenient. But now…I’ve been falling head over heels in love with you since you nearly castrated me in the hospital stairwell.”

  “Let me be the first to say, thank God I didn’t.”

  He chuckled, and the movement of his body rocked him inside her. “You’d be the second, actually.”

  Grinning, she lifted her knees to settle him deeper, loving the feel of him inside her. A reach of her hand combed her fingers through the hair falling over his forehead as she met his gaze. “I love you, too, Dev. I always have, although what I felt for you at sixteen is a mere shadow of how much I love the man you are now.”

  Dev leaned down to capture her lips once more, his slow, deep thrusts speeding up, rekindling sensations that had her moving with him as she chased that earlier wave of pleasure. She was close, so close, and when he reached down between them, his touch made her come undone seconds before he followed her over the edge.

  By the time she could think straight again, he’d shifted his weight to lay beside her, and she tilted her head toward him on the pillow. “Is it always like that? Because, oh my God.”

  He grinned. “If it’s done right it is.”

  “Good thing you’re OCD.”

  His chuckle shook the bed. “I’m not really, but I can be on this.”

  “Yes please,” she quipped.

  A little while later, she lay with her head pillowed on his chest as he combed his fingers through her hair. “You hungry?” he asked.

  “Getting there, but I don’t want to move just yet.” She was relaxed and content, and lying with him felt like the most natural thing in the world. It was a moment she wanted to savor for a little longer.

  He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You good with everything?”

  She shifted her position to look at him with her palm on his chest, chin on her hand. There was just barely enough light left for her to see his face. “Better than good. You?”

  “Same.” A smile curved his lips as he brushed his knuckle across her cheek. “Is it too early to talk about where we go from here?”

  Her heart thumped against her ribs. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  His smile faded, and those gorgeous blue-green eyes of his grew somber and serious. “I’ve never said I love you to anyone else. And I didn’t say it to you just because the heat of the moment.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Good, because I want more than our first date. I want to be with you for anything and everything. I want to go to bed with you each night, and wake up with you each morning.”

  “Wake up with me?” she teased, her heart soaring with happiness. “Aren’t your military hours going to get in the way of that?”

  “Military hours haven’t been a thing for me for months. You, however, were just too damn tempting.”

  “So, it was my fault you were getting up before dawn?”

  “One hundred percent. But now, I don’t have to anymore.” His gaze lowered slightly. “Assuming we’re on the same page, that is.”

  “If you’re asking me to move in with you, the answer is yes. If you’re asking me to be your girlfriend, the answer is yes. Pretty much whatever you ask me, the answer is yes.”

  His eyebrows arched high as a smile played on his lips. “Whatever I ask?”

  “Yes.” She held his gaze. “I trust you, Dev, so you don’t scare me with that little smirk of yours.”

  It widened to a grin, and then just as quickly, his expression sobered. “What if I asked you to marry me?”

  Geezus. “Are you asking?” she asked breathlessly.

  “No, not yet. When the time comes, I gotta do that right.”

  “Well, I definitely won’t argue that,” she said. “But just so you know, when the time comes, the answer is yes.”

  He urged her up for a kiss, then rolled her over onto her back, the full length of his warm, naked body covering hers. “Wanna have sex again?”

  “Yes.” Then she reconsidered. “After dinner.”

  Chapter 27

  Monday morning, Dev dropped Shelby off at the animal hospital and then killed a couple hours running errands before driving to the courthouse for Neil Truman’s arraignment. Shelby had decided against going, but he wanted to be there when her stalker was put away.

  It had been nice to have the weekend off, so to speak. With Truman in jail, they’d been able to relax enough to enjoy the past two days. When they finally dragged their butts out of bed each day, they’d gone for a run/bike ride—she ran while he rode the bike to avoid overdoing it on his leg.

  Every day they practiced her self-defense she got better at kicking his ass. Which he was fine with now that she kissed every place she hit—and plenty of places she didn’t. Because, like with the self-defense, and he guessed with anything she did, she was a fast study. She was also very thorough, taking her time to explore so she could learn what he liked and what he didn’t.

  When it came to Shelby, there wasn’t much he didn’t. She figured out pretty quick how to drive him to crazy, and had employed her new-found knowledge numerous times over the weekend.

  Which had more than made up for his one source of anxiety the past three days—telling their families. He’d called his parents before the Diamond family brunch yesterday, and they’d expressed nothing but support and happiness. After seeing them at their dinner the other night, his mom admitted she wasn’t even surprised.

  Shelby’s family, on the other hand, had his stomach tied in knots when they gaped in surprise after she announced they were together as a couple. However, Celia quickly popped up
with a happy congratulations and hug for both of them, which spurred everyone else into action. Her dad’s welcome had been markedly reserved, but he’d had to excuse himself for a conference call at the end of the meal, so Dev didn’t get the chance to speak with him privately before he and Shelby left again.

  As he walked up the steps of the courthouse, his gut tightened at the sight of the senator approaching from the opposite direction, his personal protection detail on his heels.

  “Morning, sir.”

  Mark gave a terse nod without correcting him on the formality. A quick word to his detail allowed Dev to fall into step beside him.

  Halfway up the stairs, her dad shot him a sideways glance. “Shelby not want to come, or did you make her stay home?”

  He bit back a snort at the ‘make her’ bit. “It was her choice. She said she’d rather work and do something productive.”

  The senator nodded.

  The obvious chill radiating from the man had him clenching his jaw with resolve. As they reached the top step, he asked, “May I have a minute before we go inside?”

  The senator stopped so abruptly Dev had to turn back to face him. Mark dropped any pretense of politeness as he crossed his arms and glared at him.

  Knowing exactly the reason for his anger, he got straight to the point. “I didn’t act on my feelings for Shelby until after Truman was caught. Her safety was my one and only priority the entire time.”

  “And what exactly are your feelings for her?”

  “I love her,” he stated without hesitation. “I’ve loved her for years.”

  Mark’s gaze narrowed. “You’re going to need to explain that a little better, son. You’ve been gone for years.”

  “I stayed away because she was too young.” A slight ache in his left knee had him shifting his stance as he bit back a grimace. “And once she was old enough, it wouldn’t have been fair to put her though the worry of wondering if I’d come back every time I left on a mission.”

  Some of the stiffness left the senator’s expression.