What he had wanted to do, what his body had begged him to do, was sweep her into his arms and carry her to her bed where he would spend the night making mad, passionate love to her. His entire body ached with want; just the image of her in that little black dress had him tight with need, unable to sit still. It was such an unusual state for him that he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it.
Shane flexed his hands in frustration. It wasn’t as if he’d never been sexually attracted to a woman before. But this – what he was feeling for Lacie – went way beyond simple desire. This was a burning deep in his gut, a soul-deep need to take her and make her his own.
Suddenly, everything stopped. Every one of his senses shut down momentarily, allowing him to give complete focus to the realization that exploded in his brain: Lacie was his croie. His heart.
It was a stunning revelation. On some level he might have suspected, given the instant and powerful connection between the two of them. He’d seen the same thing happen to five of his brothers over the past few years. Had it been like this for them, too? Had they experienced this sudden shift in their universes where everything finally fell into place? As if, up to that point, everything had always been just a little bit off and they’d never realized it?
When his mind came back online, it was crystal clear. His senses were more acute than they had ever been. Even physically he felt a change. Every part of him now had a single, united purpose: to join in mind, body, and soul with Lacie.
Absently rubbing his chest over the spot where his heart beat with renewed vigor, he wondered if it was like this for Lacie, too. According to Taryn, his brother Jake’s wife, she had experienced something similar. His other sisters by marriage – Lexi, Maggie, Nicki, and Rebecca – had said the same. Did that mean Lacie was thinking of him right now, wishing she was with him until her heart ached? Was she reliving their date over and over in her mind, relishing every look, touch, scent, sound and taste? Was her body a prison of stark, raw need?
He had planned on taking things slow with Lacie and seeing where they led. Courting her little by little with traditional methods that had proven successful over time – flowers, candlelight dinners, fun outings. But now, that didn’t seem possible. Now there was an urgency that wasn’t there before.
His mission was clear; he had no doubt of where things would lead. They were destined to be together, and getting to that point gradually didn’t seem as appealing anymore. The challenge now would be to progress as quickly as possible without doing any damage. Croie or not, they had met less than a week earlier, and Lacie was a respectable schoolteacher with a clear sense of propriety. Hopping into her bed and declaring her his for the rest of their lives was not part of any romantic hearts and flowers package that he was aware of.
Shane was, by nature, a very cautious man and Lacie was a romantic at heart. He knew that from the moment he met her. Little things - like holding the door open for her and bringing her flowers - had thrilled her, and he was only too happy to comply. Oh, there was no doubt she’d liked their date at the Goddess. His intention had been to impress her, and he felt that he had accomplished that several times over. But what really made him happy was when Lacie told him that just being with him was what had made the evening so special.
And his gift for reading people told him that beyond a shadow of a doubt, when Lacie had spoken those words to him, she meant them with every last cell in her body.
He loved that about her. There was a purity, an innocence around her that he had rarely seen. She was a woman who cared deeply for others, lived her life simply, and believed in everything she said and did with both passion and compassion.
She was perfect.
If there was one thing that worried him, though, it was that she might be a little too compassionate, especially where one particular former GI was concerned. Shane hadn’t liked Craig Davidson from the moment he’d laid eyes on him, and each subsequent encounter had only deepened his sense that something was not right with the guy. Even Lacie seemed to realize it; Shane hadn’t failed to notice the shadows in her voice and expression when she spoke of him, but she seemed loyal to him for some reason.
One thing was for certain – Shane would not share Lacie, not with anyone, but especially not with Davidson. The guy was a step off, and the little bit he knew had done nothing but raise red flags. There was a lot of history there, so he’d have to tread carefully for fear of alienating Lacie if he voiced his concerns too vehemently at this stage. But now that he knew for certain that Lacie was his, it was more important than ever.
And he knew just where to begin.
“What do you know about Craig Davidson?” Shane asked, perched on a stool at Jake’s Irish Pub. The public bar was on the first floor; living quarters on the second and third floors. At one time, all the Callaghan men had called the place home, but marriage and children had changed that, though they all kept space there.
Jake glanced up from the fresh keg he was tapping. “The ex-Army guy?”