The voice broke through the lusty fog and she stilled. Shane stiffened at the same time, his protective – and possessive – instincts roaring into overdrive. His natural impulse was to cover her body with his own and keep her as far away from the other man as possible. Davidson was a threat to Lacie, he felt it strongly, and he, like his brothers, had learned never to ignore what his gut told him.
Her response only reaffirmed his instincts. She tensed; her eyes, dazed with desire only seconds earlier, went wide with a mixture of fear and dread before she shielded them.
But why? Was it as Corinne said? Did Craig have the ability to manipulate Lacie so easily? It was hard to believe. Lacie might have a gentle demeanor, and was undoubtedly both kind and compassionate, but he had sensed a strong inner spirit in her as well. It was not something she advertised, but Shane had seen glimpses of it in the way she had managed a week with the pain of a broken hand, in the fiery passion that burst forth when he kissed her. Lacie was an intelligent woman with a quick wit that would certainly recognize any attempt to control her.
Except that Craig Davidson wasn’t just anyone. Davidson was practically family, and family was very important to Lacie. He also knew, from their conversation in the car Friday night, that Lacie made excuses for Davidson, citing his wife’s untimely and tragic death, his terrible injuries, and her brother’s disappearance as rational excuses for his occasional irrational behavior.
She was too caring of a person not to cut him some slack, but there was a limit. In Shane’s opinion, Davidson had passed that mark a long time ago, and it was time to do something about it. Things had drastically changed now. Shane was in her life, and he would see to it that Lacie would no longer be a dumping ground for Davidson’s questionable issues.
*
“Shall I kill him?” Shane said softly against her neck, punctuating the statement with one long, slow lick along her jugular vein. His voice was low, feral, and starkly male, calling to her on some base, primal level. She shivered, her nails curling into his shoulders, not knowing if he was kidding, not even knowing if she cared, if he could make her feel like this.
“Lacie, if you don’t open this door in one minute I’m coming in.” Craig’s voice, somewhat muffled through the heavy steel door, was still loud and clear enough to be heard.
Shane stilled as the words registered, pulling away enough to look at her in disbelief, taking all that delicious heat with him. “He has a key to your apartment?”
“For emergencies,” she explained for the second time that weekend, her voice thick with the now-receding desire. It hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea when Craig suggested it, but Lacie wasn’t so sure anymore. The look on Shane’s face at her confession was even worse than the one on Corinne’s. Was it possible that they were right, and that she wasn’t looking at things sensibly?
Shane backed away, his face unreadable as he shielded his emotions. Was he angry? Jealous? Disappointed? She couldn’t tell, and that bothered her. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but she didn’t want him to be any of those things. Well, maybe a bit of jealousy was flattering, but Shane had no reason to be jealous of Craig. After the way they’d just been pawing at each other, she would think that would be pretty clear.
“Let me talk to him for a minute. I’m sure he just wants to make sure I’m okay.”
Shane’s eyes didn’t leave her face; his hands did not relinquish their hold. “Please,” she pleaded, imagining Craig readying his key just outside the door, not wanting him to burst in and see her up on the counter or Shane with his shirt hanging open. Given their brief, heated exchange the day before, Craig would probably hit the roof.
Eventually Craig was going to have to accept the fact that Lacie was involved with Shane, but it didn’t have to be this morning. She didn’t want to deal with his overzealous, overprotective tantrums at that moment. No, the best thing she could do was reassure Craig that she was just fine, send him home, and figure out a way to deal with everything else later.
“Just give me a minute, okay?”
Shane nodded, but his expression remained carefully neutral. Without another word, he stepped back. A chill settled over her; Lacie had to resist the urge to pull him right back to her.
“I’ll be right here if you need me,” he said, kissing her nose before walking away, disappearing into her bedroom to give her some privacy. Judging by the way his eyes had gone cold and the too-even tone of his voice, he wasn’t happy about it, but she appreciated the fact that he trusted her enough to handle the situation. Bonus points for him.
Craig was inserting his key into the lock when Lacie made it to the door and swung it open. Without waiting to be invited in, Craig pushed right past her.