Betrayal of the Dove

Chapter Nine



A week of nightly picnics in the back of Shane’s truck and Alyssa felt like she was in the most heavenly relationship ever. He was a gentleman, and gracious. Their conversations ranged from frivolous facts about why she didn’t like certain fashion trends, to deep seated political, religious, ethical and moral topics. She was surprised to find they were on the same page with a lot of the topics. There were some disagreements, but as she had said, no two people would ever be one hundred percent the same—not even on beliefs. They were on the same page where it counted, and able to agree to disagree on the ones that they weren’t. She liked this man, maybe even loved him, and something about that scared her.

She was taking it slow—as slow as possible, because she didn’t want to get hurt, not like she had the last time. She couldn’t risk her heart like that, but somewhere in that line of thinking she realized if Shane walked away today she would still feel the pain.

“These are the best dates ever,” she looked up at the star filled sky. They had sat out there and watched sunset; had their dinner and then Shane put the basket in the truck. Instead of going back to the main house they stayed out in the open field and sat in the back of the truck watching the sky and talking.

“I thought most women like to go out to eat, or go to some jazzy club or something.”

She looked at him, “I’m not most women. I like the simple things. A good home cooked meal, great conversation, and a relaxed atmosphere goes a long way with me.”

“I see that,” he smiled. “You’re a good cook too. Those Panini sandwiches you brought yesterday were delicious.”

“Thanks. I do like to cook when I can. You’re pretty good yourself,” she nudged his shoulder with her shoulder. “When did you find time to learn to cook?”

He laughed. “I wasn’t always military,” he took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. “I learned young. I learned some more from friends and the rest I just picked up on my own. If you know how to follow directions you can learn how to cook anything.”

“True,” she nodded. “My mother taught all of us; even the boys. She said there was no way her boys were going to grow up not knowing how to cook and feeling obligated to marry the first woman who came along just because she could. She made sure we all learned enough to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and deserts. Thomas is probably the better dinner cook. I have lunch down to a science. Gavin’s more of your breakfast guy, and Eve beats all of us. That woman could have been a chef. I don’t think there’s anything she can’t cook or bake.”

“The two of you are close.”

“Yes we are. We’re the only girls so I guess maybe we latched on to each other for that reason, but maybe it was more than that. She’s so easy to love. There’s no malice in her anywhere and that innocence is just something that draws everybody to her.”

“I don’t have any siblings,” he confided in her. “I always wondered what it would be like if I did.”

“Hmm,” she smiled. “Pillow fights. Building snow castles, arguing over who gets the bathroom first in the morning,” she laughed. “Knowing no matter what happens in the world you have good people who have your back…and family dinners that were a riot to be at.” She laughed. “Although not all families are that lucky. Some siblings aren’t ever going to get along. Having the same blood doesn’t equate to liking or loving each other.”

“Don’t I know it,” he said in a tone that told her he was speaking from experience.

“Tell me about your family, Shane.”

“I’d rather hear more about yours and those pillow fights,” he swiftly changed the subject and started tickling her. She squirmed and hooted with laughter. She tried to get away from his roaming hands. He was relentless in his fun loving attack.

“Stop, stop,” she cried with laughter. “Don’t change the subject,” she said when he finally stopped tickling her long enough for her to catch her breath.

“But I’d much rather do this,” he leaned down to kiss her. One kiss took them from zero to one thousand in less than thirty seconds. He removed her blouse, then her bra before unbuttoning her pants. And what pleased him most was that she hadn’t stopped him, that she hadn’t pushed his hand away from her body. He had wanted to touch her for so long, and now he was going to touch his fill.

“Are you going to continue to tease me all night, Shane?” Alyssa’s voice started off with a playful teasing of her own until Shane’s fingers traced a feather line down her stomach, causing her to moan with satisfaction. “Oh yes, please don’t stop there,” she moaned as his hands eased lower, playing with her navel before disappearing between her legs.

He was drawing it out and torturing her. She wanted him so much she thought she might go mad waiting for the moment his touch seemed to promise awaited her. Instead of giving her what she craved he just kept kissing her, stroking her gently with his fingers against her. “Please,” she clutched his hand, trying to get him to take her all the way.

“Uh, uh,” he shook his head, removed his fingers from where they played and then gathered her wrists into his big hands before pinning them above her head with one hand. She saw the twinkle in his eyes; that glint of sheer, unadulterated appreciation. He liked what he saw and she could see that.

He ran his free hand over her breast letting his index finger circle the delicate skin. “You’re perfect everywhere.” His voice was low and laced with sexual embers that sent shivers up her spine. Perfect and smooth,” he growled as he lowered his head and slid his tongue along her breast before closing his mouth over it and sucking gently. She screamed his name; her hips arching off the bed of the truck with need. He chuckled low in his throat. “Like that did you?”

“You know I did,” she said stubbornly. She was wound so tight right now that she thought she might break if he didn’t get inside of her soon.

“Good to know,” he slid his tongue over her nipple before repeating the action that had made her scream his name. She withered beneath him. Her body wanted his touch, wanted him, but he was drawing it out, drawing her out.

He slid his hand lower, slipping it between her legs and playing with her some more as he kissed and sucked on her body in all the right places. He slipped one finger inside of her and growled with satisfaction. “You are so hot and wet for me, baby.” He looked up into her eyes and smiled. His eyes were deeper in color, laced with his sexual desire for her and yet he was still fully clothed while she lay naked in the cab of his truck underneath the stars.

“Stop teasing me and take me,” she said.

“I would, baby, but I didn’t bring any condoms with me. I didn’t think we were going to get this far tonight,” he licked her stomach before letting his tongue play with her belly button. “But just because I have to wait, doesn’t mean you have to.” He slipped another finger inside of her, stroking her, playing with her slow then fast, soft, then hard. She arched beneath him, her eyes glued to the sky above as he masterfully played with her body. She watched the twinkle of lights in the sky as he took her to the heights of pleasure and pushed her beyond. She remembered begging for more; pleading for release and then when he gave it to her she called out his name, over and over again, wishing it was more than his fingers inside of her. She knew he had done the responsible thing, waiting since they didn’t have protection. It spoke volumes for his character that he hadn’t assumed she would let him go there tonight. He hadn’t come prepared for sex. It also told her a lot about the man. He was restrained enough to wait.

When she came down off her orgasmic high she looked in his eyes. The smile that curved his lips told her he was thrilled with his victory. He released her wrists and she slid her hand down his body. “Let me,” she let her fingers go to the zipper of his jeans, but he stopped her.

“When I come it’s going to be inside you, not in your hand.” He leaned down and kissed her on her neck, sucking hard enough to leave his passion mark behind.

“Marking me as yours are you?”

“I’ve left my mark everywhere else,” he grinned. “Well, maybe not everywhere.” He looked at her thighs.

“Oh no,” she pushed her hand against his shoulder to keep him from moving. “You are not going down there.”

He laughed. “Yes I am,” he said and he did just that, kissing his way down her body to the juncture between her legs where he proceeded to rectify the neglected areas of her body. One touch from the man and all she could do was lay back and take what he had to offer.

Nevin had watched them through his binoculars. “She’s pretty,” he mumbled. “They always did get all the ladies,” he nearly growled. Just because they were elite members of some mysterious team people liked them, respected them, and the ladies seemed to go crazy over them. He was never allowed on the inside of their team and now they, every single last one of the bastards who had kept him out in the cold was going to pay. Killing Rick had been pure luck the way he saw it. He was in Texas to kill Larry when he found out the man was on a six month fishing trip with his son. He had been disappointed in the loss of one kill opportunity and was getting ready to leave for his next one when he stopped at the gas station to get a case of beer. That’s when he saw Rick walk in to grab some snacks for his little boy. His wife had a baby in her arms and he heard her say something about them needing this vacation because he worked too hard. Nevin stayed in the shadows and when the coast was clear he went out to his beat-up Ram and followed the vacationing couple to their hotel. He made preparations. He was going to go inside and take out all of them, maybe even clip Rick in both knee caps so he couldn’t move while he made him watch him kill his wife and kids. He had waited for the prime opportunity to get inside unnoticed, but then he saw Rick come outside. He waited two days, making preparations for a way inside when luck decided to be on his side. The bastard had returned to his car at night and Nevin took the opportunity to take the kill shot. He wanted him to know. This time he wanted to see the face of the man who knew he was about to die. He didn’t get that reward with the first one, but with the second one it was oh so sweet.

Now, he was here, watching Shane Maxwell. Mr. Shane Maxwell, damn Captain in the damn Navy elite Dove Team. He was going to be the kill Nevin took his time with. He wanted to torture him first, make him watch things disappear. Maybe he should watch her disappear, knowing he couldn’t save her. He had kicked the idea around in his head for a while as he watched them, kissing and stripping out on Shane’s property. He liked the ranch because it was nearly surrounded by mountains and it left a lot of space where he could hide off the man’s secure property while he watched certain areas and plotted his attack. Shane was always the security expert. Nevin would have been surprised if his ranch wasn’t a virtual fortress. He needed to find a way in, one that wouldn’t set off any alarms, but he was going to need time to do that.

He was a sharpshooter. He could shoot them both dead right now with the right weapon, but there was no fun in that. No, he was going to savor this kill. He was going to season it with all the right spices, a little fear, a lot of heartache and then, the final kill for the man who had been one of the reasons he didn’t make the team. He was going to enjoy this.

He thought about what he had just seen, how beautiful the woman was and he shifted and growled as he peered through the binoculars at her still naked body. “Sweet Jesus,” he mumbled as he watched from above. She had a body worth tasting and Shane seemed to be enjoying every inch of it. The expressions on her face when she came were of sheer ecstasy and he couldn’t stop watching her. He adjusted his body just enough to unzip his pants and release his erection, but not enough to take his eyes of the beautiful body in the cab of the truck with Shane. “Damn,” he growled. “That is f*cking hot.”

Shane had managed to put his hands everywhere on her body, including inside her jeans—jeans that he had quickly removed. When Nevin saw the panties come off too he was glad he had taken up watch where he had. Shane had shifted enough to give him a fabulous view of her private area. “Givin’ it up to a SEAL, huh, darlin’. But I bet you wouldn’t give it up to me; would you? I bet you’d put your nose up in the air just like them.” He had said those words in anger as he watched them. He let one hand slide down to his throbbing sex. “Enjoy it while it last, Shane. Because you don’t have too many more peaceful nights left.

Tomorrow he would plot his entry into Shane’s home. He didn’t know how yet, but he would get in. He would find a way to show him that not even he, the Great Shane Maxwell, could beat Nevin DuPont.

Alyssa managed to get her pants on, but she had to borrow Shane’s button down shirt because he had thrown her shirt down on the ground. There was no way that she was going to go in search of it in the dark in the Arizona desert where a scorpion or a rattler might have already found a home in her discarded clothes. They watched the sky a little while longer until she fell asleep in his arms. She wasn’t sure what time he had gone to sleep because she was sure he was still wide awake when she started dozing off. The sun cresting over the mountainous valley awakened her was. “Oh my goodness,” she nearly squealed. Shane mumbled something as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. It didn’t take long for awareness to be etched on his face. The man was too good at waking up without hesitation. She gathered that had a lot to do with his former career. Sleeping soundly could get a man killed in his line of work.

“I’m going to be late,” she fidgeted around the truck, looking for the hairclip that Shane had pulled from her hair last night. He liked her hair loose and flowing. He seemed to like running his fingers through it. She liked it when he did it too. There was something comforting and relaxing about having him stroke his big fingers through her hair. Suddenly she had acute awareness of what else those big fingers had stroked just hours earlier.

“Relax,” he said. “You’ll be on time. It’s not even seven o’clock yet.” Shane had a point; the sun was rising earlier so it wasn’t really as late as it felt. But, she also knew what she needed to do before she could open the store. She had to take her shower, change her clothes, and take the new pieces down to the store. She would have taken those down last night, but she was out on a date with the sexiest man in her Arizonan world.

“I have to set up the new pieces in the store this morning,” she told him as she scrambled to get down from the truck. He placed one big hand on her ankle and pulled her backwards. She yelped. “What are you doing you crazy man!?”

He simply laughed. “Saving you from getting down in the dirt barefooted. In case you forgot, you left your shoes in my truck…and, there might be some scorpions waking up down there as well.”

“Oh,” she nodded. “You have a point. Unfortunately, you threw my shirt down there.”

He shrugged. “I’ll shake it out after I get you in the truck.”

“I am not putting that thing back on until it’s spent a few rounds in the washing machine. I hope you have an extra shirt in your duffle bag there because you’re not getting this one back.” He wasn’t going to get it back ever. She liked the way it felt on her body, it was like being wrapped in Shane Maxwell and she wanted to take this baby home and sleep in it every night.

He jumped down off the truck before walking over to her side and stretching his arms out for her. She smiled at him, willingly reaching out to him and letting him lift her out of the truck and into his arms. After he set her down inside she put her shoes back on while he wrapped the blankets up. When he started the engine she assumed he was taking her home, but he hadn’t—at least not to her home.

“Um…” she looked at him, puzzled. She really did have to get back to the store. Then again, maybe he didn’t want to deal with the waste in gas on making several trips. He needed to get ready for the day ahead of them too.

“I’m going to show you my place,” he took her hand in his. “Then I’m going to shower. Then I’ll take you back to your store.”

She followed him willingly. His home was beautiful. He had land, space that she wished she had herself, and the actual ranch style structure was gorgeous. He kept it groomed on the outside and meticulously neat on the inside. “Do you spend a lot of time here?” She laughed.

“I run a tight ship,” he said. “I like things in their place.”

“See, we could never live together. I always hang my underwear in the bathroom to dry and that would probably drive you crazy.” She wasn’t sure why she had mentioned living together. Several dates and a phenomenal orgasm did not equate to moving in status.

“I’ve seen your underwear,” he grinned. “And trust me; having those hanging around the bathroom wouldn’t bother me.”

“Really?” She asked skeptically. “I think it would drive you crazy.”

He shook his head no. “Knowing what you like to wear under your clothes, having your underwear hanging in my bathroom will just enhance the fantasy of what you might be wearing when I get you out of your top clothing articles.”

She laughed and gently nudged his shoulder with her own. “You can get me out of my clothes anytime you want, sailor.” She said in a classic old Hollywood vivacious vixen voice before winking at him. He leaned in, placing one tender kiss on the side of her neck and said, “I’ll have to remember that.”

“How about now?”

“I don’t have any condoms in here either.”

She nodded. “You should buy some. I don’t know your size or I’d buy them for you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Baby, I can show you the package right now if you want to know what you’re getting.”

“You show me now and I might just have to take what I want. So I think we’d better save the show and tell for another time.”

“Show and use, baby,” he grinned. “I’ll let my boy make his own impression in you.”

She shivered just thinking about his words. When he was holding her in his arms she could feel his erection and she knew whatever the package was it was going to be something well worth waiting for. “Go take your shower,” she laughed. “I’ll wait right here.” She pointed downward to the spot she was standing in. He had shown her around the downstairs enough for her to see that his entertainment room was large enough for a small social party. The hardwood floors were a deep cherry in color and the walls were nice shades of pale blue and ivory in most of the downstairs rooms. The kitchen looked as if it belonged to a gourmet chef with stainless steel appliances, two wall unit ovens and a dark wood crescent shaped island in the center that had a marble top. She could get lost in a kitchen like that. The kitchen was the only room, thus far that had granite tile flooring, everything else was hard wood. She imagined he probably made the switch so that any spills wouldn’t tarnish the floor like it would a wood floor. He had great taste and his home was amazing. All the times they had spent the night having dinner on his property she hadn’t gone inside his home. She had waited in the truck while he picked up the meal they were planning to eat. And when it was her turn to bring dinner she had picked that up from her place before they even left. Shane had always insisted on driving, which meant he always had to take her home, except last night, and the first night, where she had slept under the star blanketed sky with him. This was the first time she was seeing the inside of the place he lived in and she liked it a lot.

“Make yourself at home.” He said before rubbing her shoulder and leaving her standing in the quaint after dinner room. It was the kind of room a person could retire to, curl up in the big leather recliner near the fire place and read a book before bed.

She ran her fingers over the intricately designed cobblestone fireplace. She loved design and detail and right now the design of his home was inspiring some ideas for new jewelry pieces. She wished she could spend the entire day up in her place making new designs, but she couldn’t. She had to work today. She could, however, sketch the designs out while she had some down time in the store. The lull between customers would be the perfect time to sketch out a few pieces. Of course she knew the lull in activity would be few and far in between today.

“Why wait?” She mumbled before reaching into her purse and pulling out a small notebook that she carried with her. It wasn’t exactly sketchpad material, but paper was paper. She pulled out a pen, because she didn’t have a pencil with her, and she sat down in that big leather chair and started sketching her designs. Some were inspired by his place, some by the meteor shower they watched on their first date, and some by the things that happened beneath the darkened sky last night. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she hadn’t even heard him come into the room. She hadn’t even realized it had been that long until he broke the silence when he asked, “are you ready to go now?” She wasn’t ready to go, but she knew they had to.

“Sure,” she said, grabbing her purse and putting her notepad back inside. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight at my place?”

“I can’t,” he said. Was she misreading him? She thought he was still interested, but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was looking for an easy way to let her down. “Leo’s coming in tonight so I’m going to pick him up from the airport. He hasn’t found a car worth renting yet,” he shook his head and laughed.

“I thought he wasn’t due in for another week or so.”

He shrugged. “I had a voicemail on my phone from him. He’s getting in tonight. I could kick his butt for making me have to turn down a perfectly good invitation for dinner with a beautiful woman.”

She smiled. “There will be other dinners,” she said. “Bring him by the store in the morning. I’d love to meet him.”

He nodded. “Just so long as we have one thing clear before then.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re mine.” Alyssa looked at him, totally floored by that proclamation of ownership. “At least I want you to be. And Leo, well he’s like a Hawaiian-Japanese god or something and I don’t want you to fall for him.”

She understood now where his head was. He wanted a serious relationship with her and he was afraid she would take one look at Leo and fall for him. She wouldn’t do that. After what they shared last night she couldn’t imagine being with anybody else. It wasn’t just the orgasm he gave her, it was the conversation, the way he freely opened up to her as much as he could. There was vulnerability in him last night that she found alluring and sexy, and it made her connect to him in a way she didn’t think she would allow herself to connect to anybody else. Her heart had already latched on to this man and there was no turning back.

“I wouldn’t ditch you for your friend, Shane. I…” she tried to think of the right words. Saying she loved him would be too quick, or at least she thought he might feel that way, but what she felt, what she thought she felt, was stronger than like and lust—it was love. “I really care about you. I wouldn’t hurt you.”

He smiled. “Well, if you and Leo hit it off then I’d step aside.” He stopped abruptly. “What the heck am I talking about?” He asked astonished at himself. “I’d kick his behind back to Hawaii. I would definitely fight for my woman, even if he can kill me without breaking a sweat.”

She laughed. “Now, now…no fighting. You already have me. Trust me; I’m yours. And I hope that you’re mine too. I’d like for us to belong to each other.”

He approached her in a smooth even gait and pulled her into his arms. “We do,” he assured her before squeezing her closer to him. She loved the feel of him, of his body pressed against hers, of his arms wrapped around her. She didn’t want to move from that spot, but she knew they had to. She had to get home and get ready for work. Oh, but come Sunday, raining or not, she was going to spend the day in bed with that man. His friend would just have to take in the Arizona charm on his own that day because she and Shane had some unfinished business to see to, and she planned to spend the entire day getting to know every curve, every hardened muscle and every scar on his body. Inside and out, she wanted to know the infinite depth of Shane Maxwell.

They pulled into Shane’s parking space and they both got out of the truck. He wasn’t thrilled that she hadn’t waited for him to open the door. “I can get my own door,” she had said. “I’m getting out and I don’t have to wait for you to open what I can open.” She had noticed his very chivalrous demeanor. He had opened the door for her getting in, and that was sweet and definitely scored points in her book, but getting out wasn’t an activity that she expected him to help her with. He didn’t need to jog around to the other side of the truck just to open a door she could open herself. They were almost to her door when Shane stiffened and stopped her from walking. “What’s wrong?”

“Shh,” he said without thought as if she were one of his men serving under him on the battlefield. He slid his hand back and lifted his un-tucked shirttails exposing the gun tucked between his jeans and back. “Stay,” he ordered. She wasn’t a dog. She didn’t stay on command. She would have given him a piece of her mind on that fact except since he was reaching for a gun she was sure now would not be the time to discuss all the ways he shouldn’t talk to her.

Craig surfaced from around the corner, causing her to relax, but not Shane. She patted his shoulder and he removed his hand from his weapon. She was still wearing Shane’s shirt so she was sure that look of disapproval on Craig’s face had to do with what he thought had been going on last night.

“What are you doing back here?” She asked.

“There was another robbery last night,” he said. “Two shops down. I tried your backdoor bell this morning, but you didn’t answer.”

“I wasn’t home,” she said. She couldn’t believe how frequently the robberies were happening now. Before there was some time between them, now it just seemed uncontrolled; unstructured.

“I guess there’s no need to ask you about your alibi then,” Craig narrowed his eyes and glared at Shane as if he wanted to rip his head off, but thought better of it.

“He was with me,” she said. “Or more like I was with him.”

“All night?”

“All night,” she confirmed. “Why are you even looking into Shane? These robberies started long before he became my security guard.”

Craig shrugged. “Maybe they started so he could become your security guard,” he said caustically.

“Doubtful,” she said with measured hostility. “Shane didn’t even know me before he came to work for me. A mutual friend asked him to help me. Beyond that, if he had started the robberies so he could come work for me he wouldn’t need to keep doing it.” She felt her anger reaching the tipping point. It was one thing to be jealous. It was another thing to throw baseless accusations and try to ruin a good man’s name.

“Noted,” Craig said. “The robbery happened at the Icicle, two doors south of you so you might want to be more careful around here. It would seem things are getting closer to your store…a lot closer,” he mumbled before turning and walking away. She could tell he was still trying to find fault with Shane, but she wouldn’t let him blame these robberies on him just because he didn’t like that she and Shane were a couple now.

“Come on,” Shane put his hand on her low back and nudged her forward. She hadn’t realized she was still standing there frozen in place until Shane prompted her to move forward. Craig was getting out of hand, and she was quickly losing the patience she had been known for having.

“That man’s head is as thick as a cinder block,” she mumbled. “I just don’t think he gets it…even now.”

“He doesn’t,” Shane agreed. “Right now he thinks I’m coercing you into being with me. He doesn’t see, whether he can’t see it or he refuses to see it is another matter, but he doesn’t see that you’ve made your choice.”

“What do I do to get him to understand that?”

Shane shrugged. “You can’t reason with some people, Alyssa. Sometimes you just have to stay sharp and remain aware of your surroundings. People like that don’t give up, and sometimes they get violent.”

She knew the truth in that statement, even if she didn’t want to think about all the ways Craig could hurt her, she knew he could. She could fight—moderately anyway, so she figured she could hold her own with a guy who had basic self-defense training, but Craig was a cop. There were so many ways he could get back at her. He could, under the cover of his badge, make her life hell if he wanted to. “Oh good Lord,” she sighed. “Why do things always happen in triplicate?” Just when she thought she was getting things on track, Craig came along and threw another wrench into her engine. That man was going to be trouble and she knew it.