“Do you think it might be him?”
I shook my head. Cory seemed content to run me out of town. I doubted he’d come after me.
“Okay then. Let’s assume it was whoever’s been orchestrating the break-ins around town. I’m pretty sure they won’t be back tonight. Do you have any security cameras around here?”
“No.” I kept my gaze trained on my glass, refusing to look at him.
“I’m sure one of the guys at the club has something I can set up to keep an eye on things.”
“What club?”
“I’m in an MC. We make a habit of looking out for our neighbors and the other folks around Mustang Mountain.”
“Even the ones whose goats eat your motorcycle seat?” I risked a glance at his face.
Shaw’s features softened and his lips curled into an almost-smile. It was probably the closest I’d ever see him get. “Even those. Think you’ll be okay the rest of the night?”
Fear wrapped around my chest, tightening its cold grip until I could barely suck in a breath.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I lied. There was absolutely no chance of me falling asleep. Not with the threat of strangers spying on me, just waiting to break in.
“Do you want me to stay for a while?” He relaxed against the back of his chair. “Caden’s out of town, so I was just watching a movie when I got your text. If you want, I can hang out here for a bit and make sure nothing else happens.”
“That would be okay with me if it would make you feel better,” I said.
“Yeah, okay, if that’s the way you want to frame it. Sure would make me feel better about things if you let me hang out on your couch for a bit.” He arched one brow. “How does that sound?”
“I suppose that would be okay.” Grateful, but unwilling to show it, I pushed back from the table but held onto my glass. Spending the evening with him would take all the courage I could muster, especially the liquid kind. “If you want to move to the couch, I’ll see if I can find a movie we can agree on.”
He got up, his broad, bare chest filling my vision. “Lead the way.”
CHAPTER 7
SHAW
My cock had been hard as a fucking steel pipe for the past half hour. Being this close to Eden was the worst form of torture. She’d fallen asleep as soon as the movie started and had somehow slid down the couch, so her head rested between my chest and my crotch. I didn’t dare move because I didn’t want to wake her, but damn, I’d never spent so many days in a row with blue balls.
I couldn’t even focus on the movie—some chick flick she’d picked out. There had to be something else on that would provide a distraction. I reached for the remote and flipped through a few of the channels. Leroy had never gotten around to getting rid of satellite, so instead of a full on-demand catalog to choose from, I was limited to whatever happened to be playing.
Images flipped past as I surfed through the channels. No horror. No NASCAR. No hunting shows. I finally settled on the opening credits to some movie I didn’t recognize. No telling how long Eden would sleep. With my luck, I’d end up on her couch all night long. I set the remote down on the cushion next to me and stretched to see if I could get my hand on my drink. The remote slid off the cushion and onto the floor, but at least I got my glass. I downed the last bit of whiskey as the opening scene played across the screen.
It didn’t take long to figure out what movie I’d settled on. As soon as the main character introduced himself as Christian Grey, I knew I was fucked. There was no way I’d be able to sit through Fifty Shades of Grey with Eden Sugarman’s mouth so close to my cock. I stretched out my fingers, trying to reach the remote. It wasn’t happening.
My options were limited: either suck it up and try to zone out as two characters had kinky sex on the nineteen-inch Toshiba, or take my chances on waking Eden when I made a grab for the remote. A third option popped into my head, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to entertain it. Maybe I could get one of my MC brothers to come up and rescue me. As soon as that thought entered my head, I shot it down. I’d never hear the end of it if one of them had to save me from myself in a situation like this.
I stared at the ceiling, at the hand-carved cuckoo clock on the far wall—anything to keep from letting my gaze rest on the screen. Forty-five minutes later, I’d had about all I could take. The two people on the tiny screen collapsed on the bed, their bodies entwined.
Eden moved, her head sliding down even farther to rest on my lap. She mumbled something too soft for me to hear, then tucked her hand under her cheek, brushing my cock in the process.
I jumped up like she’d just lit a fire in my crotch. She startled awake, landing halfway on the couch, halfway on the floor. Sleep clouded her eyes as she switched her gaze from me to the TV and back again.
“What are you watching?”
“Hold on a sec.” I scrambled for the remote but accidentally kicked it under the couch instead.
“Are you watching porn?” She squinted at me as she dragged herself to her feet.
“No. This came on and I dropped the remote. I couldn’t reach it and didn’t want to wake you up. Dammit, where did it go?” I got down on my knees and peered under the couch, desperate to stop the moaning and groaning coming from the TV.
The noise came to an abrupt halt. I looked over to see Eden standing in front of the now dark television. Thank fuck. As casually as I could with a full-blown hard-on raging out of control in my loose sweats, I got to my knees. The coffee table provided a much-appreciated shield.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” She tugged her hair free from the clip she’d been wearing. It floated around her shoulders, temporarily distracting me from my issue.
“You were tired.”
“Yeah, but I’m surprised I fell asleep that easily, especially with what happened tonight.” She picked up the empty glasses and carried them to the kitchen. “Can I offer you anything else?”
What a loaded question. There was so much she could offer me, so much I wanted from her. “Um, I’m good.”
I shifted onto the couch and covered my crotch with a pillow. There was no way I could stand up without her getting an eyeful. I needed a few minutes to convince my cock to disengage, at least until I got home.
“While you’re here, I should put some more of that liniment on your shoulder.” She came back into the living room with another metal tin.
“That’s okay. It’s fine. Much better than it was the other night.” I couldn’t handle her touching me right now.
“Don’t be silly. Turn around.” She scooped some of the cream onto her fingers and sat next to me.
With no other choice, I twisted my torso. “If you insist.”
“I do. You might not want to admit it, but I know it works wonders.” Her palm smoothed over my shoulder.
Any part of me that wasn’t already boiling with desire heated under her touch. “Eden, don’t.”
“Don’t what?” She continued to rub, her hand making small circles under my right shoulder blade.
I couldn’t take it. Turning around, I faced her. She hadn’t had a chance to move her hand, so it slid across my arm and landed on my pec. My nipples were already hard, just like the rest of me.