“We have a problem,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“You have on more clothes than I do.” Shay let go and fell backward onto the bed creating space between them. Space that let her reach up and work the buttons free on Colin’s shirt. She tugged at the free edges.
He flashed her a grin, then pulled the shirt the rest of the way off. She tugged at his fly until he landed on top of her, bringing them skin-to-skin contact. “This is better, but not quite there yet.”
He planted his hands on both sides and lifted off her, taking away the warmth from his body. Instinctively Shay reached for him, but he’d already dipped his head and started kissing his way down her body. He tugged at the dress and cursed when it didn’t budge.
“Zipper,” she said rolling over.
Within seconds that roadblock was disposed of and he slipped the material down, sampling every inch of exposed skin. When she was free of the dress he sat back and looked his fill.
“Is that skull and crossbones on your underwear?” he asked.
“They were a good-luck gift from Lydia when she found out about my move here.”
“They’ve clearly brought me luck because X marks the spot and I’m about to enjoy my treasure.”
Shay didn’t know about Colin, but she certainly did enjoy it when his fingers slid into her, followed by his tongue. She grabbed the bedcovers and let the sensations Colin was producing sweep over her body. Sheer bliss slammed through her, as muscles tightened and pressure built. She released the blanket and reached for Colin, digging her fingers into his hair. The first wave of pleasure hit and she called out his name. He kissed her thigh and stood up.
He looked around and Shay thought he was looking for his shirt. What? Wait, they couldn’t be done. She saw him pat his back pocket, grin and then toss a foil packet next to her on the bed. In one smooth move he was pushing down his jeans and boxer-briefs, but before Shay could enjoy the view he spun around and fell on the floor.
She sat up and looked over the edge of the bed. “You okay?”
“Yep.” He was flat on his back. “I forgot to take off my shoes first. My pants got stuck and then twisted and I tripped.”
She laughed. Probably not the best time, but hey, sex was supposed to be fun. Colin joined her and a few moments later he had his pants, briefs and shoes off and had climbed back up onto the bed to loom over her on his hands and knees.
Glancing down, she gave a low catcall whistle. “Quite the impressive manstick you’ve got there, Mr. Mackay.”
Colin lost it. He busted out laughing, rolling onto the bed next to her and covering his face with one hand. The other snaked around her and pulled her into his chest. “I’ve missed this, laughing at the silliest moments with you. Being able to just be myself and not worry about everything being perfect.”
“But it is perfect, because it’s us, Colin, and life without laughter isn’t a life at all.”
He scooted over so he could lean on one elbow and look at her. “You’ve said that to me before, about laughter and life. It was the first night I met you at the frat party. You had me right then.”
“And then I let you go and we lost all these years.”
“Don’t think of them as lost, think of them as time spent working on ourselves so we’d be ready for now.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead, before running his thumb across her cheek.
“What are you saying, Colin?” She turned her head into his hand and kissed it, hoping to get things back on track. Sex she could handle. Sex she was ready for. More than ready. A discussion about their future? It was too soon to go there. Even though it was everything she wanted.
“I’m ready, Shay—”
“Well, it’s about time, because my lady parts were thinking they’d never get to meet your manstick at this rate.” She reached for him. Trailed a finger down the length of him and grinned as he nudged her legs apart with his knee.
She’d seen the flash of shock on his face when she’d changed the subject. Had she not known Colin the way she did, she would have missed it. He’d been about to go there. . .to the future, their future. To dreams and plans she’d let go of a long time ago when he’d walked out their door without so much as a good-bye. She’d held on for a while. After all, they were young and in love and nothing could get between them. Then a month had passed and another and another and with each passing day those delusions of how things should be slipped away.
And while she was ready to let Colin back into her life and bed, she didn’t know if she was ready to risk another heartache.
Instead of thinking of the past or the future, she decided to lose herself in the present and focus on the pleasure and not the emotions. And afterward, when Colin had sated her every desire and left her body limp with exhaustion, she tried not to notice the chill in the air, which had nothing to do with air conditioners or ghosts.
Chapter 8
It had taken Colin another week and half to find a time in everyone’s schedule to revisit Mrs. O’Malley’s place for another team investigation, and then it had only been that afternoon that they’d finalized the plans. The only one missing was Shay, which made the guys happy but ate at his conscience.
He didn’t want to keep it from her. Sometimes things moved quickly and there had been no point mentioning it before he knew for sure they were going. If it weren’t for the large, evening wedding that needed Shay’s skills in corralling munchkins, he would have told her. At least that was the story he kept telling himself.
Hopefully when he did—tomorrow—she’d understand.
Or she’d send him to the afterlife.
As it was, he wasn’t completely sure he knew where they stood. When they were at the zoo, he would have sworn on his mother’s grave—if she were dead—that they both wanted the same thing. Then at her cottage she’d made it clear it was all fun and games and sex. Not that he had anything against an easy affair. What guy did?
But he was ready to put those days behind him and there was only one woman for him. He just needed to convince Shay he was the man she wanted.
“Hey, Colin. Can you check camera three?” PJ’s voice came over the two-way radio. “It’s gone black on the monitor.”
“Will do.”
Colin stepped into Shay’s former room and flipped on the overhead light to find the camera he’d placed and secured earlier now lying face down on the dresser. He looked around the room to see if anything else was out of place. He did a quick check of the temperature in the room and came up with nothing unusual. The readings on the chair in the corner were ten degrees cooler, but when he checked it a second time, they were almost the same as the rest of the room. Strange.
He replaced the camera and set a small wooden block under the front to hold it steady, not that it could have fallen down on its own. PJ confirmed he could see the room again.
“Keep an eye on that monitor.” He stepped back into the hall, closed his eyes, and let his other senses rule. If there was a ghost in the house, he planned to catch indisputable proof once and for all. Proof he could share with the team. He needed to, for Shay, for Mrs. O’Malley, but most of all for himself.