Take a Chance
He had been careful to give her space when they returned to the manor house. There was plenty for both of them to do and plenty of places to do it away from each other. By the time dinner rolled around late in the evening she'd calmed down enough to consider his offer. That kiss had blown her socks off; she'd be crazy not to see where it led. On the other hand though, the thought of losing him as a friend kept nagging at her. Allie, knowing when to press her advantage had dragged her off to town to shop. Now, looking in the mirror she had to admit that Allie may have a point when she said, 'clothes make the woman'. Clothes alone didn't complete her but the warm yellow-gold cashmere sweater Allie had convinced her to buy certainty helped. She left her hair long, pulled on her brown boots and went down the stairs to help finish dinner.
"Hey Dash, instead of just standing there, why don't you take down the wine glasses?" Allie asked
Dash grinned, "I'm not just 'standing here'. I'm giving Conrad a pep talk."
Allie tossed a look over her shoulder at the men, "You can do that while you get down the wine glasses."
"Your wish is my command." Dash wrapped his arms around her from behind and planted a kiss at the base of her neck. She turned in his arms, kissed him once and pushed him away, "Glasses are on the top shelf."
Dash sighed, "I know where they are."
Allie turned to Conrad, "She bought new clothes while we were out. One would assume she bought them in an effort to look nice for you. Make sure you compliment her."
"I was planning on doing that anyways."
"Good. She needs the practice. And make sure it's about her appearance-nothing work related."
Conrad chuckled, "Allie, she's not the first woman I've uh…"
"Tried to seduce?" Dash finished for him.
Conrad scowled, "I wasn't going to put it quite that way."
Allie grinned, "So long as she's the most important I-we-will help in any way we can."
"Thanks. I think I may just need some time alone with her."
"Well you've that, buddy." Dash said. "Our vacation is just beginning."
"Thank goodness for that!" Shana said, walking into the kitchen.
Conrad turned toward her, mouth widening in a smile at the sound of her voice. Stunned, his eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, his lungs ceased being able to draw breath.
Dash laughed, "Shut your mouth, buddy, you'll catch flies."
Allie looked down at the plates in front of her, biting her tongue in an effort not to laugh. Her friends were having a moment and while it was sweet it, seeing the two of them just looking at each other, temporarily at a loss for words was priceless!
Conrad recovered quickly and walked to her side, "You're beautiful."
She blushed slightly, "Thank you. You're not so bad looking yourself."
He laughed, brushing his arms down the soft sleeves of her sweater.
Dash moved next to Allie, neatly leaving Conrad alone with Shana. He kept a watch out of the corner of his eye while helping Allie dish food onto plates.
"Allie was about to send me after a bottle of wine. Would you like to come?"
"Sure."
They walked around the corner to the wine cellar door. He stopped, picking up a lock of her hair, "I was wrong earlier, you're gorgeous, not merely beautiful."
She brushed the pad of her thumb over his lips, "Thank you."
Reluctantly he turned from her to flip the light on so they could walk down to the cellar. She slipped her hand in his and walked down behind him.
Holding her hand just wasn't enough. He'd promised her he'd move slow but slow was going to kill him. Still he kept his touch light. At least until she shivered.
"It's really cold down here," she said, rubbing her hands together and pulling the sleeves over them.
"Come here," he opened his arms and she gladly snuggled against him.
"Ahh…you are so warm. It feels so good."
He rubbed his hands over her back, wondering how long he could keep her like this. The wine cellar in early Scottish spring wasn't exactly the most conducive spot to seduce someone who hated the cold. On the other hand, things weren't working out so bad at the moment.
She turned in his arms, her back to his chest, and surveyed the racks of wine in front of her, "did Allie say what kind of wine she wanted?"
"Nope-just wine."
"Not red wine or white wine?"
He chuckled against her ear, "No, she just said to go down to the cellar and fetch some wine for supper."
"What are we having?"
'I know what I'd like to have…' he thought. But he didn't say that out loud. That would send her out of his arms. "Whatever it is, it smelled good."
Shana laughed, "Anything edible smells good to you."
"You smell good, should I eat you?"
She leaned her head back against his chest and laughed, "It's much too cold down here to eat me."
"Well, I happen to know a spot that has a working fireplace. I even chopped wood this afternoon, thinking you might prefer that over peat."
"That was sweet, thank you."
"I'm a sweet guy."
She laughed, "Sweet isn't the first word I'd use to describe you."
He turned her around to face him, "What word would you use?"
She smiled, "I think I might keep that information to myself just a bit longer." She slowly slid out of his arms and walked toward the opposite rack of wine bottles. She pulled out a couple, made her selection, walked to another section of bottles and chose a second bottle.
"I guess Allie must have shown you around down here."
"Mm hmm. The day we arrived. We should go back up before they start dinner without us. I'd hate for you to miss supper. You wouldn't be good for anything on an empty stomach."
"We could grab dinner to go."
She smiled again, that playful smile that was driving him crazy, "Allie went to a lot of trouble to make a nice dinner. It would be rude to not to join her and Dash."
"I don't think they'd mind. We could skip dessert at least…"
And there was that smile again. She flashed that smile at him a few more times and he'd forget about his promise to go slowly. Flirting was one thing-taking her against a rack of cold wine bottles was something else entirely.
"Dessert is my favorite part of any meal."
He groaned, "Shana, you're killing me here…"
She laughed lightly, "You're a big, strong guy, and you need your strength…" And with that she turned and started back up the stairs.
"So much for slow!" he muttered under his breath.
Dinner continued in much the same fashion as their encounter in the wine cellar, the banter between them flowing freely, not as light as it had been previously.
Allie took a sip of her wine and watched her friends watching each other, "The wine is chilled perfectly. I'm surprised you weren't cold, Shana."
Shana smiled at Conrad as she replied, "I'll admit it was a bit chilly down there but Conrad kept me warm."
It took a monumental effort for Allie not to choke on her wine. This was certainly an entertaining side of her friend.
Conrad slid his foot to rest beside Shana's under the table. She responded by brushing his hand when she picked up her wine glass. "You should drink your wine, Conrad, after all the trouble we went through to get it."
"It wasn't any trouble at all," he managed to put a bit of disappointment in his voice.
She noticed and smiled, "Still, it is good wine."
"I have big plans for the evening. I'd like to remember them in the morning."
This time Dash choked on his wine. He looked at Allie and found her trying not to laugh. He wondered if now would be a good time to go after dessert, and not come back.
Her phone rang, interrupting the light banter she and Conrad were exchanging, "Hey, Sean, how's Atlanta?" Her smile immediately faded, "What do you mean you 'messed up big time'? Wait, just wait a minute, give me a second to find somewhere private."
Conrad gripped his glass a little too tightly as he watched Shana's playful mood evaporate and her body stiffen. Her brother Sean had the worst timing. It wasn't apparently good enough that he mess up his own, could be perfect love life if he'd just grow up, but now the idiot was going to mess up his sister's love life before it got started.
Allie looked at him with concern, "Do you think he's in trouble again?"
"Sean? Yeah, and he's running to Shana again expecting her to make it right."
"Aren't all of her brothers older than she is?" Dash asked, curious.
"Yeah, Sean's only about a year older and for some reason decided long ago that Shana had the power to fix his mistakes. At least the mistakes he makes with his love life."
"Why?"
Allie sighed, "Sean is dating Shana's best friend back home and has been off and on since high school. She gets ready to commit, he buys the ring, and before he works up the nerve to propose his eye wanders."
Conrad picked up the tale, "And where his eye wanders his hands aren't that far behind."
Dash nodded, "Hence your lady's skittishness."
"Exactly."
They waited in silence for a few more minutes before Conrad went to check on her.
She didn't turn his way or acknowledge his presence when he entered the room. She kept looking out the window, at the rain that had started not long before dinner.
"Hi." He came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders to comfort her. She wouldn't have it. She moved out of him embrace, "I'm fine."
He let out a sarcastic bark of laughter, "Yeah, right, I can see that."
She cast him a dark glare, "Why don't you go finish your dinner."
"Why don't you come with me?"
"I'm not hungry right now."
"Funny, neither am I. What did he do this time?"
She swallowed a retort, "He is my brother you know."
"He also causes you a lot of heartache. He needs to grow up."
"Ash took a risk, she proposed this time. He said yes, they celebrated, privately. He woke up with cold feet and took off. Ash found him late last evening at a friend's bachelor party, being serviced by a woman Ash and I don't particularly like. It added insult to injury. I don't know if he can work his way back from this one."
"Are you going to let your brother's poor choices impact our relationship?"
"You're a good friend, Conrad, but I don't think I want anything more than that right now."
"You don't 'think' you do?"
"It wouldn't last long anyway; these things never do."
"What things? Relationships?"
She whirled to face him, "Flings, affairs, two people going to bed with a bad case of lust! It's a bad idea! It's a stupid idea!"
He joined her by the window, "And if it's not just lust?" he asked softly, compelling her to look at him. He paused for a second, "I'm not Sean and you're not Ashlynn. I'm not looking for a fling."
"But what if it is just lust?"
"Why don't we find out?" His eyes were smoky with desire; he traced her face, outlining her lips with the pad of his thumb. He bent his head slowly and used his mouth to follow the path his thumb had traced over her lips, his eyes still bright on hers when her eyes drifted closed. Begging entrance, she opened on a sigh and he slid his tongue in, tracing over hers, his lips moving slowly and heavily over hers his hand cupping her cheek, then sliding down to hold her loosely in his arms.
His heated mouth moved more heavily on hers, the tenor of the kiss deepening, becoming more possessive. She felt herself drift more deeply into his kiss. She shifted restlessly against him, trying to get closer as she slid her hand up to anchor in his short blond hair. He slide his hands down over her bottom, caressing, and pulling her hips closer to him; her hands fisting in his sweater, she leaned against him letting her tongue play with his. But it wasn't enough, not enough heat, not close enough, she needed more, she breathed in his earthy scent, she moved her hands to his back and tugged up his sweater, slipping her hands inside to roam over his muscled planes of his back.
He jumped at the touch of her slender fingers sliding over his back. He slid her pony tail out of her hair and ran his hands through her long red tresses. They broke the kiss briefly to come up for air, gulping it in desperately and quickly meshing their mouths again. When they came back together she wrapped one leg around his, allowing him to slide a knee between her legs.
"Hey guys desert is ready…" Flint trailed off.
Scarlett jumped away like she had been shocked by electric wire. "Oh, um, I'll uh be there in a few minutes…" She ran out the side door of the library, desperate to get away. She didn't stop running until she reached her room. She didn't even notice how frigid the air was. She crossed her arms in front of herself, putting her hands under her arms, "How could I have lost control like that? Didn't your conversation with Sean teach you anything?"
Back in the library Flint sheepishly ran his fingers through his hair, "Sorry man, I guess I'll knock next time."
Conrad sat down in one of deep leather reading chairs, "Yeah or just don't come looking for us in the first place." Conrad realized his tone with was too sharp, "Sorry, I didn't mean to lash into you."
"Yeah no problem, I understand. And next time we'll leave the two of you to dish it out on your own."
"She's just so damn wary!" he let out a frustrated sigh, running his hands over his face and through his hair.
Flint grinned, "And you spend how many summers on your uncle's horse farm? I think you can deal with one skittish mare…"
Flint left him to his thoughts. He poured himself a brandy. Apparently the former owners had decided the library was one of the few rooms in this decrepit place worth keeping up. The shelves still gleamed and the brandy decanter was still full. He poured himself a glass and sat back in his chair to develop battle plan C.
He wasn't surprised to find his room, specifically his bed, empty when he finally made his way up the stairs. He was however, pissed to find her half frozen in her own bed. He sighed, "My bed is actually big enough for the two of us to sleep and not touch each other."
"Still a bad idea," she said, her reply coming through chattering teeth.
He snorted, "Whatever. I'm not in the mood to argue." He picked her up, blankets and all and deposited her in his bed. He grabbed one of the too many to count blankets and settled in the chair next to the fire.
She fell asleep feeling warm but guilty, scared and foolish. There were too many emotions she wasn't used to experiencing running around in her head right now. Conrad had made his choice. She wouldn't fight him if he slipped under the covers but her pride wouldn't allow her to invite him. He was gone when she woke up in the morning. He'd lit a fire and had even gone so far as to put her robe over the chair to warm. She sighed, "Guilt trips are so not fun."
Allie was lying in wait for her when she worked up the courage to come downstairs. "Good morning."
"Morning."
"Coffee's hot. You missed breakfast but we saved you some pancakes. They might still be warm."
"Um, thanks."
"Just in case you're wondering, he's not here."
"What do you mean?"
"He went with Dash to get the necessary supplies to fix the chimney and leaky windows in your room. You should be able to sleep in your own bed tonight and let Conrad sleep in his."
Shana winced, "He chose the chair."
Allie slapped the paper she had been reading down hard on the table, "He chose the chair because he knew he wouldn't be welcome in the king size bed you were occupying! A king size bed, Shana! Half the damn garrison could sleep in that bed. It would certainly sleep two people quite comfortably, and those two people wouldn't even have to touch!"
She tried to come up with a retort but either her brain was still frozen or her tongue was tied. She settled for sighing, "Okay, so I messed up. I let Sean's problems become my problems, again. Things were just happening so fast…"
"And you got scared. Slowing down is fine. Slamming the brakes on isn't. The two of you are meant to be together. You know it, he knows it, the whole base knows it! Look, you're here, he's here. I'm not saying this is your one and only chance but it's the best one you're going to get. Conrad isn't Sean. Don't let your brother's mistakes and screw ups keep you from giving Conrad a chance. He loves you. Maybe you don't like that-and maybe you're not ready to here it but its true. You could do worse. He's good enough to be your friends isn't he?"
"I don't want to lose that."
"You kissed him back-just friends isn't an option anymore. He's a man made of flesh and blood, not stone. Don't be cruel-give him a chance or tell him no and mean it." Allie left her paper and walked out.
Shana finished her breakfast, got dressed and went for a run. She ran until her head was clear, until she could think about what she really wanted. She admitted to herself that she was scared. That just irritated her more so she ran faster, harder. She wasn't a coward. She wanted the man, damn reason, damn consequence, damn pride and fear. She'd never been afraid to go after what she wanted and she sure as hell wasn't about to start now! She turned around but wasn't fast enough to out run the drizzle. She was drenched when she made it back to the house, chilled, out of breath, and soaked to the skin.
She toed off her shoes and left them on a rug just inside the door. She and Allie had cleaned the floors yesterday and she wasn't about to muck them up again this soon. She shivered as her feet hit the cold hardwood floor. She sprinted up the stairs and grabbed a clean set of clothes, leaving her wet ones in a heap as she slipped her arms through her robe. Her shower was still broken so she knocked on Conrad's door. No answer so she walked in. The rain had picked up. She could hear it pinging loudly against the windows and roof.
She was still breathing hard from her run when she opened the bathroom door only to realize the water she'd heard hadn't just been from the rain.
She stood where she was, transfixed by the sight of Conrad Hauser in all his glory. She gasped.
Conrad jerked his head toward her, "Am I dreaming?" he asked hoarsely.
She stared mesmerized as he turned to face her. He was heavily aroused; she felt her face flush at the thought of this powerful man so desperate for her. Lust shot straight through her once again, making her wetter than she had been before walking in here.
"Shana?" He asked softly.
She took an unconscious step towards the shower. Their gazes locked, "Shana…" he called softly. She took another step toward him, walking as if she were in a trance.
He opened the shower door and beckoned her closer. She came. He motioned for her to untie her robe. She let it fall to the floor. He held out his hand and as she placed hers in his he tugged her into the shower with him. When she pressed against him rational thought flew out the window. She willingly let her desires take over and guide her actions. She stood up on her toes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her mouth opened over his, desperate, fast, and hot.
They kissed as if trying to consume each other, as if they couldn't exist until they were one. When they came up for air he pressed her back against the shower wall and dipped his head.
She cried out, "Conrad. Conrad, I need you."
Her hands tightened in his hair as he heightened her pleasure. She cried out sharply, "Now, now, please, I need you now!" He lifted her and slid inside. Her climax came quickly and triggered his own release. They slide to the shower floor, spent.
He cradled her in his arms beneath the warm water, "There's no turning back from here, Shana."
She shook her head, "No, no turning back."
She was still half dazed with what had just happened between them when he picked her up and stepped out the shower, wrapping her in a warm fluffy towel. He didn't give her a chance to collect her wits. He'd had her once and now he set out to have her again. He kissed her, running his hands over her body, relighting the fire that had only temporarily been banked.
"Conrad…we just…"
"Uh huh….."
"I mean we just …"
"Shana, I had you once, did you think that would be enough for me?"
"Uhm…no…?"
"I could have you a hundred times and still instantly need you again."
She looked down, "…oh, uh…I guess so…"
She was still a little unsteady when they reached the bed but quickly found her confidence.
He pulled her close, need, lust, desire and all other emotions took over. It was obvious he wanted her, was desperate for her. The blatant, open need on a face that most people had difficulty reading under normal circumstances alleviated any misgivings she might have had about taking charge for round two.