Relinquishing Liberty (27 page)

I walked into the house to grab another towel to dry off, and there was the most vibrant bouquet of sunflowers sitting in a vase on the table. The fact that he didn’t buy me roses showed me that he actually put some thought into buying these. I turned around, and Shayne was standing in the doorway with his arms stretched above him gripping the doorframe.

“You like ‘em?”

I’m sure the huge grin on my face said it all. “Shayne, they’re beautiful!”

“When I saw them at the florists, I knew I had to get them. They reminded me of the day we first met. With the sun coming up, it looked like there was a halo surrounding you, and I thought, my God, she must be an angel! You just had this amazing glow scintillating off of you. I knew there was a reason you fell into my arms that day, I just hadn’t figured out yet. But now I know.”

I stood there with my mouth gaping. How ironic was it that Shayne and I were thinking the exact same thing at the exact same moment that day? Maybe Shayne’s father had a point when he brought up the idea of fate intervening.

Shayne was now standing beside me, and I looked up at him with tears stinging my eyes, but I did my best to hold them back. I think I’ve had my fair share of crying these past few weeks, and I wasn’t about to start that all over again. He bent down and kissed my forehead before retreating to the fridge to grab the fixings for our dinner.

We sat outside on his deck, enjoying the beautiful weather while we ate. Shayne outdid himself again with dinner, and I literally licked my plate clean. Shayne seemed to get a kick out of my not-so-ladylike behavior. I loved that about him. There was no pressure to try to impress one another, and we could just be ourselves.

The sun was just about to set over the horizon, and I could already tell there was going to be a gorgeous sunset. After bringing the dishes in, Shayne came around to my side of the table and lifted my hand from my lap, interlacing our fingers, and led me out onto the beach.

“I never did get the chance to dance with you last night.” He placed my hands around his neck and trailed his fingers across my arms, over my shoulders and down my back, until they encircled my waist and drew me in closer. “I think we need to rectify that.”

“But there’s no music.”

Shayne’s smile grew as he pulled a remote out of his back pocket and pointed it towards the house. Music slowly drifted towards us, and our bodies began to sway together. This was so much better than dancing in any club. It was just Shayne and I, the crash of waves crawling up the beach, and the beautiful words of Ed Sheeran’s “Kiss Me” surrounding us. I thought nothing could possibly top this, but as soon as I heard the words to the song flowing from Shayne’s mouth, I was putty in his hands.

I could feel his rapid heartbeat as he pulled me closer into his chest, and his lips came down on my neck just as those exact words played over the speakers. I couldn’t take it anymore. My heart was ready to burst.

“Shayne, I—” He cut me off when his lips crashed into mine without any warning. He nibbled and sucked on my bottom lip greedily before his tongue delved right in, parting my lips and exploring every inch of my mouth. He must have brushed his teeth when he brought our dishes inside because he tasted of mint and Shayne.
My favorite.

Even before we broke apart, I could feel him smile against my lips when he spoke. “I know, sweetheart. You don’t need to say anything.”

I pulled back a bit and tilted my head up so that I could look him straight in those beautiful emerald eyes. “No, I do. I need you to know that…that…” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath…in…out. “I love you, Shayne.”

He leaned down and ran his nose along the side of my cheek before placing a kiss just beside my ear. “I told you, sweetheart. I know. I don’t need to hear you say the words to know that you love me. I see it in your eyes. I feel it in your touch.” His lips brushed against my ear as he whispered, “I can taste it in your arousal.”

“Shayne!” I smacked his arm.

Shayne threw his head back and laughed, clearly getting a kick out of my reaction. “Seriously, I know you love me, Liberty. I’ve never had to question that. I wouldn’t be here pouring my heart out to you if I didn’t think you felt the same way.”

God, I felt like such an idiot for not telling him sooner. “And this whole time I’ve been afraid to say anything to you. I mean, that’s not something I take lightly, Shayne. That’s not something you can just take back.”

There was an intensity burning in Shayne’s eyes that I had never seen before. It both frightened and excited me. “Never. I will never take it back. You’re it for me, Liberty. I told you last night that you’re mine, and I meant it. You. Are. Mine.”

I leapt into his arms, unable to hold back the love I felt for this beautiful man and kissed every square inch of his face. Just as Lifehouse’s “Between the Raindrops” began to play, I felt a trickle of moisture hit my cheeks. That’s odd…I wasn’t crying…

Shayne and I tilted our heads back towards the sky, and within seconds we were both soaked to the bone from the sudden downpour. We looked at each other, and burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. There was no way I was going to let that little interruption rain on my parade.

Still wrapped up in his arms, I yelped in surprise as he lifted me high off the ground and spun me around. With my arms stretched out as though they were wings, I closed my eyes and imagined myself flying away. Away from the pain of my brother’s death. Away from the burden I’ve had to carry for so long. Away from the life I once felt trapped in, allowing me to finally open my heart up to a love I never knew existed. This is exactly why I was meant to come here. It was all so clear to me now. Everything has led up to this moment, with this man, and I knew for sure that I had found the missing piece of my heart. My missing puzzle piece.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, desperately needing to be closer to him. He carried me into the house and led me back towards the bedroom. I didn’t want to break eye contact with him, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that there was a trail of rose petals in all different colors leading to up to door of his room.

“When did you do all of this?”

A bashful grin spread across his face. “When I brought our dishes in. I was really hoping you wouldn’t come inside because I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.” He turned the door handle, and it slowly creaked open. “I know how much you hate surprises, but I think you’ll make an exception for this one.”

He turned to shut the door, and now I knew what he meant by the surprise when I took in the view of his room. Everything was illuminated by tiny candles, and the trail of rose petals ended at the foot of his bed. In the center of the bed were more petals scattered into the shape of a heart…at least I think that’s what he was going for. It looked a little more like a kidney bean, but just the thought of him doing this for me brought a huge smile to my face.

He gently laid me down on the bed, and I disentangled my legs from around his waist so I could scoot my way up until I reached his pillows. He crawled up the length of my body like a predator stalking his prey, and I could feel his gaze languidly dragged along as though he were programming every inch of me to his memory.

I held his face in the palms of my hands, stroking his cheeks and drawing his attention away from my body until his eyes met with mine.

“Make love to me, Shayne.”

His smile vanished as his expression quickly sobered. “Liberty, I don’t want you to think I did all of this to get in your pants. I just wanted to do something special for you to make up for our botched date last night. I—”

I pressed my finger against his lips. “Shayne…shut up.” I smiled up at him and lowered my hand. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready. You said you wanted to wait until the moment was right, that you wanted my first time to be special. Well, I can’t think of a better moment than right now.”

I pleaded with my eyes, and his smile reappeared. “Liberty, are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing anything. I’ll wait as long as you want. There’s no hurry.”

Burying my fingers in his hair, I pulled him down so that he was only an inch away from my mouth. “Shayne, I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life.
I. Want. You.
Now make love to me before I lose my mind!”

It didn’t take much more convincing than that. His lips came down to claim mine, and he lowered his body over me, leaning on his elbows to support his weight. I could feel his cock stirring against my thigh, and all I could think about was how it would feel buried deep inside me…

That’s when my nerves started to kick in. I had always heard that it was a little painful the first time you have sex, and Shayne wasn’t exactly lacking down
there
. My whole body tensed up and he must have sensed my anxiety.

“Relax, sweetheart. Look at me.” He slowly lifted my chin, bringing his crystal clear green eyes into my field of vision. “I love you, and I would never do anything to hurt you. We’ll take it really slow, okay?”

I swallowed hard, took a deep breath and nodded. He always had a way of reassuring me. I guess that was just part of his sweet and gentle nature. After getting to know Shayne these last few weeks, I discovered a whole new side of him. Brett had painted a much different picture in my mind, and I expected to find this arrogant, sex-driven asshole underneath all of his layers. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Shayne was exactly what I was looking for; it just took me until now to open my eyes and see it.

Our clothes were still plastered and molded to our bodies after getting caught in the rain. Shayne took his time peeling off the shirt that I had slipped back on before dinner, and it landed with a loud plop when it slapped against the hardwood floor. My body shivered at the loss, and goose bumps began to spread now that I was left in nothing but my soaking wet bikini. When his mouth latched onto my neck, I welcomed the warm trail of kisses that were leading down my chest. Just as his lips reached the top of my breast, his hand snaked around my neck to untie the straps holding up my top.

Shayne’s warm breath trickled over my delicate skin causing my nipples to pucker. This time he was much gentler as he took one of the rosy peaks between his lips, paying special attention to how my body responded to his skillful tongue.
Ohmigod, it felt so good
. The pleasure coursing throughout my body traveled straight down to my core, and I could feel the warmth quickly pooling in my belly. Just as my back arched, Shayne reached around to loosen the remaining strings holding my top on, and it melted away from my body.

His rough hands caressed my breasts as he nuzzled between them, worshipping them with his full, luscious lips. He tenderly kissed the sensitive skin beneath them, absorbing the weight of my achingly swollen globes.
God, I love the way he touches me
. His hands floated across my body as though I were a fragile, prized possession that must be handled with care.

His mouth moved further south along my stomach, and I could feel his fingertips playfully tugging on the strings of my bikini bottoms. He pressed his lips against the material covering my mound and took in a deep breath.
Was he seriously smelling my arousal? Shouldn’t that bother me?
Surprisingly, it didn’t. He was so fucking sexy, I don’t think anything he did could turn me off.

Shayne’s eyes made there way back up to mine, and with a gentle tug, I was finally free and completely bare to him. He was definitely pleased with what lie before him. His eyes were spiked with lust, and with that mouth-watering smile and adorable dimple, I was ready to pounce on him.

“God, Liberty, you smell so fucking delicious. I just want to devour this sweet, little pussy of yours until I have you rocking against my mouth and screaming my name.”

Oh. My. God.
If I wasn’t wet before, I was drenched now!

Shayne slipped his fingers between my folds, rubbing my slickness up and down and teasing my swollen bundle of nerves. “Always ready. I love how wet you get for me.”

“Mmm, you’re the only one that does that to me.”

Shayne looked up at me through the few strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes. “And I promise you, sweetheart…I’m the only one that ever will.”

“You sound pretty confident there, mister.” I sat up on my elbows and smirked at him.

Shayne leaned up to straddle my thighs, and his eyes darkened, smoldering with passion. “Maybe you don’t understand the concept of ‘you are mine’.” He grabbed both of my wrists, trapping them above my head as he lowered his face just above mine. “No else can touch you. No one else can taste you. No one else can so much as look at this gorgeous body without me tearing him limb from limb. I’m not about to share the woman I love with anyone else. I’ve waited too long to find you, and now that I have you, I’m not going to let you slip through my fingers.”

My heart was beating rapidly against my chest as I absorbed his words. “Shayne, I need you inside me. Like…now!”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shayne moved so fast. I could almost hear the seams ripping as he pulled his shirt over his head. His shorts were the next to go, and now he was left standing there in nothing but his black boxer briefs. My eyes widened when I noticed the tip of his erection was peeking out.
Jesus, they don’t even make boxers that can contain him, he’s so big!

He reached into the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small foil packet. Thank God someone was thinking about protection because I sure as hell wasn’t. Although I was on the pill, and it really wouldn’t have mattered. I was ready for him to take me with or without the rubber. He was about to peel his boxers down before I grabbed his arms to stop him.

“Do you mind if I do the honors?”

He smiled at me seductively. “Have at it, little lady.”

I felt like a little kid on Christmas, waiting not-so-patiently to open my present. I tucked my fingers into his waistband and began pulling them down, first over his ridiculously firm ass (I swear, that man has a better ass than I do), then over his hips and finally his erection sprung free.