Relinquishing Liberty (29 page)

“I forgot to put a condom on.” He buried his face in my shoulder. “Oh, baby, I am so sorry. I’ve never forgotten to wrap it up. Never. God, what the fuck is wrong with me?”

I cupped his face in my hands and smiled up at him. His brows furrowed, probably wondering how the hell I can be so calm about this. “Shayne, it’s okay. Really. I’m on the pill, and I have been for years. You don’t need to worry.”

“But I thought—”

I pressed my finger against his lips to silence him. “Yes, I was a virgin. I didn’t lie about that. The reason I’m on the pill is to help regulate my period, but I guess now that we’re having sex, I have the added bonus of preventing pregnancy, too.”

“
Soooo
, you’re saying I don’t need to wear those damn things anymore?” The corner of his mouth slowly curled up into an adorable, crooked grin.

I shook my head, returning his smile.

“Thank fucking Christ!” He ran kisses along my shoulder, and I giggled at his burst of excitement. “Liberty, you have no idea how much better it feels to be inside you without one. I’ve used condoms religiously, and I swear on my mother’s grave that you’re the only one I’ve ever forgotten to use one with. Fuck, I don’t think I can ever go back to using them now that I know what it feels like to be bare inside you. God, you feel so fucking good.”

Well that explains why it felt so different, so amazing! The sensations were heightened immensely, and I could feel every bit of him, all of the ridges running along his delicious cock as he slid back inside me. Thank God for birth control because Shayne was right; there was no fucking way we were going back to using condoms. No. Fucking. Way!

Now that Shayne was no longer worried about his unwrapped tool, he pumped harder and faster into me, giving me everything he had. It was the perfect mixture of pleasure and pain, and I was trembling from the clash of feelings coursing throughout my body. I felt my orgasm building up, and with my legs wrapped around him, I was able to pull him further and deeper until he hit my G-spot so hard.

“Fuck! Shayne! Yes!”

“Fuck, I’m right there with you, baby.”

Shayne’s mouth sealed over mine as he swallowed my cries. I could feel myself pulsating around him and thought the delirious pleasure would never end. With one last solid thrust, he released a husky groan and spilled himself into me adding to my slickness. We both continued to ride out our orgasms until we collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs on the floor of the shower.

When we were finally able to catch our breath, Shayne brushed my sopping wet hair out of my face and smiled at me. He cupped my face, gently stroking my cheeks and gave me a slow, tender kiss. These were the kisses I loved the most. The ones he really poured his heart into. I’d take these kisses over the fierce, passionate ones any day.

He pulled away and gazed lovingly into my eyes. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me another first, Liberty.”

I looked at him quizzically. We already had sex, and I knew this was the first time he’d gone without a condom. What other firsts could there be?

“I’ve never had morning sex.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, yeah. It’s kind of hard to have morning sex when I’ve never let anyone spend the night with me.”

“Ah that’s right. You were all ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ before you met me. Well, we’re just full of firsts lately, aren’t we?”

He threw his head back and laughed. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me in closer. “That we are, sweetheart. That we are.” He pressed a firm kiss to my lips. “And I plan on giving you plenty more firsts.”

We sat there in a slippery, wet embrace until a shiver ran through my body as the water surrounding us quickly became frigid. Shayne lifted me to my feet, and we both stepped out to dry each other off. Shayne was very thorough as he ran the fluffy towel over every inch of my body and showered me from head to toe with kisses when he was finished. I didn’t realize how achy my muscles really were until I walked back to his room to get changed before we left. Yup. Now there was definitely no chance of me walking straight today. I could already tell work was going to be hell tonight…
but it was so worth it!

Shayne dropped me off at the apartment, but not before he kissed the ever-loving shit out of me against his Jeep. It helped alleviate some of the emotional strain tugging at my heart. I always hated this part….saying goodbye. I was never a big fan of goodbyes. Losing AJ was a prime example of that, and since then it’s been even harder for me to deal with. I knew it seemed silly because Shayne and I would be able to talk later tonight, but it still hurt. He’d gotten so deep under my skin, it felt like ripping a Band-Aid off every time I had to leave him.

Shayne continued to devour me with a scorching kiss, setting my entire body on fire and leaving me breathless. My throated hummed as he swallowed my moan.

“Move in with me,” he whispered against my lips. It took a few seconds to fully register what he just said, but once I did my eyes flew open in bewilderment.

“Whoa, wait…what!?”
Did he really just ask me what I think he asked me?

“Sweetheart, I love you more than I could ever put into words, and I can’t stand not being able to see you every day and hold you in my arms every night. It doesn’t feel right without you there. As far as I’m concerned, what’s mine is yours, and that includes my home. So, will you move in with me? Please?” He gave me those damn puppy dog eyes, and I glared at him because he knew how much of a sucker I was for them.

“You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

“As a heart attack.” And I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t playing games.

I started chewing on my lip nervously. “I don’t know, Shayne. I’m not saying I don’t want to move in with you, but don’t you think it’s a little too soon? I mean, we’ve only been together for what? Five…six weeks?”

“Not at all. I know I love you, Liberty. I have since the moment you fell into my arms…literally.” We both laughed, and he leaned his forehead against mine. “I’ve waited too fucking long for you, and now that I’ve got you, I don’t want us wasting another second apart.”

My heart melted at his beautiful words. I looked up into those loving emerald eyes, and I knew he was right. I was just as much in love with him as he was with me and being away from him just wasn’t an option anymore.

“So you want me to move in? Um…when exactly were you thinking?”

“The sooner, the better.” Shayne didn’t take his eyes off of me as he waited for my answer. I could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed nervously. Nothing would make me happier than to move in with him, but I didn’t want to seem too eager. So I decided to make him squirm a little.

“Oh…uh, can I have some time to think about it?”

Seeing the disappointment in his eyes nearly ripped my heart in two. He was obviously hoping that I would jump at the opportunity. And trust me, I would…in a heartbeat…

“Well, all right. Take all the time you need, sweetheart. I guess I’ll just talk to you later. Maybe we can discuss it more then.”

Shayne kissed my cheek and was about to climb in his Jeep and drive away, but I couldn’t let him leave like this. He looked so defeated, and it broke my heart. I placed my hand on his arm and he turned to face me. I reached up and cupped his cheeks in my hands, gently pulling him down to eye-level so I could watch those beautiful green gems as they sparkled back at me in excitement.

“Okay. Let’s do it,” I whispered.

“Okay?” He grinned, but he knew what my answer meant. I couldn’t be away from him anymore than he could be from me.

“Yeah. I’ll move in with you.” Shayne’s grin spread wide from ear to ear and he swept me up, hugging me tight until I couldn’t breathe. I had to tap on his arm to get him to loosen up his python grip around me.

“Thank God! I love you, sweetheart. So much.” He showered my face with kisses, and I couldn’t help but giggle uncontrollably. I loved how adorably affectionate he could be, especially when he got his way. But this time we both got what we wanted. The only one not benefiting from our moving in together was Maddie.
Shit
. I was not looking forward to being the bearer of bad news.

“You know Maddie’s going to kill me, right?” My smile faded.

Shayne tilted my head back, forcing me to look at him. He gently ran his hands up and down my arms, and his eyes softened in understanding. “Hey, I’m sure she’ll be fine with it. It’s not like you’re moving very far. You’ll only be a few minutes away, and she can come over whenever she wants. You guys can have slumber parties and give each other makeovers or whatever girly shit you guys love to do.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Is that what you think we do? Shayne, we’re not 12. We’re more likely to get drunk and talk about our latest conquests. You should hear some of Maddie’s stories. They sound like they’re straight out of
Playboy
.”

Shayne leaned against his Jeep with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Why the hell were you looking at…?”

I bit the inside of my cheek trying not to laugh. Yes, I will admit I may have looked at a
Playboy
once or twice. My brother kept quite an extensive stash of nudie magazines under his mattress, and I just so happened to have stumbled upon it when I was 14. What can I say? I was a typical nosey little sister.

“You know what; I don’t even want to know. As long as it’s all good, by all means, feel free to brag about my amazing skills in bed.”

“And out of bed.” I smirked. Come to think of it, most of our sexual endeavors have taken place outside of the bedroom.

“But seriously, I just hate leaving her hanging. We’ve grown really close since I moved here, and if it weren’t for her I’d probably still be living out of a dingy motel room…or crashing at Brett’s.” I noticed Shayne’s smile waver for a split second. I forgot to mention to him that Brett offered to let me stay at his apartment before I moved in with Maddie. Shayne didn’t seem too thrilled about the possibility of me sharing a living space with him, especially now that Brett’s feelings for me were out in the open. God, my life was beginning to sound more and more like a freakin’ soap opera.

“Look, Maddie isn’t just my friend and roommate; she’s like a sister to me. I don’t want her to think I’m abandoning her to go shack up with some guy.”

“Oh, so now I’m just
some guy
? Pfft. I see how it is.” Shayne crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look directly at me. I can tell he was trying so hard to keep a straight face, but he was a horrible actor.

I shoved him playfully, and his smile reappeared. “No, you’re
my
guy. The point is, I don’t want this to cause a rift between her and me. God, it feels like I’m breaking up with her.”

“Just sit her down and talk to her about it. If you guys are really as close as you say you are, then she’ll understand. Stop worrying, sweetheart.”

“Fine, but when Maddie comes around to rip your balls off, don’t come crying to me.”

Shayne chuckled and pulled me in for a kiss, shutting me up. I hope he realized I was completely serious. Maddie was supposed to get off of work just as I was going in, so I’d have to wait until later to bring it up. Hmm, I wonder if she would take the news easier if I liquored her up first?

Working tonight was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d much rather be cuddled up next to Shayne in
our
bed, tangled up in
our
sheets, in
our
home.
Our home
. It had a nice ring to it. It was so weird to think of us sharing a house together. I still can’t believe I agreed to move in with him, but as with anything else involving Shayne, it just felt right. This past weekend made me realize that I needed to stop second-guessing every decision I make. The heart wants what the heart wants…and my heart clearly wanted Shayne.

When I got to work, things were a bit…awkward, to say the least. For some reason, from the moment I stepped into “AJ’s”, Brett would not take his eyes off of me. Every time I happened to glance over at him, without fail, there he was staring straight at me with this goofy puzzled expression on his face that I couldn’t read for the life of me.
What the hell? Was my shirt on inside out? Did I forget to zip my fly?
I looked down, but I couldn’t find anything out of place.
Seriously, what the hell was he looking at?
To be honest, it was really starting to creep me the fuck out.