Collide (The Barker Triplets 2)

His hand crept upward but before he could wipe them away, her fingers were at his fly, her expression almost desperate.

There were no words as her hands let him free. As she slowly caressed the length of him.

There wasn’t a sound made as his hands roughly pulled her jeans down over his hips.

Commando. Oh Christ.

She spread her legs slightly and he grabbed one, lifting it to his hips and then he was inside her. Taking her warmth. Her wetness. Her body.

Shane held her there, up against the wall. He made love to her. He worshipped her with his eyes, his fingers and his body. He held her jaw steady so that she couldn’t look anywhere but into his soul. God, he loved watching her when he was inside her. And when she came? When he was the one to give her that gift? The gift of release…the gift of abandonment, her eyes lit up like the fucking 4th of July.

Shane watched them sparkle and when her head rolled back and her nails bit into his bare shoulders, his hands slid down to her butt and he held her as he rocked into her. As they came together.

For several moments she trembled against him, her body flush to him, his still buried deep inside hers.

“Hey,” he finally said, unease rolling through him as he reached for the tears that still gathered in the corners of her eyes.

“Bobbi, what the fuck? Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, but said nothing. He stared down into those dark, blue eyes, and cradled her head in his hands, kissing away the tears and resting his forehead against hers.

He sensed that something was different but wasn’t sure what it was. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or something he didn’t want to think about.

And before he even knew what he was going to do, he murmured, “I love you, Bobbi.”

As the words fell from his lips, she shuddered and began to cry in earnest, which totally wasn’t the reaction a guy who had just declared his love wanted to hear. The sounds she made as she tried to stop the flow of tears ripped into him.

“Jesus, Bobbi. What is it? You’re freaking me the hell out.”

Gently, Shane withdrew from her. He pulled up her jeans and fixed her top, his hands never leaving her body. He didn’t want to stop touching her. Ever.

When she was respectable and he was tucked back into his pants, Shane kissed her once more, hoping the huge eyes and pensive expression wasn’t an indication of where her head was at. Why the hell had he opened his big mouth? Obviously, she wasn’t ready for the kind of stuff he was thinking about, the kind of stuff that required planning and futures. A future that was all about Bobbi and Shane.

He must not have heard her right, that night up at the cabin. Or if he had, why the hell hadn’t he told her then where his head was at?

Shit. Had he just screwed things up?

“Bobbi,” he said roughly, “I’m sorry, babe. Just tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what I did to make you cry.”

He would have pressed forward but stopped when she put her fingers on his mouth, when she silenced him and cupped his face.

“I love you, Shane.”

His heart thrummed. It thrashed and nearly beat out of his chest at the words. At the sound of those words. At the idea of those words.

“I loved you before we met. Before I ever laid eyes on you. I think I loved you before I was born. Is that possible? You’re the other half of my heart. The other half of my soul and I don’t want to lose you.” Her voice broke and she whispered. “Not again.”

“Babe, you’re not gonna lose me.” Relief flooded him. Was that all she was worried about?

But her eyes remained dark and the sadness in them tore at his heart.

Shane glanced away. He was confused and barely holding on to the emotions buffeting him.

Everything she’d just said was what he wanted to hear. All of it. Every. Single. Word. Yet, why the hell did he feel as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff? Why did he feel as if everything he’d accomplished in the last few months…hell, in the last few years was about to disappear?

He’d paid his dues. His life was on track. Why the hell couldn’t he have what he wanted most?

“We need to talk about some things,” she said eventually and then quickly added, “But not now. I have to go. I have to…it’s Easter and I promised the girls I’d help prepare for dinner tomorrow.”