Page 43 of Overdosed: Her Dark Side
My gaze involuntarily wandered toward Shane, who couldn’t suppress a subtle tightening in his jaw. His sun-kissed skin seemed to intensify the deep shade of blue in his eyes, now flickering with a hint of jealousy.
Unfazed, Austin added with a half-smile, “Wow, what are the odds? Running into you here.”
“Yeah, what a small world,” I replied, desperately trying to dispel the unease. My gaze shifted toward the menu, hoping to steer the conversation away from the not-so-expected encounter, but Austin didn’t seem to take the hint.
“What are you doing in Miami?” he asked, completely ignoring Shane or Hope. “You disappeared a few months ago with no word. Everyone was worried about you.”
“What do you want to eat, baby?” Shane interfered. The word ‘baby’ rolled off his tongue with an intentional emphasis, his gaze flickering toward Austin.
Austin cleared his throat, and his gaze dropped to the notebook in his hand. “Excuse me. I’m ready to take your order.”
I quickly picked a Mediterranean-style quinoa bowl for myself and broccoli egg muffins for Hope. I felt so damn awkward.
Austin turned to Shane. “Sir?” His tone was harsh.
“I’ll take the same as my beautiful lady,” he stated with a side smirk, handing the menu back to Austin. He reclined in his chair, his gaze boring into Austin. And believe me, his gaze can be intimidating. Austin swiftly took the menu and rushed away, leaving behind that awkwardness that settled over me.
“So… where do you know each other from?” Shane asked, his head cocking.
I took a moment to collect my thoughts. “We used to work together at a restaurant back in Malta.”
“Was he something more to you?” He leaned forward. “There’s tension between you two.”
What else could I’ve expected? Shane had always read me like an open book. Or any other person, for that matter. Considering his position, I suppose it was only natural he had that invigilating skill. “We had a… fling.” My heart was pounding. “But he didn’t mean anything to me. It was just—” I was about to say ‘sex,’ but I looked at Hope engrossed in her drawings with the crayons Shane must’ve given her that I hadn’t noticed.
Shane nodded, his head tilting. His gaze pierced right through me. Leaning even closer, he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his husky voice soothing, “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. Let bygones be bygones.”
A soft smile played on my lips, but a furrow formed on my brow, “Sooo… Aren’t you jealous?”
Shane’s lips curled into a smirk, revealing his gorgeous white teeth. Every time he would smirk in such a way, my knees would turn to jelly. “I didn’t say that,” he teased.
I studied his face, attempting to break the puzzle he’d always been to me. A mystery I could never solve. This man was an enigma to me, and everyone else.
“You are here with me now, and that’s what matters to me,” he said in his low, husky tone. “I have you and our daughter by my side. You chose to be with me and not any other man. This has to mean something, no?”
My eyes brightened up, and a smile painted my face. “I love you, Shane,” I muttered softly, and Shane ran his teeth over his bottom lip. It was so damn sexy.
“I love you, baby.”
I missed it. The way he called me ‘baby’ with his husky tone and a flame of desire in his eyes.
Out of nowhere, Hope chimed in, “You may now kiss the bride!” The infamous line, combined with the innocence in her voice, drew another round of laughter from all of us.
I felt complete. Grateful for the family we were building together.
Back at the hotel, Shane tucked Hope into bed. She demanded he would do so each night, and I would joke I was being replaced. But I didn’t mind. I glanced through the slightly ajar door of her room in the suite. A soft smile played on my lips, watching her nightly ritual of insisting on Daddy reading her a bedtime story before drifting off to sleep.
I went to the bathroom to freshen up and do my evening beauty routine when Shane’s husky voice reached me from behind. The warmth of his body against mine sent shivers down my spine.
“She fell asleep,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
I nibbled my lower lip, a soft smile forming as Shane planted kisses along the side of my neck, drawing me closer into his embrace. I looked at our reflection in the mirror, sinking in his arms. “Did she?” I teased.
Shane’s hand roamed up my thigh, slowly, teasingly, higher and higher, sliding underneath my silky robe, his touch igniting a fire within me. “Now that our little princess is asleep, I have a few ideas in mind,” he murmured suggestively, sending goosebumps across my skin.
“Oh, yes?” I murmured.
Teasingly, Shane traced his tongue along my earlobe, sending a jolt of desire coursing through me. “Oh, yes,” he growled, spinning me around to face him, our gazes locking.
