Cuffed: A Novella (2 page)

How do I end up in these situations? Oh that’s right, my
loud mouth, soon to be ex-best friend. I sent a glare Steph’s way as I raised
the bottle again, maybe if I was drunk enough I wouldn’t remember the
embarrassment in the morning. Hopefully my friends wouldn’t take photos or even
worse video of this debacle and it could fade to a blurry memory in a few
weeks.

“Put the bottle on the floor, slowly.” Shane’s voice
interrupted my inner dialogue. I contemplated ignoring his order and giving him
the finger for a split second before noticing the intense look on his face.
Great, he was in cop mode. Joking around would not be appreciated.

I bent over and set the bottle on floor.
Goodbye friend
,
I thought with sadness,
until we meet again
. Standing back up caused
immediate dizziness. I closed my eyes in an attempt to make the room stop
spinning.

“Hands in the air,” Shane commanded sounding closer than
before. I opened my eyes to look at him. Damn he looked good, still in the form
fitting white tee and faded blue jeans he had been wearing earlier.

“I said hands in the air,” he repeated staring directly at
me. It was intimidating having his complete focus when he was like this. For
years I had wanted nothing more than to have him pay attention to me and now
that he was I wished that he would find someone else. I put my hands in the air
above my head, swaying slightly with the sudden movement.

“Turn around slowly and face the wall.”

Seriously? I wasn’t a criminal, I was an unwilling volunteer.
I turned around to face the wall. It was a good thing he said slowly because
right now that was the only speed I had. So maybe drinking bottles of wine
instead of glasses was a bad idea. Where did that last bottle go?

“Don’t make me repeat myself again,” Shane’s voice demanded
behind me. Shit, what had he asked me? “I said step forward and place your
hands on the wall. Keep them above your head.” I was glad he repeated it before
I had to admit that I hadn’t been paying attention.

I could do that. I took two shuffling steps forward before I
came in contact with the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.
It was cool to the touch, and I suddenly realized how warm the room had gotten
or maybe it was just me. I laid my cheek against the wall and sighed in
contentment.

“Do you have anything on your person that can harm me?”
Shane’s voice was gruff in my ear and I shook my head. “I can’t hear you,” he
said stepping closer.

“No.”

“I’m going to pat you down now to search for any weapons or
illegal substances.” He said directly into my ear this time, his breath was
warm against my neck.

He was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off
his body. I jumped slightly when his hands made contact with the skin at my
wrists. He skimmed his hands slowly down my arms, applying a slight pressure
that caused goosebumps to pop out on my skin. I sucked in my breath and held it
to prevent myself from moaning out loud.

He switched to a patting motion when he got to my armpits
and continued down my sides. He came to a stop when he got to my hips, leaving
his hands rest on my hips.

“Spread your legs.”

“Excuse me?” I said in shock.

“You heard me. Spread your legs or I’ll do it for you.”
Shane’s voice was gruff in my ear and his fingers tightened on my hips as he
spoke, like he would enjoy spreading them for me.

I took a deep breath trying to remember that I was being
pretend arrested in front of a room full of friends and strangers. Not alone in
my bedroom, playing sexy games with Shane before stepping my left leg out
slightly. I sucked in a nervous breath waiting for Shane to continue his
search. I wasn’t disappointed when seconds later I felt him kneel behind me and
place one hand on the outside of my left thigh and one on the inside. Had the
wall not been supporting me I think I would have stumbled, it had been a long
time since hands besides my own had touched me there.

I leaned face first into the wall hoping that I wouldn’t embarrass
myself further by moaning. Shane paused when he reached my ankle and I felt him
shift slightly to the right. Then his hands were on my right ankle moving up.
My thoughts took a dangerous turn, if only he was doing this when I wasn’t
wearing pants, and maybe using his mouth instead of his hands. I could feel my
cheeks getting hot as I imagined what his lips would feel like against my skin.

Shane stood up abruptly and grabbed my left wrist bringing
it down and behind my back in one smooth motion.
Damn, he’s good
, I
thought as I felt the cold metal encircle my wrist, a heartbeat later the other
was secured next to it. I pulled on my wrists and felt the cuffs bite into my
skin.
That was going to leave a mark
.

“... understand your rights as I have explained them to
you?”  Shane was asking when I tuned back into his voice.

I managed to get out a quick “yes” and then waited for Shane
to uncuff me so I could get back to my bottle of wine.

Shane grabbed my bicep and spun me around, “And that my
friends is how the professionals do it.” He took a bow with a grin.

I stood there staring longingly at the bottle of wine on the
floor, anywhere but at the group of people laughing and teasing Shane. Why the
hell wasn’t he taking these damn cuffs off?

“Hey Shane,” I said trying to get his attention.

“In a minute Lex, I’m talking here.” Was he serious? He was
talking
while I stood here with my hands cuffed behind my back.

I waited until there was a pause in the conversation before
trying again, “Shane,” I started.

“Shh, I’m almost done.” Did he seriously just shush me?
Nope, that was not something that was going to happen tonight.

I wanted out of these cuffs and I wanted out now! I bumped
my shoulder roughly into Shane’s bicep, causing him to take a step to the side
to keep his balance.

“Get these damn cuffs off now Shane!” I demanded in response
to the glare he threw my way.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said with a nod to the group of guys he
had been talking to.

“What do you mean, let’s go?” I said to his back as he
started to walk away.

“The key is in my bedroom,” Shane said pausing just inside
the kitchen door.

“Why? Nevermind, I’ll wait here for you.”

“They’ll be off faster if you come down with me,” he said.
“Plus I’m not sure I have a key here.”

I took a deep breath and started to count. Just go with him,
get out of these cuffs, walk home and call it a night I coached myself when I
had finished counting.

I skirted around Shane to the basement door and realized it
was closed, so much for my grand exit.

I somehow managed to make it down the stairs without falling
on my face after Shane had opened the basement door for me. There had been a
few close calls but now I stood safely in the middle of Shane’s room waiting
for him to find the key to the handcuffs. My annoyance at the situation was
definitely being magnified by the wine I had consumed.

“Why don’t you have a seat on the bed,” Shane called from
the corner of his lamp lit room. Did this family not believe in overhead
lighting? I thought snarkily.

“Maybe if you turned on more lights you’d be able to find
the key faster,” I muttered half under my breath as I made my way to his bed,
the rumpled covers from my earlier nap beckoning me.

I stood at the edge of the bed wondering how I was going to
sit down in a dignified manner. I wasn’t exactly graceful on a good day, so
being inebriated, with my hands secured behind my back was going to turn this
simple task into a challenging feat. I could just flop down on my stomach but
then I’d have to turn my head to one side so I could breathe. Laying on my back
with my hands digging into my back didn’t seem like a good option either.
Sitting on the edge of the bed held the most appeal but there was a good chance
that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself balanced. Landing either on my side on
the bed or on the floor in an undignified heap seemed to be a likely outcome.

Option three seemed to be the most comfortable course of
action, so with a glance over my shoulder to make sure Shane was still busy
searching and not watching what was sure to be a moment I’d prefer to never
remember, I turned and slowly lowered myself to the bed.
Think of it as a
squat
, I coached myself hoping that I would soon be released. I felt the
mattress squish against the back of my thighs and I sighed in relief, I’d done
it. Grabbing fistfuls of covers as best I could, I carefully scooted myself
further back onto the bed until the backs of my legs rested against the side of
the mattress.

Satisfied that I was no longer in danger of landing on the
floor I glanced at the corner to see if Shane had succeeded in finding the key,
but he wasn’t there. A quick scan revealed he wasn’t in the other corner of the
room either; I was just about to call out when I heard an amused chuckle
directly in front of me.

“You should see your face right now,” Shane said stepping
away from what I had previously thought was a wall of mirrors but was, in fact,
mirrored doors to a walk in closet. Dangling between his fingers was what I
assumed was the key to my freedom.

I chose to ignore his comment and waited impatiently for him
to approach the bed. Sitting like this was starting to make my shoulders ache.
Instead of focusing on my discomfort I chose to focus on the way the shadows
played on Shane’s skin as he watched me intently from his place in front of the
mirror.

If I looked hard enough I could just make out my reflection.
Seeing myself sitting on Shane’s bed with my hands cuffed behind me, waiting
for him, started a delicious fantasy in which he hadn’t cuffed me in front of a
room full of people. Instead, upon waking me earlier in the evening Shane had
continued where my dream left off...

“One more kiss?” Shane asked with a playful grin and I
nodded.

I could feel my heart starting to beat faster as he put a
hand on either side of my head as his face lowered to mine. I could feel his
warm breath feather across my face as he exhaled slowly before gently touching
his lips to mine. A low moan built in the back of my throat as he deepened the
kiss but was cut short when he pulled back slightly and looked at me through
hooded eyes.

“Why did you stop?” I complained.

“You only asked for one kiss, Lex.” That damn dimple
appeared again as he continued to watch me.

“You don’t have to stop at one,” I said after a moment’s
hesitation.

“I think you have to earn more kisses if you want them.”

“How?” I was intrigued on what he might want in return.

I watched the muscles in Shane’s chest bunch and stretch
as he leaned over me to grab something from the drawer in the nightstand next
to the bed. The silver handcuffs that appeared in my vision were definitely not
what I had been expecting him to get out of the drawer.

“You want to cuff me?” I asked slightly confused. The
grin on his face answered my question.

I paused my wine influenced fantasy to wonder how many other
women he had played this game with before, and was suddenly no longer
enthralled with the idea of seeing what would happen next.

“Are you okay?” Shane’s voice snapped me firmly back into
reality.

“Yup, just great,” I said wondering how long I’d been lost
in fantasyland.

“Ready to be freed?”

“I’ve been ready the moment Steph volunteered me.” I said
eagerly anticipating the moment when I could rub the feeling back into my
hands.

The bed dipped as Shane sat down next to me and I couldn’t
stop myself from rolling into him. “Hi there,” he said looking down at me with
a grin. “Can I help you?”

I tried unsuccessfully to push myself away from Shane so I
could answer without talking into his arm. After letting me struggle through
several failed attempts Shane placed an arm around my shoulders and helped me
sit back up.

“Kind of you to let me struggle first.”

“Kind is my middle name.”

“Liar, it’s Malcolm. Or are you forgetting I’ve known you
since I was eight years old? I’ve heard your mother yell, Shane Malcolm
Williams, more times than I can count.”

“I forgot you were around for that,” he said playing with
the key.

“So, are you going to free me or not?” I asked staring
longingly at the metal key in his hand.

“Sure,” Shane said before lying on his side on the bed
behind me. I felt his warm hand on my left wrist and then heard a soft click.
My wrists fell limply at my sides and I let out a soft moan as the tension in
my muscles started to relax.

“Rolling your shoulders will help.” He said still on the bed
behind me.

I nodded my head and slowly started to roll my shoulders.
There was a rustling noise from behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see
that Shane had flipped onto his back, the cuffs and key lying next to him
forgotten as he stared up at the ceiling. Catching my eye he patted the bed
next to him in silent invitation.

As I settled in next to him I wondered drowsily if he had
ever had a woman my size in his bed before. Highly unlikely, I thought with a
scoff. I’d seen most of Shane’s dates and they tended to be slender blondes, my
curves would never have fit into their “oversized” sweats, let alone their
skinny jeans. The image of me trying to get into a pair of skin tight jeans
made me giggle, causing Shane to prop himself up on one arm and look down at
me.

“What’s so funny?” He asked with a look on his face that
caused my breath to catch in my throat.

There was no way I was going to admit I had been thinking
about the other women that had graced his bed so I just stared up at him,
studying his face. Wait a second, why was Shane giving me his bedroom eyes? I’d
seen that look on his face enough times over the years to know what it meant.
Hell, I’d wished for that look for years before I realized how futile it was. I
was suddenly acutely aware of how close we were, alone in his darkened bedroom…
in his bed.

I sucked my lip in between my teeth, a nervous habit I swore
I’d break one day because it wreaked havoc on my desire to have smooth, unchapped
lips. Shane must have taken it as an invitation because his head slowly lowered
toward mine. I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I watched his descent,
eyes locked with his. Only when I felt the first brush of his lips against mine
did I close my eyes. I wondered briefly if he’d closed his as well, but all
thought ceased to exist when I felt his hand on my hip, even through the fabric
of my sweater my skin tingled from his touch.

I could feel the warmth radiating off his body as he hovered
over me, his fingers kneading my hip as he deepened the kiss. He nipped my lip
with his teeth and I couldn’t contain the moan that slipped from me. This was
even better than I’d imagined it would be. Shane’s hand slipped under the hem
of my sweater and the direct contact of skin on skin was even more intense than
I had anticipated.

I shifted to give Shane better access as his hand slid up my
back toward the clasp of my bra when there was a sharp pain in my hip. I pulled
away from Shane.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, concern causing frown lines to
appear on his forehead. I was torn between wanting to make the pain stop and
smoothing the lines from his face. Pain won and I reached under my hip. My
fingers closed around cold metal and I realized it was the discarded cuffs. I
held them out to Shane and then winced again when I felt something else poking
my side. I ran my hand under my side again and produced the key.

“Oh,” relief was evident on his handsome face as he took
both items from me. “I’ll put these away for the night.”

I watched him cross the room and drop them into a duffel bag
by the stairs. As he turned back toward me I heard Steph call out. “Shane is
that you down there?” Shit, I could not let my best friend catch me in her
brother’s bed.

“Yea, what’s up Steph?” He yelled back at her.

“I need some help with the keg.”

“I’ll be right there.” He called out as he walked back over
to me. Shane crawled on top of me and our lips met in a fierce battle. His
making the first move had unleashed an intense desire I hadn’t realized was
just waiting to be ignited. Way too soon he pulled back and whispered, “Don’t
go anywhere.”

I watched him cross the room and disappear up the stairs
before snuggling into the sheets wondering how long he’d be.