Элла Франк - Entice

Her eyes slowly opened, and there he still was, deep chocolate eyes looking down at her with so much desire and such raw emotion that Shelly thought her heart would burst out of her chest.

Then, her dream opened his mouth and spoke to her, telling her everything she wanted to hear.

“You feel so good, Shel. You’re so tight. So warm.”

She felt kisses along her neck and a hardness pulsating deep between her thighs.

“How can you not see how good we’d be together and how much I would love you?”

His final words hurled her over the blissful edge of pleasure, and then lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

 May

Shelly had been on her feet for the past eight hours, and she saw no end in sight. She was currently bedside in the ICU, preparing to perform a bronchoscopy procedure.

She was tired—exhausted actually.

Over the past couple of months, she had been working extra shifts and doing everything she could to avoid having to examine her recent life choices.

Her mother had been calling her every weekend to see how she was doing and when she would be coming back to talk.

Honestly, all Shelly wanted to do was forget that they had ever talked in the first place. However, she knew the time would come when she would have to see them both, and she felt it would be better if she did it sooner rather than later.

Then, there was him—the man that had somehow imprinted himself on her mind and body after such a short amount of time.

 How is it that Josh is still always on her mind?

It had been over a month now since she had last seen him, and that had been so emotionally gut-wrenching that Shelly didn’t think she would ever recover.

So, what do I do?

She had worked herself into the ground to avoid dinners at Exquisite, skip late nights out with Mason and Lena, and evade working out with her friend. She had essentially disappeared. After all, that is what Josh had accused her of wanting to do. So why not live up to it?

* * *

Shelly woke up to the sun streaming through her window and across her pillow. It was hitting her right in the eyes. As she blinked them open, she raised her hand to her face, trying to block the intruding rays. She groaned, “Oh god.”

“Head hurts, huh?” a voice asked from the corner of her room.

Squinting over at the comfy reading chair that she had placed under her window, she saw Josh sitting in his—wait, T-shirt and boxer shorts?

Looking down at herself, she noticed she was in the bed with the sheet over her. Turning away from him, she slowly lifted the sheet and peeked under.

Naked except for panties.

She knew she must be a total mess, which didn’t help her disposition—not to mention, her throbbing head. Just as she was about to speak, Josh beat her to it.

“Before you even start, you wanted it too.”

Shelly bit her lip and reached up to run a hand over her, apparently, bird nest of hair. She frowned and cleared her throat.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Because, honestly, she couldn’t remember.

Images kept flickering through her mind of him above her, inside of her, but she was too embarrassed to clarify if it had been real—or worse, if it had been a fantasy.

Josh quietly accused, “Now, that seems more like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shelly snapped as dignified as she could while hung over.

Josh stood then and walked to the end of the bed. He looked around at the outlandish décor, and then back to her. He placed his palms on the comforter on each side of her covered legs, and then made his way up and over her.

“It means you never say what you actually mean,” he told her as he hovered above her.

Shelly clamped her mouth shut, not wanting him anywhere near her after the things she had drunk the night before.

He didn’t smile. He merely held himself up with strong arms as he looked over her face.

“I think you are the most amazing woman I have ever met, Shelly.”

Shelly clutched the sheet tighter to her, gnawing hard on her lip.

“And that completely terrifies you for some reason. It makes you want to just disappear from the moment,” he told her, his eyes locking with her own.

Lowering himself down, he lay on his side next to her, reaching out to gently stroke her hair. “You got upset last night when you came to see me.”

Finally, Shelly had to say something. Swallowing once, she asked. “What did I say?”

Josh leaned in, and she tried not to even breathe as he laid a gentle kiss on her cheek.

He whispered in her ear, “Nothing I didn’t already know.”

Then, he rolled across the bed and got up.

“What does that mean?” Shelly demanded, sitting up fast.

She clutched her head, wincing, and then remembered the sheet, which had now fallen down in her lap. She used her other hand to slowly pull it up—although why she bothered, she didn’t know. When she finally looked back at him, he gave her a sad smile.

“You’re not ready for me, Georgia,” he told her softly. “And that’s a real shame.”

Then, he turned and walked out of her life.

* * *

Shelly finally made it into her office as the phone was ringing.

Pushing aside memories that continued to haunt her, she picked up the phone and was not surprised to hear Lena on the other end.

“Okay. I don’t care what excuse you think you have or can look for or what the hell else you do whenever I’ve asked you out lately. You are coming to Mason’s tonight, and then we are all going to go down and watch the fireworks.”

Shelly groaned and sat back in her chair.

She was definitely in a funk. She hadn’t even started her new dating campaign. Maybe Lena was right. She just needed a night out with friends.

“Will Josh be going?” she asked hesitantly.

She reminded herself yet again that this was why she had avoided getting involved with him in the first place.

“Mason had asked him to go. I don’t know if he’ll show.”

Shelly shook her head against the chair and shut her eyes. Am I really going to do this to myself?

“Okay, I’ll be there.” She paused, thinking, I can do this and be an adult. “What time?”

“We’re meeting at seven for drinks,” Lena told her. “Shelly, we’ve missed you.”

“I know. I’ll be there,” she promised, and then hung up the phone.

* * *

Josh was on his way home to get ready for tonight.

When Mason had first asked him to come along, he had been unsure. He hadn’t seen Shelly for nearly two months, and now that it was the start of all the holiday festivities, he knew it was more than likely that they would start running into one another.

Chicago had a hidden secret—well, not that hidden to the natives. Every Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the city let off fireworks from Navy Pier.

Tonight was the first night. They were all going to meet at Mason’s for drinks, and then go across the park to watch.

Josh had kept himself busy over the past weeks, working on the restaurant expansion for Mason and getting a few minor details ready on his house to make it more buyer-friendly. Around a month ago, he had decided to put his house on the market.

It had been one night after a few too many beers when an idea had come to him of what his next project should be, and it sure as hell didn’t involve restoring the house he was currently living in.

Mutley looked over at him, and Josh nodded. That’s right, buddy. Once things are tidied up at the restaurant, I have a new project and some direction for my life to go in.

First though, he had to get through tonight. Since Shelly never went anywhere alone—and God only knows who her exciting date will be tonight—Josh was going to ask Jenny.

She was a nice girl he had met recently and had a few coffees with. A nice, sweet girl who had no baggage and seemed to want something permanent. Unfortunately though, nothing seemed to erase those big blue eyes and perfect blonde hair from his mind.

* * *

Seven o’clock rolled around, and Shelly was now standing in the lobby of Mason’s, waiting for the elevator. She had pushed the button and was tapping her foot when she heard a pair of heels clicking behind her. When they stopped, she glanced over her shoulder and felt her heart skid to an abrupt halt.

Standing behind her, looking as gorgeous as she remembered him, was Josh—and beside him was a small woman in a yellow sundress and strappy white heels. The lady had honey brown hair, and as she smiled at Shelly, all she could focus on was Josh’s hand on the woman’s back. Lifting her eyes to his, she thought she detected a moment of discomfort before he made himself smile.

“Shelly. It’s been a while.”

Shelly was trying to remember how to talk.

Open mouth. Project sound. Nope, it’s not working.

Luckily, the elevator pinged, and the doors swooshed open. Shelly almost ran in and pressed herself in the back corner.

The little woman next to Josh looked up at him and smiled, probably at Shelly’s odd behavior, and then stepped in, standing on the other side of the elevator. Josh moved inside, pushed the button, and then leaned back between the two of them. As the car lurched and started to rise, he turned to look at Shelly.