Tryst

by Marie York

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her tits rose and fell as she exhaled. “I was so desperate for a place, so when you offered, I jumped on it. But the truth is, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to live with you just a few feet down the hall. Every night, I wait up expecting you to come and slide into bed with me. Yet you never do. And tonight. After watching you, I know that I was just another notch on your bedpost.”

  “Watching me?” I exclaimed. Confusion overtaken every other emotion. “What the hell were you watching?”

  She smirked. “I saw you gawking at Tara. It’s obvious you want her, so I’m going to get out of your way.”

  She had it all fucking wrong.

  “It’s bad enough I’ll see you two at work, I can’t bear to see you two… Besides now you can bring her upstairs and f—”

  I pressed my fingers to her lips to stop her from finishing that sentence. Her eyes widened.

  “Stop talking,” I said

  “But—”

  “Shhh.”

  Her eyebrows turned toward the bridge of her nose. Like always, she smelled so damn good, and being that close to her, made it almost impossible not to pin her against the stairs, and do everything to her I had been dreaming about for days. I pushed the thoughts away and focused on her. “Has anyone ever told you that you have an overactive imagination?”

  Her eyes narrowed, causing her nose to scrunch, creating adorable wrinkles between her eyes.

  “There’s nothing going on with me and Tara, and there never will be.” The idea was laughable. Tara was like a baby sister to me which is why the idea of her stealing out of my own pockets hit low in my chest.

  Lyla went to speak again, and I shook my head. I tapped my fingers to her lips and kept them there.

  “First off, Declan would never forgive me.” The poor sap had been in love with Tara from the minute she walked through the doors of Baile. He would do anything for her and had, bending over backwards whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on or some extra cash to pay her rent.

  Maybe Declan had given her money for new clothes and jewelry. That thought sat better than the alternative. It wouldn’t come as much of surprise either. Declan would do anything for Tara.

  Lyla raised her eyebrows, then understanding flashed across her face as if my words finally clicked into place. “I knew it!” she exclaimed.

  I laughed. “He’s not very good at hiding it, even though Tara never seems to notice.”

  “She’s oblivious. Too busy focusing on all the wrong guys that she can’t see the one right in front of her.” Lyla’s eyes caught mine, and they were big and beautiful. Eyes that I could stare into every second of every day for the rest of my life, and never once wonder what else was out there. Because, for me, there was no one else.

  Holy fuck. Cole was right. Lyla was the one.

  It was a realization that should’ve had me running, but, for once in my life, I didn’t want to run. I wanted to stay right where I was. Standing with the most gorgeous person I had ever seen, and who, despite my past, still wanted me.

  Tiffany had been unhinged and maybe Cole was right, maybe I wasn’t to blame, at least not fully. I said things I would never be able to take back, but I suffered for it and the guilt would always be a part of me. It was a hard fact, but just because it stayed with me didn’t mean that I didn’t deserve happiness.

  I’d suffered for years with what happened with Tiffany, and now with Lyla, I had a chance at something real. After everything Lyla and I had been through, the ups and downs of our countless encounters and the last month of living together, I felt like we deserved a chance.

  I cleared my throat ready to tell her the truth. Admit that I couldn’t imagine my life without her and didn’t want to. The thought of not seeing her every night and every morning made me physically sick.

  “Secondly.” I pinned her with my gaze. “I’m not oblivious. The only girl I want is right in front of me.” She sucked in a breath, and I dragged my fingers away from her lips, tracing them across the soft curve of her jaw. “I don’t know how to do forever, and I’m scared that forever doesn’t really exist. But what scares me more is the thought of waking up in the middle of the night, and you not being there in my kitchen, drinking a glass of milk. Not knowing where you are at night, and wondering if you’re with some other guy, because that would fucking kill me.”

  I cupped her cheek, and she nuzzled into my hand. She reached up, resting her hand against mine before meeting my eyes. She was heaven and hell, peaceful yet dangerous. She smiled, and it was as if it had a direct line to my heart.

  “There is no other guy,” she said. “From that very first night together, it’s only ever been you.”

  “I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted.

  “We’ll figure it out together.”

  Unable to resist touching her, I reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger. “What if I fuck it up?”

  Big beautiful brown eyes blinked up at me. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  Chapter 36

  Last night, I walked Lyla to her bedroom, gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, and went to my own room. Jerked off and blew a load. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, but I was ready to start doing things the right way. Our first date, if you could even consider it that, was me fucking her up against my apartment door after her douchebag boyfriend broke up with her.

  One minute, I was wiping tears from her cheeks, and the next, I was sinking my cock into her. She deserved more than that and it was time I started thinking with the right head where she was concerned.

  I watched her across the bar as she weaved in and out of the crowd. She’d become a damn good waitress, but I knew she wanted more. I had an idea, but I just needed to make sure everything was aligned before I told her.

  I left Gary at the bar and headed to the back to see Declan. Smoke rose from the grill, and my stomach growled at the rising scent of burgers. I forgot to eat this morning and was running on nothing more than a few swigs of Jack and a handful of bar pretzels.

  “Jax, my man, what’s going on?” Dec asked as I approached. He wiped his forehead with the top of his sleeve and continued juggling between flipping burgers and pulling up fries from the deep fryer.

  “Just want to remind you, I’ll be gone…”

  “For a couple days,” he laughed. “I know.”

  I might have mentioned it one time… or six. But I had never left Baile’s since we’d opened. The thought of leaving it in the hands of someone else was a bit unsettling, especially when money had gone missing.

  Now, I understood those crazy parents who cried when they dropped their kid off at school the first time. It was hard to trust someone else with your baby.

  I trusted Dec with my life, though. He’d been with me since day one and never gave me any reason to doubt him. His choice in women was questionable, but his loyalty and work ethic were commendable. I knew without a doubt everything would run smoothly as long as he kept fucking Gary away from the kitchen.

  “Just checking,” I replied.

  Since I was back there, I did a little digging. He knew Tara better than anyone else and he would know if she had a new source of income that I was unaware of. “Has Tara said anything about getting a second job?”

  “Not that I know of.” He looked away from the grill and focused on me. “Why do you ask?”

  “She seems more dolled up than usual.”

  Dec sighed, then shrugged. “Probably just has a new guy buying her shit.”

  “Probably,” I muttered, but wasn’t convinced. It was all just a little too convenient for me.

  “Hey Dec, I need two burgers with no cheese, or they’ll have my head on a platter. Oh, hey, Jax,” Tara said, as she rounded the prep station, and spotted me. She had on some gaudy necklace that matched her bracelets.

  My best approach was to just bring up the missing money to Tara and gage her reaction.

  “I�
�ll get on your order,” Dec said, and Tara and I both walked away.

  I thought about asking her outright but I was afraid it would come across as an accusation when really it would be more of an inquiry. I didn’t need her overreacting, especially with the place filled with customers.

  “Nice necklace,” I said.

  Her hand landed on her chest and a shy smile toyed with her lips. A slight blush filled her cheeks as she gazed down at the piece of jewelry. Tara was many things but shy wasn’t one of them. “Thanks. It’s a one of kind.”

  One of a kind sounded expensive, and I was about to say just that when Lyla burst through the door with her order pad in one hand and a tray in the other.

  She eyed me suspiciously like I was a criminal and she just caught me red-handed. I remembered our conversation from the other night and knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Lyla’s head tilted up high, an insinuating look on her face as she went to walk around us. I grabbed her elbow. “Not so fast,” I said against her ear.

  Her eyes swung to my hold on her and she met my gaze with an intense heat. One look and I wanted to strip her bare, devour that pretty mouth and fuck her until the only look in her eyes was pure ecstasy.

  Tara cleared her throat but neither Lyla nor I looked away. “I’ll be out front if you need me,” she said before disappearing through the door.

  Lyla tried to yank her elbow out of my hand. “Let go of me.”

  “It’s not what you think,” I said.

  Her nose turned up in the air. “I’m not thinking anything.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “If we’re done here, I have tables to wait on.” She broke free of my hold and spun away from me, but there was no way in hell I was leaving it like that. God only knew the shit she would manifest in that gorgeous little head of hers.

  I grabbed her by the waist and scooped her up, carrying her to the storage closest.

  She gave me a good swat on the chest. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

  “The minute I met you,” I said.

  “Funny. Now put me down.”

  I pushed into the closest and placed her back on solid ground. She went to walk around me and I pulled the door shut. “Not so fast.”

  “I don’t have time for this. I have a party of five that needs their beers, a table of two that still needs to place their orders and who only knows how many more tables have been seated since you started holding me hostage.”

  I moved closer to her until she was backed up against a shelf with nowhere to go. Our fronts pressed against each other and my cock jerked. “It’s only a hostage situation if I’m holding you against your will and we both know that is not the case.”

  “Do we?”

  My hand clutched her waist, fingers slipping beneath her shirt and making their descent upward. Her skin was so damn smooth. I skimmed over her bra, finding her nipple tightened beneath the lacey material. I stroked the tight bead gently with my thumb before pinching it between my forefinger.

  A moan slipped from her lips, her body arching into my hand, practically begging me for more. I gave her what she wanted, tugging and stroking, mixing between pain and pleasure.

  “I bet I could make you come just by doing this.”

  She answered me with a concurring whimper.

  I continued to work her nipple and pressed a finger under her chin, urging her to look at me. She glanced up at me through hooded eyelids.

  “There is nothing going on with me and Tara, okay? You’re the only girl I want.”

  Her teeth slid over her lip as I pinched harder, driving my point home.

  “Understood?” I asked, my mouth only a breath away from hers.

  She nodded.

  “Good.” I ripped the scoop of her shirt down, pushing her bra aside and taking the rosy tip of her nipple into my mouth. She cried out, hands thrusting into my hair as I sucked, licked and nipped the hardened peak.

  She slammed her hands against the shelf, knocking something to the floor. I didn’t care. I’d deal with the mess later. All I cared about was tasting her, feeling her and watching her unravel with each stroke of my tongue.

  I lightly bit her nipple, eliciting a string of moans as I moved to the other and giving it equal attention.

  Her hands fumbled on my zipper, yanking it down and freeing my cock. Pleasure rocketed through me, pure carnal desire consumed me as she wrapped her fingers around the rock-hard column, stroking me from root to tip with fast, desperate strokes.

  “I need you inside me,” she said.

  I grabbed her ass, lifting her up, grateful to whoever invented skirts. My finger slid beneath her panties and against her moist folds. “Someone is wet,” I said against her ear.

  “So wet.” She angled my cock at her entrance, swiping the crown against her slick opening, coating it with her juices. “Please,” she begged, and I thrust into her with reckless abandon. She cried out, slamming her hand against her mouth and biting down on the skin, to muffle the rest of her pleasure filled cries.

  I pumped into her, my hips working relentlessly to fill her completely. Her fingers clawed my ass, pulling me in even deeper. My thumb found her clit, and I massaged the swollen nub. Her lips parted, a cry rising from her throat. I slammed my mouth against hers, muffling the noise.

  I deliberately pulled out to my tip then thrust back into her. Her nails dug into my shoulder, holding on for the ride and damn was it one hell of a ride.

  She buried her face into my neck as her pussy tightened around me. The shaking began in her arms and spread to her legs, her body so wound up and ready to explode. I circled the swollen bundle of nerves and pounded into her, every muscle in my body working to bring her to the edge.

  My heavy sac smacked against her ass, as I drove her closer and closer until her entire body convulsed against me. I fucked her until she was limp in my arms and with one final thrust; I came deep inside her.

  After a few moments, our breaths evened out, and she glanced up at me with a satisfied smile on her lips. “I think you drove your point home.”

  Chapter 37

  Tiffany rested in the coffin, hands crossed over her chest in eternal peace. Her sleeves were long enough to hide the slits on her wrists. She used a knife from the kitchen, and for some stupid reason, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same knife I’d used to cut the watermelon on her birthday?

  My feet froze to the ground as I got closer and my brain reminded me it was my fault she was in that black box. Tears pressed at the back of my eyes, but I stubbornly held them off. I didn’t get to cry. Crying was for those innocent people in mourning and while I might have been in mourning, I was still guilty. An accessory to her death.

  With a deep breath, I forced myself forward. I had to see her. Had to see what I did. I made it to the coffin and rested my hand on the ledge before finding the courage to look down at her pale face.

  “Fuck, Tiff,” I said as if she could hear me. “I never meant for this. I’m sorry.” I closed my eyes and went to turn away when a hand slapped down on mine. I spun just as Tiffany pushed herself up. Her eyes, two empty holes of death. I tried to rip my hand out of her grip but she held onto it. “You did this to me,” she said.

  I wrestled with her hands, desperate to get away. Her mother came up behind me, grabbing my arms and pinning them behind my back. “Look at her!” she demanded.

  “No!” I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. I wrestled against her hold, but it was iron strong and impossible to break free. I closed my eyes. It was all too much to handle. I couldn’t look at her and see what she’d become; all because I didn’t listen to her cry for help that night on the phone. If I just turned around and went to her. If I would have kept those words to myself…

  My body shook as the guilt consumed me. I needed to get the fuck out of there. It was time to run again.

  “Let me go. Please?” I begged like the pathetic little shit that I was.

  “Not until you look at her!” her mother scre
amed. “You killed her!”

  “No,” I said, tears strangling that single word, making it nothing more than a squeak. “I’m sorry.”

  I held my eyes shut as tight as possible and prayed for the nightmare to end.

  “Look at me!” Tiffany shrieked. “Look at what you did!”

  “No!”

  “Jaxon.”

  “No. No. Leave me alone.” I fought against the hold, exerting every ounce of energy I had. My heart slammed against my chest, making it impossible to catch my breath. “No!” I cried out again, ripping and pulling my arms.

  “Jaxon!”

  I shook my head, tossing and turning and doing everything I could to break free. “Let me go! Please! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I broke down, crying out my apologies and begging for forgiveness.

  Tiffany grabbed my face. “Jaxon!”

  I jerked back. My eyes shot open, my vision blurred by the sweat dripping off my forehead. I shoved up, and pushed against my headboard, taking in the familiar room around me. I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

  “Jaxon, it’s okay.” Fingertips brushed the hair off my forehead and I jolted away until my vision began to clear. Lyla sat on the edge of my bed, panic and concern in her big brown eyes. “You were having a nightmare.”

  I nodded, unable to speak. She reached out to me, but I recoiled from her touch. I didn’t want her to see me like this—pathetic and unable to catch my breath.

  “You sounded so distressed.”

  Her gaze met mine, and I hated the worry in her eyes. I wished I could make it go away, but I was the reason it was there. Even in my sleep I was causing her pain.

  I slid out of bed, swiped up my jeans from the floor, and without as much as acknowledging her, I headed to my office.

  The bottle of Jack was still in my bottom drawer and I took it out, pouring myself a glass. The amber liquid burned as it went down but the burn wasn’t enough to wash those images out of my mind, so I downed the rest of the glass.

  I refilled it and took a smaller sip this time, closing my eyes and trying to clear my head, but Tiffany’s lifeless eyes continued to stare back at me. It was a vision I’d seen too many times. The nightmares picked and chose when they wanted to show up, but they had impeccable timing, always showing up right when my life felt like it was getting on track. It was like a reminder that someone like me, a monster who basically pushed his girlfriend to death, could never be happy.