Under Your Influence

by Jaxson Kidman

  “A black and red dress,” he whispered to me. “Death. That’s what you are right now. Death.”

  “To Brian’s cheating ways,” I said.

  “Hell yeah, darling. Let’s make this little bitch cry.”

  I laughed.

  I love you.

  The words felt so ready to spill from my mouth.

  I choked them back and turned away from Tyler.

  He shut the door behind him and walked me to his truck. He helped me up into the passenger seat. He walked across the front of the truck.

  This was too much.

  Way too much.

  I had no idea what to expect.

  How far we’d go to make Brian jealous.

  And was it worth making Brian jealous?

  Hell yeah, it is.

  Tyler got into the truck and looked right at me. “Tonight is about you, Harper. You lead the way. I won’t stop until he cries. But if you need to get away or want me to stop, just say so.”

  “Are you saying I’m the one in control?”

  “For the moment, you are.”

  I took a slow breath and turned my head.

  I was burning everywhere.

  I felt like just staying home.

  And having Tyler take this annoying dress of me.

  But…

  I kind of wanted to see Brian cry because of Tyler.

  I couldn’t have planned it out better if I tried.

  The banquet hall was some big project by some guy who used to be in a band. So, he bought a massive building where he would have weddings and other gatherings. But every month he would have a large banquet at a discount to bring people in to try his food, schmooze them, and get on stage with his wedding band.

  It was genius.

  But it was also the most cliché place Brian could take Daisy.

  Because he took me there… All. The. Time.

  He was so cheap and stupid. I hated him.

  Tyler and I were in line when I spotted Brian and Daisy.

  She was in a super tight black dress that instantly made me feel self-conscious. My hands touched all the places on my body where I had curves and she didn’t. She could wear dresses like that. I couldn’t.

  “I feel bad for her,” Tyler whispered.

  “What?”

  “That’s them,” he said. “You’re staring. Your entire face changed, darling. That’s your ex and his fiancée. And I feel bad for her. She looks like she hasn’t eaten in years.”

  “Stop.”

  “I’m serious, Harper,” Tyler said. His left hand eased down my back and over my ass. “I’m playing your game. But you’re going to hear my fucking words. You are strong and beautiful. Every inch of you is perfection upon perfection. And if you think for a second you need to change, then you need to take a long look in the mirror.”

  His words made me shiver.

  I gritted my teeth.

  Daisy had perfect curls in her hair. Meaning she spent hours on her hair. Everything was done up so perfect. And there was Brian. Shorter than her. A grin on his face. Walking her toward the door.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  I grabbed Tyler’s hand and we were off.

  I charged toward them.

  Maybe I should have casually bumped into them, but I was going head on.

  The second Brian saw me, he looked at Tyler.

  His eyes went wide.

  Tyler was easily twice Brian’s size.

  Tyler was taller, wider, thicker with so much muscle that he could probably flick Brian across the parking lot like an ant crawling on his arm.

  I interlocked my fingers tight to Tyler’s hand as we got closer.

  “Harper,” Brian said.

  He swallowed hard.

  “Brian,” I said. “What are you doing here? This was usually our spot?”

  Brian laughed. “Can’t beat the food.”

  “I’ve never been here before,” Tyler said, his voice rumbling so much it shook the ground.

  Brian inched closer to Daisy.

  He was threatened already.

  “You look familiar,” Daisy said to me.

  I thought about the night before Valentine’s Day. When I saw Brian at the restaurant with Daisy.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m Brian’s ex. The one he was with while-”

  “I don’t think we need to do this here,” Brian said. “We’re all adults.”

  Tyler reached out and pointed at Brian. “Please don’t cut off my wife.”

  “Your wife?” Brian asked.

  The look on his face was worth everything so far.

  I broke my hand from Tyler’s and showed off my engagement ring and wedding band.

  “Yeah,” I said. “We’re married. This is Tyler. My husband.”

  “What?” Brian growled.

  “We just got married the other day,” Tyler said.

  “Well, congrats!” Daisy exclaimed. “How exciting! Are you going on a honeymoon?”

  “They’re not married,” Brian snapped.

  “What?” Daisy asked.

  “This is a game to you, Harper,” Brian said. “You think you’re getting back at me? So, you marry the first…”

  Tyler stepped forward and looked down at Brian. “Are you yelling at my wife? Are you disrespecting her? Are you calling her a liar?”

  “Look, buddy, I don’t know who-”

  Tyler put his hand to Brian’s chest.

  “We’re married, buddy,” Tyler said to Brian. “Fucking married. If you have a problem with that, then say something. But say it to me. Man to man. Because I know how you like to fuck with a woman’s heart. So why don’t you try messing with a man first.”

  Daisy looked confused.

  I smiled big.

  Brian looked ready to cry.

  “Married,” Brian said. “Whatever floats your boat.”

  “Or breaks the bed,” Tyler said. “Was she always this crazy between the sheets, man?”

  I gasped.

  So did Daisy.

  Brian’s cheeks turned red. Jealousy filled him up.

  “What?” Tyler asked. “Or did she not… oh, damn. I’m sorry. She didn’t do those things with you?”

  “Excuse me,” Daisy said. “I don’t want to hear about this stuff.”

  “Maybe you should,” I said. “Before you get too involved.”

  “We’re engaged,” Daisy said.

  “And he was inside me the day before he proposed to you,” I whispered.

  Tyler laughed. “Inside you? That’s a stretch. More like poking.”

  “Fuck you,” Brian growled.

  He pushed Tyler.

  Tyler didn’t move.

  Brian stepped back and lifted his hands into fists.

  “Brian, what are you doing?” Daisy asked.

  Brian looked at me.

  He looked hurt… and guilty.

  24

  (Tyler)

  I could have squashed him like a bug. One punch would have dropped him. He would have been lost ten years in the past. He would have seen so many fucking stars he would have discovered new constellations.

  But I was a cop.

  I couldn’t just get into a random fight with some asshole who broke Harper’s heart.

  Facing Cap was one thing. He would have my back. But something like this would go higher and my badge would be taken. Or I’d be put on desk duty for a long time.

  Brian wasn’t worth it.

  He was a piece of shit who stepped on hearts for fun. He had Harper in his hands and didn’t know what to do with her. So, he went for something else. He went for something more processed, and naive enough to buy into his bullshit routine. And in that sense, I felt bad for Daisy. But he was her problem now.

  I smiled. “You look like a bitch right now, buddy. Put your fists down. I’m not fighting you.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Brian said.

  “I’m going to take my wife inside for a wonderful dinner. Then we’re going t
o dance. Then I’m going to take her to our home and strip that dress off her and remind her of what it’s like to be with a real man.”

  Brian made a quick move, jumping at me, but he stopped himself.

  He laughed. “Have at it. You can enjoy my leftovers.”

  He reached for Daisy’s hand and she looked confused and disgusted.

  “Asshole,” Harper said. “Hey, Daisy… he was fucking both of us at the same time. Remember that!”

  They kept walking and I stepped in front of Harper.

  I gently touched her shoulders. “You okay?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

  “Get what?”

  “Why I don’t feel any better.”

  “Ah, fuck, darling,” I said. I closed in on her. “It hurts. Of course it hurts. He wasted your time. Took your love. He broke your heart. Seeing him once isn’t going to fix that. But you need to see what I saw.”

  “What did you see, Tyler?”

  “I saw a woman strong enough to face the man who hurt her. A woman who is capable of surviving on her own. And I saw a man who is weak. That guy is totally weak, darling. You dodged a bullet there. You can’t get that time back but you have all the time going forward.”

  “Why did you marry me?” Harper blurted out. “Cut through the bullshit, Tyler. You saw me ready to break Brian’s windows. You let me go. You hinted where you were drinking because you wanted me to show up. I did. You never for a second let things go too far between us. Sexually, I mean. But when it came to marrying each other…”

  I leaned down and brushed my lips to her ear. “Because I know what it feels like, darling. To be on the end you were on. And whether you want to believe it or not, the second I saw you, everything I knew and believed changed. You may not have thrown that rock through that window, but you threw it at the wall around my heart and shattered it.”

  It wasn’t the kind of confession I ever planned to make to Harper. Or anyone for that matter.

  I pulled away from her and she grabbed my wrists.

  People around us all shuffled into the banquet hall.

  We just stood there staring at each other.

  “Let’s leave,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Right now. Take me home, Tyler. Just… take me…”

  I swallowed down all the emotion bullshit and curled my lip. “The only appetite I have, darling, is for your body.”

  I opened the bedroom door and gently guided Harper inside.

  Everything was moving slow and it was pissing me off.

  She turned and walked backwards, playing a little game with me.

  My hands caught her hips before she got too far away. My fingertips slipped along the edges of the straps on the dress. I eased them down her shoulders and she wiggled.

  “Not yet,” she whispered.

  “No, no, darling,” I said. “I make the rules.”

  My hands eased flat to her shoulders and I pushed.

  She let out a little gasp before understanding my command.

  She moved to her knees before me as I opened the buttons on my nicest shirt.

  Her right hand cupped between my legs and she let out a sigh when she realized how hard I already was. Which shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her.

  I opened my jeans and she perked up on her knees, ready for me.

  “Take it,” I said.

  My hands balled up into fists and I watched her ease my jeans down, far enough to allow my dick to pop free.

  Her lips latched to my tip, kissing me as she shut her eyes.

  I gritted my teeth, demanding that cold and dark fire to kick up inside me.

  I needed to ram myself down her throat and stay there. I needed to pump and fuck and fill her with release. This couldn’t be anything more…

  Her right hand cupped under my thick shaft, guiding herself gently up and back. Her left hand fought with her dress, pulling it down so she could show off her amazing chest.

  As her mouth started to open, so did her eyes.

  She looked up at me as she took me into her mouth.

  Soft and gentle, the caress of her tongue underneath my hardness, testing her limits and then some.

  It took a lot to leave a man like me breathless, but Harper had accomplished just that.

  She traveled back and moved away from me with a loud sound. Her hand stroked up and back one time before her mouth returned. This time her focus was just on my dick and nothing else.

  She moved faster, groaning each time she took me. The vibration was enough to make me want to end right there. I had to hold back, sucking a deep breath.

  When her eyes met mine again, it suddenly felt like all time stopped.

  She eased away from me and sat back on her heels.

  Her dress just below her breasts.

  I never saw anything so beautiful in my life.

  I pushed my jeans down and stepped out of them, along with my black boots.

  I was on my knees before her, seeing the pain and the confusion in her eyes.

  This was more than anything I ever expected. Deeper than anything I ever felt.

  “Tyler,” she whispered. “Tell me what happened to you…”

  I moved down at her, my hand slipping behind her neck.

  I pulled her lips to mine as my other hand reached behind her dress.

  “I need you first,” I said.

  I stripped the dress off her body and took her right there on the floor, next to the bed.

  I reached up and pulled the covers off the bed to the floor and made her a messy pillow.

  As I sank into her, that whole time stopping feeling rushed through me again.

  I held inside her and touched her face.

  I stroked her cheek.

  I kissed her.

  Deep. Wild. Fast.

  I kissed down to her neck and down to her chest.

  I engulfed her breast and sucked as hard as I could.

  Harper let out a cry of relief and scratched at me.

  But even that didn’t work.

  I started to fuck her, wasting no time in speeding up.

  Even that…

  Shit.

  I reached for the bed and grabbed the edge of it. I towered over her and pumped with everything I had to offer.

  Harper arched her back and cried out my name as though she needed to say it a hundred times to never forget it.

  She clawed from my legs to my chest and back down.

  Leaving her marks… but they would fade.

  I fucked her until she came.

  And the moment she came, I had too also.

  I grunted and sank my teeth into my own bed as I exploded inside her.

  She let out a breathless whimper as I realized something.

  She’d left her mark inside me.

  On my heart.

  And now there was no turning back.

  I was in love with Harper.

  25

  (Harper)

  We were finally in his bed.

  He was behind me, both of us on our right sides.

  His left hand held my left leg open as he thrust in and out of me at the most perfect speed I had ever felt. The constant rush of pleasure and feeling of pressure raced through my core and down my inner thighs. The rushing continued, collided between my legs against my aching core, leaving me with a sense of coming that refused to quit.

  His right arm was stretched out and I kept kissing his forearm.

  I couldn’t help it.

  I wanted to taste him.

  I craved him.

  I think I loved him… but…

  Tyler’s left hand raced up my body to my ribs as he grunted with that one and only warning that he was about to finish again.

  I gasped for a breath as he filled me, holding steady as he came.

  I loved the way he held me. I loved the way his grip was so tight but never painful. He knew his strength and he knew how to test me, but he would never ever hurt me.

>   Tyler kissed my shoulder over and over, working up to my neck.

  He gently eased himself away from me and I rolled to my back.

  I quickly touched his face. “Tell me.”

  Tyler laughed. “Wow. Did you just pity fuck me into getting information?”

  “Maybe. Is that wrong?”

  “No. As long as I come, what the fuck do I care?”

  I gently slapped his cheek. “Tyler…”

  “Okay,” he said. “I thought I was in love. Madly in love. We were together for a long time. I went through the motions, darling. I waited for her. I went after her. I finally got that first date. I obsessed over every little detail. And it worked. We were together. But it was just this… process. Days and months and years. We were wild at first. Then become comfortable. And it got to a point where I needed to make a decision. Ask her to marry me or leave.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “That’s just how it felt,” he said.

  “What did you do?”

  “I asked her. She told me she had fallen in love with someone else.”

  “Oh, Tyler…”

  “It was the job,” he said. “She hated that I was a cop. She hated the danger. She feared me getting hurt or killed. She pushed me to do something else with law enforcement. It was this big elephant in the room all the time. We never really talked about it because there was no solution. I was never going to quit. She was never going to accept it.”

  “She cheated on you.”

  “Fell in love with another guy. A finance guy. They met in Maui when she was there on business. And every business trip after that wasn’t the business I thought she was going on.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  My heart ached for him. And things started to make a little sense. Why he was the way he was. He was hiding himself. His pain. His doubts.

  “So, when I saw you in the same boat, I thought I could help. The marriage thing was crazy, darling. I was going to take you home and sleep with you. Make you forget him. You brought up getting married and I ran with it. I figured why not? What have I got to lose? I tried to do it the normal way and it was a joke. So why not do something crazy and see where it ends up?”

  “What we did was crazy, Tyler.”