Along Came Us (Man Enough)

by Nicole McLaughlin

  Lia laid her purse on the sofa table, awaiting Tyler’s answer. His response was to turn her body around and place his hands on her face. “All I want is you.”

  They resumed right where they left off outside, kissing, sucking, and nipping at each other. The sounds alone were doing their best to drive her out of her mind. The wet slide of their tongues, the swishing of his jacket as he jerked it off, the soft grumble inside his chest as she followed him down onto the sofa and straddled his lap. Her heels slipped off her feet and hit the carpeted floor with a light thud.

  His palms squeezed her backside once, twice—a little harder, and then he finally pulled her down against him in a slow grinding motion. Tyler let out a sigh and let his head fall back on the cushion as she moved against him.

  His eyes traveled across her face and then down to her top. He lifted one hand and placed a finger on her neck before slowly running it down the length of her chest and between her breasts. “You are so beautiful.”

  She’d heard those words a thousand times by a thousand men, but tonight, here with this man, she believed them. A deep part of her soul hoped that he would be the one to unlock the magic for her. Show her all the things that she’d been missing, because no one had been able to make her want that before.

  The wine was helping. But she knew it was more than that. There was just something incredibly appealing about Tyler, and it wasn’t just his masculinity or his muscles. He made her feel desired. Safe.

  Willing him to touch her, Lia leaned back and rested her hand on his thighs. She was now completely open to him, and grateful that Tyler understood immediately. His fingers went to work on her top button, slipping it through the hole, then traveling to the next, until her blouse fell apart completely.

  Lia sucked in a breath as cool air caressed her bare skin. Tyler’s hooded gaze skimmed over her body as his hands ran up the length of her torso, leaving goose bumps in their wake. Tonight, she’d worn a simple white demi bra, and his thumbs traced the wire cup below her breasts while his fingers whispered over her lace-covered nipples.

  Every move he made was methodical and observant. He was the most thorough man. As if every sight, taste, and sound needed to be committed to memory. It was exquisite torture.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice dark and full of intention.

  Lia leaned forward, instinctively rising on her knees and angling her chest toward his mouth. Using both hands, he pushed her bra up, forcing her breasts to bounce free. He didn’t hesitate, instantly sucking the right nipple into his mouth.

  Lia’s lips parted on a gasp, then a quiet moan escaped her throat as he laved her flesh, wetting every inch, biting gently on the tip, and then sucking hard enough to make her question if it was painful or sublime. From the sound of her panting, it was the latter. All she wanted was for this to continue. For her mind to let it all happen, because this was what she wanted more than anything right now. To finally feel free enough to enjoy her own pleasure.

  She hovered against him, her ribs pressing into his chest. That’s when she felt his fingers find their way between her legs, rubbing against the seam of her jeans. It felt so good, and she rode her body against his hand for a second.

  “This is what I want, Lia. When you’re ready to give it to me.”

  Oh, she wanted it too, so bad. In the past, she’d only let things get this far once, and it had ended badly. She’d learned the hard way that for some men, being denied after getting so far was unacceptable. Made her a tease. And while she knew better, she now carried that doubt and fear into every intimate encounter. Something told her Tyler would be different. She wanted to trust him. More than anything.

  He switched to the other breast and the new attention to the desensitized skin sent enough tingles through her body to bring her back to the present. God, every touch felt like heaven. Made her want to see it through. She wanted him to touch all over, feel his fingers enter her, his lips on every inch of her body. As if she’d voiced her wishes aloud, his lips trailed down her stomach, licking and sucking at her skin.

  To make room for him, she backed up a bit, and Tyler took the opportunity to get his fingers on her zipper.

  Lia froze.

  He noticed the change in the air and his head jerked up to her, fingers still. “This okay?”

  Unsure of how to respond, Lia said the first thing she thought of. “I want it to be okay.”

  He stared back at her, breath labored. “But it’s not.”

  Lia sighed. “No. I mean . . . it is. But . . . no. It’s not. I’m sorry.”

  His brow furrowed. “Don’t apologize. Talk to me, Lia.”

  She let her head fall back. Should she come clean with him right now? She felt him gently stroke her hair off her neck, and then his lips were back on her skin. Lia let a quiet moan escape her lips.

  “I want to know, Lia.” His breath warmed her skin, and then he pulled back to look at her once more. “Tell me what you’re thinking. I told you I won’t do anything you don’t want. I mean that.”

  “I believe you.” She licked her lips. “It’s just that . . . I’m a virgin.”

  There was no mistaking the slight widening of his eyes, but he didn’t give too much away. She was thankful for that, because the last thing she wanted was his pity, or even worse, for him to be annoyed. Lia felt no shame for her lack of experience, but she hated the thought that people judged her for it. Tyler tilted his head, staring back at her as his fingers stroked her jaw, down one side, then the other.

  “Say something,” she whispered, her hands resting on his chest.

  He hesitated for a second and then finally spoke. “I’m glad you told me.”

  “So we can wrap this up and you can never speak to me again?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

  “Come on, Tyler. You’re a grown man, you don’t want to be wasting time placating virgins.”

  “I’m ashamed to imagine what would give you that idea about me.” He linked their hands, and she tried to convince herself it wasn’t a step backward. “And if having you straddle me while we make out is placating, then I’m happy to continue.”

  “Nothing you did gave me that idea about you. If it had we wouldn’t be here right now. I just . . . haven’t always had the best reactions in the past and I brought that fear into this.”

  He cupped the back of her head and pulled her face down to his. “Well then, those guys were dicks that didn’t deserve you. It’s only you and me here tonight, Lia. And if this is as far as things go . . . I still want it.”

  Biting her lip, she nodded lightly before leaning into kiss him. She couldn’t help herself, tears pressing at her eyelids. How did he keep surprising her, showing up just the way she needed him to? He cared about her brother, was happy to kiss her and nothing else, and even drank a mocha frap when it was obvious he’d hated it.

  This was trouble, because no man could be that perfect.

  They continued to kiss and pet each other, but not once did he even hint at more. After about a half hour, Lia’s entire face felt numb, and both of them were short of breath.

  He inhaled deep and then placed one more kiss on her forehead before adjusting his pants. “I could kiss you all night, but I might need a distraction.”

  Lia laughed. She mentally ran through their options. “Ice cream?”

  “Sure.”

  After making them both a bowl, Lia settled on the couch next to him. They ate, watched TV, and eventually she dozed off with her head in his lap while he played with her hair. When she woke up and glanced at the clock, it was two in the morning, she was tucked in her own bed, and Tyler was gone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sweat dripped off Tyler’s brow, sliding down his cheek, and falling onto his chest as he gave the punching bag a right cross, a right uppercut, and then a one-two, three-two.

  The gym was quiet on Sunday mornings. Normally he took the day off or did private instruction like he had sched
uled today, but he’d shocked his two employees out front by coming in at the crack of dawn to get some alone time on the mat. He should stop, but he’d been beating the shit out of this bag for nearly forty minutes and it was still fighting back. The thoughts whirling around his head didn’t help.

  Going in for a two, three, and a right roundhouse, he let out a grunt before stepping back. His chest heaved with exertion from fighting and lack of sleep after being with Lia all evening. For once, an all-nighter with a woman had not been marathon sex, but instead he’d put her to bed and then sat there and watched her sleeping in the lamplight.

  After five minutes of being creepy as hell, he realized he had it bad.

  This woman had managed to crawl under his skin in a ridiculously short amount of time.

  Jab and left hook.

  Last night he’d have been happy with a good-night kiss at her door. But when she’d kissed him back outside, he’d felt how much she wanted him. There’d been no denying her invitation inside. Lia was warm and soft, and holy fuck, those few minutes with her on the couch had been better than any fantasy. And all they’d done was make out like teenagers.

  Double jab and a two to the body.

  But more than the physical intimacy, he’d been happy as hell that she’d opened up to him. To his surprise, it hadn’t scared him at all to find out she was a virgin. Of course, he’d have been happy to take things all the way, but he was also fine with what they’d done. To be fair, he had no qualms with virgin women, it just usually wasn’t something he was into because . . . well, why, when you weren’t in it for the long haul? And that was where his thoughts were fucking him up in the head.

  Did he see a future with Lia Hanson?

  He honestly couldn’t deny that the visions that idea prompted in his mind intrigued him. The two of them doing everyday things. Cooking, talking, maybe working out together. And of course, the obvious: touching her, seeing her beautiful body naked, her in his bed. Him being her first . . . and only. Damn that made him feel . . . something. A sort of possessive and primal feeling that he’d never experienced before.

  Right straight, left round.

  The overhead lights flipped on and Tyler winced as he gave the bag a left uppercut and a right straight.

  “That bag must have really been talking shit.” Reeve dropped his duffel inside the door and headed into the room.

  “Shouldn’t you be in Boss Lady’s bed?” Tyler asked, giving the punching bag another right hook.

  “She’s out of town.”

  Tyler could have sworn Reeve almost sounded pouty about his girlfriend Emily’s absence. Her theater company probably had another location opening up. Tyler stepped away from the swinging bag and sucked in a breath before speaking. “She didn’t take you along on her private jet so you guys could join the mile-high club?”

  “What makes you think we’re not already members?”

  “Are you?” Tyler grinned.

  Reeve gave him a look that let Tyler know he’d never admit it but the answer was undoubtedly yes. Not a surprise. Lucky bastard.

  “I came to fight but looks like you might be all tuckered out.”

  “I can take you.” Tyler said, heading over to his water bottle. “You better warm up first, though. I’m in the mood to kick some ass.”

  A half hour later, Reeve bent over, gloves on his knees. “Damn, dude. You are in a mood today.”

  Tyler chuckled. Amazing what pent-up lust could do. “I did do this for a living, remember?

  “Yeah, well . . . I didn’t. And if Boss Lady comes home to me black and blue, she’s gonna come find you.”

  “Now you got her fighting your battles for you? You are whipped.” Tyler gave his friend a scruff on the head with his own glove and ducked under the ropes before jumping down to the floor. Suddenly exhaustion seemed to be kicking in. A long shower and a longer nap sounded good. Too bad he had a client in about thirty minutes.

  “I think I’m gonna go get a coffee down the street.”

  Tyler looked over his shoulder. “Yeah? You might see Lia there.” And suddenly he was jealous his friend would possibly see her and he wouldn’t. Had she been thinking about last night this morning? Did she enjoy what they’d done? He hoped she didn’t have any regrets.

  “You gonna come with me?” Reeve asked, interjecting Tyler’s thoughts.

  “I can’t. I need to shower before my client shows.”

  “Everything better between you and Lia now?”

  “We went out last night.”

  Reeve’s eyes went wide. “My man. Good for you.”

  “Is that really so shocking?” Tyler asked, heading to the door.

  “Not at all. I knew you’d man up.”

  Tyler chuckled. “I’m glad you think so highly of me.”

  When they made their way into Tyler’s office, Reeve lingered in the doorway. “Before I go, wanted to remind you about our next drill weekend. Its Mark’s birthday.”

  “Oh shit. I’d forgotten. What are we doing this year?” Tyler asked. None of them missed the tradition of spending Mark’s birthday weekend with him. He flew in every year from Dallas where he now lived with his girlfriend. Tyler and Jase had met Mark at Fort Riley years ago. They’d deployed together for the first time, but unfortunately within six months Mark was in an accident, losing one of his legs at the knee and earning an honorable discharge.

  “No idea. Jase probably has a plan,” Reeve said. “I just hope it’s better than last year. I still have a scar from wrecking that fucking go-kart.”

  Tyler laughed. “God, that was classic.”

  “Glad you can laugh about it. Anyway, I’m driving along with Jase tomorrow to pick up some cattle. We’re taking my truck and his. I’ll talk to him about it then.”

  “Sounds good. You cowboys don’t get into trouble,” Tyler said. Jase lived about forty-five minutes north of Manhattan and he’d recently started ranching on the land he’d grown up on. Something they all thought was crazy and also pretty damn impressive. Reeve gave Tyler a salute and headed out.

  Now alone, it wasn’t long before Tyler was in the shower and prepping for his appointment. When he pulled a clean T-shirt over his head, he got a text from Reeve. It was a photo of Lia at the coffee shop. If the wonky angle and slight blur were any indication, he’d taken it without her knowledge. She was smiling, maybe even laughing, and damn, she looked beautiful.

  He really wished he’d have rushed and gone with Reeve. But honestly, part of him didn’t want her to feel pushed or crowded by him since they’d just seen each other the night before. If there was one thing he’d learned about Lia, it was that trust didn’t come easy for her, and Tyler felt like last night had been big for them. She’d shared something deeply personal.

  He wanted more from her. More sharing, kissing, talking. For the first time in . . . ever, he wanted to dissect a woman’s brain. Know what made her happy, sad, turned on. If something upset her, turned her off, made her angry . . . he wanted to know that too. But he would get none of that if he didn’t take things at her pace.

  He shot off a quick reply to Reeve.

  TYLER: Wish I could have come along.

  REEVE: She asked where you were.

  TYLER: What did you tell her?

  REEVE: I told her I’d just knocked you out in the ring and you were busy scraping your ego off the floor.

  Tyler replied with the middle finger emoji, one they sent each other often, and then headed into his office. He sat down in his chair to check his schedule for the day when his phone vibrated again.

  REEVE: Her exact response was “I know that’s not true.” I was offended.

  With a smile, Tyler headed back to his office. Yeah, this girl was special. Definitely worth waiting for.

  * * *

  On Tuesday, while sitting in her Marketing Analytics class, Lia considered the possibility that Tyler might not want to see her again. Now, as she walked to her car, she tried to convince herself there was a good explanat
ion for why she hadn’t heard from him in the past forty-eight . . . or more, hours. They hadn’t officially said goodbye Saturday night, although he had been so sweet and tucked her into bed. She’d missed out on that opportunity where two people discuss what happens next. They’d had no obligatory, “I’ll call you” or “What about next weekend?” There was always the option of calling him, or texting him, herself. But she just hadn’t brought herself to do it yet.

  Striding through the parking lot, she pulled her cardigan around her body and tucked her arms against her chest. Done with classes for the day, she decided maybe she should quit overanalyzing things and take matters into her own hands. It was only noon, she didn’t have to work until three, and Caleb was in school. She could go home and do laundry or go to the grocery store, but what she wanted more than anything was to see Tyler. Or at least hear his voice.

  Pulling her phone from her bag, she found his contact. Her finger hovered over the screen as she made her way toward her car. As soon as she unlocked it and sat down, she pushed the call button.

  She listened to it ring, her heart pounding. The minute he answered with a sexy “Hey,” she felt relieved. His tone completely told her that he was happy to hear from her.

  “Hi. Busy?”

  “Not too busy for you.”

  Lia smiled. She could hear the telltale sounds of the gym in the background. She imagined him there in his element, maybe in sport pants or shorts. Although he looked good in whatever he wore. “That’s nice of you to say.”

  The noise started to fade away until it was gone. She figured he must have gone into his office or the training room. “I was going to call you today.”

  “Were you? Guess I should have waited,” she teased.

  “No way. I like seeing your face pop up on my phone.”

  “My face?”

  “Oh shit,” he chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I just outed Reeve for covertly taking your picture the other day at the coffee shop.”

  She gasped. “Are you serious? Oh gosh, do I look ridiculous?”