Burned

by Melody Anne

  “I think I hate you,” she finally told him.

  “No you don’t, Elena. You might wish that you hated me, but you certainly don’t.”

  “I’m ready to go home now, Tyler,” she told him through clenched teeth.

  “And I’m not ready to let you leave,” he said right back.

  They scowled at each other for several tense moments and then her expression changed. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. She leaned forward and lifted the bottle of wine — their second bottle, and he hadn’t had much from the first. She refilled her glass and then sat there and drank it down before looking at him again.

  “What are you doing now, Elena?”

  “Isn’t this what you want, Tyler? You aren’t going to leave me alone until you get exactly what you’re after, right?” she said. “Me drunk and in your bed. I toyed with the rich playboy, so now I need to put out, of course.”

  She reached for the bottle again, but this time he stopped her. This game had changed in a way he didn’t want it to. Now she was playing the victim. He wasn’t such an asshole that he was going to actually use the woman sexually in her condition.

  “This is absurd. Knock it off.”

  “Why? You want me, right? You aren’t going to leave me alone until you have me. So let’s just get it over with,” she said as she leaned against him.

  “As much as I want you in my bed, I’m not taking advantage of you now.”

  She turned more quickly than he thought possible in her inebriated state, suddenly straddling his lap and pressing down against the part of him that was throbbing in agony.

  Honor. Why in the hell did he have to feel it? This was what both of them wanted — needed. But instead of kissing her as his lower brain told him to, he stood up with her in his arms.

  “What’s the matter, Tyler? Are you not actually man enough to go for it now that I’m offering it?” she asked.

  “We can’t do this.” He could barely speak through the frustration. Was this his fate with this woman?

  “Are you not turned on when a woman becomes forward?” she taunted, acting perfectly content to lie against his chest as he held her close to his body.

  He grabbed her chin and made sure she was focused on him. “This is not a game,” he said slowly before leaning in and kissing her mouth roughly to get his point across. “I want you and I will have you. Just not at this moment. You won’t be able to blame alcohol the morning after.” Tyler growled as he reminded himself that patience was a virtue.

  “Your loss,” she slurred.

  “You can sleep here tonight. If you still feel the same way in the morning, we’ll talk then,” he told her as he began walking through his house and quickly made his way up the wide staircase to the second floor. He automatically turned into his own bedroom.

  “I don’t want to sleep here,” she murmured, but her eyes were closing.

  “Tough! This conversation isn’t finished, but you need to be sober first.”

  He laid her down and she looked as if she were struggling to open her eyes, but within a minute, she gave up the battle and he groaned again when he realized she had already passed out. Even if he had taken her up on her offer, she wouldn’t have lasted long enough for them to make love. And he wasn’t the type to resort to the human equivalent of a blow-up doll.

  She obviously didn’t handle her liquor too well.

  After pacing his room for several passes, he moved back over to her and removed her shoes and trousers. The sight of her barely there silky black panties sent a new surge of pain through his body.

  She needed water, and he needed a break from looking at her to try to give himself time to get his libido under control.

  He left the room, practically limping from the bulge in his pants. When he returned, she hadn’t budged an inch. He woke her long enough to make her drink the glass of water, and then she passed out again.

  Sleeping wasn’t going to be nearly as easy for him.

  Why did he have to torture himself even further? Obviously because he couldn’t help it. He lay down on top of the covers — climbing in beneath them with her half-bare body would have proved fatal. When he put his arms around her, she instantly snuggled against him once more.

  As he held her against him he reminded himself that this was just a basic bodily need, that she could be any woman. But as his body pulsed, and his heart thudded, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, it was only this woman who he wanted.

  That certainly couldn’t be true. Because if it was, he was surely damned.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Light was creeping in through the gap in the curtain when Elena’s brain started to reach daytime speed. She was fighting to remember. Where was she? How had the night ended? How had she made it to bed?

  Her body stilled. Feeling a foreign weight on her stomach, she looked down and saw Tyler’s arm. Then she glanced over, directly into his eyes.

  Damn, that was a powerful way to wake up.

  “Good morning, Elena.”

  That was all he said, and yet his words still traveled through her blood and straight to her core. Desire, pure and strong, ran through her hot and heavy.

  “Do you have nothing to say?” he asked, turning them both so they were face to face, his arm around her, his hand running up and down her back.

  “Where are we?” she croaked.

  “In my bed,” he replied.

  The pulsing of her heart sped even higher.

  “Why am I in your bed?” She didn’t so much as move a pinky finger.

  “Because you got drunk last night, threw yourself at me, and then passed out.” All the while he spoke, he was stroking her back with his hand.

  “I see.” She wished she could forget the night before, but she couldn’t. Everything flashed through her mind.

  “Have you changed your mind, Elena?” he asked, pushing her tousled hair away from her eyes.

  She felt exposed, excited, and unsure of what to do next.

  “You won’t quit pursuing me until we’ve had sex; will you?” she whispered.

  He froze beside her, and his hand stopped running through her hair.

  “I’m not a rapist, Elena.” The barely leashed fury in his voice told her to proceed with caution, though she wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid of herself.

  “I know that,” she said. “But you definitely go after what you want.”

  “Yes, I do. I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” he told her.

  “And you’ve decided you want me, so there’s no stopping you.” Did she really want him to stop? Lying in his arms didn’t feel at all unpleasant. Could she hate him and desire him at the same time? This was something she’d asked herself before. Evidently she could, so it was decided.

  “Then I guess we might as well have sex, Tyler.”

  Only he didn’t know it wasn’t their first time. She was more than aware of that. Would he remember when he was sunk into her body? She didn’t think he would. Would that crush her more than she’d already been crushed? It might.

  His movements stopped as he looked into her eyes.

  “You’d better make sure this is what you want, Elena. I don’t require sacrifices.”

  He pressed against her, letting her feel his arousal. Heat surged through her, cementing her choice. She didn’t know this new Tyler, didn’t really know what kind of man he’d turned out to be, but she suddenly knew that if she didn’t make love to him again, she would regret it to the end of her days.

  He was her first childhood crush, her first best friend. He had failed her in so many ways and she had no doubt that he would fail her again. But why not do what she truly wanted to do?

  He’d already sunken into her body once so it wasn’t like she was sleeping around with multiple men. This wouldn’t make her a horrible person — just a human.

  “I can admit that I want you, Tyler.”

  “Are you sure, Elena? I won’t be able to stop once we start,” he said, his finge
rs tightening in her hair and his body pressing even closer to hers.

  “I’m sure, Tyler.”

  He reached for her and she held up a hand. “What?” he asked.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  She rushed to his bathroom to take care of necessary business. She took exactly five minutes to take a record-breaking shower and brush her teeth with an unused toothbrush that she’d filched from his cabinet.

  When she came back out, Tyler pulled her into the bed without hesitation and flipped her onto her back. His eyes were burning with need.

  “I thought you might change your mind,” he said before bending down and kissing her.

  “No. There will be no mind changing this time,” she assured him.

  Then he pressed into her and she felt the full weight of his body, his manhood pushing against her heated core. It sent waves of desire up and down her body.

  Tyler ran his mouth down her jaw, then her neck. He growled in frustration at the barrier of her shirt as he moved lower, but that problem didn’t last long. She basked in the feel of him, and her moans mixed with his. Her fingers trailed down his back as he spread her thighs and rested between them.

  He rubbed his arousal against her, and she raised her hips, wanting to skip the foreplay and feel him thrusting inside her. She needed that connection, needed their bodies entwined.

  But he began moving, kissing his way down her body, making her quiver with each new place he found, exploring her, feeding her hunger.

  When he spread her open and his tongue slowly trailed up her folds, her back arched up from the bed. No, this hadn’t been the wrong choice. He was masterful in lifting her toward the greatest pleasure. The feelings were so much stronger than eight years before. Yes, it had been amazing then, but now, now it was indescribable.

  Closer and closer she came to an orgasm, but then he stopped, moved to her thighs before drifting back to her little bundle of nerves and circling it with his tongue. She cried out her frustration, but he knew exactly how close to bring her before backing off again, drawing out the agonizing pleasure for what seemed like forever.

  When he climbed his way back up her body and sucked on her breast while thrusting his fingers inside her wetness and flicking his thumb across her swollen bud, she tugged on his hair. She was right on the edge now.

  Then she reached down, needing to feel his silk-covered hardness. Her fingers found him and she wrapped them around his erection, as far as she could, and squeezed, eliciting a groan from him that she felt through her entire body.

  He kissed his way up her neck again. “Are you protected, Elena?” he asked while still pumping his fingers inside her.

  “No,” she moaned. Did she care? The last thing she wanted was for him to stop.

  He turned away from her, and she was actually tempted to yell at him. But he pulled out a condom from a bedside drawer and came back to her.

  “Put it on,” he said, turning on his side and showing off what he had to give. Impressive.

  “Gladly,” she told him throatily, grabbing the packet and ripping it open.

  She’d never done this before, and she fumbled with the damn thing. And she made him groan again when she was squeezing the tip of his arousal while trying to get the latex on.

  “Never mind. I’ll do it.” Getting those words out was torture.

  “I’ve almost got it,” she said with an urgency she knew they were both feeling.

  Though it most likely took her five times as long as it would have taken him, he allowed her to finish, and then she ran her hand up and down his hardness a few times.

  “I’ve got to have you now,” he said, and he turned her onto her back without delay.

  “Yes, now, Tyler!” She wrapped her legs around him and reached behind him to trail her nails along the taut muscles of his back.

  She closed her eyes and waited for him, and when it didn’t happen immediately, she wiggled.

  “Open your eyes, Elena.” His words were a quiet command, and she didn’t even think of disobeying him.

  She looked at him, and then he sank himself fully inside her in one smooth thrust.

  She immediately exploded, the pleasure growing more and more intense as her body squeezed around him in hard pulses. He moved slowly, drawing it out as they continued looking into each other’s eyes. So erotic.

  “You are so damn responsive that it takes my breath away,” he whispered reverently when she felt the last of her orgasm begin to dim.

  “More,” she pleaded. She wanted to feel that over and over.

  He didn’t disappoint her. He began thrusting fast and hard inside her, and her body surged again and again with pleasure. She’d never be able to leave his bed after this.

  When the sun was fully up on the horizon, his body stiffened, and he let go, releasing his own pleasure while buried deep within her.

  She grew sleepy beneath him, but the contentment she felt being held in his arms almost frightened her. He rolled over, then pulled her tightly against him.

  “You’re mine now, Elena.”

  His words sent both a thrill and terror through her. She knew this wasn’t going to have a happy ending for her — their connection was only temporary.

  But why not enjoy it while it lasted? She could worry about the fallout on some other day, couldn’t she? At least he wasn’t sending her away this time right after.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Elena sat on Tyler’s deck and shuddered as a breeze passed by. It wasn’t the coldest afternoon in Seattle, but it certainly couldn’t be considered warm, either.

  Still, the great view made up for her bit of discomfort. But she had a larger problem. What in hell was she going to say to Tyler now? He’d still been sound asleep when she’d snuck from his bed, taken another shower — a long one, this time — and then found herself wandering out onto his back deck.

  The house was nice, not what she’d been expecting from him. Yes, it was huge, much larger than any single man needed, but there were touches throughout it that made it more inviting, almost … warm. Except out on the deck.

  Pictures of him and his brothers along with the older couple they’d lived with as children hung from his walls. Throw blankets rested on the back of a couple of comfortable armchairs in the living room and the coffee table even had a fishbowl centerpiece. She had to be curious. Had he decorated the place, or had he just paid someone to come in and do it for him?

  Most likely it was the latter. That’s what little Richie Riches did.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Tyler’s warm breath on her neck startled her. Elena had been so deep in thought she hadn’t heard him approach her. After she’d awoken early that morning, they’d indulged in a sex marathon, but it hadn’t curbed her desire for this man.

  She wasn’t sure that a year, or even multiple years, would dull her hunger. At just his nearness dangerous cravings rested low in her belly.

  Agreeing to work with this man had been foolish of her — not that she’d had any choice. Making love to him again had been even more reckless. How in the world could she separate herself from him emotionally if she continued giving him her body?

  Oh. He’d asked her a question. “It’s just a little cool out here,” she told him.

  “One minute.” He disappeared, but he was back a few moments later with a thick blue throw.

  Before she knew what he was doing, he was lifting her into the air, and he sat down, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping the coverlet around her.

  She instantly forgot about the cold. It wasn’t only the throw that was warming her up.

  “Um … thank you,” she whispered, wishing she were able to hold herself away, but finding her unruly body curling up against his.

  She could tell herself all day that it was for his body heat, but it was just as much for the comfort of being in his arms. This was beyond ridiculous. How could she think of him as her lover now instead of her enemy, and after only a few hours pinned ben
eath him … and on top of him … and …? She’d always thought she had a logical brain. Still, many people made love while still hating their partners in sin. She apparently wasn’t that type of girl. She was unforgivably weak.

  “I never sleep past six in the morning, and now it’s noon. I feel like a sloth,” he said, each word a warm breath on the side of her neck.

  “I don’t think either of us got much sleep, so you have nothing to worry about,” she told him. “I do have to go into the offices today, though.”

  “That’s true. I’ll gladly go back to bed and spend all day in it — if you stay there with me. Forget about going to work.”

  As he said this, he unclasped his arms, and slipping a hand beneath the coverlet, he began caressing her stomach. Her instant response was to consider begging him to take her right there and then. Instead, she let out only a small groan when his fingers went beneath her shirt and traveled up over the mound of her breast.

  Elena had been feeling so relaxed, but she forced herself to stiffen. She had to get away from this place before she lost her mind. She hadn’t had any time to think since they’d made love, over and over, just this morning. It had been so impulsive, and she hadn’t given herself a chance to change her mind. She hadn’t wanted that chance. But now she had to process what she’d done. And she couldn’t do that while Tyler was touching her. Conflict of interest.

  “What’s the matter?”

  His fingers stilled and when she didn’t reply right away, he forced her to face him, with her mouth now only inches from his.

  “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “Tell me the truth, Elena.”

  “I just … this all happened … and now … I just … maybe I should get home and change for work.” The words felt as if they were being torn from her throat.

  His eyes dilated and his lips compressed, and for a moment she thought he was going to be angry with her. That would be good. If he was pissed off, she could be pissed off, too. But just as quickly as the emotion flashed across his face, it went away.

  “We make the best decisions when we don’t have our guard up,” he told her before clasping the back of her neck and pulling her to him. And he captured her lips in a heated kiss.