Burned

by Melody Anne

  “No, a couple have special bathrooms for kids who have a harder time getting around, and some of the layouts are a bit different,” he told her.

  “I’ll go and look at them while you do whatever it is that you do here.”

  “I’d rather be with you,” Tyler told her.

  Blake stepped forward quickly and held out his hand. “We don’t want to run you off, Elena. I’m sorry if we embarrassed you. We were just ribbing our little brother.”

  “Oh, I’m not running off,” she said, looking up with a relieved smile.

  Tyler realized that his brothers had simply intimidated her. And that Blake had made the gesture to speak to her had effected a world of difference in how she was feeling.

  “It’s very nice to meet you,” Byron said. “Wait. We’ve met, at the bistro bar, right? Nascosto?”

  “Yes,” Elena murmured but she couldn’t quite meet Byron’s eyes.

  Tyler was thinking back to that meeting and remembered that Byron had been in a less than good mood.

  “That’s right,” Byron said with a smile. He grabbed her and lifted her from her feet, causing a gasp to escape her shocked lips. “I remember that you like hugs,” he said before setting her back on the ground.

  Should Tyler say something? He hadn’t the foggiest. But suddenly her cheeks colored delicately and a real answering smile appeared on her lips as she looked Byron in the eyes.

  “I do like hugs,” she said with a soft laugh.

  “Well, then,” Blake said before scooping her up and hugging her, too. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Why don’t you both go hug on your wives?” Tyler groused, and he slipped his arm possessively around Elena’s waist.

  “Any time, day or night, brother,” Blake told him. “Nights are the best …”

  “You boys, really, it’s okay, go and play. I’m going to look at the other cabins now.”

  And with that, Elena slipped away.

  Tyler turned to his brothers. “Now look what you did. You chased her off.”

  “She seems capable of taking care of herself,” Byron said, and he gave his little brother a pat on the back.

  “She’s pretty much perfect,” Tyler told them.

  “That’s a big change from what you said a few months ago,” Byron retorted.

  “Yeah, a lot can happen.”

  Byron nodded. “I’ll agree with that.”

  Yep, a lot was definitely happening here.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  I don’t like to admit when I’m wrong,” Elena said as she sat back and enjoyed her s’more. “But I can do it. I’m finding that I might have judged you for past deeds.”

  “What does that mean?” Tyler asked.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Obviously it’s something or you wouldn’t have brought it up,” he responded.

  “Why don’t you tell me what made you decide to build this camp.” She really wanted to get the focus off her and her slip in words.

  Tyler was quiet as he gazed into the fire, the embers casting shadows on his cheeks, and making it impossible for her to read anything from his eyes.

  “I just thought it would be a good project,” he finally answered.

  “Come on, Tyler. I spoke to one of your managers while you were meeting with your brothers. He said this is a complete nonprofit project, that you’ve donated all the funds to build it, to get it started, and to ensure that it keeps going. That’s not just something a person does on a whim.”

  Elena shifted in her seat. Tyler wasn’t turning out at all to be the person she had thought he was. She wasn’t too sure she was happy about that. Had she become too cynical over the years? Was she hoping he was rotten so she was justified in hating him? That didn’t say a hell of a lot for her.

  “When I was a kid, life wasn’t always the easiest,” he finally told her.

  Elena was taken aback by that response. It certainly hadn’t been what she’d expected to hear from him. He’d been wealthy. Sure, when she had met him, he’d lived with his guardians in a smaller home, but later she’d found out who he really was — what he was worth.

  Once she’d found that out, she hadn’t been surprised that he’d dumped her as a friend. She hadn’t been up to his standard of living at all. So to hear him say his life hadn’t been easy didn’t make sense at all.

  “I have a hard time believing that,” she said.

  He turned to gaze at her. “Believe what you need to, Elena. I know it’s your way of holding yourself back, and I’m not going to convince you I’m somebody other than what you’ve prejudged me to be, but there’s more to a person’s character than what first meets the eye.”

  “Maybe I have made snap judgments, but you have to admit that you have the party-boy reputation going for you,” she reminded him. Not to mention that he enjoyed screwing a woman and then tossing her out.

  “I worked hard to cultivate that image,” he said with a laugh. “In reality, I’m actually pretty dang boring.”

  She waited for him to add to that. When he didn’t she countered him. “I don’t think so, Tyler. No one would ever describe you as boring.”

  “I used to get out a lot more, travel the world, go to places not too many others got to go, had no fear. As my life has progressed, I’ve had less desire for cheap thrills. Or even expensive thrills.”

  “That doesn’t mean you’re boring or that you have one foot in the grave. It means you’re growing up and appreciate what you have, and that you don’t feel the need to desperately seek out adventure at every turn.”

  “If you despise me so much, why are you trying to make me feel better about my decisions?”

  “I don’t exactly despise you…” She had to trail off. The things she’d said to him so far pretty much meant exactly that.

  “You might have before you got to know me, but it’s not too easy when you spend time with me. I’m a likable guy.” And with that, the cocky smile and his naturally vibrant personality came right back to the surface.

  “When you say things like that, Tyler, it doesn’t make you too likable.”

  “Admit it, Elena, you can’t live without me.”

  The problem with his statement was that it might be true. In her short amount of time with this man, he was almost becoming a necessity for her. She knew better than to get attached. That could only mean certain heartbreak.

  But what was she going to do at this point? It wasn’t as if she could distance herself from him. He was a huge client for her firm and she was a peon who had to do what her boss said. Still, knowing that she had no control over the situation made her feel a little better about herself. Sure, she didn’t have to sleep with the guy — but she’d rather not think too much about that.

  “You aren’t necessarily bad company,” she conceded after an absurdly long silence.

  Tyler laughed before moving from where he was and picking her up, then sitting down with her straddling his lap.

  “Let’s see if I can get an upgrade to great company,” he told her.

  Before Elena was able to reply, he kissed her, knocking all thoughts from her brain except for how much she wanted him. His lips caressed hers, and she voluntarily opened to him, the warmth of the fire on her back, the heat from his body engulfing her.

  “I can’t get enough of you, Elena. Even after I have you — several times — I want you again. Tell me it’s the same for you.” His voice was thick and rough.

  As he spoke, his hips surged upward, his jean-clad arousal pushing into her, making her curse the clothes between them.

  “Tell me, Elena,” he commanded her before gently biting down on her bottom lip and sliding a hand up the front of her shirt. He cupped her breast, and she moaned.

  She wriggled against him with abandon. Why should she care anymore that he knew the power he held over her while she was locked in his arms?

  “I want you, Tyler,” she gasped. “I want you all the time.”

  Her reward
was a renewed assault on her lips while he squeezed her nipple through her bra and rolled it between his forefinger and his thumb. This time their lovemaking was different. She felt a desperation in his touch, in his possession of her. She felt as if he were claiming her — heart, body and soul. And she loved it.

  He trailed his hand down her back, then moved it between them. He unclasped her jeans and slid inside. She pushed against his fingers as they found her moist center and began moving in steady circles around the part of her pulsing with the greatest need.

  She didn’t care that they were outside, in the open. She didn’t care about anything but what she was feeling. Satisfaction was coming; he was building it with his brilliant strokes. While his fingers worked their magic, he continued caressing her mouth with his lips, and she moaned into them.

  As she reached her peak, Elena bit down on his bottom lip to keep from screaming out, and she shook in his arms. When the initial waves of pleasure had passed, she pulled back and looked into his burning eyes.

  “Your turn,” she whispered, enjoying the jolt of hunger she saw in him when she said those words.

  She began to slip off his lap when a noise stopped her. Tyler heard it at the same time, and he locked his hands around her back.

  The sound grew clearer — footsteps approaching, coming closer and closer.

  “Busy, bro?”

  Elena was mortified when she heard the sound of Blake’s voice.

  “I thought you were leaving an hour ago,” Tyler growled.

  “Got held up at the lodge. We were just coming out to say goodbye,” Byron piped in. “We aren’t interrupting anything, are we?”

  He knew very well he was interrupting — his mocking tone of voice made that more than clear. Elena was only grateful that her clothes were in place. They wouldn’t be able to see her undone jeans or her hard nipples, which were pressing against Tyler’s chest.

  “No, not interrupting,” Elena squeaked right before Tyler countered that.

  “Yes, you are. Go away.”

  “No prob.”

  Blake and Byron just turned and left. Elena was blushing like wildfire, and she couldn’t even turn to look at the two men as they retreated. After a few moments she struggled to break free from Tyler’s grasp.

  “We’re not finishing, are we?”

  “I can’t believe I did that out here. I have no earthly idea what I was thinking.”

  He finally let her go. She jumped to her feet and straightened her clothes.

  “That you can’t think clearly around me is a good thing, Elena. Most people aren’t lucky enough to have this much passion between them.” Tyler also stood up and began pursuing her.

  She kept backing away. “I’m a lawyer, for goodness’ sake, Tyler. I can’t act this way,” she told him.

  “Last time I checked, you were human too. Enjoy the thrill. Enjoy letting go.”

  She bumped into something and realized it was the wall of a cabin.

  Tyler moved right up to her and boxed her in against the wall. “I am living a full life,” she panted, unable to focus with him so close.

  “Prove it,” he told her with that wicked smile.

  Elena knew she should turn and walk away, knew Tyler threatened her very sanity. But he was right. There was a thrill of doing the unexpected, of being on this constant high.

  Without another word, she dropped to her knees on the ground in front of him and with shaking fingers undid his jeans. Her desire outweighed her fear of getting caught with her pants down, or more accurately with Tyler’s pants down.

  By the time they were done, she was very satisfied. She had most certainly proved that she could bring him just as much pleasure as he brought her and that was a thrill she hadn’t even known she had wanted to feel.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Elena was delighted that it was now June. And the market was full of great things.

  She shopped every outdoor market she could find when the weather turned. Even if she didn’t really need anything.

  “Okay, this took some major digging, so you know that you owe me big-time, right?” Piper said as they walked between vendors.

  “I know it’s almost not worth the information,” Elena told her. “You’re going to draw this out for as long as you can just for your own sick enjoyment”

  “I’m hurt — no, I’m devastated — that you would think such a thing,” Piper said, the smile on her face as big as the one on the Cheshire cat.

  “Just spit it out, Piper. Seriously, it’s been a long week, and I’m worn-out.”

  “Maybe from all that sex you’ve been sneaking in that you think you’re being so darn discreet with,” Piper told her.

  Elena stopped what she was doing and turned toward her friend in shock. “How in the world do you know?”

  “Oh, come on, Elena. A woman doesn’t glow the way you’re glowing unless she’s getting sex. And not just any sex, but the sort of sex that rocks your body for days to come. And I’m not using the word come lightly. I’d almost kill to get that in my life right now,” Piper said with a melodramatic sigh.

  “Okay, fine, I’ve had sex with Tyler, and yes, it’s good sex…” She stopped talking, unsure why she hadn’t told her best friend about the situation.

  “And you’re waiting for my judgment, right?” Piper asked.

  “Yeah. I was complaining about him for weeks and then all of a sudden I’m doing it in every position known to man. Well, maybe not every position … I was embarrassed to tell you about it,” Elena had to admit.

  “You know that I would never judge you, never be anything but here for you,” Piper told her friend. “So don’t hold out on me again.”

  “Fine. I won’t hold out on you. But now you can tell me all this mysterious information that you’ve discovered.”

  “As much as I do enjoy holding out, this is too good not to share. It appears as if your apparently fantastic lover,” Piper said with a long-suffering sigh before continuing, “is also quite the humanitarian. It’s a bit disgusting if you ask me.”

  “I don’t follow,” Elena said. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that he has served in Third World countries, taking medicine and food to the needy. And then he has multiple projects going on here in Seattle, such as donating funds and even working — we’re talking hammers, nails, and more. Sweat equity. He builds houses, volunteers at shelters, and even coaches a baseball team made up of disadvantaged kids.”

  “What do you mean disadvantaged kids?” Elena asked.

  “All of this info and that’s what you focus on?” Piper said.

  “One thing at a time,” Elena told her.

  “He has a baseball team of kids from eight to ten that are from the foster care system.”

  Elena didn’t know how to process this information. How could she continue hating a man who volunteered far more than she did, and who seemed to love the same causes she did? Especially when that man was also one hell of a lover?

  “How did you find this out?”

  “I told you it took a lot of digging. But I managed to get chummy with his secretary last night at the bar,” Piper said. “Yes, I did stalk her a bit. If this guy is seeing my best friend, I want to know more about him. But I did that because I was able to do some research through an old friend who works for human services. Tyler doesn’t allow his name to be used in the media for these deeds, and to keep him out of it is no small task, but I think the guy honestly does this stuff because he loves to do it. It’s clearly not a publicity stunt, and not just a tax write-off. This man might actually be a good guy.”

  “I don’t understand any of this, Piper. Ignoring the fact of my one night stand with him eight years ago, I watched him for years in the media. He was always sporting a new woman on his arm, attending the best of the best parties, getting openly drunk and making a fool of himself. We’re in split-personality territory here, and how is that possible?”

  “I don’t know, darling. I
just know what I’ve found out. And this guy is pretty much a girl’s dream come to life, if you ask me.”

  “It doesn’t really matter though, does it?” Elena said.

  “Why would you say that? He obviously worships you, and he’s pretty much perfect. I would think you’d be elated right now.”

  “There’s a big difference between worshipping someone and enjoying sex with them, Piper. Yes, we’re having great sex, but that doesn’t change the fact that we barely know each other, and that there’s no way this will end with me in a wedding gown. I’m enjoying him, but it’s only until this job with his contracts is done.”

  “How do you know that?” Piper asked. “Maybe this is the man you’re supposed to be with for the rest of your life. If you don’t give it a real shot, you might always wonder about what you could have done differently.”

  “And if I let myself believe that this is something more than it really is then I’m going to be devastated when everything goes down in flames.”

  “Don’t do that. You haven’t had the best of luck with men. But maybe you haven’t because Tyler is the one you were supposed to wait for. If you had settled with some guy that makes you kind of happy instead of ecstatic then you would never know what real passion and real love feels like.”

  “I think you’ve been reading way too many of your library books — from the romance section, of all places,” Elena told Piper. “Real love doesn’t exist, sweetie. Good sex can happen, companionship can happen, but I’ll say it again — real love doesn’t exist. I’ve seen far more examples of bad relationships than good. Divorce rates are higher than ever before, and if you look around you, even right here on this street, everyone will have a story of a failed romance. I think what you’re looking for is a myth. We can enjoy each other for a while, but we eventually grow bored, or we discover that we really don’t have anything in common after all. Or maybe the eyes begin to stray. Sure, it’s amazing in the beginning because the hormones are running rampant, but in the end, our imperfections come to the surface and the epic romance we felt in the beginning is all over in a flash.”