Burned

by Melody Anne

  “You’re depressing the hell out of me, Elena. I refuse to believe that real love doesn’t exist”

  “I don’t have to try to prove it to you, darling. You’ll see it for yourself when I’m sitting at home eating ice cream because I miss this man. I have no doubt that when it ends, I’m going to get hurt. I’m just trying to prevent total devastation.”

  “I’ll bet you a hundred bucks that you’re wrong,” Piper said.

  “Would you be serious for five seconds?” Elena sighed.

  “I’m deadly serious. On your wedding day to this man, you will hand me a hundred-dollar bill,” Piper told her.

  Elena smiled. “And when he dumps me as soon as he grows bored, you’ll be handing one to me. At least then I can go get a pedicure and soak my sorrows away.”

  Piper grabbed her hand and shook it. “It’s official. Now, no more lying to me. I want all the sordid details,” Piper said. “Especially the size of his biggest tool.”

  Elena found herself blushing, blushing hard, though she really didn’t know why. Of course she was going to tell Piper everything. It’s what friends did.

  “You’re definitely right. I need to tell you all. It will be good for me. But for now let’s stop talking about any men.”

  Piper agreed and they strolled through the market. Elena had started a game that Tyler had quickly overtaken her at. She could be depressed about it, or she could just agree that at least she was on one hell of a good ride for now.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Be ready at midnight.

  That was the text message Tyler had sent to her phone and for several hours Elena kept changing her mind on whether she was going to be ready or not. She wrote back to ask what they were going to be doing so late.

  No response.

  Just that short message and then nothing. When it hit eleven thirty and she found herself dressed and pacing the small apartment she knew she couldn’t fool herself any longer. She was going because she had to go. She had to see what this was about, had to know what Tyler had planned.

  His driver picked her up right as the clock struck midnight and Elena said nothing; she just followed him to the car and climbed inside. They took maybe half an hour’s drive and then the car stopped at what appeared to be a private flower garden.

  She knew that questioning the driver would do her no good, so she waited as he held open her door and smiled.

  “Right down this path, ma’am.”

  Turning she moved to the path and was surprised when she saw that it was marked by lanterns every few feet. The darkness still surrounded her, still made the trek slightly spooky, but Elena knew nothing bad could happen.

  Curiosity kept her moving forward.

  Even knowing she was safe, she looked at shadows and her heart thudded as she continued to walk along. Why did this have to be at midnight and what was the secrecy all about?

  “Elena.”

  His voice was a whisper in the wind, and she stopped at the end of the trail when she finally saw Tyler, another shadow among the trees.

  “Tyler, what’s going on?” she asked, her voice slightly breathless.

  “I’m glad you came.” He stepped up to her, and her heart began thudding for an entirely different reason now.

  “I was too intrigued not to,” she told him. “But I did think about ignoring your summons.”

  “You want excitement in your life, Elena. It’s why we connected at the bar, and it’s why we’re together now. I just want to give that to you.”

  “I don’t need excitement. I’m perfectly content with my life the way it is,” she countered, though a voice inside her told her otherwise. She’d been merely surviving before connecting with Tyler.

  Since being with him, she felt as if she were truly living — even if that life was dangerous.

  “Come here.”

  Tugging her into his arms, he latched his mouth on to hers with such possession that she had not a single moment to think of anything other than responding in kind.

  One hand rested on the back of her neck, tilting her face up to him, while the other gripped her hip and drew her closer. With a moan of pleasure she melted against him, enjoying the thrill of feeling his hardness press into her.

  When he released her, it was a moment before she could speak, and she wished there were more light around them. Then she might have been able to look into his eyes. But she was also enjoying the intimacy of their surroundings.

  “You did all of this for a booty call?” she finally said.

  “That’s dessert,” he replied with a laugh. He released her only to take her hand and lead her around a corner to a lawn where a large blanket was laid out with lanterns, wine, fruit, cheese and crackers and what looked like some good chocolates sitting on it.

  “This is a lot of effort to get me into bed, Tyler.”

  “I already have you in my bed, Elena. This is because I find that I like romance again.”

  Holding her hand while she sat, he then joined her and poured them each a glass of wine. The burst of alcohol was exactly what she needed in that moment. She didn’t know why, but nerves were fluttering through her.

  “Just when I think I’ve gotten you figured out, you change up the rules and do something like this,” she said.

  “We never figure someone out fully.”

  She thought about that for a moment. “What happens when I no longer intrigue you, Tyler?”

  “I don’t see that happening any time soon.”

  He hadn’t said it would never happen. She hadn’t missed that. But she didn’t want to think about it right now. Looking at this man in the soft lighting he had around them, she decided she had wasted enough of her life being cautious.

  She was the one to initiate the kiss this time.

  The stars shone above them, peeking through the overhanging trees. The evening air had a coolness in it, but with the heat the two of them generated, she didn’t expect to feel it at all.

  Tyler’s work-roughened fingers stroked her neck before he began undoing the buttons of her top. And then his lips trailed down the path he was opening up.

  Every touch of his scorched her, and just as she’d known, the night air didn’t have the slightest effect on her. But his mouth certainly did. With a quick flick of his fingers he undid the front clasp of her bra, and then was stroking her hardened nipple with the warmth of his tongue. He groaned around her nipple, the vibration adding to the sensations coursing through her.

  “Tyler,” she sighed as she dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him even closer.

  “The feel of you beneath my lips makes me lose control,” he said before moving to the other breast and giving it equal attention. “The taste of you, the smell of you, the feel. It’s all perfection.”

  He moved lower, his lips skimming along her stomach as his fingers began undoing the buttons on her trousers. She lifted her hips to make it easier for him to discard them and her lacy undies.

  Knowing they were outside in a park added to her excitement. It was decadent, and thrilling, and she wanted him even more than the first time she’d lain beneath him. Yes, she doubted she’d lose her law license for public — and pubic — indecency; he must have secured the place from any intruders.

  She grasped his hair. “Take me, Tyler. Take me right now,” she demanded.

  He fanned his breath over her already hot womanhood. She loved the feel of his tongue caressing her folds, but she wanted more than that right now. She wanted him sinking within her. Nothing else would do.

  Feeling her urgency, Tyler climbed back up her body, quickly discarded his own clothes, and then settled between her thighs.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered before slowly, sinking sweetly inside her.

  “More, Tyler. I want more.” And she bucked up against him, trying to urge him on.

  He smiled, his features barely visible as he pulled back and then slowly sank within her again.

  She wiggled beneath hi
m, pressure building ever higher as he refused to quicken his movements, just continued to move slowly in and out of her as he caressed the side of her face with gentle fingers.

  “So beautiful,” he sighed. He leaned forward and kissed her so tenderly that it brought tears to her eyes.

  No. This was wrong. This was too intimate, too personal. This was so much more than sex — it was making love, and it was … perfect.

  “Tyler, please,” she begged.

  “Let go, Elena,” he told her. “Give me all of yourself.” He moved a little faster, but he was still caressing her lips with his own and then trailing them down the side of her neck. All the while he was running his fingers through her hair, along her jaw, and down her side.

  The pleasure growing within her was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was so much more intense, so much stronger. She felt him in every fiber of her being.

  “Let go, Elena,” he said again as he thrust into her up to the hilt, pressing his body all along hers, filling her completely with his hardness.

  And Elena did let go. She shattered completely, beyond anything she knew. Yes, there was pleasure, more pleasure than she thought possible, but her heart burst at the same time with love for this man — love so powerful that she knew she couldn’t fool herself any longer.

  As he groaned against her throat, finding his own pleasure deep inside her, she wrapped her arms around his back and clung tightly to him. She didn’t want him to see her face, didn’t want him to see what she was feeling.

  When their breathing slowed to something approaching normal, she tried pulling herself together, but they were still connected intimately.

  “Ah, Elena, that was perfect,” he said.

  “Yes, Tyler, it was,” she whispered.

  He tried to raise himself up, but she clung tightly. “Not yet. Tyler. Just lie here for a moment longer.”

  “I’ve got to be crushing you.”

  “No. You’re keeping me warm.”

  Elena was unsure how long they lay there together, but the heat from their lovemaking eventually drifted away and the chill of the night gave them no choice but to drag their clothes back on. They finished their wine, ate the snacks, and then she held his hand back to the car.

  “What about all the stuff we’re leaving behind?” she asked as he climbed inside the car with her.

  “I have people coming right now to pick it up.”

  They sat together in silence as his driver drove them to Tyler’s house. Elena thought about requesting that she be taken home, but her lover would question her too closely if she did that. And though she knew she was in love with this man, she couldn’t tell him that, couldn’t give him her secret.

  So she accepted what he was giving her, and hoped it would be enough. It had to be enough.

  Chapter Thirty

  Let’s go, Nolan. You’ve got this!”

  Elena sat back and watched as Tyler coached his Little League baseball team. It hadn’t been hard to find out where he was when she’d called his oldest brother, Blake. The man had sold his little brother out in an instant.

  Why hadn’t Tyler shared this with her yet? Insecurity filled her at the thought. Of course, there was insecurity in all aspects of her relationship with Tyler. Even though he was good to her, almost too good to her, that scared her.

  It was too good to be true.

  And this was obviously something important to him and he hadn’t shared it with her yet. So here she was, hiding in the corner as she watched him coach these young kids.

  He was good at it, very good.

  The boy hit the ball and went flying around the bases. Tyler was out in left field smiling as Nolan made a home run.

  “All right, kids, last batter,” Tyler called out.

  Elena watched in confusion as the young boy to his left began creeping up behind him. What was happening here? Then the young child got a silly grin on his face as he tugged on a loose string hanging down from Tyler’s shirt.

  At that moment, the batter connected with the ball and the kids were running for it while the batter ran home. Tyler looked at the boy who had found such amusement in pulling on the string, and he ruffled the boy’s head. Then they all began dashing back to the dugout.

  That’s when Tyler’s eyes connected with hers.

  Letting his assistant coach begin packing up the equipment, Tyler jogged over to her.

  “What was that about in the field?” she asked, embarrassed at having been caught. “I mean with you and that little boy.”

  “That’s Albert,” Tyler replied. “He’s been fascinated with the string on the bottom of my shirt all day.”

  “You really seem to enjoy coaching these kids,” she told him.

  He was quiet for a minute, looking as if he wanted to say something, then one of the children came running up to them with a gigantic smile.

  “Coach Knight, I got my report card today,” the boy said, holding out the piece of paper and waving it.

  “How did you do?” Tyler asked, kneeling down.

  “Only one B. All the rest are As,” the boy burbled.

  “Nice job, Bobby.” Tyler high-fived the kid. Then the rest of the team members were also pulling out their report cards. After a chaotic few minutes, Tyler bestowed a brilliant smile on the members of his team.

  “All of you are not only passing but also on the honor roll. Do you know what this means?” he asked.

  “Yes!” the team shouted.

  “Pizza time,” Tyler told them, and the kids began rushing toward the two vans waiting in the parking lot.

  “Pizza time?” Elena asked.

  Tyler looked a little uncomfortable when he answered. “They get a reward for doing well in school.”

  “I think you’ve really changed through the years haven’t you, Tyler?”

  He looked puzzled for a moment, and Elena bit her tongue. She didn’t want to reveal her humiliation of that night to him. Finally, he spoke. “You made assumptions about me. Lots of people make those assumptions but everyone does change as they grow up. We have to be a little bad for a while so that we know how to be good.” Then he winked and moved in closer, his words quiet so no one else could hear. “However, if it’s an asshole you want, then I can be that.”

  “Oh, I know you can be that, Tyler. But I didn’t say that’s what I wanted.”

  “Sometimes I don’t know what you’re expecting from me.”

  “I don’t either. But you’re no longer a spring chicken, unlike the children you coach, so I guess I should cut you some slack. Midlife crises can be the worst, I’m told.”

  “Coach, coach, we’re waiting for you,” one of the boys said, coming up and tugging on his shirt.

  “We’re heading out, Leo. Load up on the bus.” The kid followed the rest of the team and then Elena was alone with Tyler.

  “Would you like to join us?” he said.

  So the guy had some balls, and the offer was tempting. But Elena decided that she’d been overloaded enough for one day. Maybe next time she would go. But if she kept doing these sort of activities with him, she really would believe they were in a real relationship. That would prove bad to her mental health.

  “I need to work on some notes at home. You go enjoy your team,” she said, turning to leave.

  He grabbed her arm and stopped her movement. Elena looked up at him warily.

  “Why are you here, Elena?”

  “I wanted to see you coach,” she told him.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What made you want to see me coach?” he asked.

  “I’m just trying to figure you out.”

  “Have you yet?”

  There was a long moment of silence, too long, since he really did need to get going.

  “No,” she told him.

  “Maybe you should try harder.”

  “And maybe you should do the same favor for me. How hard have you been trying … other than in bed
?”

  “I’d be trying hard now if I could.” With that, he turned and walked away from her.

  Elena moved to her car and waited a while to start it. Tears were suddenly pressing against her eyes. There was no doubt she was in love with this guy. Maybe if she stopped fighting that feeling, she could find a fraction of happiness with him, even if it only lasted a few days, weeks or months.

  Wasn’t it better to have loved and lost than to never loved at all?

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Walking through the same garden where she’d made love to Tyler the month before, Elena wondered why she would want to torture herself by returning to this place.

  “You’ve been quiet for an awfully long time,” Piper told her.

  “I know. I’m trying to gather my thoughts, trying to figure out how to tell you what I need to tell you. Nothing’s easy anymore.”

  “You know you can tell me anything, Elena. That’s what best friends are for. We’re supposed to talk to each other, share, and be there with a shoulder to lean on. Yeah, okay, that’s all trite crap from self-help books, and I’m ashamed that I even said it. But what do you expect from a librarian?”

  “I’ve messed up, really messed up.”

  “Okay, Elena, you have to tell me what in the world is going on,” Piper said insistently.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Elena’s words were followed by a long silence. The two of them stopped on the trail they’d been walking down.

  “How far along?” Piper asked.

  “Probably about a month. I think this is the place I actually got pregnant,” Elena said with a sad sigh.

  “You got pregnant in a public park?” she said, sounding just the slightest bit jealous.

  “It was spectacular sex, but as with all good things, there are consequences.”

  “Do you want to keep the child?” Piper asked.

  “There’s no question about that. I’ve been scared, but I already feel a connection with the child growing inside me.”

  “Have you told Tyler?”

  Of course her friend didn’t bother to ask who the father was. Neither of them were kind of women who’d have any doubt about parentage. They didn’t screw around.