by Nina Lane
“Yeah.” Hell, he was struggling not to come like this. “You want me to?”
She nodded, opening her mouth to lick his cock again. A groan shook his chest. He drew back and plunged forward, fucking her breasts until his blood burned with urgent fire. Kate’s gasps and whimpers only fueled his lust, and it wasn’t long before pressure gripped his lower body.
With a shout, he thrust as far as he could and came, shooting all over her pretty tits and chest. Kate shuddered and squeezed her breasts around his shaft, milking the last sensations from his body.
Tyler clutched the arm of a nearby chair, collapsing onto the seat with a groan. He watched through half-lidded eyes as Kate rubbed his semen into her breasts and over her nipples, leaving them glossy and damp. She licked her finger and shot him a grin.
“You’re a naughty girl, Darling,” he murmured.
“Mmm. And a good student, considering the things you’re teaching me.”
Though Tyler didn’t like the reference to his teaching, he did agree she was a good student. Hell. The best student. No wonder she’d graduated summa cum laude.
“Fast learner, too,” he said. “You never let a guy do that before?”
“Rule number one, don’t talk about other guys,” she reminded him. “But the answer is no. I like it, though. A lot.”
“Me too.” He let his gaze drift over her breasts and down to her thighs, which she was still pressing together. “Now get yourself off.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “You mean…”
“You know what I mean.” He jerked his chin to indicate her lingerie. “You’re soaking right through your panties, aren’t you?”
“Well, I think they’re meant to inspire sexy stuff, but not withstand it.” Kate moved back on the sofa and spread her legs partway, but then locked them together again. A flush colored her cheeks. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“You want me to?”
She lifted her head, her breath catching. Tyler shifted across to the sofa and hauled her into his lap, settling her ass on his thighs. Her heat enveloped him, her body sinking against his. He slid his hand up her smooth leg and between her thighs, edging his finger into her pussy just far enough to encourage her to spread her legs wider.
Kate squirmed, her breath brushing against his neck, her body already tensing with need.
“Open up,” he whispered, his lust firing anew when his finger sank into her warm wetness. He circled his thumb around her swollen clit, feeling the shivers rocketing through her as she started the climb to release.
“Come on, honey,” he urged. “Work yourself on my finger. Show me how much you want it. You’re so fucking perfect…that’s it…next time I’ll sink my cock into you, let you ride me until you beg me to rub your clit and make you come…”
Kate groaned, thrusting her hips forward to impale herself on his finger. He pushed another finger into her and massaged her clit harder, unable to take his eyes from her face. She leaned back on his other arm, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks, her face flushed. She parted her lips on a groan.
“Tyler, I feel it…oh, God…harder, please…I’m going to come…now!” With a shriek, she bucked against his hand, her body shaking.
Tyler held her, slowing the pace of his fingers when she went limp against him. Lingering shudders coursed through her.
“Pretty.” He brushed his lips across hers and tightened his arms around her, not wanting to let her go.
Ever.
Chapter
SEVENTEEN
For the first time in his life, Tyler looked forward to going to work. Though he’d never been good at routine, there was something comfortingly predictable about Sugar Rush.
Over the next few days, he arrived at the main office at nine sharp every morning. The receptionist, Nancy, always greeted him with a warm smile and offer of coffee and muffins. He chatted with her and other employees, and more people started coming into the library to ask him for resources. He did his best to help them—sometimes succeeding, sometimes having to admit he had no idea where to look.
Then he’d wait until Kate arrived during her lunch hour, and they’d search until they figured it out. Spencer came in with questions about the old Sugar Rush recipes, assuring Tyler that he was working on the formulas in the lab.
All in all, it was a heck of a lot different than he’d expected. He even liked the process of putting the books and documents in order, seeing it all come together in the database. It was a little like restoring a classic car piece by piece.
After work on Thursday, he headed to Rainsville before his scheduled after-work date with Kate. He stopped at Wild Child first, where Polly greeted him with a wave.
“Here’s the info.” She pushed a scrap of paper across the counter. “George Leonard. My friend Tom knows him. Says he’s a really nice guy, very laid-back. He rents the field to supplement his income, so he has to charge for it but apparently he’s flexible with pricing depending on the event.”
“That’s great, thanks.” Tyler glanced at the name of the farmer who owned the Codswallop festival field. “I’ll give him a call this weekend. Hey, you got any Declairs?”
“In my secret stash, yes. Have a seat, and I’ll bring you a couple.”
Tyler ambled to an empty table. Hannah sat nearby, working on her laptop.
“Hey,” he greeted. “Writing a blog post?”
She nodded. “I got a letter from a woman who was widowed when she was forty-five. She moved back to her hometown and went to have lunch at the local diner. Turned out it’s now owned by a guy she’d dated in high school. She sat at the counter, and he brought her a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup, and a piece of apple pie without her even having to order. That had been her favorite lunch at the diner in high school, and all those years later, he still remembered. Needless to say, they’ve been happily married for three years now.”
Tyler guessed there was a lot more to it than grilled cheese and apple pie, but it was a cute story. Kate would like hearing it. Girls were into that kind of thing.
“She sent me pictures, too, and she said I could post them along with the story.” Hannah turned the laptop screen toward Tyler so he could see the photos of a happy, smiling couple.
“Nice,” he offered.
“Maybe Hannah will have to write a post about you and Kate.” Polly approached with a plate of chocolate-dipped Declairs and a cup of coffee.
Tyler scowled. “What are you talking about?”
“I was there the other day,” she reminded him. “When you got all up in Luke’s face about Kate. A Stone brother doesn’t get that possessive about a girl unless he’s into her in a seriously big way.”
“Kate?” Hannah leaned toward Tyler, her eyes lighting with intrigue. “Really? That’s awesome.”
“We’re just friends.”
Polly and Hannah exchanged knowing looks.
“You had steam coming out of your ears,” Polly said. “And the way she was looking at you…whew. I almost had to turn the fan on.”
Tyler glared at them, annoyed that he hadn’t had more self-control but also a little intrigued that Kate had been looking at him with her own feelings on transparent display.
“I would love to write about you and Kate.” Hannah rubbed her hands together with a gleeful smile. “Two people who couldn’t be more different, and you hook up because—”
“No one,” Tyler interrupted, “is writing anything. There’s nothing to write about. Kate and I are just friends, okay? We’re not a real life love story.”
“Okay, okay.” Hannah turned back to her computer. “But if anything changes, I need to be the first to know. Because that would be huge.”
She and Polly grinned at each other before Polly headed back to the counter. Tyler pulled out his phone, pretending to check messages as he ate the Declairs so he wouldn’t have to converse with Hannah.
Truth be told, he kind of liked her blog—though he wouldn’t have actually admitted he
sometimes read it. The blog had once been about Hannah’s travel adventures, but in the past year it had evolved into Locked Hearts, featuring stories about true love. The blog had skyrocketed in popularity, and Hannah received hundreds of letters a month from couples wanting to share their stories.
Still, the skeptical part of Tyler knew that not all the stories would really end happily ever after. Most of them were probably happy for now…until something bad happened.
His parents had once thought theirs would be a “happily ever after” marriage with seven good kids and a successful candy company. They’d envisioned grandchildren, growing old together, retirement, vacations. Then a split-second had changed everything.
He brought his empty plate and cup to the counter, said goodbye to Polly and Hannah, and headed out to his car. He drove to Charlie’s Garage. His friend was working on an old Chevy.
“Hey, man, I have an idea for you.” Tyler approached, tossing Bandit a dog treat.
Charlie levered himself up from peering under the hood. “What’s that?”
Tyler dug the contact info from his pocket and explained about the Codswallop festival and the farmer who might rent out the field.
“I don’t know what he’ll charge, but it sounds perfect for the car show,” he said. “Plenty of room, good location for people to come from different parts of the state. We could have stages, bands, food booths, a swap meet. What do you think?”
Charlie adjusted his greasy baseball cap on his head and sighed. “I think it’s great, kid. But not this year.”
Disappointment speared Tyler, sharp and sudden. “Why not?”
“Because we still don’t have a sponsor.”
Tyler battled his conscience for a second. Much as he’d been struggling with his dependence on Sugar Rush, he’d put his pride aside for Charlie’s sake and for the car show.
“So I’ll ask Luke,” he said. “Sugar Rush can sponsor it.”
For a second, it appeared Charlie might waver, but then he shook his head. “Nah. I’m done here. Time for me to retire anyway.”
“What do you mean, you’re done?” Tyler’s disappointment shifted to irritation. “You’re throwing in the towel?”
Charlie shrugged, unperturbed by the sharp note in Tyler’s voice. “Profits have been down for a while. Can’t hold on to my clients. I figure it’s time to close up shop.”
Tyler didn’t know what to say. He’d been coming to Charlie’s Garage ever since he’d dropped out of college. In some ways, it was more of a home to him than his own apartment. Which wasn’t even really his anyway.
“I’ll give you a loan,” he said without thinking. “You just need to advertise more, put together a decent business plan.”
Charlie waved a hand dismissively. “Nah. There’s no big loss here, kid. I’ve got a pension, so I’ll be okay. Maybe I’ll go work for someone else, if I get bored.”
Tyler’s hands fisted. Not only did it piss him off that Charlie could talk so casually about shutting down the garage, he was even angrier with himself for not being able to do anything about it. Thanks to his own stupidity, everything he earned working at the library had to go toward the boat payments.
Yeah, he could ask Luke or his father for money to give Charlie a loan, but then what? Even if by some miracle they didn’t refuse, Tyler would be indebted to them even more, and he’d have put his friend in the same position.
The Sugar Rush Candy Company cast one hell of a long shadow. So did his own screw-ups.
He stalked back to his car, ignoring Charlie’s call of, “Come on, kid…”
He drove back to Indigo Bay with the windows open and the radio blaring. If he hadn’t been such a dickhead his whole life, maybe he’d actually have enough money to help his friend, even sponsor the car show himself.
Too late for that now.
He let himself into his apartment, groaning at the sight of his friends sprawled around the living room. A video game battle blasted from the Xbox, tablets and phones pinged, and music fired out of the high-level speakers mounted in the corners of the living room.
Why had he thought it was a good idea to give them a key?
“Hey, man,” John called.
Tyler grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and retreated to his bedroom, which wasn’t much cleaner with all his clothes and shit strewn everywhere.
“What’s going on?” John appeared in the bedroom doorway, his forehead creased.
Tyler shrugged. “You know Charlie, the garage owner? He’s shutting down.”
“Oh. Well, he’s old, right? Ready to retire.”
“Yeah, but…” Tyler took a swallow of water, unable to explain why he was all knotted up inside. “I dunno. I guess he’s just always been there. Now he won’t be.”
“Can you buy the place?”
“No. Even if I could afford it, I don’t know anything about running a business. Just one of the reasons I’ve never wanted to work for Sugar Rush.”
“What about the car show?”
“Over. No sponsor, no venue. So Charlie figures there’s no point.”
“You don’t need a sponsor to run a show, not really,” John said. “I mean, yeah, it helps a lot but you can totally do something smaller and just rent out vendor booths to recoup the cost.”
“Doesn’t matter. Charlie doesn’t want to do it anyway.”
“So why don’t you?”
Tyler sighed. Once again, he had no idea where he’d even start. Not that he’d admit that to John.
He glanced at the clock, his frustration slipping away suddenly. “Hey, I gotta get ready to go.”
“Where’re you going?”
Any other time, Tyler would have told his friend he was seeing a girl. But he was already sharing Kate with all of Sugar Rush, Luke, Polly, his other brothers, and the fucking possibility of Miles Norwood. He wanted her to himself as much as he could get her.
“Just have stuff to do.”
“You coming to the party up in San Jose tomorrow night?” John backed out of the room. “Should be a good one.”
“I don’t know.” Tyler went into the bathroom for a quick shower. He changed clothes and grabbed his keys.
“Turn down the music, would you?” he told the guys as he headed out the door. “And clean up your shit. You all need to be gone by the time I get back.”
As he navigated the streets to Kate’s house, all the gnarled emotions stuck in his chest began to unravel. He parked in the driveway and took a deep breath at the sight of her little house with the tidy flower garden. He approached the door and knocked.
“Come in,” Kate called.
Tyler tried the knob and found it unlocked. He went inside.
“Kate?”
“Hi.” She peeked out from behind the bedroom door and waved. “Get yourself a drink and have a seat. I’ll be right out.”
Accustomed to women not being ready on time, Tyler dug around in her fridge for a soda, then settled on the sofa. He leaned his head on the back and closed his eyes.
Aside from Kate rustling in the other room, silence filled his ears. Reminded him of the library. Maybe he was getting used to quiet, or at least appreciating it more. The last of the tension eased from his shoulders.
“Ta da.”
He opened his eyes. Kate stood in front of him, wearing a pale blue suit that fit her to perfection. The skirt fell above her knees, showing off her long legs, and the white shirt displayed her breasts in a way that was both attractive and modest at the same time. The jacket molded to her curves rather than falling in a straight unrelieved line like all her other suits.
As if that weren’t enough, she had a new haircut that made her hair fall in smooth waves to her shoulders, and her features were artfully enhanced with makeup that emphasized her high cheekbones and pretty eyes.
“Wow,” he managed to say.
“Not bad, hmm?” Kate smoothed down her skirt. “I took the plunge and asked your aunt for advice. Did you know she has a whole room
full of clothes that designers and shop owners have sent her for free? She said I could have some of the suits, but they have to be altered. Three of them fit already though, so I have new stuff to wear to work. This is a Chanel suit. I’ve never even touched a Chanel suit, and now look at me. I’m wearing one.”
Tyler’s insides grew weak with tenderness and affection. She was so fucking adorable. He’d never dated a woman who thought it was an actual novelty to wear designer clothes.
“You look amazing, Kate. Where are your glasses?”
“Contacts. I don’t wear them often, but Julia told me I need to get frames that fit better. Then she unleashed this Italian guy named Enzo on me, and he did all this stuff to my hair and face. And look, the shoes match the suit perfectly.” She extended her foot to show him the blue leather pumps she wore. “This is called a block heel. Julia said I walked like a Minotaur in the stilettos. I figured that was not a compliment.”
She glanced up and smiled at him. His heart gave a little jump, like it was tied directly to her smile.
“Want to see another one?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Okay, wait here.” She hurried back to the bedroom.
Tyler waited, leafing through the magazines and DVDs on her coffee table. A cell phone buzzed. He reached for his, before remembering he’d left it in the car. He shuffled through the magazines and found Kate’s phone lighting up with a call from someone named Ed.
Jealousy rustled in his gut. Who the fuck was Ed? A Sugar Rush VP bugging her after work? Didn’t he know Kate wasn’t on the clock?
Without thinking, Tyler hit the accept call button. “Kate Darling’s phone.”
Silence filled the line before an older man’s voice asked, “Uh, is Kate there?”
“Can I tell her who’s calling?”
“Her father.”
Relief swamped Tyler, fast and strong enough to be surprising. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Sorry,” he said, getting to his feet. “I didn’t…she’s just in the other room.”
“Is this Tyler?”
