by Fine, L. J.
“Yeah,” he grunted, rolling his hips up to meet hers. “Just like that.”
The friction of grinding her cunt against him like this felt so damn good. His erection rubbed up against her at exactly the right angle to make her whimper and softly call out his name. As her breath came out in pants, she licked her lips and watched his magnificent body work underneath her. A fine sheen of sweat coated his skin and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the way the muscles of his abdomen rippled when he rolled his hips into her, that beautiful and incredibly apt tattoo shimmering with the movement.
She took her hands from his and ran them down his chest, then his stomach, loving the way his body flowed like water under her touch. The bunching and contracting of his abs as he moved hypnotized her. His masculine beauty made her so unbelievably wet and her mind cleared of all coherent thought. All she knew was how much she wanted him inside her. Needed him filling her up.
Finally, her fingers slid into the waistband of his briefs and she tugged them down his hips, over his thighs and then he kicked them off completely. When his cock sprang free she wrapped her fist around it and, pushing her panties aside, rubbed the wet tip against her aching nub. She whimpered at the sensation of his naked length rubbing through her pussy lips and he groaned, pumping his hips into her.
The sound of foil tearing caught her ears before Tyler shoved the condom into her hands. Slowly, she rolled it onto his shaft as he ripped her panties away from her hips like the scrap of material was nothing. Well, in the grand scheme of things, it really was nothing, and she was glad that this last barrier between them was gone.
Rolling his hips up into her, his dark gaze caught hers and her breath hitched.
“Fuck me, Mina,” he rumbled, his sinful voice traveling through her body like a living caress. As he intertwined their fingers once more for her to brace her weight over him, she positioned herself, then slowly eased down onto him, impaling herself on his thick shaft inch by delicious inch until he was fully inside her.
“Oh God, Tyler.” She groaned. “You’re so deep this way.”
“Yeah baby, feel me.” He eased out of her before pushing back inside. She had never taken a man inside her this way before. He stretched her full but the burn was amazing, felt way too good.
Eventually she started rocking her hips, entranced by his hard dick sliding in and out of her. When she angled it just right his shaft slid along that sensitive little bundle of nerves at the top of her slit and it had her clenching her fingers around his and biting her lip.
He sat up and tugged on her chin, freeing her lip before his mouth devoured hers. Hands grabbing her waist, he pulled her harder into his rocking hips and she moaned into his mouth. “I wanna hear you, baby,” he said against her lips, his labored breathing matching hers. “Tell me how it feels.”
Some unintelligible sound poured from her lips and she tried to bury her face in his shoulder but he wouldn’t let her.
“Tell me, Mina.” His teeth grazed against the sensitive skin of her neck as he held her hips and pounded into her. “Tell me how I feel so deep inside your sweet little pussy.”
Oh damn, she would never get sick of the dirty way he spoke to her when they were in bed. His words were like a direct caress to her clit and she moaned, loudly.
“You’re so hot, so hard.” He rewarded her with a few deep, hard strokes that hit right up against her sweet spot. God, how did he find it no matter what position they were in? It was like he had her mapped out perfectly and played the instrument that was her body like a dream. It caused her words to get bolder. “Your cock feels so big, so amazing inside me, Tyler. So…good.” She barely got that last word out when he yanked her down hard onto him and she detonated around him, crying out his name.
“Fuck, Mina.” He thrust twice more before coming inside her. When his tremors stopped and his hips finally slowed he gently pulled out of her, making her gasp. After peeling the condom off and throwing it into the wastebasket beside her bed, he collapsed back onto the bed, pulling her down with him.
She laughed as she landed on top of him, and then began feathering his face and neck with soft kisses. He held her tight until her lips finally found his. Then he kissed her slowly and sweetly, tucking her hair behind her ears when he pulled away.
Bracing her weight on her arms, she rose to look down at him. That impish smile filled her vision and those words that had been bubbling up inside her since the first time they made love rushed to the surface again. This time, though, she couldn’t hold them back.
“I love you,” she whispered, then steeled herself for his response.
His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he squeezed them tight and dropped his head back onto the mattress.
Oh shit. Fear that she said it too soon, pushed him too far, coursed through her. But then his lids opened again and all her trepidation subsided at the raw emotion filling his beloved eyes.
“Say that again.” His voice was rough and deep with awe.
She smiled and kissed his lips. “I love you, Tyler.”
“Damn, baby.” He wrapped his arms around her, and then rolled with her until he was the one on top looking down at her. “That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.”
What was amazing to her was that she meant so much to him. No one had ever valued her the way he seemed to—like she was precious, like she mattered. It wasn’t a feeling she was familiar with but it was one she would cherish for the rest of her life.
She lost track of how long they lay there just kissing and cuddling and basking in the afterglow. But eventually her cell phone started ringing, popping the peaceful bubble they had created around themselves.
Immediately her whole body tensed and Tyler scowled when she stiffened in his arms. Not giving her a chance to react, he reached over her and plucked her phone up off the nightstand, glaring at it as he checked the number.
When his body relaxed beside her, so did hers. He handed her the phone. “It’s Chloe.”
Gratefully, she took it and silenced the call. When he arched an eyebrow at her she smiled and snuggled back in against him. “I’ll talk to her later.”
“Does she know you were planning to leave?” he asked tersely.
Glancing up, she found him staring impassively up at the ceiling and once again that gorgeous jaw of his started ticking. “No. I was debating on what to tell her. I was going to stop and see her on my way out of town.”
“Where were you gonna go?” His voice was dangerously low and when he finally met her gaze she saw renewed anger staring back at her.
Coming up onto her elbow, she looked down at him and ran her hand up his chest. “Hey, you do know that I’m not going anywhere, right? You were there for that part of the conversation?”
Sighing, he took her hand in his and began playing with her fingers. “Yeah, I know.” He pierced her with a sharp look. “But I’m still dealing with the aftereffects of being pissed at you for thinking about leaving without telling me.”
It was her turn to sigh. “In light of what just happened, I realize now that that would have been a pretty shitty move on my part. But how was I supposed to know how you felt? You never said.”
“I know and I don’t wanna rehash this argument. We have it settled, don’t we?”
“Yes, Tyler. I think we’ve definitely settled it.” She gestured to their positions in her bed.
His lips twitched as he pulled her closer. “Good. Just wanted to clarify. Miscommunication can be such a bitch.”
This time she pinched him on the sensitive skin just above his ribs.
“Ow, damn it.” He rolled her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head. “You need to stop doing that.”
“Well, you need to stop saying things that warrant me doing that.”
Grinning like a wolf, he relaxed his grip on her hands as he settled himself into the cradle of her body. “I love you, you know that?”
She swallowed. Hard.
; Yeah, she was fairly certain that she had known that but it didn’t stop her breath from catching or her heart from leaping into her throat when he said it out loud. So she cupped his cheek in her hand and ran her thumb along his bottom lip before she said earnestly, “That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.”
Smiling, he nipped the pad of her thumb before sucking the digit into his mouth. Her lips parted and her eyes almost lost focus when he swirled his tongue around her thumb before he let it pop free.
“We need to figure out what we’re gonna do about Doug. I really don’t like the way you tense up every time your phone rings, baby.” He scowled.
As usual, his bluntness and abrupt subject change had her scrambling to catch up for a moment.
“I honestly don’t know what to do about him. My solution has always been to run but that’s kind of been vetoed.”
“Damn right it has,” he growled before kissing her firmly on the lips. “You don’t know what he’ll do if you stay in one place?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve never stuck around long enough to find out.”
Mouth pulling down into a grim line, he nodded. “Okay. He might just like to scare you, but won’t follow through on his threats. So I say we wait to see if he actually shows up.”
We. Oh how it threw her to hear him say that. Somewhere along the way he had taken on her problems as though they were his own. She had never meant to get anyone else tangled up in this mess but if anyone could handle it and the extra pressure it was definitely Tyler. And she had to say, knowing he was going to stick this out with her, that she had his protection and support, didn’t suck.
A slow smile tugged at his lips. “In the meantime you should probably come stay with me.”
Surprise had her eyes widening. Aaaannnd he just kept those curveballs coming. “You mean like come live with you?”
That smile kicked up a notch until all of Tyler’s considerable boyish charm stared down at her. “Yeah. I want you there. I told you I get antsy on the days I don’t see you and this way those days will be very few and far between. Besides,” he shrugged, “you already have all your shit packed so what’s the big deal?”
“Are you sure?” She could do nothing about the incredulity in her tone. In the space of a day, she had gone from thinking he didn’t want her in his life at all to having him ask her to move in with him. It was all happening so fast and it was a bit much to process.
“Baby.” He kissed her lips softly once, twice and then a third time, making her giggle. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.” This time when he kissed her, his tongue pushed past her lips to play with hers.
“Say yes.” His deep, cajoling voice rumbled against her, causing a shiver to course along her nerve endings.
Seriously, how was she supposed to resist him?
“Okay, yes.” His mouth devoured hers once again before he pulled back and gave her a blinding smile.
“Good.”
She thought so too. She had to admit that she would feel a hell of a lot safer if she went to live with Tyler than if she remained here in this apartment by herself. And who knew? Maybe if Doug actually did stalk her for a few days before he tried to make his move, he would see her with Tyler and back off. The something inside her that sent off all the warning bells, though, sincerely doubted it. But she would be better off with Tyler than on her own.
“Stop.” Tyler broke her out of her reverie.
“What?” She frowned.
“Stop worrying. I won’t let him get near you, I promise. I’ll take care of you.”
“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms tight around him. “I believe you.”
And she did. She really did.
“I have to say, though, I hope that cocksucker tries.” A dark, violent storm brewed behind her lover’s eyes. She didn’t envy the person who would be on the receiving end of all that hostility and rage. “He gets within one mile of you, Mina, and I’ll fucking murder him.”
She believed him. She really did. And that was what worried her.
Chapter Fourteen
Tyler insisted on taking her out to dinner that night. He invited Chloe and Brian as well claiming that it was a celebratory dinner in honor of the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere. Mina could only roll her eyes, but decided to humor him. The way he constantly touched her, placed a proprietary hand at the small of her back as they walked into the restaurant and then draped his arm on the back of her chair as he sat beside her, had her thinking that this dinner might be to show off their new status as a legitimate couple as well. Just the fact that he wanted to show her off blew her mind but she wisely didn’t comment.
The four of them enjoyed their usual animated chatter until the drinks were served and Tyler ceremoniously clinked the side of his glass with his spoon, gaining their attention.
“You two are probably wondering why we invited you out to this swanky place on such short notice.” He spoke to Brian and Chloe, gesturing around at the fine Italian restaurant in which they were seated. Mina could only stare at him in mild shock. He had told her the reason for this little get-together but she didn’t think he was going to make a speech to let the rest of the world know.
But he once again started speaking before his intent completely registered for her. “I wanted to get together with you guys to inform you that my beautiful Mina will be moving in with me.”
Not only did he just come right out and say it but he had to put the word “my” in front of her name, staking his claim, just in case their two friends didn’t catch the drift. “So dinner’s on me as a preemptive thank you for coming over this weekend to help us move all her stuff into my house.”
Brian, who had just taken a drink as Tyler began to speak, choked on the liquid as it started to go down, while Chloe just sat across from them completely still, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Mina was sure Tyler deliberately misinterpreted their reactions as he said, “Don’t worry, my brothers have been drafted too—they just don’t deserve to come out to dinner with us, pains in the ass that they are. Besides, there’s really not that much, anyway, so it shouldn’t take us too long.”
Chloe was the first to recover. Her mouth curled up into a sly smile as her eyes narrowed in a knowing stare. “Oh my God, I didn’t think you would ever admit it!”
Mina felt her brow crinkle as she looked at her friend. “Admit what?”
“How crazy in love you two are!” She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up excitedly, beginning to draw the attention of the people at the next table.
“Wait a second,” Brian said, voice rough once he stopped coughing. “Calm down, Chloe. They never said anything about being in love with each other. They’re just gonna share space.”
“Actually—” Tyler said, and once again Mina found herself staring up at her lover like he had two heads. “We are crazy in love.” He brought her hand to his lips as he said it, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
So he was just going to lay it all out there, then. Not that Mina minded. In fact, it thrilled her and she couldn’t stop the way her heart picked up speed at his admission. She had just thought that he would want to keep it on the down-low for a while until he could wrap his brain around their new situation and adjust accordingly.
Apparently she had been right all along. He was the most well-adjusted person on the planet.
Chloe squeaked happily and clapped like a two-year-old as she bounced in her seat, drawing further attention from the people around them and completely oblivious. Brian just stared at Tyler for a few minutes, like he had never seen him before. His pensive expression and searching eyes had just begun to make Mina uneasy when a huge grin broke out across his face.
“Well I’ll be damned, Tyler. Never thought I’d see the day.” He shook his head, then clapped Tyler on the shoulder. “Congratulations, man. You’ve finally found a woman who’ll put up with you.”
Tyler laughed and when he turned to
look at her the adulation and awe in his eyes floored her. “Thank God,” he whispered before kissing her softly.
To her utter mortification tears began to form in her eyes. Trying not to get all sappy, she pushed them back and turned her attention back to her friends. After that, there were no more great revelations and their conversation returned to normal. Well, semi-normal anyway. Chloe couldn’t quite contain her glee or the sly glances she shot Mina’s way every now and again when she caught Tyler looking at her or touching her.
Mina couldn’t help but marvel at how lucky she’d gotten. Not only had she met and fallen in love with the man of her dreams but she had somehow managed to gain a friend who would share in her jubilation. A friend who was genuinely happy for her. This one moment in time made all the considerable pain and heartache of her past seem worth it. It was one of those rare occasions that she felt almost separated from her body, able to see the big picture in the timeline of her life. Because of that pain she could feel this joy so deeply, truly appreciate the love and acceptance of these people around her.
Gazing up at Tyler as he joked and laughed with their friends, she wouldn’t change a thing.
Dinner came and went and the waiter came to check on them one last time. As he walked away with Tyler’s credit card Mina excused herself. “I’m gonna run to the restroom while you’re taking care of that. Just meet me in the lobby on the way out.”
Giving her that sexy crooked smile of his, Tyler nodded and kissed her softly. Her hand slid through his as she rose from her chair and grabbed her purse. She could feel his eyes on her as she made her way to the front of the restaurant, the weight of his gaze sending warm tingles to spread over her body and she smiled to herself.
An empty bathroom greeted her when she walked in, the soft romantic lighting around the mirror glowing against the salmon-colored walls. Stopping in front of the mirror to finger-comb a strand of stray hair back from her face, she smiled at the contented woman she saw in front of her. A healthy blush stained her cheeks, her hazel eyes danced and she couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off her face. Maybe this being in love stuff agreed with her. Shaking her head on a laugh, she moved toward one of the bathroom stalls.
