by Hadley Quinn
“You too. Oh and by the way, thank you for giving so much of your time to Ali that night at the bowling alley. It really meant a lot to her.”
“No problem at all,” he shrugged. “She’s very sweet.”
Sarah laughed and said, “You do know that teenaged girls have multiple personalities, right?”
He smiled again and nodded. “Well I’m glad I got the sweet and outgoing side and not the cryptic, aggressive stalker side.”
“I can’t make any promises,” Sarah cringed playfully. “She still hasn’t stopped talking about you.”
Tyse was amused by her humor, and also pleased that she seemed a little more comfortable around his cousin. Teague mentioned something about letting Ali drop by the stunt set sometime and Sarah confirmed that her neighbor would absolutely love that. He told her she could make the arrangements through Tyse and then said a pleasant goodbye as he made an exit.
Sarah turned to Tyse and said, “Again, I’m so sorry I didn’t get your note. I found it on the office desk today between some papers so I called Rayne and asked about it. She felt awful because she thought she put it somewhere I’d find it easily. I don’t know how it got shuffled around, but it did. I’m so sorry.”
“No need to apologize,” Tyse assured her. “I’m just glad that’s what happened instead of what I feared. I thought maybe you hated our date on Sunday and refused to call me.”
“Hated it?” she laughed. Shaking her head she added, “It was the most fun on a date I’ve ever had.”
“I thought so too,” he agreed with a relieved smile. “I just wasn’t sure about the end.”
“You mean when you let me fall on my ass at the feet of my next door neighbor that breaks into my house?” she asked humorously.
He laughed but raised his eyebrows. “Is that all you remember about it? Hey, I was so into the moment it completely delayed my reflexes.”
It was her turn to laugh and Tyse hoped he could memorize the sound. She had the best laugh, and he didn’t know why that was something he noticed or even cared about.
“Well I remember a lot of things about that day,” she answered coyly. “I won’t hold the whole falling-on-my-ass incident against you. And for the record, I’m sorry that happened. I didn’t expect her to be there. Or maybe I just wasn’t thinking straight…”
She seemed to blush a little bit, which made Tyse smile again. He sure as hell hoped she was affected by that kissing fest like he had been.
“Can I take you home?” he asked as he locked the front door. He motioned with his head to follow him down the hall to the back exit. “Or do you think you have time to go eat with me somewhere,” he added hopefully.
She walked down the hall with him and answered, “Mmm, I think I could manage having dinner with you. I’m starving, actually. I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch today. With Rayne out the last couple days, I’ve been swamped. Jenny came in for a few hours today, but I’m afraid it didn’t really help much,” she chuckled.
Tyse smiled knowingly as they approached the back door. It had been a few days since he’d even seen Sarah or got to touch her. He wasn’t sure if he could wait a second longer, so when they stopped at the end of the hall, he couldn’t help it when he stepped closer to her until they were only inches apart. She looked up at him and gave him a go-ahead smile, so he slid his hand behind her neck and pressed his lips against hers.
Kissing her had turned into something that he desperately needed in his life. The warmth of her mouth and tongue against his was a necessity in life, almost to a point where he now believed he was fully addicted. He’d been around other girls and felt the natural desire to be physical with them, but there was something completely different in the way he felt when he was around Sarah. She did something to the heart in his chest; she affected it a certain way, almost like it had never been fully occupied before. He’d never even felt that way when he was with Nicole. That was saying something about that relationship, apparently. But it was also evident that he could absolutely answer Teague’s question about Sarah being worth the fight with the McCallans.
Hell yeah she was.
Once again his time with Sarah turned fiery and passionate. It reached the point it had the other night, where they were both exploring skin territory equally. When she made a little whimper that turned into a moan and continued to kiss him even deeper, that seemed to be a green light for him to continue further.
But Tyse was hesitant, even though he was like any other red-blooded male that was turned on by a beautiful woman wanting more. He just felt like there was so much at stake when it came to Sarah, and if slowing it down would be better for them in the long run, then he was willing to hold off.
But his attempt to slow things down lasted about two seconds before he was kissing the hell out of her again. And Sarah didn’t seem intent on slowing down, either. When they ended up on the couch in the Blue Room, Sarah was on her back still kissing him. But even though she had her legs wrapped around his waist and he was pressed against her, Tyse finally forced himself to back off a little bit and stopped devouring her mouth.
They were both breathing heavily, but when their eyes met again, he couldn’t get any words out. About ten seconds passed between them, but neither uttered a single syllable. Sarah’s fingers slid softly against the nape of his neck as she continued to study him through her dark lashes. The heat between them was thick enough to feel, and it was even pretty obvious that both of their hearts were pounding so hard, it was enough to move the hot air between them.
Tyse didn’t know if he kissed her or if she pulled him down to kiss him, but they were at it again—this time less aggressively but just as passionate. He’d given her the opportunity to change her mind and she hadn’t taken it, so his hand instinctively slid over her hip and to the front of her pants. Still she didn’t object. His fingers lingered at her waistband, barely exploring very far at all, and Sarah seemed quite comfortable with the suggestion as she continued to kiss him.
“I love how soft your skin is,” he told her quietly against her lips.
She smiled as their eyes met again. “I love how you touch my skin,” she replied back.
“Well that’s a good thing. I guess I should keep doing it then.”
“I guess you should.”
Those eyes of hers could unravel him in seconds. The sound of her voice, the feel of her lips on his, and the way she smelled… He’d missed all of that while they’d been apart. And now that he was with her again, he was infused with a high that he never wanted to be without.
When she pulled his lips to hers again, his fingers slid further into her panties. He explored her wetness and brought it up and over her clit in soft circles. Her back bowed slightly as a pleasured moan came from her mouth. It was so damn hot he couldn’t help but kiss her deeper as his fingers returned to her center. He introduced the idea gently, but Sarah’s body language was of the eager sort and Tyse responded easily. He continued to kiss her as he stroked her a little deeper, but pretty soon he was in a swift, steady rhythm and Sarah’s reaction to what he was doing turned him on even more.
“That…feels…so good,” she whispered in between kisses.
“You feel good,” he smiled with satisfaction. “Kinda wet for some reason,” he added with a tease.
She paused for a few seconds as they kissed some more, but pulled away and answered, “Yeah, for some reason that happens when I’m around you.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “More than once?”
She lightly laughed and barely shrugged underneath him. “Maybe, maybe not.”
“Huh. Well maybe this is something I should know so I can respond accordingly in the future.”
He didn’t give her the option of answering and continued to kiss her instead. The way she was moving beneath him was incredibly sexy, and even though it was going to be tough to stop, he felt like the couch in the Blue Room wasn’t the greatest spot for them if they were to continue.
Not for the f
irst time.
“How ‘bout we head out,” he suggested. “We can grab some food and go back to my place and just…relax for a bit. Watch a movie. Whatever you wanna do.”
She looked at him and paused, and then she slowly smiled. “Whatever I wanna do, huh? Is it really a mystery?”
He lightly laughed as he pulled himself off of her a bit more. “Well if it is, I’m hoping I have it solved correctly.”
He raised both of his eyebrows with the inquiry, but Sarah only smiled in return. Then she slid out from under him and stood from the couch.
“I’d rather not make a mess on your beautiful couch,” she winked.
Tyse stood and replied, “Pssh, I’d make a mess on that thing with you in a heartbeat.”
“Well that’s what it was about to come to if you kept doing what you were doing,” she smiled coyly.
He tilted his head as her words registered. Did she just emphasize the word ‘come’?”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. When they were in the hall, she picked up her purse that had been dropped on the floor. “And yes I’m hungry, so let’s go get something to eat.”
Tyse had no reason to object other than for obvious reasons in his pants. That was twice now, but he couldn’t fault her for it. The first instance had resulted from teen interference, and this time it just didn’t feel right to continue on while they were in the recording studio.
He had more respect for her than that.
Once they were in his car and headed down the road, Tyse finally felt his hormones settle down. They’d gone from mauling each other to no touching at all, but the tiny little glances that he’d been casting Sarah were being returned just as often. He wanted to ask what was going through her mind but he was almost afraid. Even though she was acting a bit shy right now, he was hoping that he hadn’t crossed the line too quickly with her. He completely felt that it had been mutual, but he still worried that things with Sarah were not entirely how he’d like them to be. With all the threatening drama from his family, he still felt uneasy about how it was going to affect his relationship with her.
His biggest fear was that she would decide to walk away after he’d invested his entire heart. He was still hesitant to do that.
She slid across the seat a little his way and smiled at him. He automatically smiled back, especially when she looped her arm through his while he drove. She laid her head against his shoulder and he could hear her sigh. That was definitely a happy sigh, and it made him smile even more.
He craned his neck to kiss the top of her head. “So what do you feel like eating?”
After a brief pause she answered, “Mmm, I’m kinda hungry for something really unhealthy.”
He lightly laughed. “Well there’s plenty to choose from. Take your pick.”
“Hmm. Well, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?”
“Just you,” he replied automatically.
He waited for her reaction, and it consisted of lifting her head off his shoulder to smirk at him.
“Is that right,” she stated. “We’re into the super duper honest phase already?”
He laughed with a shrug. “Well I feel like we’re already there, but if you’d like to make it official, then yes… We’re in the super duper honest phase. Well, at least I’d like us to be there. And that means no holding back thoughts or feelings, and no trying to guess what the other one wants.”
She laid her head back on his shoulder softly. “Agreed. I can handle it if you can handle it.”
He glanced down at her, hoping there wasn’t any hidden meaning to what she said. Well hell, he wasn’t supposed to guess anymore, right?
“Is that supposed to mean anything in particular?”
She barely paused. “Yes and no. When I said it, no. But now that you ask… I’ll just say this once and we can move on from it. I’m not comfortable with who your family is, but I’m not going to hold it against you. That’s not fair at all. I liked you before I knew who you were, so I’m just sticking with that because that’s what’s important. I’m fine being around Teague, Kellie, and Jay if they are who you trust, but other than that, I’d rather not be around anyone else. Camryn and Melanie are fine too, but no one else.”
“Sounds good to me,” he agreed with a nod.
“And my past with my sister and Max needs to just stay there,” she continued. “I see what she went through with him and what it cost her, and it did make me worry about you doing the same but… I feel like it’s not the same thing, and that you really are better than that. A lot of what you said the other day has given me a lot to think about, and I think you’re completely right. I forgive all of it. I need to stop thinking about things that I still don’t really know much about. I don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives to make them want to do harm to others, but I’m not going to judge and I’ll accept my lessons learned and move on.”
Tyse thought about that for a few moments as he drove. She did seem a lot happier since she’d entered the recording studio earlier, and then they pretty much picked up from where they left off the other night. He truly hoped she could get past her hesitation, but if there were a few hiccups along the way, he’d do whatever he could to help her through them.
“Well I’m happy to hear all of that, especially because it’s in my favor,” he joked honestly.
Her head rose from his shoulder again and she smiled at him. “And what do you know about what’s in your ‘favor’?” she seemed to tease.
He glanced at her mysterious smile with intrigue. “Hmm, well if it has to do with you, then I know for sure everything is in my favor.”
She didn’t respond with words, but her smile was definitely captivating. She moved closer to him again and kissed his shoulder, and then her hand slid over his thigh. His heart began pounding in his chest as she inched closer to the front of his jeans, and she raised her body to come even closer to him so she could kiss on his neck.
“Don’t crash,” she whispered softly against his skin.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or respond with a cocky retort about his driving. Of course he wasn’t going to crash. Multi-tasking was a necessity in life.
But when her hand pressed against his growing erection and he could feel her tongue against his neck, the car somehow drifted over the divider bumps between the lanes.
“I said don’t crash,” she whispered again as she lightly bit his neck below his ear.
“Have we crashed?” he replied, unable to help the smile and laugh that came out with it. She was stroking his hard-on through his pants and it was definitely distracting, but he could get accustomed to this in no time.
She was unbuttoning his pants just as they were about to hit the freeway entrance when familiar red and blue lights caught Tyse’s attention in his mirror.
“Fabulous timing,” he murmured dryly.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sarah realized that Tyse started to slow the car down, but not only that, he was pulling over to the side of the road. She stopped touching him and jokingly said, “Well pulling over isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“Me neither,” he smiled, and he motioned his head to look behind them.
The second Sarah saw the police car pull off the road behind them she whipped her head around to face forward. “Oh my gosh,” she exhaled.
She could feel her pulse pick up even faster than it had been before, but she also felt her entire body turn warmer.
“It’s okay,” Tyse told her calmly. She’d already returned fully to her seat, but he put his arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer to kiss the side of her face. “Relax, you’re not going to jail,” he lightly laughed.
“I’m glad you find this amusing,” she frowned at him.
He laughed even harder. “Aw, I’m just teasing you. It’s gonna be okay, I promise. You don’t even have to say anything. Unless, of course, he asks you questions,” he added facetiously.
She
scoffed, but only because she was so nervous. She’d never done anything like that before, and for a cop to pull them over the first time she chose to be a bit adventurous was a little overwhelming.
Tyse rolled his window down as the officer approached. The cop looked him over for a second and then dipped his head a bit lower to look across at Sarah. Focusing his attention on Tyse again he asked, “Everything okay? You, uh, kind of couldn’t stay in your lane back there.”
Tyse slowly nodded. “Yeah, I was a little distracted.”
He jutted a thumb toward Sarah and she wanted to crawl under the seat, especially when the officer leaned down again to look at her. She knew that Tyse was being playful, but it didn’t help her feel any better.
The cop didn’t say anything for several seconds, but Sarah could swear he was trying not to smile.
“Let’s see your license and registration,” he finally stated somewhat indifferently.
Tyse reached over to the glove box first, and then slid his wallet out of his back pocket.
“You been drinking at all?” the officer asked as he took the information from Tyse.
“Nope, not at all,” Tyse answered. “Like I said, I was paying attention to prettier things. I’d tell you it won’t happen again, but I’d be lying. It’s hard to take my eyes off of her. But I will be more careful next time.”
The cop leaned his head down again and looked over at Sarah, seeming amused. Then he glanced down at the information in his hand, and looked at Tyse again to study him for a few seconds.
“Are you who I think you are?” the officer asked almost hesitantly. He took a step back and seemed to look over the car itself for a few seconds too, and then returned his attention to the driver to wait for an answer.
“If you think I’m just a regular guy taking my girlfriend to get something to eat, then yeah, that’s who I am,” Tyse replied casually.
Sarah cast a quick glance at him. He didn’t seem upset or bothered in anyway, but his cool demeanor and pleasant smile may have suppressed it just enough. She was glad that the cop either caught on to Tyse’s suggestion to disregard who his family was or decided he didn’t even care, but he handed back the information in his hand with a nod.
