by Dee Burks
He’d pictured more of a slow seduction—maybe a fabulous steak dinner by candlelight followed by soft music and slow dancing. Not a forced event, with a tense bedmate, her mother in one room and her son in the other. He’d never been the most romantic guy, but even he could see this had the potential for a bad outcome. Tyler had learned at least one thing about women in the last two decades. If the test drive was a disappointment, they never gave you another chance. He yawned.
Quiet had descended on the house several hours ago. He’d put this off long enough.
Turning out the lights as he went, he made his way down the hall. The doors to both Justin and Arlene’s rooms were closed. Serena’s stood wide open. He slipped inside pulling it shut behind him. If she was waiting to chew him out, there was no sense in having the entire house hear it.
He allowed a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and then moved to the side of the bed. She lay on her side, facing the window with the sheet pulled up to her chin. Tyler shed his jeans and T-shirt and crawled in, hoping she was asleep. Lying back on the pillow, he exhaled a slow breath.
“What time is it?” Serena rolled over.
“Late. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t.”
He moved his arm and she scooted up next to his side, her silk PJs sliding against his skin. She didn’t seem upset at him at all. He hugged her close, relieved. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry I was a bitch.”
He grinned in the dark. “You weren’t that bad. I’ve been around worse.”
He felt her smiling against his chest. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
“It’s good.” He laughed. “I learned to lay low and let it blow over.”
“Did Justin finally go to bed?”
“About an hour ago.”
“How did he seem?”
“About what?”
“Us.”
“Fine, I guess. He didn’t really say much.”
“I don’t know. This has to be a little weird. I’ve never had a man sleep over.”
Sleep over? “The living arrangements were his idea, remember?”
“This is different.”
Tyler agreed. This went beyond living arrangements and was different from any friendship, romance, or relationship he’d ever had. He hadn’t quite figured out which category this one fit into yet. He rubbed her back with one hand, the silk floating over her skin. “What’s the deal with you and your mother?”
Serena released a slow breath.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Even though she did try to dent my head with a plunger.”
“Fat chance of that.” Her laughter vibrated against his chest. The feeling warmed him from the inside out. Some parts more than others.
“Are you sure you’re interested? It’s kind of a long story. You know, with lots of women yelling, holding grudges, and talking bad about each other.”
He laughed. “Is there mud wrestling or bikinis involved?”
“Definitely not.”
“Too bad, but I’ll listen if you want to talk.”
She hesitated a minute. “Well, I guess I do owe you a skeleton.”
Tyler thought back to the night he told her about the wreck. She’d never shared what her big secret was. Maybe this was it. He waited, letting her collect her thoughts.
“The basic story goes that I was a wild, angry teenager.”
“No way.” He was shocked—and meant it. Serena could be the poster child for anal uptight adult. Wild teenagers don’t grow up to alphabetize their canned vegetables. “What’s your definition of wild?”
“Very. As in, partied all the time, snuck out, smoked weed by the bale.”
He burst out laughing. “By the bale?”
“You could say I was one of those big hair, heavy metal chicks for whom the roach clip was not a decorative accessory.”
He tried to imagine her at 16 or 17. With wild red curls and a tight mini skirt, she’d have caught his attention then as much as she did now. “Why were you angry?”
She squirmed against his side. “My dad died when I was 13.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So was I. We were very close, going to ball games, fishing; he even taught me to play golf out on the neighborhood putting green.”
He could hear the grief in her voice. “Sounds like a nice guy.”
“He was perfect.”
How would life have been to have a dad like that? His old man and been hard right up until the day he died. A hard living, hard drinking hard ass. Big on working his kids as much as possible and short on understanding—let alone forgiving. The little boy in him was secretly thrilled the day the old man had the accident driving his cattle truck. At least Serena hadn’t had to endure that kind of life, and he was glad for it. He hesitated to ask more, not wanting to bring up the sadness she obviously still felt.
She seemed to sense his question. “I can talk about it now.”
“What happened?”
“Massive heart attack. At work. Total surprise.” Her voice softened. “Anyway, I hadn’t even begun to deal with it, and barely six months later, my mother married this preacher who’d hovered around the house since my dad died like a wolf sniffing around wounded animals.”
“Ouch.”
“He was the fundamentalist type, and we butted heads from day one. So, I made up my mind that it was him or me and started living the wild life.”
“How did that go?”
“Terrible. My grades plunged through the basement, and I couldn’t remember most of what I said or did for weeks on end. I was so wasted, I’d hook up with guys I didn’t even know at parties and have no idea what their names were. I finally turned up pregnant. When I told them, he demanded to know who the father was. I couldn’t tell him.”
“You wanted to protect Justin’s father?” Tyler could feel her heart race.
Serena paused. “No, because I honestly had no idea. My stepfather called me a lying whore who got what she deserved.”
“God, that must have been awful for you.”
“The night I told them I was pregnant, he kept screaming at me about how this was God’s punishment for my sins and that he’d pray for my poor kid who had to grow up knowing his mother was a whore. It was the final straw. My mother was forced to choose.” Her voice trembled, “She chose him and sent me to live with Aunt Macy and Uncle Frank.”
“What a bastard. Where is he now?”
“Dead. Six or seven years ago.”
“Good. Otherwise I’d have to kill the son-of-a-bitch.”
“Thanks, but I got over him a long time ago.”
Tyler didn’t quite believe that. Serena seemed like a woman with many pentup hurts that continued to affect her life no matter how hard she tried to hide it. “But you never came to an understanding with your mom?”
“Oh, we have an understanding all right. She thinks I’m a floozy, and I think she abandoned me when I needed her the most. End of story.”
“Until now.”
“Yeah. Macy’s illness has thrown us together again, but I can endure it. I’ve worked my whole life to prove to myself that none of those things he said were true. It doesn’t really matter what she thinks at this point.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve done a hell of job, too. You’re educated, professional, and a great mom. Your mom should be proud.”
Serena snorted. “Sure. Now. Twenty years too late.”
Tyler worked out her story in his mind. “So how did you get from wild child to fabulous career woman?”
“Just decided. I remember when I was about eight months pregnant looking in the mirror one day, and it sank in for the first time I was about to be responsible for another life. I decided right then that my life would be different. I set a few goals, like finishing high school and getting into college and worked toward them. I’ve been doing that ever since.”
“How do you just decide so
mething like that?” Tyler couldn’t imagine sitting down and planning his life. Things had always just happened, and he dealt with them as they came.
“It wasn’t easy. But I broke everything down into baby steps, and they add up over time.”
“Baby steps. Why don’t you use that approach with your mother?”
“Fat chance.”
“You don’t really want her here, do you?”
“No, I don’t. All that goes through my mind is where was she when I needed her? When things were hard? She wants to weasel her way back into my life now that all the work is over and done. I can’t bring myself to forgive or forget. And I’m not sure I want to.”
No matter how she denied it, Tyler suspected that the hurt far outweighed the anger she felt toward her mother. “Don’t blame you a bit. If I’d known this earlier tonight I would’ve chased her with the plunger.”
They lay in companionable silence for a while, Tyler’s mind working over everything Serena had revealed. He had numerous questions about her mother, but held off, not wanting to pry any more than he already had.
Serena needed to vent this pentup anger, and he was glad that she had trusted him to listen. Like he had trusted her enough to talk about the accident that killed Matt. He wondered if she’d ever shared this with anyone and why Serena seemed to prefer being alone. “So you never married?”
“No.”
“Or had a live-in lover? Except for me of course.” He felt her smile again.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Serena shrugged. “It always seemed like a luxury I couldn’t afford. I had a kid to raise. While Justin was little, I worked two jobs and went to school. We barely got by and I hated being away from him. I guess you could say I sowed all my wild oats before I was seventeen and I don’t have the patience for it anymore.”
“No guy ever swept you off your feet?”
“Absolutely not.”
He could change that. Everything fell into place in Tyler’s mind. It had been years since he’d wanted any kind of real friendship or relationship. He and Matt had been like brothers, closer in fact. They shared everything. When Matt died, so did part of Tyler. The part that wanted to feel, to laugh, to enjoy life. All the things he’d had the last few weeks with Serena.
Long ago, he’d accepted the fact his life would be a dismal shadow of what could have been and lived that way. Not expecting much of anything. He didn’t deserve Serena; he’d already told himself that. And he couldn’t give her anything but problems. But he didn’t want to let her go, either.
Serena slid her hand across his chest and snuggled closer. Tyler laid still, her scent swirling into his senses pushing the reason from his mind in a whirlpool of pleasure. He wanted to love her. Not once, but forever. She deserved every happiness life could offer, and he’d do anything to see she got it. Even if it meant taking a baseball bat to some holy roller’s headstone.
Serena’s breath grew steady as Tyler stroked her back. He rolled to her and scooted down, pulling her into his form like a missing piece to a puzzle. She fit him perfectly.
Serena nuzzled his neck. “Umm. You’re in serious danger of getting raped, mister.” Her hands slid around to his back.
He chuckled. “Promise?” he nipped at her ear and she met his lips with her own, their noses bumped and they laughed together, easing some of his nervous energy. Their next kiss was slow and lingering. Not like the hot gropefest they’d shared on Chelsie’s porch, but deeper, stronger. Tyler’s heart pounded against his ribs as his hands moved over her body. He’d dreamed of Serena in his arms like this. The sensation of her heart pounding against his fingertips sent a fiery need through his veins.
Did she want this as much as he did? Serena slid her hand down across his boxers and around to his butt. She gave a squeeze. It was all the encouragement he needed.
Tyler unbuttoned her top and trailed kisses down her chest; she arched her back in response to his touch. He moved his lips down her stomach, inching the pajama bottoms off as he went. The barrier of thin silk fell to the floor in a whisper.
Her creamy skin lay bare in the darkness as Tyler moved his hands over her body. Serena’s flesh rippled with goose bumps and her nipples tightened to hard buds beneath his touch. She moaned as Tyler licked and sucked one nipple then the other. Her body writhed under his as her need grew. Tyler’s heart reached a frenzied pace. Sliding off his boxers, Tyler gathered her in his arms. Intense pleasure rocked him at the feel of their bodies entwined.
Tyler knew she needed to be held, loved. And so did he. He slid his hand down her stomach and between her legs, sliding his finger into her. She groaned, moving her hips against his hand. Wet heat almost pushed him over the edge as her need throbbed. He moved his hand in steady rhythm, bringing her closer and closer to release.
Serena tugged him on top of her, both their bodies now covered in a fine sheen of moisture. Tyler positioned himself between her legs and slid inside her. He paused allowing the intense pleasure to wash over his whole being. Serena moved under him, and he joined her in a heated rhythm. Their need built higher and higher, a passionate fervor growing between them as they strained together. Serena moaned, and Tyler’s body stiffened joining hers at the peak of release. They clung together for several minutes gulping air waiting for their pounding hearts to slow.
Finally, Tyler rolled to his side, taking her with him, not wanting to let go. Within moments sleep claimed Serena, and Tyler dozed off realizing she had given him something he hadn’t had in years—hope.
Chapter 23
Serena stirred. Morning light poured through the bedroom window. Tyler’s arms still held her close. She refused to open her eyes. Would it be so bad to spend the whole day right here? Her palms flattened against the firm muscles of his chest, producing a primal hum in places she’d almost forgotten existed. The attraction between them vibrated, beckoning her. His scent engulfed her and she wiggled closer, reveling in his warmth.
Tyler’s arms tightened around her. His body responded to hers in his sleep, and she smiled, remembering their lovemaking. She had to add “fabulous lover” to the list of his positive attributes. Serena gave a sigh of frustration. If she allowed her thoughts to keep going this direction, she’d be jumping on him again this morning. Not that the idea didn’t have some appeal; it had a lot of appeal, but not with that big “just friends” speech she’d given Justin or the fact that her mother was up and about.
Arlene banged pots in the kitchen. Serena’s face warmed. She hoped no one had heard the two of them last night. She disentangled herself from Tyler’s embrace and scooted to the edge of the bed.
“Where’re you going?” his sleepy voice whispered.
“I have to go to work.”
“You have some time. Come on back to bed.”
Tempting. Very tempting. “No, Arlene’s already up fixing breakfast.”
“So? Let her.” He gently tugged at her waist. She swatted his hand playfully then slipped away into the bathroom. Splashing cold water on her face, she tried to cool the heat Tyler stirred up.
He seemed completely unaware how attractive he was, and that turned her on more than anything. With Tyler, what you saw was what you got, and that was a good thing. A big change from any other man she’d known with their little white lies and secrets kept carefully hidden behind an upwardly mobile professional façade.
Serena completed her morning routine in record time and then slipped from the room, leaving Tyler sleeping.
Arlene smiled as Serena entered the kitchen. “Good morning.” She held a spatula poised over a skillet full of small pancakes. “Don’t you look fabulous?”
The compliment grated across Serena’s nerves. “I always look like this for work.” Arlene’s fake attempts at a normal mother-daughter relationship seemed almost laughable.
“I thought I’d make some pancakes. You used to love them.”
Can’t buy me with carbs, Arlene. “I don’t usually eat break
fast.”
“Oh. Then maybe Justin will like some.”
“Some what?” Her son appeared, tucking in his shirt.
Arlene moved several pancakes to a plate. “Breakfast.”
“Great.” Justin picked up three steaming pancakes and rolled them together like a burrito, taking a big bite out of one end.
Arlene glanced at Serena as if waiting for her to say something about his manners. She refused. This is how teenage boys are, Arlene, bottomless pits with zero manners. At home, anyway. Not that her mother would know squat about teenagers. That thought triggered another concern. The condoms. She’d meant to talk to Justin about this the past few weeks, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself. Actually it had, several times, but she’d chickened out.
Arlene might make the same discovery she had if she decided to snoop through Justin’s room. Serena could hear Arlene’s voice in her head, reciting “like mother like son.” Serena would not have her son repeating her mistakes, nor would she allow Arlene the chance to point out any flaws in the way she had raised her son.
“Hey.” Serena poked Justin’s ribs with her elbow. “We need to have a chat when you get home tonight.”
Justin paused mid-bite. “About?”
She glanced at Arlene. “Some things.”
For a moment Serena thought she saw a worried expression shadow his features. Or was it fear? Did he know that she’d found his little secret?
He shrugged. “Okay. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something, too.”
“Oh?” Maybe he did know and wanted to come clean. She’d be proud of his maturity if he did. Not that she still wouldn’t give him the lecture of a lifetime. His eyes flicked toward her mother and she took the hint. “We’ll talk about everything tonight, how’s that?”
Justin nodded, grabbed two more pancakes and his backpack and left. “Thanks for the breakfast,” he yelled as the door banged shut.
Serena picked up her purse and keys and followed him out.
“Have a nice day!” Her mother’s voice trailed behind them. Things were so much harder when Arlene tried to be nice. It immediately raised Serena’s suspicions. She’d sounded bitchy this morning, and she knew it, but she had to keep her guard up and not let Arlene think things between them were okay. They weren’t. And never would be.
