Chapter 6
When he speaks in that deep tone of his, I have no choice but to look at him.
He gently cups my cheek and wets his lips, leaving me speechless. “I like you, Amy. You’re fun to be around, you’re sexy as fuck, and I hope I’m not going out on a limb here, but the sex, it’s amazing. I’d love to keep doing this thing with you, but only if you understand that I’ll never be able to give you more.”
His eyes are intently locked on mine, and the hand that’s tenderly cupping my cheek is causing my flesh to break out in goosebumps. How can such a simple touch cause my body to react this way? He’s touching me innocently, but the only thing I can think of is climbing up his body and never letting go. I want to feel his weight pressing against me. I want to feel his hot breath blowing against my skin. I want to be lost in his scent, in his taste.
“I…” My sentence breaks off as I get lost in his eyes.
Before I can force myself to say what I’m thinking, he leans in, pressing his mouth against mine. His tongue snakes into my mouth, gliding with my own and causing my brain to fill with fog.
I know I want a meaningful relationship, but I also want him. He’s the only person who’s ever left a lasting effect on me. Every other guy I’ve hooked up with was gone from my mind the second we parted ways. But Tyler…there’s something about him that I can’t deny. Something inside of me that longs for him.
The hand that was cupping my cheek moves around to cradle my head, the other landing on my hip, pulling me closer to him until my chest is flush against his. My hands immediately wrap around his neck, wanting to keep him against me forever.
He slowly breaks the kiss, trailing his lips across my jaw and down my neck, peppering my skin with hot kisses.
“I won’t lie to you, Amy. I want you. I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone.” He gently bites my earlobe. “When I walked in and saw you in this skirt, I wanted to bend you over right then.” His hand releases my hip and fists the waistband of my skirt, pulling my hips against his, where I find him straining against his jeans. “You have no idea what you do to me.” He pulls back, looking into my eyes. They are dark and hooded with passion and lust. “If you don’t tell me to stop right now, I’m going to carry you to my bed and spend the rest of the night fucking you senseless.”
My lungs freeze with his words, no longer pumping oxygen through my body, and my head starts to swim. I know what I want. I want him. I want to feel him inside me again. I want to spend the rest of the night being reminded of why I can’t deny him.
“Take me to your bed, Tyler,” I whisper.
When the words leave my lips, he smashes his mouth against mine and picks me up against him in one swift motion. My legs automatically wrap around his hips, and he carries me to his room, hands firmly planted on my ass.
He doesn’t break our kiss the whole way. He doesn’t stop with his journey until we’re in his room, and he’s pressing my back against the bedroom door. He sets to work pulling off his shirt, all the while, my hands tour his body. With his shirt on the floor, I can finally run my fingers over his hard abs, and they’re just as magnificent as I remember. They’re hard and defined, my fingers sweeping over each and every one in a tantalizingly slow motion.
He’s keeping my body pinned against the door. His hands latch onto my wrist, and he pins my arms above my head. Holding them both with one hand, his other hand is free to tease me. And he does. He firmly grabs my breast, kneading and massaging while his tongue twists with mine, causing me to release a soft moan into his mouth.
He gently but firmly nips my bottom lip. “You have no idea what that sound does to me, do you?” He locks his intense gaze on mine.
I open my mouth, not even sure of what I’m going to say, but before I can say anything, he’s moving us both across the room and we’re falling onto the bed softly with him cradling me in his strong arms.
I love the way he takes charge and dominates me. I love the way I feel so small and cherished in his strong hands—like he’d never let any harm come to me. And I love the way he causes my body, heart, and soul to come alive with something as simple as a look.
He sits back on his knees and keeps his eyes locked on mine in the darkness as his nimble fingers unbutton and unzip my skirt. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat and his jaw twitches as his eyes follow the piece of material as he pushes it down my legs.
When the skirt is tossed onto the floor, his hand gently lands on my ankle, fingers sweeping up my leg in a teasing way. The soft touch brings on more goosebumps, and it causes me to shiver with need. Once he reaches my knee, his hand hooks around my leg, and he pulls it upward, pressing hot kisses to my inner thigh, slowly working his way up.
I know that Tyler says he’s unavailable, but this doesn’t feel like a hookup. Hookups are fast and rushed. It’s a race to the finish line. This feels different. He’s touching and teasing. He’s taking his time with me. He’s giving much more than he’s taking. This feels intimate. It’s even different from the last time we were together. Last time, he gave as much as he took, but it wasn’t slow. It’s was fast, raw, and completely unemotional. I wonder if the emotion is only on my end though, or if maybe he’s feeling more than he’s letting on.
His fingers gently pull my panties down my legs, and that snaps me back to the present. He begins lowering himself, but I don’t want his mouth there. I want it on mine. I want him to feel how much I’m giving. I want him to realize that this—we—could become so much more.
I reach for him, cupping each side of his jaw as I direct his lips back to mine. I kiss him slowly and deeply, and it only seems to amp up the emotion and need between the both of us. With our lips welded together, he begins shoving his boxers down his hips. His massive erection springs free, pressing against my needy core.
His callused hands massage my hips, pulling me closer, but also pushing me away. It’s like he wants me with everything inside of him, but his mind is in a battle: to let himself take me, or to push me away for his own safety.
I won’t give him a choice.
I lift my hips, causing his length to slide between my folds. The sensation causes him to let out a deep, breathy moan against my lips, and his hands squeeze me tighter. His hips start grinding against mine, sliding himself back and forth across my wet center. His silky, soft skin causes my body to erupt in flames, burning from the inside out from the need that’s pumping through me.
“Tyler!” I cry out, my voice sounding pained as I nip his bottom lip.
He pulls back to study my face, slowly continuing to slide against my sex. “Are you going to beg, Amy?” His eyes are darkened with desire and his plump lips are parted with his heavy breathing.
I want to. I would beg if needed. But right now, I want him to want me as much as I want him. I push against his chest until he pulls away enough for me to roll us over. Taking my place on top of him, I lower myself down onto his hard cock as slowly as I can.
His hands land firmly on my hips as he watches me with dark eyes, lips parted and chest heaving. I raise myself up and let myself back down in a tantalizingly slow rhythm, loving that each stroke causes him to let out a low groan. I raise my arms, pulling my hair away from my face and holding it up off my neck while I continue with my movements, and his hands on my hips start to shake. He’s doing everything he can to hold himself back, to give me the power that I took when I pushed him off of me and climbed on top.
“Are you going to beg, Tyler?” I whisper, never stopping as I tease him as slowly as possible.
“I don’t beg, Amy,” he says between clenched teeth, hands squeezing harder—so hard that there are naked bits of flesh bubbling up between each of his fingers.
I let out a short laugh. “It seems to me you’re doing everything but begging. Just give it up and admit that you want me more than you’re letting on.” I slide back down his length and roll my hips forward, causing him to press against a different spot.
His mouth drops open a
nd his eyes roll back. “Oh, there’s no doubt that I want you, Amy.” He lifts his hips, thrusting upward from beneath me. “But this,” he motions between the two of us with his hooded eyes, “is all it’ll ever be.”
Without another word, he flips us over and starts pounding into me with so much force, I’m sliding up the bed. He’s no longer able to hold himself back. He let me take what I wanted from him, and now he’s taking what he wants from me. But it seems to me that he’s not taking for himself. He’s taking just to show me how much I like it. He’s trying to prove his point—to make me accept the fact that everything between us is up to him.
And for now, I’ll accept that. But it’s my goal to make him see that he wants more from me, from us. I know the difference between a hookup and the beginning of something. And this is one epic beginning, even if he doesn’t see it.
Tyler and I take turns trying to make each another beg all night long. Neither of us falls asleep until the early morning. When I wake, the sun is low in the sky and shining through the blue curtains covering his bedroom window. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I find that it’s nearing five a.m.
I expect to roll over and find him gone—like last time—but when I roll to my left side, he’s lying there, eyes focused on the ceiling above us. He turns his head, eyes locking on mine, and pulls me to his side, his hot, needy mouth finding mine.
I kiss him back, wanting and needing to feel the tingle of his touch. In the blink of an eye, he’s rolling on top of me, and my arms lace around his neck, pulling him closer.
No words are exchanged between us. We don’t need any. We’ve known one another a while, but we don’t know everything. And we don’t need to. Already, I can tell that he’s hiding a piece of himself away from me. I know that he’s been hurt in the past and he’s now trying to keep me at arm’s length, no matter how much he wants me. The way he touches me, kisses me, and moves inside me forcefully but gently, I know how much he needs me. Even if he’s not ready to admit it to me or to himself.
I promise myself that I won’t push him—that I’ll let this go on between us, giving him what he will accept until the time comes when he realizes it for himself. I don’t know how I know, but I know he’s it for me, and I for him.
It feels like a warm ray of sunshine is now lighting up my soul, like I finally have a glimpse of happiness—a promise of the future I’ve been longing for.
Yep, Tyler is the man I’ll marry one of these days, and I can’t wait for him to realize it too.
It’s going on seven a.m. when we finally manage to pull away from one another. We dress, and he takes me back to the main house. When he puts the truck in park, he looks over at me and I see the nervousness written on his face.
“You…umm…want to get together later, after I finish work for the day?”
A smile automatically stretches across my face. “I’d like that.” I nod. “I close up the clinic around five.”
He shoots me a breathtaking smile. “I’ll see you tonight, Amy.”
“I can’t wait.” I open the door and climb out, refusing to look behind me as he parks the truck next to the barn and climbs out to get to work.
I let myself into the house and rush up the stairs to get ready for the day.
Chapter 7
I make it to the clinic at nine a.m. on the dot. I quickly rush inside, disarming the alarm and starting up everything. As I’m working my magic with the coffee pot, my cell phone rings from my back pocket. I quickly pull it out and examine the screen. It’s Vesper.
Nervousness washes over me. I still haven’t told her about my first random hookup with Tyler, and now I’m staying at his place and making love to him all night long. I know she’s with Liam, and happy and about to get married, but I still feel like I’m betraying her in some way. She did go on a date with Tyler once. I wonder if she’ll mind, even though, deep down, I know she shouldn’t.
I swipe the screen and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey, Amy. What’s up? How was your first night at the house?”
“Oh, uhh…” I push my hair behind my ear, needing to keep my mind off my nerves. “It was great. How was yours? Where’d you end up?”
She giggles. “We’re in Paris! Can you believe it?” Excitement and happiness lace her words.
“That’s amazing. I remember that summer when you did nothing but plan out the places you’d visit in Paris if you ever got lucky enough to go.”
“And we’re going to do it all.”
I walk back behind the desk and take my seat. “How are the wedding plans coming along?”
I practically hear her roll her eyes. “We’ve been too busy with traveling and getting settled to really discuss anything. But I wanted to call and check up on you. See how your night was. See if you did anything fun.”
“I…umm…well…”
“Just spit it out, Amy.”
“I didn’t actually stay there,” I admit.
“Oh, where’d you stay?”
“The hunting cabin.” I wait for her to laugh or start yelling.
“Oh my God. Are you serious?” She sounds surprised, but not excited or mad.
“So, I may have forgotten to tell you about when Tyler and I ran into one another at the bar here in town. I brought him home and we had an amazing time.”
I hear the click of a door shutting. “Amy, how could you have forgotten to tell me that?” she whispers.
“Well, when I woke up the next morning, he was gone, so I wasn’t all that excited about it. I hadn’t seen him since. But last night, I ran into him at the ranch and he invited me over for dinner, and I ended up staying the night.”
“This is amazing, Amy. I’m so happy for you!” she practically cheers.
“Really? You’re not mad or upset?”
“No! Why would I be?”
I start pacing while twisting the ends of my hair around my fingers. “You had that one date with him, and I know he sort of had a thing for you.”
“That wasn’t a date. It was just two people going out to become better friends. Seriously, Amy, this is great news. I’m so happy for you. Is it serious?” she asks.
I shrug like she can see me. “I don’t know.” I shake my head to clear it of the thoughts that are speeding through my mind. “I don’t know what this is. He told me that he isn’t a relationship type of guy, but I feel like he’s holding himself back, like maybe he’s been hurt in the past and he’s trying to keep from getting hurt again or something. Right now, we’re just having fun.”
“Well, for his sake, I hope he comes around and sees how special you are. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you, Vesper.” I feel my shoulders and back start to relax.
“I love you, Amy.”
“Love you too. Call me and check in every so often so I know you’re safe.”
“I will. Bye.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and sit back down, the nervousness fading away as excitement slips in.
It’s going on six by the time I pull back up to the ranch. I park my truck and step out, finding Tyler off in the field with the horses. I lean against my truck, crossing my arms over my chest as I gaze in his direction, left completely breathless by the way he moves while he plays with the horses. With the setting sun casting an orange glow, he runs around the field, tossing toys that the horses chase or catch. He comes to a stop at the fence, chest heaving as he bends down and picks up an apple to feed to the horse. He rubs her nose and pats her neck with a big smile on his face. It leaves my heart pounding in my chest while my lungs scream for me to breathe.
My feet start moving before I can even think about what I’m doing. Just as I’m stepping up to the fence, he turns to face me, offering a wide smile that causes his eyes to light up.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” I smile back as I step up onto the bottom rung of the fence and reach out to pet the horse. “Who’s this?”
Tyler pulls her closer and pets
down her neck. “This is Coco. She’s my girl, aren’t ya?” he asks her.
My mouth drops open. “I thought I was your girl!”
He laughs as he steps closer to me on the other side of the fence. “You are—you’re my no-strings-attached, sexy-as-hell girl.” He presses his lips to mine, and I’m completely lost…even if his comment left a bit of a sting. I don’t want to dwell on it at the moment, so I lose myself in his touch instead.
A light drizzle forces us to pull away, both of us looking up at the sky.
“I have to get her into the barn before it starts pouring. Can you grab this bucket?” He kicks the bucket on the ground holding apples, carrots, and a couple toys.
“Sure.” I bend down and climb through the fence.
Tyler holds on to Coco and starts leading her toward the barn while I grab the bucket and follow along behind them.
By the time we make it across the field, heavy clouds roll in and burst open, pouring sheets of rain down over our heads. We both run toward the barn, Tyler stopping to open the door while I rush inside with Coco at my side. When he steps in, he puts her back in her stall and turns to me. His navy-blue t-shirt is wet and sticking to every hard muscle adorning his chest and stomach.
Just the sight of him in front of me has my mouth dry. His dark eyes seem to be deepening their shade and I try to hold back the need coursing through me.
I let out a nervous laugh and look down to find my white shirt clinging to my body. I pinch the fabric between my thumb and index finger, pulling it away. But it snaps right back. I look up at Tyler, and his eyes are glued to my chest. His jaw ticks and I can see him swallow as he walks closer, eyes locked on mine.
“Amy, I…” he breathes out.
Before he can say anything else, I wrap my arms around his neck and jump into his arms, pressing my lips against his. He catches me, holding me close against him as he walks us across the barn. I don’t even know where he’s going until I feel my back press against the wall. With my legs wrapped around his hips, he breaks the kiss long enough to pull his wet shirt from his body and I do the same. Our naked chests press together, warming me.
Claimed By Him: (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 18
