by Mia Madison
“She’s a sweetheart,” Tyler said. “Just like her aunt. It’s been fun seeing you with her this week. You’re great with her.”
His words warmed my heart. “So are you.”
“I like kids.” He handed Yuka some blocks that had rolled out of her reach. “Do you?”
“Of course,” I said, reaching out and rubbing my hand over the soft pink fabric of Yuka’s shirt.
“Do you think someday Yuka will have a cousin?” Tyler’s words were so deliberately casual that it took me a moment to grasp the full meaning. Then my heart did a funny little flip-flop. Did he mean… was he asking if I thought someday we’d have kids?
“I sincerely hope so,” I said, looking straight into his green eyes. I know it was too soon to think about that kind of thing, and that there were a lot of steps in between now and that point. But my answer had been one hundred percent truthful.
“Me too,” he said, and joy rose up inside of me. “I don’t want to rush things, but it’s good to know where we’re headed.”
“No need to rush,” I agreed. And then I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease him. “I want to spend a while really focusing on my career. I just got promoted. I figure in a year or two, I’ll be good enough to run the company. The CEO is really old, you know.”
Tyler reached out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me against his side. I shrieked when he tickled me. In front of us, Yuka let out a peal of laughter to match my own.
Tyler’s voice was a sexy growl in my ear. “If you want to take me on, just wait until we get back to the hotel room. Then we’ll see who comes out on top.”
Mmm, I liked the sound of that.
Tyler kept his arm around me as we leaned against the sofa, Yuka playing in front of us. The man of my dreams was so good with her, stacking blocks with endless patience, explaining things to her in a gentle voice.
We spent the afternoon together, playing, talking, and singing with her. It was so much fun. More than that… it felt right.
After Alex and Megumi came home, we had dinner, and then Tyler and I walked back to the hotel, our pace slow as we took in the unfamiliar sights.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said, enjoying the feeling of his arm around my shoulders.
“I figured coming to Japan made a good fifth date.”
I laughed. Was it our fifth date? I’d lost count. We were together and I was happier than I’d ever been. “I’m glad I waited for you.”
Tyler smiled down at me, his green eyes showing warmth. “And I’m glad—sincerely, profoundly grateful—that you didn’t give up on me. On us.”
“Me too.” I wanted to tell him something… I ached to tell him with every fiber of my being, but I didn’t know if it was too soon.
But he said it for me. “I love you, Kait.”
Happiness flowed through me. Tears welled up in my eyes as he took me in his arms. “I love you too, Tyler. I always have.”
He kissed the top of my head, his body sheltering mine right there on the sidewalk. “Then it looks like I’ve got some catching up to do. If I love you every day for the rest of our lives, will that be enough?” His lips met mine in a swift kiss that took my breath away. I forgot our somewhat conservative surroundings and kissed him back.
But soon I pulled away, not wanting us to shock the locals who already tended to stop and stare at Tyler’s height. “It’s a start,” I breathed, referring to both his kiss and his promise to love me every day for the rest of our lives.
Smiling, he guided me toward our hotel where we spent an amazing night together.
It felt even better knowing how many more nights like this we’d share in our future.
21
Epilogue Two
Kait
“Welcome home!”
Even though it was nearly midnight, Gabi and Sierra had waited up for me. I was tired, but glad to see them. It had been an incredible trip, but it was nice to be home.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in a year,” Gabi said.
“It was only a week. I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch more, but with the time difference, and seeing Alex and Megumi and the baby, it was busy.” That much was true, but I’d left a very important person off that list. It felt like I’d waited my whole life for Tyler to truly see me, and now that he finally did, I’d wanted to make up for lost time.
My roommates pulled me into the kitchen and made me sit down at the table.
“Tell us all about Japan,” Gabi said, grabbing drinks from the fridge.
“Tell us all about the sex,” Sierra said, and I laughed.
“Both were unbelievable.” I felt a smug smile breaking out across my face. Being in a relationship with Tyler was everything I’d ever dreamed it would be—and more. Rather than gush about how perfect things were with him, I wanted to know more about what they had been up to. It had felt weird to go a week with very little contact. “Tell me what’s been going on here.”
Gabi and Sierra exchanged a glance. “The air conditioner keeps going out,” Gabi said, and I groaned. That sounded expensive.
“I’ll see if I can get someone to take a look. But tell me the good stuff.” I turned to Sierra. “How was your interview at Callahan Communications?”
To my surprise, it was Gabi who answered. “It went really well. She got to meet the CEO, the one that Tyler knows, and she said he was really nice.”
Sierra had a funny look on her face. “Yeah, but—”
“I was so proud of her. I took her out to eat afterwards.”
“That’s awesome,” I said. “What does Joe think?” Not that I cared what he thought, but it seemed like a polite question to ask.
Sierra’s expression darkened. “We broke up.”
“What?” Hope filled my heart, but I tamped it down. They’d done that before only to get together again.
Sierra seemed to sense my hesitation. “For real, this time.”
“She dumped him,” Gabi said proudly.
“Tell me everything!”
Sierra smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “He… he wasn’t excited for me about the job. He said I’d just screw it up—like I screwed up everything.”
“That’s so unfair,” I exclaimed.
“He was just jealous that things were looking up for her,” Gabi said, and then turned to Sierra. “You took a chance, and put yourself out there, and it paid off. That’s red hot, baby.”
“Well…” Sierra’s voice trailed off.
I grabbed her hand. “They offered you the job?”
Sierra pulled away and buried her face in her hands.
Shocked, I turned to Gabi. “What’s wrong with her?”
Gabi’s face was sympathetic as she looked at Sierra. “Well… Joe didn’t take the break-up very well. He showed up here twice, demanding to speak to Sierra. The second time, I told him that if he came here again, I’d dig out your father’s old shotgun.”
“My father never owned a shotgun,” I said with a frown.
“Yeah, but Joe didn’t know that,” Gabi said. Then she sighed. “He didn’t come back after that, but he kept calling and texting. Sierra blocked his number, but sometimes he’d use other people’s phones to call, so she wouldn’t know it was him.”
“That’s terrible,” I said, rubbing Sierra’s shoulders. She still had her head down, her long blonde hair hiding her face. “Is he still doing that?”
Gabi’s expression was a mystery to me as she continued. “Sierra stopped answering any phone calls from unknown numbers, but he kept calling. It was getting to both of us.”
“Was? Has it stopped?”
“Well… we haven’t gotten a call in a few hours,” Gabi said, looking at the top of Sierra’s head.
Poor Sierra. This was awful. “We have to do something. Confront him. Tell him off.”
Gabi put a hand over her mouth. “Um… Sierra’s way ahead of you on that one.”
“What? You told him off?” I shook Sierra�
��s shoulder, but her only response was to put her forearms over her head and groan.
Gabi spoke up again. “It was a few hours ago. Same deal, an unknown number. Only this time, she answered the call, and really let him have it. She was magnificent.”
“Oh my god, were you here? Did you hear what she said?”
“I did,” Gabi said. “She just dove right in with all the ways he’d let her down, and all of his shortcomings.” Gabi snorted. “Literally.”
“What does that mean?”
“She told him he had a needle dick,” Gabi broke into laughter, and so did I. “And she told him… what was it, Sierra? The other thing about sex?”
For a moment, I thought Sierra wasn’t going to answer, but then I heard her muffled voice. “I said he couldn’t find a woman’s clitoris without a map and a flashlight.”
“Oh my god! What did he say to that?”
Gabi stopped laughing. “Well, that’s the thing. Sierra didn’t let him get a word in edgewise. She really unloaded on him—everything that’s been building up for months.”
“But that’s great. He deserved it, Sierra. He was awful to you.”
An awkward silence descended, one I couldn’t quite understand. “Aren’t you proud of yourself?” I asked, patting Sierra’s back. “You told Joe off!”
“Well… that’s the thing,” Gabi said. “She kind of didn’t.”
“What? But you just said—”
“Yeah, but remember how he kept using different numbers? And he’d already called a bunch of times today, and in the end, Sierra got fed up, and when the next call came in from an unknown number, she… she…”
What on earth? “You guys are killing me—just tell me what happened!”
Sierra sat bolt upright, shoving her hair out of her eyes. “Don’t you see? I said all those things to… to…”
Shocked, I looked at Gabi, but she was no help. She had her hand covering her mouth again. She looked concerned, but also, there was a glint in her dark eyes. Was she actually a little amused?
I turned to Sierra. “Just tell me.”
“I didn’t say all those things to Joe at all,” Sierra said with a wail. “I said them to the CEO of Callahan Communications. He was calling to offer me a job!”
Thank you for reading Red Hot Crush! If you liked this story, please leave a review at Amazon. I’d really appreciate it!
Sierra’s story is coming very soon. Please check my Amazon Page for more info!
About the Author
In the mood for something decadent, delicious, and provocative? Meet Mia Madison, purveyor of Forbidden Fantasies Romance. Come in, sit back, and relax. The candles are lit, and the dancing shadows on the wall promise sexy, seductive tales of spine-tingling love, leading to a pleasure-drenched happy-ever-after.
You'll discover young women eager for experience, who have scorching encounters with older men who know exactly what they're doing between the sheets. In Mia Madison's world, anything can -- and does -- happen. So leave your inhibitions at the door and come along for the ride.
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Also by Mia Madison
Below are some of my more recent books. To see my full catalogue, please visit my Amazon Author Page at: amazon.com/author/miamadison
My Hot Neighbor
My Hot Valentine
Be My Muse
Helping Dr. Hottie
Forbidden Hunger
My Best Friend’s Brother
Love at First Sight - A Collection
HEAT - A Collection
My Hot Bodyguard
Final Reckoning
And many more!
