by Jess Bryant
Tyler must have seen the look of raw desire on her face falter because he smirked, “You can take me. I promise. And it’s going to feel so damn good.”
She licked her lips, suddenly slightly nervous, which was ridiculous because she wasn’t a virgin by any means and yet, “It’s been a while for me…”
“Oh yeah?” Tyler raised an eyebrow and then let his gaze trail down her body again, right to the apex of her thighs. “How long?”
“11 months.”
His gaze jerked back to her face, no doubt in an attempt to discern if she was serious. She could see the questions that flickered over his face and waited for him to demand answers. After all, he’d been at her wedding ceremony just a few days ago. He would want to know why, and how, she and Aaron had gone so long without being intimate but instead of asking any of the questions he clearly had, he surprised her again by only smiling softly.
“Spread your legs for me.”
“What?” She blinked when she realized it wasn’t a question.
“Open your legs. I want to see that sweet pink spot you said feels so empty.”
She swallowed hard when he used her words against her but she didn’t hesitate, mustering her courage and pulling her feet up the bed, spreading her legs and watching his eyes go dark as she revealed herself to him. He licked his lips and she bit her own to keep back a moan.
“Touch yourself.” he ordered, his eyes never leaving hers as he reached for his bag and unzipped a small side pocket.
She didn’t have to be told twice. She was aching to be touched so she slid one hand to her breast, squeezing and teasing her nipple. She let the other trail down her stomach and between her legs. She sighed as a jolt of pleasure coursed through her when she slid her fingers through the wetness and found her clit, rubbing it just the way she liked.
For almost a year now, her own touch and her handy-dandy rabbit had been her only source of pleasure. She knew exactly how to touch herself to get off but that wasn’t what she wanted. Not here and not now. Not tonight. So she played and teased, working herself up until her hips were moving of their own accord and gasping little moans escaped her throat without her even noticing.
Her eyes had slid shut but she could hear Tyler hurriedly scrambling through his bag. She smirked when he let out a curse and then she heard another zipper being ripped open. There was a finally a crinkle and then a tearing sound and she realized he’d been looking for a condom, and found one. Before she could open her mouth to tease him about being presumptuous, the bed sagged under his weight and he was crawling back on top of her.
“You still feel empty?”
“Yes.” she breathed out on a moan, “God, yes.”
“Let me fix that.” His big hand slipped between her thighs, his thick digits wrapping around her fingers and pulling her hand away. She let her eyes blink open just in time to watch as he brought her hand to his mouth. With his gaze on hers he sucked her wetness from each finger slowly, with filthy licks of his tongue, and she groaned, wanting that beautiful mouth and deliciously dirty tongue between her legs almost as much as she wanted to keep breathing. He was apparently reading her mind again because he shook his head, “You taste like the sweetest heaven and I want to suck your clit and fuck you with my tongue until you explode all over my face, but I just don’t have the patience, princess. Not tonight. Tonight you said you wanted fucking and that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”
Ashtyn leaned up as he positioned himself between her thighs, “Yes Tyler, please.”
“Shh. I’m right here.” He coaxed her legs wider and she could feel the thick bulge of his erection and the easy glide of latex against her wet slit. He groaned, “God, you feel so good and I’m not even in yet.”
He shifted his hips, the dense head of him pushing just inside and her breath caught. He was thick. So damn thick. Her body stretched, relaxing to let him in and he slid deeper slowly, using more willpower and patience than he’d said he was capable of as he drove into her inch by inch, letting her body adjust to his girth and leaning down to kiss her as he did. His lips teased and played against hers, distracting her from the small discomfort that came with each tiny thrust of his hips. He flicked his tongue in and out of her mouth in a parody of what she truly wanted and she moaned when she felt his balls settle against her ass, the tickle of the hairs at the base of his cock against her folds, and the deep, unrelenting fullness that told her he was seated as deep as he could go.
He stayed there so long, completely still, kissing her but otherwise not moving at all that she growled against his mouth and bit his lip. She scratched her fingernails up his back and he broke the kiss with a grunt of pain. She wrapped her legs around his waist and shifted her hips as much as he would allow having her caged between his weight and the bed.
“Tyler, please.” she cursed his name and he chuckled.
“You ready?”
“Been ready, you bastard.” She opened her mouth on a silent gasp as he tweaked her nipple, no doubt in retribution for the name calling.
“Hold onto the headboard. This isn’t going to be easy.” he promised and then, the moment she pressed her palms to the headboard, he pulled almost completely out of her and then slammed his hips forward again, causing her to slide up the bed and a pleasure-filled moan to explode from her lungs.
He pulled out and did it again. And again. And again. Until she lost count. Until she lost her grip on her sanity. Until all she could do was push back against the headboard and try to meet his deep, powerful thrusts with a lift of her hips.
He pounded into her. His thrusts were relentless. His stamina was unmatched. It was everything he had promised and more.
Never in her life had she ever been fucked like this. Not just hard and fast, but with a sense of urgency that gave it all a dangerous edge. He didn’t treat her like she was fragile or breakable. He took what he wanted from her body and he gave her back more than she’d ever imagined was possible.
When his pace quickened even further, she knew that he must be close. Their bodies were both slick with sweat. Their lips were ravaged from biting kisses. Her nipples were already sore from his teasing pinches and now he held her down with one hand and slid the other between their bodies, finding her clit and rubbing as he continued to surge inside of her.
“Oh God.” she cried out as her body gave an instant clench around his thick length. “Again. Yes. Again.”
He didn’t just continue to rub her clit. He alternated rubbing and squeezing, pinching the little bud and flicking it. And Ashtyn lost it.
She lost her rhythm. She lost her breath. She lost her last grip on sanity as her body tightened to a nearly painful level, trying to lock him inside of her so that she would never have to go without this incredible sensation again, and in the next blink of an eye she was flying headlong into the sun.
Her orgasm exploded through her, jerking her body so hard that she was certain she’d have ended up on the floor if Tyler hadn’t been holding her down. She arched into his touch, screaming his name as the pleasure burned through her in a wildfire that stole her ability to do anything but grab at him and ride the waves that shook her body. Somewhere distant and far away, she heard him utter her name a moment before his intense pace stuttered and his body jerked with his own climax.
She couldn’t be sure how long she blacked-out for but when she finally found the strength to open her eyes, she realized that Tyler had rolled to the side, taking her with him and she was sprawled halfway across his chest. His breath was still coming in spurts and his heart raced beneath her ear. He was sweaty and slick and she knew they must both smell like sex but she couldn’t find it in herself to care enough to push up and go to the bathroom to clean up.
Instead she hummed and nuzzled her cheek against his chest. She couldn’t find the words to say what she was feeling in that moment so she stayed quiet. Tyler didn’t speak either. He simply wrapped one of his big arms around her shoulders, holding her to him, refusing to
let her go, and tenderly kissed her forehead.
Ashtyn bit her lip as her heart gave an exaggerated thump. After everything they’d just done, after the incredible, mind-bending, earth-shattering sex, it shouldn’t have been possible to feel closer to him but in that moment, she did. That sweet, gentle forehead kiss completely undid her and she closed her eyes to bask in the feeling of being wanted, being cherished, and being able to experience those things while simply being herself.
She fell asleep just like that, tucked against Tyler’s chest, warm and safe and happier than she could remember being in years, maybe even ever.
14
Tyler paced back and forth in front of the motel room, cursing and talking to himself. If he smoked, he would have gone through half a pack already. As it was, he’d chewed through half a pack of cinnamon gum and his jaw was starting to hurt. He was just that anxious and upset with himself.
He’d woken up early and the self-recriminations had set in the moment he saw Ashtyn in bed beside him. Beautiful, incredible Ashtyn with her blonde hair spread across the pillow and her face soft with sleep had been one of the most lovely and incredible things he’d ever seen. Looking at her there, beside him, naked and dreaming, he’d felt a surge of protectiveness that nearly gutted him.
It was his job to protect her. He was supposed to be keeping her safe. Instead, he’d taken advantage of her, slept with her and crossed every professional boundary he had.
As the realization of exactly what he’d done set in, he’d leapt out of the bed like it was on fire, thrown his clothes back on and raced out of the room. He’d left the motel, going down the street to a donut shop and buying coffee and a box of sugary pastries just to have something to do, something to offer her when she woke up. Only, when he’d gotten back to the hotel he’d just stared at the door, unable to force himself to step back inside and face what he had to do next.
As he stood there, trying to decide what the hell he was going to say to Ashtyn to make all of this okay, his phone rang. Tyler closed his eyes and groaned. Clearly Vaughn’s radar that always told him when Tyler had screwed up was blaring like a storm siren. It was the last thing he wanted to do but he put the coffee and donuts on the windowsill and dug his phone out of his pocket.
“Hey.” he answered in as calm a voice as he could manage.
“You didn’t check in last night.” Vaughn’s hard voice came down the line and landed like a slap to the back of the head, making Tyler’s teeth clench.
“And good morning to you too, big brother.”
“You were supposed to check in with me whenever you stop for the night so I can keep the Senator updated on his daughter’s whereabouts. It took a lot of talking and using my history with him to keep him from calling the police to start looking for you two. Tell me you’re okay and that wasn’t a mistake, Tyler.”
“We’re fine.” he groused. “We made it to the outskirts of Albuquerque last night.”
“You’re just now in New Mexico? Jesus, Ty. Are you taking the scenic route?”
Tyler rubbed the spot between his eyes that always started to ache when Vaughn took that condescending tone, “I’ve told you already, there are things she wants to do on this trip that we’re going to have to make stops for. I can’t just throw her on the back of the motorcycle and drive all day and night just to say, hey, we’re here, ready to turn around and go back to Nashville now?”
Vaughn sighed, “I know. Sorry. I’m just…”
“Stressed?” Tyler snorted when his brother trailed off, “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
“What’s wrong on your end of this situation? Is she giving you trouble?” Vaughn’s tone instantly tightened again and Tyler winced because he hadn’t meant to let Vaughn know that anything was amiss.
“Nah, she’s fine.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Tyler bit the inside of his cheek and tried to think of something reasonable to say. Not the truth. He couldn’t tell Vaughn that the problem was his attraction to Ashtyn. He couldn’t say that the problem was that they’d slept together last night, that Tyler had crossed the line, and now he didn’t know how to get back across it. He definitely couldn’t admit that being with Ashtyn the last few days had been some of the best of his life and the intimacy they’d shared the night before had knocked him completely sideways because he’d never experienced anything like it.
“She’s’ just… not what I was expecting.” He finally heard himself admit.
“Yeah, well, I know prissy socialite girls aren’t exactly your cup of tea but I really need you to take care of this one, Ty. It’s not just your job or even the contract with the Senator on the line here. If this goes badly, All Saints Security could very easily be ruined for good.”
“Yeah.” Tyler rubbed at his forehead some more. “I know.”
“Okay. Just… try to remember to check in at night from now on so I at least know what state to start searching for you if something bad happens.”
Tyler snorted, “Searching for me? Yeah, right. You’d only send a search party out for the client.”
“I’d tell them to look for your body too.” Vaughn chuckled good-naturedly.
“Good to know.”
“I should update the Senator and then get back to work. Oh and Hunter’s coming home today. I don’t know if you remember that. I’m picking him and Millie up from the airport in a couple of hours.”
“Honeymoon’s over already huh?” Tyler sighed, knowing that having his other brother back in the states would mean both he and Vaughn would be back on Tyler’s ass soon enough.
“With those two, I don’t think it’ll ever be over.”
Tyler would’ve sworn he heard a wistful smile in his oldest brother’s voice and nodded his agreement, “True.”
“Just maybe text him later. I’ll have to tell him you’re away on a job but I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you himself and make sure things are going smoothly.”
“Will do.”
“Good. Be careful.”
“I always am.” He rolled his eyes at the same goodbye Vaughn always gave him and gave his standard response as well.
The line went dead and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he put the phone back in his pocket. Vaughn always told him to be careful. It didn’t matter if Tyler was sitting at home in his apartment or about to tackle a monster wave halfway across the world. Vaughn thought Tyler was reckless and impulsive and if he had any idea whatsoever that Tyler had slept with Ashtyn last night, he’d have not only been proven right, but he’d have known careful had long since gone by the wayside.
Tyler muttered to himself for the millionth time as he kicked a pebble off the sidewalk, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
What he wanted to do was kick his own ass. It was what he deserved. He deserved worse. He’d never considered himself the kind of man that could take advantage of a woman just because she was offering him something he wanted, but after last night, he knew he was wrong.
Ashtyn might not be the fragile, delicate princess he’d imagined her to be when they first met, but that didn’t mean she was in any position to be making decisions about who to share her body and her bed with. She’d been engaged to another man mere days ago. She’d been all set to walk down the aisle and live a life where she and Tyler more than likely never would have even met. She’d changed everything when she ran out of that church but they were on this road trip because she wasn’t prepared to deal with those changes in her real life.
This was an escape. A fun adventure. A chance to do all the things she’d missed out on. But falling into bed with Tyler shouldn’t have been one of those things.
He shouldn’t have let it happen. She was a client. He was being paid to watch out for her. Even if she wasn’t aware of his duty to her parents, he was and that should have been enough for him to keep his hands off her even without the added knowledge that she was emotionally vulnerable right now.
He was the worst kind of man for taking ad
vantage of her while her life was a mess.
The only thing that was keeping him on his feet right now was the knowledge that it would never happen again. He wouldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t. And, after he went back into that motel room and told her all the reasons why, he knew that he wouldn’t have to worry about it happening again because she was going to hate him.
Tyler told himself that was better than the alternative. Getting tangled up with her only to lose her would be worse. Knowing at the end of this trip that she would regret being with him would be worse. She could hate him for the next couple of days but he would get her to Las Vegas, finish this job, and they’d go their separate ways. Just like nothing had ever happened.
With a deep breath for courage he was desperately lacking, Tyler finally reached for the knob on the door and pushed it open. Light streamed into the room behind him and Ashtyn stirred before he managed to shut the door again. She blinked, her lashes fluttering open, and then her brows knit together as she glanced around the room. As she regained consciousness and her bearings, her blue eyes found him and a sweet smile curled at her lips.
“Morning.”
“Morning.” his voice was gruff but she didn’t seem to notice.
She leaned up on one elbow, the sheet falling dangerously low over the curve of her breasts, “You’re up early.”
“I uh… I went to get coffee and breakfast. Donuts.” He held up the items as if she needed proof.
“Mmm, that’s nice.” She stretched and stroked the empty space beside her on the bed, “Why don’t you come back over here and let me thank you?”
“No need.”
She blinked at him, “I just meant… you should come back to bed with me.”
“No.” he said more firmly and this time her smile fell, just as he’d known it would.
The loss of it felt like a blow. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to hurt her. But he had to shut this down before it went any further and the only way to do that was to make her understand that what they’d done last night had been a mistake.
