I heard a banging at my door, not a gentle knock but a loud racket which shook the whole door. My eyes sprang open. What in the world? I looked around the room, trying to get my bearings. The hotel room was bathed in warm, bright light and my heart skipped a beat when I realized it was morning.
“Oh, Kristeeen?” Alec’s grumpy voice sounded over the loud banging.
Fred jumped off the bed and rushed to the door wagging his tail, visibly excited to hear him.
“Fred, how can you fraternize with the enemy?” I grumped, heading to the door. As soon as I opened it, my traitor of a dog jumped into Alec’s arms and licked him as if he were his favorite person in the world, making him chuckle.
“Finally, the princess decides to greet the day,” he said and grinned at me once he was done petting the dog. Suddenly, his eyes dropped and his smile slowly faded away.
I blinked, perplexed. Is he staring at my breasts? My God, he's staring at my breasts! The realization elicited tremors all over my body, causing my nipples to strain against the fabric of my nightgown. Holy crap! My nightgown! I tensed when I remembered the transparent lace across my chest.
“Give him to me!” I snatched Fred out of his arms and used him to hide my aroused state. “What’s wrong with you, hammering at my door like a crazy man?” I fussed.
He cleared his throat as if to regain his voice before he answered me. “I’ve been standing here for more than five minutes calling you and nothing. What was I supposed to do? You said eight sharp and it’s almost eight-thirty.”
“Damn it!” I hurried back inside the room and put Fred on the bed, then quickly looked for something comfortable to change into. I took out a pair of denim shorts and a white shirt from my suitcase, then tugged at my nightgown to pull it off over my head. I stopped halfway when I noticed him sitting on my bed, casually assessing me. “Alec!” I gasped. Shock made me freeze. “What are you doing in here? Can’t you see I’m trying to change clothes?” I couldn’t believe he’d gotten a glimpse of my equally transparent panties.
“I’m just waiting to take your luggage.” He gave me a smile that set my teeth on edge. Clearly he didn’t find anything wrong with his actions.
“Wait outside, you peeping tom!”
“My bad,” he said dryly and left my room.
It took me a moment to recover and register the warm wetness between my legs. I sighed, once more feeling betrayed by my own body. “I can’t believe him! And I refuse to be turned on, no matter how he makes me feel!” I grumbled.
When I exited the room, I found him waiting in the hallway, and I marched up to him. “You saw me in my underwear! I’m furious with you.” I walked on, eager to put some distance between us.
“Hey!” He grabbed my arm and pulled me abruptly, my chest slamming against his hard torso. “You’re right. What I did was inappropriate. I’m sorry. I just found myself absentmindedly walking in. I didn’t mean to be rude.” He excused himself.
“You expect me to believe that?” I murmured, flush against him. His sudden change in attitude astounded me.
“Yes, I do.”
“You were checking me out.”
“Was not,” he retorted calmly, his face inches away from mine. Then I caught the smile in his eyes. He was lying like a dog.
“Let go of me,” I whispered, my chest heaving in agitation.
Being this close to him was doing funny things to me. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Everything in me wanted to move closer, to lean in, to touch, but I stubbornly resisted the unwelcome temptation.
What are you doing to me? I cried out in my mind.
He leaned toward me slowly and I panicked, my breath catching in my throat. With a sudden jerk I managed to free myself from his grip and rushed to the elevator, never looking back. He followed me in silence, hauling my luggage after him. We traveled down together, and I was so aware of him, my whole body reacted as if he were a powerful magnet. I was drawn to him, hanging onto the rail just to stay upright. His eyes held mine with an intensity which made me feel lightheaded, and I gasped for air as the space around us suddenly appeared to be too small.
I saw Tyler’s fingers tighten around the glass, squeezing it so hard I feared it might shatter in his hand. It only took seconds. First there was a crack, then his eyes became slits, and before I could react, the crystal glass broke, slicing his palm open.
“Tyler!” Caitlyn jumped, a look of horror on her face.
“Dammit!” Tyler growled and grabbed a towel, pressing it against his bleeding wound. I felt my stomach lurch and my heart beat a hundred miles per hour.
“Son, what did you do? Let me see that!” Alfred was by his side, but Tyler got up from his seat and stomped out of the dining room, causing several heads to turn.
“I’ll go,” I said and rushed after him. “Tyler, wait up! Tyler!” I managed to catch up with him when he stopped to open his door.
“Go back, Ellie. I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth.
“No, you’re not. You’re bleeding!” I followed him into the bathroom and watched him turn on the cold water, getting his blood all over the faucet.
He put his hand under the clear water and grunted when it poured over his wound. He rinsed off as fast as he could, but it didn’t stop the bleeding.
“You might need some stitches—”
“No, it’s not that deep.”
I opened the medical cabinet on the wall. “At least let me put some alcohol on it. You don’t want it to get infected, do you?” After opening the bottle, I grabbed his wrist to hold him in place and poured a bit on the gash.
Tyler growled, then mumbled all kinds of vile things, half of which I couldn’t understand. He thrust his hand under the stream of water again and waited until it ran clean from his wound. The pain seemed to be subsiding since his body relaxed. He examined the wound closely. “It’s not as severe as I thought it was. It still burns, though.”
“Sit down and let me bandage you,” I said, taking what I needed from the cabinet.
He sat down on the edge of the tub, but stuck his hand behind his back when he saw me grab the bottle. “Oh, no. No more alcohol.”
“Don’t be such a baby. Come on. The faster I finish this, the sooner I’ll leave you alone.” Saying those words hurt, but it was the painful truth. Whatever pain he was feeling, mine was multiplied by thousands of times at the thought that he didn’t want me around him.
His jaw clenched and said nothing in return. I had half expected him to tell me I was mistaken, but he didn’t. Giving me his hand, he let me clean and bandage it. The proximity was killing me slowly, and it took all I had to keep from wrapping myself around him and settling into his arms. I ached to hear that he’d missed me and have the harrowing weight lifted off of my heart, but his lips remained sealed and not one word came out as I attended him. Saddened, I reflected deeply on our past relationship and how much it had meant to me, feeling the poignancy of everything we’d shared in good times and bad. I wondered if perhaps this was the beginning of the saddest time of all, as the torment I felt in all the years we’d been apart was nothing compared to the way I felt now. Holding my breath to avoid inhaling his masculine scent, I tried to swallow the raw pain scraping its way toward my mouth as a scream demanded its exit.
“There...you’ll be okay, but maybe you should let your dad have a look at it—”
“Stay away from that man,” he said and grabbed my wrist unexpectedly. My throat contracted around the emotions which threatened to leap up and out of my lips, my stomach tensed, and my insides felt like they were tied into a knot.
“What?” I barely whispered, glaring at him perplexed.
“You heard me. Stay away from that Andrew whatever.” Tyler was dead serious, his voice dry as bones. Was that what had caused his anger? Him seeing me with the other man? There was a small flutter of hope in my tummy, but I wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
I barely had time to turn and see Tyler was walking up behind me before his arms snaked around my waist. His hot breath blew down my neck, and I shivered as his chest pressed against my back.
“I see you’re all done in here.” He kissed me on my cheek, his mouth warm against my still cold face. “Mmm, you’ve been outside...without me.” His lips were soft and tender as they brushed along my jaw line. I relaxed into him and enjoyed every bit of affection he manifested toward me. Since he’d been back all of my pain and burdens seemed much lighter. I knew right then I could withstand anything the future held for me as long as he was by my side.
“You were asleep.” I managed, distracted by the bulge pressing into my lower back. “And I needed some air.”
“You think too much, El...” he replied as one of his hands slipped down to the outside of my thigh. “Let me help you relax a little. What do you say?” Sliding his hand back to my waist again, he guided me to turn around to face him.
I nodded, keeping my eyes on him. As I looked into his deep pools of green, everything else seemed to fade into insignificance around us. They were beautiful and they trapped me there. “What’s this?” I asked tenderly when I eventually found my voice, as I lightly traced my fingers up and down the length of his arousal. I loved how his expression darkened whenever I touched him there, his hunger coming through clearly.
He raised his hand and moved it slowly up my back before tangling his fingers in my hair. His other arm wound tighter around me and pulled me closer until there was no gap between us. “Oh, I think you very well know what that is, kitty.”
Him using the pet name he’d chosen for me when we were kids made me swoon. It always brought back the happy memories of our childhood together. Whether he realized it or not, just hearing it made me feel that much closer to him and sparked my need for intimacy.
I had no idea for how long we stayed like that before he started to inch his mouth closer to mine. All I knew was that however long it was, it wasn’t long enough. I wanted to live in that moment forever—just me and him—with nothing and no one to hinder those precious moments we shared.
Holding my breath in anticipation of feeling that sensual contact, I planted my hand on his cheek, closing the distance between us, and then—I was lost. Tyler’s mouth ground against mine and my palms began to sweat as the temperature in the room started to climb. When he parted his lips, his hot tongue poked out to trace my bottom lip before it slipped into my mouth to tangle with mine in a searing, tantalizing kiss that left me hungry for more. In that moment we could have been anywhere—outside in the freezing cold, in the middle of a stampede of wild animals or a crowded interstate at rush hour—I didn’t care. So long as he kept kissing me.
A needy whimper left my lips when he broke the kiss a couple of minutes later, and I tilted my head back to capture his eyes. He was smiling that mischievous smile again as he looked down at me, and I instantly knew he was up to something.
“Enough now,” he said, taking a step back, though his voice was husky and thick with lust.
My sultry, heavy-lidded eyes bugged out in response to his actions and words. “What?”
“I think I’m going to save my energy for tomorrow night.” His grin turned up a notch.
“Tomorrow night? What are you talking about?” I shifted from foot to foot, needing to appease the storm that had started deep within my core.
“You’ll have to wait and see.” He laughed, watching me amused.
“Oh, great job, buddy! Turn me on and then leave me like this.” I pouted. “I thought you were going to help me relax?”
“Hmm...maybe a bubble bath with help?” He suggested playfully.
I blinked a couple of times and nodded in agreement, even though every nerve in my body was screaming for the opposite. I wanted him to put that fire out, not a damn bath, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “Your loss,” I said as I sashayed toward the bathroom.
Tyler was hot on my trail, so I swiveled around, hands on my hips. “May I join you?” He chuckled under his breath.
“Nice try, Ty. Get out!” I laughed, shutting the door in his face.
“I love you!” he called through the closed door, and I melted against it, my smile so big it made my cheeks hurt.