Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
But I’m not ready.
Tension knots my shoulders and the muscle in my jaw pulses.
I can smell her. I can damn near taste her, and the need I feel for this woman possesses a living, breathing life of its own. How do I walk away from Bella when she’s this much a part of me?
That question represents the proverbial crocodile infested waters my father wanted to leave me to swim in after his death. It’s all about the torment my father would want me to feel.
Chapter Five
TYLER
“Bella,” I murmur softly, and every emotion I feel is laced in that one word, in her name.
Her arm lifts and she reaches for me, and I find myself consumed by a sense of anticipation no other woman has even come close to creating in me. A moment later, her palm settles on my cheek and her touch is like a cool breeze in the burning hell that is my father’s making. Or maybe it’s my own. I let this happen. I didn’t have control. And the truth is, I was never worthy of Bella, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
I lean into her touch. I’m greedy where Bella is concerned, proven by the fact that I ever touched her in the first place when I had no right. She was my employee and Dash’s sister, but she was always so damn close, so damn out of reach, and yet so tempting. And that’s how I fell in love with her. I got to know her long before I ever touched her.
As she starts to pull back my hand covers hers, not ready for her to move it, not ready to allow her to leave. The day she does, the day that nightmare becomes a reality, will destroy me. “I should never have pulled you into this, Bella.”
“You didn’t pull me in, Tyler. I came willingly and you know it.”
“If I’d never touched you—”
“We were always going to end up here. Because this is where we belong. Together, Tyler, and we will be okay.”
She stands and I catch her waist, holding onto her and resting my forehead on her chest. She feels right in my arms and in my life, but I am my father’s son. And while I know I am not him, his fuck-ups want to become my fuck-ups. And right now, holding Bella, I’m worried for her and I don’t remember ever being this worried about anyone else in my life.
Her fingers tangle in my hair and my gaze lifts to hers. “What’s happening right now?”
“He might be dead, but he fucks with my head. What if I’m just like him?”
“You’re not like him, Tyler. I’ve known you for years and we spent hours upon hours talking when we were just employee and employer. And friends. We were always friends. I know you. So, I repeat, you are not like him.”
“I’m sure my mother thought he was perfect when she met him, too.”
“Stop doing this, Tyler. That’s a command.”
I pull back slightly and narrow my eyes. “A command?”
“Yes. A command. I don’t understand why you’re doing this right now. You beat him. You’re not just doing what he wanted, you’re doing what you want. We have each other. The company will thrive under you. We have this beautiful puppy at our feet, and we have each other.”
“Which is why I’m worried,” I explain.
Her brow furrows. “What does that even mean?”
“He always has a contingency plan. If one thing doesn’t break me, another will.”
“He thought getting married would torture you. You won, Tyler.”
“You’re seeing what’s on the surface, not what’s below. If he plans something that hurts you, I can’t even kill the bastard. If you get harmed—”
She presses her mouth to mine, and just that easily, I forget why I’m awake, if not just to feel her close and fuck her until she’s so damn sated she can’t help but sleep. Proof that my sense of right and wrong with Bella is present but muted to the point that it might as well be nonexistent. My arm wraps around her waist, tugging her closer. She reads what I’m asking for and climbs on top of me, her legs straddling my hips where I sit in an oversized, cushioned chair.
She catches the hem of her shirt—my shirt—and drags it over her head and tosses it aside. I don’t even have time to appreciate how gorgeous and perfect her body is before she’s wrapping her arms around my neck and leaning into me.
My fingers tangle in her hair and I drag my mouth to her mouth. “You know what I need right now.”
“Tell me,” she murmurs. “And then I’ll let you know if you have permission.”
Chapter Six
Bella
Sex is always Tyler’s outlet. It’s how he deals with the demons that haunt him, the demons I blame his parents for creating in him. It’s how he controls life. It’s always been how he controls life. And to Tyler, control is everything. It’s his escape. And he needs an escape right now, a way out of his own head, but even after I’ve offered him the kind of sexy challenge that would normally distract him, at least for a little while, his will to worry is impenetrable.