Wandering into the living room, he found a warm cozy space, full of color and comfort, with pillows and blankets and art that matched her boisterous personality. All of it bright, as she was. There were more books here and a dog bed by the fireplace. Built-in cabinetry held a flat-screen TV and an assortment of board games. Well-used by the look of them. The whole space said come in and stay a while.
Everywhere he looked, Ty saw signs of her settled, happy life.
His own cabin was such a counterpoint to this oasis of comfort. He’d been renting for more than a year, and he’d done next to nothing to make it his. Hell, he flat didn’t have that much stuff. He wasn’t used to staying put. To having a place of his own. His entire adult life had been about traveling light and being ready to go at the drop of a hat. It wasn’t a habit he’d been able to break. Not that he’d tried that hard. It hadn’t mattered. Not when all his effort was going toward getting out of bed every day and putting one foot in front of the other.
He was past the worst of it, but he could admit, standing in her pretty living room, that while he had a roof over his head, he didn’t have a home. Not like this.
The punch of discomfort took him by surprise.
What the hell am I doing here?
Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he should save her one last time and just leave.
Paisley strode into the room, her heels clicking on the hardwoods. “Duke is all squared away with dinner. Now, where were we?” The teasing tone trailed off as she took in his face. Ty watched her slip on a mask and a too-casual voice. “Regrets already?”
For all that things had been complicated between them, they’d never had anything false. Ty didn’t like feeling it now. Didn’t like knowing he had anything to do with causing those shields to go up. He wondered about her exes and what scars they’d left on that big heart of hers. As she lifted her chin in a defiant move he recognized as her fake-it-til-you-make-it courage, he realized he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t walk away. Not yet.
So he crossed the room, sliding his hands into the silky fall of her hair. “No regrets,” he murmured and kissed her again.
She might not know it, but she was giving him a gift, and he wanted to cherish it. Cherish her.
On a sigh, Paisley melted into him, twining her arms around his neck as she opened for him, ready and eager as she’d always been. That surrender stoked the fires dampened by doubts. Hauling her closer, he angled his mouth to take the kiss deeper. She met every demanding thrust of his tongue with one of his own, urging him on. She was sweetness and light and everything good he’d never thought to have again, and Ty wanted to drown in her. He chased the sensation, desperate for more.
As tenderness bled into something darker, more savage, Ty wrenched his mouth away. No. No, he wasn’t going to unleash his demons on her. Not like this. He was better than that. Pressing his brow to hers as he fought to catch his breath and find some shred of control.
“What’s wrong?” Her hands skimmed over his shoulders, soothing, even as she gasped for breath.
God, that touch. How had he managed to forget what she could do to him? Searching for words, he couldn’t stop his hands from kneading at her nape, her hip. “It’s…been a very long time for me. I’m not sure I can be gentle.”
Paisley pulled back, staring up at him with night-dark eyes and kiss-swollen lips. “Then don’t.”
* * *
Ty stared down at her with hungry eyes, but still he radiated uncertainty. Sweet, sexy man. She could address that.
“I haven’t been a virgin for a very long time, as you well know. I won’t break, Ty.” She nipped at his mouth, hoping the little sting would reassure him. “Take me.”
She felt the moment his tether snapped. He hauled her to her toes, savaging her mouth until she was unbalanced and breathless, as desperate as he was. It was glorious. His big, broad hands were everywhere, sliding beneath the hem of her dress to cup her ass and press her against his straining erection. She wanted skin on skin, wanted the flex and strain of muscle over her, in her. Spearing her hands in his hair, she dragged him closer, feeling a dark satisfaction at his groan.
Tearing his mouth away, Ty trailed it down the column of her throat. His lips were a fever as they claimed her, and she dropped her head back to give him better access.
And she heard the jingle of dog tags.
“Wait,” she gasped.
He froze in an instant, proving he still had some control.
“We have approximately ten seconds before canis interruptus.”
Ty solved the issue by scooping her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. “Which way?”
Dizzy at the feel of him behind the fly of his trousers, she directed him down the hall. He moved fast, those long, muscular legs eating up the distance with just enough time to boot the door shut on Duke.
His confused, mournful bark sounded in the hall.
“Don’t mind him, he doesn’t know what’s happening. I never bring anyone home.’’
Something flashed in Ty’s eyes as he let her slide down his body. Then he was on her again, yanking down the zipper of her dress and peeling her out of it. Paisley had never been more grateful for her choice of underwear.
He took
