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sp; He leaves me sitting on the words he just spoke, returning a few minutes later with antiseptic and tweezers in his hands.
He lifts the heel of my foot and brings it to rest on his shoulder. There is nothing sexual in his movements, he’s just simply taking care of me. He pours the antiseptic over the tweezers and holds them in the light making sure they are clean. “This may sting a bit. But I need to remove the shards from your legs.” Carefully he removes each piece on by one. A low whimper escapes my throat; it stings but it isn’t unbearable. I deserve pain far worse than this. He repeats the motions now with my other leg, quietly and tentatively.
The way he is looking at me and treating me is as if he fears I may break, like a porcelain doll.
Tyler hands me my purse and my phone, then orders me to go wait in his car. He appears a few minutes later holding two bags in his hands. I watch as he locks the door and sets one of the bags on Caroline’s porch. My heart squeezes tight in my chest seeing him taking the time to look out for Jace.
Sliding into the driver’s side he places the other bag on the floorboard beneath my feet.
“I brought some of your things. I thought you might want some extra clothes. I left some of Jace’s things with Caroline”
“Th-thank you,” I manage to choke the words out.
He places a reassuring hand on my knee and gives it a small squeeze.
How can he be so caring and so giving after the way I treated him? He knows most of the situation with Brian and yet, here he is, being my rock.
Chapter Fifteen
I slide across the seat and bring my head to rest on his shoulder. I bury my face in the crook of his neck. The way he smells is so enticing, he smells like an ocean breeze and leather. I could melt into him right now and never resurface. I am trying so hard to shut all of my emotions off, but my feelings for Tyler keep trying to claw their way to the surface. It isn’t right for me to be feeling this for him right now. It isn’t fair. I don’t deserve any happiness.
We pull into a parking garage, he pulls into a spot, and shuts the engine off. I’m nervous. I have never been to his apartment before. I steal a look at myself in the mirror, and bloody hell, I look like a deranged lunatic. My hair is fuzzed out in ten different directions from the humidity. There are streaks of mascara and smudged makeup running down my face.
Tyler must think I belong in an asylum by the way I appear. My poor Jace, he will think everyone is going to leave him. First Faye, now the father he never knew. I have got to get it together. I follow Tyler to an elevator at the other end of the garage. He guides me inside and presses the button for the tenth floor. I stand with my back to him. I am so embarrassed that he has had to see me this way.
I feel like pure hell. God why did this have to happen? “Why did you take Brian,” I ask silently in my thoughts. The lies I told were not supposed to end in this way. “Lord, I was supposed to be able to make amends for my wrongs. I wanted to give Brian and Jace the life they deserved.” I pray silently for this to be a nightmare that I will soon wake from. I’m not sure I am strong enough to face this. Faye always said the Lord doesn’t give you anymore to carry on your shoulders than you can lift. My shoulders feel pretty heavy right now. I feel like I am sinking fast. I am a sinking ship without an anchor. I look at Tyler and he is trying to be my anchor, he is trying to keep me afloat, but I honestly don't know if it will be enough.
The elevator dings, and I follow Tyler down a narrow hall lined with black doors on either side. There are a few welcome mats here and there. He stops abruptly in front of a door numbered 710. Following him inside, I take in the charm of his place. The kitchen is off to the right. The appliances are high end, stainless steel. The kitchen opens to the living room. His living room is spacious and has a warm feel to it his furniture is tan and cream. The whole front wall of the living room is one large window that looks out to an ocean view.
To the left, the apartment stretches down a hallway to what I assume to be the bath and master suite.
“Just make yourself at home. You can lay on the couch or you can have my bed if you want.”
“I think I want a shower,” I tell him.
He reaches me the bag he packed for me and leads me down the hall. He flips on the light and leaves me to myself. It is your standard guest bathroom. It has a fairly decent sized shower. The tiles are a nice clean white. The shower curtain is a sterile white as well. I pull back the curtain and turn on the faucet. While the water heats up, I gather my toiletries from my bag and take a towel and wash cloth from under the sink.
Once I’ve stripped of my dirty clothes, I step under the water. I can’t really tell if the temperature is too hot or too cool. However, the water is soothing to my weary mind even if it stings the cuts on my legs. I keep trying to scrub the images from the news from my head. Rinsing the shampoo from my hair, I step out of the shower and slip into my robe. As soon as I step into the hall, I bump straight into Tyler’s chest. He grips my arms, steadying me. We stand there for minutes just looking at one another. I can feel his heat radiating through the sleeves of my robe from his touch.
He looks like he’s having a battle within himself. All I want is for him to take me right now into his room and have his way with me. Controlling my body, my thoughts—all of me. I want to be owned by this man. I want him to claim me. I’m tired of playing it safe. I don’t care if he says he doesn’t want a relationship. Right here, right now, I want him any way I can get him.
Taking the initiative, I lean onto my tip toes and crush my pout to his full soft lips. I am so nervous, I am shaking. There is no more denying that he is very much a part of me. He pulls back from my swollen lips. “Aria,” he says my name in a hoarse whisper.
“No talking Ty, right now, I need this. I want this. I want all of you, anyway I can have you. Even if it is only for right now, I want to be yours. Show me how you feel about me.”
He lifts me up, taking me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist. With one hand, he his holding me flush against him and with the other he is gripping my hair. Our lips meet desperately. His kisses are so hungry. I can’t get enough of him, I feel frantic. My tongue tangles with his. I can’t breathe. In this one moment, nothing else matters, he’s mine.
My back is slammed against the wall and a picture falls. The sound of glass hitting the floor isn’t enough to break our hold. My robe falls to the floor, leaving me fully exposed to him. He rolls my nipple between his fingers. His mouth greedily takes over pleasuring my other breast. I reach my hands up and inside of his shirt, my nails rake across his skin. He lets out a growl of appreciation while biting my shoulder. I grind my wet, slick center against his finger when he pushes it inside of me.
“Oh yes, Tyler, don’t stop. Faster.”
“Sugar, I am going to fuck you so hard, you won’t be able to walk straight for the next week. You’re going to still be calling my name for weeks on end.”
He grabs my ass firmly with both hands and carries me to his bed. I crawl to the headboard giving him a perfect view.
“You are wearing too many clothes.” I tug on the buckle of his belt as he sinks down next to me.