She couldn’t help but look up at her fiancé. He stood motionless, Frisbee in his hand, poised and ready to throw but his gaze was miles from his target.
It was fixed on her.
Fuck, what was he thinking? Did he know what Tyler had just said?
Impossible he was too far away to have overheard. didn’t mean he couldn’t read their expressions. She knew her face registered shock.
Did it also expose her illicit arousal? Could Steve see from so far down the beach what Tyler’s words were doing to her?
Christ, she hoped not.
Their eyes locked and held but it was Ty’s voice that rolled like velvet over her skin. “If Steve weren’t here, I would take you in my arms and make up for the two years I left you.” He hummed low in his throat. “Only this time, I would never, ever let you go.”
She gasped, tearing her gaze from Steve’s. “What are you doing, Tyler?” she croaked. “What are you saying?” Panic clawed at her chest.
Her fiancé watched as his best friend seduced her with words.
“I’m back, Katie. I know I hurt you when I left, and I’m sorry about that. More sorry than you will ever know.” He drew in a deep breath. “I believed I had to go, believed there there was no choice. But there was a choice about coming home. I made my decision.” Hunger shadowed his expression. “I chose you.”
“Are you out of your mind?” What in God’s name was the man thinking? She’d waited almost two years for him to say that. Two frigging years. Now, when finally she didn’t want to hear him say it when her fiancé stood meters away he’d come back for her.
Fat lot of good it did.
“I was,” he answered simply. “When I discovered you and Steve were engaged.”
He turned back to face Steve and the boys then. “That’s why I came home. To see how serious you both are about the wedding.” He said it casually, as though they were discussing the weather, but she could see steely determination in his expression.
She knew she should say something. Convince him she was dead serious about her wedding, but for the life of her she could not talk.
She could not think of a single word to say. Even if she could, she wouldn’t be able to speak over the lump lodged in her throat. Two years she’d waited. Two fucking years, and now, when he couldn’t have her anymore, he wanted her back?
“You can’t marry him,” Tyler said, as Steve flipped the Frisbee one last time, and waved goodbye to the boys. “Because you still love me.
You proved it last night.”
Four days after he said them, Tyler’s words on the beach still rang in her ears, making rational thought a joke. Steve, thank God, had cut their conversation short, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t obsessed about it. She’d thought of nothing else since. Lucky she could escape for eight hours a day and throw herself into her work. Lucky her work kept her sane, as did Steve, because sharing a house with Tyler did not.
Wherever she walked there were signs of the man, wearing down her defenses.
If he wasn’t around, traces of his aftershave wafted through the air. His toiletries lined the shelf in the spare bathroom. Her fridge was filled with food she never ate, and her dining room table was covered in newspapers and business magazines. The phone rang three times as much as it used to, and mostly, the calls weren’t for her.
She’d always known her house was small, but with Tyler staying in it the rooms seemed positively miniscule. His larger-than-life presence filled the empty spaces, and more often than not, like now, Katie found herself confined to her bedroom. As much as she would have loved to sit cozily with him on the couch and share a laugh like old times, it was easier to stay here alone than to face the possibility of him bringing up their relationship again.
At night, sounds filtered through the house, creating havoc with the images in her head. The click of his bedroom door, signifying his intent to sleep, sent her into slow meltdown. At least a thousand times she’d pictured him naked. Watched in her mind as he undressed and slipped into bed. Imagined the cool sheets touching his flesh. Caressing it. Enveloping it.
She shook her head savagely to throw out the prohibited thoughts.
Damn, she was an adult, and it would do her well to act as one. Tonight she refused to hide anymore. Tonight she would face and conquer her fears. She’d go to him and they could chat. About life. About London.
About anything and everything, like they used to. Lifting her shoulders in a show of confidence she did not feel, she walked out of her room in search of Tyler. Tonight they would have a decent, platonic conversation, and she would prove to him that whatever they had been for a few weeks, they were no longer. It didn’t matter if he’d come back for her. She was going to marry Steve regardless of what Tyler thought.
She found him in her living room.
He stood with his back to her, staring out the window. His hair was wet, and he was shirtless. A snug pair of jeans hugged his toned butt and framed his hard, long legs. Relaxed, the muscles in his arms seemed to flow from his shoulders and down his back, streamlined and masculine. Sexy and sensual. The low-slung jeans sat on his hips, showcasing the slight flare of his ass.
Katie’s mouth filled with saliva, and her heart tripped in her chest.
Her already-muddled mind lost its way altogether.
He was exquisite. A prime example of beautiful male. The scent of shampoo and aftershave lingered around him, and without thinking, Katie stepped closer and inhaled deeply, silently. He smelled of Tyler, of the man she loved. Of hot sun on warm skin, of wet leaves after a rainstorm. He smelled good. So damn good.
Her instincts were quicker than her sense of self-preservation.
She took another deep breath and her hands strayed upwards, caressing the hot, hard flesh of his shoulders before sweeping downwards over the smooth lines of his back and coming to rest on the waist of his jeans, just short of his delectable ass.
Heaven.
“Katie,” he rasped, and she froze.
Dear God. What was she doing? She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk.
Her voice stuck in her throat, and she began to perspire. Beneath her touch, Tyler tensed. Muscle bunched in his arms and around his neck.
“Katie,” he said again, without turning around.
“I… uh…” She cleared her throat, then jerked her hands away, searching desperately for an excuse. There wasn’t one. Wet, she said uselessly.
Wet?
She swallowed. “Um, your hair. It’s wet. Some water, uh, dripped down onto your back. I thought it might be, you know, a little uncomfortable. So I dried it.” Damn, where were those punchy one-liners Steve and Tyler had helped her master? Why now, when one was so essential, could she not find it?
“Oh.”
He didn’t believe her.
“Look, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She backtracked out of the living room.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Before she could turn and flee, he said her name. Again. “Katie.”
“Um, yeah?” She wiped her palms on her pants, watching as he looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes smoldered.
“You never have to apologize for touching me.”
She escaped to her room once again, threw herself on the bed and lay dead still. Her nerves were frazzled. Christ, she had to control herself. She couldn’t touch Tyler just because she wanted to. Just because he’d told her she belonged to him. It wasn’t true. She was engaged. She belonged to Steve.
Tell that to my body!
She was aroused. Panting. It didn’t matter who she belonged to, her body responded to Tyler. Touching him unleashed the devil in her.
Unleashed the years of longing and love that she’d repressed when she’d agreed to marry Steve.
She shook wildly as an ache in her belly spread out, encompassing her breasts and her pelvis. Damn, she wanted to touch more than just his back. She wanted to grab massive handfuls of his flesh and never let go. Her skin prickled and her nipples tightened. She couldn’t. His flesh was off-limits.
Maybe a cold shower would help. Maybe it would freeze her heated body and her scandalous thoughts. Or maybe it wouldn’t. The mere suggestion of a shower had her imagining Tyler naked under pulsing jets. Water cascaded over his shoulders and flowed down his body.
Individual drops slid over his muscled chest, caught on the hair there and stuck until another cascade of water sent them streaming down his ripped stomach and lower.
Her breathing became shallow and her breasts ached. She placed her hand over one breast, pressed it against the beaded nipple and moaned. She’d been in a constant state of arousal since Tyler arrived home, and thoughts of him in the shower only made it worse. She wanted no, she needed to touch him.
Emptiness pulled between her legs like a bottomless pit of greed.
There was only one thing that could ease her hunger, that could calm her lust and he was off-limits.
She trailed her hand lower, over her belly and on to the button of her jeans.
Steve. They hadn’t made love since Tyler had phoned to say he was coming home. Maybe that was her problem. Maybe she needed a little time with her fiancé to work off the underlying sexual tension she felt with Tyler. She should go to his place, close the door behind them and spend a couple of hours in bed, freeing herself from Tyler’s grasp.
She dismissed the idea instantly. It wasn’t Steve’s hand she wanted teasing her breasts. It wasn’t his dick that could fill the emptiness.
Making love with Steve was comfortable. It was fun and easy just like their friendship.
But damn it, she didn’t want fun, comfortable sex. She wanted hot, sweaty, mind-blowing sex. She wanted heart-stopping, earth-shattering sex. She wanted… she wanted… Fuck. All she wanted was Tyler.
She flicked open the button and tugged on her zip. She was going crazy. If she didn’t get a little physical release, she’d hunt Tyler down and… No, she wouldn’t. She inched her jeans over her hips, then kicked them off.
Her body wept, aching for relief, aching for Tyler’s hot cock.
Tyler’s, not Steve’s. She touched her clit, and shuddered. Even through her panties, it was swollen and wildly sensitive. She couldn’t have Tyler and she didn’t want Steve. She slipped her finger under the lacy inset of her thong. God, she was so wet, so needy.
The piercing ring of the phone trilled through the closed door.
Tyler answered it. His voice was muted, low, like the whisper of a lover.
She remembered how he murmured sweet nothings in her ear. How his warm breath rustled through her hair, teasing her cheek.
She dipped her finger between her lips and smooth cream coated its tip. Damn, why couldn’t it be Tyler’s finger? Or better yet, his cock? She inched her hand higher. Thought about Tyler stretching her, filling her.
His voice reverberated down the hallway, and then silence. She bit back a groan as she touched her clit again. Rubbed it in soft, circular motions.
Footsteps. The soft tha-thud, tha-thud on the wooden floor signaled his approach. The noise grew louder as he drew nearer. She froze. The roar in her ears was deafening as she anticipated the knock on her door. Would he catch her red-handed? She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
Did she want him to catch her?
Tha-thud, tha-thud. Louder and louder, and then nothing. Her heart banged in her chest. Was the door about to open? Should she scramble for cover?
Tha-thud. The footsteps receded, the sound gradually fading. Katie let out a breath. Of relief? Of disappointment? She didn’t want to think about it. Heat gathered between her legs. Her clit throbbed. She bit her tongue to stop from calling his name. Release was mere moments away. Heartbeats. But not from him. She pressed down, applying pressure and circling a little quicker. She thought of Tyler.
The tension built, faster, harder, higher. Tyler’s voice whispered in her ear. His hand caressed her breasts. Faster, harder. She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t think. The sensation peaked and crested.
Release shook her body. She shuddered as waves of relief flowed from her, and she swallowed her cries lest she call Tyler’s name.
And then she collapsed back on the sheets, exhausted.
An hour after Katie raced from the lounge, Tyler found her in the kitchen.
His dick still hurt from repressed desire. Christ, Katie’s touch burned him to his core. It left his willpower in a pile of ashes at his feet. The way she ran her hand over his back and rested it above his butt goddamn, it challenged every last bit of his self-control. She was still just as affected by him as she always had been. He saw it in her shocked face. Katie hadn’t meant to touch him she simply couldn’t stop herself.
Tyler steeled his resolve. He was determined not to have her until she and Steve called it quits. Yes, he’d made up his mind. Katie was still as attracted to him as ever. No doubt about it. Whatever she might share with Steve, she still desired Tyler. Which meant there was a chance for him. For them. And if there was a chance, he was going to take it. he’d do every damn thing possible to win Katie back except sleep with his best friend’s fiancé.
When he and Katie made love again, she would be a free woman.
Didn’t mean it would be easy. Hell, Katie would fight him every step of the way. She would not take the idea of hurting or betraying Steve lightly.
Tyler’s gut churned. He did not take the idea lightly either. His intentions choked him with guilt and shame. He was about to challenge his best mate for a woman. What gave him the right to destroy Steve’s happiness and future for the sake of his own? How could he justify fighting for the life he coveted if the expense of his victory was his friend’s happiness?
But how could he not fight for Katie? She was his destiny, not Steve’s.
Steve’s happiness lay in someone else’s hands.
“There you are,” he said to her. “I’ve been looking for you.”
She turned to face him “You have?”
“I…” His voice trailed off. He swallowed. “I…” Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. He knew he was staring but he couldn’t look away.
Katie lay naked on his sheets. Her breath was more regular now, her body lethargic beside his. Christ, he loved watching her languish in the aftermath of her orgasms. Loved the glazed wantonness in her eyes, the reddish blush in her skin. Even now, almost thirty minutes later, her neck was stained a delicate pink, the fading remnants of her passion.