Tyler swallowed. He then picked up his glass of water, needing the cool liquid to wash down the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. “Sex issues?” he repeated, barely above a whisper. Her words sent alarm bells ringing in his head. And it didn’t help matters the way she was looking at him.
“Yes.” She sighed deeply, and for some reason he knew whatever she was about to say, he wouldn’t like it.
“I’m still a virgin, Tyler,” she whispered. “I’m a twenty-nine year old virgin and it’s all your fault.”
***
She was still a virgin? Tyler struggled to ignore first the shock and then the quick jolt of intense heat that surged through him with her blunt statement. Emotions, basic and primitive stirred to life within him. Why did the thought that no other man had touched her fill him with so much desire, so much lust? Especially when he knew it meant so much trouble.
Then the implications of everything she’d said slowly began sinking in. He realized just what she wanted from him. “Surely you don’t mean …”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean, Tyler. I want you to be my first, the way you should have been.”
For a long moment he couldn’t look away from the intensity of her gaze; However, his eyes did drop a little lower to rest on her lips -- lips he had feasted on that night until he’d had her purring.
He sighed deeply as he pulled his thoughts out of the past and back into the present. “What you’re asking for is impossible, Megan,” he said, breaking into the silence and trying to ignore the hot memories that wanted to once again take over his mind. “It’s been thirteen years. Yesterday was the first time we’ve saw each other since that night. People don’t just pick up and - ”
“Yes, they do, Tyler, and you know it. Total strangers meet and sleep together on the same night. Not that I would support that sort of behavior, but it’s been done. I’d like to think that although we hadn’t seen each other over the years that we’re still friends. If you have a problem thinking of it as a debt you owe, then consider it as doing me a favor.”
Tyler frowned. He didn’t like the thought of either one. He looked at her again. He couldn’t help doing so. She had basically lived a recluse life growing up. Her parents had picked her friends and had limited them to only those individuals who they felt were safe. And he could even grudgingly admit they had even picked him. He had been someone they had approved of and had given him the okay to see their daughter with their blessings … and also with their limitations. She was at dating age and they had wanted her to date someone who they felt was safe; someone they could manipulate in doing what they wanted in order to preserve their daughter’s virtue. Then to top it off, they had used the old man, the one person he had admired and trusted, to come to him to solicit a promise.
Now, Megan James had more than a high IQ. She had a tremendous amount of sex appeal. It was there in the way she moved and dressed. And he didn’t want to think about her body: full-sized and stacked in all the right places. Something else he’d picked up on tonight was that there was a rebellious streak about her, something wild yet feminine. She was the one taking charge of her own life and doing those things she felt she needed to do to bring a sense of normalcy into it. And it appeared that the first thing on her agenda was becoming a nonvirgin.
What if he turned her down? Did that mean she would approach some other guy since she seemed hell-bent on having the job done? Did she know what she was asking for?
Silently he stared at her and she stared back. Even with the soft lighting he could see the hardness of her nipples against the smooth fabric of her dress: a tell-tale sign of a woman aroused, or getting there. His mind was suddenly filled with memories of taking those luscious hard buds in his mouth and feasting on them. That night she had been so responsive, so filled with fire and so wet for him. A shiver ran through him when he remembered how much she liked kissing. He wondered if she remembered the kissing lesson he had given her that night.
He could feel tension vibrating across the table, touching the both of them, and as he watched he saw her lips tremble and he knew that at any moment she would take her tongue and nervously lick across them. Moments later when she did, he felt a quick tightening in his gut that moved lower, causing a lot of pressure against the zipper of his jeans.
“So what have you decided, Tyler?”
Although every part of him body seemed to be in turmoil, his eyes were perfectly calm as he continued to look at her. “Do you need an answer tonight?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’d like one by the end of the week.”
He nodded. That was only three days away. To say she was rushing things would be putting it mildly. There were a lot of things that he needed to think about. First of which was getting his head examined for even contemplating the idea. But as he sat there staring at her he knew one thing hadn’t changed. He still wanted Megan James. Always had and probably always would. And it seemed that after all this time she was still under his skin. “I’ll have an answer by then.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Tyler.”
He laughed softly. “Hey, don’t thank me yet. You don’t know what my answer will be.”
She held his gaze intently. “No I don’t,” she agreed. “But at least you were willing to listen and I appreciate that,” she said, reaching across the table and taking his hands in hers. “I refuse to celebrate my thirtieth birthday still a virgin. It’s bad enough that I’m unmarried and childless.”
She looked down at their joined hands. His were big compared to hers: big, hard, clean. His grip on her hands was gentle in contrast to the feel of his palm and calluses, which felt rough. But more than anything, she knew these hands could give her pleasure. They had done so before in a way she hadn’t thought was possible. She might still be a virgin, but thanks to these hands she had experienced an orgasm.
“Ready to leave?”
“Yes.” She made an attempt to tug her hands free but Tyler held tight as he continued to hold her gaze. Then he said. “And I want you to think about things, too, Megan. I want you to make sure you know what you’re asking for. One night together can cause a whole lot of complications you might not be ready to deal with.”
She frowned. What sort of complications was he referring to? If he meant birth control she planned to have that taken care of. Although she did want a child later, first things first, and her main objective was to became a full-fledge woman in Tyler Savoy’s arms.
“Promise me that you’ll think things through.”
She sighed deeply. “I’ve already thought things through, Tyler. I didn’t come to Alexandria with the intent of sleeping with you, but when I saw you and accepted how you still made me feel, then I knew. My reaction to other men who I’ve tried to develop relationships, emotional or physical, has proven that for my first sexual experience, I need it to be you.”
He let go of her hand and slowly stood. “But still, I want you to take the next three days and be sure that you totally understand what you’re asking for.”
After throwing more than enough bills on the table to cover their meals, he took her hand in his again and together they left the restaurant.
***
Megan shot Tyler a quick look after he’d started the car to take her home. He wasn’t saying much and his mouth was set in a grim but determined line. She had a sinking feeling that in three days he would turn her down. A man like Tyler probably wasn’t into affairs and that’s basically what she was offering him . . . a one night affair to finish what they had started thirteen years ago.
When he turned on the CD and music began playing she drew in a deep appreciative breath. She couldn’t stand the silence, but there hadn’t been anything left to say. She had made him an offer and it was up to him to either accept or reject.
“Would you like to go out with me Saturday night?”
Megan turned and tilted her head to one side to look over at him. The car had come to a stop at a traffic light, and he was staring at her with those gorgeous eyes of his and she felt her face tint under his fierce scrutiny.
“Saturday night?” she asked, as her heart thud against her ribs. Saturday night was three days from now . . . the day he was to give her his decision.
“Yes. Bryan and Tonya are having a party to unveil Tonya’s Temptation’s fall line of lingerie.”
She nodded after taking a deep breath. “Sure. I’d love to go.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“All right.”
She turned to stare out of the window again, letting her hands relax in her lap. She had never realized before just how much man Tyler was. When she was sixteen she had thought he was built with plenty of muscles, but now there seemed to be more of them, which meant he probably worked out a lot. That would be understandable since his cousin Nash owned a fitness center in town.
She moved her gaze over to him, glad his attention was on the road, which gave her a chance to study his broad shoulders, wide chest and flat stomach. Everything about him appeared powerful, masculine and solid.
Her heart suddenly thumped in a panic. Would she be able to handle a man the size of Tyler? Although she was no longer pencil thin like she used to be and was now wearing a size sixteen, she couldn’t help wondering if her body would be able to adjust to his. Megan jerked her gaze back to the scenery out of the window. It was too late to worry about that now.
Tyler briefly took his eyes off the road to glance over at Megan. She had been staring at him moments ago, he had felt it. In fact her eyes had thoroughly skimmed his body. He had felt that, too. Even across the distance that separated them, he was beginning to feel everything about her although he wish he didn’t. A woman like Megan was one that men were supposed to marry and not have affairs with. She should be engaged or married. Heaven help him, but he was glad she was neither.
He inhaled deeply knowing he needed to do some heavy-duty soul-searching and come to terms with a lot of things. In just one day Megan James had come back to town and sheathed herself in his life like she had a right to belong there, and a part of him refused to acknowledge that she didn’t.
It was something that he couldn’t explain when it came to the first with a man. And she had been the first woman he had ever loved and he would take his honesty one step further and admit she had been the only woman he had ever loved. Over the years no other female had been able to take her place in his heart, although some had definitely tried.
When Tyler finally reached the Winston ranch, he couldn’t help but appreciate how the full moon in the sky cast a beam of light across the sprawling land. This is what he wanted, land and plenty of it, and if things worked out the way he hoped, he would be signing the deed to the old Palmer ranch real soon. He had talked to Keith Palmer earlier in the week and the man had no interest in moving back to Virginia to run the ranch that used to be his home. Keith had made another life for himself in Chicago, and that’s where he wanted to stay, and now with both parents gone he was glad to sell it.
“Thanks for a wonderful evening, Tyler. I enjoyed myself.”
He brought the car to a stop in front of the house and turned off the ignition. His gaze went over to Megan. “And I enjoyed myself as well and I’m looking forward to seeing you again Saturday night.”
She smiled warmly. “Same here.” She began unbuckling her seat belt. “I guess I better go inside.”
“Hey, not so fast,” he said reaching out and touching her arm.
As soon as he touched her, a quick sizzle seemed to zap through every part of her body. With all the effort she could muster, she tried catching her breath. She was discovering that sexual chemistry was some pretty strong stuff. “Yes?” she asked, barely getting the word out.
He leaned over slightly, his eyes just inches from hers, and even in the car’s darkened interior, she could see the intensity of his gaze. “I’ll have an answer for you on Saturday night. And while I’m this close and personal, I might as well do what I’ve wanted to do all night.”
Megan swallowed as Tyler inched his face a little closer. “Which is?”
“Taste you.”
With that said Tyler captured her lips in his, effectively ensnarling her gasp of surprise. He needed to let her see that he was no longer the young laid-back, hands-off guy she had been involved with thirteen years before. He was a full grown man who had man-size needs. If she wanted them to sleep together, then she needed to know they would probably sleep only ten percent of the time. Ninety percent would be devoted to him giving her the pleasure she had gone so long without.
Tyler heard a moan. Whether it had come from him or from Megan he wasn’t sure, but it was as if the moment their mouths had touched a floodgate of pent up desire had come cascading through. He loved the way she tasted and the way he was devouring her mouth indicated that fact. Their kiss, a slow-burning, deep-in-the-gut kind, was taking him on a sensuous journey, a very passionate ride, and all he could think about was the fact that he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. She didn’t stand a chance against the onslaught of a greedy tongue that belonged to one hungry male. His tongue traveled the area of her mouth from top to bottom, licking, sipping and seducing.
And then something happened. Following his lead, she began seducing him back with an assault of soft lips. She wanted his taste as much as he wanted hers. He made the kiss harder, then took it deeper as everything about what they were doing incinerated his brain cells, making logical thought impossible. Never mind that they were parked in the main yard right outside the house and, even with the lateness of the hour, a ranch hand could stroll by at any time. He had to get as much of her as he could tonight, and when she continued to make whimpering sounds of pleasure, he knew that he wanted to be the only man to ever hear those sounds.