Night Is Darkest (9 page)

Lacey licked her lips in anticipation. “How about a blow job?”

Chapter Six

Tyler groaned when Lacey wriggled beneath him, getting unintentional revenge by grinding her pelvis against the growing bulge in his jeans.

“I didn’t get to taste you the other day.” She started to scoot off the island but he restrained her. “Please, Ty.”

“There’re broken dishes on the floor. You can’t kneel there.” The world spun around her when he positioned her as he pleased. On her back, her head hung off the counter close to where Ty stood. She watched upside down as he shoved up the hem of his cotton shirts then yanked the button fly of his jeans wide apart. From the gap in the straining fabric, he withdrew his aching cock. “And, God help me, I can’t make it upstairs. Suck me, little one.”

One of his hands nudged the jeans past his hips far enough to free his balls before gathering the fall of her hair into his palm as he supported her neck. She moaned when he tugged her into position but, just before his other hand guided his erection between her lips, he paused. “Have you ever done this before? Don’t take more than you’re comfortable with.”

She winked up at him. “I’m not
that
innocent, Ty.”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. “I liked thinking of you as mine.”

With deliberate languor designed to drive him insane, she stretched her neck to sip the glistening drop off the tip. Then she flicked her tongue against the sensitive underside of the head before licking a path along the prominent vein to the base of his erection, nestled in his trimmed pubic hair.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of his free hand clamped onto the edge of the island as he fought to restrain himself and let her have her way with him. Encouraged, she engulfed his sac in her lips, sucking his balls with gentle pulls.

“I’m going to hunt down the dude who taught you that.” His rasp betrayed his arousal. When she chuckled around his vulnerable flesh, his cock jumped against her chin. “Shit! I want to see you. Lift up so I can get these off.”

The waistband of her cutoff sweats slipped over her hips. Ty flung them across the room. They hit the wall then slid to the floor. When he realized she didn’t wear panties to bed, he groaned then leaned over her torso to bury his face between her thighs. Her mouth opened wide on a sigh just as he lunged forward to lap at the arousal coating her folds.

The position thrust his shaft toward her open mouth. In one long motion, she took him inside, stopping only when his impressive hard-on bumped the back of her throat. He widened his stance, giving her room to maneuver even as he flung an arm over the far edge of the island to perform a blind search of the contents of the drawer between her dangling calves.

If his cock hadn’t stuffed her mouth she would have asked what the hell he was rummaging around for at a time like this but she didn’t have to wait long to find out. Content to savor his earthy taste, along with the shudders racking his steel-hard abdomen, her cheeks hollowed as she began to suck him with measured draws.

Lost in the act of gifting him with pleasure, the press of something smooth and cool against her swollen pussy surprised her. She flinched at the sensation, which contrasted the velvet warmth of Ty’s gifted mouth and fingers.

He separated them long enough to reassure her. “Relax, little one. I’m going to make this better for you.”

The bulk of his torso blinded her to his actions, leaving her to focus on his touch alone. When he buried one long finger in her soaked pussy, the sparks of pleasure threatened to burn her to cinders. She paused in her seductive rhythm with his cock nudging her palate. The disruption caused her to choke.

“You’re alright. Breathe through your nose, sweetheart. You’re doing great.” The gravelly instructions reached through her panic. After she realized it worked, the technique spurred her to experiment. She tipped her head back further and swallowed. The shout of ecstasy that accompanied Ty’s slide into her throat provided all the encouragement she needed.

Her smug satisfaction at pleasing him flew out the window when he countered with a trick of his own. Beside the intrusion of his broad finger, something prodded the moist mouth of her opening. At first, the addition felt slim, cool and smooth but, as he inserted the object along the length of his embedded digit, it spread her further apart.

She moaned around Ty’s girth. The wrinkled sac of his balls drew taut against her upper lip.

“Oh, yeah.” He threw in a light lick on the tip of her clit for good measure. “You like that, don’t you? You’re such a naughty girl—loving being fucked by a turkey baster in the middle of your kitchen. Aren’t you? The blinds are open, you know. What would Mr. Anderson think if he caught a peek?”

Her hum of acknowledgement inspired another curse from his direction. The taboo component of his actions ratcheted her arousal even higher just as he must have planned. The dual penetration of his finger and the cooking utensil filled her to bursting. In desperation, she attempted to urge him to match her increasing tempo as she continued to massage his cock with her tongue and her oral muscles.

The tapered section of the implement tunneled deeper, enlarging her rings of muscle to accommodate it. When it lodged fully in her pussy, Ty dipped his head then feathered a light breath across her clit.

She tried to beg but the bulk of his throbbing erection overflowing her mouth garbled her request. It didn’t matter. Ty knew what she needed. His tongue traced the valley of her slit, circling the tight bundle of nerves at the top, nearly launching her into orgasm. A moment later his lips surrounded her clit. She had to squeeze her eyes shut to concentrate on keeping her teeth away from his shaft.

Her nails dug into the backs of his thighs as she grabbed for an anchor in an attempt to force her aching flesh closer to the source of her overwhelming pleasure. Lights danced behind her lids. In her mind, angels sang the hallelujah chorus when his amazing tongue flicked across her clit in the perfect counterpoint to his rhythmic nibbles.

When she thought she couldn’t stand another minute stretched tight on the rack of desire he’d transformed the kitchen island into, he began to thrust his finger and the baster in harmony with the delights provided by his mouth. She writhed beneath him, relishing the press of his ribs and the way his abdomen teased her nipples.

The veins in his cock bulged as it grew even harder, longer, in her mouth a moment before she tasted the seductive musk of his precum. When he attempted to withdraw she refused to let him retreat, instead redoubling her efforts to make him erupt first.

“Shit! If that’s the way you want to play, baby…” Tyler twisted the plastic barrel until it undulated against the rough patch just over her pubic bone, trapping it between the two hard surfaces. She didn’t stand a chance. Pleasure washed over her, bathing every nerve ending in her body with delight. The reflexive swallows of her throat matched the spasming muscles in her pussy as her climax crashed through her.

Tyler chanted her name against her clit as his seed flooded her throat.

When Lacey came to her senses, he was layering butterfly kisses along her thighs. She stroked his powerful flank. In response, he stood then smiled down at her as he tucked himself back in his jeans and finished arranging his clothes. He hopped over the shards of pottery on the floor, came to stand between her knees and pulled her upright until her head lay on his shoulder. Lightheaded, either from the intensity of her orgasm or from her reclined position, she welcomed his solid embrace.

“You know, I’ve probably imagined being with you more than a million times.” His husky whisper fanned his breath over her ear. “But I never came close to understanding how phenomenal it would be to finally have you. Would it freak you out if I dropped the L-bomb right now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then I won’t. Yet.”

She didn’t expect his reaction as he reached around to hug her.

“What the hell?”

Curious, she turned to see the palm he held out for inspection. Covered in red sauce after touching her back, she realized they’d made quite a mess when they had each other for dessert.

“Oops.” She chuckled. “I guess we have some cleaning up to do.”

“It looks like you took the brunt of the damage. Why don’t you head upstairs and shower while I get things in order down here?” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Make it a long shower. Maybe I’ll catch up with you.”

“Deal.” He placed a sweet kiss on her lips with easy familiarity that meant more to her than a hundred orgasms. Even the earth-shattering kind. Being with Tyler like this felt right.

He set her on the floor away from the unfortunate bowl then gave her ass a light smack. “Don’t get me started again. Go on. I’ll be up as soon as I take care of this and plug in the call catcher.”

The reminder of trouble caused her to flinch.

“Shit. Sorry, Lacey. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’ll only take me a few minutes then I’ll help you get to sleep.” She had no doubt about how he intended to do that. Looking around one last time, she hoped the hot water lasted. Sauce had flown everywhere. It puddled on the counter, smeared on the wall and splattered across the floor.

At the far end of the hallway, she spotted an oversized gym bag abandoned in the middle of the floor. She flicked a glance over her shoulder as they made their way toward the front stairway.

“You presumed I’d invite you to stay?” she teased.

“Well, uh, Mason sort of kicked me out.”

“You’re fighting?” The guys never argued for longer than it took to land a few blows. Then they’d move on like nothing had happened. “Over what?”

He didn’t answer.

Oh, shit.
“Over me?” She stopped dead and pivoted to face him.

“Now who’s being presumptuous, little one?” He tweaked her nose with his index finger.

Heat rose to her cheeks.

“I’ll sleep on the couch if I’m not welcome in your bed.”

Was it her imagination or was his teasing an attempt to cover his wounded tone? She placed her hand on his biceps then squeezed. “Of course you’re welcome. I’d love to snuggle with you. The truth is, Tyler…I’m so glad you’re here.”

He turned with brisk efficiency to gather his belongings, but not before she saw the moisture in his eyes. What was going on?

“I’m glad I am, too. Now, go ahead. This should be a quick job. I just need to plug it in then activate the device on the department’s website. It’s alright if I use your computer quick?”

She wondered if he had latched on to any excuse to stall in order to prevent questions about his reaction. “Actually, the stupid thing got hit with a virus this afternoon. But I suppose you could start up Rob’s if you disconnect it from our network first. Hopefully, it should still be clean. My mind was on…other things. I must have clicked something I shouldn’t have.”

“What do you mean?” His instant focus singed her with its intensity.

“There’s a reporter who keeps leaving me messages. She must have been pissed that I haven’t called her back. She seemed kind of desperate. I opened an email from her and, next thing I know, my hard drive is whacked.”

“How do you know the message was from this woman?” Tyler’s cop face masked the vulnerable features of her lover.

“It had the same subject.
We need to talk.
”

Mason tried to convince himself the current situation warranted the perimeter check he conducted on the Daughtry house but, deep down, he admitted his late night stroll had a lot less to do with security than his need to catch a glimpse of Tyler and Lacey. He didn’t expect to find anything out of place. The more he and Ty dug, the more it seemed Rob’s murder had really been a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, no matter what their guts insisted.

Maybe suspecting foul play had helped them rationalize the tragedy. Hunting leads might have been his equivalent of Lacey’s frantic funeral arrangements. He’d never doubted his intuition before, but every place they’d looked for clues had turned up exactly nothing.

Helpless, he accepted that he’d failed Rob. Now, he missed Tyler after just hours apart and the invitation he’d seen in Lacey’s eyes the past few days haunted him. He paused to kick a rock out of the path into the trunk of the oak where they’d built forts in elementary school.

With a sigh, he braced his shoulders against the bark then dropped his head back to stare up at the stars. Why did bad shit always happen to good people? Rob had been the best of them. Generous, rock solid and fun to be around, he’d never have begrudged his best friends a relationship. Even if it left him the odd man out.

But that was just another example of how Rob had been a better man than him.

He had to quit moping and focus on something useful. There were more places he could canvass for witnesses. Some of the seedier nightclubs near the crime scene would be hitting their peak soon. If he hurried, he could make it across town to interview anyone willing to talk. For the right price.

Mason shoved off the tree—intending to cut across the backyard—when he noticed the kitchen light beamed like a beacon in the night, exposing anyone inside to prying eyes. He flipped open his cell to call Ty and give him hell about leaving the curtains open when a crimson smear sent terror spinning through his guts.