He looked genuinely disappointed. “Do ya have to leave so soon? I was hopin’ we could have a drink, get to know each other better.”
Avery glanced at the girl behind the desk, feeling like a third wheel. “Uh sorry. I really do have to go.” In fact, she’d intended to stay at least until midnight, but Ty presented an unwelcome temptation she didn’t feel strong enough to resist while under the influence of champagne. It had been a long time, too long, since she’d enjoyed the company of a handsome man.
“Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?” She took her wrap from him and turned toward the door before he could employ his considerable charm to convince her to stay.
“Avery, wait.” He seized her wrist. “At least let me walk you to your car.”
The girl behind the counter raised her eyebrows as she waited for Avery’s response.
“No, you stay here, have fun. Happy New Year, Ty.” She tried to free her wrist, but his hand felt like a barnacle.
“I said I’d like to walk you out.” He slipped his hand into hers. “Please.” He fell into step beside her.
She looked over her shoulder at the blonde behind the counter, but she was busy serving incoming customers. “I think your friend would’ve preferred if you’d stayed here with her.”
Ty laughed. “You mean Robin? She’s dating one of the bouncers. Hell, I’ve known her since high school.”
“So you grew up around here?” she asked, slipping her wrap around her shoulders as he held the door open for her.
“Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?”
“I thought maybe you moved to Nashville to pursue your music career.”
Once they stepped onto the sidewalk, he re-claimed her hand. “How’d you know I was a musician?”
“A friend told me. He says you’re pretty good.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Isn’t everyone?”
She laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.” She pointed to her red sports car. “That would be me.” She reached into her handbag to find her keys.
He reached for her keychain, pressing the button to unlock the doors. “Mind if we sit and talk for a bit, Avery? I meant what I said; I’d really like to get to know you better.”
Her common sense was no match for their mutual attraction. She stopped in front of the driver’s door and turned toward him. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
He raised his hand to cup her cheek. “I gotta tell you I haven’t felt like this about a woman in... hell, maybe ever.”
She smiled, trying to deny the appeal of his sweet words. He probably said the same thing to every attractive girl he met and it probably had the desired effect every time. “That’s sweet of you to say, but...”
“I know you probably don’t believe me, but it’s true, darlin’.” After shifting until he had her trapped between the car and his body, he fixated on her lips. “As soon as I saw you, I knew I had to meet you.”
He settled a hand on either side of her head, effectively caging her in.
Pressing her hands against the solid wall of his chest, she said, “Ty, I really should go.”
“Damn it; just give me a few minutes, hon. There’s somethin’ between us. Are you telling me you don’t feel it?”
She swallowed convulsively as he watched her tongue dart out to lick her lips.
“One kiss. If you’re not feelin’ it, you can go. Is it a deal?”
She wanted to argue, but not as much as she wanted to accept his provocative challenge. “Deal,” she whispered.
He held her face between his hands, gently, reverently, as he dipped his head to kiss her. It was slow and tender at first, almost as though he was asking permission to cross some unseen barrier.
When she opened her mouth to let him in, he flattened her body between his and the car as he threaded his hands through her hair and plunged into her mouth.
He tasted like sweet, potent liquor and she knew she was in danger of getting drunk on him. She slid her hands under his leather jacket and kneaded his back muscles as he continued the thorough exploration of her mouth.
His hands slid down the curve of her back to knead pliant flesh. When he reached the swell of her bottom, he groaned and tore his mouth away, panting. “We’re gonna get arrested for indecent exposure if we keep this up.”
She couldn’t open her eyes, couldn’t think straight. She just wanted to lose herself in him.
He nuzzled her neck as he drew her earlobe into his mouth. “Follow me to my place, okay?”
She nodded as he nibbled a moist path down her neck to the hollow of her collarbone. She moaned and ground her hips into him when he sucked the sensitive skin into his mouth.
“God,” he said, panting. “If we don’t get the hell outta here now, I’m afraid I might take you right up against this car.”
She rubbed her face against his stubble-roughened jaw line, loving the delicious friction it created. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
A primitive growl erupted from his throat. “No way. I’m not interested in a quickie, baby. It may take all night for me to get my fill of this gorgeous body.” His big hands circled her rib cage. “I meant what I said, Avery. You turn me inside out,” he whispered. “No woman’s ever done that before.”
“Get a room, McCall,” a male voice shouted from across the parking lot.
Ty raised his hand and chuckled. “He’s right. We definitely need a bedroom for what I have in mind.”
She threaded her hands through his hair and pulled his face down to meet hers. “Just one more for the road,” she whispered.
He braced his hands on either side of her rather than making contact. Keeping his body at a respectable distance, he caressed her only with his tongue.
It was the most erotic feeling in the world and Avery was dying to find out what else this master of seduction could do with his delicious tongue.
He finally pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers as he smiled. “You okay to drive? ‘Cause if you’re not...”
“I am feeling a little light headed, but unfortunately I can’t blame the champagne. I only had that one glass, half of which I wound up wearing, thanks to you.”
He leaned forward, drawing her bottom lip into her mouth. “I wanna pour champagne all over you and lick it off.”
She was unable to hide the shudder brought on by his words.
He chuckled. “My motto is show, don’t tell. Let’s go.”
She sucked a deep breath of air into her oxygen-deprived lungs, trying to clear her head before she got behind the wheel of her car.
He opened the driver’s door but blocked it with his body when she tried to claim the seat. “Hey, you sure you’re okay to drive? If not, you can ride with me and we’ll come back to pick up your car tomorrow.”
She was touched by his show of concern. It had been a long time since a man made her safety a priority. She reached out to stroke his cheek and said, “You’re sweet to worry, but I’m fine. Besides, I have an early flight in the morning.”
He closed his eyes and sank against the car. “Please don’t tell me you’re from outta town.”
“No, I’m just going to visit my family for a few days.”
“Thank God.” He grabbed her wrap to pull her towards him. “Now, how ‘bout we hit the road, pretty lady?”
“I’m right behind you.”
“Wait. You got a pen?”
“Yeah, I think so.” She reached into the car and grabbed the pen clipped to her visor. She handed it to him.
“Lemme give you my cell number. We’re headed just outside of town and those country roads can get pretty dark at this time of night. Keep your high beams on and watch out for wildlife, got it?”
Suddenly, she felt uneasy. She was going to an unknown place with a man she just met and no one knew where they were headed.
He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. “I know that look. You’re havin’ second thoughts, aren’t you?”
She bit her lip, torn between common sense and wanting to indulge her fantasies. “It’s just that I’ve never done anything like this before. I mean going home with a guy I just met...”
He grinned. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, darlin’.”
She remembered Josh’s character reference and it gave her courage. Josh was a career cop and if he gave Ty a glowing recommendation, he had to be safe. “Let’s go before I change my mind,” she said quickly.
He curled his fingers around her neck and kissed her. “Hey, we don’t have to do this tonight, baby. If you wanna take our time gettin’ to know each other, I’m good with that. I meant what I said. I’ve never met anyone like you and the last thing I wanna do is screw this up by rushing you into something you’re not ready for.”
She started to panic, not because she feared for her safety, but because she feared for her heart. Ty was sweet, sexy and a musician. She had to remember her rule. Tonight was just about having fun. Tomorrow, she would be on a plane and Ty would be nothing more than a satisfying memory of a snapshot in time. “No, I’m ready. I mean I want to be with you tonight.”
He laughed. “I was hopin’ you’d say that. Okay, let me get my truck. Be right back.”
Ty kept his eyes on his rear-view mirror the entire drive back to the ranch. He was afraid Avery would re-consider her impulsive decision when given a few minutes alone to contemplate the implications.
He meant what he said. He could wait to be intimate with her, but he couldn’t wait to get to know her better. He was already enthralled with her and that scared the hell out of him. He’d been with his fair share of women over the years, but there was something about her that made him feel like an inexperienced, insecure teenager all over again. He’d have liked to been able to discount it as lust, but he’d fallen in lust before. He’d never fallen in love before. If someone had told him it was even possible to fall in love at first sight, he would have told them they were certifiable, but what he was feeling for this woman was stronger, more intense than anything he’d ever felt before and if he was asked to describe his feelings, he could only think of one word that would aptly describe it.
He cursed his own stupidity, striking the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. He knew nothing about this woman, other than the fact that she was gorgeous, sexy, and too classy to park her designer shoes under the bed of a cowboy for long. She’d probably had a fight with her rich boyfriend and was using him to teach the guy a lesson.
His cell phone rang, interrupting his pity party. He checked the call display. It was Rich, one of the friends he’d left at Jimmy’s. He connected the call as he glanced in the mirror. Thankfully she was still behind him. “Hey, Rich. Sorry I bailed on you guys.”
“Did you leave with that hot little blonde in the black dress?”
Ty chuckled at his friend’s apt description of Avery. “Yeah, we’re headed back to my place now.”
Rich laughed. “You’re my idol, man.”
Ty frowned when Avery turned off her hi-beams and eased back on the gas. He didn’t mind the bright lights temporarily blinding him. He would prefer that to the alternative. The wildlife was abundant in these parts and he’d been caught off guard a time or two himself. Someone who wasn’t expecting it could total their car, or worse.
“Shit,” he whispered.
“What’s wrong, Ty?”
“Nothin’. Listen, we’re just a couple of miles from my place. I gotta keep an eye on Avery. I wouldn’t want her to get caught off guard by a buck or...”
Rich laughed. “Dude, you’ve got it bad for this chick, don’t you?”
Ty scowled as he gripped the steering wheel. “Why? Because I don’t want to see her wrap her car around a tree?”
“No, because you’re takin’ her back to your place. You could’ve just taken her to a hotel, done the deed, and bailed on her, but you didn’t.”
Ty considered his friend’s words. He was right. He could have taken the easy way out, but he wanted more than physical gratification with Avery. He wanted wine, candlelight, pillow talk. He wanted to make her breakfast and take her to the airport in the morning. He wanted to make sure she would be looking forward to coming back home, to him.
“Whatever, listen, I gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Ty didn’t wait for his friend to respond before disconnecting the call. He wasn’t in the mood for Rich’s good-natured ribbing. The only thing he cared about was having Avery safely in his arms.
He pulled into the long and winding driveway to the Triple M, his parents’ ranch. It had been in his family for three generations. Ty’s older brother Dave had enlisted in the military and his other brother Derek was a top cop in Arkansas, leaving his younger brother to shoulder the burden while Ty pursued a music career. A fact that didn’t sit well with his parents. At least Dave and Derek’s motives were altruistic; his were purely selfish. Music was in his blood and he wanted to experience the rush of performing for a stadium filled with screaming fans at least once in his lifetime. He didn’t want to be a rancher for the rest of his life and he didn’t want to live his parents’ dream. He wanted to pursue his own dream and at the moment, that dream included a petite blonde with a rockin’ little body.
He pulled up to the door of his log cabin and cut the engine. He and his brothers, with the help of some friends, had built the two-bedroom home a few years ago. It was natural, rustic, with all the comforts of home. He loved it, but he had the sinking feeling his efforts wouldn’t impress a girl like Avery.