Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
This wasn’t the bruising, claiming fit of passion and lust we’d found ourselves in on the Cape. There was no need for it now. Neither of us required proof to know that we belonged to the other, and so we took our time, as if we had all we ever needed.
There was no rush.
We had forever.
Time felt like music in that moment, each note slow and beautiful, melodic and sure. We peeled each other’s clothes off between deep, sensual kisses, and then Tyler lowered me back onto my bed. He took his time with each kiss, each trace of his tongue, each drag of his fingertips over my skin as he lowered until his head was between my thighs. And at the first slick of his tongue over my clit, I arched into him, surrendering to the passion, losing myself in the man I thought I’d lost forever.
We spent hours worshipping each other’s bodies, exploring and discovering like it was the first and the last time all at once. It wasn’t enough to make me fall apart with his mouth on me, or for me to swallow his first orgasm while I bent on my knees for him. We had to take more, we had to take it all, we had to have each other in every possible way until there was nothing left for anyone else ever again.
Sometime in the late afternoon, when we were in a dream-like state between being awake and being so physically exhausted that all we could do was lie there and hold each other, I balanced on my elbows, looking down over Tyler in my bed. His eyes were hooded, lids heavy, hair mussed and muscles ebbing and flowing as his hand rubbed my lower back.
“How did you know where I’d be this morning?”
The corner of his mouth tilted. “Well, you’ve posted Lake Merritt to your Instagram story more than a dozen times over the years and said it’s your favorite running spot. So, I got there early, and I prayed I wasn’t an idiot and you’d show up eventually.”
“How early?”
“Four in the morning.”
I smirked, running my thumb over the hollow base of his neck. “You really do love me.”
“I do,” he said, pulling me down to kiss him. When I was balanced over him again, his eyes searched mine. “When did you break up with Jacob?”
“The same day Azra showed up. That night.”
Tyler frowned, his hand splaying on my back. “I’m so sorry. That had to be so hard.”
“It was. He was a great guy, and I hated hurting him. We were such good friends… and the way it all went down when we talked on the phone, I thought we’d talk more once I got back here, that I’d get to see him again, maybe explain in person and try to establish some sort of friendship. But…” I shook my head on a dry swallow. “He didn’t want to see me, and I can’t blame him. You can’t really ever be just friends with someone you loved like that, I suppose.”
Tyler nodded in understanding, his fingers drawing shapes on my skin.
“What happened with Azra?”
He sighed. “Well, she hates me. Understandably so. When I told her, we were back home at Mom and Dad’s. She flew down the stairs and told them along with Morgan and Oliver what I’d done.” He paused. “They were about to drive to the airport to leave for their honeymoon.”
I grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Ouch,” Tyler agreed, and he swept my hair back over my shoulder. “Of course, they didn’t make their flight after that. They moved it to a later one, and after Azra stormed out, I sat all four of them down in the kitchen and explained.”
Shame rushed over me in a heat wave. “Oh, God,” I said, rolling onto my back and covering my face with my hands. “They must hate me.”
Tyler chuckled, balancing on his elbow to take my place, his eyes cast down on me now. “Do you really think that’s possible?”
I sighed, letting my hands drop to the side. “I’ve talked to Morgan a few times,” I mused. “She hasn’t said a word.”
“I asked them not to. I needed some time to figure out what I wanted to do, what I wanted to say… and mostly, how to get you to listen.”
“Wasn’t as hard as you thought, was it?”
“Did you notice I was wearing sneakers?” he asked. “I was prepared to run you down and pin you to the ground, if I had to.”
I bit my lip, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him long and hard. “Now I kind of wish I’d ran.”
Tyler chuckled.
When we pulled back, I kept my arms around him, frowning again. “So they don’t hate me?”
“Not even close. In a way, I think they all kind of knew… or at least, they weren’t surprised. Mom even seemed like she’d been hoping for it.”