He reached for her shirt as she stared up at him. His expression had sharpened again. It gave her a thrill deep inside to know he continued to find her sexy, even after he’d screwed her senseless.
Standing still, she stared at his face as he watched his fingers undo the two buttons holding the shirt together. He took his time, his knuckles brushing against her tight nipples, teasing them into even harder peaks. When the shirt gaped open, he brushed it off her shoulders and watched it fall to the ground.
Then his gaze and his fingers returned to her bra. “Turn.”
She obeyed, presenting him with her back. It only took a second for her bra to join the shirt.
Since he didn’t say anything else, she stayed as she was and nearly jumped out of her skin when his fingers trailed down her spine. Her head dropped back, her hair brushing against her spine for a few seconds before he gathered it in one hand and twisted it around his fist.
She felt him bend close and rub his cheek against the top of her head as he tugged on her hair.
A second later, he released her, and she sucked in a sharp gasp of air at the almost overwhelming urge to grab him and make sure he was coming back to her.
This man was going to give her a heart attack.
Next, she felt his fingers at her waist, undoing the buttons on the skirt until that fell to the floor as well.
He paused before removing the thong, plucking at the string between her ass cheeks, sending sharp jolts of lightning zinging through her.
“I know I didn’t say anything earlier”—he brushed his lips against her nape, causing her to tilt her head to give him more access—“but I really admire this design.”
He tugged again, a little harder this time, and the seam at the front caught her clit at just the right angle. As she’d designed it to do.
She swore she heard him smile. “Such a simple design and yet so . . . ingenious.”
Slipping his fingers between her legs, he stroked the bare lips of her sex, sensitive, slick, and puffy from their recent play.
“It’s a shame I have to take them off, but I know I’ll see them again.”
He sounded awfully sure of himself and she wanted to have a snappy retort, but her brain simply didn’t have the necessary cell power left to come up with something.
Instead, she bit back a moan as he slid one finger inside her and stroked.
His fast withdrawal left her aching. She barely noticed as he stripped the thong down her legs.
“Let’s get you in the tub. I’m sure you’re ready for a good soak.”
He swept her off her feet and the next second, she found herself submerged up to her shoulders in perfectly hot water.
She glared up at him, determined to tell him off for treating her like a rag doll, but the words died in her throat as she caught him in the act of pushing his boxer briefs off his hips.
My God, a naked Tyler would be enough to give the most devout nun second thoughts about her vows.
He left his boxers next to her clothes then climbed into the tub behind her.
Leaning into the curve, he drew her back until her head rested comfortably on his chest.
He didn’t wrap his arms around her this time but rested them on the ledge of the tub. His chest rose and fell on a deep breath and she swore she felt every muscle in his body relax.
Encouraged to do the same, she let her mind drift, knowing he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.
The silence wasn’t uncomfortable but she felt Tyler shift and do something behind her just before soft music filled the air.
Jazz.
“Is that okay?” he asked. “I can turn something else on if you don’t like it.”
“No, that’s fine, though I don’t really know a lot about jazz. My parents listened to a lot of blues when I was a kid. And they were both heavily into Springsteen.”
“My grandfather got me started on jazz. He was into big band, Sinatra and the Rat Pack, music like that. As I got older, I started listening to more Coltrane, Stanley Clarke, Wynton Marsalis.”
“I like it. It’s soothing.”
“Are you going to fall asleep on me?”
“What do you expect? You wore me out.” She punctuated that with a yawn that caught her off guard.
His husky laughter rumbled through her back. “So I shouldn’t do this.”
He shifted again and pressed his stiffening erection between the cheeks of her ass.
She moaned, because, yes, she did want him to do that. But she wasn’t going to be able to keep her eyes open much longer.
“So not fair. But I’m warning you. I may fall asleep in the middle. Just saying.”
“Then I guess I should get you back to bed. Just to sleep, of course.”
“You don’t have to be too hasty.” She paused. “So what prompted your visit tonight, Tyler? Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I was a little surprised to find you there. After you didn’t call all week.”
If she was expecting an apology, she should’ve known better. “I wanted to see you.”
“So you were horny.”
He didn’t answer right away. “Is that a problem?”
“No. Unless that’s all you want from me. Then I’d prefer you to be honest.”
“Do you only want a relationship based on sex?”
“I’m not sure. Do you?”
Another pause. “Can I answer that honestly and say I’m not sure what I’m looking for?”
She told herself that pang in her gut was relief. It had to be, because she couldn’t allow herself to believe it was anything else. She’d only recently broken off a long engagement. She wanted to change her life and that could include moving away from her home, possibly to New York City. If she was lucky, it would be New York.
She wasn’t in the market for a relationship that sank emotional hooks into her.
And if she was lying to herself just a little . . . well, she could ignore that too.
She scooted back just a little, wriggled her ass just a tiny bit more and smiled when he hitched in a breath.
“Honesty works for me.”
“Then, honestly, I want you again, Kate.”
It was a wonder the water splashing over the side of the tub didn’t flood the room.
“So this reception . . . How many people are going to be there?”
“About a hundred.”
Watching Tyler expertly do his tie while she put in her earrings, she wondered if the reason she wasn’t nervous about this event was because she couldn’t think beyond the fact that Tyler in a suit scrambled her brain or that she wasn’t going to know anyone so she’d probably be mostly invisible.
It was pretty much a toss-up.
“And Greg’s looking for investors, so they’re all going to be rich?”
“Pretty much, yes.” Turning away from the mirror, he let his gaze roam over her. “You look amazing. I’ll be careful not to rip that dress off of you later before I spread you out on a flat surface and fuck you.”
She figured she should be used to the things Tyler said that made her wet between her thighs and so damn horny she couldn’t think straight.
From the outside, Tyler looked as straitlaced as any nine-to-five businessman. But she knew now that façade hid a relentless sexual appetite that threatened to devour her whole.
But she was determined to enjoy it while she could. It brought out a side of her she hadn’t realized she had. A slightly raunchy side that liked to give as good as she got.
Closing the few feet between them, she stopped with barely an inch to spare so she had to look up into his face and into those navy blue eyes. “Maybe I’ll back you into a corner instead. Maybe I’ll take you in my mouth and get you off before I allow you to put me on that table and make me come with your mouth.”
As the words spilled from her, she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. Combined with the flush of heat originating from between her legs and working its way through her entire body, she probably looked like she was running a high fever.