Part 14 (1/2)
Chapter 9.
Lane had turned her face away from the camera and hoped Tyler didn't notice. She answered a couple of questions from reporters, but when they got personal, she'd slipped from Tyler's side to let the town golden boy have his limelight. It wasn't every day someone broke a hundred-year-old losing streak.
While the press snapped pictures, Lane headed toward home, only to be called back into the McKay fold by his mother. And sister and brother. Then Tyler. It was clear she wasn't getting out of joining them for the charity football game this afternoon, then the beach barbecue afterward.
Lane admitted she didn't want to spend the rest of the day alone. She wanted to spend it with Tyler. Changing into warmer clothes for the afternoon, Lane showed up at the field and was welcomed like an old friend. It touched her that these people were so open with friends.h.i.+ps, and she hated the thought of any of them learning that she'd been hiding her true ident.i.ty. She focused on the field in time to learn Tyler's number and watch him get tackled by boys the size of tanks.
Lane winced as Tyler landed with a thud. ”That's going to hurt tomorrow,” she said, and beside her, Laura laughingly agreed.
His family wasn't like hers. Oh, hers was big and loud and loving sometimes, but the McKays were actually more friends than siblings. Lane's own brothers would be in hot compet.i.tion in a game like this, trying to steal the show and not play as a team. She supposed it was because they each felt, in his own way, that he had to shake the Giovanni name and be something on his own, something that had nothing to do with the winery, much to her father's disappointment. But then, the McKay children seemed comfortable with their heritage. Go figure.
A few minutes later Tyler was tackled again. He didn't get up from the ground quite as fast as the last time. Lane was out of her seat, worried, till he finally climbed to his feet and limped to the bench. After another play, the game was over, the alumni suffering a shameful loss to the younger players.
Tyler approached the stands, motioning for Lane to come to him. She trotted down the bleachers, feeling young and excited. It was silly of course; she was thirty, after all. But just the same she felt like a high-school cheerleader with the captain of the football team. Sweaty and covered with black mud, he smiled down at her, pulling off his helmet.
”I have about five seconds before I collapse in a heap and embarra.s.s myself,” he confessed.
She smiled tenderly. ”You're hiding it splendidly.”
”Good. I'm going to put my arm around you and pretend I'm not leaning on you for support.”
She laughed and let him, saying goodbye to his family, then walked with him to the parking lot. She'd walked from her shop, her own car repaired and sitting in the small garage beside her house.
When Tyler stopped beside a big SUV and keyed in the lock code, she frowned. ”What happened to the sports car?”
”I traded it in.”
The SUV was cherry-red and huge. Lane couldn't imagine driving it without sc.r.a.ping other cars. ”Why? I thought you liked the little silver car.”
He shrugged. ”Outgrew it, I guess.” The truth was, since he'd met Lane, Tyler had started looking to the future, and the sports car was impractical. For the first time in three years, he'd considered marriage and a family. And there was a woman he wanted both with.
He frowned as he stripped off the s.h.i.+rt and shoulder pads, then pulled on an old college sweats.h.i.+rt. When he'd been at the dealers.h.i.+p to pick up the repaired car, it seemed right to choose something big enough for a family, not one man who was getting too old to be playing the field. And who didn't want to anymore, anyway. He glanced at Lane. So why wasn't he afraid of getting hurt again?
”Good grief, Tyler, your hand. It looks broken.” Gently she grasped his hand, examining the sc.r.a.pes and swollen finger. ”This needs ice right now. Come back to my place.”
”Mine's closer and I have to shower and change. Hop in.” When she hesitated, a challenge lit his eyes. ”Afraid to be alone with me?”
”Of course not. But I'm driving. With that hand, you'll likely crash this car, too.”
Grinning, he handed her the keys and climbed in the pa.s.senger side, giving her directions as she backed out and into traffic. She drove the three blocks to his place, and he groaned like a wounded soldier getting out of the SUV. He still managed to get his cleats off before leading her inside. ”Make yourself at home.”
She glanced around the spa.r.s.ely furnished house. It looked as if no one lived here, only visited. She met his gaze. ”How about some coffee?” she asked.
”If you can find some I haven't had the time to shop since the festival started.” Tiredly, he mounted the staircase.
”Remember this moment when you want to play ball with teenagers again, McKay,” she called to him.
”Your sympathy is touching, darlin'.”
”I try.” Poor baby, he was moaning with each lift of his foot. She almost offered help, but then turned away and explored his house, liking the design and hating the decor. There was nothing really there to make a statement, and it showed her that Tyler was rarely home and rarely enjoyed it. She put on a small pot of coffee, found mugs and heard the shower running about the time the brewing finished.
A little voice inside her said, take it to him. Another said, Careful. He's up there naked and wet. Near a bed.
Leaning against the counter, Lane sipped her coffee, debating on whether or not to remain here or go find him. Thoughts of last night in his arms stirred through her mind, calling back images and feelings. The feelings topped the charts, and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s tightened inside her lace bra and sent the sensation low in her belly. She admitted she hadn't stood a chance from the moment he'd crashed into her car. She was falling in love with Tyler McKay. The impact of that made her heart ache, suddenly and sharply. She had to tell him the truth.
But she couldn't bring herself to destroy what was growing so strongly between them. Carrying on a silent debate in her mind, she walked through the spa.r.s.ely decorated house, ending at the foot of the staircase, two cups in her hands and an ice bag tucked under her arm. With a deep breath, she climbed the stairs, listening for the sound of the shower, and was amazed to find four rooms on the second floor. Steam lingered in the air and she followed it, nudging open the bedroom door.
A lavish, four-poster rice bed dominated a room with dark mahogany furnis.h.i.+ngs and textured fabrics. She imagined them in that grand bed, skin to skin, Tyler hovering over her before he pushed himself inside her. Her insides clamped tight and heat spiraled through her. He was under her skin, tucked in her heart. And when she looked at the open bathroom door, the sound of water and the roll of steam coming toward her, she knew exactly what she was doing. It was time to stop running. From life, from Tyler. Setting the mugs and ice bag aside, she moved to the doorway, watching him.
He had his hands braced on the tile wall, his head down as the spray hit his muscled back, and through the clear gla.s.s she studied every glorious inch of him. And there was a lot of him to see. He tipped his head back into the spray and she moved into his line of vision.
He went still, his gaze clas.h.i.+ng with hers as the spray beat down on him.
She smiled.
He shut the water off, then reached for the black towel slung over the top of the door. He barely dried his face and chest before wrapping the towel around his waist.
He pushed open the door. ”You came up here because you wanted to,” Tyler said, fighting an intense need to drag her into his arms. Her being here, now, sent a clear message.
”Yes.”
He stepped out. ”Do I need to ask you if you're sure?”
”No. You don't.” She removed her gla.s.ses and tipped her head. ”How about you?”
”Oh, darlin',” he growled, taking a step closer. ”You have no idea how much I've wanted you here.” From the start, he thought. From the moment he first kissed her and felt her holding back, hiding.
Lane kicked off her shoes and toed off her socks. Tyler watched her. His body reacted with amazing swiftness, and when she reached for the hem of her sweater, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her. Hungrily. Wildly. He held her so tightly he brought her off the floor, his hands fisting in her sweater. His mouth crushed hers, and his hands dived under the fabric and palmed warm, smooth skin. He wanted to touch every inch of her, taste her, hear her cry out and tremble in his arms.
He'd never needed anything more than this, with her.
He backed her out of the bathroom, soft carpet and quiet greeting them. He kept kissing her, almost afraid she'd vanish. Then she drew back, crossing her arms and pulling off her sweater. Tyler's gaze raked her as she s.h.i.+mmied out of her slacks and stood still.
He looked his fill as she unpinned her hair. Silky, dark-red hair spilled onto her shoulders, and Tyler wondered how any man could miss this sleeping beauty. She took his breath away, with her narrow waist, and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s nearly spilling from the lace bra designed to drive men crazy. And when she leaned back against the bedpost and unfastened the bra, he swallowed. The garment fell, discarded, and Tyler was there, his arms closing around her, his kiss ferocious. The tips of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s burned into his skin, and he filled his palm with one soft mound, kneading it gently, loving the sounds she made. That she covered his hand and offered him more.
And he took, lifting her, closing his lips around her tender nipple. She inhaled sharply, bowing in his arms, and Tyler licked, suckled and toyed, and she squirmed in his arms.
”You taste so good.”
”It's the body wash,” she teased, her hands molding him everywhere she could reach. He chuckled, hooking her knee and pulling her more tightly against him. It wasn't enough. Not till he was inside her. Feeling her body wrap his.
Her touch was silky and strong, and when she reached the towel, she gave it a tug. ”I don't think we need this.”
Skin met skin, his arousal pressed to her softness, and Tyler felt his control slipping. He stepped back suddenly, shoving his hands through his hair.
”Tyler?”