Part 13 (2/2)
”It was at the Christmas party you two had, that she kissed him under the mistletoe. She seemed to float for two days.”
”Yeah. I got the load of the cases because Jason was too busy wooing Brenda to bother with anything as trivial as work. She really ran him ragged.” And, Tyler thought, he now had a much better understanding of what his brother had gone through. Carlie could tie him up in knots with just a look.
But there was one major difference. Jason loved Brenda, whereas Tyler had no idea exactly what he felt for Carlie.
”She made him chase her until she caught him. But they both enjoyed it, and look how everything turned out.” Carlie said the words quietly, with a strange, wistful smile.
”Brenda isn't the type of woman I would have figured Jason to fall for. Don't get me wrong. There's not a better person than Brenda. She's good for Jason, and I love her. But Jason always had a preference for tall, busty sophisticated brunettes. Not short, perky, domesticated redheads.”
Carlie darted him a quick look. ”I guess you never can tell.”
”No.” Tyler tilted his head, studying her, and then he agreed. ”You never can tell.”
Tugging her closer, he watched as her thick lashes lowered behind the lenses of her gla.s.ses. She gave a feeble protest when he reached up and removed them from her nose, laying them carefully on the table. ”Tyler...”
”You're very pretty, Carlie.” He toyed with her braid, dragging his curled fingers over the length of it. He reached the end, felt the cloth-covered rubber band holding the braid secure, and pulled it free. Carlie's eyes widened, but he didn't give her time to stop him.
His fingers sifted through the strands, separating them, then pulling her hair over her shoulders. It rippled with waves, a dozen different colors highlighted by the overhead light. It was beautiful-she was beautiful-and Tyler never felt so needful of anyone in his life.
Bunching her hair into his fists on either side of her head, he pulled her face up to his. ”I want you, Carlie.”
The kiss was devastating in its intensity, powerfully erotic, and sensually sweet. Her body leaned into him. Tyler walked her backward to the counter, then pressed himself hard against her. He swallowed her gasp and gave his groan in return.
And still he kissed her. He was in no hurry to speed things along. No one had ever tasted so good, so right and so perfect.
His hands moved down her body languidly, exploring, excited by the feel of what he'd never expected, never imagined. She was all full, soft curves, lush. Fine-boned, her arms were slim, her wrists and elbows tiny. Her waist was slight, her soft belly only a marginal curve, very feminine, utterly seductive. His palm lingered there. He heard her shuddered breathing as he stroked her, feeling her muscles quiver.
He palmed her bottom, finding it exquisitely soft and equally firm. He pulled her against his aroused body, rubbing and stroking. Carlie clung to him, and he loved it. He couldn't get enough of her or her response.
”I want to see you, honey.”
”No.” Her face dipped down and she pressed her lips into his throat. ”Please...”
He kissed her again, his tongue thrusting, his breath coming in harsh pants.
”Take me to your bedroom, Carlie.” He held her face until she opened her eyes and looked at him. ”I'm going to make love to you.”
It was inevitable. ”Yes.”
He threw back his head and closed his eyes for an instant. Then he pulled her from the counter and turned her toward the hallway. ”Your bedroom.”
She slowed as she neared her bedroom door. ”I haven't showered.”
”It doesn't matter.” Nothing mattered except making her his, completely.
”But we... the basketball...”
Tyler shoved her gently inside, closing the door behind him. The room was in shadows, dim and close and intimate. It smelled of Carlie, her elusive, feminine scent. He reached for her in the dark. ”Believe me, it doesn't matter.”
He held her close, one hand caressing her full, lush b.r.e.a.s.t.s, finding a stiffened nipple and tugging on it lightly, hearing her groan and then palming her, crus.h.i.+ng her soft flesh delicately in his large hand.
”Where's the light?” The question was tinged with his haste, his need.
”No.” Carlie threw herself against him. ”Not tonight, Tyler. Give me tonight.”
He didn't understand her, but he relished her obvious urgency. He forgot the light-there was enough moonlight to illuminate the room with vague, slanted beams of opalescence. The shadows were thick and heavy, but he could see Carlie, could read her expression by the gleam in her beautiful hazel eyes, the wet sheen of her tongue as she flicked it over her lips. Her hands touched his chest tentatively, her fingers kneading the muscles, as inquisitive about his body as he was about hers. They explored each other leisurely, their excitement growing, the air thick with s.e.xual tension. Tyler kept trying to calm himself, to call on his control, but it was nonexistent. He throbbed with need, and he was with Carlie. It was unbelievable.
Carlie kicked out of her sneakers and pulled off her socks as Tyler simultaneously whisked off her sweats.h.i.+rt. They nearly toppled each other to the floor, but Tyler caught her by the waist and they landed on her bed. The covers billowed around them, soft and fragrant as Tyler's weight pressed Carlie deep into the mattress.
”You feel so good, Carlie.” He rubbed against her, but she protested, tugging at his sweats.h.i.+rt. Going up on his knees, Tyler jerked off the s.h.i.+rt.
An instant later, they were together again, each frantic to touch the other. Carlie raked her nails gently through the dark, curling hair on his chest.
Tyler reared back, unable to control himself with her innocent, curious touch. He stared down at her partial nudity-a stray beam of moonlight slashed across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, showing them to be milky white and smooth, full and firm. His hands covered her, and she arched into him.
”G.o.d, Carlie. I can't believe how you hid yourself. Never again, sweetheart, do you hear me? You're mine now. I won't let you hide from me again.”
He lowered his head, unable to wait a moment longer, and caught a nipple, nibbling with his lips, lightly flicking with his tongue.
”Tyler, please...”
”Yes, honey. Soon, soon.” His sharp teeth closed on her, carefully tugging, and when she groaned, throwing her head back and turning her face away as she gripped the blankets in fierce pleasure, he tugged again, pulling sweetly, taunting her. Her hands settled in his hair, urging him closer toward her. He drew her in, suckling gently, then hard, until her hips were writhing against him.
He hadn't planned his seduction, didn't have premeditated intentions of devastating her with his finesse. It just didn't occur to him to end the pleasure any time soon. He'd waited so long, a lifetime, it seemed, for Carlie to be like this with him, and his senses were rioting, his body moving of its own volition.
He was mindless to everything but taking and giving pleasure. And at the moment, hearing Carlie's gasps and soft feminine moans gave him more pleasure than he thought he could endure.
Tyler slid to the side of her, his hand coasting languidly over her midriff and beneath the waistband of her pants to caress her soft belly. Carlie turned to face him. ”Tyler, I think I'm going to die.”
”No. You won't die, sweetheart.” He sat up. ”Let me get these other clothes off you.”
She was trembling all over, her body taut and aching, and as Tyler slid the pants down her long legs, his fingers touched her, skimming over her soft flesh, teasing the insides of her thighs. He pulled the pants free of her ankles, then sat there at her side, simply looking at her. Restless, her long legs moved in subtle, impatient turns. She looked at him, seeing his gaze so intent on her body, then turned away, her eyes closing, only to look at him again.
”I can see all of you, Carlie, despite the dark.” His hand slid down her thigh, stopping at her knees, slowly easing her legs farther apart. She gasped, and he smiled in the moonlight. ”I love looking at you, a woman with a woman's body. You have nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of.”
”I'm...I'm...” Carlie gasped again, not able to get the words out.
His finger sifted through her curls, finding her flesh hot and swollen, wet with need. He wanted to shout with excitement. ”You're perfect. Just the way nature intended a woman to be.” As he talked, he stroked her, slowly, one finger dipping just inside her, withdrawing when her hips rose sharply.
”Feel how wet you are for me, Carlie. ” He pressed his finger inside her again, this time deeper, and she groaned, her legs spreading wider without his instruction. Her every move inflamed him, she was so special... yet somehow, it all seemed familiar.
His body rocked with his pounding heartbeat and he bent to press his face into her belly. He could smell her, the spicy scent of her desire filling him, shaking him profoundly.
Sliding off the bed, he went to his knees between her legs. Before she could voice a protest, before he could even think about what he was doing, he'd caught her thighs and tugged her to the very edge of the mattress. Her legs hung over the side, Tyler between them. She raised herself on an elbow, peering down at him in confusion, and he quickly lifted her knees over his shoulders, then pressed his face into her heat.
Her gasp was immediate, her protest loud. He ignored her, locking his arms around her hips, holding her still. ”You taste so good, Carlie. So d.a.m.n good.” She fell back with a low cry, lifting herself to his seeking tongue.
<script>