Burned

by Melody Anne

  She certainly wouldn’t welcome him inside. Not after the last words they’d exchanged, the mistrust between them. He should call off this mission and drive away. It’s what was best for both of them.

  Instead, he found himself opening his car door and then he was walking, moving toward her stairs, and then he was standing in front of her door. Whether he was ready for this or not, it was coming, because his fist lifted almost of its own accord, and he knocked loudly.

  The door opened and he saw the surprise on Elena’s face. He could see she was trying to decide whether or not to slam the door shut. A myriad of emotions fluttered across her face, and he watched her mask it into polite boredom. It was the worst expression she could give him.

  As if he meant nothing at all.

  His eyes drifted from her face to her stomach. It was still flat, but inside it grew a child. Was it his? Again, did he care?

  “Hello, Tyler. What are you doing here?” Her voice held no emotion; it was level and lawyerly.

  “Invite me in, Elena.” Did he look almost maniacal? Probably, and he was definitely acting that way. He was holding his hand against the door in a gesture that assured her he wasn’t going in any direction but forward, like a door-to-door salesman of old.

  “Now isn’t a good time. I’m working on a case file and …” She didn’t bother saying more. They both knew she was simply making an excuse. Why expand on it?

  He moved forward and she took a step backward. If it were fear on her face, he would have been horrified. But it wasn’t fear, not of him anyway. He had no doubt of that. She couldn’t ultimately hide her reaction to him.

  She was afraid of his touch, afraid of what that would do to her. Well, he was afraid too. Because he couldn’t seem to live without this woman.

  “Tsk, tsk, Elena. It’s incredibly rude to leave someone standing in your doorway.” And with that he brushed past her, walking inside her place. “Where’s Piper?” He didn’t stop until he made it to her living room.

  He heard the front door shut and then her footsteps as she practically stomped after him.

  Damn, he’d missed her. He’d missed her laughter, her fight and her drive, her smell, the way she tasted. He’d missed each moment of each day he’d spent with her. Tyler didn’t care what had happened between them, didn’t care that each of them had hurt the other. All he cared about was that he wanted her in his arms — and he didn’t want to let her go ever again.

  “It’s also incredibly rude to barge into someone’s house, Tyler. You weren’t invited, and I have a lot of work to get done,” she told him, her cheeks flushed in her anger.

  “Yes, I was brought up badly, Elena — you know my history. So it goes. What have you been doing this past month?”

  She looked at him as if he had two heads. Maybe he did. He’d certainly made enough wrong choices in life to blame a split personality on, at the very least. Multiple personalities.

  “What are you doing, Tyler? Why are you here?”

  “I’ve missed you. I want to know what you’ve been up to. Isn’t that what people ask when they haven’t seen each other for a while?”

  Her mouth gaped open. “You need to leave, Tyler. I can’t … can’t do this,” she said, and much to his horror he saw tears appear in her eyes.

  Just as quickly as they’d appeared, though, she blinked and then she was shooting fire at him. The tears gave him hope. The fire made him glad. She wasn’t a weak woman. She couldn’t be broken. And damned if he hadn’t tried.

  What a fool he’d been.

  “Are you expecting someone else to stop by?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

  “What in the world are you talking about?” she replied.

  “Are you with anyone, Elena?”

  “With someone? How?”

  “Do you have a man in your life?” It almost choked him to even say the words.

  Her mouth dropped open again, and then her eyes blazed with far more heat and outrage than he’d ever seen before. She was the personification of the phrase “seeing red.”

  “Yes, Tyler. Of course I’m expecting a guy to drop by. Any minute now, too. So I would really like you to leave. I have to rush off to the kitchen, shed all my clothes, and drape my body in nothing but Saran Wrap, and open the door to my lover. He’ll peel the plastic off. Slowly? Quickly? Who knows? Who cares? We’ll get it on right against the freaking door.”

  That image filled Tyler with rage. It made him shake, and he had to calm himself before speaking again.

  “I don’t like the thought of you with anyone else, Elena.” Sheesh. How could he admit such a thing? Was he another weak man, just like his feckless father, who’d been duped so disastrously by his mother?

  She looked at him, confusion dominating her face.

  “Are you … jealous?” she sputtered.

  “No, of course not!” he snapped as he rose and stepped closer to her. Then he calmed down. “Maybe,” he added, reaching for her.

  She stepped back and he followed until she had nowhere else to go.

  “Don’t touch me, Tyler.”

  He could see her panic. “Why not, Elena?” He leaned closer, but didn’t actually touch her.

  “I can’t handle it, Tyler. Please, you have to leave me alone.”

  “I’ve messed up, Elena. I can’t go a single day without thinking about you. The thought of any other man coming near you makes me go insane. We both played games, but it can’t be too late for us. In the beginning of all this, I admit that all I wanted was a good time in bed, but then it changed. I didn’t even know that it was changing. Yes, I don’t give my trust easily — I’ve told you some of the reasons — but I’ve realized while you’ve been gone that I need to let those go. My life is only half full without you in it. Forgive me. Please.”

  He didn’t touch her, didn’t move back, just waited for her to respond in any way.

  “What about the baby?” she asked.

  “It really doesn’t matter to me. If she’s your child, then I will love her.”

  He meant that. He would love the child for no other reason than because he loved her. And anything that was a part of her he would cherish.

  “I don’t understand this change.” She had every reason not to trust him right now. He’d been far from trustworthy.

  “She’s mine, though.”

  “Wait. What?”

  “I’d decided on the drive here that I didn’t even care if she was another man’s, that I didn’t care what you’d done during our relationship, because I wanted you that much. But now I know that you wouldn’t have been with anyone else. You aren’t that way. This is my child.”

  “Is that what this truly is about, Tyler? You’ve figured out this child is yours and you don’t want to miss out on raising him or her?”

  “No, Elena. What this is about is that I love you. And because I’ve realized how much I love you, I know this child is mine. But even if she, or he, weren’t, I would still love you. If we’d just met today, I would fall in love with you. Because you’re my other half, and fate has brought us together many times in our lives. Why else would we keep finding each other?”

  “Do you remember the gentleman’s club?” she asked.

  “Yes. After you said what you said at the hospital, I did some soul searching. I ran through my mind of all the shitty things I’ve done in my life. I remember a waitress, I remember your face and I remember my friend being a dick, and the way I laughed. I did that because I wanted him to leave you alone. I didn’t defend you because I was an asshole. That group was a bad group. That was my last night out with them, if it makes any difference.”

  “What about the limo?”

  He didn’t want to admit to this. It showed who he had been then, and it wasn’t a good man.

  “I was drunk for a year straight back then. I did some horrible things. But yes, I remember. I tried to black that time out in my life. I didn’t know you were a virgin. I didn’t even see you back then. But now I kn
ow and I hope you forgive me.”

  He waited for her verdict, afraid of what she would say next. He seemed to be afraid of everything right now. But most of all, he was afraid of losing her. If he could gain her love again, he knew everything else would work out.

  “You’re in love with me?” she finally whispered.

  “Yes, Elena, so in love with you.” He leaned forward and gently kissed the corner of her mouth, then skimmed his lips across hers, his touch soft. “I love you so much I hurt,” he added as he pulled her close.

  And he nearly jumped for joy when she melted against him.

  Picking her up, he moved to the couch and cradled her in his arms.

  “I thought I was happier alone, that if I didn’t give you my heart, there was no way to get hurt again. But it wasn’t my choice whether to give it to you or not. It’s always been yours, I think, even from the time we were kids. I just had to grow up enough to realize that.”

  “I should slow this down, tell you that we’ve been moving too fast this whole time,” she murmured against his neck. “But I can’t find it in me to deny you. I’ve also missed you so much. I also hurt without you.” Her tears warmed his skin.

  “I’m so sorry I’ve hurt you,” he told her as he caressed her back.

  “Don’t do it again, Tyler.”

  “I swear I won’t,” he said before moving away — just a little — and holding her face so she could see into his eyes. “We’ll marry and you can teach me every day how to be a better man.”

  “That’s your idea of a decent proposal?”

  “What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

  “What makes you think that a nice girl like me would marry you?”

  “Should I have added the words If you’ll have me?

  Elena laughed before leaning forward and kissing him, this time long and slow. When she broke away they were both breathing heavily.

  “That’s a start. I will marry you, Tyler, because you have so much to learn.”

  He carried her into the bedroom, and he wasn’t sure who was teaching whom by the end of the night.

  Epilogue

  Don’t speak to him, don’t make eye contact, and don’t leave the car.”

  Piper Covington stood there listening to the security man with an earpiece in his ear and she had to bite her tongue.

  Who in the hell was this client she’d given up her Friday night to drive around? She had no idea. Some ultra wealthy asshole with more money than brains, she was sure. Her brother owed her big time for this. If he didn’t get new drivers and soon, he was going to be up a creek without a paddle, because she was done dealing with men like the one she was giving up her weekend for.

  “You need to acknowledge me,” he commanded.

  “Got it, boss.” This came through gritted teeth.

  “If you have an attitude this isn’t going to work,” he told her.

  “I’m not going to change my personality. But I do know how to follow rules. If your boss leaves me alone, I can certainly leave him alone,” she told the imposing man.

  “What is going on here?”

  A shudder traveled down Piper’s spine at the deep baritone voice speaking right behind her, sounding far from pleased.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I wasn’t expecting you out so soon,” the man who had been chewing on her hide for the last fifteen minutes said.

  Ignoring his employee, the man stepped in front of her, and her first look at him left her speechless, not something easy to do. She loved to talk.

  Towering over her with dark hair, and nearly black eyes, the man before her didn’t look pleased. His chiseled jaw was locked tightly together, his firm lips in a frown. She didn’t bother looking down at the rest of his body.

  That was until she remembered she wasn’t supposed to make eye contact. Remembering that, she ripped her gaze away, and stared at his chest. It was covered by a tight formal shirt that hid nothing. Hard. The man was hard.

  “Who are you?”

  She assumed he was speaking to her.

  “Piper Covington. I’m filling in as your driver this evening,” she said.

  “What happened to Jared?”

  “He got a stomach flu.”

  “Hmm.”

  She didn’t know if that word, or more accurately, that sound, was good or bad. So she said nothing.

  “We’d best get going then, shouldn’t we, Ms. Covington. It’s going to be a long night…”

  New Erotic Romance spin off series will be availabe for pre-order soon.

  Keep Reading for an Excerpt from:

  Her Unexpected Hero

  by

  Melody Anne

  Published by

  Pocket Books

  Prologue

  Help . . .” A gurgling cry whispered faintly on the wind, and three teenagers walking by turned and listened.

  “Did you hear that?” Spence asked.

  “I think so. It sounded like someone yelling, but I’m not sure,” Camden replied.

  “Please h-help . . .” This time there was no mistaking the cry. It was faint, but the three boys turned toward the lake.

  “Someone’s in trouble,” Jackson said, and he took off sprinting in the direction of the sound. Spence and Camden were in hot pursuit behind him. They ran the short distance to the shore and spotted a body thrashing around in the water. As they neared the water’s edge, they saw the kid’s head disappear below the surface.

  The three teenage boys stripped down to their underwear in seconds, then dived into the freezing water without hesitation. All of them strong swimmers, they quickly reached the part of the lake where they’d seen the boy and plunged beneath the surface, frantically searching for him.

  Spence was the first to reappear from the deep water, the boy in his arms. Camden and Jackson flanked him on either side and the three of them towed the boy to shore. Jackson pulled the wet clothes from him, then grabbed his own clothing and used it to cover the boy, hoping it would bring him some warmth.

  Meanwhile, Spence began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, with Camden doing chest compressions. The three of them worked relentlessly, and after what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a couple of minutes, the boy began coughing. Spence quickly turned him on his side as water spewed from his mouth.

  After struggling for several moments to cough up the remaining fluid in his lungs, he looked at his three rescuers with large green eyes. His confusion quickly abated, and he remembered what had happened and how close he’d come to losing his life.

  “Y-you . . . s-saved me,” he gasped, then started choking again. Spence patted him gently on the back. The kid couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven years old.

  “What were you doing in the water?” Camden asked as he glanced back out at the lake. He was looking for a boat or something.

  “I w-was s-skipping . . . rocks on th-the . . . d-dock and s-slipped.” His teeth were chattering so hard that Spence, Camden, and Jackson worried he’d break them. The three teens were also starting to shake as their adrenaline subsided and their wet bodies began to feel the chill in the air.

  “Michael! Michael! Where are you?” a man was heard calling out only seconds before he walked over the small hill with several people trailing behind him. He spotted the four boys and came running toward them. “Michael, what happened? Are you okay?” The man dropped to his knees.

  The people standing around him looked at the boy, whose clothing was half off, and then at the three nearly naked teenagers.

  “What is going on here?” one man demanded, sending the teenagers a suspicious glare.

  Before Spence could say anything, another person stepped in. “Aren’t you three living in the Taters’ house?”

  Camden hung his head in shame. They despised living in the filthy foster home, but because they were together, they didn’t complain. Each of them had been tossed from home to home practically since birth. During their two years together at this latest home, they had developed a bond
rarely found in such circumstances.

  It made the bad food, threadbare clothes, and their housemother’s screaming fits all worth it. The three of them could face the world as long as they had each other. But if they complained, they would get separated and probably never see each other again.

  “Yes, sir, in the Taters’ house,” Spence replied through chattering teeth as he tried to puff up his chest. As the oldest, he had to protect Camden and Jackson, even if that meant that he took all the heat upon himself.

  “What are you doing with Michael?” another man asked, and his tone implied it certainly couldn’t be anything good.

  “They saved me,” Michael said. His eyes gleamed with hero worship as he looked over at the trio.

  “What happened, Michael?” the boy’s father, Martin, asked as he embraced his son.

  “I was skipping rocks and fell. I couldn’t stay above the water. They pulled me out.” Michael’s eyes shone with unshed tears.

  Martin looked from his son to the three boys, who were beginning to turn blue, and then at the crowd gathered around. The men’s expressions changed from suspicion to awe in a few heartbeats.

  “You’re heroes,” one man said as the rest of the group murmured their surprise and agreement. Spence, Camden, and Jackson looked at each other before Spence spoke to the crowd.

  “No we’re not. We were just the first people here,” he said with a shrug. Although relieved they weren’t suspected of foul play, they still weren’t good enough to be called heroes—at least not in their minds.

  The men rushed into action: someone made a phone call, another person draped warm jackets over the boys’ shoulders, while still another gathered their discarded clothes and handed them over. The normally unseen boys stared wide-eyed as everyone moved around in a blur, all the attention focused on them. None of them knew what to do or think. This was completely new for all of them.

  They watched as an ambulance arrived and pulled up to the edge of the grass, then all four of them were carefully led to the vehicle. Spence, Camden, and Jackson were in such shock that they weren’t able to speak—no one had ever worried about them before, and they couldn’t quite process what was happening. So they sat in silence while the paramedics examined them.