Nobody's Obligation (Swimming Upstream #2)

by Rebecca Barber

  “But I can’t have…”

  “Ava, it’s fine. Now, lie down and go back to sleep, and when I get back in a couple of hours I can drop you home. There’s the lounge or you can take a bed, if that would be more comfortable,” he offered easily.

  “I can’t stay.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just can’t. It wouldn’t be… It’s fine. I’ll call a taxi and get out of your way. I’m sorry, Tyler…” Ava trailed off.

  “Ava! Stop! Shut up!” Tyler snapped.

  When she opened her mouth to argue, Tyler smashed his lips against her, silencing her instantly. For a moment Ava didn’t know what was happening, but when Tyler’s frantic fingers found her hips, she lost control and leaned into him. When they pulled apart a moment later, both gasping for breath, Ava couldn’t control the moan that escaped her bruised lips. “Don’t stress, Ava. Why don’t you make coffee while I grab a quick shower and I’ll drop you off on my way?” He smiled at her and Ava thought her heart melted.

  Not trusting her words, Ava nodded and watched as Tyler strutted down the hall. She managed to restrain herself till he was barely out of sight before bringing her trembling fingers to her bruised lips, reliving the kiss. She’d never been kissed like that before and somehow she doubted she would be ever again.

  Ava could hear Tyler muttering to himself as he walked away from her. Although she didn’t catch the whole thing, the mention of a cold shower made her giggle like a school girl. Maybe, just maybe she did affect him in the same way. After all, Tyler Andrews had turned her completely inside out.

  She wandered into the kitchen and flicked on the kettle before searching the cupboards for what she needed. Moments later she’d seen the inside of every cupboard in his kitchen and located his well-used travel mug. As she poured Tyler’s coffee, the night before replayed in her mind like a movie. It had been perfect. Even the very rude awakening this morning hadn’t managed to diminish it.

  “What are you smiling at?” Tyler asked, coming around the corner.

  If Ava thought he was stunning before, then the way he sauntered into the kitchen at barely four-thirty on a Saturday morning was positively delicious. He already had on his sweat pants, his hair was wet, and he had water beading on his expansive, impressive chest. Ava noticed his t-shirt hanging in his hand and hoped he held off pulling it on as long he could. She was desperately salivating at the view.

  “Just thinking,” Ava admitted, thankful Tyler couldn’t see the R-rated thoughts dancing through her head.

  “Hmmm,” Tyler murmured.

  Ava licked her dry lips without thinking and Tyler froze on the spot. Neither moved, caught in the other’s hypnotic gaze, the air between them crackling with electricity. Tyler gulped and Ava dropped her eyes, breaking the spell.

  “Come on…” she rasped, stepping towards the bench where she’d left her purse. “We don’t want you to be late.”

  “Yeah,” Tyler groaned, pausing to pull his shirt on and fill his pockets. Taking a moment, Tyler dashed across to the lounge. “Here. Put this on. It’s cool this time of day and I don’t want you to get sick.” Tyler instructed, holding out the jumper he’d offered her the night before.

  “Oh, thanks.” Ava agreed as she slipped it over her head.

  “We should go,” Tyler confessed, but his voice was thick with reluctance.

  “Yeah.”

  Three steps down the hallway and Ava caught sight of her reflection in the long rectangular mirror lining the wall. “Seriously!” she exclaimed, forgetting that Tyler was barely two steps behind her.

  “What?”

  “You could have told me that I look like something the cat dragged in!” she admonished as she tried to finger comb her wild hair.

  Tyler chuckled as he stuffed his feet into his runners at the door. “Ava, you look beautiful.” He smiled up at her. It came out so naturally that for a moment Ava almost let herself believe him.

  Shaking her head, Ava cringed. “You’re a good liar, Tyler Andrews, but you’re not that good.”

  “Come on,” he encouraged, wrapping his big hand around hers.

  They didn’t have time for Ava to run back and try to make herself presentable. Instead she pulled the hood over her head and started praying that at this hour of the morning no one would see her. The last thing she wanted was for someone to snap a photograph of her leaving Tyler’s apartment with her mascara smudged, her hair a rat’s nest, and wearing last night’s clothes. It was definitely the walk of shame.

  Silently they stepped into the elevator and Ava hid behind Tyler. Ava didn’t breathe until they stepped into the eerily silent underground car park and walked over to Tyler’s car. He opened her door and Ava flopped into the seat in a most unladylike fashion. As soon as she sank into the leather seats, the exhaustion came. She’d barely slept all week due to nerves and now she was awake and moving before five in the morning. On a Saturday.

  As the engine purred to life, Ava let out a long, loud yawn. Tyler couldn’t help but grin. “Keeping you up, am I?” He smirked as he reversed the car easily.

  “Actually…” Ava teased, forcing her eyes open.

  “Good!”

  “Good?”

  “Yep, good!”

  “Care to explain?”

  “Payback.”

  “Payback?”

  “Yep. I owe you.”

  With a heavy sigh, Ava dropped her head back heavily against the head rest before closing her eyes, sucking in a deep breath and reopening them. “Tyler, it’s too damn early for word games. Just tell me what I did? Please,” Ava begged, her voice thick with sleep.

  Chuckling, Tyler pulled up at the traffic lights before looking Ava straight in the eye. “Payback! You kept me up almost all night, it’s only fair that I keep you up now.”

  “What? Why didn’t you just wake me?” Ava asked, shaking her head. She’d been right. It was way too early to be engaging in this type of banter.

  “I didn’t say which part of my body was kept up all night.” Tyler teased as the light changed and he pushed down on the accelerator.

  Ava hated him. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to climb over the gear stick and strangle every last breath from his body. She didn’t care if he was a national treasure or someone’s son. Right now Ava wanted to bury him. She was beyond embarrassed, and this time there was nowhere to run and no cushions to hide behind.

  “Oh, come on, Ava! Even you have to admit that was funny.” He laughed, nudging her arm with his elbow.

  “That—was—so—not—funny!” Ava seethed.

  “It was a little funny.” Tyler laughed softly, stealing a glance only to see Ava’s anger deflate.

  “You know I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, don’t you?” Ava asked, sitting up straight, suddenly filled with nerves.

  “Ava, breathe,” Tyler soothed as he turned the corner. “I know. We were watching a movie and I honestly don’t remember if I fell asleep first or you did,” Tyler assured her honestly.

  “Oh, okay,” Ava sighed, slumping back in her seat. “As long as you don’t think it’s something I do all the time.”

  “I would never think that of you, Ava. Promise,” he pledged as he pulled into the car park beside her car.

  “God, I hate the walk of shame,” Ava grumbled under her breath.

  Ava was embarrassed that he saw her car. Usually she didn’t care that she had no money and lived in a shoebox or that her car was on the wrong side of the two hundred thousand kilometre mark, threatening to die any day, but she didn’t want Tyler to see her that way. Although it hadn’t even been mentioned yet, in Ava’s mind it was an obvious issue. He had it. She didn’t. It was simple. But as the realisation struck that she wanted more from Tyler, she knew that no matter what, people would always think she was after his money—which was ridiculous. Ava smirked as the thoughts skipped through her mind. Why would she want his money when she could be after his body?

  Risking a glance at Tyler
, Ava noticed that he seemed jittery. Dismissing it, Ava knew he was running late to training and she didn’t want to be the cause. “Well, thanks for a lovely evening, Tyler. I’ll admit I didn’t think I would have as much fun as I did,” Ava stated matter-of-factly.

  “Ava?” Tyler’s voice trembled.

  “Yeah?” she replied equally as nervous. When Tyler didn’t speak, Ava unbuckled her seatbelt, scooped up her handbag, and pushed open the door. “Thanks, Tyler. It was perfect,” Ava assured him before leaning over, planting a soft, chaste kiss on his cheek, and leaping from the car.

  Walking away from Tyler’s puppy dog eyes may have been the hardest thing Ava had ever done. But she straightened her back and forced one foot in front of the other until she reached her car. It took her a few moments of digging through her bag until her trembling fingers twisted around her keys. As she pressed the unlock button, two hands landed on her shoulders, causing Ava to squeal with shock as the warm hands spun her easily.

  “Ava, it’s me,” Tyler reaffirmed, standing before her.

  With all the strength she could muster, Ava smacked Tyler with both hands on his perfectly sculpted chest. “You scared the living shit out of me!” she growled as she tried to get her breathing back under control.

  “Sorry.” He shrugged, dropping his hands to Ava’s hips.

  Ava felt a shudder but she wasn’t sure if it went through her body or Tyler’s. He seemed strange. Not quite as sure of himself. “Did I forget something?” Ava asked, confused. He should have already been on his way to training, not standing there in the middle of the night in an empty car park wasting time with her.

  “Yeah. This…” Tyler smirked as his lips once again descended on Ava’s. Yet again Ava was caught completely off guard. Stumbling backwards, Tyler’s hands and mouth didn’t relent. By the time Ava was steady on her feet she was pinned between her car and Tyler’s hard, lean body. But as much as she wasn’t expecting it, she wasn’t turning it down, either. Ava kissed him back with everything she had. If she thought the kiss in his apartment was magic, then this was life altering.

  When Tyler stepped backwards his face was flushed, but he didn’t let go. Instead he dropped his forehead so it was touching Ava’s as she looked up into his face. She was surprised to see his eyes reflecting the same emotions she was fighting desperately to keep under control.

  After a few moments, Tyler spoke. “I’m out of town next week.”

  “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “Yep,” Ava answered. Tyler remained silent but raised a sceptical eyebrow. “Racing at the championships.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve already got tickets,” Ava added quickly.

  Tyler’s face lit up. “Have you now?”

  “Yep!”

  “Well then, aren’t you just full of surprises?” Tyler grinned.

  Ava’s eyes twinkled and danced. “You have no idea.” She flirted unashamedly before reaching up and pulling his mouth back to hers and returning the favour. When Ava ended the kiss she slipped under his arms and darted into her car, leaving Tyler standing there confused.

  By the time she pulled into her driveway, Ava’s heartrate had steadied, but she couldn’t help but reach up with tentative fingers and trace her swollen lips. The memory of the look on Tyler’s face as she left him standing in the car park wasn’t something she was likely to forget. Ever. In fact, it might be the memory that kept her going when nothing else could.

  Ava stumbled upstairs, unlocked her door, and walked straight to her bedroom. Yanking her dress over her head, it landed in the doorway but Ava didn’t care. She was beyond tired. Every muscle in her body was screaming out, begging for a hot shower, but exhaustion had settled in. Wearing only her underwear, Ava slipped between the cool, clean sheets and tried to fall asleep.

  But that would have been too easy. Too simple for her mind to give in to what her body was craving. After forty-five frustrating minutes, Ava gave up and dragged herself back out of bed. She’d been here before. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep with a million thoughts gallivanting about in her head. She needed to get them out, and she needed them out now. Ava knew that there was only one thing that would help. She needed to write. Ava pulled on a jumper, not even pausing long enough for pants before stumbling out of her bedroom and booting up her computer. Even that was too slow. She couldn’t stand there and wait for it to groan to life. Instead Ava grabbed some notepaper and a pen and started scribbling.

  An hour later, Ava’s stomach grumbled loudly, shaking her out of her trance. She’d already covered her apartment in notes. A combination of expressions, conversations, paragraphs, and descriptions of characters that could possibly make an appearance. She’d never been on a roll like this before and was almost afraid to stop, but coffee was calling her name.

  While Ava waited for the kettle to boil, her hands couldn’t idle. Without consideration, Ava grabbed an envelope from the kitchen bench and continued her notes on the back. Nothing was standing in her way today. After pouring herself the largest mug of coffee she could find, Ava shuffled back to her keyboard and began typing. She’d hadn’t felt this good or this inspired in as long as she could remember. Even her last book hadn’t induced this kind of craziness. A smile tugged at the corner of her mind when she thought about her last book. The book that was responsible for bringing Tyler, in all his fury, to her. Ava knew she was completely head over heels in love with him even before she met him, but now that she had, Ava doubted that she’d ever recover.

  After almost four and a half hours straight of spewing words, Ava’s eyes begged for a break. She was barely able to keep them open. Her thoughts had slowed to a normal, manageable pace and Ava knew it was time for a nap. After hitting save, she ambled back to bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Ava could hear banging. Somewhere in her dream something was banging. The pounding grew louder and more insistent. Snapping her eyes open, Ava realised someone was knocking on her door. Reluctantly Ava threw back the covers and scurried to the door to crack it open just enough to stick her head through.

  “Agh! My god, Ava. You’ll scare away people if you answer the door like that!” Amanda grinned as Ava stepped back and gave her room to enter.

  Ava shut the door and chanced a glance in the mirror. “Shit!” she groaned at the reflection staring back at her. It was worse than she could have imagined. Her panda eyes were even worse than before, her eyelids were crusted over with a thick layer of dried sleep, and Ava couldn’t help but wonder how she kept them open. There was a trail of dried drool from the corner of her mouth and a streak of blue pen across her cheek. But what was most terrifying was the state of her hair. Not even a brush could tame the disaster on top of her head right now.

  Knowing Amanda was waiting, Ava stumbled into her kitchen, not bothering to hide the fact she was just wearing a jumper and underwear. It was her house. She could wear what she damn well pleased.

  “Morning, Princess,” Amanda sung overzealously. She looked the complete opposite of Ava. Where Ava looked like she’d been dragged behind a bus for miles, Amanda looked like she’d just stepped off a magazine shoot. Every strand of hair was perfectly in place, her makeup was impeccable and her eyes were alive. “You just getting out of bed now? Gee, must have been a good night then. Details, please. Now!” Amanda taunted, taking a perverted pleasure in watching Ava squirm.

  “Screw you!” Ava snarled.

  Amanda laughed. “Go on, go have a shower and I’ll find food,” Amanda encouraged, holding up the plastic bag she’d brought in. Although Ava hadn’t seen her bring it in, now that she could smell it, suddenly she was ravenous. Her stomach growled in anticipation. “Go shower. Then you can tell me all the dirty details.”

  “You suck!”

  “Yeah, but you knew that,” Amanda reminded her. “Oh, and Ava,” Amanda called out as soon as Ava was out of sight.

  “What?” Ava sighed, exasperated,
as she stuck her head around the corner only to catch the devious smirk on Amanda’s face.

  “When I say details, I mean all the dirty details.”

  Chapter 47

  Tyler

  Tyler fell through his front door, exhausted and aching. Sleeping on the lounge wasn’t the smartest idea but he was damned if he was going to move Ava. It didn’t matter how many times his neck creaked and groaned today or how much his muscles ached; sleeping with Ava in his arms had been worth it. Even now, the memory alone brought a smile to his face.

  But from the moment she’d left him standing in the car park, confused and horny as hell, his day had gone to shit. The moment he’d managed to shake himself from the stupor Ava had induced, he’d sped through the streets to the pool, where he proceeded to get a dressing down from the coach for being late. Tyler knew it should have rattled him more than it did, he was never late and that was something he was proud of, but today he couldn’t summon the energy to care. No one was going to ruin his good mood. Instead he strode purposefully towards the pool, stripped his clothes, and dived in. He completed two laps before he could talk to anyone.

  “Well, someone crawled out of the right side of the bed this morning,” Luke taunted as Tyler glided to a halt beside him.

  “Or out of the right bed, by the looks of you,” Sam added quickly with a smirk.

  Tyler didn’t react. He’d known these two boneheads a while and knew what they were like. They’d roomed together on previous trips overseas, but since Tyler’s relocation, he saw a whole lot more of them. And the more he saw, the more justified their reputations seemed. They were as big of players as their reputations made out. Something Tyler didn’t hold against them, but there was no way he was joining their shenanigans, no matter how many times they begged.

  “Come on, Tyler, spill!” Sam encouraged.

  “Yeah, not even being yelled at for being late has threatened to tarnish that deliriously happy look plastered across your face. And you’re Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes. You’re never in trouble,” Luke added conspiratorially.