by Tia Siren
Dinner was served. We made small talk, but I was aware there was a camera filming me while I ate.
“You have a beautiful home,” I said when our dishes were removed.
“Would you like a tour?” he asked eagerly.
I laughed. “The fact that you have to give tours of your home is pretty amazing.”
He grabbed my hand and led me out of the dining room. I couldn’t believe how different our lives were. My entire apartment could have fit into his dining area. The home was huge. It was lavishly decorated, but it felt a little cold.
He took me into what he dubbed his library. I stood in awe of the floor-to-ceiling books. There was a single light on, casting the room into shadows.
“Have you read all of these?” I asked.
He laughed. “Nope. Not even close. I always wanted a library. I mean, I’ve read some of the books—probably back in high school, but I did actually read them.”
He was standing close, and I couldn’t say if it was the lighting, the delicious food, or him in general, but I wanted him. His eyes locked on mine. I couldn’t move. I had flashbacks to the night outside the hotel ballroom.
“Tyler.” I said his name, once again reveling in the way it felt on my lips.
He nodded, like he knew what I was asking. His hand went to my face, his palm pressed against my cheek as he lowered his mouth to mine. My breath caught in my throat when his lips touched mine. A million memories ran through my mind as I inhaled the scent of him.
He pulled away too soon, his hand dropping from my face. I stood there, trying to catch my breath.
“There, you got the kiss. You can go now,” he said.
The camera guy shook his head. “Uh, we were told to stay.”
“I’m telling you to leave. It’s my house, my show. Go. You can tell Gabe and Jack I threw you out. This is my time,” he growled.
He made a move in the air with his hand, and instantly, a large man who had been hovering just outside the door appeared.
“Will you please escort these men to the door?” Tyler asked.
The two cameramen looked at each other and decided the best thing to do was leave. Once they were out of the room, Tyler turned back to me.
“Now we’re alone.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tyler
Seeing her standing in my dining room was not something I could have ever imagined. She was looking at me, questioning me, silently asking what was next.
I answered her by kissing her again. Her body relaxed against mine as my arms wrapped around her, holding her against me, squeezing her tight. It was a kiss that expressed the longing I had felt after being away from her for so many years.
Breaking the kiss, my heart pounding in my chest, I looked into her green eyes. I didn’t have to ask. I took her hand and walked out of the dining room. It was a flashback to our first night together. Here I was, once again leading her to my bed.
“Where are we going, Tyler?” she asked in a quiet voice as I started up the grand staircase.
“My room,” I answered.
She didn’t protest or pull back. In fact, I felt her pick up her pace and keep up with me as I strolled down the carpet runner, anxious to get to the privacy my bedroom afforded. Though I lived alone, I was never actually alone and had a full staff waiting in the wings.
I pushed open the door to my master suite, pulled her inside, and shut the door behind us. She walked into the room, slowly turning as she took in the furnishings. I walked behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” I whispered next to her ear. “I found you. I can’t believe I found you.”
Her head dropped to the side, giving me clear access to her neck. I suckled, gently at first before the need drove me into a frenzy. I needed the woman naked and writhing and my body pounding into hers. I lifted her shirt, testing her willingness. When her arms went into the air, I knew she was mine. I stripped her shirt off, slid my hands down her sides, and from my position behind her, I quickly undid the button and zipper on her jeans before sliding them down her hips. She kicked off her heels and bent forward to pull the jeans from her ankles, giving me a perfect view of the tiny thong she wore.
I slapped her ass before gently cupping one of the perfectly round cheeks.
“I’ve dreamed about your body for years,” I told her when she stood up, leaning her head against my chest.
“I’ve thought about you a lot over the years as well.”
She turned to face me, wearing her tiny black lacy bra and matching panties. Her hands flattened against my chest before moving to undo one button at a time. I shucked the shirt and removed my pants with lightning speed. We stood before each other, clad in only our underwear, each staring at the body of the other the way one lost in the desert stared at water.
“I want you,” I told her, looking into her eyes.
“I need you,” she replied, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.
It was all I could take. My mouth slammed into hers, my hard dick grinding against her stomach as her arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly against her. I quickly flicked the bra snap and pulled the damn bit of lace away, needing the woman’s body naked against mine.
“Fuck, I’ve thought about this for way too long,” I groaned, cupping her breasts between us.
She moaned into my mouth, the sound vibrating through me, sending new sparks of heat racing through my body. I walked toward my bed, slowly guiding her backward. Once her legs were against the bed, I dropped my hands to her waist and lifted her, depositing her on the mattress.
“Lie back,” I ordered.
She complied, watching me. I reached out and pulled the tiny thong down her body, leaving her naked on my bed. With one hand, I trailed an invisible line over her inner thigh before going straight to her center.
She gasped when I palmed her. The heat and moisture I felt was nearly my undoing.
“You want me.” I said the words as a statement, my hand moving and my fingers stroking over her slit.
“I do,” she groaned. “God, I do.”
I stroked her clit several times before pushing a finger inside. Her body was tight and so fucking wet. She was writhing on the bed. I could feel her pussy tightening around my finger.
“Are you ready?” I asked in astonishment.
She groaned in response, her head rolling back and forth. I probed a little deeper, using my other hand to spread her legs wider, watching my finger slide in and out of her.
“You’re so fucking wet, Emily,” I breathed out, amazed at how responsive she was, knowing it was me who was making her hot.
“Wait,” she moaned. “I’m—”
I didn’t let her finish her sentence and pushed a second finger in, feeling her body explode around me, her back arching and her body bucking with a violent orgasm.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, knowing I couldn’t hold out. I wanted to. I couldn’t. I yanked off my underwear, and before her body had finished going through the spasms of her first orgasm, I pushed myself inside her.
“Oh, Tyler!” she cried out, and I felt her body go ramrod stiff as I buried myself inside her.
I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. Every fiber of my being intertwined with hers in a slow, delicious spiral that joined our bodies together.
“Don’t move,” I rasped out, feeling myself on the verge of my own climax.
She was moaning beneath me, her body still, but her pussy was contracting around my dick, milking me and bringing me so close to the edge, I knew one move and I would fall over. I closed my eyes, counted to ten, regaining control of my body before I rotated my hips a fraction.
“Oh,” she moaned again. “It’s too much,” she cried out.
I pushed deeper inside, once and then again. Her nails dug into my back, her hips thrusting upward, taking me in deeper than I thought possible.
“Don’t fucking move!” I hissed.
“I have to. Please, I need it,” she begged, her body squirming below mine.
“Fuck!” I shouted, unable to fight it another second.
I pulled back and thrust hard into her body. She cried out, and when I felt her juices explode and her body stiffen, I was helpless to stop my own orgasm. I rocked into her, letting myself get lost deep inside her before collapsing next to her on the bed.
But I wanted so much more of her. As I reached out to touch her, she sat up, practically flying off the bed, frantically grabbing her clothes and dressing.
“Don’t go,” I told her.
“I have to. I’ve got to get home.”
I nodded, thinking of the little boy but not ready to ask her about him just yet.
“I’ll have the driver bring the car around.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving me a quick kiss.
I pulled on my underwear and walked her to the door, hating that she had to leave. I wanted her again and again.
The following morning, I was feeling good. It had been a long time coming, but I’d finally gotten a little piece of her, though it wasn’t nearly enough. I had barely quenched my thirst for her. I thought about our short time together last night. It had been too short. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to tell me about the boy I had seen. I wanted to ask her. I wanted to know if there was a chance he was mine.
Landon strolled into my office, looking a little worse for wear.
“Rough night?” I quipped.
He smiled. “In the best way. What about you?”
I smiled. “I saw her again last night if that’s what you’re asking.”
He grinned. “Look at you. You finally got your mystery woman. Is it everything you’ve been dreaming about?” he teased.
“You know I’m never going to give you details.”
He laughed. “Maybe not, but I can tell you had a good time. Is she what you remembered? Four years is a long time.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Yes and no. We haven’t really had a lot of time together. She wasn’t able to meet until later last night and had to leave early.”
“Early this morning?”
I shook my head. “She didn’t stay the night. I don’t think she could. I’m guessing she had to relieve the babysitter.”
I watched as Landon digested that bit of information. “She has a kid?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. That’s unexpected. Did you know that before?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. He’s new since the last time we were together.”
Landon laughed. “Well, I guess you know what your mystery girl’s been up to while you were pining after her. How old is the kid?”
I nodded my head. “About three. Brown hair, green eyes, and bears a striking resemblance to me.”
His eyes widened as he realized what I was saying. “No way!”
I nodded. “She hasn’t told me she has a son yet. I saw a quick glimpse of him the other day, but she’s never mentioned it.”
“Is he yours? How could that even be possible? She probably hasn’t told you because she doesn’t want you to dump her because she has a kid.”
I looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Well, I know how it’s possible, but you’re the one always preaching to me about keeping things covered. I guess you don’t practice what you preach,” he teased.
“I did. I don’t know for sure,” I said, shaking my head.
My cell rang. I looked down and saw it was her. “Shh,” I said to Landon before answering.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she said.
“How are you?”
“Not great. The media is at my work. They won’t leave me alone. They are taking pictures and asking me about a million questions,” she hissed.
In the background, I heard a lot of noise. It sounded like typical kitchen sounds mingled with voices.
“I’m sorry. It’ll die down soon.”
“I can’t have this kind of attention following me,” she said, and I could tell she had been going to say something else but had stopped herself.
“Because of your son?” I asked softly.
She didn’t immediately answer. “Yes,” she sighed. “I don’t want his face splashed all over TV, and I can’t have him being hounded by these people. Some of them are rude and obnoxious.”
“How old is your little boy?” I asked her.
Another long pause. “Three.”
I had been right. Landon was waving at me.
I scowled at him.
“Ask her,” he whispered.
I took a deep breath. “Emily, your son, is he mine?”
I heard her suck in a breath. “Crap! I have to go. My boss just got here and is pissed about the press being here. I’ll talk to you later,” she mumbled and hung up the phone.
“Well?” Landon asked.
I shrugged. “She had to go. The press is at her work and making things difficult.”
“She didn’t answer you,” he said, nodding his head. “I think you would know if you had a kid. Any woman would love to get her hands on the child support you’d be ordered to pay. I doubt he’s yours.”
“Maybe not.”
I couldn’t deny there had been a weird connection when I saw the little boy. Emily and I had similar hair color. It was possible the boy had taken after her, but there was something about him, something that drew me to him, and I couldn’t shake the feeling. I was going to ask her again and I wasn’t going to let her dodge the question.
Chapter Fourteen
Emily
I managed to get through the crowd of photographers and into my car after work. It sucked. I did not like the attention. Fortunately, none of them knew where I lived, but it was only a matter of time. I had no idea how I was going to deal with that. I didn’t want Tommy to be exposed to the craziness. It wasn’t fair to him, and those reporters did not want to see me go into mama-bear mode. If they tried to take his picture, I would kick some serious ass.
After picking up Tommy from daycare, I took a roundabout way home. I knew I was being paranoid, but I didn’t want to risk a sneaky photographer following me home. There was always that one overzealous paparazzo who wanted the inside scoop. I was certainly not going to make it easy.
“Do you want to play Chutes and Ladders when we get home?” I asked Tommy.
Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw his face light up. “Yes!”
I chuckled, loving how excited he got about the simplest things. I tried to make it a point to play with him as often as I could. Obviously, Chutes and Ladders wasn’t my favorite game in the world, but getting to spend time with my son, just enjoying his company, was worth it.
“We can have some fish sticks and tater tots for dinner,” I told him, really making his night.
He clapped his hands. “With sauce!”
“Absolutely. We can’t ever have fish sticks without our special sauce!”
Our special sauce was tartar sauce blended with ketchup. It wasn’t exactly a secret recipe, but he’d been convinced I had hung the moon the first time I served it up with his fish sticks. Now it was our thing.
I put our dinner in the oven while Tommy got the game out of the closet. I quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants before joining Tommy at the table. We ate and laughed and had fun playing some rather exciting rounds of his favorite game.
I watched him and thought about how lucky I was to have him in my life. I had never even known something was missing until I held him in my arms that first time. It wasn’t fair of me to deny Tyler that same feeling. I wasn’t entirely sure he was a great man, but he was Tommy’s father and he deserved the chance to be in his life. But, if didn’t want to be a daddy, that was fine. I could do it on my own.
“It’s time for bed, buddy,” I told him, noticing it was after eight.
“Oh, Mom, I’m not tired.”
I laughed. “I am. Come on, we’ll play another day.”
&nbs
p; I ushered him off to bed, got him tucked in, and went to clean up just as there was a knock at the door. My stomach did a little flip-flop. It could have been Tyler, or else a reporter finally got my address. I wiped the mascara from under my eyes, smoothed the wild stray hairs back from my face, and opened the door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Sarah, who was standing on the other side of the door holding a bottle of wine.
“I had a miserable day.”
I opened the door and she walked straight to the kitchen and pulled two glasses out of the cupboard before flopping onto the couch.
I laughed and sat beside her, watching her pour two glasses of wine before handing me one.
“Rough day, huh? What happened?”
She shook her head. “Yes. Hectic. I felt like I was running in ten different directions the minute my feet hit the floor this morning.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I just need to unwind and didn’t want to drink alone.”
I laughed. “Oh good, so drag me into your bottle.”
“How was your day? Did the paparazzi finally get tired of taking pictures of you delivering plates of food to ungrateful customers?”
I shook my head. “No. The fervor has died down a little, but they’re still around. I’m hoping they don’t find out where I live or that I have a son.”
“That would be rough. Does Tyler know yet?”
I sighed. “He knows I have a son. He asked me how old he was and then asked if Tommy was his.”
“What!”
I nodded.
“You didn’t tell me! What’d you say?”
I laughed. “I told him I had to go, and I haven’t spoken to him since. That was yesterday.”
She shook her head. “He suspects he’s Tommy’s father. You have to tell him, Emily.”
“I know, but I’m afraid to. What if he turns out to be a total dick?”
She put her blond hair up in a loose bun before taking a drink from her glass. “Em, there are hundreds of women who think their baby daddies are dicks. That doesn’t mean the guy is going to be a jerk to his child.”
I sighed. “I know, but I don’t want Tommy to get hurt.”
Sarah looked at me. “Tommy or you?”