by Sabre Rose
“Talk to me,” I said as I stepped out of the darkened area. “Tell me how to help.”
If Tyler was startled, he didn’t show it. “It’s nothing,” he said.
“It’s clearly not nothing,” I replied.
“Work. It’s just work.”
“Maybe I can help, even if it’s just to listen?”
Tyler shook his head and lifted a towel from where it hung over his squat rack, running it over his forehead. “It’s nothing. Dad is just insisting I replace the contractors on this job because he thinks they are not living up to their end of the bargain, but what he doesn’t realise is that he’s pissed off just about everyone else who is available so I’ve got no other options left. See?” He looked over at me. “Nothing.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
Tyler sighed and smiled slightly, walking over to place a kiss on my forehead. “It’s nothing,” he said again.
I lightly feathered my fingers over the glistening skin of his chest and he shuddered, a tremble rippling over his muscles. I let my fingers trail over him as I walked, circling until I stood behind him and began to massage the tension from his shoulders. Tyler rolled his head from side to side, moaning deliciously as I worked at his flesh. I kissed his shoulder blade and then ran my tongue over my lips, tasting the salt left there. My hands fluttered down his back until they skimmed under the waistband of his pants, pushing them over his hips and letting them fall to the ground. He was gloriously naked and I clutched his backside, digging my fingers into the firm flesh. Tyler groaned. I circled him again until I was facing him and he watched as I placed kisses over his chest, across his abdomen and pressed them into the crease of his groin. His cock flanked his stomach, but I didn’t go near it. I kissed everywhere but, and let the desire flame within me as moans of pleasure and frustration fell from his mouth. Lifting my eyes, I continued to lick, suck and kiss his body as he watched me, eyes scorched with lust. He wound his fingers through my hair sending tingles of excitement through me as it pulled against my scalp. He tried directing my mouth towards his cock, but I shook my head.
I wanted to feel him inside me. I needed him inside me.
Taking his hand, I led him to the rubber matting that covered the cold concrete floor. “Lie down,” I instructed.
Tyler lay on his back, his large cock protruding into the air. I knelt over him, one knee either side of his waist, and let my dressing gown fall from my shoulders. Tyler’s eyes locked onto my breasts and I took them between my hands, pushing them together as I writhed dangerously close to his hardness. I hovered over him, letting my wetness slide over the tip but not sinking onto him like I wanted. Tyler watched me with burning eyes but he did not touch. He let me tease and tempt him, his eyes caressing me in ways his hands did not. I lowered my hips, taking the tip of his hardness inside me, ever so slowly lowering myself onto him. Tyler moaned with each inch I took, his hands clenched at his side and I knew he was tempted to force me onto him, push me down and drive his cock in fully, but he was enjoying the torture of my slow seduction too much. Just as I was reaching his fullness, I raised my hips again, revelling in the way he felt inside me. I clamped onto his hardness as I toyed with my breasts, encouraged by the burning intensity with which he followed my movements. Unable to keep his hands from me any longer, they gripped my knees, his thumbs stroking my flesh as his eyes locked on where I began to lower myself onto him again. This time I sunk all the way, whimpering as I impaled myself on his fullness. With as little movement as possible, I leaned forward and kissed him, taking his bottom lip between my teeth and applying the perfect amount of pressure until he groaned into my mouth. Tyler’s hands skimmed up my thighs, over my stomach, taking my breasts and massaging the flesh until his movements became feverish and frantic, and his hips ground under me, begging for me to move against him, give him the friction he longed for. Instead, I took his hands and tore them from my body, holding them out to the side, locking my grasp around his forearms, pinning him to the ground and lowering my mouth to his chest. He could have broken free at any stage, but he lay beneath me and let me control the movement as I rocked on top of him. I moved my hips back and forth pleasuring myself on his cock. He kept his hands extended when I let go and moved to his chest, using the leverage to rock back and forth, grinding into him. I wanted to ride him until he exploded under me. I wanted to look into his eyes as he filled me. But Tyler had different ideas. In one smooth movement, he lifted me from him and scooted down until his mouth was under me and he pulled me to his face, his tongue plunging into me. I arched back, my breasts jutting into the air and reached behind to take his cock in my hand.
“Turn around,” Tyler grunted, releasing the grip he had on my hips.
I did as he requested, turning around and lowering my mouth to his cock as he pulled me back to sit on his face. The sensation of his tongue inside me and my lips wrapped around him sent shivers of pleasure through me, ones that intensified with each lap of his tongue and each thrust of his hips. Euphoria tightened and twisted until it exploded through every cell and I came as he pushed into my mouth and sucked on my clit. Leaving me no time to recover from the pulsing orgasm, he slid out and pushed me onto all fours, taking my hips between his hands and pulling me back onto him forcefully. When he pushed forward, I slumped to the ground, my cheek and chest hitting the rubber matting, but he pulled me up until I was kneeling, and threaded my arms around his neck. His hands roamed over my sensitive flesh, over my nipples and down my stomach until his fingers dove between my thighs.
I tried to pull them away. It was too much, too soon. But Tyler pulled me back, bending so he rested on his knees with me pressed to his lap, his cock hard and firm inside me. He roughly pushed my arms back behind his head, threading my fingers through his hair, and then skimmed his own fingers down my flesh until they dipped between my folds again. I squirmed against him, unsure whether I wanted to push further into him or pull away.
He stopped moving and held me firm, his mouth against my ear. “Open your legs,” he said, his fingers slowly rubbing in circles over my hardened clit.
I moaned, shaking my head. “It’s too much,” I panted.
Tyler moved, withdrawing temporarily to lie flat under me, his back to the floor, me facing his legs. He lifted my backside, pulling my cheeks apart and lowered me onto his cock.
“My god you’re tight,” he muttered as I sank onto him. He used his grip on my backside to control our motion, rocking me up and down and pushing me forward so he could watch as he slowly slid in and out. The repetitive motion reduced some of the sensitivity and soon I was moaning and rocking myself onto him. Looking over my shoulder, I watched as Tyler let go of my backside, resting his hands behind his head, eyes glued as I rode him. “I love watching you fuck me,” he growled. At his words, pressure built inside me again and Tyler grunted each time I rose and fell.
Gripping my hips, he removed himself and tugged me to my feet. He led me to a discarded pool table in the corner of the room and lifted me onto it, pushing me back so I lay across the felt, then, gripping my thighs, he tugged my backside towards the edge. The lip of the table tilted my pelvis upwards, giving him unfettered access and he held my legs wide apart before thrusting into me. Leaning forward, he gripped onto my hips, holding me in place. I began to tremble as the need to come rose violently. Moving his hands to press over my lower abdomen, he pushed deeper and held himself there, watching as waves of pleasure washed over me. Then he leaned over and I dug my nails into his shoulder, the pain and the pleasure combining until he called out my name as he came.
Climbing onto the pool table, Tyler lay beside me, his head resting on my shoulder, breaths dancing over my breasts causing little goose bumps to dot my skin. Walking his fingers over my stomach, he ran a finger over the curve of my waist.
“This is one of my favourite parts,” he said as more dots erupted over my skin. He brought my wrist to his mouth and kissed the sensitive flesh of the underside. “And this p
art right here.” He lifted his head and rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “And this little part here where a freckle smudges the line between your lip and your skin.” His hand fell to my neck. “And this part right here. The part that makes you melt.” He rested his head back on my chest and ran his finger in a circle around my belly button. “And also the dimples just above your arse. My thumbs fit into them perfectly when I grip your hips. I think you were made for me.”
He said the last part so quietly I barely heard it.
20
LAUREN
The exterior of the casino was completed and in just over five weeks there was to be a test run of the facility. All the investors and friends of the Thorntons were invited to spend a weekend, test the staff and the procedures, dine at the restaurants and gamble at the tables. Jimmy had long since disappeared from the site, and I wandered through the rooms as interior designers argued over which cushions to place on the plump couches that dotted the reception area. I was there when the electricians installed the massive chandelier. There when they interviewed staff to fill the various positions available. There when the chefs started to test their creations for the menu.
I was out on the balcony of one of the suites when Sadie found me. She wandered into the room, fingers running over the smooth bed linen, heels creating dents in the carpet that disappeared seconds later.
I pressed the shutter, capturing an image of her drenched in the late afternoon sun. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
With being Tyler’s best friend and, after getting over my initial reservation, Sadie and I had grown close since I had moved to the city. She was a regular visitor to the loft, and with Tyler’s long hours at work we often got dinner together, choosing to go to the movies or watch television afterwards. Even though Sadie was possibly the worst cook I had come across, thankfully it didn’t fade her affection for reality cooking shows.
She became a sounding board for ideas for my business and even helped me plan the office space that was being constructed on the ground level of Tyler’s building. We fell into a relaxed friendship that I didn't think was possible with anyone but Peta. But something was bothering her. She flopped down onto the chair and lifted her feet to cross her ankles over the table. There was a tension in her shoulders and her expression was one that I usually only saw when she was working.
“What?” I asked her.
She looked up, startled. “What?” she said back.
“As lovely as it is to see you, what are you doing here? Have you decided to up our friendship level to stalker?”
“Tyler told me where you’d be.” Her feet came down from the table and she leaned forward, legs wide, elbows on her knees and head in her hands.
“I’ve heard about the most brilliant opportunity for you.”
“For me?” I pressed the shutter, taking an image of the perfect line of balconies bathed in the evening sun.
“You’ve heard of the Haven’s Rest hotel chain?”
I nodded and squinted as I pressed the shutter again.
“They are looking for a new marketing campaign for their relaunch after their renovations. I thought you could put a proposal in.”
I lowered my camera. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“I wouldn’t have the first clue about marketing. I might be able to take some creative images, but I’d have no idea how to implement them into a campaign, or even how to present it to them.”
Sadie sat back up, pushing her long legs out at an awkward angle then slumped back in the chair again. “Okay,” she said, looking up at me hesitantly. “Here’s the thing. I know how to do all those things.”
I sat down opposite, placing the camera on the table between us and narrowed my eyes. “What are you saying?”
Sadie sat straight again and pulled her chair closer to the table. “I’m saying we do it together. You’re a brilliant photographer and some of the ideas you come up with are just shy of genius, and I know how to handle presentations and marketing plans and spreadsheets and numbers and I also have a lot of contacts. I think we’d make a brilliant team.”
“But what about Tyler?”
Sadie blinked. “I’ve been wanting to move on for a while now. He knows that. There is only so long I can play second fiddle to Tyler Thornton. I want my own thing. My own passion. Our company could be that.”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I tapped my fingers on the glass surface of the table. “You’ve thought about this?”
A flicker of excitement flashed through Sadie’s eyes. “A lot,” she said. “I really think this could be something. Haven’s Rest could be our first chance to work together. A trial run, so to speak. We could put our heads together and come up with a kickass campaign. I really think this could work.” Sadie pushed her chair back and stood up. “Have a think and let me know.”
I sat at the table a good while longer, thinking about Sadie’s idea. The excitement of having my own business had been building ever since Tyler first mentioned it, but I never dreamed of it as being any more than a one-man-band with small commercial projects, maybe some bigger stuff thrown my way by Tyler and perhaps the odd wedding to keep the funds trickling in, but what Sadie was proposing was on a whole other level. And she would be just the person to start up a company with. She was organised and outspoken, her skills with people and with computers far outdid anything I could even hope to consider. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got, but there was a little voice in the back of my head that worried about what Tyler might think. He and Sadie had been side by side for the majority of his career and I wasn’t sure how he would feel about losing her.
When I got back to the loft later that night, Tyler was home and in the kitchen, a jazz tune eerily crisp through the speakers as he sipped on a glass of wine and finely sliced an onion. He had not long got out of the shower and his damp hair hung messily over his eyes, causing my gut to clench when he looked up at me and smiled.
“You’re home.” He walked the distance between us, wiping his hands on the apron looped around his neck, and grabbed my face, the faint scent of onions lingering on his fingers. His kiss lifted me to the tip of my toes. Despite having lived together for months, his touch still melted me. Sometimes I worried about my desire for him, my need. I never got weary of him reaching for me. I constantly longed to see the desire in his eyes each time he sank into me. He let me go and I came down from heaven to open my eyes and gaze into his.
“How was your day?” he asked.
Beneath the apron his chest was bare, and I ran my fingers up his muscled arms and threaded them together behind his neck. His skin was soft and smooth.
“Interesting,” I replied.
Something sizzled on the stove top and Tyler ducked under my embrace, stepping over to stir the pan and toss in the onions. The scent that wafted from the pan was divine.
“Interesting?” Tyler repeated, prompting me to tell him more as I sat down on the stool beside the kitchen island and watched him work. Grabbing the bottle of wine, he pulled another glass from the cupboard and handed it to me. “Tell me everything,” he said.
“You are in an awfully good mood,” I said. Usually, he came back from work, shoulders tense and mouth set in a firm line. To see him happy and carefree, working in the kitchen was something that hadn’t occurred in a while.
“Don’t change the subject,” he said. “Why was your day so interesting?”
“Sadie came to visit.”
Tyler threw me an inquisitive frown as he poured some white wine into the pan. It bubbled and sizzled and splatters jumped over the sides. “She asked if you were at the casino today.”
I reached across the bench and popped a caper into my mouth. “She wants to go into business together.”
“You two?”
I nodded and picked up another caper. “Haven’s Rest is looking for a new marketing campaign for their relaunch and she wants us to come up with something.”
Tyler’s express
ion was often hard to read and this time was no exception. He didn’t seem startled or surprised at the news, and yet, I could also tell he hadn’t heard the idea before now. “I like it,” he said, nodding. “It’s a good idea. I think you two would work well together.”
“But what about you?”
After adding the capers and some prunes, Tyler poured the white wine sauce over sliced chicken and popped it into the oven. “What about me?”
“Sadie is your assistant.”
“I’ve always known I couldn’t keep her forever. As much as I value her and would love her to stay on, I’ve been waiting for the day she comes to me with her resignation. Working for the family business was my passion, not hers. She’s picked up valuable skills along the way, but I’ve always known she wouldn’t stay. Even Dad knows it.”
“So you think I should?”
Tyler walked around the kitchen island and pulled out the stool beside me. “I think you should talk to her more about it, yes. She’s got a good head for business on her shoulders and you have creativity leaking out your little finger. Together you could be quite the powerhouse.”
I laughed. “Powerhouse. Not sure about that.”
“Why not? A fresh new marketing company could be just the thing this city is waiting for.”
“What about the fact that our first proposal would be for Haven’s Rest? Aren’t they competition?”