by Brooke Page
replacement from your proper muse. I hope you like them, and I am sure they are nowhere
near as beautiful as you are.
-Ty
“Jealous of Gage’s flowers I’m assuming?” Jamie questioned with a knowing smile, removing Gage’s flowers and walking them over to the trash can.
“Good guess,” I said, shaking my head. Oh, Gage. I never should have freaked out on him at my father’s Christmas party. But then again, I never should have brought him in the first place. I hoped he would forgive me one day, if we ever ran into each other again.
I decided to give Tyler a call once we were done with dinner.
“Hey baby doll,” he purred.
“Hi, thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful,” I said, walking towards my room.
“You are very welcome,” he said pleasingly.
“Are you still in Cleveland?”
“Yeah, I am taking a flight to Chicago tomorrow after a few meetings.”
“Do you have your own place in Cleveland?” I asked curiously.
“Not yet. One weekend you should come with me and pick out a condo. As nice as hotels are, I can’t keep clothes in them,” he chuckled.
I smiled into the phone.
“Do you have any other houses or condos?”
“Only condos I have are in Chicago and Grand Rapids. I have been debating getting a place somewhere warmer.”
“Warmer climates are overrated,” I teased.
“Warmer climates mean less clothing,” he murmured.
“Are you ever going to stop plotting to get me naked?”
“Nope. I miss you,” he sighed.
“I miss you too. Hey Ty?” I asked trying not to sound needy.
“What baby?”
“You said you wouldn’t be back until late Wednesday. Would you care if I stayed at your house?”
“You mean coming home after midnight to you sleeping in my bed?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Yes, only if you don’t mind.”
“Why would I mind? I wish you were in my bed every night,” he flirted.
I blushed. Wednesday couldn’t come soon enough.
~
I had nearly an hour left of work on Tuesday. My mind was more focused on my personal life than working on Conklin’s blueprints. After work, I needed to get Christmas presents for Tyler, take Jamie to the airport, wrap all of the gifts Tyler and I had bought for our families, and I wanted to get a Christmas tree for Tyler’s living room.
I was uneasy by all the tasks I wanted to complete in the short amount of time. If I could get Tyler’s present and the Christmas tree before taking Jamie to the airport I would be happy, but I was going to have to book it in order for that to happen. Some of Tyler’s gifts I had already gotten. I had made a call to my dad the second I got into the office about one of Tyler’s presents. This time I didn’t take any shame in asking a favor from my father.
Will passed by my office dressed in his winter coat. “Why don’t you take off, Becca? It’s dead in the building. I’m not going to be in tomorrow. Last minute shopping, of course,” he added, resituating his satchel.
“You know what? I think I might. I still have a ton of stuff I need to get done before Christmas. Thanks Will.”
“No problem. Have a great holiday, Becca!” he said, walking backwards out of our offices.
I started to clean up my area and grab my things to take off, thankfully I just gained another hour to accomplish my tasks. I turned off my CAD computers and walked to the elevator and was met by a tall man in a basic suit. His hands were on his hips, revealing a badge on his belt buckle. He looked at me and smiled. His eyes were piercing blue against his pale skin, causing his short buzzed hair to appear black. I returned his smile as we waited for the elevator.
“Excuse me, but you’re Rebecca Stine, right?” he asked. Internally I rolled my eyes. I hated being called Rebecca.
“Becca,” I corrected, taking his outstretched hand. The elevator opened, and we both walked on.
He smiled at me, his eyes creasing. “I’m Detective Anderson. I have met with your father every now and then. He is a good man, very ethical.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“Just like the Conklin’s, right?” he asked quickly.
I blinked at him, thrown off by his question.
“I would hope so, but I am just a junior commercial architect, Detective Anderson. I don’t really work closely with the head honchos.”
“But you drove Tyler Conklin’s Lexus SUV to work this morning?” he questioned, cocking his head.
I clenched my teeth, attempting to keep my expression bleak. What was I supposed to say? That I was sleeping with the owner’s son? That I am in love with the owner's son.
The elevator dinged as he shook his head and laughed. “Just an observation. It was nice to meet you, Becca Stine.” Detective Anderson walked off to the main lobby. Then the doors closed to take me to the garage parking lot. What a weird encounter. I blinked my eyes a few times and regained focus. I had to get Tyler a few presents and manage to get a Christmas tree before 6:00pm.
~
“Did you find Tyler a Christmas present?” Jamie asked, throwing one of her suitcases next to the island counter.
“Yes, I found a few things,”I said as I bit my lip. I had a great idea, but I wasn’t so sure if I could pull it off how I wanted to.
“And a tree?”
I nodded my head. “I got a fake one; I started to worry that he might be allergic,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
Jamie laughed. “That would have been bad. Nothing like good Christmas loving with a blotchy and swollen guy!”
I laughed with her and then traveled to my bedroom to pack a few things. I planned on staying at Tyler’s tonight since all of the presents that needed to be wrapped were there. I quickly got my things together and headed back out into the kitchen.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked Jamie.
“You have no idea. I’m so ready for warm weather!”
~
Once I dropped Jamie off, I raced to Tyler’s house. It was around 7:30pm and my stomach growled. I frowned. I didn’t have time to eat, but I didn’t want to put it off any later. Besides, I promised Tyler I would be more careful about eating. I called and ordered takeout from Bistro Bella Vita and picked it up on my way to his condo.
I had to take a few trips up to Tyler’s condo because of all the bags and the Christmas tree box. I started to work right away while taking bites of food in between putting the tree together and wrapping presents. I let out a loud sigh as I sprawled on the big cream sofa, admiring my handy work. The tree was small, lit with white Christmas lights with large red and green bulbs throughout the tree. I even bought a set of blue and gold Michigan M ornaments. Although Tyler didn’t originally want to attend the University of Michigan, he had pride in his school and would give me grief if I wore green.
I didn’t put the star on top because I wanted Tyler to do that. I sure hoped he wouldn’t mind my taking over his living room and getting festive.
As I stared at the tree, I heard my phone go off. I jumped up to answer it.
“Hi,” I said cheerily, knowing who was on the other line.
“Hi. How are you?” Tyler asked, sounding a touch surprised.
“I’m wonderful. Missing you, of course,” I sighed.
I could practically hear his smirk over the phone. “I miss you as well. What are you doing? You sound very cheery.”
“You will have to wait and see,” I teased. “I am at your house. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh no, I sure hope you’re not redecorating,” he laughed.
“Nothing that can’t be taken down,” I smiled.
“Now I’m intrigued. Will you be sleeping in my bed tonight as well?”
“I was planning on it. Again, only you don’t mind.” A hint of insecurity was laced with my words.
“As far as I’m concerned, that bed is just as much yours as it is min
e. It will be hard for me to sleep tonight though. I’m going to be picturing you wrapped up in my satin sheets without me,” he pouted.
“I can’t wait for Wednesday. What time is your flight?” I asked.
“9:45pm. I have a dinner meeting at 7:00pm otherwise I would fly home sooner,” he apologized.
“It’s fine. Text me when you land, and I will come pick you up.”
“I look forward to it.”
I yawned into the phone and heard Tyler chuckle. “I need to call you earlier. I will let you go to sleep. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow evening.”
“Okay, I will keep your bed warm. Goodnight Ty.”
“Goodnight baby doll.”
Chapter 5
It was hard sleeping all night in Tyler’s bed without him. I slept hugging his pillow, constantly smelling his scent, a mix of citrus freshness from his soap and the sporty marine musk of his Hugo Boss cologne. Oh, how I missed him. It smelled lovely and safe on his sheets, but once I’d get a waft from his chest, my arousal would awaken, and I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of him. Maybe sleeping in Tyler’s bed alone was more torturous than beneficial.
I dressed simple for work, khaki dress pants and a button up blouse. The office would be deserted since it was the last day before the building would be closed for four days because of Christmas. Most likely Corey and I would be twiddling our thumbs while our coworkers were gone. I wonder how much time I would have to put in before I could take off time before the holidays. Maybe Tyler and I could take off somewhere warm once I worked up the vacation days. Picturing him lying shirtless on a lounge chair basking in the sun, sweat from the heat rolling from his chest to his abdomen… wow, I wouldn’t be able to keep my greedy eyes off of him. Or my hands for that matter.
Get your mind of out of the gutter!
Right! I had to get through today and prepare myself for the weekend of family, including meeting Tyler’s mom.
I wondered what she would be like. Tyler made it sound like she was a lush who sat around with a grin on her face all the time, as though she were in her own world. I wondered how she would feel about her son dating someone. Seeing him hold my hand or put his arms around me. I hope she wouldn’t change her demeanor with me around and turn from a happy drunk to a possessive crazy drunk. Maybe she wasn’t even a big drinker but Tyler just thought she was? I would have to wait and see and try not to be nervous about meeting her. She was Tyler’s mom, and I would learn to make her a part of my life, especially since I wanted Tyler to be in my life more than the air I breathed. Getting along with his mom would be a must, no matter what his relationship with her was like.
Just as I was about to take my lunch break, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw it was a Facetime call from Heather, which meant one thing.
“Auntie B!” a small voice squealed. She was smiling brightly through the phone with two pigtails on top of her head.
“Hi Josie! What are you and Mommy doing?” I asked, curious why she called me midday. Oh no! Maybe she was going into labor and needed my help!
“Is Mommy okay, Josie?” I asked with concern.
Josie giggled, bringing the phone closer to her face so I could only see her teeth and chin. Then I heard Heather in the background telling Josie to pull the phone away from her face. Phew, she didn’t sound in distress. Josie’s face came back into view.
“Yes, I bugged her to call you. I miss you. When are you going to babysit me?” she squeaked, furrowing her little eyebrows.
I smiled at her. While being in my without Tyler phase, I had ignored my darling niece. “I know Josie. We will play tomorrow, okay? After Christmas I will take you somewhere fun, sound good?”
I had lost her attention already. She was fidgeting with something, the phone was crooked on her face and her eyes were focused on something else.
“Josie!” I heard Heather say in the background to get her attention.
“Okay, Aunt B,” her little voice squeaked, bringing her big brown eyes back to me. She looked so much like Heather it was scary.
The screen on the phone moved so it was facing Heather. Her face barely swollen, looking through the phone at me. She was only days away from her due date, and I’m sure she was miserable.
“So Mom told me you were bringing Tyler to Christmas Eve and Christmas morning brunch?” Heather beamed, getting right to the point.
“Yes, I am. How was Mom when you talked to her? Did she seem off? Or upset?” I asked.
“She was fine. Very excited that you and Tyler are trying to work it out. Why? You have that nervous face on, you know when you bite your lip and scrunch your eyebrows together. Did something happen between you and Mom?”
“I said some things to her at the Christmas party. Clearly she is over it though,” I sighed.
“Things like what?” she questioned, making a face and resituating herself on her sofa, causing the screen to quake.
“It’s not important. How are you feeling?” I asked, knowing she would be more than happy to talk about herself and change the subject.
“Oh, Becca…I’m miserable!”
I laughed in my head. Heather, so dramatic.
~
At 5:30pm Corey and I took off out of the deserted office down the elevator. Corey got off at the main lobby, wishing me a good Christmas. I descended down the elevator to the garage parking ramp. I was beyond giddy. It had been three long days since I saw Tyler, and I was anxious all over. My skin felt extra sensitive and was in desperate need of his touch. I decided to go to my condo and do some laundry since I would be moving around the next four days. I needed to wash my favorite jeans anyway so they would go back to fitting me.
I plugged my phone in to my stereo and cranked up some music after I started a load. I hadn’t cleaned my bathroom in a while, and it needed it badly. I refused to hire a housekeeper. There was no reason I couldn’t clean my own living space. I was going to have to distract myself so I wouldn’t get lost day dreaming about Tyler.
I washed my hands once I was finished, feeling damp and sweaty in my baggy FSU t-shirt and sweats. My hair was a mess, my pony tail flopping to the side with multiple dark strands falling out and cascading around and over my face. I needed a shower badly. Striping of my clothes, I hopped in the shower. I wanted to be extra clean and shiny for Tyler.
After thoroughly washing my hair and body, making sure I didn’t miss any spots shaving my legs or armpits, I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, then started to towel dry my hair with another towel. Once it felt dry enough to not drip, I started to apply some lotion. I didn’t put it on as much as I should, but I loved the smell: light, citrus, and clean. I lifted my leg to the bath tub and started to slowly rub the lotion along my ankles to my calves and up my thighs, causing my towel to hike up. I threw my head to the side so my hair wasn’t cascading down in front of my whole face and nearly had a heart attack when I found Tyler leaning in the door frame watching me with wide, smoldering eyes.
“Tyler!” I gasped as I jumped backwards against the counter, clenching my towel to my chest. His grin grew wide as he walked towards me, all young and rugged in baggy carpenter light blue jeans and a Cubs t-shirt.
I pulled on my towel, feeling horribly self-conscious as he damn near pinned me against the counter.
“Surprise,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss me, putting his hands on either side of the counter top. Tyler coming home early was the best surprise ever.
Forgetting about my lack of clothing, I got lost in his kiss. Wow did it feel like forever since his lips were on me. Holding my towel with one hand, I ran the other through his hair, which happened to be much shorter. He had gotten a haircut. It was practically buzzed in the back and faded up, but still had enough length on the top to keep his incredibly sexy messy look.
His arms wrapped around me tighter as I kissed him harder, fisting my hand in as much of his hair as I could, pulling him into me, devouring him. He groaned and clasped his arms around m
y back, pressing his hard body to mine.
“I take it you missed me, too,” he breathed, slowing down the intensity of our kisses.
“Mmm…,” was all I could manage to say. I took a long breath, inhaling his intoxicating scent. Oh, did I love how he smelled. Letting go of my towel, I pressed my chest into his, the towel as my barrier, and brought my hand around his waist, lifting up his shirt so I could feel his skin. I grinned into his mouth as I ran my hand up his muscular back. He was smooth again. He pulled back and cocked his head at me, trying to hold back a smile.
“Take a trip to the spa?” I teased, moving my other hand up the front of his shirt. He squirmed and chuckled, grabbing both of my wrists.
“Nathan scheduled an appointment for me. Lucky for you it was Tuesday, so I’m not red and blotchy,” he bantered back.
“Nathan makes appointments for you to go to the spa?” I questioned.
“Yes, he does the whole shebang while I get the wax and a haircut. Thank God he didn’t make me go shopping with him afterwards like usual.”
I attempted to hold in my laugh but failed. Tyler let go of my wrists and lifted me so I was sitting on the counter top during my fit of giggles.
“It just seems odd that you and your brother go to the spa,” I giggled again, as he narrowed his eyes at me, clearly trying to look stern and upset instead of laughing along with me.
“Why? I can’t be pampered too?” he said, half offended.
“I could pamper you,” I flirted, losing my giggles, bringing my hands to his lower back and slowly up his spine. Tyler’s eyes closed as his chest rose with each deep breath.
“I love that idea,” he murmured, slowly meeting my lips with his. His kisses were slow and intense, as close to making out as possible without tongues.
I ran my hands up and down his smooth back then brought them to his front, slipping my fingers in his waistband so I could play with the elastic of his boxer briefs. He wasn’t as smooth on this part of his body, but I was okay with that.
Tyler pulled my body tighter to him, running his hands down my back then to my hips, finding my thighs and nestling himself in between them.