Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy #2)

by Brooke Page

  “Don’t feel like shit for eating two pieces of pizza, Becca. It’s nothing. I told you we would work it off tonight,” he grumbled again. I raised an eyebrow at him. He still wanted to be with me tonight even though we were annoyed with each other?

  “I hate that he touched you,” he groaned under his breath. “I hate that he throws the fact that you two have a history in my face. And I really hate that he obviously still wants you.”

  “And you think I enjoy the fact that old bitch sunk her teeth into you when you were only 16? How she manipulated you for 10 years while she was screwing God knows who else?” I sneered.

  Tyler’s jaw tensed tighter as his face contorted into anger. “She didn’t manipulate me,” he growled. “She was good, quick, and easy. Any sane 16 year old would have taken advantage of the situation.”

  “Okay, so a 16 year old, yes, but 26? You let her take advantage of you for 10 years, Tyler. How do I know you still don’t have feelings for her?”

  “Don’t turn the tables around on me, Becca,” he snapped. “If I still had feelings for her I would be fucking her against a wall tomorrow instead of you,” his eyes frosted over.

  That hit a nerve in me. I was furious and emotional. Not sure if I wanted to cry or claw at him. How dare he relate our intimacy with what he had with that cougar.

  I didn’t say anything on the short ride back to Tyler’s condo. I was trying to calm down before I said something irrational or completely broke down. He turned into an angry and spiteful person. He didn’t need to be so negative about anything, especially Gage’s behavior. He had nothing to worry about. And he sure as hell didn’t need to compare us with his first and overly drawn-out fling with his nanny.

  I opened the door on my side of the car before Tyler could reach me. I stomped passed him without raising my eyes from the ground. We stood waiting for the elevator in silence. Once the doors opened we walked in, and as soon as the doors closed, Tyler pinned me to the opposite wall.

  His hands were on either side of my shoulders against the wall. “What’s going through your head right now,” he whispered, his breath brushing across my cheek. His head was tilted downward so we were face to face.

  I peeked up at him with my arms crossed, trying not to be intimidated or weak. But his expression was different from inside the car. He was calmer, but more anxious, even nervous.

  “I don’t like when you are angry with me. It scares me,” I whispered truthfully. “How could you compare me to her? I thought what we have is more than fucking.” My voice cracked as I cursed.

  Tyler filled the little amount of space between us, his chest practically touching mine. He still smelled amazing, even after playing in a basketball game and eating pizza while drinking beer.

  “Baby, you know our connection is irreplaceable to me. I would never compare my quick flings with Margo to the crazy intense love making sessions we share,” Tyler murmured then continued. “I’m not angry with you. I just… it’s hard for me to think of you spending time with another guy, whether it means something to you or not,” he said, rubbing his nose against mine.

  I grabbed the pockets of his jacket. “Gage does mean something to me, but nothing compared to you. He did touch me, and I’m sorry. It was against my will. If he understood me like you do, he wouldn’t be such a pain in the ass about why I didn’t want to eat pizza.”

  The elevator beeped while the doors opened to his floor. I slid under Tyler’s arm to his condo. Quickly following me, he pulled out his keys and went to open the door. I walked in and was immediately grabbed by the waist and spun around to face him once the door was closed.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let Gage send your salad back. I should have been on your side about the whole pizza thing,” Tyler said staring down at me. His hands tighten on my hips. “But I don’t like Gage. I don’t trust him,” his teeth were clenched along with his hands as he spoke.

  “Don’t you trust me?” I said exasperatedly. “Don’t you think the fact that Margo could be knocking on your door in Chicago when I’m not with you haunts me? She had a hold of you for so long, and we have only been together for a few months,” I whispered, feeling my eyes water.

  He stared down at me, eyes pained. “Of course I trust you. Don’t you trust me? Margo hasn’t knocked on my door in two years, and I doubt she ever will again. And if she does I will tell her I’m involved with the most amazing girl. And Gage is a manipulator. He flirts and finds ways to cross lines, and you are too nice to tell him no.”

  I ran my top teeth across my bottom lip, furrowing my eyebrows thinking hard about what he had just conceded. Was I too nice sometimes? I obviously let Gage take me out when I was clearly not in the mood to do anything. The fact that Tyler pointed out how I couldn’t say no to people was true, which meant I couldn’t get mad at him for saying it. “Tyler, I don’t plan on hanging out with him. I plan on hanging out with you.” I grabbed his face with both hands, looking him square in the eyes. “You’re all I want, remember?”

  Tyler leaned his head forward so it was touching mine, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulled me to his chest.

  “I know, and you’re all I want. I’m trying to…. trust. It’s hard for me, and I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  We both needed to forget about each other’s past relationships. I knew Tyler didn’t want Margo. I just threw it at him like venom trying to get him to grasp what I was trying to say, how Gage didn’t even come close to Tyler in my heart.

  I moved my hands from his face to wrap them around his chest, rubbing his back and snuggling into him. My head on his chest always relaxed me, and my annoyance towards his behavior was fading away with every stroke of his strong hands up and down my spine.

  “I forgive you, but we have to trust each other, Tyler. Although, angry sex might make for a better workout after eating that pizza,” I teased, running my hands down to his back pockets, giving him a salacious grin. I filled each of his back pockets with my hands, palming his butt, giving each cheek a squeeze. He let out a soft chuckle and ran his nose along mine.

  I kept my hands in his pockets and then felt the ribbon he ‘secretly’ put into his back pocket from earlier at my condo. My mind was filled with curiosity now and a devious smile spread across my face. I moved my hands around in his pockets, hoping to distract him from thinking I was trying to wrap the small ribbon around my fingers.

  “No, we can just call it workout sex,” he murmured with his mischievous Conklin grin. “Will you shower with me first?”

  I nodded my head, feeling the adrenaline rush throughout my body as I slowly started to remove my hands from his pockets, ribbon wrapped securely through my fingers.

  Tyler looked at me skeptically, and then his eyes grew wide as I pulled my hands from his pockets. He quickly reached for my wrist but wasn’t fast enough as I dove past him, bolting up the spiral staircase.

  “Bec, NO!” he shouted, chasing after me. I giggled feeling his hands finally find my waist as we reached the top of the stairs.

  “Becca, baby please give it back to me. I don’t want you to read it,” he pleaded, trying to reach for my hand. His face screamed nervousness and fear. I was surprisingly not alarmed like I should have been by his reaction to the stupid little note he had attached to one of the roses.

  I walked backwards shaking my head. “What? Is it all mushy gushy? Or were you finally giving my stubborn self a piece of your mind? Telling me how ridiculous I was being?” I snickered, trying to mimic his scowl.

  After trying to wrestle him off of me while stumbling backwards through his loft filled with blueprints and drafting supplies, we made it to his large room. I was backed into the wall and managed to turn around long enough to pull the ribbon up in front of my face. Tyler dropped his hands in defeat and let out a mangled breath. I stretched out the ribbon with both hands and nearly stopped breathing as I read his perfect penmanship.

  Becca, please forgive me. I’ve fallen in love with you.-Ty
<
br />   I inhaled a sharp breath of air as soon as my body realized I hadn’t been breathing.

  He loved me.

  Feelings were scattered like the busy streets of New York within my mind. I wanted him to tell me he loved me so many times. I wanted him to whisper it in my ear after we made love, or say it on the phone just before we said goodbye. Here it was, hidden in my drawer all this time in black ink. My heart was melting. I turned to face him, tears threatening my eyes as my body warmed to him.

  When I met his soft blue-green eyes, they were radiating fear. His pupils were big and wide; his eyebrows furrowed while his mouth was in a thin line. He was chewing on the bottom of his lip, scared to death of his true feelings for me.

  When he finally spoke the words were barely a whisper. “I wanted to tell you… I just didn’t know how.” His eyes were staring down at the floor, afraid to meet mine. If only he knew how much this little piece of ribbon meant to me and would mean to me for the rest of my life.

  “Oh Tyler,” I choked. I reached up with a trembling hand to caress his cheek, trying to coax him to look at me. His eyes danced around then finally found mine, looking lost and terrified.

  My face softened towards his vulnerability. A small smile played on my lips and with glassy eyes I gently spoke. “Me too, Ty. Me too.”

  Chapter 8

  Before I knew what was happening, Tyler’s eyes locked on mine, pupils dilating. His mouth was on me so quickly I didn’t know which way was up. He devoured me, pulling my body to his, ferociously clinging to me. I groaned into his mouth, moving my hands in an attempt to tug his freshly cut hair.

  He pulled me backward and across his bedroom, running his back into the wall next to the bathroom door. Our lips were connected with such force and hunger for one another that space was irrelevant. Never releasing his grip, he pulled me into the bathroom, reaching for the lights. Switching the light on with his outstretched hand, he fumbled to find the dimmer. I kissed him harder, falling more in love with him for respecting my insecurities.

  He pulled away long enough to yank off his shirt. His skin was sticky from sweat and tasted salty and delicious. I could care less about taking a shower right now, but I understood the need to be completely clean before being touched. Whether it was neurosis or paranoia, I always craved a shower before being intimate.

  Tyler tugged on my sweatshirt and t-shirt, practically ripping them off. I tore off my bra then pushed my body back to his, kissing him feverishly. He reluctantly took one hand off my back to reach into the shower and start the warm water. Feeling the steam fog up from our panted breaths and the heat from the water made me ache for him even more. He moved both of his hands to cup my face, slowing down his kiss as my hands traveled from his muscular back to the front of his jeans. I unbuttoned and unzipped them slowly, matching the speed of his kiss.

  I cautiously pushed his jeans down then slid my hand in between the fabric of his basketball shorts and the Under Armour underwear he loved so much. I felt his excitement as he brushed his thumbs along my cheeks. His lips stopped moving as he let out deep breaths, his hands grazing gently along my face. I braved opening my eyes to look at him as I pulled down the rest of his clothing. Tyler removed his hands from my face to help me rid of his remaining clothes then tugged on my yoga pants as well. Once we were both completely out of our clothing, I jumped him, shoving him into the shower with the warm water cascading down on us. I held his face as I demanded for him to open his mouth, sharing the same intensity and fierceness as the moment we both finally expressed that we loved each other.

  Okay, so we didn’t actually say the three delicate words, but we both knew it in our hearts. We both had felt awkward about saying it, worried what the other would think. But now we were on the same page. Now we could finally let all of our walls down or at least begin to try.

  Tyler reluctantly pulled back, taking long deep breaths. “Becca, will you wash me?” he asked, our foreheads still pressed together. I reached for his body wash, bypassing the scrub cloth so I could feel his skin with my hands. He let out a groan as my fingers massaged his chest, back, arms, abs, sides… I probably should have taken my time with him, but my heart was pounding with need to be close to him. I loved that my hands on his body caused him to shiver, knowing no one had ever touched him as intimately as I had.

  Once I reached lower he leaned backwards, thudding his head on the dark brown tile. I kept a slow tempo, enjoying the view of his mouth slightly ajar and how his tongue rested on the bottom of his teeth.

  He moved his hands back to cradling my face as I ran my palms up and down him. “I love when you touch me, Becca. You make everything better,” Tyler grunted into my mouth.

  “Everything is better with you, Tyler,” I breathed, increasing my rhythm.

  Tyler grabbed my wrist and pulled his lips from mine. “Not now, not here. Let me make love to you, but not here,” he said, his voice never getting lost in the pounding of the water on the tile.

  He grabbed my soap and began washing me with the same urgency. He felt it too; he had to be inside of me, and he had to experience the true meaning of love making. I thought I had experienced it with Connor, but this was so much more. Tyler meant so much more to me than anyone ever could possibly come close to meaning.

  I reached for the shampoo and dabbed some into my hands, rubbing the suds into his scalp. His head dropped backward, and a satisfied hum escaped his throat.

  Once the suds were completely massaged from his head, Tyler continued the process on me. His fingers were remarkable, relaxing any remaining tension in my body. Now we were clean and ready for each other, and my body was screaming to be as close to him as possible.

  I shut off the shower behind him, planting soft kisses on his chest while pulling him out of the shower. Tyler grinned then grabbed two towels from the rack, first wrapping one around me, attempting to dry my freshly groomed and dampened skin. The second he leaned down to run the towel lower on my hips. I kissed his neck. At first, soft and gentle, but then I became carnal and impatient. I gripped the towel that he had in his hands and sloppily dried off his body while still kissing him.

  Tyler let out a slight laugh and chuckled, “Slow down, baby doll. We have all night.”

  “I want you,” I groaned, standing on my tip toes, gently nipping his ear.

  Tyler let out a hasty breath then kissed me back, pushing me into his bedroom.

  The room was mainly dark, the only soft glow escaping the bathroom from the dimmer light. We both had one track minds at this point. We loved each other and needed to be as physically close as possible.

  Tyler crushed his body to mine once we found the bed. Tumbling down on top of me, his lips were glued to mine. We had never been so eager and demanding when it came to being physical. But this connection felt so built up, so intense, I had to have him. Now.

  I reached for him as I wrapped my legs around his calves, urging him to fill me. One hand was still wrapped underneath me along my lower back, his other elbow propped up between my shoulder and the mattress. I felt his hand grip my shoulder tighter as he entered me, his other arm pulling me upward into him, causing my back to arch. I let out a sigh of triumph and satisfaction.

  He rubbed his nose along mine, heavy breaths escaped his lips. He was trying to go slow, trying to savor me, but I didn’t want to be savored. I loved him and wanted him, needed him to move faster, to claim me as his. I wanted him to devour me, take me hard and fast, and show his dominance.

  I moved my legs, pushing my heels into the backs of his thighs harder. I kissed him more feverishly, practically wrestling his tongue with mine. He moved his arm from behind my back to under my other shoulder blade, pushing me down onto him with more force as his hips moved harder.

  Yes, this is what I wanted.

  I groaned louder, letting him know this is what my body was craving. His breathing sped up, matching mine. He arched his hips, and I followed suit, meeting his every thrust. Tyler let go of my shoulders so he
could go up onto his knees, removing the vice like grip my legs had around his thighs. He grabbed my ankles and spread my legs out farther.

  Oh… This was nice.

  I didn’t even care that my body was bouncing every time he moved harshly inside of me. It felt way too amazing to change positions. He moved one leg up on his shoulder, wrapping his hand around my thigh so he could touch me. I quivered once his hand found me, my body quirking at his sudden movement. With one hand rubbing me delicately, the other clutched my ankle, pulling my one leg wider to the side. It was too dark to see his face, but the silhouette of his strong shoulders and broad neck excited me, enjoying the control he had over me.

  “Sit up on your elbows,” he murmured.

  I did as he asked. The angle brought on an entirely new feeling. I was able to push against him harder this way, meeting his thrusts deeper. It would only be a matter of time before I went spiraling into oblivion.

  He pushed into me harder and faster. I let my head fall backward, moaning at the intensity of his movement, but the slow, rhythmical motion of his fingers were decoding the detonation of my inner ecstasy. Tyler made one more circle with his fingers and I let go, my elbows collapsing under me as my head fell backward into the mattress, arching my back as my body quaked with pleasure.

  Tyler growled, moving his hand to my other leg and pulling it wide like the other then stilled his hips against me.

  After my moans subsided, Tyler lazily dropped my legs, falling on all fours around my shaking body. His head dipped down, our foreheads touching. Before he could catch his breath I kissed him, hard. I wasn’t done with him. I wanted more. I had a need inside of me for him that wasn’t nearly met. I wrapped my arms around his muscular back and forced him to roll so I was on top of him. Still kissing him, I moved my hands to his waist, rubbing up his sides following a path to his face. Tyler took hold of my hips, his hands gripping my skin. I leaned upward, noticing I could see him, the light faintly allowing me to study his well-kept body and content face. Surprisingly, I wasn’t embarrassed. If I could see him, then he obviously saw me when I was lying down earlier. Knowing now he could only see my silhouette, as I could see his earlier, gave me more confidence. I sank down on him, causing Tyler to take a sharp breath in. I moved my hips in slow circles, trying to bring him back up to speed. It didn’t take long, and the feeling of him growing further inside of me was a pleasant outcome.