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

by Brooke Page

  Tyler’s mouth was slightly parted as he exhaled long, slow heavy breaths with each stride. He moved his hands up my body along my sides, his fingers burning a trail in my skin. As I looked down into his heavy lidded eyes I felt an overwhelming amount of passion. My heart was igniting for him, wanting to light his life and be his other half. My emotions took hold of me as my heart pounded against my chest, tears beginning to flow down my cheeks. I never liked being or feeling so vulnerable, but it didn’t matter anymore with Tyler. He could see me at my weakest point; I was allowed to let my walls down with him.

  I picked up my tempo as he took my hands, helping me to gain my balance. This time I was the one in charge, claiming him as mine. I finally found my pace and let go, Tyler joining me as my body contracted around him. His moans seemed louder, more strangled this time around.

  I crashed into his chest, breathing heavier than our time before. Even though I was exhausted, I still didn’t get my fill. I gave him big wet kisses along his chest and up his neck, letting my tongue taste his skin. I wanted to burn his taste in my mind, never forgetting how amazing he felt on my lips.

  I heard him chuckle as he ran his hands up and down my back.

  I brought my lips to his jaw. “What?” I batted my eyelashes, trying to feign innocence.

  He smirked, tilting his head to the side so he could look at me.

  “You aren’t normally so aggressive,” he teased.

  I ran my hand from his chest to his abs, wandering lower. Tyler groaned into my mouth once I reached my treasure.

  “Again?” he laughed. I sucked on his neck, nodding my head up and down. “Gosh, Becs. I might need a minute. Or ten.”

  I nuzzled his neck, moving my hand back to his chest. I sighed, breathing in the smell of his soap that I hastily lathered all over his body, impatient to get him above me again.

  After silently tracing patterns along Tyler’s chest for 20 minutes, the need in my stomach was growing again, aching and filling with desire. I moved my hand back down his stomach. His breath was steady and even from my touches, and unfortunately didn’t change once I ran my fingertips along him. I wrapped my hand around him, slowly coaxing him to wake up. He started to stir again, running his hand along my back, his breath going from steady to uneven. He twitched in my hand, and I couldn’t help but bite my lip in triumph. He groaned, lazily opening his eyes to look down at me while pushing his hips into my hand. I bit down harder on my lip, his sleepy, cocky grin stirring my desires even more.

  He quickly rolled on top of me, causing me to giggle with the sudden change of position.

  He gazed down at me in amusement, “So, round three is what you want?”

  I nodded my head again, my eyes hungry.

  Tyler rubbed his nose along mine, grinning. “Okay baby, you are going to wear me out tonight.”

  “I thought that was the plan? Remember we are ‘working out’? I normally spend a couple of hours at the gym,” I said, biting my lip. “Think you can keep up with me? I can understand why you might be tired, old man,” I flirted.

  Tyler smirked, “Old man?” He licked his lips. “You just insinuated a challenge.” He quickly sat up, bringing me with him. “I’ll show you old man. I sure hope you are ready, because that was just a warm up.” His eyes were burning with passion now. I was lost in them, drowning in his undeniable love as he picked me up and set me on his lap.

  ~

  I never believed anyone who said they’d lost track of how many orgasms they’d had, but now I was on their side. I lay next to the man I loved, sated and satisfied. He was on his back, skin damp with sweat, taking long, deep, tiring breaths. I slowly rolled to his side, placing my head on his chest, resting my arm along his waist. I let out a content sigh, keeping my eyes closed.

  “How was that for a workout?” Tyler asked with a shaky breath, running his hand through my hair.

  I nuzzled his chest. “I think I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

  Tyler chuckled. “That tends to happen after a thorough workout.”

  I giggled into his chest as he rested his free hand on my arm that was splayed across his waist.

  Sleep had never come so fast and easy.

  ~

  I woke to the sound of paper crackling. Not wanting it to be morning, I squeezed my eyes shut. I rolled to the other side of the bed, in hopes of bumping into the beautiful warm body I had made love to, yes real love, for hours earlier in the night, but was disappointed when all I could feel were the sheets. I opened one eye to look and see if Tyler was anywhere in sight.

  I heard another crinkle of paper and lifted my head. It was still dark outside, and a soft glow from the loft was floating into the bedroom. I followed the sound out into the loft, seeing Tyler sitting on a stool in a pair of gym shorts in front of his drafting board. He was immersed in something, work maybe? He didn’t normally draw up plans. The only time I had heard of him making plans were for Ashlynn and Connor. Yuck. I didn’t need to think about that.

  I silently watched him, his eyes focused as he leaned forward, the pencil moving rapidly. He sat back, taking the architect scale and placing it on his lip, full scowl in form as though he were thinking intently about something. He quickly found his thought and brought his pencil back to the large piece of paper.

  A smile played on my lips as my heart warmed. It was sobering to see him so focused and determined while working. I also loved how the Conklin Company still had appreciation for making prints by hand.

  I slowly got up to stand.

  Holy crap.

  I was unbelievably sore already. Every time Tyler and I got lost in each other last night, we did something different. I had never thought all of my stretching and agility work would come in handy for something other than attempting to be fit and tone. Tyler probably would have bent me like a pretzel if he so wished.

  I tiptoed to his drawer to pull out one of his T-shirts. Once I threw on a basic white cotton tee, I quietly moved to the large door frame. I peeked out at him. He almost looked angelic in the soft light of the side lamp. His skin was slightly tanned; Tyler cheated like I did and spent time in the tanning bed, while his dark hair was rumpled.

  I quietly walked over to him. Once I was in his line of sight his eyes lifted from the paper, soft and warm, as a shy smile crossed his lips. I came up behind him, draping my hands around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder.

  “Why are you awake?” I asked quietly, kissing his shoulder.

  He kept his eyes on the drafting board, focused on ending the line he was forming. Once he finished, he leaned back and covered his hand over mine, tilting his head to look at me. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  His words were as soft as his eyes, a small smile playing along his lips. I couldn’t help but smile back. Feeling shy under his stare, I turned my head to see what he was working on. He was designing a house.

  “What are you working on?” I asked curiously. I felt his nose run along my neck. It felt nice, but I was still intrigued with the plans he was working on.

  “Nothing for work, just something for me,” he trailed, taking in a deep breath. When he exhaled the warm air from his nose gave me goose bumps.

  “Is this your dream house?” I whispered, unable to focus on any specific part of the plans.

  I felt him nod, his nose gently nuzzling along my jaw. “It’s been a very long time since I have added to it.”

  I was grinning from ear to ear. I loved looking at other people’s prints and ideas. Looking at Tyler’s dream house was exhilarating as though I was seeing an entirely different side to him.

  He was working on the main level of his dream house. A spacious kitchen with a breakfast nook and porch, a large living room with built in shelving and entertainment, a formal dining room and a library, and a large master bedroom with a wrap around porch. The master bedroom had a circular shape to it, with windows surrounding it. Spacious closets with a similar round bathroom. A spiral staircase led to the upstairs from the master bedr
oom.

  “Where do the spiral stairs lead to?” I asked, moving my hands to his shoulders.

  Tyler turned and grabbed my hands, pulling me onto his lap. Still memorized by his plans, I had barely noticed the exchange.

  “An office. I haven’t started on the upstairs though.”

  I turned my grinning face to his. My heart warmed at his expression. He was content and happy, actually happy.

  “When was the last time you worked on these?”

  “Probably three or four years ago,” he admitted, never taking his warm blue-green eyes off mine. I wrapped my hands around his neck.

  “Why so long?”

  He shrugged his shoulders looking bashful. “Let’s just say, a surge of inspiration hit me.”

  So Tyler Conklin’s blueprints needed to be revised and he was being shy. It made my heart warm. He normally had such a hard exterior, but he was different with me. We were both breaking barriers and finally letting each other in. He went through his dream house with me, his enthusiasm was childlike, and I couldn’t help but share his energy.

  Tyler had quite the man cave for a basement. A game room, indoor batting cage, sauna, fitness room, and a large in home theater, which he made clear it would be full of framed Batman movie posters. I giggled and shook my head. His silly obsession with Batman was very geeky, but I loved it.

  “Maybe you should call your basement ‘The Bat Cave,’” I teased.

  “You have a very good idea. I think I will.” He smirked.

  “What else will you put upstairs besides an office?” I questioned.

  He furrowed his brows and bit his lip as though he were in deep thought. “Probably a few guest rooms. I haven’t thought that far ahead I guess.”

  I nodded my head and looked down into my lap. The first thing that came to my mind were rooms for kids. I needed to tell him what I wanted, but I didn’t want to ruin our post coital ‘I love you’ confession. I decided to bring it up later. We had taken so many steps forward in our relationship this week; I needed to be satisfied with how far we had come.

  I felt his lips press to my neck, giving my mind a sweet distraction. “What time do we have to be at your parents this evening?” he asked, running his nose along my earlobe.

  “The service starts at 5:00pm, so we should leave around 4:30pm to meet them there.” I hummed, taking a deep breath. His kisses were so distracting.

  “So I get you all to myself for the next 12 hours?” he murmured between kisses.

  “Mmmhmm…” was all I could manage to say.

  Suddenly, Tyler lifted me and we were in route to his bed. I giggled into his mouth. This was going to be the best holiday ever. And I hoped it would be the first of many.

  Chapter 9

  The satin sheets felt amazing on my skin, but Tyler’s fingertips felt even more exquisite. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and we had yet to emerge from his king size bed. Tyler traced his fingers along my spine. Letting out a deep, content sigh, I rolled so I was facing him.

  “We should get up and get ready to go,” I mumbled reluctantly.

  Tyler groaned and pulled me to his chest. “Come on, twenty more minutes,” he cajoled, kissing my ear. I giggled due to the scruff that was forming on his bottom lip. He nuzzled my neck more, knowing that was why I was giggling. He smiled down at me. “What will this evening entail?” he asked.

  “Well the candlelight service is at 5:00pm then we all drive around in my dad’s limo to look at Christmas lights with Josie and then back to my parent’s house to eat. My siblings and parents will be there, same for tomorrow at brunch. Think you can handle it?” I teased.

  Tyler bit his lip and acted as if he were thinking hard. “It may be difficult,” he said, trying to hide his amusement, “but I think I can handle it.”

  I smiled at his attempt at being funny. I leaned forward to give him a chaste kiss then slowly started to sit up to make my way to the bathroom. I was roughly dragged back and pulled down to the mattress, Tyler’s heavy body pinning me down. The sudden movement caused me to yelp.

  “Twenty more minutes, remember?” he teased, his eyes becoming darker.

  Oh, I knew that look.

  “I believe you’re down to seventeen minutes,” I flirted, running my tongue in between my lips.

  Tyler gave me his sexy smirk then planted kisses down my chest.

  ~

  I plugged in the address to the church where the candle light service took place in Tyler’s GPS. I tugged on my gray pea coat. It was freezing outside, and the snow was falling in soft small flakes. I decided to wear a gray sweater dress with leggings and tall boots. The boots weren’t heels but felt dressy enough. I would be warm at least.

  Tyler reached for my hand as we drove to the church. I had no idea if he was religious or not. As kids, we grew up going to church every Sunday. We would go to the sermon, then went to Sunday school. My mother was adamant that we went. I wasn’t sure if it was because she felt she had to because of her status in our extremely conservative society or because she actually had faith.

  My dad had faith, a lot of it. He knew God gave him a rough life because he was a fighter and because he could handle it. He also knew God rewarded him and knew he needed to use these rewards to help his community. I admired him for his everlasting faith.

  As for me, I believed. How could you look at a newborn baby and not believe in a higher power? Or look at the spectacular views of the world such as Niagra Falls or the Grand Canyon and not believe that a higher power created them?

  “Do you ever go to church?” I asked.

  Tyler glanced at me. “Yeah, I went with my grandparents all the time,” he said with ease.

  “Do you actually believe, though?”

  He gave me a smile. “Yes.”

  ~

  My mother was holding spots in the front row, a pamphlet on each chair for everyone in our family. My father was down a few rows, talking to someone from the congregation.

  My mother greeted Tyler and me, her red dress hugging her in all the right places. She kissed my cheek and gave Tyler a big hug. She seemed to be in a good mood and wasn’t acting awkward around me at all from our tiff at the Christmas party. Michael was sitting down in the row we had reserved and was going over the pamphlet. I wondered if he would ever settle down and have a family then laughed in my head. That would never happen.

  Tyler reached for my hand as my father approached us. He gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and shook Tyler’s hand. “I’m glad you could join us tonight, Tyler,” my father smiled, straightening his sport coat. Tyler smiled and agreed.

  A familiar man came up to us, holding his hand out to my father.

  “Max, nice to see you,” the gentleman said. He was tall, short buzzed hair, piercing blue eyes.

  “Great to see you too, Detective,” my father smiled, shaking his hand.

  I had almost forgotten about my weird encounter with Detective Anderson.

  “Have you met my daughter, Becca?”

  Detective Anderson moved his bright blue eyes on me. “We ran into each other at the Conklin building the other day in the elevator. It’s nice to see you again, Becca.”

  Anderson looked down at my hand intertwined with Tyler’s then back up to me. Why did I feel like I was doing something wrong?

  Probably because you told him you didn’t know the Conklins very well, and you went silent when he asked why you were driving Tyler’s Lexus.

  “You’re Tyler Conklin, right? I have met your father quite a few times, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting his sons.”

  Tyler outstretched his hand as if it was nothing, giving Anderson a firm shake. “It’s very nice to meet you, too,” Tyler greeted, using his full charm.

  “How is RJ? He cancelled our last meeting very… abruptly,” Anderson said, his eyes turning hard.

  “RJ is in Chicago for the holiday. I’m sorry he cancelled. He is a very busy man,” Tyler apologized but was clearly not surprised.
>
  “I see, and you aren’t spending it with him?” he asked, looking down at our hands again. He let his eyes move from Tyler’s to mine. I stared at the floor, not wanting to meet Anderson’s eyes.

  “Becca and I are heading there tomorrow afternoon,” Tyler said, squeezing my hand.

  A small smile played on the detective’s mouth, making my skin crawl. Why was he making me feel so uncomfortable when I had done nothing wrong? Yeah, I had led on that Tyler and I didn’t really know each other, but he obviously saw right through me. Then I wondered, had RJ done something that would have Detective Anderson snooping around his business? I sure hoped not.

  “That makes sense. Becca didn’t mention she knew you personally. Well, I better get back to my family. Enjoy your holiday.” Detective Anderson shook my father’s and Tyler’s hand. He gave me a curt nod and wandered back to his family.

  So weird. I shook my head and looked to Tyler. His expression wasn’t any different than before the detective had shown up. I would have to tell him about our conversation in the elevator at another time.

  “Grandpa!” a little voice shrieked. Josie was running down the aisle looking absolutely adorable in her red and black Christmas dress. Heather was waddling behind her with Ray in tow, carrying a diaper bag.

  Josie squealed as my father picked her up, tickling her and giving her kisses. Once she saw me she squealed again, “Auntie B!”