He leaned into me.
Drawn to him in a way words couldn’t describe, I rose on my tiptoes, and—
Branca nickered and stepped back, tugging on the reins again. Tyler jerked to the side.
“Holy shit,” he barked, quickly recovering his footing.
I pressed my hands on my flaming face. Meu Deus, what had just happened? Forcing myself to remain cool, I lowered my hands and turned to Tyler. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am.” He shot a fake glare at Branca. “But someone here must want more exercise.”
I reached for the reins. “If you want, I can take over from here.”
Tyler shook his head. “Why don’t we both work on her until I have to go back to the clinic.”
I smiled at him. “I would like that.”
48
Gabi
That was it. I wasn’t having it anymore.
I was tired of this hot and cold thing. Of laughing together one night, to his barking the next. And what was up with all the times we had almost kissed? Or the times we had kissed, even if it had been just for show? Those happened, right? And they had been as hot as hell. I wasn’t imagining them all, was I?
I hoped I wasn’t or I would just embarrass myself.
Half an hour before Tyler’s usual time to arrive home, I drank two glasses of wine to help me loosen up a little. Then, I took a quick shower, let my damp hair loosen, and put on just a big-sized gray T-shirt—it was off-shoulder, with long-sleeves, and it went down to my thighs, barely covering my ass.
He got home almost fifteen minutes later than usual and I was already nursing my third glass of wine, afraid the first two would fade from my system if he took longer to arrive.
I was seated on one of the stools in front of the kitchen’s counter when he opened the door. The lights were dimmed and he didn’t see me there until he was halfway through the living room and turning into the bedroom’s hallway.
Eyes wide, Tyler skidded to a stop. “What the …?”
I glanced at him as if I hadn’t seen him entering. “Oh, hi.” I returned my attention to the book I had placed in front of me. Just something to help out with my acting.
He didn’t move a muscle. “What are you doing?”
I crossed my legs, exposing more of my skin, and pointed to the book. “I’m reading.”
He took two steps toward the kitchen, then stopped again. “Gabriela, what’s going on?”
I feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”
His jaw popped. “Usually, you’re out with your family or you’re preparing dinner. In normal clothes and with the house’s lights turned on.”
“I ate earlier with Bia,” I lied. “So I just decided to take a nice shower, put on some comfortable clothes, and read a book while drinking my fav wine before going to bed.”
He swallowed hard. His eyes fell to my legs. “Couldn’t you do that in your room?”
“I could, but I wanted to wait for you and ask you how your day was.”
He crossed his arms. “Oh, did you?”
The sharpness in his words, the coldness in his eyes. Meu Deus, I had been mistaken. He didn’t want anything with me. He hated me. Mortification rolled up like a lead ball and dropped into my stomach. I pushed the book and the wine glass aside and hopped off the stool.
“I just thought …” I mumbled, looking down at the floor. I shook my head once. “I’m sorry.” Then, I raced toward my bedroom.
But, as I ran past Tyler, his hand shot out and closed around my wrist. He yanked me back, toward him, making me gasp, then held me close, his hands on my upper arms.
“What is your game?”
I felt like crying. “T-there’s no game.”
He pushed me back until my back was against the wall. “Then what is it? There has to be an end game here. Otherwise, why would you be wearing this? What do you want from me?”
“Pelo amor the Deus, because I thought you wanted me as much as I want you,” I shouted and immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. His eyes widened, matching mine.
Taking advantage of his shock, I pushed him back and stepped away from his grasp, intent on burying myself in my bedroom and never coming back.
“Wait.” He reached for me again. “I’m just … I had a bad day and—” He clamped his mouth shut. Instead of words, he used his body. He pushed me back against the wall and didn’t stop there. He leaned down, his hips pushing into mine, his hard-on evident. “I do want you,” he whispered before his lips crashed on mine. “I want you way too much,” he said as his lips moved along mine.
Tyler slipped his hands around my thighs and brought my legs up, pressing his hard, hot body against mine. With a gasp, I wrapped my legs around him. Desire rolled in waves over my body, and I gasped again when Tyler pressed his hips against mine.
He kissed me as if I was his last breath and I melted in his arms. Without warning, he broke the kiss, stepped half a foot back, making me drop my legs, and knelt in front of me.
I frowned at him. “What are you do—oh!”
Tyler pulled my panties down, then brought one of my legs around his shoulder, and buried his face in my center. My knees buckled and I cried in surprise and pleasure when his tongue reached my clit. Then, he slipped a finger inside and I spread my hands wide, trying to hold on before I melted to the floor.
Meu Deus, this was too much.
I hadn’t had sex in … I didn’t even know when because it had been the last time. For sure over a year, maybe almost two years? Still, I didn’t remember feeling this energy, this pleasure, this heat spreading through me, turning my legs into jelly, and making me feel like I would explode into a thousand pieces.
Tyler’s tongue didn’t stop. The opposite. Its onslaught sped up. He slipped a second finger inside me of me and started pumping faster and harder. My belly hardened as I tried to prolong it, but I could nothing. I was a goner.
A second later, I moaned again and the climax took me.
While I trembled in pleasure, Tyler scooped me up in his arms and took me to my bedroom. He deposited me in bed, and with his eyes on me, he undressed.
I bit my lower lip and admired as he bared himself. Meu Deus, he was beautiful. I had already drooled over his sculpted chest and abdomen, and arms and shoulders, but the rest of him was equally ripped and taut.
Naked, he crawled over me, a small square foil in his hands. Where the hell had he taken that from?
Before I could ask, he tugged at my shirt and asked, “How about we lose this?”
With a soft chuckle, I pulled it over my head. I still had it in my arms when he leaned into me and closed his mouth on my breast. I sucked in a sharp breath. Meu Deus! He played with my breasts, licking, sucking, smoothing them with his hands, driving me crazy with each millisecond. But I needed more …
“Droga, can you please just get inside me?”
Tyler pulled back and cocked an eyebrow at me. “The pleasure is all mine.” He opened the foil package and rolled the condom over his hard-on. Then, he settled back over me, and looking into my eyes, he slipped inside me.
My hands closed around his upper arms, I held my breath, totally surprised and in paradise. Meu Deus, I had forgotten how this could feel, how good sex could be.
Still holding my gaze, Tyler began moving. In and out, in and out. Slow at first, but with each thrust, he moved harder and faster.
All right, I was wrong. Sex had never been this amazing, this great before. I wound my legs around Tyler’s hips, wanting more, needing more.
“More,” I whispered.
“I can’t …” Tyler slowed down a little. “Gabi, I haven’t done this in a while. I won’t be able to hold on for long.”
For some reason, that confession only made me happy. I hadn’t done this in a while too. Did this mean we were both waiting for the other?
“It’s okay,” I told him. “Just keep going.”
One corner of his lips turned up. “Yes, ma’am.”
He lo
wered his mouth to mine and kissed me, his lips moving against mine with urgency and passion. Then he sped up, thrusting inside me harder and faster, just the way I wanted. I held on to him, not breaking the kiss, as I felt the heat build.
I cried out as I climaxed again, and a moment later, Tyler stilled inside me. He groaned, finally breaking the kiss, and his body trembled over mine. He lowered his head to my shoulder and held me tight as he rode down the climax.
After a moment, Tyler rolled to my side and looked at me. “If you had told me yesterday that this would happen today, I would have thought you were out of your mind.”
“To be honest, me too.” I stared into his eyes. “But I’m glad it did.”
He entwined his fingers with mine. “Me too.” He leaned into me and pressed his lips on mine in a soft kiss. “Give me a few minutes and we can go again.”
I chuckled, but oh man, I was so into that idea.
I didn’t expect to wake up alone, but here I was, alone in my bed. Sadness filled my chest and tears brimmed my eyes. Que porcaria! I thought we had finally crossed a line last night. A line we both wanted to cross before but were too afraid to.
The only thing I could think of was that he had regretted it. He hadn’t liked having sex with me, or he realized he really didn’t like me after the sex part. Which only made this entire deal worse. How was I going to face him for the next twenty some months?
A sob rose to my throat, but I swallowed it. I wouldn’t cry for Tyler.
A loud bang and a ringing noise came from somewhere in the apartment. Frowning, I slid out of my bed, slipped into the same shirt I had on last night, and quietly opened my door. I heard rustling and another bang, but not as loud this time, followed by a hissed curse.
My heart squeezed. What the hell was Tyler up to?
I shut my bedroom door and rested my head on the cool wood. It didn’t matter what he was up to. I was determined not to leave this room until he had to leave for work, which should be in … I glanced at my phone—another forty minutes or so.
I groaned.
All right, what could I do in meanwhile? Take a shower and wash his scent from my body. A shiver rolled down my spine at the thought of his body on mine. Of his weight over me. Of his breath on my skin. Of his mouth in mine …
Meu Deus, it had felt amazing. Perfect even. It hurt that he hadn’t felt the same.
I wiped at the tears forming in my eyes and focused on what I would do to pass the next forty minutes. Besides taking a shower, I could take off my bedding to wash it later. Because I also needed to get rid of his scent in my bed, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to sleep another night there.
I sighed.
Another ringing sound came from behind the door and I frowned at it. What the hell? Was he intent on making my life miserable from now on?
Despite my good sense, I opened the door again and spied out. From here, I couldn’t see more than the short hallway where the bedrooms were located and a corner of the living room, but now I could hear it better. The mixer was on.
The mixer was on? Why?
Curiosity won and I tiptoed out into the hallway and spied around the corner, into the kitchen.
Tyler, with disheveled hair and wearing nothing but his boxers, was mixing something in a big bowl. Behind him, the coffee machine was on, and there was bacon and eggs in a skillet on the range. On the other side of the kitchen’s counter, the table was set with two cups, two glasses, two plates, two sets of silverware …
What was going on?
He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened at me. “Hey.” He stopped the mixer. “Did I wake you up?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said meekly. “What are you doing?”
I wasn’t blind. I could see what he was doing. I just needed him to confirm it, to say it out loud.
“I’m making us breakfast.”
Us.
He was making us breakfast. A dam broke in my chest and I smiled—feeling relieved and silly and happy in an instant.
Slowly, I walked to the kitchen, but stayed on the other side of the counter. “For a moment there, I thought …” I shook my head as heat spread over my cheeks.
“Thought what?” Tyler took the bowl to the range.
“It doesn’t matter.”
With a ladle, he dropped a little of the batter in a skillet—he was making pancakes.
He glanced at me. “Tell me.”
“It’s silly,” I whispered.
He checked on the bacon and the eggs, then turned to me. His eyes wandered over my face, lingering for a moment on my cheeks. “Oh, you woke up and I wasn’t there. You thought … you thought I had left.”
I averted my eyes, feeling sillier by the second. “Bom, sim. What else was I supposed to think?”
One corner of his lips tugged up. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“That’s the thing. How would I know you wouldn’t do that? You could have realized you’re disgusted by me and all you could think of was running away.” His smile widened. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Not at you, but at your silliness.” He went back to the range. He quickly turned off the heat and put all the food on big plates. Instead of taking the plates to the table, he placed them on the counter and looked at me. He was serious again. “I woke up early and decided to cook a nice American breakfast for you. You’re always cooking Brazilian stuff for us. I just wanted to repay you.”
“Just to repay it?”
He ran a hand over his head. “And it gave me time to think.”
“About?”
“Us,” he said firmly.
I took a defensive step back, suddenly afraid of what he would say. I might have misinterpreted this entire breakfast thing. Maybe this was his way of saying, “Hey, I had a good time, but I think we should just continue being business partners slash almost friends.”
My throat seized.
He reached for my hand and tugged me closer, erasing the distance I had just put between us. “I like you, and after last night, I think you like me too.” He placed my hand on his hard, warm chest, then slid his hand down my back, pulling me even closer. He leaned into me. “I want us to give it a try.”
“Us?” I croaked, lost into his hazel eyes.
“Yes. Us. For real. Like a real couple.”
Then, his lips were on mine and a relieved sigh escaped my throat. I wound my arms around his neck and down his shoulders, feeling the hard muscles underneath his skin.
If it depended on me, breakfast be damned, but …
“Sorry.” I pulled back. “I know you have to go to work. We should have breakfast so you can go.”
He groaned, brushing his lips on mine. “I should feel guilty about it, but I honestly don’t. Today, I’m going to be late for work.”
His hand clasped my nape as his mouth claimed mine. Without breaking the kiss, Tyler pushed me back, slow step by slow step, until we were back in my bedroom and on my bed.
49
Tyler
I could have stayed in bed with her all day and I was sure I wouldn’t get bored. Maybe tired, but I could do tired with her. I just needed to lie down beside her, hold her tight, and sleep with her skin pressed to mine.
Heaven.
But I was also a responsible guy and I was already thirty minutes late.
Under the table, Gabi’s toes grazed my calf. “Thanks for breakfast.”
I shrugged. “It’s not like the carreteiro and the pastel and all the other amazing things you make.”
She grinned at me. “It was great.”
I stared at her pretty face, at her wide smile. She was my wife. My fucking wife! This gorgeous, insanely hot woman was my wife. Damn. We had come back from the bedroom not ten minutes ago and I was already hard again and thinking of the next time I would be able to take her to bed.
Shit.
“You’re welcome.” I took a long breath. “But now I really need to go.” I stood and took a few plates to the sink. I started or
ganizing it all, but Gabi appeared by my side and took them from me.
“I can do this. Go get ready.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.” She waved me off. I leaned into her and placed a quick peck on her soft lips. “Thanks.”
I took a quick shower, all the while wishing Gabi was under the warm water with me. I would love to press her against the tiles and take her right here.
Whoa, what the hell was I thinking? I was more than up for giving us a try, but there was no reason to go fast. I had to tell my mind to slow down. But my body didn’t listen. Just thinking about Gabi being in the shower with me had given me a massive hard-on. Holy shit, if I really didn’t have to go to work now, I would have walked out this shower dripping wet and found her.
It was okay, though. Hadn’t we just agreed to become a real couple? Tonight I could have her again. I would have her again. To hell with going slow. I wanted her and I wanted it fast.
When I finished my shower, the kitchen was organized and clean, and Gabi had put on jeans.
I pouted. “I like you without the pants better.”
Red spread through her cheeks. “I’m sure you do.” I walked to her and placed my hands on her waist. “I’ll stop by the hospital after work, but I should be back around six. Call me if you need anything.”
She glanced at me from under those long lashes. “Are you planning on taking a lunch break?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I haven’t much going on, unfortunately, and I was wondering if you wanted me to—”
I shut her up by brushing my lips on hers. It was hard staying away from her. “I would really like that.”
She smiled at me. “Text me when you’re free. I’ll meet up with you.”
“Will do.” Then, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me, pressing her body against mine, wishing I had more time so I could enjoy more of her. But I was contented with kissing her. “I’ll see you later,” I said.
I forced my feet to move and rushed out of the apartment before I didn’t leave at all. On the way to the clinic, I called the hospital to check on Dad. Everything was normal—he was tired and weak, but hanging on. And at work, I lied that I had gotten a flat on the way. I felt guilty about the lie, but not much. It had been worth it.
Breaking Down (The Breaking Series Book 4) Page 26