A growl rips from the depths of my chest. Hereveryone is shackled to somethingtheory ensnares me like a straitjacket. No easy way out of this one.
Not sparing him another glance, I carry her out to the parking lot. “You won’t be getting back tohimabout anything,” is the only response I extend.
Her lips tickle my cheek along the seam of my mask. “I guess that’s up to you, Ty.”
Fuck, she plays dirty. She’ll be the death of me.
But what a way to go.
RENA
My heart galloped with such intensity as Ty carried me out of the club that I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had taken up residence outside my chest. I had sensed him when I was singing. Tiny hairs on my neck and arms sprang up with awareness. And when our eyes locked, I could’ve sworn he was communicating some telepathic desire to me. Until he disappeared.
He was gone so long that I convinced myself it was my imagination, either him in general or, at the very least, his wanting me. But that peach-fuzz cognizance shot a chill up my spine and down my arms once again, which has me presently wondering if I possess some sort of superpower because it was freaking right. He was precisely where my newfound clairvoyance indicated.
I’m not exactly sure how useful this sixth sense will be since it’s only attributed to the gorgeous, delectable, sometimes-happy, sometimes-broody, conflicted man driving me to my hotel. But it’s something. Definitely something.
And the way those cognac beauties raked over me, drinking me in, was also something. An out-of-body experience. His thirsty perusal might as well have been a freaking blowtorch. Everywhere his eyes trailed, my body was set ablaze, yet by some miracle, I didn’t disintegrate.
But now, he’s obviously wrestling with this again, tamping down whatever he was feeling. He’s quiet and distraught, chewing the inside of his cheek while a lump clogs my throat. If he shuts this down before it starts, denies that there’s something worth exploring here, he’ll shatter me. Losing any chance with him after these fleeting electrifying exchanges will be a worse fate than never having had his attention at all.
That’s why I haven’t spoken a word for our entire drive. Paralysis. Fear—yet another one rears its ugly head. He’s not himself. And in full transparency, I’ve been at a loss for years as to how to garner his interest when he was easygoing Ty. This intense version is far more penetrable. But while a part of him is unmistakably harboring some salacious cravings where I am concerned, the other part is tortured. Like our encounters wound him. I don’t know what to do with that.
He finally breaks the silence as he pulls off the Strip and onto the ramp leading to the Bellagio parking garage. “Did he touch you?”
“Who? Fender?” A stilted laugh jumps from my lips as I hand him my room key to swipe so we can be granted entrance. “Of course not.”
Is that what he’s been sulking about? I guess I prefer that, but I can’t see how he’d glean a vibe like that from Fender.
After the gate arm rises, he wordlessly follows the lane all the way up to the top deck to find a spot. But when he finally shifts the car into Park, he huffs and glares at me. “The guy who gave you that fucking bruise.”
“Oh.” I puff a heavy exhale and peer out the windshield, watching the rollicking rainbow lights of the city. In the thrill of Ty arriving, I forgot about last night. We both removed our masks whenwe got in the car, so my bruise must be on full display now. “No. I mean, he tried. I told you I handled it, and we have more important things to talk about.”
“I should’ve been here.” His hands grip the steering wheel so tight that it’s shocking he doesn’t crush it.
Reaching for him, I smooth my fingers over his, trying to transfer some serenity through the simple touch. “That doesn’t even make any sense, Ty. I took off and didn’t contact you until after I was … That’s not on you.”
His thumb sweeps across my skin as he chokes down an arduous swallow, the stickiness of it crackling into the hushed evening. “I knew you were upset that day in the hall. I could’ve done more, intervened, but I—”
“You couldn’t have kept me there.” That answer flies out of my mouth so fast that I realize I didn’t think it through and it’s a partial lie. “Or maybe you could have. But it would’ve required a grand gesture, and I don’t think … Why did you come here?”
He’s silent for so long that I release his hand and flop back against my seat, assuming he won’t answer.
His teeth grind, and he gnaws the inside of his cheek some more. “I came because … your family is important to me. Your brothers and you.”
“Okay.” I nod, realizing it’s always going to come back to that, but still wanting to push him. Why not at this point? “And that’s it? You hopped on a plane in the middle of the night and came all the way here without telling anyone becausemy familyis important to you. So anything else I’m reading into it is—”
“Rena, I know I’m fucking this up with …everyoneinvolved, in so many ways, but I’m trying to protect you.”
The desperation in his voice is so unlike Ty. He sounds broken. This can’t just be about us because he was untethered that day at home. But there’s no sense in leaping to another issue before I gain clarity on this one.
“I get that. I’m sure that protecting me was a huge part of whyyou came out here. And I’m so grateful that you cared enough to do that.” My courage nearly wanes there. The piercing lights from the towering resorts frown at me, imploring me to leave it alone and retreat to the sanctity of my room. But it feels like he’s waiting, expecting me to continue, so I do. “I can understand the piece about my brothers—how messy that is—but I don’t know what protecting me has to do with what you clearly wanted back there.”
“Everything,” he rasps. “It has everything to do with it.”
At least he didn’t deny it. Call me loony tunes or maybe just plain unhinged, but that sings out like a love ballad. At a minimum, it’s not a rejection. It’s a barrier we need to knock down, so I kick at the bricks, barking out a dubious laugh.
“That sounds like a lame-ass excuse to go right back to acting like I don’t exist. You’d think if your priority was to protect me, being closer to me would make that easier.”
