She glanced at T.W. His eyes were closed, his features relaxed, and his breathing even. “Yes,” she whispered back.
“Then you can take a few minutes to rest.” His fingers skimmed her hair again.
She shouldn’t keep standing there with Tyler so near. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them to nurture any feelings. Not when she was leaving tomorrow, not when she didn’t plan to have a serious relationship with him.
She bent and placed the coffee mug on the bedside table, hoping to break this tentative connection with him. But in the next instant, his fingers moved to the bare spot of her neck and glided the length to her collar bone.
The touch sent electric currents over her skin, zinging down her arm to the tips of her fingers. Those currents weren’t ordinary. They were designed to create an immediate and strong need for more of his touch, more of him, more of his affection.
As if realizing the same, his fingers swept around again to her hair and to the back of her neck, where he grazed a line straight down her spine so that his hand ended at the small of her back.
She was half tempted to lean into him, or at the very least to arch her neck and give him more access to it. But she somehow managed to keep her sanity, even though it was slim.
“Please, Kinsey.” His whisper came from beside her ear. “I miss you.”
She closed her eyes. He’d said the same thing to her at the hospital, and the words went straight to her heart, filling her with a sweet longing she didn’t understand.
The truth was, she missed him too. She missed talking with him, missed his dark eyes upon her, missed his smile, missed his presence even when they were just watching a show.
But it didn’t matter, did it? She’d already decided she couldn’t stay at the ranch. Not when T.W. needed someone else.
Besides, it was ludicrous to think that she and Tyler could have a long-distance relationship. They were both too busy and focused on their careers. She’d never ask him to give up his aspirations just for her, and how could she give up such an important part of herself for him? If she did, what if she eventually resented that decision?
No, she’d already made up her mind that she needed to move on, especially while the feelings between them were so new. It would be easier to rip the Band-Aid off in one swift move than totry to date for a while and realize it wouldn’t work and hurt each other even more.
His hand moved from the small of her back to her hip. In the same motion, he bent his head in so that his lips grazed her neck. The touch was so light she almost couldn’t feel him. But it was also enough that she had to grasp his hand at her hip to hold herself up.
As her fingers dug into him, his mouth made full contact with her throat.
She gasped, the pleasure of his kiss so exquisite that she could only close her eyes and tilt her head again, wanting more of him.
But she couldn’t. She shouldn’t. She wouldn’t.
His fingers on her hip shifted, splayed, tightened. Then his lips pressed into her neck again more forcefully as he made a trail down to the base of her throat.
When his mouth connected with the tender spot on her shoulder, she gasped again. Oh, heaven. And oh, Tyler. This man was too hard to resist. Why was she even trying so hard to resist him? She didn’t know. The truth was, she wanted more of him. So much more.
Maybe if she gave herself just one more moment with him, she’d have her fill. At the very least, she could kiss him again and get the desire out of her system.
She circled around so that she was face-to-face with him and his work-hardened and well-defined body.
He didn’t say anything to her, but as his gaze swept across her face, his eyes brimmed with an adoration and a reverence for her that he wasn’t trying to hide. In fact, he seemed to be letting her see everything—all the desire, all the feelings, all the need for her that he would no longer hold back.
No one had ever looked at her this way before, as if she were the only thing that mattered in the whole world.
She couldn’t stop herself from reaching up both hands, cupping his face, and dragging him down.
His eyes didn’t let go of hers. They were solid heat, like a rod of blazing iron, searing into her and branding her as his.
As her lips meshed with his, she sank against him. His mouth met hers eagerly, as if he’d been waiting for days—since their last kiss—for the chance to do this again.
Her lashes fell, and she could only helplessly fall into him, kissing him with all the desire she’d tried to ignore but couldn’t.
His lips tangled back with the same intensity as the last time, not at all tentative or timid. He was just as forceful and demanding, and she loved it. She loved the way he kissed, the way it showed how much he adored her. Every stroke of his mouth carried a message that the kiss wasn’t just for him but that he cared about her and wanted her because there was nothing else that could compare.
Such kisses laden with so much adoration were addictive. If she’d ever rationalized that kissing him here and now would satisfy her and she’d be able to move on without needing him, she’d been wrong. Instead of being content with his kisses, she was only greedy for more.
She found herself spiraling into an oblivion where only Tyler existed. He was more important to her than anything else.
