“Ty?” I ask again, softer and slightly breathless because this chemistry between us is only making my heart beat faster.
“When we get to the car, Roxie,” he says roughly, but it’s not dark. It’sdesperate.
The walk to the car feels like it’s forever, and it’s not really a walk so much as I’m nearly running to keep up with the strides of Ty’s stupidly long legs. The darkness stretches on as we hustle to where the car is parked, surrounded by others in an empty field with no lights at all.
It looks like a scrapyard of junkers with a few nicer cars here and there.
Ty looks around quickly–how, I don’t know because the blood must be bothering his eye–and pulls me to the right through the row of cars.
“Get in. Buckle up,” he orders, opening the passenger side of his brother's car, looking around to make sure no one’s following us. Completely out of character for me, but I get in the car without argument. Ty closes the door roughly and runs around to the drivers side, climbing in and starting the car.
The air between us feels fucking charged. He drives quickly. Much quicker than he probably should and it’s so dark tonight I can barely see him except with a soft glow from the neon lights of the dashboard.
I don’t try to talk and he doesn’t either. But I watch him. I watch him like I’m starving and he’s the first food I’ve seen in weeks. The muscles of his forearm popping as he grips the steering wheel, his eyes focused on the road, the sharp line of his jaw just visible in the glow and I try not to whimper when I see the muscle tick as he clenches.
“Ty,” I say softly, more breathless than I intended. The undertone of a whine coming through as I squirm.
Goddamn it. I need to know. I need him to say he’s not mad and that he wants to fuck me so hard he can’t think straight.
Or he needs to be mad and tell me how I can make it up to him.
Preferably with me on my knees.
I take a deep breath, exhaling quickly, trying to keep myself cool and collected. I can feel my panties start to dampen, my nipples start to pebble, and I bite my lip. My body doesn’t know what to do. Should I be worried that he’s mad and start bracing for an argument or is he turned on and going to show me just how much he wants me?
Ty accelerates and makes the final turn too fast, pulling into the first spot he can find in front of the brick apartment building before cutting the engine and climbing out of the car.
Still shirtless.
Still bleeding.
That doesn’t slow him down as he runs to my side, opening the door and pulling me out before locking the car and ushering me inside the building.
“Ty,” I say once more, but then he pushes me against the wall just as the front door closes. Ty crowds my space and I welcome the heat of him, the smell of him, the reckoning that I know is coming.
“Do you know what you did back there?” he growls softly, speaking quietly enough that no one else could hear us. It’s late enough I doubt no one will be around.
“You need to be more specific, Ty. I did a lot of things.” Bratty Roxie, through and through.
“You hit my brother.”
“I did.” I nod, shrugging slightly before I look him square in the eyes and say, “And I have absolutely zero regrets. I’d do it again.”
Ty looks at me, his expression turning from fiery to reverent. The dark chocolate of his eyes soften in the dim light, the line of frustration between his eyebrows disappearing as his whole expression shifts.
“Are you mad?” I ask softly, my eyes never leaving his.
“Mad?” Ty repeats, his voice sounding broken almost as he brings one of his hands to my cheek and brushes my cheekbone gently. “Cariño,you stood up for me, you defended me, youprotectedme. Do you know how rare it is for someone to stick upfor me?”
My heart breaks slightly at that. Ty deserves the world. He’s spent his whole life helping others, caring for others, sacrificing for others, only for them to ignore him. And that fucking kills me. But on a deeper level, it echoes my own pain.
Maybe that’s why we work so well. Why we burn together so brightly. Why we couldn’t let go of each other, even after six years of silence.
Because his pain mirrors my own. I know what he needs to feel loved and safe and wanted, and heknows me.
“I’ll always defend you. Always,” I vow, my voice brushing against his lips like the promise it is. One I intend to keep forever. Ty presses further against me, his hips pinning me to the wall while his hands slide into my hair and tilting my head up so my face is closer to his. His eyes are burning and I… I’m breathless.
“I love you, Roxie. Back when we were teenagers, I loved you. Then I found you again and that love grew into something real. And now? Now I love you so much I can barely breathe when you’re not near me. The future is scary and unknown, but I know one thing. I will love you every single day for the rest of my life. Do you hear me?”
