I’d forgotten what excitement was like. What happiness does when it touches your insides. I felt it tonight. Chatting with Shane and Chase, enjoying Jenn’s delicious food, and smiling comfortably in return when Ty smiled. His expressions are infectious. He’s usually so serious, but when a little bit of enjoyment peeks through, it's like the sun popping out behind a dark cloud. It makes everything warm.
I’ve been cold for over two years, and I’ve completely forgotten how to walk in the sunlight. I'm not even sure if I still can. If I can allow myself to open up and be half the person I once was.
Ty wouldn’t stand a chance against the old me. I would’ve had him eating out of the palm of my hand. I would’ve played with him like a toy, tossed him in the corner when I got bored, and overly enjoyed it when he begged for my attention once more.
I was mean. Well, maybe not mean, just noncommittal.Until Seth.
Be he's gone, and so is the old me. Ty has nothing to worry about. It's me who has to worry.
He has no idea who I really am. What lies beneath this pretty exterior. It's just a front. A tease. And I can't bear the thought of what will happen if he ever finds out the truth. If he ever sees the real me.
Ty holds my hand as we step off the elevator. He’s always touching me. Somehow, some way. During dinner, in the car, on the beach, no matter where, our bodies are somehow connected.
“Dinner was delicious,” I state nervously as we come closer and closer to my hotel room door.
“Jenn is a talented chef. I’ve been trying to bribe Shane and Chase for her conch fritter recipe for months.”
“They’re loyal to Jen. They won't give it up.” It’s even evident to me. Someone who only just met them.
“Maybe Jenn will share it with me now. Our little conversation in the kitchen is giving me hope.” Ty lets go of my hand and slides his arm around my waist. My blood pressure skyrockets as he pulls me close then traps me against the door. Our chests touching, our breaths mingling, our hips bumping. His expensive cologne is utterly intoxicating. I could inhale it for hours.
“It's good you two can finally make amends.” I fight for the comment to come out cohesive when my head is floating all around the hallway.
“I have a way with women. I always get them to come around eventually.” He grabs my hips suggestively and dots seductive kisses up my bare neck. I unwillingly sigh, not wanting him to know exactly how much I enjoy that.
“Oh, yeah? You’re a cocky bastard,” I accuse, my eyes nearly rolling into the back of my head from the feathery brush of his lips.
“I know. You have to be in my line of work. It's kill or be killed in business.”
“So I’ve been tol—” Ty clutches my face with one hand and swallows the last word of my sentence with a kiss. I crumble under the embrace. It’s been so long since I let my guard down, and even as I fight against myself now, Ty is swaying me to the dark side. His kisses are infectious. So powerful and raw they sometimes make me forget my own name, and all my hang-ups. The small, clutch purse tucked under my arm falls to the floor as I wrap myself around Ty. I just want to get swept away. I want to remember what it feels like to live. To actually be alive in the arms of another human being. Another human being who wants me, just as much as I want them.
The temperature in the hallway reaches a record-breaking high as we become engulfed in each other. There’s no prudence, or sound judgment, or common sense, only reckless abandonment, as we paw and pull and grind against each other right in the public hallway. It’s like we’ve lost all control, at least I have.
It’s happening all so fast, the heat rising, the pressure building, Ty’s eagerness, my insatiable need.
A sudden tightness in my belly and an unexpected ache between my thighs seize me.
“Ty.” A moan erupts as I latch onto him. The steel rod his cock has become is rubbing against the perfect spot. “Oh, shit,” I pant, and tense, and emotionally suffer as I come uncontrollably. I lose myself in the short, blinding moment, and when it passes, I find myself. I crack open my eyes, my limbs heavy, and almost burst into tears. Ty’s bright green eyes are wide and alive and hungry for more. He tries to speak with me still trapped in his arms, but I silence him.
“No.” I cover his mouth as I squirm free. “Don’t. Just. . . don’t.”
I have to get away. Escape.
Swiftly, I pick up my purse from the floor and fish out my key card, with Ty’s voice someplace far in the distance.
I don’t even comprehend what he says, I’m just focused on disappearing. What the fuck did I just let happen?
I start to panic, my ears ringing, and my heart pounding in my chest like a sledgehammer. It’s a warzone all over again.
“Simone!” Ty finally breaks through my mental wall, but it’s too late.
“Please, just leave me alone!” I slam the door in his face then slide down to the floor. The tears following immediately.
Ty pounds on the door for several, relentless minutes, but I can’t bring myself to face him. I let my guard down, and it was disastrous.
I can never see him again.
Getting close was the biggest mistake of my life.
