Lily is quick to catch on, her laughter brightening the clearing even more than the strings of lights that are new since I was last here. In response to my bow, she curtsies, even holding the skirts of her dress out to the sides.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Tyler Vance. I’m Lily Finnegan, divorcee, ex dental hygienist and newbie house flipper. Oh, and I love your teeth!”
This last pronouncement soon has my laughter ringing out with hers.
After our official introduction, I have no reservations about stepping forward and pulling her into a tight embrace. My lips cover hers, her mouth opening in response, telling me the formal part of the evening is well and truly over.
NINETEEN
LILY
As Tyler’s lips move over mine, it’s as if the past couple of weeks never happened, and yet we’re so much farther along, at least in so far as our emotions go.
Mitchell had often told me he loved me in the early days of our courtship. However, he’d never said it with the same passion and vulnerability as Tyler just displayed.
No, it was as if Mitchell said it because he was supposed to, not because he actually believed it. I then have to rid myself of the fleeting thought of him declaring his love for that dental assistant of his.
As if sensing my withdrawal, Tyler gently bites my bottom lip, the resultant spark flooding my body before shooting out the top of my head. On its way, it’s hit every nerve ending on offer, with my body now alight with a burning need.
Even better is when this need scorches all memories of my ex. Now all I can think of is Tyler and what he’s doing to me. And as wonderful as it is, it’s still not enough.
I break the kiss, waiting for him to focus. “Come, it’s getting late.” There’s an immediate flash of disappointment in his eyes, although it disappears the moment that I tug him toward the trailer.
There’s only one place I want Tyler Vance tonight, and that’s in my bed. Okay, and maybe under the stars. It is a beautiful night.
Minutes later and we’re both naked, the sight of Tyler’s arousal sparking my own as always. There’s something primal about being able to affect a man like this, of having him on the edge, of losing it.
There’s also no doubting the love in his eyes as he gazes at me, and while I haven’t yet told him, I know my love for him is just as strong.
I just can’t bring myself to say it. Not yet. Once I do that, I’ll be making a commitment I’m not sure I can keep. I’m still not comfortable about foisting myself on Tyler and Zoe, given my inability to fulfill my primary role as a woman.
For all Tyler says that he and Zoe are okay with adoption, it’s not that simple. It might not happen for years, if ever. Times had changed from when my parents adopted me.
If there was even an outside chance I could conceive, then I might risk it. However, with my womb a crisscross of scar tissue thanks to the until-recently undiagnosed endometriosis, that will never happen.
It’s something that hurts even more than all those years of being told by doctor after doctor that the pain was down to women’s issues. The most common remedy prescribed was for me to essentially ‘suck it up’ and get on with my life.
If only it were that easy.
Desperate to move on to happier thoughts, I step forward, bringing myself hard up against Tyler. And it works, and then some, his swollen shaft nudging my stomach, his large hands cupping my breasts, his thumbs stroking my nipples.
It’s an incendiary combination that has me gripping his length, desperate to be closer still, to have him fill me over and over, to complete me.
Soon enough, I get my wish, when he lowers me to the bed and follows me down.
After kissing me hard enough to take my breath away, he runs his tongue down the column of my throat, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
I feel a brief flash of desolation when he lifts his head, but this soon disappears. After rasping one nipple with his tongue, he moves on to the other. As he continues his exploration of my body, the cool night air wraps itself around my still damp nipples, puckering them.
I’ve not had time to enjoy the sensation when Tyler’s tongue hits my core and my hips arch with no input from me. Not content, he peels me wide before blowing gently on my little nubbin.
It’s a technique that has me squirming and desperately trying to open myself to him further, my legs splayed wide. It’s something he takes full advantage of when, after licking his thumb, he runs it over my pearl and down through my cleft.
There’s no need for him to lick his thumb further with me already wet with need. Wet enough, he can plunge his thumb deep inside me with no resistance. The same is true when he replaces it with one, and then two, of his large fingers.
His then imitating the act of making love only using his digits is enough to have me trembling with need. Tyler then leaning down and sucking hard on my nubbin has me close to going over the edge. Too close.
“Tyler! Stop!”
