Chapter Eight – Tyrell

The icy-cold water from the shower drilled onto his back as he pressed Cynthia’s naked body against the glass. She gasped, her fingers digging into the muscles of his abdomen. Tyrell smiled against her mouth, loving the taste of her berry lips before he moved to her neck. Her hips rocked toward him, her whole body undulating as though she couldn’t bear to be broken away from him, but the draw between their bodies was too much to give into at once.

He knew the feeling. He felt the same.

Tyrell snarled as he dragged his teeth across her collarbone, his bear demanding more, to taste every inch of her. To have her so tightly wound in him that there was no end between them. He panted, hands roaming her body, a sharp desperation aching in the pit of his stomach. Every time they were together, it was like he was some insatiable beast. Every time, he couldn’t get enough of her.

“Cynthia,” he moaned as he dropped his head to her breast.

The spray of the jets hit the back of his head and neck as he took her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. It hardened, although from his touch or the chill in the air sent up from the cold water he wasn’t sure. He found her other breast, finding the nipple soft, and rubbed his thumb over it. A shiver ran down Cynthia’s body as her fingers moved down his naked back, tracing the rivulets of water. Her nipple pearled under his thumb, and he moved from the right to suck on her left. Another shiver, another moan.

“Oh, God,” Cynthia moaned. “Yes, that’s it… harder.”

He increased his suction and her whole body jerked forward. When he pulled back, hands bracing himself against the clear glass behind her, she followed him up. Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and she attacked his mouth with hers. Hungry, greedy slurping sounds filled the space between them as she sucked on his lips, ending the passionate kiss with her teeth nipping at his chin.

Tyrell grunted, pulling her hips forward. He could smell the scent of his own sweat in the shower, the dampness from the jet increasing the dusty, sunburnt scent of his skin. And her scent. It drove him crazy. Every day it seemed like her scent was different, a new layer beneath the previous one that he hadn’t known before. Yesterday she had been peppermint, today she was chocolate. All sweet and bitter and as rich as life itself.

“Mmmm.” Cynthia licked one of his pecs, her hands roaming over his thighs and ass. “You taste like sunshine.”

Tyrell laughed throatily. “Sunshine, huh?”

“Yeah.” She licked his other pec, letting her tongue flick over his nipple. Then she closed her teeth around it, biting just to the point of pain before releasing him. “Sunshine. Dust. Work. Pure man, you are. What’s your secret?”

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard and deep, thrusting his tongue into every crevice of her mouth. She grasped his wrists, using him to pull herself up to her tiptoes so she could answer him just as hungrily. Seized by an idea, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun around. Cynthia shrieked as the cold water hit her body. She flung herself at him, legs circling his waist as she all but climbed up his body.

“Stop! Cold!”

Tyrell laughed as she pressed closer, and reached behind her to adjust the temperature. She shuddered and glared at him.

“Jerk,” she shook her head at him. “What was that for?”

“To make you want to be closer to me.”

She opened her mouth, and he swallowed her protests in another kiss. He turned her again, pressed into the tiles rather than the glass this time. Gripping the thigh in his hand, he parted their bodies just enough so that he could rearrange himself, to be pointed up between their bodies. Now when he ground against her, the length of him rubbed directly against her clit. A shiver ran down her spine and her head fell back. His loins tightened at the contact and soon he was gritting his teeth and panting against his arousal.

Cynthia gasped breathlessly, clinging to him while rocking her hips, making it awkward to keep holding her. He dropped his mouth to her neck, licking and sucking on her creamy skin. His bear snarled with desire, wanting to sunk his teeth into the back of her neck and claim her as his mate, marking her for all to see.

“What shall I do with you?” Tyrell continued to rub against her, so tight that he needed a release; if he didn’t bury himself in her and soon, he was going to go crazy. His lips skimmed her collarbone and throat on his way back to her mouth. “What the hell am I going to do with you? Tie you up and keep you all for myself, ravish you every night until my brain bleeds from my ears?”

Cynthia gave him a startled look, then burst out laughing. Tyrell stopped his movement, staring at her with wide eyes. She shook her head and covered her face with one hand.

“Sorry,” she gasped. “That was just... decidedly not sexy. Let’s try that again, shall we? What will you do with me? Tie me up and ravish me every night until…?”

Tyrell reached between their bodies and found her clit with his thumb. She was wet and ready for him. He growled under his breath and set her down. A flash of disappointment in her eyes was interrupted by a groan as he pushed a finger into her. Working her with one hand, he spun her around, so her breasts were against the tile.

“Ravish you every night until you’re screaming my name with the first touch,” he hissed in her ear. “Claim you every way possible until neither of us can move for the pain and pleasure, until you’ve erased all the women I’ve ever had, and I’ve erased all the men you’ve ever had.”

God, he was getting in too deep. He bit her shoulder, eliciting a small cry. He throbbed, hard and ready, but there was something missing. He looked down and frowned. Right. The condom. He kissed the mark he’d just made.

“Wait here,” he murmured and stepped out of the shower.

Quickly, he rustled around in a drawer to find a condom, which he ripped open. Cynthia remained where she was, but he could see her fingers sliding between her legs, her mouth open slightly. It made everything tighten more. He quickly slid the condom on, rejoined her in the shower and pressed her against the glass.

He pushed inside of her without another word. He didn’t bother being gentle and Cynthia pressed her ass against him, crying out a soft ‘yes’ to let him know that she wanted this as much as he did. He gripped her hip with one hand while flicking her clit with the other still as he began to thrust. Both their bodies slammed into the side of the shower, again and again, Cynthia’s cries drowning out the sound of the shower. He bit her shoulder again and she clamped down on him.

His knuckles were white where he held her. Washes of blackness started to come in at the sides of his vision as heat washed through his body. He threw his head back as Cynthia cried out, thrusting her hips in time with his. His bear growled once more, and he threw himself forward, pinning her in place. His teeth clamped over the back of her neck and everything exploded. He felt himself filling her as he lost all control of his actions.

They ended up leaning against the side of the shower, gasping for breath as the water ran from hot to cold around them. Slowly Tyrell came back to himself. He winced when he saw the mark he had left on her and moved back slowly. Cynthia’s legs trembled, but she pulled herself back around. Her hair stuck to her neck and she gave him a brilliant smile.

“Wow,” she breathed.

There were more bite marks on her shoulders. He touched one of them and shook his head, sick with himself. “I’m sorry. I was too rough with you.”

Cynthia shook her head. “Okay, maybe I could have had a little warning but that was amazing. Don’t you dare start ruining it for me.” She glanced at where the tips of his fingers brushed over another of his teeth marks and she giggled. “Guess I’ll be wearing sleeves for a while, huh?”

The tension in his shoulders eased as he saw her smile. They showered properly after that, being gentle with one another (or at least, he was gentle with her) until they were both dressed again. Then, Cynthia declared she was going to lie down for a while and he headed for town. He felt as light as air, the relaxation of sex still coursing through him. At the same time, though, there was a tremor of unease. That had been intense—far more intense than any of their other lovemaking. And what was with his bear? It had never reacted that way to a woman before.

A frown crossed his face. Was he getting in too deep? While he was inside of her, feeling that connection, physical and sexual and somehow something even more, he had known he was. Now, he tried to scoff at the idea but wasn’t quite able to do it. Cynthia was… different. She was special. He had never thought of himself as the kind of guy to settle down with any one woman. He didn’t need that one-on-one sort of relationship. Emotional intimacy made the physical intimacy too complicated. Just look at what happened with Angela!

Angela… Was he the reason why nothing had developed there? She had been so… wonderful. Sweet, bright, beautiful. Full of excitement for life, full of passion and compassion. She had been the most desirable woman on the island. Everybody wanted her, and she had chosen him. If he had accepted that as being enough, would she have died? If they had been together, if she hadn’t gotten on that boat, where would they be now?

He pulled the truck to the side of the road just before he got into town and rested his head against the steering wheel. He knew, in his heart, that he and Angela would never have made it. If they had declared that they were mates, they would still be together but only because that was what people did. But they had been too young, and more than that, too much in lust and not enough in love. Maybe it was different for her, but he knew how he felt. If she had lived, he would have just continued to break her heart.

And that was why he had to be careful that nothing would develop between him and Cynthia. He’d hurt her if it did. That was the last thing he wanted. She made his life better. She made Tamara’s life better. He couldn’t jeopardize all that. But… but was he? Was he jeopardizing the comfortable routine his family had settled into by becoming sexually involved with the nanny?

She worked for him. If it didn’t work out between them, what would happen to her? It wasn’t like he was paying her enough to build up a good fallback. Sure, she was supplied with a lot of the basic necessities… but wouldn’t that just put her in an even worse position if something went wrong?

Tyrell let out a shaky sigh. She was the one who started it… right? Even if he had been gazing lustily after her, she knew what she was doing. And if it did go wrong it wasn’t like he’d just kick her out on the streets. He’d make sure she was able to stay on her feet during the transition.

He smacked his head against the wheel. What was this? He never worried about these things. Was Ruby right? For years now, his sister had been telling him that he needed to get a mate. Not just for himself, but for Tamara, too. After all, a girl needed a mother. An aunt was all well and good but she wasn’t a mother.

But I’m doing just fine on my own, Tyrell thought desperately. I don’t need to turn my life upside down for someone else. Besides, Cynthia isn’t looking for anything. She said so herself. She just wants some fun.

His bear growled. That same growl that told him to mark her, to claim her. She didn’t even know what she was getting into. He couldn’t suddenly get all possessive of her. Even if his feelings were getting too deep, she didn’t want forever with him.

Good God, what am I doing?

Tyrell sighed as he pulled the truck back onto the road. He had always dreamed that one day he’d fall in love. Have his whole world consumed by one person. There wasn’t room in his heart to put someone else first. Or at least, that was what he had thought. Then Tamara had come into his life. His daughter brought him more joy than he thought was possible. Along with the worry, the heartache, everything he had feared, came so much joy. He wouldn’t give her up for anything.

But since Tamara was there, there wasn’t room for anybody else. Any potential lover, girlfriend, wife, mate… she would come second. His daughter was his first priority and would always be. How could he ask a woman to always be second in his heart? How could any woman be okay with knowing that if it was ever a choice between her and his daughter, if for some reason a killer came in and told him to choose which one to keep alive, his choice would always be Tamara?

The image of Cynthia at breakfast that morning, drawing a smiley face on Tamara’s pancake came to his mind. Would she mind that? Would she demand to be the first in his life, in everything? Or would she, like him, put Tamara first?

Could there be a future for him and Cynthia?

“No,” he told himself firmly. “No, there can’t be a future there. I’m a shifter. She’s not. She doesn’t even know about us. And if she finds out? She’ll probably go running and screaming.”

His bear grunted, clearly not happy with how he was taking this, but he shoved it down. He wasn’t going to go there. He wasn’t going to start wondering what if he fell in love with Cynthia, or what if she fell in love with him. No. Their relationship was purely sexual. The moment it became anything else? He’d have to fire her. Send her back to the mainland.

So there was nothing but lust between them. Simple as that.