Gabriella drove. Tyler was far from drunk, unfortunately, but arguing wasn’t on the list of things he wanted to do with her. So, when she extended her hand with a smile that said she wouldn’t take no for an answer, he’d passed over the keys.

She’d been humming quietly for miles. A gentle, swaying melody he didn’t recognize. The persistent beeping of her phone added a weird beat to the rhythm. The damn thing annoyed the hell out of him—chirping from her bag at regular intervals. Although if she reached for her purse, Tyler just would’ve stopped her. He might like to drive fast, but he drew the line at using the phone while behind the wheel.

Gabriella must’ve sensed his mood. Unlike most of the women he knew, she didn’t try to fill the silence with inane chatter or bombard him with questions about why he was so quiet.

She just drove and hummed.

Christ. It was bad enough he’d put her in the awkward position of witnessing his family dysfunction, but now his attitude was for shit.

He shouldn’t have taken her with him tonight. He should’ve known his old man would show his ass. The guy couldn’t resist prancing Tyler around like a show pony, all the while doling out backhanded compliments as though he’d been preparing for this day for months.

Nothing Tyler had ever done was good enough. No matter how hard he worked, how much money he made, or how successful his career, he always came up short in the eyes of his father. As a kid, Tyler thought it was just his dad’s way of pushing him to be better. Now, Tyler knew it was just his dad’s way, period. Charlie Brady celebrated his son’s victories as though he were solely responsible, and didn’t hesitate to point out when Tyler fell short.

Maybe in some twisted way Tyler should be grateful. His dad was the reason he pushed so hard. He’d accepted that truth years ago. The anger, the fire in his gut, fueled his determination.

Pushing him was one thing. Messing with Madison was another. Tyler wouldn’t have it. Madison was smart. She worked her ass off in school—way harder than he ever did. She deserved the chance to explore her options.

Gabriella turned into the driveway, pulling Tyler from his thoughts.

She left the car running while she pulled out her phone. “I hope you don’t mind if I check this real quick. That beeping was driving me crazy.” She glanced at it and frowned.

“Everything okay?”

She stared at the phone. Looked at him. Stared at the phone again. “Yeah. Sorry. Just let me…” Her fingers flew over the screen.

He wanted to ask who she was texting with such a frenzy. Wanted a name to go along with the irritation he felt at whoever had upset her. An address would help too. He couldn’t do anything about his own shit tonight, but he could damn well help her with hers.

He snorted to himself and looked out the window, giving her privacy to finish texting. He was acting like a crazy person. He didn’t know her, or her problems, and here he was thinking about jumping in with both feet … to what? Save her? For all he knew, the text was nothing. She’d said as much.

She cut the engine. “Do you want to come in?”

He shouldn’t. And wasn’t that just his theme for the day. He should hit the gym. Bust his ass on the treadmill for an hour or two. But goddamn he wanted what she offered—needed it—a chance to get out of his head for a while.

“Yeah.” He got out of the car. He strolled with her to the front door, where Gabriella let them in and flipped on the lights.

“Do you want something to drink?” She dropped her purse by the door and kicked off her sandals.

“No.”

He followed her into the living room, watching as she closed the blinds covering the front window.

“Your team played a good game tonight,” she said. “I know you’re chomping at the bit to get back out there, but you’ve gotta be happy about the win.”

He was. He was, damn it. He snagged her wrist as she moved to turn on a lamp. “Look, Gabriella. Don’t take this the wrong way, but can we not talk right now?”

Rehashing how well the team was doing without him wasn’t going to do good things to his already crappy mood.

Her soft, understanding smile hit him square in the chest. Without a word she nodded, laced their fingers, and led him to the bedroom.

She flipped on the lights, then immediately dimmed them until the room was basked in a warm glow. Her private space was a soothing mixture of colors—pale green, blue, and beige. The light, floral scent in the air reminded him of the private beach house he rented from time to time in Hawaii. So did the enormous bed.

There was no TV, and a couple of books sat on the table next to the bed. It was a room designed for rest and relaxation. Rest wasn’t in his plan, but he’d take a little relaxation as the end result.

“Gabriella...” He sought the words to explain how fucked up things were, how tired he was, and came up empty.

“It’s okay, Tyler.” She pulled off her shirt and let it fall to the floor. “You’re having a tough time right now.” Her voice was soft, seductive. “It’s okay if you want to lose yourself in me for a little while. I want to help you. Let me help you.”

Oh, hell no.

Tyler wasn’t comfortable with how well she read him, but he’d deal with that later. Sure, he wanted to forget. Forget his fucking injury. His contract. His dad. He did want to lose himself in the pleasure of Gabriella’s body, but he damn well didn’t want to do it alone. He wanted her right there with him. Wanted to hear his name on her lips as he made her come over and over.

He went to her then. He shoved his fingers into her hair and tugged until she stared up at him, eyes wide and eager.

“We have an agreement.”

“We do?”

“Damn right, we do. You’re off the clock. Outside of your office, we aren’t massage therapist and baseball player. We’re just you and me. Tyler and Gabriella. Two people enjoying each other’s company. Two people sharing pleasure.”

“I’m not good at ‘off the clock.’”

Tyler reached around and unhooked her bra. Her skin was smooth, soft against his fingers as he slid the straps from her shoulders. The cups fell away to reveal the peaked tips of her breasts. He decided then and there he was definitely a breast man when it came to Gabriella. Breast, ass, leg man … and everything in between. Holy shit, she was gorgeous.

“Then we’d better make sure you get lots of practice.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist, ignoring the stiffness that had settled in his shoulder. Nothing was going to stop him from sampling every bit of pleasure Gabriella offered. His mouth watered for a taste of her. His balls were painfully tight, and his cock felt strangled behind the fly of his shorts.

“You’re beautiful, Gabriella.” And she smelled good. Her nipples were tight and dark and … fuck. He nuzzled her neck just to breathe her in.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Gabriella tugged at his shirt. “Your turn, Tyler. Please.”

At this point, he wouldn’t deny her anything. He stripped his shirt and tossed it aside. Her hands were on him before he finished the job.

“Tell me what you want,” he demanded.

“I want to touch you.”

She was gonna kill him. “You are touching me.”

Gone was the confident touch of a therapist. Her tentative fingers explored his chest, his stomach, his back as though she were experiencing him for the first time.

“I’m not sure what to do.” She laughed softly. “Or where to start.”

“I’ve got a few ideas.”

“Yeah?” Her finger circled his nipple and flicked the raised edge before she pressed it between her thumb and forefinger.

Desire flowed from her touch straight to his crotch. A low growl rumbled in his throat. Unwilling to wait any longer, he tightened his arm and lifted her feet from the carpet.

“Be careful! You’ll hurt yourself.”

He walked backward until his legs hit the bed. He sat, tugging her to stand between his knees.

“Off the clock. Don’t make me say it again.” To emphasize the point, he sucked her nipple into his mouth, nipping the taut bud hard enough to pull a gasp from her throat.

“Or what?” Her fingers tightened around his scalp, trying to hold him in place.

Not a chance. He had his own exploring to do.

“Oh, Gabriella.” He kissed down the center of her body, stopping to swirl his tongue around her belly button. “The endless possibilities for ‘or what’ now have me wondering where to start.”

---

The possibilities for ‘or what’…

The dark promise in his words turned over in her head.

Her ex had been a straight-up, missionary kind of guy. Gabriella had been with Roger for so long, she’d forgotten any other type of intimacy existed. After the text she’d gotten from him tonight, Gabriella wouldn’t mind forgetting Roger, too.

Having Tyler Brady in her bed was a good way to start.

Tyler cupped her ass, forcing her attention back to him, the only man who mattered right now. He squeezed gently before moving lower.

Oh, God. His fingers brushed the back of her knee. She gripped his shoulders to stay upright.

His shoulder.

She loosened her hold over the small, puckered scars left behind from his surgery. It was months ago, but he still wasn’t completely healed. Try as she might, she couldn’t shut off the part of her brain that wanted to help him.

Tyler sighed. “You aren’t going to hurt me, Gabriella.” Hot fingertips trailed up the inside of her leg. “I want to feel your hands on me. I want your nails on my back. I want your mouth … everywhere. I’m not broken. Don’t treat me as if I am.”

Gabriella ran her hands over his short hair. She was such a fool. Tyler had enough to worry about. He didn’t need her to coddle him. Not here. Not like this. He needed her to trust in him as a man.

She could do that.

Gabriella laced her fingers around his neck and straddled his lap. She molded their bodies together, rocking hard against the erection straining his shorts.

“You are definitely not broken,” she whispered against his lips.

Tyler’s response was immediate. Fierce. He sealed his mouth to hers, groaning when she opened and swirled her tongue with his. His hands were everywhere. Caressing, teasing, waking nerve endings she never knew existed.

He broke from her mouth to kiss and nip his way down her throat.

“Lean back,” he murmured.

Gabriella held on to his biceps and did as he instructed. His fingers plucked at the button of her shorts, releasing it, then the zipper.

Her breasts rose and fell with each sharp breath. It had been so long since she’d been touched. Her skin flushed under his hungry gaze. She was wet, and her clit pulsed in time with her rapidly increasing heartbeat. She wanted to savor each touch, each sensation, but all she could think was more.

Her muscles tensed as Tyler traced the edge of her panties. She watched as he hooked the seam with a finger. He eased them down, enough to expose the dark line of hair leading to her cleft. Her hips moved, rolled into him, begged him to keep going.

They both sucked in air as his finger grazed her clit.

“Fuck. You’re so…” Tyler moved with the speed of a predator. Her back was suddenly against the mattress and he was there, pulling her shorts and panties down her legs.

She was reduced to short gasps of air as he shouldered her knees wide and bent his head. The first touch of his tongue brought her hips off the bed, seeking and needy. He didn’t seem to notice as he sampled her. He took his time, licking and sucking her folds before sliding his tongue inside.

She closed her eyes. If she caught sight of his head working between her legs, she’d come for sure.

Not yet. I’m not ready to come.

Her body had other ideas. Gabriella curled her toes into the bed, getting the leverage she needed to press against his mouth.

“Eager little thing, aren’t you?” Tyler’s palms came down on her hips, holding her steady.

“Yes.” Gabriella wasn’t the least bit ashamed of how hot she was for him. Or that he knew it. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving over to the lust that burned between them. She didn’t know when, or if, she’d have the chance to be with him again, so tonight she was all in.

He stroked her with his tongue, teased her until she had to move or lose her mind.

“Tyler. Please.”

He pulled back, replacing his tongue with his fingers, caressing the lips of her pussy. He placed a kiss against her hip. “You’re so fucking sexy. I could spend all night tasting you, but I’m too impatient, Gabriella. I can’t wait to be inside you.”

“Don’t wait. No waiting.”

He chuckled, husky and raw. “Just another minute, gorgeous. I’m impatient, but also greedy.” He shifted to stretch out next to her on the bed, his fingers playing, toying, sliding inside her. “I want you to come first. I want to watch. I want to feel you milk my fingers and know that very soon, my cock will have the same pleasure.”

Gabriella was surprised to be so turned on by his bossy, dirty mouth. Any other man and she might’ve laughed. With Tyler, there was no hesitation. He spoke with authority, with certainty, as though it never occurred to him she might not want to listen. He owned what he wanted, and right now he wanted her.

“I know you’re close. The way you’re squeezing my fingers.” He muttered a curse. “You’re gonna feel so good around me. So hot and tight.”

Tyler’s blunt speech and talented fingers worked in tandem to drive her higher and higher, until all she could do was ride his hand, chasing the orgasm he promised.

“Give me what I want, Gabriella.” Tyler bent, suckled her nipple at the same time he rubbed hard against her clit.

Gabriella cried out as her body tensed, quivered, then exploded in a blinding rush.

Tyler’s fingers slowed, but didn’t stop. He continued to massage her clit until she grabbed his wrist, her body shaking with the final spasms of the strongest orgasm she’d had in months. Maybe years. Hell, maybe ever.

She wasn’t ready to be done yet. Panting, her limbs languid from the release, Gabriella still burned for him.

She pulled his head down and kissed him hard. Her fingers fumbled at the fly of his shorts. He broke away and rolled to his feet.

“Come to the edge of the bed.”

Gabriella didn’t ask questions. Tyler was getting naked, which was incentive enough to do what he wanted.

He straightened and she got her first look at him.

Jesus. Tanned, muscular, and rock hard … everywhere. Tyler had the kind of body that made women write bad checks.

“Close your eyes.”

What? “Why?”

It was a little late for her nerves to jump into overdrive, but her belly flopped all the same. At least with her sight, she wouldn’t feel vulnerable. She stared at the man who’d become her lover, if only for tonight, and wondered if that wasn’t exactly his purpose. To have her at the mercy of his touch.

His fingertips feathered over her eyelids, encouraging her to follow his command. “Because I asked you to,” he breathed against her ear.

Gabriella’s throat tightened. Blood surged hot through her veins. She kept her eyes closed, wanting his next move, knowing where he would take her would be worth the darkness.

She laid back at his urging. Her butt rested on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling just shy of the floor. She knew because if she stretched her toes, she could feel the soft fibers of the carpet.

She jumped a little when he hooked her knees and pushed her legs back. Exposing her. Opening her. He dragged a finger through her wetness, circling the bundle of nerves that set her thighs to quivering.

“So pink and pretty.”

She squeezed her eyelids together, forcing them to stay shut.

“That’s it, gorgeous. Keep those beautiful eyes closed, so you’ll have no choice but to feel every inch of me as I sink into you.” He slid his crown up and down her slit. “Do you feel how hard I am?”

“Yes.” And warm. So fucking warm.

“Do you want it? Tell me.”

“I want it.”

He slipped past her entrance and they both groaned.

“Jesus, Gabriella.” His voice turned gruff, as though he’d swallowed sandpaper.

He held her legs and started to move, pumping his hips in slow, shallow strokes. He was big and thick and hard. Gabriella tried to relax. He stretched her to the point of being uncomfortable, but her body was quick to adjust. She clamped down, drawing another noise from his throat, feeling every ridge and pulse as he worked his cock into her.

“I knew you’d feel incredible.” His breath came in short pants. “You want all of me?”

Oh, God. “Yes, Tyler. Damn it. I want all of you. Everything you have to give, I want it.”

It was as though her words stole the last shred of his control. He pulled back, leaving her completely before surging forward, burying himself to the hilt. The course hair at his groin tickled her bare lips. Her skin tingled. Every sensation was amplified by the darkness.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Gabriella did. She blinked, focused on the handsome man buried within her. Needing to see, she dropped her gaze to where they were joined.

“You see how well you fit around me? Holding me all snug and warm.” Tyler slowly rocked his hips against her. She noticed the condom first, then the sheen from her own juices that coated him. “So fucking good.”

The best porn she had ever seen.

“So good, Tyler.” She took a big, hitching breath. Her mouth felt raw, parched. Instinctively, she rubbed at her throat. Heat flared in Tyler’s gaze as he watched the movement. Wanting to make him as crazy as he made her, she drifted to her breast. She cupped the soft mound, teased the nipple. Remembering how Tyler’s teeth felt, she pinched the peak harder than she ever dared before. She hissed, but the pain that flared through her breast quickly turned into something else. A delicious feeling that tightened the walls of her pussy and made her toes curl. Oh, yes. That was nice, so she did it again to the other nipple.

Tyler muttered a curse and hooked her legs around his hips. “Hang on,” was all he said before he thrust into her, slowly at first then picking up the pace.

She pressed her heels into his ass, played with her own breasts as Tyler pressed his thumb to her clit.

Oh fuck. Gabriella cried his name as she came. The room spun, her ears rang with the sound of her own heartbeat. Tyler impaled her one final time and held, his cock pulsing inside of her as he found release.

The room smelled of sex and sweat. Gabriella pressed a palm to her chest, willing her heart to slow. Tyler leaned down, the previous tension around his eyes now lessoned. Gabriella touched his face. Traced the scar bisecting his eyebrow. His cheekbones. His lips. A line of sweat ran from his temple and she swiped at it with her thumb as he rubbed against her palm like a cat. His eyes were bluer than she’d ever seen them. Heavy-lidded. Sexy. Satisfied.

It was a good look on him. One she hoped to see again.

He kissed her, nipped her bottom lip. “Be right back.”

He eased out of her and headed for the bathroom. Gabriella crawled up the bed and collapsed against the pillows.

Within a minute, Tyler was back, sliding onto the bed next to her and pulling her into his arms.

“This okay?” he asked.

“This is great.” Perfect.

She didn’t know what to expect—if she had the right to expect anything—so she did the only thing she could.

Follow his lead. And remember their time together like this was only temporary. Maybe as temporary as a few more minutes. And if this was her last chance to talk about anything other than his recovery, there was one thing he needed to hear.

“He’s wrong, you know.” She tilted her head to look at him.

He traced along her spine. “Who’s wrong, gorgeous?”

“Your dad. He’s wrong about you.”

She felt him stiffen. His jaw twitched. “You don’t know me well enough to make that kind of claim.” He pulled away and left the bed.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around her knees and watched as Tyler searched for his clothes. “I know enough.” She knew she was right. “You wouldn’t be where you are today if you hadn’t worked your butt off. The big leagues don’t let just anyone in. Even I know that.”

He tugged on his boxer briefs, followed by his shorts. “Talented people get by without effort all the time. Sometimes being good at something is just inherent.”

He was so full of bullshit. “So, you’re saying you’re some kind of baseball prodigy?”

He laughed at that. “I’m good at my job.” He swiped his T-shirt off the floor and put it on. “Once I get this fucking shoulder healed, I’ll be even better.”

Well, shit. “You don’t have to go, you know. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He reached out, his big, warm palm cradling her cheek. “You didn’t upset me, Gabriella. It’s just … with my dad…” He sighed. “It’s complicated. I’m sorry you had to hear that stuff tonight.”

“I’m only sorry if you believe it.”

He took her hands. Gabriella rose on her knees, letting the sheet fall away. The fact she was naked didn’t go without notice. His tongue peeked from behind his lips as his gaze traveled over her. Slowly, he brought her hands to his mouth and kissed each one. “I should go.”

“You don’t have to. You could stay.” She hadn’t tasted him yet. She’d like to, before their time came to an end.

He shook his head. “I’d better not. Neither of us would get any sleep. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a full day tomorrow.”

Gabriella hated the reminder of the outside world. She had a meeting in the morning she’d rather not think about, and several clients to see in the afternoon—Tyler included.

“Spoil sport.” She crawled around him to get out of the bed. “But you’re right. Gotta keep your eye on the prize. Work first. Play later.”

Tyler snagged her wrist. “Where are you going?”

“To put on some clothes so I can walk you out.”

He pulled her close. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I’ll need to lock up.”

“No.” His hands skimmed down her back and over the curve of her ass. “I mean you don’t need to get dressed.”

Gabriella looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t?”

He shook his head. “Eye on the prize, huh?”

She went to her toes as he squeezed her cheeks, rubbing his stiff length against her belly. Proof he didn’t want to leave any more than she wanted him to. She pressed her lips to his neck, enjoying the salty taste of his skin.

“Yep.”

A sinful smile played on his lips. “Maybe I can stay a bit longer.”