Chapter 17—Fumbled Return

After a few rounds of poker, in which Lavender lost her shirt, figuratively speaking only, she left the boisterous, drunken group of jocks and escaped to the privacy of her little home. Tyler walked her to the door, still pissy and behaving like a caveman, and incredibly sober. He’d had the gall to demand she leave her door unlocked. She had half a mind to latch every deadbolt in the place, but in the end lust won out. Sex with a hot and angry Tyler appealed to her way more than it should. He’d become her chocolate-dipped-strawberry craving, her weakness, her secret yearning.

After unlocking the back door, she sat down on her bed in her lonely little room. At first the silence had welcomed her, now minutes later it smothered. She missed the rowdy noise of Tyler’s team.

Tyler. What the heck was she going to do about Tyler?

Tyler, the self-proclaimed asshole who wore his bad attitude like a merit badge. For almost two months she’d fooled herself into believing she was a much better person than the arrogant, entitled jock could ever dream of being. Yet Coug attached himself to Tyler as if it was his cat-given right. The brothers embraced him as one of their own, whether he liked it or not. Tyler’s teammates cared enough to travel to the island to spend some time with him. Tyler might pretend they were pains in his ass, but she knew better. He liked having them there. Well, except for Zach. He hated Zach, but that was another story.

She’d crashed his party tonight to pay him back for bringing up her father again. Unfortunately, her strategy turned inside out. Sure, she’d ruffled Tyler’s feathers by flirting with Zach.

All those athletes sitting around reminded her of her younger years. In her father’s high school coaching days, his team filled their house. Guys came and went at all times, day and night. Her father’s door had always been open. As a result, he’d given too much to the team, which left very little for his family.

Even so, Lavender had been Daddy’s little girl, a star female athlete sure to get scholarships for softball or volleyball. Brian Gerloch had doted on his princess until the day he packed his suitcase and walked out of her life forever when she was fifteen. She locked herself in her bedroom all weekend and cried, completely inconsolable. At first, she blamed her mother for nagging and driving him away, then she blamed her father. She never picked up another ball and never went to college on a scholarship or otherwise. In fact, for the remainder of high school, she drowned her disappointment in alcohol and partying. Her grades sucked. She struggled for a year at college and dropped out.

Always drawn to senior citizens because of a wonderful set of now-deceased grandparents, she worked in various nursing homes and swore she’d find a way to better their lives. Now that dream was swept out with the tide, thanks to Artie’s one-eighty in his will and Tyler’s selfish intentions. Despite all those disappointments, ultimately she could only point a finger at herself. She’d believed the promises of the people in her life, instead of creating her own good fortune.

No more. Especially when it came to Tyler Harris and her father.

Viciously, Lavender swiped a hand across her cheek to remove the one lone tear. Why thoughts of her dad still brought tears after all these years, she didn’t know. He’d been a no-show in her life for twelve years. She’d buried her pain deep down, and not even her mother suspected how much Brian Gerloch’s absence shaped the woman their daughter had become.

If her own father didn’t love her enough to stick around, why would anyone else? Maybe she’d driven her dad away, caused all of this somehow. Or maybe her father, a jock himself, made typical jock choices and never once regretted his decision to walk out on his son, daughter, and wife without as much as a look back. Obviously, they didn’t fit into his new life as a Division-1 football coach.

Well, guess what, Brian Gerloch, you don’t fit in mine.

Tyler didn’t fit in her life, either, despite her screwed-up fascination with him. Sexual attraction she could handle easily, but she’d be kidding herself if she believed that’s all there was. Not that she’d fallen in love, she still didn’t like him. He did have a few minor redeeming characteristics if a girl looked hard enough. Like those hard, lean muscles, the way his hair stood up on end after a wild night in bed, or how his blue eyes sparkled when he was giving her shit. Or his soft spot for animals. And maybe he wasn’t as dumb as she’d first thought. In fact, his sharp mind impressed her. None of it mattered, because she’d never attach herself to a man with a sports career. Athletes were married to the game and the game only. Everything else fell by the wayside in the endless pursuit of the next championship.

That empty hole expanded in her chest, a hole she’d never be able to fill because she gave her heart to men who didn’t deserve it, not that she’d given Tyler her heart. Tyler would never know she’d softened a little toward him, nor would her father realize how much she missed him. She didn’t do vulnerable—not anymore.

Sliding under the covers, she pulled the blankets up to her chin and closed her eyes. The tick-tick of the clock echoed in the empty room. Lavender tossed and turned for several hours, unable to shut off her brain. She finally heard the click of the door as it opened and shut. Her heart thudded, tapping out a welcome beat.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She spoke into the darkness of the room as Tyler’s tall body loomed in the doorframe.

“You’re awake.” He sounded haggard. Tired. She’d never heard such defeat in his voice.

“Yeah.” She sat up and squinted into the darkness as he crossed the room in a few heavy strides.

“You’d better be naked.”

“More naked than you.” Being a smartass kept her tender emotions at bay.

She heard the sound of a zipper and the rustling of clothes, the crackle of a condom wrapper, the snap of the rubber as it stretched to fit over his erection. A second later a warm, naked body slid under the covers next to her. Tyler reached for her with a desperation so strong it crackled in the air like a live wire on a power line. Every muscle in his body tensed, as if strung too tight and on the verge of breaking.

“You didn’t have to flirt with him.” His muffled words, laced with hurt, reverberated against her shoulder. His warm mouth pressed against her collarbone.

“I wasn’t flirting with him. He was flirting with me.”

“Well, you didn’t have to like it.”

“Who says I did?” She closed her eyes and bit back a moan as he bit at her shoulder, most likely in retribution for her sins.

“I was there. Remember? I saw you.” He moved lower, leaving a trail of rough kisses that inflamed her body.

“You couldn’t see anything beyond your dislike of Zach, who I’d like to remind you is now your teammate.”

He raised his head, staring at her in the darkness. “I wish you wouldn’t remind me.”

Lowering his head, he ran his tongue over her hard nipple, When she gasped, he closed his mouth over her nipple and sucked. Hard. His stubble abraded her skin like sandpaper. Her head swirled from the sensations slamming into her.

He might be mad at her. He might punish her for playing him, but she’d enjoy the hell out of any penalty he extracted.

“Oh, damn. Tyler.”

“Are you attracted to Murphy?” He spat out the linebacker’s name in disgust. His sinful mouth moved within inches of her face. He kissed her chin, her neck. He applied pressure to her nipples with his fingers.

“No. I was just yanking your chain.” She cried out when he grabbed a bit of skin on her neck and bit down, surely leaving a mark. His mark. An alpha male marking his mate. Except she wasn’t his mate. She was only his island screw for a month more.

“Stay away from him.” Tyler spoke with absolute authority, as if he expected obedience.

So not Lavender’s thing.

“You don’t get a vote when it comes to what I do.” With his mouth on hers and his fingers milking her breasts, she wanted to promise him anything.

“You sure?” The rawness in his voice undid her. He pushed her thighs apart with his leg and positioned himself between them. Her pussy wept with joy. His greedy mouth came down on hers, harsh and demanding. His tongue and lips invaded and conquered. She surrendered completely, lost in the heat.

Lavender wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he covered her with his big body. “Positive.”

“I don’t feel like taking it easy tonight.”

“Then don’t.” She pressed closer to him, wishing she could absorb him, all of him, and keep him like this forever.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Yet his expression indicated he might be beyond the turning point. Sweat dripped off his face, and his arms shook.

“You won’t. I’m stronger than I look.” She didn’t care if he hurt her, emotionally or physically. She just wanted him inside her.

“I know that.”

“Then fuck me.” She writhed under him and grasped his ass in her hands, squeezing hard.

“Watch that mouth, darlin’.” Tyler grabbed her thighs with his big hands and raised her legs over her head. He held them there, spread wide. “Good thing you’re flexible.” He actually chuckled, which warmed her heart.

“I can still do the splits.”

“I’ll hold you to that before the night is over.” His ever-ready cock pushed at her opening. “You’re wet.”

“I’ve been wet for hours, but I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“Oh, I’m coming, honey. I’m coming, and you are, too.” He slid in a little farther and held himself over her. The muscles in his arms bunched from the strain of holding his position.

“I’m sure you won’t—uh—disappoint.”

“Never.” His blue eyes glittered like stars in the night sky. This undefinable chemistry between them arched, snapped, and sizzled like an electrical current gone rogue. She witnessed the exact moment his control surrendered to his animal instincts. With a powerful thrust, he reached pay dirt and began his enthusiastic assault. Taking no prisoners and making no apologies, he drove deep and high, retreated, and plunged homeward again, each lunge harder and faster than the last. Digging her fingernails into his back, Lavender urged him on, swept along in his frenzy and building a frenzy of her own. She arched her back, reveling in how deep he reached with each stroke.

He grunted, his hot breath burning her neck, igniting her fire. His mouth sought hers, lips bruising while his tongue plundered. She gave back everything he threw at her.

Harsh, labored breaths signaled his orgasm. He wouldn’t fly solo. She’d be right there with him. As she shuddered from the power of their emotions, his cock spasmed inside her. Her walls tightened around him. Her juices flowed. His eyes never left hers.

For one magical moment, Lavender wriggled past his tight defenses, slipped into the depths of his most secret places. With him buried inside her, the world stood still for them. As if they were poised on an edge, about to bungee-jump off a bridge, fall to their fate, only to be saved at the last minute by the cord, their only thin link to sanity. Lavender didn’t want sanity. She wanted Tyler stripped raw and bare, ready to reveal his body and soul to her, but an instant later the door slammed shut. Lust trampled the moment, sweeping her away in a stampede of the physical.

Tyler didn’t give her a moment to recover. His control blew up in a frenzy of wild animal hunger. Lavender closed her eyes and sank into oblivion with him.

What a way to go.

* * * * *

Tyler’s eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling, wide awake. If he didn’t get out of Lavender’s bed and sneak back into the mansion before sunrise, he’d get no end of crap from the guys, especially from Murphy. He shouldn’t give a shit, never would’ve before, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to tolerate the hassle in his current state of mind.

Lavender stirred beside him. She didn’t awaken but snuggled closer. She buried one small hand in his chest hair. The other gripped his bicep. He almost smiled, almost forgot his worries. She looked damn cute and sexy. Especially sexy. Dang, his cock hardened in response. He’d have thought his dick wouldn’t have anything left after last night’s marathon. Obviously, his little head possessed more try than his big head anymore.

He sighed and closed his eyes. The last twenty-four hours rolled through his mind in a blur of impressions and reactions, covering a gamut of emotions. But, hell, at least he’d gone beyond numbness to feeling something, even if so far it was limited to anger and lust.

Tyler dreaded more time with his teammates, fearing they’d see what he already knew, along with his cousin and that asshole Murphy. He’d misplaced his indomitable will to win, and he doubted he’d be able to pull off another season of faking it. Already he caught the guys staring at him, wondering if he’d quit on them in the middle of an important game.

Murphy’s smirk said it all. He’d be more than happy to take Tyler down if his teammate didn’t leave his heart and soul out on the field. Tyler wasn’t sure he had a heart or soul left to leave.

Lavender rose and regarded him with sleepy eyes. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gazed at her for a moment. A fleeting instant of contentment crept past his defenses.

Glancing up, he caught his expression in the mirror on the dresser near the foot of the bed and did a double take.

Tenderness? What the fu—heck? Tenderness? He forced his face into his standard arrogant mask.

“Had you ever been to Twin Cedars before Artie died?” Her question from out of the blue caught him off guard and unbalanced.

Tyler battened down the hatches, not willing to give away anything. A muscle ticked in his jaw. His voice sounded tight to his own ears. “My dad spent his summers here for years growing up. After my grandfather and my dad had their final falling out, Dad quit visiting the place. Then Grandpa died and Uncle Artie inherited.”

“Did you ever visit the islands as a kid?” Annoyingly, she pried, obviously in an attempt to get beneath his surface armor. But why?

“Plenty. But never here. Never. All this happened long before I was born.” He thawed slightly. “And you? How did you end up here?”

“I grew up on the mainland not far from the ferry landing. My dad—Brian—coached high school football in Mt. Vernon. This property was in his family for a couple generations, but Mom got it in the divorce.”

Tyler rubbed his fingers across his rough stubble. “I went to WSU because your dad was there. I bet you never knew that.”

“I didn’t.”

“Small world, huh?”

She nodded and visibly swallowed.

Tyler rolled over onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. He studied her in the rare morning sunlight peeking through the curtains. “You know, my dad never reconciled with his father. I guess he thought his dad would always be there, and he’d get to it someday. After Grandpa died, he said not seeing him one last time was the biggest regret of his life. I know I’d give anything for the chance to see my dad again, to have him in my life.”

She tensed in his arms, but he plowed onward. “El, you have a dad who’s still alive. You’re throwing away the chance to have a future with him in it.”

“He threw away that chance, not me. He abandoned me. We’ve been down this road before. Please quit bringing him up.” She grabbed the blanket and swung her legs off the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress with her back to him.

“I’m sorry he hurt you.” He stroked her spine with gentle, sure strokes. He’d shoved his problems to the back burner and focused on her pain.

“I’m okay.” She hugged herself, tightly, rocking back and forth and softening his heart.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Huddling forward, she gripped the blanket tighter around her, as if it would insulate her from a lifetime of pain. His big hand snaked around her waist and pulled her back down onto the bed. She wriggled around until she faced him, her body draped across his chest.

“Does this mean you like me?” He teased her, hoping like hell she’d maintain her distance as he attempted to do.

“Not at all. I still can’t stand you. You’re an arrogant, self-serving jock.”

“You forgot entitled. That’s my favorite insult. I like being entitled.” He buried his face in her hair. She smelled damn good.

“Sorry. My bad. Entitled. Absolutely. I can’t stand entitled jocks.”

“Good. Dislike makes the sex hotter. If we got along, it’d be boring as hell.”

“No chance of that.”

Yet there was a chance, a chance this thing between them might be slipping out of his control. He took her mouth in his, slipped his tongue inside when she parted her lips. Tyler lost himself in her soft, naked body rubbing against his harder, rougher one—hard being the operative word. His cock stood poised at the starting gate, raring to go. Rolling onto his back, he dragged her with him, still kissing her. Hey, it was a talent.

“Ride me, baby.”

Lavender pulled away and sat up, straddling his torso. She rewarded him with a sexy, sultry smile. She grabbed a condom packet from her nightstand and unrolled it on him in record time. Raising her hips, she lowered herself onto his waiting cock.

“Oh, fu—fudge. Heaven. Frigging heaven.” He groaned and bit down on his lower lip. Her wet pussy sheathed his cock inch by incredible inch. Her muscles clenched around his dick. Waves of pleasure circuited from his body through his malfunctioning brain and back to his erection. Nothing about his cock was malfunctioning, which was a damn good thing. She lifted her hips until only the head of his cock rested inside her moist entrance. His balls tightened almost painfully. She held herself above him, teasing the tip of his cock with her hot pussy.

Enough of this shit.

Tyler grasped her waist and slammed her hips downward, shoving his dick deep inside her.

She screamed out and arched her back, pressing her hips into his. “Tyler. Ty, oh, yeah, that feels incredible.”

“Then ride me, baby, like you’re riding for your life, and the devil is on your heels.” He loosened his grip on her hips, allowing her to control the pace.

“The devil isn’t on my heels. He’s underneath me.” Her mass of red curls tickled his chest as she leaned down and claimed his mouth. Damn, but he loved an aggressive woman.

“You got that right, honey.”

She lifted up her ass and slammed back down, upping the pace with each rise and fall of her hips. The air whooshed out of his lungs, rendering him incapable of speech. The smell of sweat, sex, and Lavender filled his nostrils. They kissed like two uncivilized creatures, mindful only of the moment and driven by the most basic of desires. Their bodies slapped together in rhythm, followed by a sucking sound on the upstroke as her pussy gripped his. Faster and faster. Harder and harder. Deeper and deeper.

Tyler opened his eyes and met her gaze. Usually he didn’t meet a woman’s eyes during sex. He avoided the intimacy. With Lavender, he couldn’t look away, couldn’t save himself from falling until they melded into one being with one purpose: to experience ultimate pleasure.

And their screwing did just that. His control shattered. He came, shouting her name to the treetops. A split second later, he heard his own name over and over.

They collapsed in a pile of spent arms and legs, not moving for several minutes.

Shaking off the after-sex high, Tyler stood and started pulling on his clothes. “I need to get back before I’m missed.”

“Yeah, we don’t want anyone to think we have something between us.” Her attempted smile didn’t reach her eyes. Guilt stabbed at him, putting a dent in his sexual satisfaction.

“Oh, honey, we do have something between us. Namely my cock and your pussy.” His attempt to keep it light faded when she stared back at him, her eyes devoid of the warmth he’d witnessed a few minutes ago. Tyler’s grin faded. He averted his eyes for a moment and gnawed on his lower lip. His fingers hesitated on his zipper. He wanted to say more, put the smile back on her face. “El, I—”

“What?” Her hollow voice stabbed at his heart, made him feel like a true asshole.

He shook his head, changing his mind. Nothing he could say would ease his guilt, a guilt he didn’t understand. Tyler hesitated in the doorway. A slit of sun peeked through the curtains and shed light on one side of her face and left the other side in total darkness. Somehow that seemed appropriate because part of her was completely concealed to him. She only let him see what she wanted him to see. Just like he did with her.

They were one hell of a pair.