Chapter Seven
Bernie
The sound of the door shutting jerked Bernie from her light sleep. She yawned as she glanced around, then grimaced as she realized that she had fallen asleep in the chair. She checked the baby monitor quickly. It was on, but there was no sound from Xavier.
She saw Tyler creeping through the hallway and was instantly hit by everything she had been dreaming about. His mouth on her body. Hands everywhere. Soft kisses, shed clothing. There was already a pressure inside of her from the dream, but knowing he was up and on the same floor… Polly was out in her little cabin, Xavier was upstairs and sleeping.
Bernie rubbed her arms for a moment, considering. She was tight and juicy, ready for some amazing, mind-blowing sex. Even if she’d been trying not to have those thoughts come to her mind, it was undeniable that she wanted it. Right now, more than ever.
A light came on in the hallway and water started to run. Bernie clenched her hands and squeezed her thighs together. It was late at night. Even though everything was laid out for an easy seduction and her body burned to have Tyler’s close to hers, she couldn’t. Nothing between them but the sounds of their own voices, the closeness she had been missing ever since he left her. It would make the already confusing situation all the more confusing. No. She needed to just take a step back, breath and remember that she couldn’t sleep with him while she was lying to him.
And she was lying to him. So that was it. She had to tell him the truth about Xavier before she could even think about sleeping with him. And she needed to get the job stuff sorted before she told him. So, she was not going to go to him and whisper in his ear that she wasn’t wearing panties. Which—she quickly checked by shoving a hand down her pants—she was. So that would be a lie too.
Unless she took them off.
Well, if she was determined not to fall into temptation, then she needed to get upstairs and put a door and baby between them.
As she eased herself out of the chair and padded towards the stairs, there was a shuffling in the bathroom. Tyler let out a soft groan. At first, she thought that he was, ahem, pleasuring himself, but quickly realized that it had been of pain. Bernie hesitated with one foot on the stairs. She really shouldn’t… but then he let out a soft curse and she turned. Dragons were tough and if something was hurting Tyler, then she needed to see if she could help.
He was in the half-bath. A first aid kit lay on the sink. Both of his hands were on his nose. In the mirror, she saw the front of his shirt was drenched in blood. Her eyes widened as she took it in and she wasn’t able to stop herself from gasping.
Tyler’s head jerked. He whirled, revealing a face so bruised that Bernie felt light-headed. His eyes widened.
“Bernie! I thought you’d be asleep.” He shifted a little and grimaced. “I got the diapers. I left them at the door.”
The sight of him still made her a little light-headed, but Bernie sucked in a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. “Okay. Thank you. Now, what happened to you?”
He shrugged. “I ran into a little bit of trouble. Nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, because getting diapers is such a dangerous business.” Bernie’s voice was dry as she cocked a brow. “Don’t pretend like you got decked by some woman trying to get the last package of Huggies. You’ve got blood all over yourself. Have you been sacrificing virgins on the altar of your manhood?”
There was too much blood for that, besides which in the wrong spot, and it didn’t explain the bruised-up face, but Bernie kept his gaze. He could have chatted up the wrong girl, or any number of other things. The thing was, she needed to get him talking.
“Sacrificing virgins on my manhood. I like it. I’m going to write a book and use that in it.”
Bernie had to laugh a little. That was one of the things she loved most about when she was around Tyler. Too often people told her that her puns and jokes were awful. Either that or people just didn’t understand them. She had to stop one of her favorites, a couple being like pots and pans because they’re always banging, because nobody appreciated it.
She grabbed an alcohol wipe from the first aid kit and opened it up to wipe up some blood off of his forehead. “That better not be what you were doing, Mr.”
“Why?” A bit of blood dribbled from his nose still, but it was thick and seemed to be slowing. “Are you jealous? Of me and my virgins? I would have had to sacrifice a lot of them to be this covered in blood… and very clumsily, too, come to think of it. But go on. Tell me how jealous you are.”
Was he thinking the same things as she was? Of ripping off clothes and having sex in the shower? She almost moaned as she imagined him all sudsy with soap, hanging stiff and ready for her. She squeezed her thighs tighter, then let out a slow breath.
“Of course not.” Her voice sounded far too breathy. “I’m smarter than that now.”
There was a flash of something in his eyes and she regretted her wording. But there was no way to take it back without this leading dangerously close to the shower. Despite her body’s protestation, she needed to keep the distance between them. Her heart couldn’t take more disappointment.
“What really happened, Tyler? You’re really beat up.”
Tyler was silent for a moment before shrugging. “I got into a fight.”
“A fight? Tyler, what were you thinking? Dragons aren’t impervious. There are always ways to resolve things without violence.” Bernie narrowed her eyes at him. “Who were you fighting with?”
“Bill Johnson, the guy who… bought you.”
Bernie shuddered.
“He’s convinced that the two of you are mates. He blames me for you not being in eternal bliss together right now. He attacked me first. I didn’t make it better… actually, let’s call a spade a spade. I made it worse. But he was being so insufferable.”
Bernie shuddered. She knew that the type of man who bought a woman online wouldn’t be the kind of man she wanted to be around. It wasn’t just the eerie echoes to prostitution, either. Nor was it the fact that she had been forced to be on that site in the first place. Quite simply, a man who thought that he could just pay for a woman and then she’d belong to him was someone she didn’t want to be around.
And for him to continue thinking that they belonged together simply because he paid money? Completely ignoring her own thoughts, feelings, and desires in the matter? He sounded like a real creeper, the kind who would strangle the life out of her.
She tossed the alcohol wipe into the garbage. “Next time let me deal with him. I’ll come down to wherever you are and I’ll lay the hurt onto that creeper. I’ll get him good with herbicides and he won’t creep again.”
Tyler grinned at her.
“What are you smirking about?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Except… except well, you know. You go on scolding me, ‘there are always alternatives to violence’ and then as soon as you hear the situation you’re up in arms and immediately threatening violence. So, you were scolding me for reacting the same way you would have.”
Bernie wrinkled her nose. What was she meant to say to that? “Well… maybe it’s the situation. Or maybe fighting turns me on.”
Crap. No, reverse, reverse! Rewind and erase. She couldn’t have said that. They couldn’t go there. As much as she wanted… Tyler’s eyes darkened and his smile became that familiar flirtatious smile. He gripped her hips and tugged her forward gently. If they made contact, she was certain that she’d find him hard and ready, and the ache inside of her kicked up another notch.
“Well, if that’s the case then I can fight all the time for you.”
They couldn’t.
Tyler’s eyes moved to her lips. His intentions clear. Bernie’s mind raced around all over the place. No one thought stayed longer than a second. They couldn’t. She wanted to. But she had to stop it. Xavier was only three months old, she wasn’t supposed to feel desirous until he was at least a year old. She was meant to be too tired and her hormones were supposed to be all out of whack. This was a dream. They couldn’t do this. There was too much…
His lips brushed against hers. Soft and supple, yet demanding. The texture was as smooth and silky as she remembered. Tyler pulled back softly. He panted as he stared into her eyes, and she stared back. His hands were still on her hips and he pulled her flush against him. Just as she had known he would be, he was hard beneath his jeans.
Bernie moaned with desire and frustration. It was all that Tyler needed. He kissed her again. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her even tighter against his body. His lips teased hers open and he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Bernie pressed herself against him. With a grunt, she threw her arms around his neck.
“Ouch!” Tyler pulled back slightly. He grimaced. “Careful with the nose there, babe.”
He leaned in to kiss her again but the moment had passed. Bernie tensed and pulled away, shaking her head. Tyler’s eyes widened as he released her. Frustration, shame, and anger hit her square in the stomach. She turned away, cursing herself and the situation. Every inch of her body screamed at her to just throw herself back on him. But mind and emotions took precedence to physical wants. After all, she could mostly take care of herself physically.
“But I can’t do this emotional rollercoaster again.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
Bernie sighed as she turned back to Tyler. “It’s not something to be sorry about. Just something that can’t happen. We hadn’t talked about it, but there can’t be anything between us. I’m a mother, I need to focus on taking care of my baby. And quite frankly I can’t do that when I’ve got a relationship mess running around in my head.”
Tyler nodded. He gazed at the floor. “I understand.”
Now she felt like she needed to apologize, but didn’t. If she did, it would send mixed signals. Instead, she took a deep breath and put more distance between them. “Thank you for telling me about Bill. I’ll figure out how I want to deal with him. I should probably just tell him directly that I’m not looking for a mate.”
Tyler nodded again.
There was nothing left to say. Bernie quickly left the bathroom. Her heart pounded and her mouth was dry. She wanted so much to turn around and go back to him. But that would be a mistake. So, she went back to her bedroom, to where her son was waiting for her and shut the door.