Chapter Forty-Nine
H e made me feel sexy , and special, and most importantly, normal.
We cooked, we talked, we laughed, we ate, and then we cleaned up and we did it all together. No maids, no cook, no formal place settings or a dining table big enough for twenty.
It was heaven.
And it was so beautifully perfect.
His house was sparse but clean and there were pictures of Nash everywhere. Of course there was gun locker the size of a trunk standing on end in his bedroom and a security system that seemed more complicated than Fort Knox. He was also beyond reserved if I asked about his time in the military or right after, but he was incredibly forthcoming about anything else.
He didn’t try to paint himself in any kind of flattering light, in fact, he was the opposite of boastful. He was humble and he paid attention to everything I said with more attentiveness than any man I had ever met.
I loved everything about him.
Including the way he’d carefully and gently reapplied ointment on my arm and changed the bandage, then led me to bed by the hand.
But now we were lying in his huge bed and he’d pulled my back to his chest. I could feel his hard length pressed up against me, but he wasn’t making a move to go any further, and I was feeling more than insecure about it.
He kissed my shoulder. “Close your eyes, sweetheart.”
It was pitch dark. “How do you know they’re open?”
“I can feel it.”
I smiled. “You’re right, they were open.”
“And now?”
I loved the rough sound of his voice when he was speaking quietly. “Still open.”
“Want to tell me why?”
I drew my fingers up the length of his muscular forearm. “Do I have to?”
“You promised me, babe.”
I nodded. “I did. I promised you my words.”
“That means all of them.”
“Why did you make me promise you that?” It’d seemed understandable at the time. He was trying to keep me talking. I wasn’t ignorant. I recognized I was upset by everything that had happened and my mind was trying to cope with it all when I’d stopped talking. But why he’d made me promise to always talk to him, I still didn’t fully understand.
His chest rose with a deep inhale. “Two-fold. If you were talking, you weren’t holding shit in. And secondly.” He paused.
“Secondly what?”
He exhaled. “I selfishly wanted to own that from you.”
I frowned. “And do you?” How did one own words of another?
“No.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he wasn’t finished.
“But I want to earn it. I want to be the man who gets your words. I want to be the person you always talk to.”
I loved the sound of that, but it still didn’t answer my more pressing question. Biting my lip, I dared to ask. “Only talk?”
His deep voice rumbled with a chuckle. “And fuck.”
“Which we’re not doing right now,” I pointed out.
“No, we’re not.” He kissed my temple. “As much as I want to pound in to that sweet cunt of yours and come for days, I’m giving you a night to rest and heal. But trust me, I’m thinking of every single way I want to take you and make you mine.”
I smiled, wide, as desire coursed through my slightly sore core. “Okay.”
He cupped my face with the hand he had around my waist and brought my lips almost to his. “We good?”
“We’re very, very good.”
“Great.” His lips met mine and his tongue swept through my mouth with his special brand of dominance as he kissed me. But too soon, as if he had to pull back before he couldn’t contain himself, he ended the kiss. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.” He tucked me back into the cocoon of his arms, but I had one more question.
“You haven’t smoked.”
“I quit.”
Just like that? “When?”
“Made a promise to myself as we were driving back up from Key West. After you wouldn’t talk to me on the phone, I told myself if I got your words again, I was done smoking. I did, so I am.”
Wow. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Okay, I had another question. “What happens tomorrow?”
His huge body shifted behind me and he brought his leg between mine. “I take the day off. We fuck, we eat, we sleep. Then we go pick up Nash and make him dinner.”
That sounded kind of perfect. “Will Mercy be there?”
“She’ll probably be sleeping until dinnertime, then get up for work, eat the food we make, bitch about night shift, then leave for work.”
I didn’t blame her. Working nights didn’t seem like fun, and I didn’t think I would want to leave my young son all night. “Who stays with Nash?”
“A sitter. Me sometimes, when I’m not working.”
An idea formed. “Maybe I can help watch him sometimes.”
“That’d be great.” Ty kissed my cheek. “Now get some sleep, woman. I’m tired as fuck.”
I smiled. “Goodnight. And for the record, I like you, Tyce Asher, swear words and all.” I more than liked him. I was in love with him, head over heels in love, but I wasn’t sure he was ready to hear those words, so I kept them close to my heart, hoping he knew anyway.
Careful of my wound, his arms tightened around me. “And for record back, I like you a whole damn lot, Ludeviene Loic, including your sexy name and even sexier ass.”
I giggled.
He sobered. “One more thing. I called your father tonight when you were in the shower. I let him know where you were, and that you were okay.”
I stiffened. “What did he say?”
Ty smirked. “Before or after he cussed me out?”
“My father swore?”
“Not directly, but he’s creative as fuck.”
Oh God. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. The old man needs to get used to me.” Ty nuzzled my neck. “He’s gonna see me every time his daughter comes around, because I don’t trust his security for shit.”
I held his arm to me tighter. “Thank you, for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied gruffly. “Now go to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Ty.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
I closed my eyes and as a strong, stoic bodyguard held me, I fell asleep.