Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
My mouth was dry.
I needed water, but I was too lazy to open my eyes.
The thought of walking to the kitchen sounded draining.
Instead of getting up, I furrowed deeper into my covers.
Had my mom used a new scent? They didn’t smell floral, instead they smelled like a man’s cologne.
When I tried to furrow deeper into my bed is when I felt it.
It felt like I was stuck in a cage.
Something warm was wrapped around my waist. My eyes still felt too heavy to open. Instead of trying to wake up properly, I shifted my weight trying to move, but froze when I realize I couldn’t. Something—someone—was behind me. My actions caused them to stir.
My eyes sprang open, and last night’s events started coming to me.
Rachel and I went out drinking. Did I pick up some rando? Shit, did I bring him home with my parents in the same house? That would be fucking embarrassing. No, that wasn’t possible. That cute cop who knew Rachel brought us home.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I was so fucked.
What in the hell made me think it was okay to walk to Ty’s house? More importantly, how the hell did I find the courage to do so?
It was safe to say I would never be drinking again—ever.
My mind was racing with all the possible ways I could spin this to my favor. There weren’t many scenarios, but if there was one thing I could do was spin a good story.
I looked around the room, and I realized we were in his basement. He had the top little windows covered, but I could see some light peeking through.
Slowly, I began to wiggle my way out of his hold. My heart was beating like crazy; it was hard to breathe properly. If I weren’t so mortified, I would start to analyze the fact that I was not only in bed with Tyler Kane but also in his arms.
We used to sleep together when we were younger, and then, one day, Ty stopped coming over. I wish I had known the last time he slept over would be his last—so that way I could have done everything to remember it.
Memories slowly faded over time, and I was scared that one day I would look back and not remember the things I loved about my childhood. All I would have left was the feeling of nostalgia and like something was missing.
If I were being honest, something would always be missing.
I needed to get gone. I didn’t believe in running, but in this situation, I was ready to run like my life depended on it.
It’s not your life you should be worried about—it’s your heart.
I shifted my legs so I could prop myself away from Ty when he groaned into the crook of my neck. His hot breath on my skin caused my back to arch instinctively. It was one of my sensitive spots, and the fact that it was him, even if it wasn’t sexual, made it worse.
“Stop moving,” he mumbled.
I panicked and began to squirm. The asshole was not letting me get away.
“Beautiful.” It sounded like a warning.
“Don’t call me that,” I hissed at him, annoyed he kept saying that word.
The hand around my waist loosened, and even though it was what I had asked for, it didn’t make me feel any better. Just as I was about to get up, Tyler gripped my hips and pulled me back toward him.
Goosebumps covered my arms as I felt his erection against my ass.
“W-w-what are you doing?” I managed to utter.
“This is what you do to me,” he said against the shell of my ear.
My wiggling was instinctual and not because I wanted to rub his erection. A low hiss escaped Ty’s lips.
“Liar. It was never a problem before,” I exclaimed once I gathered my wits.
Tyler let out a humorless laugh that vibrated on my neck. A shiver went down my spine at the stimulation. Tyler noticed this and pulled me even closer, grinding his erection on me. His left arm moved so it spanned over my belly.
My breath hitched, and he took that as an invitation to keep going. It was torture the way his hand splayed over my belly. His fingers began to rub circles against my piercings and I had to bite my lip so I wouldn’t moan.
Tyler’s breath sounded heavier as he touched them. Heat spread through me the moment his fingertips began to move into the waistband of my pants.
“It was always a problem, beautiful. Why do you think I stopped staying over?”
I couldn’t breathe.
It was the overstimulation of his fingers slowly working their way down my pants and the lies that dripped from his lips that had me feeling strung out. All I could do was shake my head at his words.
“Does this feel like a lie to you, Astrid?” he taunted as he ground his hips against me. This time I couldn’t hold back my moan.
“Fuck,” he cursed. His fingertips were teasing the edge of my panties. “Are you wet for me, beautiful?”
I was, and in a few seconds he would feel just how wet I was.
I had to be dreaming, right? There was no way this was real life.
Ty shifted behind me. His leg wedged between us, forcing me to spread my legs for him so he would have more room.
I let out a needy whimper.
“You’re fucking killing me, Astrid,” his words were gruff against my cheeks.
His lips hovered on my skin. His scruff tickled in the best way.
“I imagined this a thousand times. The last time I slept over, we were so close…” His husky voice had me holding my breath.
Finally, one of his fingers began to stroke my pussy. “You’re soaked, beautiful.”
“Oh God.”
My whimper seemed to spur him on.
In an instant he maneuvered us so that I now laid under him. One of his hands was still inside of my pants while he held himself up with the other.
My eyes met his and the sight of him wasn’t something I would be forgetting anytime soon. His green eyes were so dark they took my breath away. It was a look I never thought would be directed at me.
One single digit slowly penetrated me. His jaw clenched as I spread my legs so he could go deeper.
“I’m going to make you say my name over and over again until it’s all you can say,” he vowed sternly. “You’re going to say it so much, you’re going to lose your fucking voice.”
He pulled back and then pushed his finger back in.
“Fuck,” I hissed.
My pants needed to come off now.
Ty rose on his knees, leaned down, and held on to my chin with his other hand. At that moment, there was nothing playful about him; it was sheer masculine beauty.
“You should have never denied me my name, beautiful girl.”
His taunt should have pissed me off, but instead, I cried out when he touched my swollen clit.
I had never been this turned on in my life. I was getting close to start begging, saying his name if it meant he would finish me off.
Consequences be damned.
“You want to come, baby?”
Him calling me baby did funny things to me. I was a strong independent woman, and it was pathetic how much that word reduced me to a fucking wet puddle.
I was about to open my mouth, give him what he wanted, and say his name, when there was a knock on the door.
“Tyler.” I instantly recognized Mr. Kane’s sleepy voice.
Both Tyler and I panicked. He removed his hand from my pants, and I felt like someone had doused me in cold water. When I heard the doorknob begin to turn, my hands went to Tyler’s forearms and pushed him off me.
“Fuck,” he groaned at the same time the door came open.
Don’t ask me why I reached for the covers, but I did. I put them up as if I were naked and needed shielding. The action probably made me look as guilty as I felt.
“Thatcher and Jodi are look?—”
Mr. Kane stopped talking when he made eye contact with me.
“Astrid.” He said my name softly, and despite my mortification, I smiled at him.
“Mr. Kane,” I managed to squeak.
“Call me Mark. Mr. Kane was my father.” He repeated the same thing he had told me a thousand times. He then looked down to the floor, where Tyler sat with a pillow over his lap.
My cheeks burned, and I was sure my face was beet red. A pillow in a guy’s lap was like the universal code for ‘I’m hard, and I don’t want you to see it.’ Mr. Kane raised all boys; he had to know what it meant.
How the hell did I end up like this?
It had to be that stupid little aphrodisiac crystal.
“What’s up, Dad,” Ty said, his voice sounding normal.
“Thatcher called, he and Jodi were looking for Astrid,” he repeated.
“Oh my God, my parents,” I screamed, jumping out of the bed. “I have to go.”
“It’s okay. I’ll let them know you’re here,” Mr. Kane said as he pulled out his phone. He quickly stepped out and closed the door behind him as if me being in Tyler’s room was something that happened often.
“Astrid,” Tyler said as he got up.
“Don’t talk to me.” I pointed a finger at him and refused to look him in the eye. “I need to go. My parents must’ve been worried sick.”
“Beautiful,” he said softly as he stepped toward me. I looked at his bare feet instead of making eye contact.
He had been holding on to me—touching me. The things he said had my brain spinning.
I looked around and found my shoes. I leaned down to get them, then ran out.
“Mark,” I yelled as if that would save me. “Can you please give me a ride back home?”
I heard Tyler curse after me, but I kept running until I made it to his dad.
Now here I sat in Mr. Kane’s truck while he drove my ass home. To say I was embarrassed was putting it lightly. I felt like I was doing the walk of shame with a twist.
“We missed you, kiddo,” Mr. Kane said, breaking the awkward silence.
His statement made my throat constrict and made me feel like utter shit. The one thing I didn’t let myself think about was that even though Tyler had been my best friend after his mom passed away, his dad and his brothers became family.
“Me too,” I replied softly.
The truth was much harder to get out than the lies I had been feeding myself. The rest of the ride was filled with mindless chitchat. When he dropped me off at my house, I wanted to groan. I felt guilty for what had transpired this morning and for worrying my parents.
“Thank you, Mr.—Mark.” I began to wave him off.
“I’m glad you’re back, Astrid. My boy looks a lot happier these days.”