Chapter 35
“Body aches, still here.” I lift a hand to my forehead. “Fever, questionable.” I’ll have to find my thermometer to double check that. Raising on an elbow, I find one lying on my nightstand, along with a bottle of Gatorade and Tylenol.
Abby must have taken care of me last night. Goodness, that sweet girl.
My eyes land on a towel on my bedroom floor, and I purse my lips. I don’t remember taking a bath. Good grief, I hope I didn’t ask Abby to help with that, too. She’ll be scarred for life.
Then, from somewhere in my house, I hear him. Tyler’s voice, along with—is that Lisa? Grappling around in my covers for my phone, I turn it over to see it’s Saturday evening. Holy shit, did I sleep nearly twenty-four hours?
I hear the front door shut and footsteps sound down the hall before my door creaks open.
“Hoped you’d be awake.” Tyler enters carrying a bowl of something that smells delectable and a glass of an unknown beverage. “Made you something. My mom’s recipe.”
Sitting up to rest against my headboard, I take the proffered bowl, breathing in the aroma. Tyler has made chicken noodle soup from scratch, and it smells so good I could kiss him.
Bringing the spoon to my lips, I audibly moan when the first bite hits my tongue. It’s delicious with the perfect amount of rosemary and thyme. I take another bite, and he sits on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.
“Lisa came to get the kids. She said it might minimize the spread if you’re contagious.”
“But they’ve already been around me. And now she might catch it.”
Tyler shrugs. “I told her that but she wasn’t hearing it. She said better her than them, what with school and Jay’s first game coming up. I think she just wanted to help out. How do you feel?”
“Better. God, this is delicious. Thank you so much.” I take in another spoonful, bringing my hand to wipe a bit of broth that’s dripped down my chin. “How long have you been here?”
“I came last night. Abby called. She said you asked for me.”
My dizzy spell comes rushing back, and I sit up straighter. “You’ve been here since last night?”
With gentle hands, Tyler steadies the soup bowl that threatens to slosh down my front.
“Shh. I came as soon as she called.” Tyler dips the spoon into the bowl, putting it to my lips. “Here. Eat some more.”
Allowing him to feed me, I’m enveloped in warmth from this sweet caring man. He not only showed up, but he took care of me…and he stayed. All it took was a phone call and he was here in an instant, no hesitation, all because Abby said I needed him.
My stomach flips weightlessly, my heart thumping inside my chest. Why am I so afraid, when all he’s done is show up and stay, time and time again? Another chink of my armor falls to the wayside, leaving my heart exposed to this man, who I’m starting to believe truly isn’t going anywhere.
Then another memory floats to the surface.
“Tyler, did you bathe me?”
“I needed to get your fever down. It—Jo, for a second, it scared me. You were burning up.”
Tyler presses his hand to my cheek, and I smile, leaning into his touch.
His hands are so big and strong. Long fingers that know how to rip an orgasm from my body until I’m left seeing stars.
Aching for more. And now my thoughts are on sex with Tyler.
More orgasms with Tyler. Oh, and maybe restraints?
Yes, please. Would he be into restraints?
When I’m better we’ll have to test that out.
Lord have mercy, I think this sickness has turned me to a horny little sex kitten. And sex kitten is not a word I’ve ever thought in all my thirty-six years, so I’m clearly still feverish.
“Where in the world did your mind go, woman?” Tyler asks, his lips tipped up.
I shoot him a devilish grin. “Complete and total debauchery.”
He cocks a brow. “Is that so?”
Setting the bowl of soup on my nightstand, I rise to my knees.
“Very much so.”
Tyler’s hands go to my shoulders as he gently pushes me back down.
“You’re still feverish.”
A hand goes to my forehead to check again. I take the thermometer from my nightstand and aim it at my forehead. 100.8.
“Well, maybe you’re right.”
Tyler reaches for the Tylenol on my nightstand and shakes out two, dropping them into my palm. Then he hands me the drink he brought with my soup. Taking a sip, I realize it’s sweet tea, with the perfect amount of sugar.
“Take these, finish your soup, and rest. Can you do that for me?”
Swallowing down both pills, I reach for the unfinished soup and nod.
Tyler moves to stand, but I catch his arm. “Stay with me? Tell me about your week. It feels like I haven’t seen you in days.”
So he lowers back down to the bed, and tells me the ins and outs of the last two days since I last saw him.
It’s nothing special, mostly to do with the upcoming awards show Austin and Penny will attend.
Part of his job includes scheduling all the way down to what time Austin and Penny should arrive at events.
My lids start to grow heavy from Tyler’s calming voice, and he takes the bowl from my hand, urging me to lie back down.
Mawmaw always said sleep is when the body heals, so maybe another nap isn’t such a bad idea.
Yawning, I murmur, “I like that my bed smells like you.”
I’m nodding off when I feel Tyler’s lips against my temple and he’s whispering, “Sweet dreams, love.”
I awake with renewed vigor, sunlight streaming through my window.
The time on my phone reads 9 a.m. and it appears I have, quite literally, slept my life away.
But my body aches seem to be completely gone, and when I press my hands to my cheeks they don’t feel warm to the touch. Perhaps my fever has finally broken.
The thermometer reads 98.7, and I breathe a sigh. I only get sick once or twice a year, but this was the worst I remember feeling in, I don’t know how long.
Swinging my legs off the side of my bed, my feet find my slippers, I stand and stretch, and then make my way to the bathroom to freshen up. I check out my reflection, and pick up the knotted strands, laughing to myself. It’ll take at least an hour to comb through all the tangles.
After a hot shower, I feel like a new woman and I head to the living room, where several things vie for my attention at once.
The piles of shoes at the front door now sit organized and my house smells of cleaning disinfectant.
The living room carpet has vacuum lines, and from the corner of my eye, I spot my pothos in the kitchen—even Sir Droops A Lot looks less wilted.
And dozing on my couch is Tyler, a book open on his chest, glasses drifting down the slope of his nose.
He’s shirtless, wearing gray sweatpants with the band of his Tom Ford underwear peeking out.
What a mighty fine man he is. I smile and pad my way over, trying to make as little noise as possible, but he cracks open one eye, one side of his mouth tipping up.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
Tyler sits up, draping an arm across the back of the couch for me to lie up against him.
“How do you feel?”
“Actually…” I consider. “I’d say I’m eighty percent myself again.”
“That’s good. You had me worried. A couple times I’m pretty sure you were delirious, one of those fever dreams.”
I release a breath of a laugh. “Oh yeah? What did I say?”
“Well, when I lifted you off the bed to carry you to the bath, you told me you felt like Lois Lane.”
My body shakes against him as I laugh harder. “Did I say anything else?”
Tyler hesitates. “Nah,” he finally says, and I’m certain he’s keeping something from me.
An overwhelming urge rises to prod until he finally relents and tells me what else I said.
But what if it was something horribly embarrassing that I’d rather him not know?
Like the time I was thirty-nine weeks pregnant and didn’t make it to the bathroom in time.
Or the time I got extremely drunk at Old Town Tavern and attempted karaoke, but ended up standing on the stage crying while blubbering out a sad love song.
Pretty sure everyone there still has a video of it on their phone.
Yeah…fun times. Liam had to pull me from the stage and drive me home.
We fall into comfortable silence while Tyler traces patterns up and down my arms.
“Will you read to me?”
Tyler grabs his copy of White Nights and picks up where he left off, voice pitched low for only me to hear. He reads several pages until something piques my interest.
“That there. Read it again.”
He clears his throat and repeats himself.
“At this moment, Nastenka, when we have met at last after such a long separation—for I have known you for ages, Nastenka, because I have been looking for someone for ages, and that is a sign that it was you who I was looking for, and it was ordained that we should meet now…”
His words trail off, and I hum with happiness.
“I like that.”
A beat passes and the air around us shifts.
“You know…” I begin. “We’re alone.” Reaching to palm him through his sweats, he groans.
“But you’ve been sick,” he says, voice scraped with desire.
“Now I’m eighty percent better. And I have a feeling your cock in my mouth would make me feel even better.”
The strong column of his throat works on a swallow, his breaths shallow. “Jesus, Jo. You know you’ve got a mouth on you, right?”
Tyler’s hazel eyes, normally flecked with green and gold, have darkened to molten amber as he watches me sink to my knees between his open legs, every inch of me humming with anticipation.
Standing, I head to the back door to let Smudge outside and return to Tyler.
I reach for the elastic of his sweats and he raises his hips for me to slide them and his boxer briefs down his thick thighs, and I’m taking his cock in my hand.
Heavy and already hard for me, I lean in to lick the bead of moisture that gathers at the tip.
Tyler fists my hair, winding it around his hand, and I lower my mouth to his erection taking him deep until he hits the back of my throat. His hips jerk, and he groans a low guttural sound.
Pumping his length with one hand, my other goes to squeeze his balls, and Tyler’s head tips back on a tremulous exhale.
I take him as deep as I can each time, while steadily stroking him up and down in time with my mouth.
I release him with a pop, and lick up his shaft till I get to the crown where I spend a few seconds sucking and swirling my tongue.
The hand fisting my hair gently guides me back down, and this time I move faster, keeping up a rhythm that has Tyler whispering barely restrained praises.
But the next thing I know, his hands are pulling me up and onto the couch, ass-up, him positioned behind me.
With quick movements, he’s sliding down my shorts and panties and his cock slams into me, hard and deep to the hilt.
I moan into a throw pillow at the fullness.
Tyler is large, easily the largest I’ve ever had, and the way he stretches me has me seeing stars. There is no way I won’t feel this tomorrow.
“Jo,” Tyler says, low enough for only my ears. “I wish you could see how pretty you look taking me.”
Each snap of Tyler’s hips is hard, relentless, and I can feel my orgasm building.
I thrust into him, matching the pace he’s set, and it’s unlike anything my mind could have dreamed up.
I move my hand to rub my clit, and Tyler tsks behind me.
With the hand not gripping my hip, he reaches around and plays my clit like a fucking fiddle until my release breaks free.
It’s white hot up my spine and I’m burying my face in the pillow again, biting down on the plush fabric.
Tyler’s release comes soon after, his thrusts becoming erratic and he lets out a low growl thrusting hard into me just as another orgasm builds, quick and unexpected, leaving me gasping out his name. His large hands splay against my back, still pumping in and out while we both catch our breath.
When we’ve both come down from our bliss, he slides out, grabs a nearby box of tissues to clean me up, and slides my shorts and panties back in place.
Settling back on the couch, he draws me closer until I’m nestled into his side, and I’m asleep again before I realize it.