Chapter 24 #2
The air crackles between them during the hike back.
An electric current sizzles up his arm every time their fingers brush.
The minutes tick by, unreasonably slow as the sexual tension builds.
Even Nina must sense it. She’s unusually quiet on the drive to the hotel, letting them have their moment, their space.
All through dinner their conversation is stilted, their brains too busy short-circuiting every time their eyes meet, burning with a mutual countdown.
The crew films a few scenes in the “dream suite”—him guiding Winnie inside the secluded bungalow, the two of them sipping champagne with the surf rolling in their ears, a chaste make out session on the flower-petal-strewn bed, but the cameras are too close, too in their faces, to forget.
After an eternity, he finally corrals the crew in the foyer and not-so-subtly forces them toward the open door.
Nina calls out a reminder that they have eight hours of freedom, but no phone calls, no internet, and—
No problem, he thinks as the door clicks closed.
Eight hours.
Eight glorious hours, and he knows exactly how he wants to spend them.
Tyler spins. Winnie is right behind him, staring at him with those big eyes.
It’s quiet. Is it too quiet? All of a sudden, a nervous tickle itches his collarbone.
He scratches the spot with a swallow, wondering if the pressure and the expectation is too much.
He clears his throat. “We don’t have to—”
“Ty?”
He lets out a slow breath. “Yeah?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Thank god.
He sweeps her into his arms, grinning against her lips as she yelps into his mouth.
He slides his hands up her thighs, bunching the blue silk of her skirt around her waist as he presses her back to the wall, sandwiching her against it as he devours her.
Winnie untucks his shirt and glides her hands up to his shoulder blades, digging in as she breaks their kiss with a sigh.
His lips find her neck, and her head tips back.
When she goes for his buttons, he retrieves her hands and clasps their fingers together over her head.
“Not yet,” he orders.
She sucks in a breath as he nips at her skin, making no move to break free of his grip.
Tyler holds both of her hands in one of his and glides the other down the entire length of her torso, skin over silk, taking his time to memorize every curve.
All he wants to do is rip the material off her, but he holds himself back.
There’ll be time for that later. First, he needs to make sure she understands just how sexy she is, just how unbelievably tempting she’s always been, how much she turns him on without even trying.
And if that means he needs to keep it in his pants a little while longer, he’ll damn well find the strength.
So he stays there, kissing her silly until neither of them can take it anymore. Then they fumble down the hall, kissing and tripping over tangled limbs, until they find the bedroom.
Winnie reaches for the switch and he steals her palm.
“No.”
She arches an amused brow. “No?”
“No.” He grips her waist and pulls her deeper into the room with him. “You think I want to miss a second of this? The lights stay on.”
“A second of what?”
He sits on the bed, keeping a hold on her hips. She looks down, a handful of inches taller than him with how he’s perched, and brushes his hair from his brow, a look so loving in her eyes he doesn’t understand how this moment is even real. But it is. And he’s not going to waste it.
“Strip.”
She barks out a laugh. “What?”
The edge of his mouth quirks into a devilish smirk as he repeats himself. “Strip.”
“Ty, I—”
He quiets her with a searing kiss, then lets her go.
While she recovers, he scrambles back on the bed and leans against the headboard with his ankles crossed.
When his head is comfortably cushioned by his palms, he meets her disbelieving eyes, sensing the teasing twinkle in his own.
“While the gentlemanly thing to do would probably be to help, I have it on good authority you don’t want that.
So I think I’ll just sit my ass right here and enjoy the show. ”
She rolls her eyes, then pulls her lower lip between her teeth, weighing the challenge. As if it’s a joke, she lowers one of her spaghetti straps and wriggles her brows, trying not to laugh.
“Ty, come on. I feel ridiculous.”
“Why?” he asks honestly.
“Because…” She sputters, trailing off with a frown. “Just because, okay?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen, and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about that.”
She swallows. “Ty.”
“I’m serious, Win. Don’t be shy with me. Don’t hide. Not now. Not tonight.”
“I don’t want to, but—”
“You want to see how you make me feel?” He goes for his belt buckle and tears his pants off so she can see every inch of the bulge straining against his boxer briefs.
“This is how you make me feel, so fucking turned on the only way I can keep it together right now is to not touch you. So let me watch you instead. Please, Win. Let me see you.”
She looks down, then back up with a thick swallow.
Something clicks into place in her eyes and a bolt of heat shoots up his chest. She fists the silky material of her dress, sensually sliding it up her legs, teasing him with every inch before playfully dropping it back down.
Then she spins, presenting him with her back as she shrugs one strap off, nothing but fire in her gaze as she peeks over her shoulder at him.
He feels himself twitch. Her gaze dips to the spot and she inhales sharply, eyes fluttering as though she’s drunk on her own power.
And she should be. The room could literally be burning down around them and he still wouldn’t move a muscle if it meant missing a second of her.
He’s trapped by the sight as she slowly lets the other strap fall.
He waits on bated breath, a thick plug in the back of his throat as she pauses, drawing the moment out before releasing the top edge of her dress.
Silk slides over skin and suddenly she’s bare except for a lacy midnight set.
He groans against the pillows, in physical pain.
“Please tell me you were thinking of me when you bought those,” he can’t help but beg, his voice practically a whimper.
“I was always thinking about you, Ty,” she whispers, stepping closer to the bed.
She leans down and crawls across the mattress, her seductive gaze pinning him to the spot.
She settles on her knees between his legs and rises to a kneel.
He can’t stop his gaze from roaming every inch of her.
His hand snakes out before he can stop it, but she slaps his fingers away.
“No touching,” she admonishes. “I’m pretty sure that was the rule. ”
Fuck, he curses as the command in her words sets his skin ablaze. I’ve created a monster.
But he can’t lie.
This bad-teacher vibe she has going is doing things to him. Seeing her so bold, so brazen, so at ease in her own authority, is driving him absolutely wild.
Winnie reaches slowly behind her back and undoes the clasp. Not a single bit of her tries to cover anything up as she slides her bra down her arms, then lets it drop to the ground.
He can’t take it.
In a burst of motion, he grabs her around the waist and flips them, pressing her back against the mattress.
“Hey!” She laughs. “I wasn’t done.”
“Yeah, well.” He shrugs and offers her a smirk. “You, of all people, should know I’ve always been pretty shit at following the rules.”
Then his mouth is on her. Whatever snarky response she was preparing turns into a gasp instead.
He makes his way down her sternum, past her belly button, hooking his fingers around her panties as he moves.
When they’re off, she grabs at his shoulders, trying to pull him back up, but he doesn’t budge.
“Spread your legs, Win. I want to see all of you.”
She breathes at the command, her chest heaving, anticipation alight in her eyes. But then her gaze flicks to the lights, a hint of uncertainty passing over her features.
He won’t stand for it.
“Spread your fucking legs.”