Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
TYNAN
L eaving Tally to sort herself out in the mudroom, I sit down on the sofa, working from my phone, filling in time until she’s back.
“I’m going to have a shower real quick,” she says as she disappears up the stairs.
I’m tempted to follow her. She’s someone I want to spend a lot of time with. The way she sees me is different to how the others do, though if I had to explain how, I’d be hard-pressed to.
The idea of us all hanging out in her space for no reason at all other than it’s her space, then taking Tally out for a late dinner once she got back from work was a good plan.
Getting to spend the whole afternoon with just her sounds better, it sounds like fate.
Pulling the sofa apart and setting up the modular pieces differently, I make a giant bed and flick the television on, leaving the movie channel on the screen.
Grabbing sheets, pillows, and blankets, I set up a pseudo nest using my experience of having an Omega as my twin.
By the time she comes back downstairs in the cutest, longest cloud sweater I’ve seen, I have everything we could need, at least for a while.
Without hesitation, she bounds across the room and takes a running leap straight into the pile of blankets, her gleeful laughter despite the shadows under her eyes, confirming I read the room right.
I don’t join her. Not because I don’t want to, or I don’t feel confident enough to—it’s her zone. If she asks me to join her, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.
“What do you feel like watching?” I ask as I start flicking through the latest releases.
“Tynan, are you going to get changed?”
I twist around, and she’s sitting in the middle but holding up a blanket. Her intention is obvious.
“I didn’t bring anything.”
Tally bounds out of her hidey-hole and grabs the remote for the heater. After a small beep sounds, she climbs back onto the sofa bed.
“I set the heater to high, and there’s plenty of blankets, so what do you say to spending a lazy afternoon on the sofa with me?”
My heart takes off like a rocket and nearly beats itself out of my chest. I get what she’s alluding to, but I still want to hear her say what she wants me to do. Not because I’m fucking stupid or weak—of course I want to get in there with her with as little clothing on as possible.
She drinks me down, her eyes moving slowly over my black shirt, dropping to my black dress pants.
“Tynan, I’ve seen you in your boxing silks.
If I survived that, I’m about eighty-five percent confident I’ll be fine with you watching a movie with me in your boxers.
Unless, of course, you prefer to romp around naked.
And then that percentage drops significantly. ”
“Tally, you want me naked?” I ask, surprising myself by not ripping my clothes clean off.
She bites her lip and tips her head to the side, like she’s deep in thought before she’s looking me square in the eye. “Yeah. Oh my god, I meant nah. Oh, sheesh, that’s a really good idea, actually. Nearly nude movie marathon.” She’s blabbering, and it’s adorable.
I gulp and will my dick not to get erect. Of course, it’s Tally I’m with, and she keeps surprising me to no end. She stands up, balancing on one leg as she loses her hoodie. With a flick of her foot, it comes flying at me. Like waving a red flag at a bull.
There’s fire in her eyes and innocence on her face that doesn’t match the tiny thong she wears. Her scent comes in waves, juicy peaches. Really fucking juicy peaches.
I have no hope of keeping a soft cock.
Taking a step forward, I’m drawn to her beauty. “Firecracker, your body is incredible.”
Her eyes drop, and a blush cascades down her cheeks.
“Look at me,” I demand under my breath, and she does.
I barely heard my words myself, but it’s like that with us. We don’t need volume or endless conversation to explain ourselves. There’s this thing between us that’s as alive and tangible as her physically standing in front of me.
Without her blazing confidence and ready-to-slay persona, she’s softer. Gentler. I love all sides of her personality, but this one, this less confident version, is my favorite because I’m pretty sure it’s the real Tally O’Connor.
“I’ll tell you you’re gorgeous, Tally, every day of our lives, just to see that glow on your face. But you also got to know you are beautiful.” I reach for her hand that’s already floating up.
She moves as if the ground is uneven, but it’s only because it’s her and me.
I swear this space we share is raw, perhaps even brutal because of its intensity.
Without context, it probably looks like we’ll burn out after a short time together, as if it’s not authentic, but what we share is hauntingly deep.
“I’m not putting the ring on, Tynan.”
Not yet. “I didn’t ask you today.”
“But I know you want to,” she counters on a whisper.
I lift her hand and place it on my chest. “You’re in charge today.”
She laughs as she towers above me. “You might regret that.”
“I wouldn’t ever regret any time with you.”
Her hands fall off my chest, her smile disappears, and the walls in her pretty eyes start to rise like the turning tide.
“One day. Let’s have one day, Tally. I won’t push you, you won’t pull away from me.”
Her hands cover her face, her voice hardly loud enough. “I can’t do that.”
I gently pry her hands off her face. “Why?”
And those eyes that render me speechless and rob me of so much are full of her fears, but she tells me, anyway. “Because one day will never be enough, and we both know that.”
“We’ll be fine. I promise.”
“You say that now.”
“I’m going to say this again for you,” I offer, unbuttoning my shirt, letting it fall off my shoulders before I speak. “If this is our time, then let’s not waste any more of it questioning if we should or shouldn’t. I won’t break.”
She huffs a strange laugh and refuses to look at me for a few moments, all but confirming whatever it is that threatens to take this from her is bigger than the both of us.
I undo my belt, letting my pants fall to the floor, then I climb up so I’m standing with her on top of the sofa cushions in my boxers and socks.
And then I cup her face, staring into those huge green eyes of hers. “I trust you, Tally. I know you’ve got this thing you won’t share with any of us. It can have you tomorrow. Today, tonight, and right fucking now, it’s just you and me. And maybe this crazy connection we have.”
Her breathing is erratic as mine, but I made a promise not to hide who I am. Need claws over my skin like nails on a chalkboard. I wrap my arms around her from behind, dropping my head to the base of her neck and inhaling her mind-numbing scent from its source.
“I’ve wanted to do that since forever,” I admit as I trail my lips over the spot where commitments and bonds are made, guiding her down in the process, so we’re sitting in the middle of the makeshift bed.
I search one-handed for the blankets, pulling them up so they cover us completely as we land on our sides, facing the television. When I hand her the remote, she twists around, giving me a little glare.
“You can’t seriously think I’m rushing a second of this. Put your favorite movie on for me.” I rub my nose over her neck, making a space for her to rest her head on my arm so I can have her body pressed over mine.
“I don’t have a favorite movie.”
“You can’t be serious.” I sit up, propping my head on my hand to look down at her.
She’s so close, her peachy breath is what I breathe in. “What’s yours, then?”
“I barely watch television. If I’m not working with Ronin and Keegan, I’m either in the gym or with Raff.”
“So, why a movie date?”
“For this.” I push my weight down on her, then I roll back to where I was and start running my fingers through her hair.
When my hand disappears under the blankets, skirting down her side to rest over her stomach, her eyes drop to my mouth.
I reach down, taking the invitation, ghosting my lips over hers. “And that too. Now put something on for us to watch, so I can start doing all those things.”
“And more,” she insists, wiggling backwards as she starts searching.
Being next to her is an opportunity I won’t squander. If I could make time stretch, I would. If the devil asked for my soul, he’d get it for this chance with her.
She almost changes my mind when I hear the first line about dying in the place of someone you love being a good way to go, I tug on her shoulder to search her face.
“You best just be into vampires that sparkle like diamonds, Tally, and not that altruistic bullshit Bella continually got caught in.”
“Everything she did, she did for love. If you read the books, you’d get it,” she argues before rolling back to her side to watch the movie.
“I did read the books. She should have ended up with Edward and Jacob. They could have skipped the whole Renesmee thing. The three of them together would have given ‘breaking dawn’ a different meaning.”
“You can’t turn Twilight into an X-rated movie. It’s a classic.” She snuggles into the crook of my arm, her focus on watching, leaving me staring down at her, half in horror, half wondering if she’s playing with me. The soft glow on her cheeks suggests it’s probably a mix of both.
“Communication is key,” I insist, going back to inhaling her scent straight from the source.
“True,” she mumbles, her eyes glued to the screen while she cranes her neck up.
Peachy perfume invades my senses, leaving me hungry for more of her. “Tell me something you want.” My hands won’t stay still, no matter how hard I try, so I stop fighting it.
Her skin is as delicate as her scent. It’s also addictive.
It’s an exploration of self-control as my hand glides down her body. I lift the blanket, which makes the situation that much more intimate. She rolls onto her back, her hand joining mine as we trail over places I’ll need forever to discover.
Soft sighs fall from her lips, her eyes filling with emotion and desire. I wish I had words to properly describe the moment, but not being able to articulate doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget it.
“Tell me, Tally, what’s the one thing you want? Just for you.”
“This,” she says in an instant. Her eyes are closing as she sends my hand down her side.
“Me?”
She huffs a quiet laugh. “Yes. Definitely. Them too. As a collective, and as individuals.” Her eyes open again. “Why do you sound like you don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that,” I murmur, dipping my head to kiss her shoulder.
“What is it, then?”
“I’m a Beta.”
“Who’s doing a stellar job of reminding me I’m a woman. Not just an Omega.”
I look at her properly, without all my usual protections in place.
With a small but genuine smile she says, “You said tonight, it’s us. The real us.”
“So, you’ll share what’s holding you back with me?”
“You set the rules, Tynan. If you want to change them now, so be it.”
It’s not a low blow. She’s simply reminding me of what I said earlier. The truth comes out because I’m not sure I could keep much from her.
“I’ll never be enough for you.”
Her teeth grind down for a second, her eyes fill with fire, but her voice and nature stay tender. “So why do your packmates constantly defer to you? Why does your brother think the sun rises and sets with you? Why do you see something in me not many other people do?”
“When you need help the most, I won’t be able to bring you relief.”
“It’s not all about knots. And you know that.” She takes my hand from her side and brings it slowly higher until I’m cupping her breast. “Let’s test your theory of you never being enough for me.”
My thumb grazes over her nipple poking through her bra. “Since you know more of my fear, tell me, are you going to disappear on me tomorrow?”
Tally nods, not hiding at all. Her throat bobs up and down as she searches for a way to explain. But right now, her admission is enough.
“In that case, you only get part of me. You disappeared on me once before, firecracker.”
Her eyes drop, her fingers coiling tighter around mine.
Her voice is barely above a whisper as she says, “When I do disappear, just trust me, okay? Trust that this is as real to me as it is to you. Trust when I said I wanted you and your pack. You’re everything I’ve wanted.
” Then she reaches up, pulling me down to her mouth.
“We give each other as much as we can, until the sun rises.”
I’d offer her the world if I knew she’d take it.