Chapter 18 #3
My eyes roll back into my head as Tyler shoves his hips up, grabbing handfuls of my ass to pump into me deeper, both of us coming apart and screaming each other’s names.
He lets go of the belt and unclips it, letting it fall to the ground.
Leaning forward I attack his lower lip with my teeth giving it a hard lighthearted tug into my mouth.
The look he gives me afterward nearly wrecks me like a physical blow, the raw devotion and pure obsession that burns in his eyes. As if the thought of losing me is enough to break him.
His face is slick with rain and sweat, each breath expanding his chest as his gaze traces a slow path over me, lingering like he’s memorizing every curve of my body.
His hands tighten on my thighs as he draws me closer, his forehead brushing mine while our ragged breaths mingle between us. A second later, his mouth finds mine again, and the sound that escapes me is lost beneath the rain and thunder.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he utters like it hurts to say.
I bring him back into another kiss instead of answering.
That seems to destroy whatever control he had left.
“Tyler,” I breathe again, barely audible this time.
He brushes his nose against mine before kissing me with more warmth this time, almost excruciatingly gentle compared to before.
Even under all the darkness inside both of us, Tyler still loves me like something sacred.
A fond smile tugs at his mouth before an affectionate chuckle escapes as he helps me to my feet. Mud and grass cling to different parts of me and cold droplets fall from my soaked hair onto my shoulders.
The clothes we’d abandoned on the ground are entirely soaked, heavy with rain and flecked with mud.
He bends to gather them anyway, shaking his head when he sees the state of mine.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he mumbles.
He pulls on his own pants before reaching for his sweatshirt. The fabric is damp from the storm, but it’s still warmer than the rain. Without hesitation, he lifts it over my head and tugs it down into place.
The oversized sweatshirt engulfs me. The sleeves fall past my hands, and the hem brushes the middle of my thighs.
Tyler’s grin widens as he takes me in.
“Much better.”
Rain continues to patter through the trees around us while I tug the sleeves over my hands, the faint scent of him remaining in the fabric despite the storm.
Now I let out a full belly laugh, “I hope your appetite is always voracious when it comes to me” lowering my voice in a sultry tone.
His gaze travels over me, claiming me, “Cassidy Chase, I told you a while ago you’d always be mine, and I never go back on my word.”
The rain has finally started to ease to a drizzle by the time we make it back to the car.
Tyler’s arm stays slung around my shoulders as we walk.
Mostly because I’m exhausted.
Partly because walking barefoot through mud is proving harder than I will ever admit.
His mouth twitches as he fights back a laugh and snorts.
“Don’t.”
I glare up at him.
His grin widens.
“You look like a newborn deer.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
I try to shove him.
He catches my wrist effortlessly.
“Violence isn’t the answer, Cassidy.”
“You’re literally a vigilante.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“It just is.”
I roll my eyes.
Tyler looks entirely too pleased with himself.
Rain drips from his short brown curls onto his tattooed shoulders, chest, and arms and I see every ripple of muscle.
I hate how much I love it.
Ahead, the car waits where we left it.
We are both a disaster. Soaked through, mud in possibly every crevice and covered in bits of grass and leaves.
Then I remember that home is just down the road, and a wave of relief washes over me.
Tyler opens the passenger door with an exaggerated flourish.
“Your chariot awaits.”
I stare at him.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Yet somehow you remain infatuated with me.”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it.
His expression softens on the spot.
As though hearing me laugh is his favorite thing in the world.
For a second neither of us move.
The storm.
The woods.
The chase.
Everything else fades away.
There’s only us.
Tyler extends his fingers and brushes a damp strand of hair away from my face.
His thumb caresses my cheek, lovingly.
“There she is.”
Emotion catches me off guard since I know exactly what he means.
Not the girl from tonight.
Not the girl consumed by revenge.
Just me.
Cassidy.
I cover his hand with mine.
“I’m right here.”
His smile is small, real.
The kind reserved only for me.
“Then come home with me.”
He nudges me toward the car.
“Get in before you catch pneumonia.”
For the first time all night, I laugh, and it’s honest and unguarded.
“You know that’s not how pneumonia works.”
“Get in the car, killer.”
Still smiling, I climb inside.
A moment later Tyler slides into the driver’s seat.
When he turns the car on, the windshield wipers automatically begin moving back and forth. He doesn’t waste any time turning around and heading to our home.
As we pull away from the woods together, the first hint of sunrise begins to break across the horizon.