Chapter 24 #2
It felt so good. He felt so good. His lips closed around the lobe of my ear, and I whimpered, “Oh, God.”
“Like that, baby?” His voice was gruff. His beard tickled my skin with each movement of his mouth, his hands controlling my hips as he rubbed me against him. It was like my story, but instead of a table, he was using his zipper to torture me.
Like was not a word I would use to describe the feelings rioting through me. It was on the tip of my tongue to beg, to tell him I needed more when he pulled away, dropping my leg and putting as much space between us as the tiny closet allowed.
I leaned against the wall, panting. “What the heck was that?”
Ty’s jaw clenched, his hands fisting at his side. “That was a mistake.”
I sucked in a breath as pain sliced through my chest, cleaving my heart in two. I flinched, smacking my head off the wall with a short cry of pain.
“Shit!” He was right there, cupping my head where I hit it.
“Don’t touch me!” I cringed away from his touch, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Phoebe,” he pleaded, moving to trap me again. “I’m sorry. I’m—I didn’t mean it like that. Kissing you wasn’t a mistake.” He sounded so offended that I would think that’s what he meant.
“Yes. It was.” I knew better. This last week had taught me better. I was just weak where this man was concerned. I needed to get out of here. Get away, and then I’d be okay.
Ty used his size to his advantage, and his hand found the back of my head, rubbing the tender spot.
With his forehead pressed to mine, I couldn’t make out the look on his face now that his body was blocking out the sliver of light filtering in from underneath the door.
“Kissing you before I made a few things clear was the only mistake. This past week has been a mistake.”
I don’t understand. “I don’t understand.”
Ty sighed; his breath, which tasted of whiskey and him, fanned my face.
“I promised myself I’d talk to you, make sure you understood what actually happened this week.
Then I held you on the dance floor and felt your sweet little body against mine in here, and I couldn’t stop myself from touching you. I missed touching you.”
I missed him touching me, too. It was insane, and yet, I couldn’t stop the way I felt. Wait—
“What do you mean by ‘what actually happened’?” I knew what had happened. It was that reminder which had me pulling away from him again, this time much more carefully. There were only so many head injuries I could take in one night, to say nothing of the wounds on my heart.
Ty resisted letting me go and then gave in.
I moved as much as I could. I hated how I wanted to throw myself back into his arms but couldn’t. He’d hurt me all week, and I wasn’t some pathetic woman who would beg a man for his attention.
“It means that I’m an asshole and I screwed up.”
I didn’t disagree with any of it. It was a surprise I didn’t feel the need to reach out and soothe him automatically, hearing the discomfort and self-flagellation in his voice. “Yes, you did.”
I couldn’t tell, but I thought Ty smiled, making me frown. Who was happy when someone called them a screwup?
“So what is this all about?” I wanted to get out of here, I told myself. Really, I wanted him to say something, anything, to make this past week make sense.
Ty hesitated. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
I knew, and Old Phoebe wouldn’t have spoken up. New Phoebe was more than ready to have her say. “How about last Saturday?” You know, Ty. The day you were supposed to call me, and you didn’t?
“I was going to call you,” he swore sincerely. “The storm that hit damaged a site, and I was there from four in the morning…”
He then explained how long his day was and that he wanted to call me, but by the time he was done, it was so late, and then he’d realized he’d lost his phone.
I understood about work. I was like that. I could be lost in a book for hours or even a day and not even realize there was a world outside the one in my head. I couldn’t really blame him for the same thing I notoriously did.
Still… “That doesn’t explain Sunday.” The café. The way he’d ignored me had crushed me.
Ty ran a hand down his face. Even in the dark I could see the outline of his movements.
“Sunday was a disaster,” he agreed. He told me about why he acted the way he did. I couldn’t believe it was his foot tapping mine under the table. I’d thought it was someone else, and it had been Ty trying to connect with me the whole time...
My heart started to thud a little harder, hope blooming inside me.
“Knock! Knock!” Alex thrust open the door, allowing the light to spill in from the hallway, making me squawk in surprise. I jerked, crashing into a couple of folded tables with a cry.
“Jesus Christ, Alex!” Ty snapped, pulling me to him.
“Oops.” She ducked her head. Flicking her gaze back down the hall, she came into the room. “You better scram. Mommy’s looking for you.”
Cady-Jo.
“Crap,” Ty cursed, his hand moving up and down my back. Unconsciously, I leaned into him. My heart had accepted his explanation and not even realized there were a few more issues we had to resolve.
A sound caught Alex’s attention, and she looked to see what it was.
“Time to go, Hammerhead.” She stepped into the room, grabbing Ty’s arm and pulling him to the door.
Ty griped, trying to get her to let go of him.
Alex was deceptively strong and managed to pull him away from me, which made me stumble for a second.
“Go!” She slammed the door in his face when he tried to stay.
Turning back to me, she took in my slightly disheveled state. “You’re welcome.”
“Welcome? For what?”
“For fixing things between the two of you.” She moved to me, pulling a comb out of her purse.
“What are you talking about?” They weren’t fixed. If anything, things just got even more complicated. Ty may have explained about last weekend, but what about the rest of the week?
Frowning, she carefully combed my hair. “He didn’t tell you about his jealousy over Aaron? His phone being damaged, which blocked you and a few other people? Or how he’s going to spend the rest of his life living to serve my every whim for not killing him?”
No, he definitely didn’t. Thankfully, Alex was in a giving mood and gave up all the details while she helped me get myself back together.
My mind spun with the new information, emotions shifting and twisting inside of me. Last week hadn’t been what I thought it was at all. It didn’t take away the pain I still felt, but I started to feel a little better.
When we got back to the table, I saw Ty back in his seat with a certain someone once again pressed against his side, her smile wide, and hearts all but popping out of her eyes.
It was then I realized that there was one thing that hadn’t been explained. And with my past, it was the one thing that felt like someone had reached into my stomach and was playing with my insides.