Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Lydia put the last dirty plate in the dishwasher as Ty washed the pan they’d used to cook a batch of fresh scallops that they ate with a mix of summer vegetables. She smiled at him as he put the pan in the dish rack.
He smiled back, wearing one of his typical athletic shorts and tank top outfits as he wiped his hands on the towel. “What’s up?”
She shrugged, dressed down in simple cotton shorts and a T-shirt after a long day. “I was thinking that instead of walking on the beach tonight, I could show you something.”
He raised his brow as he snagged her by the arm and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Does this thing that you want to show me require a bed?”
She laughed as she settled her hands on his shoulders. “No, it does not.”
He grinned as he wrapped her up tighter. “The couch?”
She shook her head. “What I want to show you has nothing to do with sex.”
He shrugged. “I was just checking.”
She laughed again as she rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
His smile was back. “You’ve mentioned that before.”
“And I mean it.”
“But I’m kinda cute, though, so…”
She laughed as she shook her head again. “Let’s go.” As she grabbed his hand, she snagged the sleeping bag by the end of the couch that she’d dug out of one of the closets in the main house. They paused by the door to slip their feet into their slides.
“I can’t deny that I’m intrigued,” he said as they stepped outside into the near darkness and walked across the lawn toward the large stretch of trees that separated the Monroe and Donahue properties.
She snagged her lip with her teeth as they moved into the small stretch of forest that she hadn’t walked through in years, following the overgrown path. “I just hope it’s still here.”
“What, exactly?”
“You’ll see. Or maybe.” And then she stopped and looked up at the wooden platform that Grandpa Beau had the gardeners secure to three or four tree trunks decades ago when she’d been a little girl.
Ty frowned. “Is this an old tree fort?”
She nodded as she grinned. “I forgot about it, which makes me a little sad, but I remembered it today when I was reading to the kids.” She looked up again, realizing that it wasn’t nearly as high as it had felt when she’d been seven or eight. “Will, Burke, Asher, and I used to play here.”
“You want to go up there?”
She nodded as she grinned again. “I’ll make sure it’s sturdy first, but even if we were to fall through, we’re not likely to get anything more than a couple of bumps and bruises.”
He shrugged. “I’m game if you are.”
“I definitely am.” She handed him the sleeping bag and climbed the eight creaky ladder rungs to the top, grinning when the weathered wood didn’t look too bad at all. “I think we’re good.” She crawled onto it and beamed down at him. “We’re all set, Ty.”
Shrugging again, he tossed her the sleeping bag and climbed up.
She chuckled as she unzipped the fabric and laid it down for them. “This seemed so much bigger back in the day.” She sighed. “I love how you can still hear the rush of waves, even if you can’t see them.”
He sat next to her in the center of the blue plaid inner lining, looking around. “This is a cool spot.”
She nodded. “The best part will start soon.”
“I can’t wait.”
And then the lightning bugs started to glow—a couple at first, then dozens and dozens as the minutes passed.
She pressed her hand to her heart. “It’s just as magical as I remember.”
He pulled her closer against his side, wrapping his arm around her back. “This is amazing, Lyd.”
She rested her head against his shoulder.
“This was our secret place—or I guess not really, since Grandpa Beau had the fort built for us. We played in here for a couple of years until we outgrew it. Then the accident happened a few years after that, and I completely forgot about it until I saw the lightning bugs in the illustrations of the story I read today.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She nodded, as fascinated by the beauty now as she had been as a child. “I hate that I forgot. It’s been here all along, and I didn’t remember something that meant so much to all of us.”
“But you remember now.” He kissed her temple. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
She nodded again. “I like that it gets to feel special again. In a different way with you.”
He smiled at her, stroking his fingers along her jaw as the sky grew darker. “I like that, too.”
She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. Easing back, she held his gaze before she came back for more.
He hummed in his throat as he tangled his tongue with hers.
She moved to straddle his lap, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck.
He leaned in for another deep kiss as he slid his hands up and down her sides.
She kissed his jaw next, then his neck. “I want you, Ty. I want to be with you right here.”
He looked around in the thick tree cover. “Do you think it’s okay?”
She nodded. “We’re on private property, and no one comes in here.”
He nodded this time, pulling her shirt over her head.
She closed her eyes as he slid his tongue along her throat while he unfastened her bra and tossed it aside.
“Lyd,” he whispered as he palmed her, brushing his thumbs over her sensitive nipples.
She moaned, loving that he knew how to bring her pleasure so easily. “Take off your shirt.”
He pulled it over his head, setting it next to hers.
She wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her breasts against his warm chest, eager to feel her skin rubbing against his as she kissed a trail along his jaw.
“Lyd,” he whispered again, tracing his fingers up and down her spine, leaving goose bumps in their wake before his hands moved to her hips, tugging on her shorts.
She moved to pull them off, bringing her panties with them.
“Damn, you’re gorgeous,” he said as he trailed his gaze over her in the dim moonlight.
She smiled, pulling on his shorts and boxer briefs, wanting to be naked with him on the warm summer night. Tossing the last of his clothes aside, she pushed on his chest, laying him down so she could climb on top of him. “Does this work for you?”
He raised his brow. “I’ll take a ride from you any day.”
Holding his gaze, she sank herself onto his girth, whimpering as he stretched her in the most glorious way.
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “You’re so tight, Lyd.”
She settled her hands on both sides of his shoulders and began to move. “I take it that you don’t mind.”
“There’s nothing better.” He clutched at her butt as he lifted his head to pull her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it before he gave his attention to her other breast.
“Mmm,” she said as she felt herself building.
“Let me sit up, Lyd.” He did it as he said it, adjusting them slightly as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
She began to move again, faster as she climbed closer to her release.
He kissed her, taking it deep.
“Ty,” she whispered on a gasp against his lips as her movements became jerky.
He held her tighter as his breathing quickened. “I want to look into your eyes when you come for me.”
She tried to kiss him again as she exhaled several quiet whimpers. “I’m… I’m close.”
“I know.” And then he moved his arm, so he gently gripped the back of her neck in his hand. “Keep looking at me.”
Nodding, she rocked some more before the exquisite rush washed through her body. She moved her hips faster as she trembled and clutched at his shoulders, crying out as she held his stare.
“Damn,” he whispered through clenched teeth before a grumble erupted in his throat as he kissed her roughly, pulling her down as he lay back.
“Ty,” she gasped, bringing her hands to the sides of his shoulders again, rocking wildly.
He gripped her butt as he helped her keep a fast pace. “Damn, Lydia.”
“Ty. Ty.” She tensed as a new wave destroyed her—as she writhed against him, wanting the ecstasy, even when it felt like too much. “I’m coming. Oh my God, I’m coming.”
He groaned now as he cupped her face in his palms.
She tried to hold his gaze again, but she was too far gone, making primal noises as she fought to breathe.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he wrapped his arms around her waist, taking over as he pumped up hard.
“Ty,” she choked out, starting to shiver and shake, building again as she stared into his eyes.
His breath steamed in and out as he moved faster.
And then she yelled out with the intensity of her next orgasm.
His jaw clenched before he tipped his head back with his loud moans as he jerked up several times.
“Oh my…” she mumbled as she collapsed against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder, entirely spent as her muscles quivered with the occasional aftershock. Watching the fireflies blink on and off, she let her eyes close.
Ty moved his hands up and down Lydia’s damp back as he caught his breath, loving that she still clung to him as her heart rate settled against his chest. “You know, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to believe you the next time you tell me that what we’re doing has nothing to do with sex.”
She laughed, but she still didn’t move. “The sex wasn’t intended, but I’m working on being more spontaneous, so…”
“Well, I approve.” He gave his arm a gentle jostle as she continued to lie still. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m still recovering.”
“That was pretty intense.”
She nodded again. “You feel really great inside of me, so my orgasms are top-notch.”
He kissed the soft skin of her wrist—where her mother’s words were written—as he hummed in his throat. “I meant it when I said that I’ve never felt anything like you. You’re phenomenal, Lyd.”
She lifted her head and smiled down at him. “I’m glad you think so.”
He nodded with feeling because Lydia was easily the best sex he’d ever had. “Absolutely.”
She kissed the sides of his mouth before she pressed a long kiss to his lips. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too.”
She kissed him again. “We didn’t talk much about our days.”
He shook his head as he played his fingers through her hair, always eager to touch her. “Dinner was sort of a rush job.”
“I’m sorry about that. Ev wanted me to come see her do her gymnastics, so picking up the scallops had to wait.”
He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.” He kissed her this time. “Ev liked her class?”
Lydia grinned. “She loved it. She can’t wait to go back.” She chuckled as she shook her head. “She’s so sassy. She was all about it, even on her first day.”
He grinned. “Good for her.”
She nodded. “And Mac and Will are going out on a date tomorrow night.” She waggled her brow. “He sent her a really sweet text this morning.”
“Good. I hope tomorrow will be the beginning of them finding a way to fix things.”
“Me, too.” She stroked his hair back from his forehead. “How was your meeting with your buddy? Has there been any more talk about you leaving?”
He shook his head. “I doubt there will be. Not while we try to figure out what’s going on with Will.”
She closed her eyes as she sighed.
This was not the direction he wanted their night to take. “Maybe he’ll talk to Mac tomorrow night, and we’ll finally have an idea of what’s going on.”
She nodded.
He held her pretty gaze, forever hypnotized by her hazel eyes. “I think we should take a page from Will and Mac’s book and go out on a date of our own. Tomorrow night.”
Her eyes widened with unmistakable surprise. “You do, do you?”
He nodded, trailing his palms down her sides. “I want to take you out on a real date. Something that’s just about us. No case. No FBI. Just you and me.”
She smiled. “Is that okay? I mean, with the rules and everything?”
He raised his brow at her. “I think the rules have kind of gone out the window. You’re lying on top of me naked, and I’m still inside you.”
She laughed. “These are excellent points.”
He grinned. “We can get dressed up. Have dinner. Go see a movie or whatever you want. No sloppy tacos either. We’ll do something nice.
” Because he wanted to give her something special.
His conversation with Nick kept playing through his mind—that Lydia wouldn’t be his for much longer.
He wanted the time they had left together to be everything that she deserved—to give her everything that he hadn’t been able to.
“I thought you didn’t worry about impressing people on a date.”
“I’m not worried about other people. The only person I’m thinking about is you.”
“Aw,” she said as she kissed him.
He grinned again, watching the way her eyes went soft.
Her lips met his again. “What if I want to take you to eat fried clams at a dive a few miles up the road?”
“I don’t care what we do, Lyd. I just want to be with you.”
Her eyes went soft again. “You’re on a roll, Special Agent Corddry.”
He chuckled. “That’s me. Mr. Smooth.”
She laughed.
He smiled as he winked at her. “Are we thinking about staying here for a while yet, or do we want to try for a walk on the beach?”
“We could probably walk along the beach before we shower and watch TV.”
“And by shower, you mean with me?”
She grinned as she sat up. “I don’t know if I can handle another orgasm tonight.”
He had plans to give her several more. Because taking Lydia to bed was his absolute favorite thing. “What if we play it by ear?”
She chuckled as she fastened her bra. “I can agree to those terms.”
He sat up himself, keeping her close. “Thanks for showing me your special place.”
She nodded. “Thanks for helping me make it even more special.”
“Anytime, baby.” He winked again. “Let’s get dressed.”
She smiled. “Okay.”