Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ty sat at his desk, rereading the same paragraph for the third time, realizing that the information still wasn’t sinking in. “Damn it,” he whispered as he sat up straighter, attempting to focus again.
He’d been trying to get through the freaking ten-page report for the last thirty minutes, then for an hour before that. Eventually, he’d given up and stopped for lunch, but so far, his break wasn’t proving to have helped him much.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Lydia. Her big hazel eyes and how gorgeous she’d looked in her pretty summer dress. And of course, she’d smelled amazing.
I do miss you.
Lydia’s simple sentence that he’d replayed in his head since she said it yesterday morning.
Goodbye, Ty.
He clenched his jaw, remembering the finality he’d heard in her words, knowing that she’d meant them.
Huffing out a breath, he set down his pen, scrubbing his hands over his face, trying to get a grip. But he paused as he looked around the squad room, studying his co-workers immersed in their tasks like he always used to be.
It was his sixth day back in the office, and he still couldn’t find his rhythm or his absolute passion for the job that he’d loved since day one.
Just this morning, he and his squad had snagged their latest bank robbery suspect after DNA came back on a glove they’d found at the last crime scene.
Typically, he loved the adrenaline rush and thrill of bagging another bad guy, but after they’d thrown the cuffs on their man, he’d only felt the relief of knowing that they’d gotten another dangerous fucker off the streets.
He sat up as his phone vibrated with a text, forever hoping that it might be Lydia. Picking it up, he steamed out a breath as he read Lainey’s message.
I heard you’re back in town. What are you up to tonight?
He swallowed, knowing that all he had to say was ‘not much,’ and he could try to move on with his life. Sex with Lainey was simple and just sex. But the idea of being with anyone but Lydia did absolutely nothing for him.
Lyd was his hands down dream woman. The way she tasted. How amazing she felt. The sexy noises she made. She was the only one he wanted.
His thumbs moved over his screen. I met someone.
Lainey typed back. Oh. Well, good for you.
I’m pretty happy about it.
Good luck with your lady!
He smiled. Thanks. I’ll take it. Because he needed it.
Sighing, he tracked his gaze around the room again, thinking about what Marietta had said about his dad—about how he would want him to be happy.
But he wasn’t. Not even close. He hadn’t been for days.
He exhaled another long sigh because nothing about being at Headquarters felt right anymore. The FBI no longer felt like his place. The life he wanted was two hours away in Oliver Heights with the woman he desperately loved.
Waking up his laptop, he hesitated for only a moment before he hit ‘print’ on the document that he’d drafted up late last night.
Getting to his feet, he headed for the elevator and the seventh floor. It was time to take a walk down Mahogany Row and talk to the brass. It was time to lay it all on the line.
Lydia stood on her front lawn in a pair of frayed short shorts and an old tank top, giving her pretty flowers a drink as the sun made its way toward the horizon. Another summer day was slowly coming to a close. Another day that she’d lived without Ty.
She shook her head as she sighed, waiting for it all to feel easier, but after Gram-Gram’s sneak attack yesterday, she was starting the mourning process from scratch.
He’d been on her mind all day, which was nothing new, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how good it had felt to be wrapped up in his arms—and she’d definitely tried to distract herself.
She’d spent her morning doing extra laps in the pool at the gym. After a shower, she headed to her classroom, determined to get her space in order so she could surprise Camille and help her friend when everyone started heading back to work in a couple of weeks.
Time. It would take lots of it to heal her heart and move on. But she would. Because she planned to have everything that she’d always dreamt of for herself.
She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth as she frowned, trying to fathom the idea of loving someone else…
The sudden blast of country music down the street had her turning her head, and any and all thoughts disintegrated as she stared at the red Jeep Wrangler heading her way with the top down.
Her gaze locked on Ty’s dark sunglasses as he slowed and pulled into her driveway.
“Oh God,” she heard herself whisper as he shut off the engine. Because he was breathtakingly gorgeous as he got out, wearing one of his athletic shorts and muscle shirt outfits.
“You’re watering your flowers,” he said as he rounded the hood.
She nodded as he stopped in front of her, having no idea what to say as she breathed in the scent of his damn aftershave.
“It’s not Thursday.”
She swallowed, searching for her voice as her pulse pounded far too fast. “I’m changing things up.”
He slid his sunglasses on top of his head as his gaze tracked around her front gardens. “Everything looks pretty.”
She nodded again. “What are you doing here, Ty?”
He looked at her. “I needed to see you.”
She adamantly shook her head. “We can’t keep doing this.” Because her heart couldn’t take it.
“I quit my job.”
She felt her eyes grow huge before she burst into tears.
He frowned. “Whoa. Lyd.”
She shook her head again. “No, Ty. Why would you do that?”
“Because I want to be with you.”
She shook her head more adamantly. “You love your job.”
He shook his head this time. “I love you.”
She closed her eyes as he told her what she’d only hoped to ever hear.
He settled his hands on her shoulders. “I love you, Lyd.”
She opened her eyes to stare into his.
“These past ten days without you have been awful. Awful, Lyd.”
She sniffled, still trying to catch up with the abrupt change that the evening had taken.
He stroked her skin now with gentle slides of his thumbs. “I keep thinking about how we met so we could create a fake relationship, but the time that we’ve spent together… The way that I feel about you… It’s the most real thing that I’ve ever felt.”
More tears trailed down her cheeks as she dropped the hose and threw her arms around him.
He wrapped her up, holding her just as tightly as she held him. “I don’t want to be without you, Lyd.”
“I don’t want to be without you, either.”
He pulled her back to hold her gaze. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He cupped her cheeks, pulling her mouth to his.
She hummed in her throat, eagerly meeting the slides of his tongue, as starved for him as he was for her.
He dove deep again before he eased away. “Let’s go inside, Lyd.”
She nodded, taking his hand, stopping quickly to turn off the water before she pulled him through the front door.
He slammed it closed, pressing her up against it, kissing her again. “I want you.”
“Right now,” she said breathlessly, tugging on her button and zipper, freeing herself from her shorts and panties as he pulled off his shorts and boxer briefs.
“Right now,” he agreed as he dropped to his knees, pressing her back against the solid wood, kissing sensitive skin.
Her gasp turned into a long moan, loving it when Ty used his mouth on her.
“Lyd,” he groaned as he spread her open, teasing her with gentle suckles. “You taste so good.”
She whimpered, tossing his sunglasses to the entryway table, playing her fingers through his hair. “That feels so good.”
“Good,” he said, adding more suction to his suckles before he moved his tongue in soft flicks.
Her thighs tensed as her stomach muscles shuddered with each unsteady breath. “Ty.”
He moved his tongue faster.
She gasped, pulling his face closer as her moans grew louder, feeling herself on the edge. “I’m going to come.”
He moved his tongue faster yet.
“I’m going to come,” she struggled to say as her hips jerked wildly. And then she froze before she cried out as waves of pure bliss coursed through her body.
He groaned, gripping her closer as her hips gyrated again, teasing her until her orgasm ebbed. “I need you, Lyd,” he said with eyes full of hungry desire as he stood. “Right now.”
She nodded, still dazed as he picked her up and shoved himself deep.
He moaned as she did—as she let her head fall back against the door, finding herself entirely sated with their joining. Ty was inside her. It was all she needed.
“You feel amazing, Lydia.”
“Yes,” she whispered as she locked her legs tighter around him, wanting only this.
Mouths met for a deep kiss before he gripped her thighs and began to pound himself into her.
She nodded as he stared into her eyes—as they breathed each other’s gasping breaths.
He moved faster yet as he clenched his jaw.
“Yes, Ty,” she shuddered out, clutching at his shoulders as he hit her just right. “I’m going to come.”
A primal grumble erupted in his throat as he pumped harder. “Keep looking at me.”
She gripped his cheeks between her palms as her body began to tremble—as she lost her breath with the new waves of pleasure rushing through her core. Holding his stare, she tried to cry out as she writhed in his arms. “Ty,” she finally choked out.
He groaned now. Loudly. Again and again, as his body jerked with his unsteady thrusts while he filled her up.
“Ty,” she whispered as she let her forehead rest in the crook of his neck, still trembling.
He kissed her temple as he pulled away from the door, locked it, and headed upstairs with her wrapped in his arms.
Ty walked into the bedroom that he’d been sure he would never see again, holding Lydia’s gaze as he set her on her feet by the bed. “So, I guess we got that out of our systems.”
She laughed as she locked her arms around the back of his neck. “Up-against-the-door sex felt very necessary.”
He grinned, loving that the sadness was gone from her eyes—that her cheeks were rosy and her lips were still swollen from his. “Agreed.”
Her mouth found his as she stood on her tiptoes. “I like up-against-the-door sex.”