Home Is Where the Heart Is (16 page)

But it was happening.

He hadn’t fucked her. No. Dylan had made love to her. Slow and gentle, taking his sweet time with her, as if he cared deeply for her.

A knock at the front door drew their attention. Dylan opened the door, greeting Ty and his partner, Joe. They all gathered in the living room, everyone sitting quietly, as if nobody wanted to speak first.

Deciding that someone had to get things started, Kyra jumped up and grabbed the envelope her dad had sent her, handing it to Ty. “Here are the documents my dad sent. I hope they help your case, Ty. My dad seemed to think they might.”

“Thanks,” Ty said as he pulled the documents out and slowly looked them over. After a few minutes, he handed a few to his partner.

Joe glanced over a few pages. “Shit. This is hardcore proof that they’ve been skimming funds from city accounts.”

“Who?” Dylan asked.

Joe was still flipping through documents. “From what I can tell, it looks like the guy who worked with Kyra’s dad, Tom Perry, and Chief Fox. There could be more involved, but this is a start. We could begin making arrests off this information alone.”

“That’s great,” Kyra said. “At least the people responsible for my mom and dad’s death will be held accountable.”

“I’ll call the bureau and get things ironed out so we can take the necessary steps,” Ty said, standing up. “Since we have at least one city official involved, it could get dicey. I’ll let you guys know what we plan on doing.”

“You guys aren’t leaving so soon, are you?” Kyra asked.

“We need to get to work on this,” Ty said. “The faster we move on this, the better. We need to be one step ahead of these guys.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Paula had decided to stay overnight, just in case Kyra needed a friend. With arrests on the horizon, the town would be turned upside down in a heartbeat. There was no telling what might happen come morning, but what Paula was really interested in was the progress Kyra was making with Dylan. She hoped the comments her and Jake had made would spur them on. Maybe make them both think a little about what they wanted and needed from each other.

Later that night, Paula excused herself and headed to bed. She was eager to get some rest after the long evening of cop talk. She headed down the hall, with Kyra hot on her tail.

“Paula I need some advice.”

“Really? And what advice would that be?” Paula asked.

“Well, I think I’m ready to let Dylan know how I feel about him. I just don’t know how or what to say, exactly.”

“Oh! It took you long enough. I can’t believe you waited this long, especially after you already did the deed,” Paula said.

Blushing from ear to ear, Kyra kept her voice low, “Paula. I just haven’t known what to say to him after that. What if I’m too plain and boring to make him happy? He’s… well, look at him. He’s amazing. So far out of my league that we don’t even breathe the same damn air.”

“You could start with just being honest about how you felt five years ago. He already knows why you left Sizzle in the first place. But that doesn’t matter as much as how you feel now. What needs to be said will come out on its own after that. I know that whatever you say will come from the heart. That’s what matters most.”

“Okay. Guess there’s no time like the present.”

“Right. Now you go have that talk… and Kyra, I’m locking the bedroom door so find somewhere else to sleep tonight.” She gave a hearty laugh. “I’m sure that won’t be difficult.”

Kyra smiled, blushing, and waltzed out the door, thinking about being with Dylan and having a happy life at his side, curling up beside him each night. A heat began to rise deep within her at the thought of waking up curled against his gorgeous body, his arms wrapped protectively around her. Could it be that easy? Just share your true feelings and everything would work out? As she entered the living room, she hoped so.

Immediately, she noticed that Jake had left while she talked with Paula. It was just her and Dylan alone and the time had finally come to lay everything on the table and hope for the best. She sat down on the couch next to Dylan and turned to face him. She didn’t fidget, but the nerves were still there, hidden beneath the surface. The fear of Dylan not responding positively scared her to death, but she had to do this.

Gripping the small amount of courage within her, she forged ahead, knowing that in the end, regardless of what happened when their talk was over, she would know she had bared herself to him. She had taken a chance. She had taken a leap of faith with the hope of her dream coming true.

She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to keep a firm grasp on her courage.

Her lips trembled.

Her heart stuttered.

She had kept everything she felt about him bottled up and it was time to twist the cap off and let it all go. Would he be overwhelmed? Would he push her away? Had she imagined the closeness they shared? Was it just sex between them and nothing more? No. Kyra couldn’t believe that. Dylan was better than that. Wasn’t he?

“Dylan, we need to talk.”

“Sure. Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. I just… I have some things I need to get off my chest.”

Dylan sat back, looking at her with a concerned but caring look on his face. He reached out and touched her hand, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth over her small hand.

“First off, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for my family and me. You’re a good man.” She hesitated a moment and stole a glance at his face, their eyes meeting and locking together. The anxiety that filled her disappeared in a rush. The emotion in his eyes, the look of hunger and lust and… what?, made her breath hitch in surprise. Was that love she saw? Could it be that Dylan felt the same as her?

She forged ahead, hope lighting the way. “I’ve cared about you for so long, and now that we’ve been together, I just don’t want it to end. When I left Sizzle five years ago, I left because I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing you with Harley. Not just because it was Harley. It could have been anyone and the pain still would have been too much for me. It broke my heart, Dylan. I left to escape the pain of it all.”

He took her hand in his. His thumb brushed softly over her knuckles. The telltale spark of electricity rushed through her, straight to her heart. She smiled and so did he. “Now I’m here with you, and I... I just can’t go through that feeling again. It hurt too much. I barely survived it the first time. I want to spend time with you. Get to know you again; the man you are now.”

“I knew you had a crush on me back then, darling,” Dylan said. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see you then the way I see you now. I did notice you, Kyra. How could I not? I’ve loved having you here with me. Honestly, I wish the circumstances were different but I do hope that we can spend more time together, too. You’re an amazing woman. I’d like us to get to know one another again before you leave. I’d like to see where this goes between us.”

He opened his arms to her and she fell against him, loving the way he wrapped himself around her. It felt so safe and comforting.

“Come to bed with me, Kyra,” he said. It wasn’t a request. It was a demand. A demand that Kyra couldn’t – wouldn’t – resist. He wanted her there with him. She completed him in a way no other woman had. He stood, pulling her up with him. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them, his lips meeting hers as he kissed her passionately on the mouth. She moaned against his lips as she pressed her body flush against his. Time stood still as their tongues danced to a song only they could hear. As he deepened the kiss, their hands frantically searched each other’s bodies, neither finding the release they were desperately needing. Dylan nipped and lapped at her swollen lips as he palmed her breasts. Kyra whimpered at the contact, silently begging for more as she arched her body into his, needing to feel his body pressed against hers.

Kyra broke the kiss hesitantly, her fingers brushing her kiss-swollen lips, the hum of desire peaking inside her. She smiled up at Dylan through heavy lashes, want filling her eyes. “Okay, handsome.”

Dylan swept her up in his arms. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. The scent of him was enveloping her senses, driving her mad with lust and love. He strode down the hallway, each of their hearts beating wildly at what was to come. As Dylan entered the bedroom, he eased the door closed with his foot and eased Kyra to her feet. Cupping her face, he kissed her softly. She moaned.

“Take off your clothes, darling. I want to see you.” His lips ghosted over hers once more.

Kyra wasted no time following his command. She wanted to please him. She moved quickly, eager to have skin on skin, eager to join their bodies once again.

“Slow, baby,” he whispered, his words husky with his need for her.

Kyra removed her shirt, dropping it to the floor at her feet. Dylan’s eyes darkened, his hunger for her move evident now. Fighting back the shyness that once hindered her, she raised her hands to her breasts, cupping them in her small palms. Her nipples hardened like marbles under his watchful gaze. She licked her lips, inciting a feral growl that only heightened her need to further arouse him. Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his pants. She smiled wickedly, biting her lower lip.

Kyra slid her hands down her taut stomach to her pants, releasing the snap. Seconds later the zipper lowered, the growl of its teeth music to their ears. Hooking her fingers in her waistband, she slowly worked her pants down over her hips, letting them pool at her feet. She’d never felt so sexy. Dylan’s eyes swept over her flesh, taking in every beautiful inch of her, as if this was the first and last time he’d see her this way. Her thighs trembled.

Dylan stepped forward, releasing the clasp of her bra. His long fingers palmed her soft breasts. She whimpered. His fingers rolled over her distended nipples, giving them a much-needed squeeze. She gasped at the pleasure-pain, falling under its spell. He eased the lacy straps of her bra over her smooth shoulders and down her arms until it, too, fell to the floor beneath her. Standing before Dylan in nothing but a lacy pair of panties, she felt larger than life.

She felt wanted for the first time in her life.

She was beautiful in his eyes.

And for once, she felt, if only for a little while, that Dylan was hers.

Only hers as long as this lasted.

They fell onto the bed in a whirlwind of entangled limbs, the passionate heat driving them wild with an intense wanton need for each other they had never felt before.

In Dylan’s arms, Kyra finally knew what love felt like, knew without a doubt that her life would never be the same again. This trip home, no matter how painful it had been, had opened her eyes to the possibility of more.

So much more.

The feel of his hands slipping over her soft skin had her body quivering. Dylan’s mouth crashed down on hers, claiming her, at first soft and slow, then deep and rough, his need evident as his tongue darted deep inside, tangling with hers. He was fucking her mouth in wild abandon. Their chests heaved.

Breathless.

Excited.

“Please, Dylan. I need you,” she groaned, her voice low and husky.

Small whimpers fell from her kiss-swollen lips as his mouth left a trail of scorching heat and fire in their wake. He forged on, nipping and kissing the soft sensitive flesh of her neck and across her collarbone, moving languidly teasingly. “Oh God,” she moaned, breathlessly. The only response she received was a heady growl that somehow crashed over her like a wave, infiltrating her heart and soul, connecting them.

His hand slid slowly, teasingly, from her breasts, down her taut stomach, her body trembling uncontrollably as he made her his in his own way. Desire flared between them like a raging inferno.

Dylan’s fingers slid between her moist folds, finding her sensitive bundle of nerves. Kyra cried out as his fingers circled her clit, driving her to distraction. Sparks ignited behind her lids, the vibrant colors swirling chaotically. When her orgasm overtook her, it was his name that fell from her lips. But he wasn’t finished with her yet.

Her body shook, quivering beneath him as she moaned softly against his mouth. Dylan swallowed up her passion, her love, taking it into him, filling himself with her love for him. He broke their kiss, locking eyes with Kyra, no words needing to be spoken. They felt each other, saw into each other’s soul. Every answer they had needed lay before them within the other’s eyes.

“Dylan!” she purred, her voice hoarse and heady.

“You like that, baby?” Dylan growled, slipping from the bed to remove his clothes.

“Mmm. I do very much.”

Dylan reached across the bed to his nightstand, his muscles rippling beneath his skin. The musky scent of Kyra’s arousal flooded his senses. He grabbed a condom from the drawer, ripped the packet open with his teeth. Seconds later, Dylan knelt between Kyra’s legs, his thick cock aching to be inside her. Leaning over her, he brushed his lips over hers in a teasing kiss as the swollen head of his cock pressed against her. She wrapped her arms around him, trailing her fingertips up and down his back, her nails biting into his skin as he penetrated her liquor-coated core. She met him thrust for thrust, writhing beneath him as they made love. The room was filled with the sound of their love.

An hour later, she laid in Dylan’s arms, her head resting on his chest. They didn’t speak, not at first. She knew in that moment that she truly loved this man with all that she was and would be. But did he love her back in the same way? Was this just sex for him? Or was it more than that?

Closing her eyes, she let all of her worries go and whispered, “I love you, Dylan.”

Her heart raced beneath her ribs as she waited for a response. His breathing was shallow. Maybe he was already asleep. Just as she began to think how thankful she was that he hadn’t heard her, his deep sexy voice broke the silence.

“I love you, too.” Pulling Kyra closer against his chest, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Sleep now, darling.”

The next morning, Kyra awoke to the sound of voices and laughter coming from the kitchen. She tossed back the covers, smiling as her feet came to rest on the plush carpet. Still naked from her passionate night with Dylan, she padded across the bedroom, grabbing her clothes off of the floor. Dressing quickly, she ran down the hall to the bathroom. After using the restroom and showering, she toweled herself dry, wrapped the damp towel around her, and took a look at herself in the mirror. The smile that was reflected there filled her with a joy like no other. The memory of Dylan saying he loved her played on repeat as she stepped away from the counter and opened the door.