Night Is Darkest (5 page)

Lacey followed her instincts, which urged her to clasp him with her legs around his waist at the same moment he thrust into her empty, aching core. The thick expanse of his shaft tunneled through tense rings of muscle, stretching them open to make room for his impressive cock. Her spine arched when he sank a mere inch or so in her pussy. Awe illuminated the darkness in her heart as they finally merged.

“More!” Her fingernails raked the expanse of his back as she encouraged him to ravage her.

“Jesus!” His arms trembled, dislodging a single bead of sweat which rolled down his temple as his laser-sharp gaze latched on to hers. “Slow down, little one.”

“No.” She rocked her hips beneath him, tugging him out a tiny bit to get momentum for the return thrust. The head of Ty’s cock penetrated untried territory as her pussy swallowed more of his length. The awkward angle infused a component of pain to her rapture. When she winced, he withdrew.

“Shh. It’s okay, Lacey. Let me take you my way.” He kissed her with a tenderness that left her aching as he pressed forward once more. She never imagined he’d feel so huge, as though he could split her open. Yet, still, she craved more.

He worked his cock inside her, plunging deeper with each successive stroke. Meanwhile, he continued his lascivious multi-tasking on the rest of her body—licking, kissing, biting and caressing everything he could reach. The sparks of desire took hold. Reincarnated passion flared in the wake of his experienced manipulation.

“That’s right, you’re such a good girl. Take all of me, Lacey.” He thrust until he encountered the resistance of her unused pussy. When the tip of his cock nudged the tissue that proclaimed her innocence, his head snapped up. “You’re a virgin?”

The shock on his face jumpstarted her instincts. He couldn’t stop now! She acted before it could morph to indecision or even denial. “Not for long.”

With a moan, she sealed her lips over his and coiled her legs tight around his trim hips. Then she flexed her thighs, digging her heels into his firm ass. The motion impaled her on his steel-hard shaft. The last barrier between them ruptured.

Of course, she’d expected some pain but the burning snap in her abdomen stole her breath for several heartbeats. Tyler held himself stock still as he studied her expression with a combination of wonder and fear. Then he distracted her from the ache with a long, lingering kiss. His tongue slithered inside her mouth and teased her with gentle laps.

The atmosphere changed from desperate desire to tender loving in an instant. Though she would never have admitted it, she was grateful for his perceptiveness. A moan escaped between sweet kisses. When her pussy clenched around him, she shivered in delight at the novel sensation.

“Are you all right, little one?”

“God, yes.” And it was true. The pain had morphed into a delicious inferno. “I want to please you.”

“I’ve never been so hard in my life. Seeing you fly was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I need to do it again. Are you ready for me to move?”

“Please.” She could only manage one word.

He cradled her beneath him as he began to rock his hips. Any residual discomfort evaporated as he attuned his sensual flair to enhancing her pleasure. When his lips travelled to her breast while he continued the long, measured pace of his fucking, the sweet pressure between her legs began to mount once more. She sighed in awe when her muscles squeezed the length of Ty’s cock, resulting in mind-blowing pleasure that multiplied exponentially until she hovered on the edge of orgasm.

In all the times she’d fantasized about sex she had failed to realize the greatest pleasure could be derived from the unity it generated between two souls. Their synchronized heartbeats caused his cock to throb where it locked in her pussy, reassuring her she wasn’t alone. The revelation amplified her ecstasy.

Tyler played her body like a sexual virtuoso. The angle of his penetration shifted until she rewarded him with a moan. He locked onto the motion that pleased her most then repeated the stroke with the accuracy of a precision instrument. He calibrated his penetrations to meet the specifications of her ardor. Every tap and glide of his cock head against her inner muscles nudged her closer to heaven.

“You’re ready to come again for me, little one?” A pleading note tinged his gravelly question.

“Yes, Ty. Please come with me. Together.” She ground her hips against his the next time he returned, forcing his balls to nestle in the valley of her ass. When he groaned in response, she timed her motions to match his. Strange yet perfect sensations infused her with wonder. The arc he travelled stroked her clit across the flat muscle above his cock and his appreciative moans sealed the deal.

She fell over the edge and flew into another earth-shattering orgasm.

“God, yes. Lacey!” His cock jerked inside her a moment before the hot pulses of his semen washed over her inflamed tissue, soothing her even as it triggered a renewed round of spasms.

The look of pure devotion in his eyes as he spilled his desire made a permanent imprint on her memory. With trembling hands, she smoothed the bunched muscles of his arms and back. His fingers tangled in her hair as he repeated her name over and over. Between harsh pants, he rained sweet kisses on her neck, shoulder, ear and the side of her face from his spot on the pillow beside her.

When he had recovered, Tyler settled her against his chest as he tugged the covers over them. Exhausted, she closed her eyes to sleep for the first time in three days, secure in the shelter of his tender embrace.

Her short, humorless laugh shattered the silence.

“What’s that for, little one?”

“I never thought the best and worst days of my life would be the same one.”

“I heard that. It’s been a hell of a day.”

“What’s going to happen tomorrow, Ty?” She hated the frailty in her voice.

“Let’s not worry about it ’til morning. That’s soon enough. Sleep now, sweetheart.”

Chapter Three

A rustling against the pillow roused Lacey from her restless slumber.

“Tyler?” Her voice, strained from both wails of despair and passionate cries, rasped out.

“Shh.” Comforting lips brushed her forehead in a chaste kiss. The pre-dawn gloom obscured his expression. What would she see on his face after the night they’d shared?

Grief and pleasure had paled beside the horror of her nightmares. But all through the blackest hours, he’d been there to catch her when images of her brother’s bloody corpse interrupted what little shuteye she’d managed to grab. Rob’s gentle face had seemed crazed, crimson drops sprayed in slow motion from the sliced vein in his neck and the familiar yet repulsive tang of copper had burned her nose when he issued the order to stay safe.

The last thing she remembered was the security of Tyler’s embrace placating her.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

Disoriented, she reached out a hand to locate him on the bed but encountered a crisp sheet of paper instead of the firm warmth she expected. She crumpled the note in her fist as her brain began to function. Several blinks cleared the grit deposited by her evaporated tears. Enough to realize he stood beside the bed, fully clothed in his now rumpled uniform. The deliberate space between them turned her cold. “You’re leaving me?”

“Mason called. He’s got a lead on the case. I have to get down to the station.”

“Don’t lie to me. What did you write here?”

“Read it in the morning.”

“It
is
morning.”

“Shit, Lace. You need to rest some more.” The first rays of morning silhouetted Tyler as he scrubbed his broad fingers through his already mussed hair.

“You expect me to curl up and nod off without inspecting the bullshit reason you gave for sneaking out of here without so much as a goodbye?” Gathering steam, she levered up onto her elbows, causing the sheets to tumble to her waist. The darkness must not have impaired his vision as much as it did hers. The hiss of his rapid intake sliced through the silence following her question. “Clearly, it’s not because you don’t want me. I bet you’re hard as steel again right now.”

He fled from her roaming fingers so fast he stumbled. “Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“There are things you don’t understand, little one.”

“So explain, Tyler.”

“I wouldn’t trade a moment of loving you last night for the world but that doesn’t make what I did right. I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for taking my virginity?” She couldn’t prevent the note of vulnerability from creeping in.

“No. Yes. Damn it, I don’t know.” He paced off to stare out the window. Several harsh breaths sawed out of his chest before he faced her again. “It’s complicated. Fuck! I-I’m sort of involved with someone else.”

Neither he nor Mason had ever been in a relationship that extended beyond carnal exchanges before. She hadn’t imagined anything could hurt worse than the trauma she’d endured yesterday but she knew Rob would never have left her if he’d had the choice. Blinding agony seared straight to her soul until she caught Tyler’s tentative phrasing then honed in on the uncertainty in his fidgeting stance.

“You mean Mason?” Figures he thought her oblivious to their sexual preferences. Hadn’t she asked them both to make love to her yesterday? The whole afternoon had blurred together somewhat but she distinctly remembered begging for what she wanted most. Hadn’t she been clear enough to make them understand?

“What! How did you know?” She thought she caught a glimpse of unease in his emerald glance as her pupils adjusted.

“The rumors of your conquests reach far and wide. I’ve been hearing the details of your sordid threesomes for years. Every woman in the city hoping to become the middle of a Ty-son sandwich seems to ask me for advice. As if I’d know how to entice the pair of you!”

“Oh, yeah. That.” At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “I didn’t know people were harassing you because of us. This is exactly what Mason was talking about. I had no business dragging you into our mess.”

“Even if that’s where I want to be?”

“I’m sorry, little one. I asked Rhonda to come over so you won’t be alone.”

She didn’t deign to acknowledge him. Though she enjoyed hanging out with her next-door neighbor on occasion, no one could replace Ty. The shadowy form of his retreating body hovered on the threshold for a heartbeat. He whispered one final parting shot over his shoulder. “Some secrets aren’t mine to tell.”

Then he slipped from the room.

“Tyler! What the hell does that mean? Wait!” She scrambled to disengage from the tangled sheets then rushed down the stairs with uncoordinated limbs but she was too late.

He’d already disappeared.

Tyler huddled into his charcoal wool jacket to avoid the chill as he slunk across the frosted lawn to the backdoor of the apartment he shared with Mason. Above it, a single hundred-watt bulb made an ineffective beacon welcoming him home in the early morning glow. The dread pumping through his nervous system rivaled any he’d experienced as a teenager praying he’d evade MomDAR after a late-night excursion. Only, this time, his roommate inspired the apprehension instead of the debauchery that had earned the repercussions.

He estimated his chance of making it inside undetected to be about as abysmal as the chance of wiping the memory of burying himself in Lacey’s virgin pussy from his mind. But, son of a bitch, even a lifetime of torment—knowing exactly what he was missing—would be worth the taste of rapture he’d stolen.

Now he had to pay for it.

Tyler paused to consider the merits of jimmying a window before he abandoned hope and squared his shoulders in preparation for the come-to-Jesus ass chewing he deserved. The metal stairs creaked by design as he ascended. They’d worked hard to make this place their own as much as possible for a no-frills rental unit. No one could slip in with them unaware. They’d seen too much shit during their time on the force to be less than vigilant at home.

He cringed when an image of the crime scene including Rob’s mutilated body as a gruesome centerpiece flashed, unbidden, into his mind. Fuck Mason. Fuck his iron willpower. Ty’d needed Lacey as much as she’d needed him last night. Her soft innocence paired with fiery desire had cauterized the gaping wound in his heart, at least temporarily.

The award he and Mason had received for exemplary service rattled on its prominent shelf as the door slammed behind him. He’d just unlaced his shoes when movement from the scarred leather sofa caught his attention. Legs splayed, shirtless despite the chill, Mason poured a stream of amber liquid into the glass nestled between his bunched thighs.

Ty licked his lips. “I’m impressed. Whiskey before breakfast. We haven’t done that in years.”

“Haven’t been to bed yet.” Mason’s pupils had dilated from sitting in the dim room. The ebony centers overshadowed his cerulean eyes, making them appear ominous despite his calm tone. “That makes it a nightcap.”

The measured speech didn’t fool Tyler. A telltale muscle jumped along the right side of Mason’s neck and his knuckles whitened around the bottle of Jack before he set it, with overabundant precision, on the end table they’d scored off a buddy who’d moved in with his fiancée. It had been too “bachelor pad” for her tastes, which made it perfect for their eclectic refuge of hand-me-downs.