Slow Burn (The Blake Boys Book 7) (8 page)

“Speed is good, but lately I find that it helps my mind slow down and put things in perspective.”

“So you find enlightenment at Mach one?”

“I know it looks fast on television, but I feel like a turtle moving around the track.” He tore his eyes away from the screen. “I’ve enjoyed the meals you’ve cooked the last three days. Being handcuffed to the couch didn’t even hamper my appetite.”

“You’re getting better at driving that thing.” She bit her lip and motioned to the screen as the camera panned on his car making a turn.

“It may seem like random, wild action, but I do my best to be safe.”

“That won’t stop Teri-Lyn from worrying.”

“How often to do you talk to her?”

“A few times a week. We’ve had a blast with her coaching me on cooking. She thinks I should consider putting out a cookbook.”

“I think that’s nice.” Tyler smiled. “My two favorite women spending time together.”

“If I were your favorite you wouldn’t kiss women on national television when I’m watching and stand me up for countless dates,” she shot back.

“It was a surprise kiss. I had no idea she was going to do that.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Honest. She’d been flirting with me a lot, but I wasn’t returning the sentiment. I haven’t been with anyone since we were together the night before Seth and Morgan’s wedding.”

Michelle looked at Tyler. She opened her mouth to respond but the sudden sound of the fire alarm blaring in the kitchen stopped her.

“Oh crap!” She made a mad dash into the kitchen.

“Is something wrong?” Tyler yelled after her.

“No!”

Michelle rushed into the kitchen and saw the flame coming out of the pan. She was barely able to turn off the stove and frantically searched the cabinets looking for the fire extinguisher. The flames were getting higher and looked like they were going to spread to the wall behind the stove. She grabbed the pan lid and was trying to get close enough to smother the fire with it
when Tyler appeared with the fire extinguisher.

“Michelle, get out of here!” he yelled.

She ignored him and tried to get closer but Tyler jumped in front of her with the extinguisher and put the blaze out.

A few minutes later Tyler set the extinguisher down. White foam was everywhere and the kitchen was a mess. He turned off the fire alarm and Michelle promptly punched a code into the security keypad on the wall. Michelle went to the sink and splashed cold water on her face to calm the panic welling up inside her but it wasn’t enough to stop her from bursting into tears when she looked around the room. A scorching black mark draped the white wall near the stove.

“Hey.” Tyler placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Are you OK? Did you get burned?”

“I almost killed us and blew up my best friend’s house,” she said, trying to hold back tears.

She didn’t protest when Tyler pulled her into the safety of his arms. His grip was strong yet tender. It was strange how someone who brought her to the brink of such confusion could also make her feel so blissful. It occurred to her how easily the comforting came, because he wasn’t attached to anything. “How the hell did you get out of those handcuffs?” She scowled.

He held up her necklace with the keys. “This isn’t my first rodeo.” He kissed her.

“You stole that from me when we were…”

The doorbell rang. It was not a shock that the fire department and a security patrol from Regency responded to the alarm even though Michelle had punched in the correct code. They wanted to make sure everyone was OK. An hour later the fire department was gone and Tyler was talking to the Regency guy, who’d arranged for a professional cleaning service to come in the next day.

Michelle went into the bathroom and searched for some aspirin. Between the crying and humiliation, she had a splitting headache. She didn’t want to face him again. She heard him call out her name from the hallway, so she quickly closed the bathroom door.

There was a light knock. “Michelle.”

“Go away, Tyler.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were OK.”

“No, not really.” She snatched a few tissues from a box and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

“It was an accident. It could have happened to anyone.”

“Morgan is going to kill me. I almost burned down her lovely home that she hasn’t even had a chance to visit yet.”

“She’s going to be more relieved that we’re not in the hospital. Now come on, open up the door.” Tyler turned the knob.

“If you have to use the can, there are three more in this house.” She looked in the mirror and started crying some more. She looked like a raccoon with a hangover. There was no way she was letting him see her like this.

“It would do my heart good to see your beautiful face.”

“I look wretched.”

“Impossible. I’ve never seen you look anything but stunning and that includes the time Jake spit up on you.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing. This week I was supposed to bring my A game. I almost killed you.”

“I’ve had worse dates.” He laughed. “This is ridiculous, talking to a door, please let me in. Unless you really are that shallow that I can only see you when you look pretty.”

“Yes, I am,” she sniffed.

“So you mean to tell me that if I looked…less that devastatingly handsome, you wouldn’t want to see me?”

Michelle thought about for a minute.

“Michelle!” Tyler called out.

“I’m thinking.”

“I’ll give you to the count of seven or I’m breaking down the door. I’d move away if I were you.”

Michelle didn’t think he was serious but his voice seemed to be getting further away. The last thing she needed was an addendum to her story to Morgan and Seth about a broken bathroom door as well. Tyler was up to five, so she opened the door.

“OK. It’s open.”

“There’s my girl.” Tyler came over and kissed her.

Michelle looked so sexy sulking about the kitchen being in ruins, there was nothing else to do but kiss her.

A moment later he wrapped his arms around her and led her out of the bathroom, closer to the bed.

“Why would you count to seven and not ten?” she whispered.

“Counting to ten would take too long and I really wanted to kiss you.”

“We have to tell Morgan and Seth about the fire,” Michelle protested as they tumbled onto the bed.

“That’s not the fire I’m worried about right now,” Tyler murmured.

Tyler covered Michelle’s body with his the minute they landed on the bed. She said she felt something digging into her back, so she reached behind her to find the remote. When she moved it to the bedside table, she accidentally hit the button and music flooded the room via the sound system that was wired throughout the house. Michelle turned quickly, rolling him to his back and straddling him without breaking the kiss.

Tyler recognized the song. It was Tate’s. He broke the kiss. “Time out!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Turn that off.” He sat up and reached for the remote.

Michelle glared at him. “That’s Tate’s holiday CD. Morgan gave it to me when I left for the trip. It’s a nice song.”

“I do not want to hear my brother’s voice while I’m trying to get frisky with you.”

“Why not?”

Because it feels like he’s in here with us. We’re close, but there are some things I don’t want to share with my brothers.”

“You know how ridiculous you sound?” Michelle nipped on his neck as she reached in his jeans and caressed him.

“I proudly stand behind my immaturity.” Tyler’s eyes rolled back in his head.

Tyler was elated when Michelle reached into the table drawer and retrieved a condom. They wiggled and pulled until they were both naked. Michelle steadied herself and rolled the condom over his shaft, and didn’t waste any time sinking onto him.

Tyler gripped her buttocks and moved her forward, catching her lower lip between his teeth. They began to move together in a sturdy rhythm, eyes locked as the rush of the passion coursed through both of them like an electric current. Then suddenly the tempo picked up and became hurried. Tyler pulled her forward and covered her mouth with his when she started to climax. Michelle’s thighs began to quiver over his, trying to keep control of the position she was in. She started to wiggle a bit, and that set off an explosive chain reaction in him that made him call out her name in joy.

* * *

Michelle felt great waking up in Tyler’s arms. His huge frame took up most of the bed and made no apologies for it. He looked like a big sexy teddy bear when he slept, and the grin he had on his face only made him more adorable. She glanced out the window and saw the sun setting over the ridge. Phase three of her plan was out of the question for tonight, thinking maybe the fire was a sign she should stop her quest. Nothing had gone right this week and she was no closer to getting her questions answered. Now she had a new problem on her hands. As much as she hated to ruin the moment, there was a phone call they needed to make.

“Tyler, wake up. We have to tell Morgan and Seth about the fire.” She brushed her lips against his stubbly cheek and ran a finger down his chest.

“Later.” He pulled her closer.

“No, right now. It’s the responsible thing to do. Although, you could be a sport and break the news for me.” She grimaced.

“What’s the matter? You scared?” He raised an eyebrow.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

Tyler propped himself up on his elbows. “It’s not as bad as it looks. The cleaners are coming tomorrow. I figure with a fresh coat of paint, we can have it fixed up like new. I agree, we can call them in a half hour, the boys should be finished eating by then. So we have some time to kill.”

“Oh. We’ll need to put on something respectable so we can video chat with them.” Calling them after the boys had been fed was a good idea. Her friend was always in a good mood after her boys had diner.

“Did I tell you how sexy you are?”

“Yes you did, but feel free to repeat it.” Michelle threw his jeans at him.

“Will I be handcuffed and sleeping on the couch again?” he asked.

“No. You’ve been officially been paroled.”

Michelle went into the bathroom and got dressed to keep away from Tyler’s wandering hands then bolted to the living room to tidy up. She was pleased Tyler finally came down the hallway barefoot, looking gorgeous in a gray sweater and jeans. He cleaned up nicely, even when he wasn’t trying. She used to think he was a devilish Seth, the resemblance between the brothers at first glance was remarkable. But the more time she spent with him, she realized they couldn’t be more different. Tyler’s eyebrows were a little thicker and his dimples were fainter. His eyes twinkled like he was always thinking of a dirty joke. She could see why his comparison to Seth or any of his brothers was annoying. It must have been hard to be in the midst of over achieving, successful superstars.

“You ready?” He took her hand as he plopped down on the sofa.

She nodded. “I guess.”

As soon as her best friend appeared on the screen, Michelle relaxed. Morgan and Seth seemed to be enjoying a romantic moment while wrapping presents. She could see wine glasses on the table.

“Morgan. Seth. How’s my favorite couple on the planet?” Michelle beamed.

“Easy on the enthusiasm,” Tyler murmured.

“We’re great. Morgan and I just finished wrapping some more presents. So we cracked open a bottle of chardonnay we picked up in California.” Seth held up a bottle of wine.

“Later I’m going to give Seth an early Christmas present.” Morgan giggled as she leaned over to give Seth a kiss on the cheek but missed. Seth caught her in his arms.

Michelle and Tyler both tried to keep a straight face.

“Morgan honey, have you had too much wine?” Michelle smiled.

“Just a little.”

“So glad you’re in a good mood because we have something we have to tell you.”

“What’s wrong?” Morgan squinted.

“I was making a dish for my audition in the kitchen and kind of got sidetracked. The good news is the house is still intact. The bad news is the kitchen wall is scorched.” Michelle swallowed the golf ball sized lump in her throat.

“Regency sent us an alert that the fire alarm had gone off.” Morgan took another sip of her wine.

“So when you heard there was a fire here, you and Seth opted to drink wine instead of calling to check up on us?” Michelle folded her arms across her chest.

“I was just happy it was a fire and not a homicide,” Morgan mused.

Michelle stuck her tongue out. “I would have at least called to check on you.”

“Don’t worry, we got the full report from Regency. But I think we’re getting off point.” Seth cleared his throat. “Tyler can you fix the damage?”

“Of course. It will look better than brand new when we’re done fixing it up.”

“So that’s settled.” Seth smiled.

“Have fun with the repairs. Gotta go!” Morgan blew a kiss at them and disconnected the call.

Michelle didn’t say a word for a few minutes.

“What’s wrong?” Tyler pulled her into an embrace.

“I thought Morgan would throw something at the screen or threaten to come out here.”

“She’s drunk and fooling around with Seth. It probably won’t hit her until tomorrow.” He moved a lock of her hair away from her face.

“We have a long day ahead of us. I think we should turn in early.” Michelle grabbed his hand.

“I get to sleep unchained in a bed? You’re too kind.” He chuckled.

“We’ll see about that.” Michelle picked up the cuffs off the coffee table and pulled Tyler towards the bedroom.

Chapter Six

By the time Michelle came into the kitchen, Tyler had a cup of coffee in his hand and was looking at the blue print of the house with a Blake Construction employee. If it weren’t for the scorch mark on the wall, she wouldn’t be able to tell the fire had ever occurred. The cleaning crew was wrapping up and handed Tyler two new fire extinguishers before they left. Michelle thought for sure he’d try to convince her to blow off the painting, but he seemed so organized it was kind of scary. He was serious and in command, and it was very refreshing to see.