Dare to Take (Dare to Love 6)

Because permanency, family, none of that was in his future. Unless he believed he could commit. And he just wasn’t ready. He didn’t trust himself yet. Wasn’t sure he ever could, and that was starting to scare the hell out of him, the knowledge that he’d end up alone, lose the best thing in this lifetime, and he’d have only himself to blame.

Shaken, Tyler said good-bye to his brother and sister-in-law and brushed his lips over the baby’s delicate forehead, kissing his nephew good-bye.

He met up with Ella back in the waiting room. The rest of the family had gone home. He walked in and his gaze locked with hers. Despite the feelings that tormented him, he was drawn to her nevertheless. Her wide-eyed honesty, the independence he wanted to conquer and yet never take away. And her vulnerability—he’d seen the occasional haunted look in her eyes when surrounded by his family, the realization of what she lacked in her life, and the notion that he would give her all those things, if only he were capable.

Dammit. He needed to stop thinking. “Ready to head out?” he asked.

She picked up her purse from one of the chairs. “I am. It’s almost one in the morning,” she said on a yawn.

He drove them back to her place, both of them keeping the quiet peace, lost in their own thoughts. He intended to walk her inside and say good night. Too many emotions had pummeled him, and it was safer to just go home.

He parked, and they took the elevator up to her apartment. Unable not to touch her, he placed a hand on the small of her back, feeling the heat of her skin through the thin top she wore, committing it to memory.

She paused at the door and pulled out her keys. “I know it’s late,” she said, turning to face him. “But I was wondering if you wanted to … come in,” she offered, her hazel eyes warm and inviting.

And though he knew what he ought to do, he found himself nodding in agreement instead. If he could suppress his emotions, lose the feelings he had for her in physical release, then just maybe he could get his head back on straight. At the same time, he reminded himself what he’d offered her. Sex to replace the bad memories he’d given her in the past with good ones for the future.

Sex for sex’s sake.

Yeah, right. He was frustrated with himself and his inability to stick to the rules he’d set out, and annoyed with his fucking emotions, which he’d never asked to come into play.

But they had, and he didn’t want to think anymore. He wanted to lose himself in Ella. No sooner did she shut the door behind her than he had her against the wall, his lips against hers, her sweet scent permeating his pores, devastating his senses.

And she held on as he devoured her mouth, taking everything she had to give. And she gave plenty, kissing him back, pulling at his hair, and grinding her hips against his until his cock was hard as stone. He had no patience or time for finesse or foreplay, and from the way she writhed against him, she lacked interest in any teasing as well.

For him, nothing would do except burying himself inside her hot, wet heat.

He tore his mouth from hers, gasping for breath. Hooking his arm around her waist, he led her across the room to the edge of the couch. She was still panting by the time they reached their destination.

He pulled her top up and over her head, taking a moment to admire the view of her ripe, plump breasts and hardened nipples before yanking down her skirt, removing her panties with shaking hands. And that had never happened before—him being so affected by a woman he trembled like a teenager with his first crush.

Shaken by the continued depth of his feelings, he spun her away from him and bent her over the edge of the sofa, running his hands down the smooth globes of her ass. She moaned at the caress, and he squeezed each cheek harder. She wriggled her ass beneath his touch.

All the while, he continued to stroke her, gliding his fingertips between her cheeks, into the silken wetness of her sex. Her moisture coated his fingertips, causing his body to tighten even more. He spent a few long, delicious minutes stroking her pussy, sliding his fingers along the outer lips of her sex, reveling in her hot moans and sighs. She even arched her back, angling her ass farther upward, giving him deeper access, and he slid a finger into her slick heat.

“Oh, Tyler,” she said, voice low and throaty, as he pumped one digit in and out of her tight channel, all but fucking her with his finger.

She clamped her body around him, and he nearly came in his pants like a fucking boy instead of a man who could control himself and his baser needs. Except this was Ella, and when it came to her, Tyler had no goddamned control.

He slid his finger out, and her body trembled from head to toe. He needed to be inside her now.

He leaned over her, brushing her hair off her back, his lips close to her ear.

“Do you feel empty with

out me?” he asked.

“So empty. I need you.” She squirmed, clearly on the edge and so needy she ramped up his desire to unrivaled proportions.

He shucked his jeans and briefs, kicking them aside, and slid a hand over his dick, pumping back and forth, praying he would last beyond that first hot thrust.

He braced a hand on her lower back. “You ready, sweet girl?” He followed up the question by sliding his cock along the seam of her ass, and she moaned out loud.

He’d take that as a yes. “Hold on, because this is going to be rough.”

“Ohh, I hope so.”

“You up for it?” he asked, needing to make sure. To hear the words.