Cross My Heart (Ty & Hunter 1)

She lifted her hips to meet his, her small mound grinding into the base of his shaft. Arousal and desire peaked, his body’s needs driving him out of his mind. He pumped into her, feeling every inch buried inside her. Then he pulled out, depriving them both again, deliberately building momentum and need. In and out, in and—without warning she crossed her ankles behind his back, anchoring herself against him so she could lift her behind off the bed and lock her hips tight against his.

She wanted pressure, so he gave her pressure, twisting and turning his hips, meeting her motions, until together they found the perfect rhythm. The one that brought them higher and higher, closer and closer to climax.

Beneath him, she whimpered with need, her soft sounds begging him to give her release. He slid one hand around and found the place where their bodies met, the moist wet spot that let him tease her just enough.

“Ty, Ty, Ty.”

She came apart where he’d always wanted her to, in his arms, calling out his name, triggering a gut-wrenching climax of his own. His body tensed and then complete pleasure washed over him in waves of desire he never wanted to end.

And as he finally came back down and fuzzy awareness returned, he collapsed on top of her, her name on his lips.

LACEY TOSSED and turned. Beside her, Ty slept soundly and she envied him the ability. After making love with Ty, not once but twice, she had too much on her mind to sleep and she lay back against the pillows, trying unsuccessfully to relax.

She gripped the comforter and pulled the blanket tighter around her, inhaling deep. The musky scent of sex and Ty filled her nostrils. Suddenly he snored, a discovery that nearly made her laugh aloud. She turned to study him as he slept. How many times had she dreamt of watching the man she’d fallen in love with at seventeen, asleep after they’d made love?

She didn’t know where things between them were headed. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

For now she just wanted to enjoy but she couldn’t begin to do that until she’d taken care of some personal business back home in New York .

It was late, a little past eleven. Normally Lilly was preoccupied with her career, but not tonight.

She’d been checking in daily with the woman in charge of Odd Jobs while she was gone. It helped that Odd Jobs operated on the same schedules, if not weekly then monthly, which enabled someone to oversee things while the daily tasks ran smoothly. Knowing all was well allowed her to keep a clear mind while she stayed here in Hawken’s Cove.

It also allowed her to focus on Ty and what making love with him meant. It meant she had to deal with Alex. She owed him that much.

She climbed out of bed and quietly walked into the guest room, shutting the bedroom door behind her so she could talk in private. Her stomach churned as she dialed his number and it rang. Once, twice; he answered on the third ring.

“Hello?” he answered, preoccupied but not groggy from sleep. Alex normally worked at home until midnight and she knew she wouldn’t be waking him now.

She licked her bone-dry lips. “Alex, it’s me. Lacey.”

“Hi!”

She imagined him pushing himself up against his ivory-colored pillows, folders and work spread out over his bed.

“I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice. I was beginning to think I’d have to send a posse after you,” he said, the words meant to be funny but his tone was anything but.

Once again she heard the anxious edge in his voice. She supposed she couldn’t blame him since she’d been deliberately vague on her sudden trip and she’d only checked in with him once.

“Nothing that drastic is necessary, I promise.” She gripped the small phone against her ear.

“When are you coming home?” he asked.

“Soon. I have an appointment Monday morning that I have to keep and I should know more after that.” She’d managed to get the secretary of Paul Dunne at Dunne and Dunne, the trustee of her parents’ will, to fit her in for an appointment.

At first the secretary had insisted there were no open appointments for a few weeks, but Lilly had explained she was in town for a short time and she couldn’t possibly wait that long. The woman had squeezed her in, though Lacey could tell she hadn’t been exactly happy to do it.

“Well then hopefully I’ll be seeing you by the end of the week,” Alex said, his mood obviously cheering at his interpretation of her news.

“Umm.” Her heart lodged in her throat as she formed the words she had to say next. “About seeing me again. We need to talk about that.”

Lacey hated to break things off with him over the phone. She owed him better and she’d explain more when she returned home, but after tonight with Ty, everything had become clear in her mind. She couldn’t continue to leave Alex dangling without an answer when she knew where her heart belonged.

Even if she and Ty never made love again, Lacey had to end things with Alex. There wasn’t room for another man in her life. There never had been.

“What is it?” Alex asked, his voice curt, as he obviously sensed bad news to come.

“I’ll explain more when I see you, but since being here, things have changed for me.” She curled her legs beneath her. “Actually they haven’t changed as much as they’ve become clearer.”

“Stop pu**yfooting around and say what you’re trying to say.”

She stiffened at his words, but she continued. “I know now why I haven’t been able to commit to you. It has to do with unresolved feelings for people here.”

“We all have unresolved things in our past,” he said in what she could only call a patronizing voice. “So wrap those things up and come home. You’ll feel better once we’re together again.”

She ran a hand through her hair. He wasn’t hearing her and her frustration grew, mainly because she hadn’t wanted to hurt him by having to spell things out too plainly.

He’d left her with no choice. “Alex, I’m sorry to do this over the phone, but we’re over.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “Oh, no, we are not.”

She reared back. “Excuse me?”

“What I meant was, you need to think about what you’re saying.”

“That’s all I have been doing since you asked me to marry you. Thinking. And the truth is, I shouldn’t have to think about my answer. If I loved you the way you deserve to be loved, the answer would have been automatic.” Sadness filled her, for all the fun they’d had and the caring they’d shared, but she knew in her heart that she was finally doing the right thing for them both.