Getting back to the subject… “When I heard that Lachlyn was Connor’s daughter I tried to contact Connor but I couldn’t get beyond his personal lawyers. They told me that many women have tried to scam Connor, saying that they had birthed his child. They told me to subpoena his DNA but I had no grounds to do that, especially since Lachlyn’s birth certificate stated that my stepdad was her biological father. I couldn’t prove jack.”
“So you decided to buy Ballantyne shares.” Sage bit her bottom lip, her eyebrows raised. “God, Tyce, that must have cost you a fortune.”
Practically everything he had. “Yeah. But, at least, Lachlyn now owns a portion of what Connor created.” Tyce rubbed the back of his neck. This was the longest conversation he’d had in a long, long time. But he still had more to say. “We both understand that Connor left his assets to his kids. He didn’t know about Lachlyn and that’s the card life dished out. I dished another card and she now owns shares in his company. That’s enough for her, and me.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Tyce answered her, holding her eye. It was important that she realize he didn’t want anything from her or her family. All he wanted was for Lachlyn to have a chance to meet them. Anything that happened after that was in the lap of the gods.
It was raining outside; he could hear the ping of droplets on her roof. Soft light bathed her apartment in pinks and cream and made Sage look younger and softer. They were alone; he could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage, heated blood pumping through his veins. The hair on the back of his neck and his arms stood up as all that warm blood headed south.
God, he wanted her. He always did, would… Tyce looked at her and clocked the exact time when her mind moved from Lachlyn to the attraction arcing between them. Her cheeks turned pink, her mouth softened and he could see her pulse beating in that delicate vee at the bottom of her throat. She stroked the arm of the couch, her fingers gliding over the fabric as they’d once glided over his erection. She had no idea that she’d subconsciously lifted her chest, that her nipples were pushing through the fabric of her bra and T-shirt.
One look and they were both jittery with need. He had to kiss her again, he couldn’t resist…
Tyce moved across the floor quickly, stopping in front of her and placing his hands on the back of the sofa, on either side of her head.
Sage lifted her chin and shook her head. “Not happening, Latimore.”
She didn’t sound very convincing, Tyce thought. Besides he’d seen the flash of interest in her eyes, the smoky blues that suggested she was remembering how he made her feel. His junk immediately tightened and the hot, hard thump of his heart reminded him that it had been months since he’d had sex. Sage was the last woman he’d had in his bed and she was still, damn her, the only woman he wanted.
“I’d rather walk through cut glass without shoes than sleep with you,” Sage defiantly muttered, dropping her eyes to stare at her hot-pink toes. Sexy toes with the middle toe sporting a delicate toe ring.
The saying about ladies and protesting too much dropped into his head but Tyce was smart enough not to verbalize that thought. He ran the back of his knuckles over her cheekbone and down the line of her jaw.
“You might not like me at the moment. You’re angry and confused and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the fact you are pregnant and that my sister might be a Ballantyne but you still want me and I still want you.”
Even though he knew it was a bad idea, Tyce leaned down. Their earlier kiss hadn’t been nearly enough. He just needed to taste her again, once, maybe twice, and he’d be satisfied. He covered her mouth with his and sighed at the perfection of her silky lips. He swallowed a moan when those lips opened and his tongue slid into the hot, spicy space that was all Sage. He pulled her bottom lip between his teeth, nipped it and slid his tongue over the bite to soothe its sting. Sage’s hand on the back of his neck held his head in place, her tongue dancing with his as her other hand pulled his shirt up to find his bare skin.
He had to stop this now, but he couldn’t, didn’t want to. He wasn’t satisfied; he wanted more. When it came to Sage he always wanted more: one kiss, one bout of sex, was never enough. She was like the most addictive drug in the world. He doubted that there would ever be a time when he wouldn’t want Sage Ballantyne and that complicated the hell out of this situation. He had to stop…
Tyce pulled away, lifted his mouth from hers and leaned backward, raising his hands in the air. Sage’s mesmerizing eyes slowly refocused and when she was fully in the present, she shook her head and let out a whimper. “What the hell is wrong with us?” she whispered.