Night Is Darkest

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.
“You worked the case all night despite the captain’s orders? You have a gut feeling on this one, don’t you?”
Mason didn’t answer the rhetorical questions. Instead, he fired a fierce stare in Ty’s direction. Goddamn, would he ever blink?
Ty