Night Is Darkest

his tongue over the sensitive pad of her finger. He had flown right past the friendship barrier she struggled to reconstruct. Mason had warned them sleeping together would put a kink in their lifelong relationship but she didn’t know how to fix things now.
“I can’t help but worry. Don’t you know how much I care about you?” Somehow, he’d managed to tug her closer until his whisper tickled the fly-away hairs at her temple.
“You don’t have to do this, Ty.” She attempted to shake him off but he wouldn’t budge. “What we did… We can forget it ever happened.”
“I’ll never forget.”
“Don’t sound so irritated. I thought that’s what you’d want after you skipped out.”
“No, this is what I want…”
Before she could object, he covered her tense mouth with his then teased the seam of her lips until she surrendered. The steamy kiss obliterated her rational thoughts of restoring their platonic status. They made out in the middle of the kitchen like horny teenagers. When he boosted her to the counter and situated his trim hips between her thighs, one of their bowls skittered off the platform. It shattered on the tiles below.
The clatter whisked her back to reality. With a shake of her head she braced herself on stiff arms behind her, creating a chasm between their heaving chests. What would she do when he changed his mind again? Mason had been right. She couldn’t afford to lose him, too. “I’m sorry, Ty. This isn’t going to work.”
“Wait. Just give me a second here.” He swiped his knuckles across his reddened lips then shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. “I didn’t mean for this to happen like this. I know I fucked everything up, Lacey. It was your first time. I should have stayed…”
“It’s not that.” She interrupted before he could say something he didn’t mean, though it surprised her to hear anything over the pounding of her heart. “I understand sex is different things to different people. You gave me what I needed. I had no right to expect more. But I can’t do it again knowing that come morning you’ll be on your way. I’m not cut out for casual encounters.”
“I’m not going anywhere this time, little one.” He leaned forward to rest his forehead on hers. “If you’ll have me…”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I value your friendship too much to risk it for a few minutes of pleasure.”
“Minutes?”
A chuckle bubbled inside her at his typical wounded male pride. “You know what I mean.”
“Now you sound like Mason.” He grumbled beneath his breath before turning serious. “Things have changed, Lacey.”
“In the past seventy-two hours?” Her incredulousness rang through the question.
“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborate but his eyes shifted away for a moment. “I can’t give you the details but…yeah. Everything is different now.”
“I want to believe you.” A zing of discomfort made her realize she bit her lip as she considered her options. “But what about all the other times? I’ve practically thrown myself at both you and Mason before. You’ve always turned away.”
She thought she disguised the trembling of her voice quite well but he noticed anyway.
“Ah, shit. I’m so sorry for hurting you. That’s not what I intended. You have no idea how painful it was to let you go, to turn you down when I wanted to devour you. Rob and Mason convinced me you weren’t ready but I think I’ve been screwing things up for a while now. Give me one more chance, Lace. It’s more than I deserve but I swear I won’t disappoint you. I’m in this for the long haul.”
Was he really saying these things straight from her dreams? She had only one option.
“Let’s take things one step at a time.” She smoothed his brow. “I’m not asking for forever. I’m just saying we give it a try and see what happens. Can you commit to that?”
“Hell, yes. You’re amazing.” He surrounded her in a tight embrace while he pressed light kisses to her face and neck. “You know that, right?”
“Of course.” She beamed up at him.
A laugh burst from his chest, lifting her heart. “And incorrigible.”
His hand swiped her wrists from the counter, dropping her flat as he pinned them above her head. In the process, her bowl shot out from beneath her, spilling the contents on the counter. Unconcerned, Tyler proceeded to tickle her.
Her legendary sensitivity made her a giant target for this kind of torture. She writhed on the cool surface, trying for some purchase to avoid his hands. Each squirm and thrash ground her body against his. She laughed through the sensual torment, feeling free. She didn’t have to hide the way he turned her on with his intimate teasing for once. For the first time in three days she felt at ease.
When his fingers hit the vulnerable spot on her ribs, she shrieked, “Mercy! Mercy!”
“Hmmm… This has some possibilities.” Tingles ran up her spine as he towered over her, wicked intent gleaming in his bright green gaze. “What will you give me to stop?”
Lacey licked her lips in anticipation. “How about a blow job?”

Chapter Six
Tyler groaned when Lacey wriggled beneath him, getting unintentional revenge by grinding her pelvis against the growing bulge in his jeans.
“I didn’t get to taste you the other day.” She started to scoot off the island but he restrained her. “Please, Ty.”
“There’re broken dishes on the floor. You can’t kneel there.” The world spun around her when he positioned her as he pleased. On her back, her head hung off the counter close to where Ty stood. She watched upside down as he shoved up the hem of his cotton shirts then yanked the button fly of his jeans wide apart. From the gap in the straining fabric, he withdrew his aching cock. “And, God help me, I can’t make it upstairs. Suck me, little one.”
One of his hands nudged the jeans past his hips far enough to free his balls before gathering the fall of