Night Is Darkest

musk of his precum. When he attempted to withdraw she refused to let him retreat, instead redoubling her efforts to make him erupt first.
“Shit! If that’s the way you want to play, baby…” Tyler twisted the plastic barrel until it undulated against the rough patch just over her pubic bone, trapping it between the two hard surfaces. She didn’t stand a chance. Pleasure washed over her, bathing every nerve ending in her body with delight. The reflexive swallows of her throat matched the spasming muscles in her pussy as her climax crashed through her.
Tyler chanted her name against her clit as his seed flooded her throat.
When Lacey came to her senses, he was layering butterfly kisses along her thighs. She stroked his powerful flank. In response, he stood then smiled down at her as he tucked himself back in his jeans and finished arranging his clothes. He hopped over the shards of pottery on the floor, came to stand between her knees and pulled her upright until her head lay on his shoulder. Lightheaded, either from the intensity of her orgasm or from her reclined position, she welcomed his solid embrace.
“You know, I’ve probably imagined being with you more than a million times.” His husky whisper fanned his breath over her ear. “But I never came close to understanding how phenomenal it would be to finally have you. Would it freak you out if I dropped the L-bomb right now?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then I won’t. Yet.”
She didn’t expect his reaction as he reached around to hug her.
“What the hell?”
Curious, she turned to see the palm he held out for inspection. Covered in red sauce after touching her back, she realized they’d made quite a mess when they had each other for dessert.
“Oops.” She chuckled. “I guess we have some cleaning up to do.”
“It looks like you took the brunt of the damage. Why don’t you head upstairs and shower while I get things in order down here?” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Make it a long shower. Maybe I’ll catch up with you.”
“Deal.” He placed a sweet kiss on her lips with easy familiarity that meant more to her than a hundred orgasms. Even the earth-shattering kind. Being with Tyler like this felt right.
He set her on the floor away from the unfortunate bowl then gave her ass a light smack. “Don’t get me started again. Go on. I’ll be up as soon as I take care of this and plug in the call catcher.”
The reminder of trouble caused her to flinch.
“Shit. Sorry, Lacey. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’ll only take me a few minutes then I’ll help you get to sleep.” She had no doubt about how he intended to do that. Looking around one last time, she hoped the hot water lasted. Sauce had flown everywhere. It puddled on the counter, smeared on the wall and splattered across the floor.
At the far end of the hallway, she spotted an oversized gym bag abandoned in the middle of the floor. She flicked a glance over her shoulder as they made their way toward the front stairway.
“You presumed I’d invite you to stay?” she teased.
“Well, uh, Mason sort of kicked me out.”
“You’re fighting?” The guys never argued for longer than it took to land a few blows. Then they’d move on like nothing had happened. “Over what?”
He didn’t answer.
Oh, shit. “Over me?” She stopped dead and pivoted to face him.
“Now who’s being presumptuous, little one?” He tweaked her nose with his index finger.
Heat rose to her cheeks.
“I’ll sleep on the couch if I’m not welcome in your bed.”
Was it her imagination or was his teasing an attempt to cover his wounded tone? She placed her hand on his biceps then squeezed. “Of course you’re welcome. I’d love to snuggle with you. The truth is, Tyler…I’m so glad you’re here.”
He turned with brisk efficiency to gather his belongings, but not before she saw the moisture in his eyes. What was going on?
“I’m glad I am, too. Now, go ahead. This should be a quick job. I just need to plug it in then activate the device on the department’s website. It’s alright if I use your computer quick?”
She wondered if he had latched on to any excuse to stall in order to prevent questions about his reaction. “Actually, the stupid thing got hit with a virus this afternoon. But I suppose you could start up Rob’s if you disconnect it from our network first. Hopefully, it should still be clean. My mind was on…other things. I must have clicked something I shouldn’t have.”
“What do you mean?” His instant focus singed her with its intensity.
“There’s a reporter who keeps leaving me messages. She must have been pissed that I haven’t called her back. She seemed kind of desperate. I opened an email from her and, next thing I know, my hard drive is whacked.”
“How do you know the message was from this woman?” Tyler’s cop face masked the vulnerable features of her lover.
“It had the same subject. We need to talk.”
Mason tried to convince himself the current situation warranted the perimeter check he conducted on the Daughtry house but, deep down, he admitted his late night stroll had a lot less to do with security than his need to catch a glimpse of Tyler and Lacey. He didn’t expect to find anything out of place. The more he and Ty dug, the more it seemed Rob’s murder had really been a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, no matter what their guts insisted.
Maybe suspecting foul play had helped them rationalize the tragedy. Hunting leads might have been his equivalent of Lacey’s frantic funeral arrangements. He’d never doubted his intuition before, but every place they’d looked for clues had turned up exactly nothing.
Helpless, he accepted that he’d failed Rob. Now, he missed Tyler after just hours apart and the invitation he’d seen in Lacey’s eyes the past few days haunted him. He paused to kick a rock out of