Keeping You Forever (A Harbor Love Series) (10 page)

 “Hey I do not need taking care.”

 “Sure you do, you just don’t know it yet. We will call you if we need you Grace. But I have a feeling we are going to be just fine and you will probably be too busy to come get us out of trouble,” Paige said as she jumped down from the bar stool. “Maybe I will get lucky and run into Grayson again tonight. That could lead to troubles of fun.”

 “Grayson doesn’t usually go to places like that. He is very quiet. You would probably scare him with your care free and flirtatious personality,. You are a lot to handle and men like Grayson would not know where to start with you,” Autum said as they walked out of Geddys.

“So what’s it going to be another drink or are you ready to get out of here?” Tyler asked.

  “Well since I don’t normally drink more than two beers I would say now is a good time to get out of here.”

“Come on beautiful, I will lead the way home this time,” he said taking her hand in his as they walked out of the door and into the cold night.

 He pulled her close up against his body and slid his arm around her waist keeping her warm as they walked down Main Street. It was a windy night and he felt her shiver and he pulled her closer and gave her a quick kiss. Public displays of affection were not usually his thing but being with Grace made him feel different. She made him feel alive again, like he could finally breathe after what seemed like a lifetime of trying to find his way out of the dark. She found that light for him and showed him things could be different and he wasn’t ready to give up just yet because of her fear of getting close to someone.

 “So are you still avoiding me or is it safe to say I can call you and maybe take you out for a real dinner sometime,” he said.

“I think you just asked me now and my answer is yes I would love to go out with you for a real dinner. But our last dinner together was one I will not forget anytime soon.” She smiled as she thought about the last dinner she had with him.

“I  would really love to know what you are thinking about right now because that smile you’ve got going on is telling me it is something I would really enjoy doing again with you,” he said and stopped, turning her to face him and slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer until their lips were inches apart. His lips tipped in a sexy smile and he leaned in kissing her slowly as his fingers wound themselves in her hair pulling her closer to his body.

  “Your lips always taste so good, like strawberries,” he said as he smiled and tugged on her hand as they continued their walk home.

 It was only a short walk, but the time she did spend with him, especially moments like these made rethink giving up on love. For the first time in a year she was ready to try, and Tyler had made his way into her heart without her even knowing it.

“This is me,” she said, as they stood in front of her house.

“Come home with me tonight Grace. Stay with me tonight, I want to spend all night with you and wake up next to you and take you out for breakfast.”

 His words sent her heart spiraling. The thought of spending all night with Tyler and waking up next to him was enough to make her insides clench in the most delicious way. One night with him wasn’t going to be enough and she knew that, but right now she was happy to take that one night and leave her fears behind and do what made her happy for once. And right now, Tyler standing in front of her looking at her like she was the world and was about to eat her up like he was the big bad wolf was making her more than happy.

“Ok, let me just get some things and leave a note for my sisters.”

“Wait! I want to do something real quick before you go inside,” he said and smiled. “I want to kiss you again right here. It was the first time I got to kiss you and we were being watched by your sister and I didn’t get to kiss you the way I wanted to.”

“Really? Because it seemed like a damn good kiss to me, can you do better than that?” She whispered.

 He stepped in closer, his thigh moving in between her legs as he gently pushed her back up against the door and pressed his body up against hers. “I can definitely do better than that and I am going to show you right now.”

 His lips were on hers before she had time to react and his hands were on her hips, holding her in place and pulling her closer to his body as he parted her lips with his tongue. He kissed her like she had never been kissed before. Her lips tingled and her legs were weak. He was right their first kiss was nothing like this. His hands were all over her now, running down her arms, up her side as he fingers touched the sides of her breast. She moaned at the feeling of his hands on her again and shivered as his hands slide under her shirt and heated her skin with his warm hands. The sound of her moaning as he touched her drove him crazy and he let his hands explore every inch of soft skin as his lips moved down her neck, kissing and nibbling gently on her and whispered “I think this tops our first kiss don’t you?”

 “This tops any kiss I’ve ever had,” she said and gave him one more quick kiss on the lips.

“
Y
ou think that my sisters will find the note before they start to wonder where I am when they see I am not home.”

 He laughed and shook his head. “You left the note on the front door, if they can’t see that then they really had a good time tonight. Don’t worry about it Grace, they will be fine and I am sure they will know that you are with me. I would never let anything happen to you,” he said as he unlocked the front door to his house.

 As he walked in his front door he stopped, causing Grace to run right into his back. What he saw in front of him turned his world upside down and his heart dropped. He moved his hands behind him reaching for hers and pulled her arms around him holding her close making sure she wouldn’t run and leave him when she realized who was standing in the middle of his living room.

“Hello Tyler,” said the woman standing in the living room.

 He looked back at Grace who was fully aware now of the other woman standing in the room. He felt her pull her arm back but he held on tight, gripping her wrist so she couldn’t move.

“What are you doing here Missy?” he asked.

“I made a mistake Tyler and I miss you. I wanted to come tell you in person and bring you back home where you belong.”

“A mistake! Missy, you left me waiting for you at the altar. Your mother had to tell me you left and the wedding was off.”

  “I know, I was scared ok. It was a mistake Tyler. Please…please let me make it up to you. I love you and I am ready to get married now and spend the rest of my life with you.”

Grace felt her stomach drop at the words she was hearing coming from this woman in Tyler’s house. She tried pulling away from him again but his grip tightened every time she tried to pull her hand free of his.

“Tyler I should go you obviously have some important stuff to deal with right now,” Grace said still trying to get away from him.

“No you are not going anywhere Grace. I want you here. Missy is the one who needs to leave,” he said and turned back around looking at his ex. “You need to leave Missy. Go back home. You should have never come here! We were over the day you left me at the altar.”

 “You don’t mean that Tyler. We had a long relationship, we made plans and had our future planned out with each other.”

 “You’re right. We did have our futures planned out; I did love you and was ready to marry you.  You were the one who changed those plans without telling me. So, I left and I’ve started over. I’m not going back Missy and we are not getting back together!”

 “You just need some time to think about all of this. I will be in town for the next couple of days. Think about this, about us and come see me. I’m staying at the bed and breakfast down the street,” she said before walking out of the door.

  Tyler turned around, never letting go of Grace as he looked into her eyes.” Grace I didn’t know she would be here, please believe me when I tell you that. I wanted this night to be perfect like our last night together. I know this looked really bad, her being here and everything you heard, but I do not have feelings for her anymore. When I left California I left all of my feelings for her behind and came here to start over.”

“Tyler you don’t have to explain anything to me we are just friends who had one really good night together and …“

“Don’t finish that sentence Grace. I would like to think we are more than just friends, or two people who had mind blowing sex the other night. I like you Grace, a lot. To be honest with you I like you more than I thought I would. I told myself when I moved here that I was not going to get involved with anyone. Women were out of the question… until I walked into Geddys and saw you sitting there. That night and something in your eyes changed everything for me. You were stuck in my mind from that first glance,” he took a step closer into her, tipping her face up to look in her eyes. “That night when I called you and you were in the bathtub, I could hear the sadness in your voice. I hated knowing someone made you feel like you weren’t good enough to be loved, or have someone in your life that cared about you and wanted to spend their life with you. I get that Grace; I really do, because I wanted those same things. I wanted marriage and the kids with the big house and the white picket fence. Then, when Missy left me, I told myself I didn’t need any of it and didn’t want it until now…until you.”

 Those words were all it took for her. Her heart kicked and squeezed in her chest and she was right where she wanted to be with the person who she was starting to fall in love with.

“Tyler I don’t know what to say to all of this. It’s so hard for me to let anyone in. I let Denny in and look where that got me.”

Don’t say anything just give me the chance to show you that Denny was an idiot and wrong for you. He didn’t know what he had and I am glad he didn’t, because I wouldn’t be here with you right now. Give me a chance Grace.” He pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and ran his thumb down her cheek. “Don’t push me away. I want you and I want you for more than just one night. I don’t know what we’re doing here, but I am willing to take the chance and see what happens. If you tell me tomorrow that this isn’t what you want, I promise I will leave you alone. I really hope you don’t say that, because I want to keep kissing you. I love it so much that when I am kissing you I don’t care if I can’t breathe. I would rather kiss you than take my next breath of air,” he said and kissed her.

 He was kissing her again and she complied just as eagerly, letting her tongue slide into his mouth making him groan. His lips devoured hers and his tongue warmed her mouth as his deft fingers moved over her body and began working their way to the button of her jeans. Her skin was warm and soft under his palms. His palm traced the sides of her hips, moving up and around to her back, caressing, stroking the heated skin of the small of her back and pulling her tightly against his body as his lips kissed down her neck.

“I want to see you,” he whispered before nipping gently on her earlobe.

 She gasped as his tongue flicked the spot he just bit down on and slid her hands under his shirt, pulling it up over his head and tossing it across the room. Her hands moved over his chest and up his shoulders find their way down his strong back as he continued leaving soft wet kisses down her neck.

“I don’t know what you did to me, but I can’t stop this with you,” he said as he pulled her further into the house and toward the sofa, falling back and taking her with him. “I want to know all of you Grace, I want to know what you’re feeling and what you like. I want to know what turns you on. When I kiss you like this, I can feel it and I can’t get enough of it, it’s driving me fucking crazy. I don’t want to stop. Don’t leave me alone tonight, stay with me,” his voice was a rough whisper now against her neck and it sent shivers down her body. 

Hearing him say the words were all she needed and knew there was no place she would rather be at this moment then with Tyler, making her feel like she was the only one who mattered.

 “I’m not going anywhere Tyler. I want to be here with you and nowhere else. You make me forget everything. You make me feel things that no one has made me feel in a long time,” she said, letting her body fall onto his. She fit perfectly up against him. Her legs on either side of him she could feel how much he wanted her and she shifted pressing herself down onto him making him groan and grasp her hips, stilling her movements as he looked into her eyes. She bit down on her bottom lips as her hands worked their way down his chest and down his stomach stopping at the button of his pants. She smiled a small smile that never reached her brown eyes as she popped open the button. She let her finger run down the zipper feeling how hard he was before she slowly slid down in between his legs kneeling in front of him.

 “You know how to drive a man out of his fucking mind Grace. You’re killing me right now,” he said, watching her as she slid the zipper down his pants and tugged at his jeans.

 He lifted himself, allowing her to slide his pants down as her hands rubbed up his thighs, feeling his warm skin. His breathing hitched when she played with the waist band of his underwear feeling his soft skin and sliding her hand inside. She could feel how turned on he was and how much he wanted her. “Grace,” he said and let out a groan before reaching for her arms and pulling her up off the floor and onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I need to feel you right now. You making me fucking crazy I can’t wait anymore,” wrapping his arms around her and holding her and sliding them off the sofa, dropping to one knee and laying her on the floor, kicking his pants off as he rested his body on hers.