Mine to Hold (6 page)

Tyler suppressed a smile. “Come with me.”

With a sigh, Del followed. A part of her wanted nothing more than to get away from him. But she’d be gone soon enough. If he wanted to talk to her, she owed him that.

Pulling her comb out of the bag, she dragged it through her hair quickly, then stashed it as she followed him out of the room and down the hall. When they arrived at his guest room, she saw a playpen set up in the corner with a colorful blanket and one of Seth’s toys.

The sight stunned her. “You did this?”

“I called Deke. He brought it over and set it up since Caleb isn’t using it now. Kimber and Alyssa both sent over some foods their kids like, along with extra diapers. Kata and Tara are promising to go on a shopping spree tomorrow for Seth, so if he needs more clothes or toys, just make a list.”

“I don’t have any more money with me.”

Tyler’s jaw tightened. “Would you stop trying to do every goddamn thing on your own? He’s my son, too.”

She’d offended him, damn it. Del sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “Sorry. Habit. What did you want to talk to me about?”

“You’re not going off alone. There’s no way I’m going to let you throw yourself into danger that’s over your head.”

“But—”

“No. You’re what, five feet five, maybe? And a hundred twenty pounds, dripping wet? But you’re going to single-handedly fight off a ruthlessly ambitious ADA trying to have you killed and the gangland assassin trained to do it? Are you listening to yourself?”

“I’m not going to fight them with my bare hands. I’m just going to dig up evidence and write a solid story that will expose Carlson for the creep he is. I need to do it fast. Word on the street is that he’s going to run for district attorney. If he does and wins, it’s not like he’s going to indict himself. We’ve already established that I might be the only person standing in his way. He isn’t going to let this go.”

Tyler kissed Seth’s head, then held the boy out for her to do the same. Del scooped him up and inhaled his familiar soapy, boyish smell, wondering if this would be the last time she held him. Her heart tripped, stopped—then started breaking at the thought.

Before she could change her mind, she maneuvered to the far side of the playpen and set Seth inside. Already, he rubbed his eyes. When he saw one of his favorite plush toys, shaped like a tow truck with a smiley face, he grabbed it, tucked it against his body, and closed his eyes with a sigh.

“We can’t talk in here without keeping him awake,” she whispered.

With a glance at Seth, Tyler nodded and held out his hand to her. Del glanced at her duffel. She
really
should wear underwear to any conversation she was going to have with Tyler. Then again, if he truly wanted her out of them, she’d already be naked and flat on her back in the middle of his bed. He was that good.

But now, he was merely speaking to her as a concerned friend, the mother of his son. That look he’d given her earlier . . . well, she’d cut him off. Since then, he’d respected her boundary. Mostly.

Silently, he led her down the hall, around the corner, and into his bedroom. He shut the door, and she stiffened.

“If Seth starts crying, I can’t hear him.”

“Then make this fast and agree that you can’t fight this battle alone. I won’t let you do it, Delaney.”

“Don’t make this harder than it already is. It’s not like I’m looking forward to leaving Seth, much less with a father he barely knows. But he and I have no future if I don’t go.”

Tyler advanced on her, growling with anger. “You may well wind up dead if you try to play the hero all by yourself. Like I asked before, what the fuck do you know about taking down a corrupt public official and evading a street killer?”

Delaney swallowed. God, he was big. She’d forgotten just how tall and solid and male he was. “I’m not going to run into the city with flashing lights and announce my presence with a bullhorn or try to single-handedly round up the bad guys with guns blazing. I just need to collect a little more proof, and as long as they don’t know I’m back in town, it shouldn’t be too dangerous. In the last week, I’ve learned how to lay low, disguise myself. Maybe I’ll hire a PI in L.A. to help me. I’ll think of something. I’m not stupid.”

Tyler stalked even closer. “Being too brave for the situation is. Goddamn it, I’m angry with you right now.”

“Because I’m leaving you with a kid you don’t know and aren’t prepared for? Forgive me, but I don’t have more appealing options. Even if he’s your son, do you think it was easy to come here and ask for your help?”

As soon as she said the words, she knew she was being unfair. Nothing he’d said or done since she’d arrived indicated he was less than thrilled with having Seth here. But the alternative, admitting that Tyler’s anger was wrapped up in concern for her, was too sweet to bear. A tiny part of her would love to lean on him and let him fix all her problems. She couldn’t do that to him.

“
What?
I’m happy Seth is here.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just . . . so tired. I haven’t slept in days.” And she was making a bad situation worse. That had to stop. No one liked a bitch.

“Damn straight. I wish to fuck you’d come here about . . . oh, twenty-three months ago. What I’m saying is that, even if you think you’re just fact-finding, it’s potentially dangerous. You’re not equipped for the kind of threat you’re going to be facing. You need to let Deke and Kimber or Luc and Alyssa keep Seth while I go with you to fight these fuckers.”

It was so tempting to give in and have his strong, comforting presence beside her. But she couldn’t accomplish her task if she was worried about Seth. Tyler might be a playboy, but he was also a protector. No way would he let anything happen to their son, and that would give her the reassurance and strength to do what she must.

“Please, let me go. I know best, really. If you’ll just . . . do this for me—”

“You mean leave you now when you need me most, just like I did after I touched every inch of your body and got deeper inside you than any man ever has? Leave again, simply because you asked me to? Because you think you know best?”

Tyler advanced even closer, and suddenly, his bedroom door was at her back. He planted both of his large hands on either side of her head and leaned in. Her heart picked up speed viciously. That woodsy, testosterone-oozing scent swamped Delaney, and her legs trembled beneath her. She flattened herself against the door . . . but Tyler kept coming closer, leaning in, his green gaze darkening, drilling into her.

“How well do you think me listening to you worked out last time?” he challenged.

Terribly. Eric had eventually screamed that Tyler slinking off only made him wonder how long they’d been fucking each other. Her protestations otherwise had fallen on completely deaf ears. The positive pregnancy test had been the death knell of their marriage. By then, Tyler had been long gone, and she’d missed him so much. But . . .

Delaney closed her eyes. “This is different.”

“Yeah. It’s worse. Seth could lose you for the rest of his little life.
I
could lose you forever instead of for two years. Not happening, angel. Last time I saw you, I listened to you about everything. This time? It’s my way.”

Tyler cradled her face in his big hands. His stare zeroed in on her mouth. He pressed the length of his body against hers. The thin T-shirt she wore did nothing to protect her from the blistering heat of his body. He notched his heavy, steely erection against her mound. Delaney’s heart stuttered.

And then his lips hovered right above hers, his head cocking to the side as his gaze ensnared her. He lowered his mouth so, so close. She curled her fingers into fists at her sides so that she didn’t wrap her arms around him, her legs around him, and beg for everything he could give her—safety, comfort . . . feverish desire, shattering pleasure.

He exhaled against her mouth, parted his lips. God, she couldn’t breathe. Already, she wanted him desperately. Her heart pounded. Her pussy ached. If he kissed her, it would only make everything ten times more difficult.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

He hesitated, dropped his head near her ear. “
My
way, Del.”

Then Tyler nipped at her lobe with his teeth. A shiver wound through her, all the way to her toes.

She didn’t get in another breath before Tyler’s lips took hers, at first hungry but searching, as if testing his reception. The past, his long list of conquests, the pain between them—all instantly obliterated in the comfort of his solid embrace. His aching familiarity. His seductive kiss. There was no way she could stop the welcome bubbling inside her. Her lips turned pliant, yearning.

An instant later, Tyler groaned, bulldozing his way into her mouth. His heat crashed over her, inside her, surging low in her belly—then spearing deep between her thighs. The warmth of his breath as he seized her mouth and shoved her lips farther apart with his own burned her up. His arms twisted around her body, jacking her tight against the inferno of his taut muscles and steely cock.

She gasped into his mouth. He went deeper, even as his palm worked under her shirt, branding the suddenly feverish skin of her back, holding her against him without a breath of air between them.

Without conscious thought, she whimpered, her body melting into his, hands fisting his T-shirt, then clutching his shoulders to drag him closer. She opened wider for the hot thrust of his kiss. Needed it. Tyler gave it to her, then grabbed her thigh in one hand, slung it over his hip, and pressed harder against the needy flesh throbbing between her legs. She moaned.

Then Del caught herself.

No, no, no
 . . . Please let the response shimmering inside her be like a mirage on a hot highway, glimmering with promise. Not real.

Because if it was, she was in a whole world of trouble.

But it felt all too genuine, too intense. It had been so long since she’d experienced the tug and pull of attraction, that agonizing want making her sink against a man’s body.

Now wasn’t the time to be distracted. Her life—and her son’s—were on the line.

Delaney tore her lips from his and turned her head away. She’d love to push him aside and tell him that he didn’t affect her in the least. But her trembling and panting were dead giveaways, along with her heart galloping madly in her chest. Tyler wasn’t stupid or blind. His stare was all over her, weighty and scorching, cataloging her reactions. Her breath hitched at the thought. Her only consolation was that he was breathing hard, too.

Don’t let him kiss me again
. If he laid his lips on her now, she’d be toast.

Gently, he tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Del?”

What the hell did he want her to say? Was he looking for permission to continue?

She shook her head. “Don’t do that again.”

A muscle in his jaw ticced. “Why did you come to me? Honestly.”

“I had nowhere else to turn. Please don’t make me regret it. Just . . . watch Seth for me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With that, she twisted out from beneath the solid warmth of his body and turned, yanking frantically at the doorknob. Damn it, she had to get free before she did something with Tyler that she’d regret.

With a low curse, he stepped back and let her go. Then she was in the hall, running toward the guest room as if she was on fire.

Because she was, and Tyler had done that to her with a single kiss. Del had no illusions; he’d let her leave his bedroom because he’d chosen to. If he ever decided to put his hands on her again, chances were he wouldn’t release her until they were both utterly sated—because she feared that she wouldn’t be able to find the willpower to say no.

***

WHAT
the hell was going through his head? Tyler winced. He knew the answer to that question, and it wasn’t G-rated. Damn it, Delaney flipped his switch in a way it hadn’t been turned on in forever. Why was it that one reluctant kiss from her had been better than any blow job he’d gotten from Alyssa’s girls? It was more than the addicting flavor of her kiss, more than the feel of her pussy against his denim-covered cock, getting hotter with each second.

As he watched Del’s sweet little ass sway down the hall while she sprinted back to safety, he started asking himself some hard questions. Why had he kissed a woman who’d said “no”? For the same reason her quick little breaths and hungry eyes got to him. He wanted her—bad. Beyond sense. Beyond scruples. After he’d gotten over the initial shock of seeing her at his door and knowing that he’d fathered a son on her, desire had settled in, vicious and unrelenting.

Why?

He didn’t want to delve too hard for the answer.

His dick couldn’t seem to think past the fact that he’d pinned her against his bedroom door and felt every inch of her soft body against him, her shy little tongue touching his before retreating, her pert nipples hardening against his chest. And Jesus, those little gasps and whimpers? He groaned and swiped a hand across his face.

If this had been strictly about desire, he’d be okay. He’d rip his jeans off, take himself in hand, and settle matters quick. He’d done it many times in his life. But right now, his own hand wasn’t going to do a damn thing to cool the throbbing settling deep in his cock. It wanted to fuck. Hard. Now. Until he was exhausted. And no one except Delaney would do.