Tyler’s feet felt frozen to the ground. His throat closed up and he tried to swallow. It was hard to get past all the old hurt in just a few minutes. No, it was impossible. But the look on his mom’s face, so vulnerable, so tender, wrenched at his heart, and he moved around the small counter and took her in his arms. She hugged him fiercely back.
“You will never know how much I regret the last ten years,” she said, her voice clogged with tears. “How I wish I’d been smarter or stronger…”
“It’s okay, Mom. I could have done things differently too.” His throat tightened and he closed his eyes and hugged her. “And maybe…” It killed him to say it, but… “Maybe what you did was for the best. For me.”
She drew back, eyes wet but a smile on her face. She nodded. “You were a child, Tyler. Don’t blame yourself for how you reacted. But now, it takes a man to say something like that. You’re a good man, Tyler.” She patted his cheek. “Okay. I have to get to the airport.”
“Are you driving? How did you get here?”
“I have my car. I’ve arranged long-term parking for it. I’ll be in touch. I’ll email you from Sabina.”
“Okay. Geez, Mom. Take care of yourself. Are you sure…” The idea of his mom flying half way around the world, to a strange country, all by herself, suddenly bothered him.
“I’m sure.” She turned to Kaelin and opened her arms for a hug, and Kaelin hugged her too. Then she turned to Nick and got another hug. Drawing back, she smiled up at him. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to know everything, but…I want you to be happy too, Nick.”
He nodded, his silvery gray eyes shining, a bemused smile on his mouth.
When she’d left, the three of them stood there looking at each other.
“Whoa,” Tyler said. He felt a little…drained. But exhilarated. Powerful. As if he could take on the world and win. He looked at Nick. “We’re not taking that Healthy Solutions account.”
Nick’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
Tyler headed down the hall. “I’m going back to bed.” He shot them both a grin over his shoulder.
Nick stomped down the hall after him. “Where the hell did that come from?” he yelled.
Tyler stripped off his jeans and jumped on the bed. “I was thinking about it yesterday.”
“You’re fucking nuts, man,” Nick said, but he smiled and unzipped his shorts. Kaelin walked in behind him, shaking her head.
“I thought you didn’t like lying around in bed all day,” she said.
“I’m not planning to just lie around. C’mere, sweet baby. Nick and I want to do all kinds of wicked things to you.”
She kept his shirt on and climbed up between them. “Oh yay. I like wicked things.”
His chest expanded and he glanced at Nick, who smiled too.
“You know there is something I want you to do,” Kaelin said, stretching out on the bed. “I want you to tie me up.”
Tyler’s dick leaped and he licked his lips. “Uh…sure, babe.”
“I mean, tie me up and do wicked things to me.” She held his gaze meaningfully.
He stared at her, heart thudding. “You mean…”
“Yes.”
“I can’t…”
“Tyler.” She reached for his hand and inserted her fingers between his, curling them together. “I trust you enough to let you tie me up. Do you trust me enough to do it?”
His heart swelled up so huge he thought it might explode out of his chest and he closed his eyes against the wave of emotion washing over him. Yeah, hell yeah, he trusted her. After what she’d done for him, he trusted her with his life, and he’d always trusted Nick.
“I love you, Kaelin,” he said hoarsely, giving in to his last fear. “Yes, I trust you. I trust you and love you. He looked at Nick. “Both of you.”
For a guy who’d never thought he was worth being loved by anybody, now he had two people who loved him. Maybe he’d actually start believing he deserved it, wasn’t sure why he was so lucky, but he was so damn grateful, and he planned to spend the rest of his life showing them that. Starting right now, giving Kaelin what she wanted.
He could do that. He could tie her up. He was into that, had always liked the control, the power. He knew the trust required for her to let herself be bound. It took even more trust for her to admit and ask for what she really wanted, putting her at her most vulnerable. He recognized the power he had over her because of that. But he also recognized the deep responsibility it gave him.
He looked at Nick, at the love and trust in his eyes, and recognized the same truth. A sense of strength and a deep desire to live up to that responsibility filled him, like water in a well, seeping into every crevice of his being.
Loving and trusting someone had always seemed to him to be the ultimate vulnerability. But now he could see that loving and trusting someone wasn’t just the ultimate vulnerability—it was the ultimate strength. That in finally letting himself love and be loved, he was freeing himself from the worst kind of bondage. That the exchange between the three of them made them all vulnerable–but made them all stronger.