“Allow me,” he said.
Studying him, I finally stepped back and permitted him to help me into the SUV. As he did, his hand brushed against my stomach. His stature tightened immediately. I met his gaze, a look of unease and bewilderment on his handsome face.
Smiling, I grabbed his hand in mine and placed it against my stomach. “It’s okay.” Our eyes remained locked as I kept my hands glued to his, hoping he would see I wanted him to be a part of this. Time seemed to stand still and, for that short moment, I was no longer concerned with all the lies he had told me. We were us again…the real us. The us I missed. The us I loved. The us I hoped we could be again.
There was a small flutter in my stomach and I couldn’t help but feel as though this was supposed to happen. “I think he knows his daddy’s here,” I murmured, breaking the perfect silence.
“Really? Why do you say that?”
“I think he’s kicking.” I removed my hands from on top of his, feeling the sides of my stomach.
“What does it feel like?” he asked, mesmerized. His breathing grew heavier and I knew he was in the moment. I had the same reaction the first time I felt it. Before then, it hadn’t really sunk in that this was real, even after seeing the ultrasounds and hearing the heartbeat. But that first flutter… Words were insufficient to properly convey the depth of awe I felt.
“Like a flutter of butterflies,” I explained, “but more intense. It’s almost like…”
“Yes?” he whispered, bringing his body closer to mine.
I exhaled, a satisfied smile crossing my face at the irony of it all. “Like lightning.”
Tyler swallowed hard, his breathing shallow. Our eyes locked and I saw the longing within. Licking his lips, he slowly lowered his head toward mine. My heart raced in my chest and I could have sworn I heard it echoing around us.
His breath on my skin tingled my senses, reminding me how much I craved him. Even the most innocent of touches sent me reeling, never wanting to be separated from him again. I closed my eyes, lost in the moment. I wanted his kiss, but I didn’t. I pined for it, but I knew I shouldn’t. When his lips brushed against mine, I moaned, my taut stature relaxing.
I had dreamt of this precise moment for months. Hearing his voice in my sleep, imagining his skin on mine… His voice murmuring his deepest and darkest desires had seemed so real. Now it finally was. But was I so weak to let him think he could just waltz back into my life without suffering any ramifications for what he had done to me? It wasn’t supposed to be this easy.
Subduing my urges, I pressed my hands against his firm chest and pushed him away.
He flung his eyes open, confused and a bit disoriented. “Mackenzie…”
“Tyler…,” I said simultaneously.
“What is it?” he whispered.
“I just… I can’t.” I sighed, fumbling to explain why I wanted to be us again, but just not yet. “It’s too soon. You want to start from the beginning again? I do, too, but it’s going to take time for me to forget everything. I need to learn who you are. I don’t want to go to bed with the Tyler who broke my heart. I want to go to bed with the Tyler who would walk through fire for me. I need to get to know that Tyler. The two weeks we were together were the best of my life…until the bottom dropped. We loved hard and fast. I don’t want to make the same mistake again. I don’t want to rush this. I need to learn to like you before I can give you my heart again. If you keep kissing me like that, I won’t be able to stop at just a kiss. I’ll want it all and I can’t help but think it won’t end well for us.”
Despite his apparent disappointment, he pulled away from me, respecting my wishes. Grabbing my hand in his, he placed a chaste kiss on it. “At least you’re not saying no.”
Pulling my hand from his, I tried to subdue the butterflies flapping in my stomach at the sexy, coy look on his face. “I’m not saying yes, either.”
“Not yet, but you will,” he murmured against my ear, causing a spine-tingling chill to rush through me.
I had missed those chills.
~~~~~~~~~~
“ELI WILL BE DROPPING your car off within the hour,” Tyler said, hanging up his cell phone as the chauffeured SUV pulled into the parking lot of my condo. “He can bring your keys up to you or leave them at the front desk. Whichever you’d prefer.”
“The front desk is fine. I’m planning on pouring myself a glass of sparkling water and soaking in the tub.”
“Tired?”
“Growing a human is a lot of work.” I smiled at him as he leapt out of the SUV, running around to open my door for me.
I held out my hand for him and was caught breathless when he grabbed my waist and lifted me from the back seat. I remained suspended off the ground for several long moments, simply staring down at him, his smile wide. It felt like my first crush all over again…the excitement, the unexpected. I never wanted to stop living in this moment. Earlier this morning, I was furious with him, but his patience and initiative to share even the deepest and darkest parts of his soul spoke to me on another level. With each brush of his skin on mine, each tender word, each caring gesture, I felt my resolve begin to crack. His mother’s words continued to play on repeat in my subconscious, urging me to consider forgiving him because he needed it and not because he deserved it.
My feet slowly met the ground, our gaze still locked. “Thanks,” I whispered.
“You bet, princess. I need to make sure you have your footing. You are carrying precious cargo, after all.” He winked and grabbed my hand, walking beside me toward the building.
Wyatt bolted up from his desk when he saw Tyler and me enter. “Sir,” he said curtly, taking purposeful steps across the lobby towards us. “Your brother called and apprised me of the situation. The team is on standby and is happy to stay at their posts.”
I tore my hand from Tyler’s and took a few steps away from him, a chill washing over me once more. Crossing my arms, I glowered at him. “Team? There’s a team? I knew about Wyatt because he told me, but there’s more?”
Tyler let out a long breath. “I meant to tell you on the flight home, but I guess I was enjoying our conversation and didn’t want to bring up anything that would ruin it.”
“Well, now I know, so start talking,” I hissed.
“This is Martin,” he said, gesturing to the built older man standing next to him who I had known as Wyatt. “He’s Alexander’s version of Eli.”
“We’ve met, but I thought he was the only one! How many others?”
“Six total on your protection team,” he said sheepishly.
“Six?!” I exclaimed in disbelief, wondering how I could have missed six people watching my every move and spying on me.
He sighed, apparently unsure of how to handle my outburst. “After everything went down, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to give you space, then Alex came to me with a new assignment. The thought of abandoning you, of not being there to look out for you and ensure your safety… I couldn’t stomach it. The only reason I ended up taking the assignment was because Alexander promised you would be better protected than the president. It’s been the only thing that’s given me some sort of peace of mind over the past few months.”
I remained speechless, absorbing his words.
“Like I told you earlier, Mackenzie. I never let you go.”
Staring between Tyler and Martin, I straightened my spine. “Who are the others?”
“Three of your new employees at the restaurant,” Tyler admitted, running his hand through his hair.
My eyes widened. “How? I do all the hiring!”
“We made sure their qualifications were such that you couldn’t say no,” Martin offered.
“Who?”
Tyler hesitated briefly. “Chris, one of your line cooks; Gretchen, a server; and your bar manager, Kevin.”
I gasped. “Kevin?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Who else?” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it all earlier. I thought Kevin was sucking up to me and that’s why he always seemed concerned with how I was doing.