Page 75 of Protected from Torment

“I’ll buy you more flowers,” Tyler interrupts. “I should have. And jewelry. Gifts. I guess I’m out of practice, but I should have thought⁠—”

“No. What you do for me is perfect. Making my coffee and taking Oscar out at night so I don’t have to and buying those word puzzle books… those are romantic gestures. They mean you’re thinking about me. What I like. What’s important to me. A random box of chocolates or piece of jewelry doesn’t mean nearly as much.”

“Still.” His expression turns earnest. “You deserve more than I’ve given you.”

“You’ve given me so much,” I retort. “More than I could ever have imagined.” As I think about all the gifts Tyler’s given me, love swells inside me until it’s hard to breathe past it. “You believed in me when you had no reason to. You gave me your trust. Your friendship. You protected me. Invited me to stay with you.” I press my lips to his. “I just wish I could give you as much as you’ve given me.”

“You have.” It’s immediate. Fierce. “I told you, Mel. You make me happy. Truly happy. That’s the best gift. I don’t need anything else.”

There goes my heart, melting into a puddle again.

“Maybe I could give you something,” I say. “Something I think you’d like.”

His brow wrinkles in confusion. “What?”

I climb off Tyler’s lap and kneel before him. Then I grab the waistband of his shorts and start to work them down.

“Mel?” He looks even more confused. “What are you doing?”

I tug his shorts past his knees and down to his ankles. “Remember what I said last night? Something I want to do to you?”

His immediate erection is proof enough he remembers. It jumps to attention, thickening and lengthening. A droplet of pre-cum beads at the tip. “You don’t have to,” he starts.

“I know.” Moving between Tyler’s legs, I put my hands on his thighs as I look up at him. And though I’m kneeling before him, I feel more powerful than I can remember in a very long time. “I want to.”

Lowering my head, I brush my lips lightly across his heated skin. Gazing back up at him, I add, “I want to make you feel good.”

His hand rests lightly on my head. “Everything you do makes me feel good.”

I take him into my mouth, gliding my tongue across the tip. His erection jerks. Swells. His fingers tunnel through my hair, and his thigh muscles tighten.

Hollowing my cheeks, I take him even deeper. He’s too big to fit completely, so I use my hand to hold him still. His hips thrust as I suck and stroke him. My core aches at the feel of him—his heady taste and velvety skin and the pure strength pulsing through him.

Tyler lets out a low groan. “Mel.”

My only answer is to take him deeper yet. So deep it’s verging on uncomfortable. But when I look up at him to see the ecstasy moving across his face, it’s worth it.

I wanted to see him come apart, like I did last night. I wanted to be the one to send him over the edge. And though he’s not there yet, I can tell he’s close.

“Mel,” he groans again. “Ah, shit, baby. That feels so damn good.”

Experimentally, I swirl my tongue in a new direction while using my hand to add some pressure. Tyler’s hips jerk. His fingers tug lightly at my hair. “Ah, shit, baby⁠—”

I shift on my knees as I keep working at him. Drawing him out. Tasting him. Feeling his pent-up desire about to explode. Excitement is building inside me, and my core is clenching desperately. I want him inside me. Filling me, like he said last night. Stretching me in the most delicious of ways.

Tyler lifts me off him and sets me on my feet. “Ty⁠—”

He yanks my shorts off and pulls me back on top of him. “I need to be inside you,” he demands. “I love your mouth. But I want to be inside you even more.”

His features are all hard lines and sharp angles as he looks at me with blatant need. “I need to feel you take me,” he grits out. “You’re so sweet and tight and hot—” His eyes burn with hunger as he notches himself at my center. “Tell me it’s okay.”

The empty ache at my core is almost unbearable. Yes, I wanted to make him come with my mouth. But this…

I want him. Need him. So badly it’s hard to think of anything else.

“It’s okay.” I hold Tyler’s gaze as I take him inside me. “It’s definitely okay.”

And, oh, is it.