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A little like me and Tyler, I think. We are nothing more than a few lines on the page, or perhaps one paragraph.
Hardly worthy of Dash’s warning of “Be careful with Tyler.”
Yet hours later, those words ring in my head as I finish packing and wait on Tyler to pick me up. I clearly lied to Dash when I told him I didn’t need his lecture. We both knew better. In fact, I’ve been thinking about Dash’s warning and my actions with Tyler for hours.
I am not going to sleep with Tyler Hawk.
The idea that he has an address book ten miles long actually sickens me a bit. I can’t help but wonder how many women he’s shoved against a door. Maybe he can promise a grand orgasm because he has lots of experience. He’s a manwhore. He likes it that way. Let him keep on living his own way. On his own. Alone.
The doorbell rings, and my brows furrow. I’m not expecting a delivery, and according to a text message from Tyler about two hours ago, he’ll text me when he’s outside waiting on me. Maybe I do have a delivery I forgot. I hurry toward the door and when I fling it open, I suck in a breath. Tyler is standing there, right in front of me, in jeans and a snug, long-sleeved sweater that hugs his muscular torso. Our eyes collide and just that easily, I’m tingling with awareness. Dash’s lecture will not save me. There’s no escaping Tyler Hawk. Not anymore. Something has changed between us, really it had changed long before the office door incident, and there is no turning back.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bella
I quell my nervous energy and force myself to face this moment as if it were any other, not one where my boss who has been between my legs is at my front door. “What are you doing here, Tyler?”
“I thought you might need help with your luggage.”
“I’m not even done packing. You were supposed to text me ten minutes before you got here and you’re twenty minutes early.”
“Invite me in and I’ll wait.”
My brows dip. “Is this payback for me showing up at your door unannounced?”
“I’m not unannounced. You knew I was coming. Invite me in, Bella.” His voice is a low command with a raspy, almost intimate quality.
I hesitate and then ease back onto the foyer, folding my arms in front of me, as if that will stop my breasts from aching simply because he’s in my presence.
“There’s Diet Coke and baked Cheetos in the kitchen, but not much,” I say flippantly, as if he would eat a baked Cheeto, or at least admit to it. “Make yourself at home. Not really. Just sit somewhere. I have to finish getting ready.” But I don’t immediately step away. I’m suddenly wondering what he sees when he sees my home. Beyond this room, my living area has vaulted ceilings with wooden beams and a stunning chandelier I still love since I had it installed two years ago. My furniture is a mix of brown and white linens, while my fireboard is this magical, dark wooden masterpiece. The kitchen, whichoverlooks the living area, is a mix of wood and white marble. It’s a beautiful place, of that I know, but what does itsayabout me?
Alone with nothing to do but decorate, I think.
“Bella?” Tyler questions.
“Yes?” I mentally shake myself and motion behind me, telling him where to go wait, as I’ve instructed. “I’m going upstairs. You stay here.”
His eyes light with what appears to be amusement. My discomfort amuses him. This doesn’t surprise me one little bit. “You should hurry,” he encourages. “We’re flying commercial. I thought you’d be more comfortable that way.”
“I’m not sure what that means,” I say flatly.
“That way you don’t have to be alone with me,” he replies.
“Like I am now?” I challenge, somehow offended by the idea that he chose to place a barrier between us. I’ve known the man for years. We have been alone many times without any hands on each other. We probably aren’t even sitting together. Maybe he’s in first and I’m in coach. That will teach me to bring him ice cream.
“We have a flight to catch.” He glances at his watch and then at me. “You have ten minutes to get ready or we might be flying private anyway.”
Whatever, I think. He’s really a bastard, and I don’t analyze why that’s the thought I have right now. It just is. All the analyzing of myself objectively is out the door when he’s inside my house. I cut my gaze and hurry up the stairs, which wind left and then right before I’m on the top level. My room is to the right. Once I’m inside the solitude of my private space, I cross to the bed where my suitcase lies open and grab one of the large posts framing my mattress just trying to catch my breath. My heart is thundering against my breastbone and my stomach is back to the whole somersault routine. I also swear I smell like Tyler all over again, and that’s impossible. This time, he hasn’ttouched me to leave a lingering impact.But I want him, too, I think. God, I want him too, and I am in so much trouble right now. Why I would pick my boss to get this worked up over, I don’t know. And after all these years working with him, why now?
God.
Tyler is here, in my home. I never thought I’d see that day, but maybe he felt the same about me in his. Maybe I deserve to be rattled like this.Shake it off, Bella, I command myself. Shake it off. He’s waiting on me. A plane is waiting on us. Hollywood needs a big kick in the pants by both of us. I got this. I have control. Of course, I do. I have managed famous actors and singers and waded through treacherous waters working with many an arrogant executive. Those suits are the worst. They have the real power. If I handled them, which I did, I can handle one equally arrogant man I’ve known my entire career at Hawk Legal.
I’m about to seal up my bag when I realize that I’m presently in my work clothes and Tyler is not. I need to know how to dress and what to expect when we get to LA. How have I asked nothing about what is on the agenda?Because you’re too busy lusting after his body, I chide myself. I’m being silly and inappropriate when I should be professional.
I rotate to hunt Tyler down, only to gasp as I find him leaning one big shoulder on the inside of my doorframe. I don’t smell like Tyler. He’s here, smelling up my room with bad intent, and hot man.
“What are you doing in my room?” I demand.
