His To Love Part 22

Declan shook his head and rolled his eyes. He seemed exasperated by these women, and who could blame him? They were a lot to take in.

"Need anything else, Blue?" he asked and glanced around the table. "A quiet place to eat? A gun to shoot yourself in the head?"

The women laughed. I snorted and shook my head. "I think I'm good."

"Take care then and tell Ty to give me a ring."

"Will do." I grinned as he walked away. Then I laughed to myself as Paige and Suzanne both placed their elbows on the table, chin in their palms and with stars in their eyes, watched as Declan sauntered away from the table and back into the kitchen.

"d.a.m.n, he's so hot," Paige whispered wistfully.

Suzanne raised her margarita gla.s.s high in the air. "Amen, sister."

Chelsea and Camden both shook their heads, laughing and playing along.

I took a bite of my burger, hiding the largest grin I'd ever worn in my life.

- "I come with gifts." Tyson grinned and held up his hands. One held a bottle of white wine and the other a plastic bag. I a.s.sumed it contained my ice cream.

"d.a.m.n, I'm glad to you see you," I whispered, my eyes on the treat currently calling my name. I opened the door and let Tyson through, shutting it behind him.

"I'm glad to be here."

I smirked at his back. "I was talking about the wine."

He shot me a look over his shoulder and huffed. "Nice to see where I fall."

"I'm kidding."

Tyson set down the wine and bag of ice cream on the entry table and kicked off his Adidas sandals. My gaze traveled down his body, which was dressed in a simple black T-s.h.i.+rt and dark gray athletic pants, down to his bare feet. He looked d.a.m.n good in his suit earlier, but there was something undeniably s.e.xy about a man in athletic attire. It clung to all the right places.

"Come on." He grabbed my hand and picked up the bag. I snagged the bottle of wine from the table and followed him into the suite's small living area. He sat me on the couch and took the wine from my hands. "What would you like first?"

"Wine."

"Stay here."

"I can help," I said, pus.h.i.+ng off the couch to stand.

"You can, but you've had a long day. I want to do this for you."

I relaxed back into the couch and smiled. "Thank you," I replied and rested my head against the back of the couch.

He was right. I had had a long day, but his had been equally long. The fact that he was still willing and wanted to take care of me, even though he had been working since this morning, made my heart flutter a bit faster inside my chest. This was what being with Tyson would be like. Him taking care of me. Lots of understanding and compa.s.sion.

They were things I had received from few people in my life, and never a man.

"Here," he said quietly, and joined me, standing next to the couch. I opened my eyes and turned to him, taking the offered gla.s.s of wine out of his hands.

It was chilled and delicious. A small moan of pleasure escaped my lips as I took my first sip.

He sat next to me, bending one leg so he was facing me, and draped his arm against the back of the couch. His fingertips played with my hair. "How was it?"

"At my mom's?"

One shoulder shrugged.

The vibe at my parents' house was strange tonight. Cars and SUVs lined their driveway when I pulled in, and even though I hadn't seen the numerous men that had to be there, I had definitely heard the raised voices filtering out of my father's office. Everyone seemed tense, with emotions running high. I a.s.sumed it had to do with my father stepping down and making plans to hand over his leaders.h.i.+p to Malik. I guessed it had more to do with what Malik had told me about other crime families threatening to take what my father believed to be his. What I witnessed and heard tonight seemed bigger...darker. As I went upstairs to see my mom, two men dressed in black suits had left my father's office, shouting obscenities as they hustled out the front door. Before they reached the entryway, they both turned around, sent me a glare that instantly chilled my spine, and then left. It took me several moments before I was able to catch my breath and move up the stairs after that. And once I was in my mom's room, I still didn't feel safe.

Something was going on. Whatever my father was doing now wasn't good. I could still feel the lingering tension and darkness in the air in my parents' house as I sat and thought about it. I s.h.i.+vered and shook my head to erase the feeling.

"What is it?" Tyson asked, his hand sliding from my hair to my shoulder.

"Nothing." I frowned, shook my head again. "My mom was fine, I guess. Sleeping, waking up only to cough. I doubt she realized I was there."

I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to find the words to say what I was feeling about it, but nothing came. There was nothing to say about watching someone you love lose her life with every pa.s.sing breath. Fortunately, Tyson let me have my silence while we sipped our wine.

"How's your dad handling it?"

I frowned. He hated talking about my dad, and I was surprised he'd brought him up.

"I don't know, honestly," I said. "Clarissa said he hasn't been home much this week. Busy with something. He'd never let me see him hurting over her, anyway." I forced a smile and turned to him, wanting to change the subject. "How was your day?"

Tyson's finger slid through my hair until he reached the ends. His look was soft. Pensive. "Pain in my a.s.s, to be honest."

"I'm sorry." I lifted my wine gla.s.s and tipped the top of my gla.s.s toward his, clinking them together. "At least we have alcohol."

His eyes crinkled at the edges and then our eyes locked on each other. "Maybe what I want isn't alcohol."

I choked over the lump in my throat, desire already starting to build. He only looked at me with seductive intent and I understood what he wanted.

Even knowing it, I still flashed him a teasing grin. "Ice cream?"

He shook his head slowly and lifted his gla.s.s to his lips, draining it one large sip. "Nope."

"Dinner?" I asked, my lips twitching and fighting a smile.

Tyson stood up and held out his hand to me. I placed mine inside his and let him pull me to my feet. "Not hungry for food."

"What are you hungry for?" But I already knew. Showing him, I rolled to my toes and kissed him, licking my lips right before mine met his.

"You," he growled, his lips against mine. Then he opened his mouth, his tongue sliding out and tasting my lips. He controlled the kiss as he tilted my head with his warm hands until I was at the angle he wanted me. "Let me take you to bed and show you how much."

"You have me," I whispered, pulling back from him. Desire pooled in his dark blues as his eyes scanned my face. I waited, breathless and lips parted, hoping he could see the truth...and understand that I meant so much more.

With a nod so small I almost missed it, his shoulders relaxed beneath my hands. His whole body seemed to melt with my admission. And then I let him tug me down the hall.

Because I wanted him to show me how much he wanted me.

I wanted to show him how much I needed him.

- "I'm going to be out of town tomorrow. And I won't be back until Sat.u.r.day."

"Oh." I was disappointed. I wanted to see him again before I had to see Malik. "Okay."

Sitting up in the bed, I tugged the sheets up over my chest and wrapped my arms around my stomach. It was morning and I couldn't help but enjoy the view as Tyson began pulling on his pants and tugging on his s.h.i.+rt. My fingers itched to grab everything he was putting on and rip it off, before I pulled him back to bed.

"I want you to come to my place after the benefit," he said when he was done dressing.

A small line appeared between his eyes.

"It might be late."

He scowled. "It better not be. And I want you in my bed after I know you've spent the night with another man. I might need to remind you of what we're doing together."

"And what is that?" I hesitated to ask but did it anyway. I knew how I felt. I was pretty sure I knew how Tyson felt.

My breath caught in my chest as I waited for him to answer. And when he did, I was not disappointed.

"We're building our second chance. The life we should have had together before it was taken away."

"Oh...okay." My cheeks warmed with heat as he kissed me. It was soft and languid, our tongues rolling around each other's as he slid his into my mouth.

"Sat.u.r.day, Blue."

"Sat.u.r.day," I agreed, before pulling him back to me. His hands were braced on the bed next to my waist so I glided one of my hands around to the back of his neck and pulled him toward me. I took his weight as he adjusted and a hum of approval fell from my lips as his body covered me. "Maybe you can remind me, now."

He chuckled softly and peppered my cheeks, jaw, and throat with slow kisses. "I wish I could stay, I really do. But once I get this case taken care of, we'll have more time together."

I pouted, unable to help it. Already my body was warming, my most intimate areas pulsing with desire.

"Promise me," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "After the benefit you come to me."

His voice was so stern, so serious, that it made something lump in my throat. "Why?"

"Just promise me."

I frowned, unable to figure out why his plea sounded so ominous. Then I nodded and trailed my fingertips down his scruffy cheeks, stopping at his lips.

He nipped the tip of my finger with his teeth and grinned, but even I noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" I asked when he pushed off the bed and stood up.

"It will be."

s.h.i.+fting, I reached over and grabbed my robe and slipped into it as I climbed out of bed. "There's something you're not telling me."

Tyson chewed the inside of his lip before he grinned. He was a master of his emotions, able to hide the ones he didn't want me to see, but as he walked toward me and placed his hands on my hips, and then dropped his lips to mine, I learned that he couldn't hide them all.

"You're right. But if you can be at my place Sat.u.r.day, I promise to tell you everything that I haven't been able to yet."

An icy chill slithered into my veins even as I found myself nodding. "Okay, Tyson. Sat.u.r.day."

He kissed me again, pressing his lips to my forehead and inhaling at the same time. As he walked away, I couldn't help but think that somehow...

Sat.u.r.day was not going to come fast enough.

Chapter 18.

"You are stunning, Gabriella."

"Thank you." I dipped my chin at Malik's praise. I allowed him to take my arm, and he grasped my elbow with his hand, cupping it while he guided me into the waiting limo.

I had to admit, the beautiful navy gown I had on fit me perfectly. I chose something that radiated cla.s.s and elegance but didn't show too much skin. I still didn't want Malik to get the wrong idea, and with a sweetheart neckline that revealed just a hint of cleavage, the dress wasn't overtly s.e.xual. The designer gown cost a mint, but after I slid it on in the dressing room, I had to have it. It left a nice dent in my credit card, but with the money I was making at DPA, I wasn't worried. It was luxurious and soft. And while Malik's compliment made me blush, it was Tyson's opinion and expression that I couldn't wait to see later on.

Malik climbed into the limo behind me, sitting next to me on the bench. As he sat, he adjusted himself on the seat, moving closer to me. It felt too close, too intimate, and I had to wipe a scowl off my face when he turned and smiled down at me.

"Champagne?"

"Please," I whispered, pus.h.i.+ng down the frustration. A part of me wanted to remind Malik what we spoke of earlier this week. This was not a night where he could try to seduce me into getting what he wanted. I wanted to remind him that I was with someone. That I would never be his. The other part wanted to just get through this evening with as little conflict as possible. Once I refused to marry him, and revealed everything to my father, I would never attend an event of this magnitude again. And while I wouldn't miss it, I did want to enjoy the evening and the hard work that Simone and I had finally pulled off.

I took the gla.s.s of champagne from Malik when he pointed a flute in my direction, taking care that our fingers didn't brush, and quickly brought it to my lips. The bubbles simmered on my tongue, warming my mouth and my throat as I swallowed.

"This is delicious," I told him honestly.

His reaction was pleased, and his smile was light as he watched me take another sip.

"Tell me how your job is going. Are you enjoying being at DPA?"

I glanced at him to find he looked genuinely curious as he leaned back in his seat, champagne gla.s.s held gingerly in his large hands.

"I don't think the week before a party like this was probably the best time to start," I admitted, thinking back to all the fires Simone had to put out and all the issues I had helped her solve. "And yet, it was probably the best way, too. I've learned a lot in a short amount of time."

Malik nodded his understanding. "Baptism by fire, you might say."

I grinned into my champagne gla.s.s. "Yes. It's been exactly like that."

"You don't have to be nervous with me, Gabriella," Malik stated after a moment of a silence. "I intend to keep my word with you."

I swallowed thickly, not realizing that my nerves and doubt were written so plainly on my face. Sucking my bottom lip into my mouth, I whispered, "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"That being said," he began and leaned forward. As he did, his eyes darkened and his lips pulled into a straight line. "There is a conversation that we must have."