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“Oh not tonight,” Ty groaned when she pulled into her mother’s driveway. She
spotted Quay’s foreboding black SUV parked a few feet away. “What is it Quay?” she
called once she’d left her Cherokee and he was walking toward her.
He smiled as he raised his hands defensively. “I swear that I only wanted to make
sure you got home alright.”
“No, you wanted to make sure I got home alone,” she corrected, folding her arms
across the front of the black turtleneck she wore.
Quay simply nodded, not bothering to argue her accuracy.
Tykira’s brown stare narrowed. “What is it with you? One minute hot, the next minute
cold. Is this still about Wake? Or do you still just enjoy playing with my head? This isn’
t high school Quay. You don’t have to play that game anymore, you know?”
“Ty-“
“It’s confusing and it’s cruel and I don’t have time for it. I’m here to work and then
leave,” she huffed, pointing one index finger toward the ground.
Quay bowed his head and cursed himself. In his desperation to see her, he
hadn’t stopped to consider how she would perceive his actions. Nice Quay. Nice as
always.
“Why don’t you use your Casanova skills on one of the many women ready to be
wooed by you?” she muttered, turning to open the passenger-side door and collect
her things.
“And you’re not one of those women?” Quay said, speaking more to himself than to
her. No, she wasn’t one of those women-she had never been. She was so much more
and she’d never heard him tell her that.
“No, I’m not one of those women, Quay, so stop. Just stop all right?” she pleaded,
resting her forehead against the Cherokee. “There’s no need,” she told him. “I didn’t
come here to win a spot in your life. In spite of my…eager participation, I didn’t even
come here to sleep with you.” She ended on a whisper, sighing as exhaustion
claimed her.
“Jesus,” Quay hissed, mistaking her sighs for sobs and stepping close to console
her. “Ty please, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”
“Snake,” she snapped, stiffening against him. “I’m not crying over you Quay. I’ve
done way too much of that.”
Quay nodded, but made no move to back away from her. Instinctively, his hands
smoothed across her slender form, moving up to fill his palms with the fullness of
her breasts.
Ty blinked, her body beginning to tingle with the desire for Quay that always
simmered just below the surface. Helpless to deny its power, she let her head tilt
and she arched deeper into his touch.
Keeping one hand curved seductively across her bosom and the other at her hip,
Quay trailed his nose across the nape of her neck. The scent of her perfume brought
to mind the naughtiest acts of seduction that he ached to subject her to. His perfect
teeth found the zipper that secured the chic turtleneck and tugged it down, hungry
to expose more of her silky dark skin.
How she wanted him, Ty thought as his mouth traced her neck. That’s all it would
ever be unfortunately. Want, desire, sex-satisfying and craved, yes, but nothing
more. Dammit, she hissed silently. All these years she’d felt fulfilled and successful
without him in her life. Now he was here again and torturing her mind and body with
his attention. With a strength she conjured from someplace deep, Ty slipped out of
his embrace and headed toward the front door.
Quay seemed to snap out of his pleasure-driven state of mind as well. Leaning
against the SUV, he kept his back turned until Ty had disappeared inside the house.
spotted Quay’s foreboding black SUV parked a few feet away. “What is it Quay?” she
called once she’d left her Cherokee and he was walking toward her.
He smiled as he raised his hands defensively. “I swear that I only wanted to make
sure you got home alright.”
“No, you wanted to make sure I got home alone,” she corrected, folding her arms
across the front of the black turtleneck she wore.
Quay simply nodded, not bothering to argue her accuracy.
Tykira’s brown stare narrowed. “What is it with you? One minute hot, the next minute
cold. Is this still about Wake? Or do you still just enjoy playing with my head? This isn’
t high school Quay. You don’t have to play that game anymore, you know?”
“Ty-“
“It’s confusing and it’s cruel and I don’t have time for it. I’m here to work and then
leave,” she huffed, pointing one index finger toward the ground.
Quay bowed his head and cursed himself. In his desperation to see her, he
hadn’t stopped to consider how she would perceive his actions. Nice Quay. Nice as
always.
“Why don’t you use your Casanova skills on one of the many women ready to be
wooed by you?” she muttered, turning to open the passenger-side door and collect
her things.
“And you’re not one of those women?” Quay said, speaking more to himself than to
her. No, she wasn’t one of those women-she had never been. She was so much more
and she’d never heard him tell her that.
“No, I’m not one of those women, Quay, so stop. Just stop all right?” she pleaded,
resting her forehead against the Cherokee. “There’s no need,” she told him. “I didn’t
come here to win a spot in your life. In spite of my…eager participation, I didn’t even
come here to sleep with you.” She ended on a whisper, sighing as exhaustion
claimed her.
“Jesus,” Quay hissed, mistaking her sighs for sobs and stepping close to console
her. “Ty please, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”
“Snake,” she snapped, stiffening against him. “I’m not crying over you Quay. I’ve
done way too much of that.”
Quay nodded, but made no move to back away from her. Instinctively, his hands
smoothed across her slender form, moving up to fill his palms with the fullness of
her breasts.
Ty blinked, her body beginning to tingle with the desire for Quay that always
simmered just below the surface. Helpless to deny its power, she let her head tilt
and she arched deeper into his touch.
Keeping one hand curved seductively across her bosom and the other at her hip,
Quay trailed his nose across the nape of her neck. The scent of her perfume brought
to mind the naughtiest acts of seduction that he ached to subject her to. His perfect
teeth found the zipper that secured the chic turtleneck and tugged it down, hungry
to expose more of her silky dark skin.
How she wanted him, Ty thought as his mouth traced her neck. That’s all it would
ever be unfortunately. Want, desire, sex-satisfying and craved, yes, but nothing
more. Dammit, she hissed silently. All these years she’d felt fulfilled and successful
without him in her life. Now he was here again and torturing her mind and body with
his attention. With a strength she conjured from someplace deep, Ty slipped out of
his embrace and headed toward the front door.
Quay seemed to snap out of his pleasure-driven state of mind as well. Leaning
against the SUV, he kept his back turned until Ty had disappeared inside the house.