But the one and only time it had really meant anything . . . that belonged to the woman under him.

Tyler brushed the hair from her face and fused their lips together, shuttling inside her over and over, feeling her body tense, build, reach out for another orgasm. He closed his eyes, intentionally filling her with long, deep strokes that awakened both her G-spot and all the nerves he nudged around her cervix.

“Touch your clit for me,” he whispered, propping himself on his elbows to give her room to maneuver.

Del reached a slender hand down her belly—then stopped. “Really? You want me to touch myself while you’re inside me?”

“Is it going to get you off?”

“Probably.” She bit her lip, eyes closing shyly. “I’m really sensitive there.”

He grinned. “Get your fingers on your pussy, angel.”

She didn’t hesitate again, just slid her fingers between them and started rubbing that little sweet spot with slow, gentle strokes. He filled her, deep, sure thrusts, one after the other, that rasped over all the dark, sensitive corners inside her. With every thrust, she tightened until she forced him to take shorter, faster strokes, dig right at those nerve-laden spots that had her gasping once, twice, as she wrapped her long legs around his hips and thrashed under him, silently begging for release.

“Do you want to come?”

“Yes.” She sounded as if she’d run a marathon and stroked her clit faster. “Please!”

“Now,” he growled the command at her, feeling his own pleasure creep up his spine and tingles gnaw their way through his belly.

An instant later, her entire body jolted, and she let loose a guttural cry. A rosy hue flared across her cheeks. God, she was so fucking beautiful. Tyler fought to stave off his climax. He wasn’t ready for this to end. For the last two years, he’d been floating through life. In Lafayette, he’d found the place he now considered home. He’d found the friends he knew would always have his back.

But he’d been missing Del, trying to fill her void with anyone he possibly could. He knew now that no one else would do. And he couldn’t keep from releasing the need boiling inside him.

Del held him tightly, her pussy gloving him perfectly, squeezing and pulling him in. Pleasure suspended him seemingly in midair. The tension reached its zenith until he didn’t breathe, didn’t hear, didn’t think. He simply felt Del—then released everything he had inside her in an outpouring that exploded through him, damn near overwhelming him. Tears stung the back of his eyes, and his throat closed up. He clutched Del tighter.

Under him, she clung to him, sobbing softly. He brushed the dark strands from her rosy cheeks and dried her tears. “I’m here.”

She nodded but closed her eyes against him. “Don’t do this to me. Just . . . go.”

Fuck, her dismissal was frustrating, but not surprising. She’d known him for years as a player. Her first impression of his life in Lafayette wouldn’t have changed that. He’d gotten her pregnant and left before she could tell him. She’d been through a messy divorce and birth all by herself. And now he’d worked his way right back into her panties. Naturally, she was cautious and questioning how long he’d be here for her.

Withdrawing from the warm clasp of her body, Tyler disposed of the condom and grabbed his towel. “Del . . .”

She shook her head and rose, clutching the sheet against her. “I’m going to shower.”

Before he could reply, she’d darted across the room and closed the door. Shit. How ironic was this? All the times he’d fucked and run, leaving some female most likely wondering how he felt about her. Tyler winced. Now he knew that feeling. And it sucked.

He sat on the bed with a sigh. What the hell did he do now? Go with his gut and pursue her? Did he have more staying power than his old man, or had his mom been right all along?

Tyler could still hear his mother and the bitterness that dripped from her every word. She would get drunk and tell him how much like his father he was. After a while, it had become the background noise that filled his childhood, but Del was bringing it all back. Was he like the old man? Destined to ruin everyone around him?

He had no clue, and he certainly didn’t have time to deal with his past boo-boos now. He’d call his mom at some point, tell her about Seth . . . but not today. Now, he had to focus on Del and what was happening between then. He wasn’t calling the old bitch and letting her crawl in his head now.

With a sigh, he picked up his phone and dialed.

Jack answered on the first ring. “You okay there?”

Define okay. “Since we got out of New Orleans, it’s been pretty smooth sailing. Xander’s contacts, while scantily clad, have been helpful. But the asshole trying to kill Del is about to be named DA.” Tyler filled Jack in. “See if you can dig up any dirt on him.”

“Will do.”

“And Del’s got this friend, Lisa. I didn’t get a last name. Here’s her phone number.” Tyler prowled through Del’s phone until he found her last call and repeated the digits to Jack. “Del says this is a friend who’s been helping her. I just want to make sure she checks out. If not, we might have a very unwelcoming party once we hit L.A. tomorrow.”

“I’ll look into her and get back with you in a few hours.”

“Thanks, man.”

“You sound tired.”

Tyler sighed, rubbing at gritty eyes. “Fucking exhausted.”

“You’ve trekked across half the country in two days, been shot at . . .”

“Yeah.” But that wasn’t really the problem. Tyler tapped nervously on the phone with his thumb, then decided to go for broke. “How did you convince Morgan that you were the right one for her?”

“Whoa, that’s out of left field.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay. To be honest, I was relentless about getting Morgan into bed. But then I fucked up, and I had to grovel a lot. Ultimately, I had to put the decision in her hands. I couldn’t force her to trust me a second time.”

Tyler squeezed his eyes shut. Jack was right, but that was the last goddamn thing he wanted to hear. Del wasn’t ready to believe that he was into her for the long haul. Hell, despite the way he felt, he wasn’t even sure. She had too much on her plate for him to expect her to sort it out now.

“You in love with Del?” Jack asked.

How the hell could he answer that? “Never really been in love. I don’t know.”

“What about Alyssa?”

“A very beautiful crutch.”

Jack paused. “You tried to use her and all the other strippers to avoid thinking of Del?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well, damn.” Jack sighed. “I’m going to owe my wife something from Tiffany for being right—again.”

“About my feelings?”

“Yep. She knew right away that you loved Del and that you were going to go after her.”

Tyler sat back. Morgan had seen that? “What if I’m not good for her? I’ve got a lot of feelings for Del, but I’ve never tried the long-term relationship thing. Even the word used to give me hives.”

“Picture the rest of your life without Del and give me a one-word description of it.”

“I can’t decide between bleak or pathetic,” Tyler admitted finally.

“There you go.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “But I know fucking nothing about loving a woman for the rest of her life.”

“Think I knew anything before I married Morgan? I had subs, not girlfriends. The most bonding I did was a slave to the wall, never a woman to me. Thankfully, once I earned Morgan’s trust again, she had most of it figured out. Follow your gut. Once you win Del back, work with her. Listen. Together, you’ll find the answers.”

Jack made it sound so easy. Tyler hoped his buddy was right.

***

AS they drove with the rising sun at their backs, Del tried not to look at Tyler. She’d only remember waking up in his strong arms and feeling genuinely safe for the first time in weeks. She tried to forget how badly she’d wanted to snuggle up to him, kiss him awake . . . and see where the morning led them.

Stupid. Of course, Tyler would have sex with her. He had a lot of sex, and none of it meant anything to him. Putting her heart out there with him just didn’t make sense. Tyler was a great guy, but when it came to monogamy, she didn’t think he was built for more than a night or two. And was she really ready to jump back into the relationship pool? She knew all too well how one minute everything could seem great, then in the next . . . anger, accusations, blame, heartache. Signing up for that possibility again simply didn’t hold any appeal.

“You’re not drinking your coffee.” He glanced down at the fast-food cup full of java.

“It’s like battery acid eating away at my stomach. No, thanks.”

“You didn’t eat, either.” Tyler sighed, rubbed his forehead. “We should talk about it.”

“No, we shouldn’t. Unless you just want me to bolster your male ego, then I’ll admit that you were great and rocked my panties. Thanks.”

“I don’t give a shit about my ego.”

“That’s right. You’ve had plenty of girls over the years tell you how good you are in bed. Dozens? Hundreds?”

“I didn’t count, and stop trying to make what happened between us impersonal. You mean something to me, Del. I wouldn’t fucking be here now if you didn’t. If you’re trying to protect yourself by acting like it doesn’t matter, you can do that. But it matters to me, and I’m going to prove it.”

Shame stung her cheeks. She was being a bitch and hurting Tyler’s feelings. Del didn’t know why he was trying so hard to convince her that he cared about her. Because she was Seth’s mother? Because he felt guilty? Or because she really did matter?

“I’m sorry if I hurt you. I just can’t chase Carlson, worry about Seth, and think about my love life now. I’ll admit you’re spectacular in bed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you again. I’m more than willing to be your lover until all this crap is over. Just . . . don’t talk to me about emotions. Whatever you think you’re feeling, it’s the situation, not me. You’ll get over it and move on. So let’s just enjoy each other now and not worry about the rest, all right?”

Tyler opened his mouth, looking like he was going to object, when Del’s phone, sitting in her lap, rang. They both glanced at the display, and anxiety gripped her when she saw an all-too-familiar number pop up.

Chapter Ten

“ERIC?” Del’s voice shook.

Tyler’s gut tightened. She’d been trying to call her ex-husband to get the flash drive she’d stashed in his house, but it rubbed Tyler the wrong way that Eric thought he could call Del and expect her to answer after the terrible way he’d treated her.

“Put him on speaker,” Tyler murmured.

She hesitated, then complied, hitting a button.

“—the fuck are you into?” Eric was ranting. “I come home from a week in Cancun to find a bunch of messages on my answering machine from you that abruptly stop three days ago. After my flight landed at LAX, I called in to the precinct to check in. Some of my buddies tell me your car exploded. I came home to find my house has been ransacked. Not robbed, but torn apart. What do your panicked messages, which they listened to, by the way, have to do with this?”

Del sent him an alarmed glance. Tyler knew that she was thinking the same thing he was: What if whoever broke into Eric’s had stolen her flash drive?

She clutched the phone, looking angry and nervous. “I didn’t do anything to your house while you were gone. I’ve been away. I had to leave town after the car bomb.”

“When did this start? The guys at the precinct said you were gone by the time they arrived on the scene to find your car was damn near ash. They have no idea who’s behind this. From your voice mails, I’m guessing you do. What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“We’re no longer married. I’m not your problem anymore. I just called you for one small favor.”

“To hell with that, Del. If someone is trying to kill you, tell me. We may not be married anymore, but damn it . . . I want to do something. Is the asshole who’s trying to kill you the same one who broke into my house?”

“It’s complicated.”

He huffed. “Since I solve crimes for a living, I think I can figure it out.”

Del looked at Tyler, her expression a silent question. He shook his head. No telling who was onto her connection with Eric. Better not to talk more specifically until they were face-to-face. If Carlson had anything to do with Eric’s place being trashed, the culprits could have just as easily planted listening or surveillance equipment.

“It’s not safe for me to talk right now.”