Foreign Affair (17 page)

She clung to him, matching his strength and passion. They sank to the floor and she pulled him on top of her. His hands roamed over her body, cupping the heavy fullness of her breasts.

“Lena, hang on.” Tyler pulled away for a moment. “Are you okay doing this? I don’t want to rush you after what happened tonight.”

“Please, don’t stop. Your touch will help me forget.” She buried her face into the crook of his neck. “You consume me.”

His breath hissed out in a controlled gasp. He made sure to be slow and gentle as he undressed her. He took a moment to tease the pink tips of her breasts, then brought them into his mouth and suckled until her soft cries hit fever pitch.

He slid a hand over her thigh and captured her mouth for another kiss. He slipped his tongue between her lips, and then moved his hand inward to cup her sex.

The moisture he found there signaled that she was ready for him. He slid his finger deep into her, her sigh of pleasure encouraging him onward.

He sat up and removed his clothes, then knelt again in front of her, meeting her passion-filled gaze.
 

“Please, Tyler.” She licked her lips, and her knees fall open. He lifted her hips, cupping her bottom and pulling her forward to him.

With one thrust, he buried himself deep inside her.

They both groaned, and a tremble rocked his body. He took a moment to enjoy the sensation of being inside her, and then started a slow, steady rhythm.

Her breath came out in short bursts, and he pressed a thumb between her legs to bring her further pleasure. She gasped and pressed her hips into him, moving faster as he thrust deeper.

A moment later she clenched around him, crying out in as she found her release. He managed a few more thrusts and then groaned, his body tightening as he emptied himself inside of her.

Lena’s eyes were closed, and her breasts rose and fell with her shallow gasps. She looked so sexy. So damn sexy, and yet so vulnerable. He closed his eyes for a moment, fear running through him at how lucky he’d been to get to her in time.

After a moment, he pulled out of her and stood up, then held out his hand and pulled her off the soft carpet.

She stumbled to her feet, barely able to stand. He kept an arm around her and dropped a thorough kiss on her mouth. When he pulled away, she buried her face against his chest and sighed.

“Do you mind if I take a bath?”

“I think you should.” He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “You’ve had a pretty intense evening, and a bath will help relax you. Are you hungry?”

Her stomach rumbled at the question.

He laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes. Let me go find some place that’s still open and pick us up some food.”

She yelped when he swept her off the floor and into his arms. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you to your bath.”

Lena wrapped her arms around his neck, a drowsy smile on her face. He was so good to her. Something she had yet to get used to. And more than once every day, she’d found herself wondering what it would be like to take this relationship beyond the week.

“You’re too good to me.”

He set her on the edge of the claw-foot tub and turned on the faucets.

“Can I have some bubbles?” Lena smiled up at him through her lashes.

“Bubbles?” he repeated and raised an eyebrow. “Sweetheart, I don’t have any bubble bath.”

“I do. They’re rose scented. But they’re in my bag in the bedroom.”

“You really want a bubble bath?”

“Yes, please.”

“All right.” Tyler gave a soft laugh and then left the bathroom to grab her bubbles.

Her heart melted a little more, and she smiled, stepping into the tub.

Tyler returned a moment later, dressed and carrying a small, pink bottle. He opened the container and poured it into the tub.

Iridescent suds began to pop up, and Lena inhaled the soft, floral scent.

“All right, sweetheart, try not to have too much fun.” He leaned over to drop a kiss on her lips.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she latched a hand onto his shirt. “What if I pulled you into the bath with me?”

“There’s no way you’re getting me into a bath that smells like roses.” He pried her fingers off him. “Besides, you wanted food, didn’t you?”

“Yes. So I’ll let you go. This time.”

He laughed and blew her a kiss before slipping out of the bathroom. A moment later, the front door shut.

Things had changed between them tonight, and for the better. Tyler calling her out on the games and rules had been the best thing to happen to her. She didn’t want to hold back anymore.

She wanted the possibility of…of what? Something more.

She shook her head and sighed. Slipping under the water, she let the warmth cover her. She surfaced to the sound of her cell ringing.

“I’ll bet he forgot his wallet. Or the keys.” She jumped out of the tub and slipped on the floor. Righting herself, she slapped a towel around her body and caught the phone right at the tail end of its fourth ring.

“Thank you very much, Tyler. I almost fell on my butt jumping out of the bath to get the phone.”

Her gut twisted when there was no reply. “Hello?”

“Who’s Tyler?”

Her bubble of happiness ruptured, all giddiness sinking into her stomach. Keith.
You’re technically still engaged. How easily you managed to forget that.

“You shouldn’t be calling me.” Her fingers clenched around her towel.

“Lena, we’ve got to talk,” he said urgently. “Mother contacted me to let me know what had happened. I want you to know that she means nothing to me.”

His mother meant nothing to him?

“She’s just a slutty little secretary at the firm. I got carried away.”

Oh, not his mother. The bimbo he was fucking in Maui
.

“A slutty little secretary?” Her blood pressure spiked a bit. “I’m sorry, is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Well…no, but I just thought you should know that it meant nothing. And I’m really sorry, baby.”

His apology sounded about as animated as if he’d announced he was going to get his oil changed.

“I’m really glad that you’re sorry,
baby
. But I’m in Europe at the moment and not in the mood to talk about your inability to keep you dick in your pants.” Lena took a slow, steadying breath. “I am on
my
vacation, and you are not going to ruin it any more than you already have.”

“Hang on.” His voice rose, displaying his displeasure at the unraveling conversation. “You never said who Tyler is. Tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”

“Actually, I am. And he’s great in bed.” She smiled, enjoying this a little more than she ought to. “And his dick is huge.”

The line went quiet, and she frowned. Had he hung up on her? She started to disconnect the call when he spoke again.

“I need you to come home, Lena.” He gentled his voice, as if he were talking to a young child. “You’re not thinking rationally right now. You’re obviously too upset to be on your own.”

Her chest expanded with the breath she drew in to control her temper. “
What
?”

“You should buy a ticket for the next flight home—go ahead and put it on the card. Yes. Do that. I want you home as soon as possible.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want. I’m doing what
I
want.” It was amazing how controlled she kept her tone. “When—I should say
if
—I come home, we can talk then. Don’t call me again, Keith.”

She hung up, her body trembling. She glared at the phone, and then cursed as it rang again.

She turned off the phone completely, so he’d just get her voicemail.

Taking a deep breath, she went back into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet lid.

What an asshole. He’d just sent her back to that emotional mess stage, and this time for a whole different reason. What the hell was she supposed to do about Keith? With the wedding already set, and they owned a house together… Jeez, they’d been together for almost ten years.

And then there was Tyler. Her heart twisted a bit, a slight smile curving her lips.

Were her feelings for Tyler real or were they just an illusion? An illusion created by the romantic setting of being in Paris and having a sexy man treat her like a goddess. Maybe it
was
all an illusion. One that would disappear the moment they stepped back into America. Hell, they didn’t live anywhere near each other. They were on opposite sides of the country.

“Damn.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what the hell to think anymore.”

The thought of facing Tyler like this, emotionally confused, made her sick. She turned and ran into the bedroom, pulling on her jeans and a sweater.

Grabbing her wallet, she headed for the door. She had her hand on the handle when she paused and looked back.
You have to at least leave him
a note
.

She turned back toward the kitchen to find a piece of paper.

“Hey, sweetheart, I’ve brought you food.” Tyler let the door shut behind him.

Silence met him.

“Lena?” He searched the apartment and came up empty. His gut twisted, the fear almost paralyzed him. Then he saw the note taped to the television. He set down the bag of food and went to get it.

I have to get out. I’ll be back in a couple hours. ~Lena

Crumpling the note in his hand, he sighed. “I must have scared the crap out of her with that little talk.”

Walking over to the window, he cursed himself for being so confrontational with her tonight. She obviously hadn’t been ready to hear that kind of declaration. And after the incident at the club, she could still be in shock.

He reviewed in his head everything they’d said earlier. What if she was wandering around the streets alone again? Hadn’t she realized how unsafe it was outside? Jesus, he needed to find her.

He turned to grab his jacket and noticed her phone on the counter. It was turned off. Almost like she was avoiding all contact.

He narrowed his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t her conversation with him that had made her run, but with someone else.

Removing his jacket again, he swallowed his fear and sat down on the couch.
You have to trust her
.

Lena stared out the window of the cab. Her head pounded, and all she wanted was to be stretched out in bed.
In bed with Tyler’s arms around
you.
Lena shoved the voice aside, willing herself to be logical right now.

The driver of the taxi glanced back at her on occasion, waiting for further instructions from his passenger other than to just drive around the city.

Coffee.
Coffee would be good at this point. It would wake her up
and clear her head a bit.

She leaned forward and cleared her throat. Too tired to make the effort, she didn’t even attempt to speak French. “Do you know of any cafés around here that would still be open? If possible ones that have computers? Internet?”

“Yes, of course.” Fortunately, he spoke English. “You would like for me to take you there?”

“Please.”

A few minutes later he pulled up outside a café, the inside lit up, showing her it was still open.

Lena handed him the fare and fled the cab, eager to jump behind a computer and send an email to Stephanie.

Five minutes later, she’d secured a computer and ordered a latté. She settled herself into the small, wooden chair and logged onto her email account.

Lord, she had a lot of email. She deleted the ones that promised to increase her breast size or give her a three-day erection.

After she’d cleared out the junk, she opened a blank email and addressed it to Stephanie. She typed in everything that had happened in the past few days, pouring out her heart and holding nothing back. A half hour and another latté later, she hit send.

She rubbed her stomach, debating whether to just get up and head back to the apartment or to stay and fool around online some more.

Flipping back to her inbox, she started to read the emails. Some were from her parents—they of course went on and on about all the traveling they’d been doing, and where the best cities to party were.

She smiled and shook her head, closing out of one email and opening another from her co-worker Lakisha.

How’s Europe? I’ll bet you’re eating pastries and drinking wine like a bum. You even going to read this, or am I going to have to chew your ass out when you get home? Thanks for leaving me to plan that honeymoon for that bitch Carolyn Monroe. She had all the papers signed, everything planned, and then comes in the next day saying her fiancé was being difficult.

Apparently, he took off for Amsterdam on work and told her not to book anything. Hey, maybe you might even run into him over there. If you do, run like hell if he’s anything like Miss Stick-up-her-ass. Anyways, I gotta try and get her deposit back. Hit me back if you get the chance.

Lakisha

“Amsterdam?” Lena’s brows drew together.

Something Carolyn had said floated back through her head.
My
fiancé is an architect in New York.

Tyler was an architect in New York. She shook her head. Could it even be possible?

“That would be way too much of a coincidence.” Lena stood up, printed out the email, and slipped it into her purse.

After she paid her bill, and then went back outside to hail another cab.

Tyler heard the door creak through the light sleep he’d fallen into. He blinked his eyes open and sat up on the couch. Lena tiptoed toward the bedroom, as if trying not to wake him.

“What’s up?”

She gasped and turned his way. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was.”
Tell me where you were. What’s going on, sweetheart?

Her smile seemed hesitant, and she cleared her throat. “I had to get out. I’m sorry. I hope you weren’t too worried.”

“Actually, I was.” It seemed she wouldn’t tell him without some encouragement. “You want to tell me what happened?”

She gnawed on her lip. “I’m just so tired right now.”

Tyler’s stomach clenched, and he looked away. “I may have been a little heavy with the earlier conversation. If that’s what upset you, than I’m sorry.”