Sweet Something (Sweet #1) (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Ok Grace, spill it! I want to know every detail! What has been going on? Obviously, I have missed a lot,” Paige said as she sank into the couch.

  “There is nothing to tell. He just moved in a couple weeks ago. It was your sister who made me talk to him when he came into Geddy’s for a drink.”

It was Autumn who started their conversation, but there was no denying the chemistry. One look at Tyler and Grace felt her stomach flip flop and her insides quiver. She couldn’t help but stare at him at the restaurant that night, and now, after he just kissed her like no other man had, she didn’t know how she was going to keep her eyes off him, let alone her hands. Grace walked into the kitchen, setting her keys on the counter as she turned to look at Paige. “If someone has anything to say here, it’s you,” she said, pointing at her sister, who sank deeper into the couch.

  Stretching her arms and yawing, Paige looked around her old house. “All of the sudden I am so tired. I think I am going to bed.”

She was getting up as Grace walked over to her. “Paige, sit down. Something is going on. I just know it.”

They both sat down together, and Paige shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the words to tell her sister what was going on in her life.

  “It’s your turn to spill it sister,” Grace said, nudging her sister’s knee with her.

 
It was now or never,
thought Paige. She started from the beginning.

     “Dominic broke up with me. He said he needed to explore other options in his life right now; the timing was off; and the relationship wasn’t working anymore.” Grace felt her heart tighten. She knew exactly how it felt to be dumped, and it was something she never wished any of her sisters had to go through.

  “Was this recent?” she said, as she scooted closer to Paige.

  “About four months ago. I wanted to call and tell you, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to tell you because . . . well . . . I didn’t want to hear
I told you so
. Everyone who knew how we met told me it wouldn’t last. Oh, but that’s not the best part of everything.” Paige took a deep breath as she thought of the last couple of weeks and the disaster her life had turned into. “My apartment building burned down and I lost everything. I have been living in a hotel room up until now.”

  She heard a small gasp come from Grace. She didn’t dare look up. She could feel the shame on her face for allowing her life to fall apart;a life she worked so hard to build away from Bar Harbor, Maine. Now, there was no other place she would rather be.

  “Paige, you should have called me when this happened. I would have told you to come home that night.

There is no reason for you to be living in a hotel room! This is your home, just as much as it is Autumn’s and mine.” She hugged Paige. Her heart ached for her sister, because she knew how much she loved Dominic and her life in New York. 

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was devastated when he left. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to tell anyone. I hoped he would come back, but he never did.” Paige wiped a tear from her eye as she hugged her sister a little tighter. Grace was like a mother to her. She always took care of her and made sure she and Autumn had everything they needed. Most important, she was always there when they needed a shoulder to cry on.

  Paige wiped her tears and turned to Grace. “Enough about the mess I call my life. How are you doing? I take it Denny is out of the picture since you were obviously tongue wrestling with Mr. McDreamy down the street!” she said in a mocking voice.

  Grace could feel her face heat up from embarrassment as she grabbed the pillow behind her and threw it at her sister. “Denny has been out of the picture for a while. I don’t want to talk about him right now because it will just end up ruining my night.” That was something Paige could understand because she was suffering from the same heartache. 

“Enough about men who aren’t worth our tears and heartaches. Grace, we need to get you looking absolutely

gorgeous for your date. Let’s go! I might have something in my suitcase that will work,” Paige said, as she dragged her sister down the hallway to her bedroom.

  “Sit! Let me get a look at your underwear drawer. You do own at least one pair of sexy lingerie, right?” Paige was the queen of sexy undergarments. Her closet and credit card had exploded several times from her trips to Victoria’s Secret and fancy lingerie boutiques in the city. One look at her sister’s underwear drawer would send Paige into heart failure for sure because Grace did not splurge on much of anything, especially underwear.

        “For the love of all panties! This is not going to work Grace,” Paige said, holding up a pair of what she would have called ‘granny panties’ as she shook her head.

  “I haven’t had a date in a long time, so there was really no need to invest in sexy panties. Give me that, please.”

  Grace got up from the bed and snatched her ‘granny panties’ out of her sister’s hand, tossing them back into her drawer. “Let’s just forget it. I’m going to call Tyler and tell him something came up.”

  She was walking toward her phone when Paige pulled her back by her jeans pocket.

  “Not so fast lady! That man is into you! I saw the way he was kissing you and how his hands were grabbing onto your ass. You are not calling anyone. You are hot Grace! You have a great body and a very nice ass, but that has

been established already by Mr. McDreamy.  Now sit down and let me work my artistic magic on you.”

   After two hours of primping and playing dress up, Paige stood at the doorway looking at her sister, who looked amazing.

  “Perfection darling! You look like one hot sexy babe. I’d totally do you . . . if I was into girls and you weren’t my sister, of course.”

  Grace shook her head. Her sister always had a way with words. Paige was the racier, lacier ‘go get em before someone else scoops up that sexy man’ kind of girl. Grace wished she could be more like that, but could never find the courage. Even as she looked at herself in the mirror, she didn’t feel the same confidence Paige would have.

Grace looked beautifully stunning and absolutely sexy. Her hair was blown out straight and full, falling around her face and down to the middle of her back. She managed to convince Paige that less was more and went for a more natural—but sexy—makeup look. They kept it only to a minimum: brown eyeliner with some mascara, a mauve pink lipstick, and some peach blush to finish off the look. Paige insisted on her wearing her black skinny jeans with a cream colored sheer tunic and a white camisole, and a pair of her brown leather riding boots to finish off the outfit.

        “You look amazing! He is going to be eating you up in this outfit,” she said, grinning. “He is going to especially love what you are wearing underneath it. Why didn’t you tell me you kept a secret stash of sexy lingerie?  There is hope for you yet Grace!”

  After thirty minutes of arguing with Paige about why it was so wrong to even think about sharing her sister’s underwear, she gave in and let her sister have a peek at her secret lingerie drawer. She bought a few pieces after she met Denny to keep things sexy in the bedroom.
A lot of good that did
, she thought, as she picked out a white lace bra with a matching white lace thong.

  “You really do look beautiful Grace. Don’t let your past ruin your future happiness. You, more than anyone, deserve to find someone to love you and only you.”

   They both stood in front of the mirror for a few more seconds looking at each other and feeling one another’s heartache.

“It’s good to have you back home Paige. Don’t go rushing back to your artsy city life anytime soon.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

  Grace could feel the butterflies in her stomach as she walked up to Tyler’s door. Trying to calm her nerves, she was just about to knock when the door opened.  Tyler stood in the doorway taking in the beautiful sight of Grace on his doorstep. He stood there gazing at her, and struggling to take his next breath. He had to fight the urge to pull her against him and kiss her. This time he knew there was no turning back if he kissed her again. He knew what her lips felt and tasted like, and he wanted more. It was going to take everything he had to keep from dragging her up to his bed to get another taste of her lips . . . and the rest of her body.

  “Hi Grace, come in. You look absolutely beautiful.”

  He couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she walked passed him. He found himself leaning in to smell her hair. It was intoxicating and pushed him closer to losing control again.

  “Wow Tyler! You really made this place look amazing.”

  She looked around and saw everything he had changed. Grace had been in the house once before. The previous owners were an elderly couple who would babysit her sisters when she had to work late nights. It used to be decorated with a cow motif and antique furniture, but now it was a modern, classic décor.

Tyler ripped out the old carpet and installed Cherry Hardwood floors throughout the entire house. He knocked down the wall separating the kitchen and front sitting room, giving the space a more open and flowing look. The walls had been freshly painted in cool whites and soft grays.             

“Not a fan of cows and country, I take it?” She looked around, loving the new look as they walked into the kitchen.

  “Yeah, not really my thing, the whole cow décor,” he said, watching her walk. He was enjoying the view of her from behind and couldn’t help but focus on her great ass.

   He wished he could get his hands on that ass again, the way he did in front of her house when he was kissing her. It was soft and perfect. Before the night was over he was going to have to touch it again.

  “I love what you have done with the place.” She smiled and felt her heart pounding uncontrollably as he stepped toward her.

   His hand brushed her arm and she felt an instant shiver. “I’m glad you came tonight. I was worried about you the other day when you left so quickly.”

   She felt the kitchen island against her back and couldn’t move when he took another step toward her. With him standing right in front of her now, she could feel the warmth coming off his body. His eyes were burning with desire. She could almost feel it as he looked into her eyes.

  “Why did you call me the other night?” she asked.

  “I told you I was worried about you. Do you still have feelings for him?” He needed and wanted to know before  doing what he was about to do.

   It felt like minutes passed before she answered him. She knew she didn’t love Denny anymore, and never would, but she felt the pain of the heartbreak every day. Some days  were worse than others, but right now, with Tyler standing in front of her looking at her like she was good enough to eat, the thought of Denny never once crossed her mind.

The only thing her heart was doing was beating a mile a minute, and it was ready to jump out of her chest as Tyler took the last step and was inches from her now.

   “Grace, I need to know if you still have feelings for him because I am not going to kiss you again if you do, and right now I really want to kiss you,” he said, in a husky voice.

   He didn’t want to think about her having feelings for another man because right now he wanted her. He could tell his closeness was affecting her as well. Her lips were slightly open, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes were going straight through him like a knife.

   If her heart wasn’t rapidly beating before, it was now. The only thing she could do was shake her head because her brain lost all capacity to think after what he said . . . and that was all he needed to say. His hands were on her hips

within seconds, pulling her body to his, and he was lost again. His lips were on hers, his tongue in her mouth, claiming and possessing her. She made a little sound, almost a moan, and it went straight through him.

 
This was crazy
, he thought to himself, but he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop as his hands slid down her body and around her waist to cup her ass. He groaned in appreciation of the feeling. Her arms went around his neck and her fingers found their way into his hair as he took a step back. They staggered further into the kitchen, mouths locked together, and fumbled over a chair, knocking it over. They were both laughing as he spun her around, lifting her up, and set her on the kitchen table. He took a step back, enough to see her eyes. The way she was looking at him was enough to make him lose control right at that moment. Her eyes were full of desire and need. He could see how much she wanted him. Lowering his head, he kissed the sweet spot beneath her ear, nibbling her gently, causing her to moan and make that sound that drove him crazy. His lips moved along her jaw and down her neck. His hands moved up her thighs, over her jeans, and slid under her shirt, feeling the warmth of her soft skin. Her entire body was tight ball of nerves waiting to explode. His lips were burning into her skin; the sensation of each kiss went straight down into her belly, sending tingles  throughout her body.

  “I thought we were having dinner, Tyler,” she said softly.

   He had every intention of having a romantic dinner with her, but his body and his mind forgot dinner and wanted only her. He had no idea how much he needed her until he kissed her that first time in front of her house, but he knew she was still feeling the heartache of her ex-boyfriend, and if he rushed things she might run. He wasn’t ready for her to run from him again . . . or ever.

  He pulled away from her, his hands still under her shirt. His fingers moved slowly over her hot skin and he could feel her taking short, quick breaths.

  “I swear I had every intention of actually having dinner. When I opened the door and saw you standing there looking absolutely beautiful, I couldn’t help myself. I don’t know what happens to me when I am around you. It’s like you pull me in and I forget all of the plans I made and I only see you,” he said, in almost a rough harsh whisper.

  He rested his forehead on hers as he pulled his hands out from under her shirt, resting them on her hips, holding her in place as he tried to find his self-control.

  He wasn’t the only one struggling with losing self-control. Grace was at the edge, ready to jump off. No one had ever made her feel so much desire. No one ever wanted her the way he did, and it made her feel beautiful and sexy. She could feel the walls around her heart falling down, one piece at a time. She was still afraid to let go and put her complete trust in another man. It was going to take time, and she knew that, but she was willing to give it a try

with him. He stepped back, moving away from the table, and reached out for her hand to help her get down. He then set her on her feet as he picked up the chair they had knocked over in their moment of lust.

  She smiled at the fallen chair, remembering them tripping over it as they rushed over to the table. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as he looked over at her and pushed the chair back under the table.

  “Sit down. I’ll get dinner,” he said, grinning at the sight of her flushed cheeks. He wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, he thought that was the hottest kiss he ever had. He was sure the zipper of his pants was going to burst at any moment from the hard-on he was sporting. But Tyler somehow managed to compose himself as he headed out to pick up some things for their private, romantic dinner at home.  

“Dinner was delicious Tyler. Thank you. Everything was perfect,” she said, as she took another sip of wine.

   He couldn’t look away from her lips as they pressed against the glass. Her tongue slid across her bottom lip to catch a drop of wine. It was driving him out of his mind and he felt the desire building again.

  “Do you want dessert? More wine?” he asked, watching her take another sip of wine. He looked at her neck and found himself thinking about his lips kissing her there, and about the way she made little noises as he licked at her skin.

She shook her head and set the glass down. “I think I am too full for dessert, but I will take some more wine, please.”

  He filled her glass, set the bottle down in front of her, and continued watching her. His fingers moving across his bottom lip as he remembered the feel of her lips.

   It was torture watching him play with his bottom lip. She knew just how good that lip tasted and felt on her skin, heating her and sending delicious waves of pleasure between her legs. She was ready to give him what he wanted. She shook off the thought of jumping across the table and ripping his clothes off.

  “Let me help you with the dishes.  You cooked a fabulous dinner, and the least I can do is clean up the mess,” she said, as she got up, taking her plate to the sink and trying to distract her mind.

   Before she could turn around, she felt him behind her. The warmth of his body was pressed against her back. He leaned in, pushing her hair off her shoulders, and whispered into her ear.

  “Grace, you don’t have to clean up. I got it.  You just sit down and let me do everything.” His lips brushed the skin under her ear, making her shiver and her knees go weak.

   She grabbed the edge of the counter with both hands, supporting herself so she wouldn’t fall. Her body was reacting before she could stop it. She felt her ass press

against his hard-on, and felt just how much he wanted her. He was hard as a rock as she pushed one more time, rocking into him. He groaned into her ear. She pushed her body so close to his that a sheet of paper couldn’t fit between them. He reached up, putting his hands on top of hers, sliding his fingers between hers.

“Tyler––” she whispered, not moving an inch.

  “Grace,” he whispered in her ear as he nibbled on it and flicked his tongue on her lobe.

   She gasped and pressed her ass harder up against him.

  He tightened his fingers around hers as she moved again, pushing harder against him.

“Do you want this Grace?”

  She wanted him more than she wanted anything in her life. The problem was admitting it and telling him she has wanted him since the moment she saw him.

“I––” She closed her mouth and gasped when he gently nibbled on her neck and shoulders.

“Yes or no, Grace.”

“Tyler . . . I––”

  He slowly kissed the spot he just bit and let his tongue ease the sting of the bite. It was all she needed to make up her mind.

  “Yes . . . yes, I want you,” she said.

   A growl vibrated deep in his chest.  He spun her around quickly, pulling her into his body and claimed her mouth with his, tugging gently on her bottom lip with his teeth and sucking it into his mouth.

  “Grace,” he breathed. “You are so beautiful, so sexy, and I want you. I can’t wait anymore; I want you now . . . in my bed.”

He was lifting her and turning them both as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was kissing her as he made his way to the bedroom. Her fingers wound their way into his hair, making him groan from the shiver that went down his body.

  “Is your room much further,” she murmured into his lips as they kissed.

  He smiled as his arms pulled her against him, more tightly, and shook his head as they walked into the room. Kicking the door closed with his foot, he turned, pinning her back to the door, leaving trails of soft wet kisses down her neck.

The air crackled with electricity and need.

  “I have thought about this moment a thousand times since I saw you at Geddy’s that night,” he said, as she nibbled on his lower lip. If he wasn’t rock hard before, he definitely was now . . . and she could feel him digging into her hip.

Yep, definitely rock hard
.

   It drove him wild. His desire grew from urgent to hot, scorching flames in less than a second. He tugged at her hips, pulling her closer to him.

   She arched her back, pushing her center down on his hardness, moaning at the feel of it against her core. Her

entire body was humming with pleasure at every touch, lick, and kiss of his mouth. She had never felt such desire before, and she knew when she did find her release it was going to be something special . . . something explosive!

    “So sexy,” he said, in a rough, harsh whisper, his mouth hot and low in her ear sending shivers down her spine. “I want to lick every inch of your body, and I think I’m going to start right here.”

   He slowly licked the sensitive skin below her ear, making his way around to the front of her neck and down her collarbone.

  “Tyler––”

  “Tell me what you want.”

  His tongue made its slow torturous decent down her collarbone to the patch of soft skin exposed at the top of her shirt.

  “Tell me, Grace. Stop me now if you don’t want this.”

   He was lifting her shirt now, sliding it up over her ribs as his fingers heated her skin. His breathing quickened when the shirt came up over her breasts, exposing the white lace bra she was wearing.