The Acceptance
Page 44

“Damn early for a Saturday,” she groaned as she stood and gathered her bag. “It’s a good thing I respect Courtney or I’d probably kick your ass for making me work so hard.”
“I could have taken the job next year and this would have all been yours.”
She groaned. “Well played. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
When Avery had left, Tyler rolled his chair closer to Courtney’s. Her fingers were flying on the keys of her computer and her headphones were tucked into her ears so she could hear the words she was typing.
Tyler gently took hold of her wrists and removed her hands from the keyboard.
She laughed as she turned toward him. “Do you need something, Mr. Benson?”
Tyler pulled the ear buds from her ears and laid them atop her keyboard. “There is no one in this whole building,” he said brushing her hair over her shoulder.
“You’re a liar. There is security. Video recording cameras. And I can hear a vacuum.”
“I don’t hear that.”
“You don’t have my superpowers, remember?”
Tyler moved in closer to her resting his hand on her cheek. “My father has a Murphy bed in his office.”
Courtney pulled back. “I’m not even going in there, let alone having sex with you in your father’s office.”
Now he laughed. “If I take you home?”
“Your home.”
“Good. You’re sensible. It’s closer.” He moved in and took her mouth with his.
He was feeling a need for her surge through him, but when she opened up to his kiss he was very sure it surged through her as well.
“We have to go through my dad’s office to get the private elevator.”
“Fine, but we’re not stopping. You can wait till we get home.”
“Can you?”
She gave him a firm shove against the chest. “I guess we’ll have to see.”
~*~
They had made it home, barely, before they slammed the front door and took in after each other, tearing off clothes.
Tyler was more than a little happy that he was the only one living in the house. That was rare enough with his family, but at that moment it was an absolute blessing because most of the moaning seemed to be coming from him.
They were a storm of hands and lips as they maneuvered from the front door toward the couch. Tyler managed to kick the end table and then the coffee table warranting a laugh from Courtney.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked with his lips pressed to hers as he pushed her shirt off her shoulders.
“I’m the one who hasn’t fallen over anything. You’d never make it in my world.” She gave him a shove forcing him onto his back on the couch before she straddled him. “But you’ll never feel like I do either.”
His fingers pulled at the straps on her bra as she shook her head back letting her hair move behind her.
“What does that mean? I’m obviously feeling a whole lot right now.”
She was smiling down at him. “I feel your breath.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “I know your heart beat.” Her hands glided down his throat to his chest.
Courtney unclasped the bra that kept her skin from his hands and let it drop off her arm to the floor.
“You have a scar here,” she said tracing her finger down his side to the scar over his hip. “You have another on your back at your shoulder blade.”
She lowered herself, pressing her bare breasts against his chest. “Your voice rises slightly when you’re worried about something and gets deeper when you’re on the phone with people.”
Pressing her lips to his chest she let her hands roam over his shoulders. “And when I kiss you right here,” she moved her lips to his collarbone. “You gasp.”
He did just that and then sucked in another breath, giving her hair a tug and bringing her mouth to his. “I know things about your body too.”
“Yes, you do.” She kissed him. “But you can’t make love in the dark without falling into things. I can.”
“Well, I guess I’ll never match up.” He cupped her breasts in his hands sending her upright over him. “I’ll just have to make it count.”
~*~
Tyler watched Courtney sleep in his arms. Two weeks ago, she’d dropped her scarf and he’d picked it up. The moment she’d held out her hand to take it from him he was sure that was when he’d fallen in love with her.
Now her skin was pressed to his and he did know her heartbeat.
His cousin Clara and her husband came to mind. They hadn’t known each other much longer when they’d run off to Las Vegas and gotten married. Now they were starting a family.
Tyler pressed a kiss to her head in the darkness of early morning. She wasn’t the fly off and get married kind of girl and he owed his mother more than that. And what did it matter if they got married tomorrow or in four years? This was the woman. She was the right one and his heart knew that even after only two weeks.
Courtney stirred against him. “What time is it?” Her voice was soft.
“Three o’clock.”
“You’re awake, why?”
Tyler brushed his hand over her shoulder and pulled her closer. “I was watching you sleep.”
She moaned against him, perhaps more in protest than with enjoyment. “Why?”
“I want to marry you.”
She stilled even more against him and then pushed herself up on her elbow. “You need more sleep. Go to sleep,” she said lowering herself back to his chest.
That wasn’t going to do. It burned in him now. He rolled her onto her back and leaned in over her. “Not now. Not this month or even this year, but I want to marry you.”
“Let’s talk about it in the morning. After coffee. I think you need coffee.”
He let out a small laugh. “I’m fine. I don’t need coffee. I don’t need sleep.” He sat up and pulled her to sit too. “Do you love me?”
“Yes,” she said but it wavered as though she thought he was crazy.
“Between you and me, and no one else, someday will you marry me?”
Courtney was tense and he didn’t blame her. Her face was still full of sleep and as she ran her hands over her it he knew she was still trying to comprehend what he was doing.
“Really, we should talk about this…”