Read Online Only Tyler by Jess Dee - Free Book Online

love me.
    You proved it last night.”

SIX
    Four days after he said them, Tyler’s words on the beach still rang in her ears, making rational thought a joke. Steve, thank God, had cut their conversation short, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t obsessed about it. She’d thought of nothing else since. Lucky she could escape for eight hours a day and throw herself into her work. Lucky her work kept her sane, as did Steve, because sharing a house with Tyler did not.
    Wherever she walked there were signs of the man, wearing down her defenses.
    If he wasn’t around, traces of his aftershave wafted through the air. His toiletries lined the shelf in the spare bathroom. Her fridge was filled with food she never ate, and her dining room table was covered in newspapers and business magazines. The phone rang three times as much as it used to, and mostly, the calls weren’t for her.
    She’d always known her house was small, but with Tyler staying in it the rooms seemed positively miniscule. His larger-than-life presence filled the empty spaces, and more often than not, like now, Katie found herself confined to her bedroom. As much as she would have loved to sit cozily with him on the couch and share a laugh like old times, it was easier to stay here alone than to face the possibility of him bringing up their relationship again.
    At night, sounds filtered through the house, creating havoc with the images in her head. The click of his bedroom door, signifying his intent to sleep, sent her into slow meltdown. At least a thousand times she’d pictured him naked. Watched in her mind as he undressed and slipped into bed. Imagined the cool sheets touching his flesh. Caressing it. Enveloping it.
    She shook her head savagely to throw out the prohibited thoughts.
    Damn, she was an adult, and it would do her well to act as one. Tonight she refused to hide anymore. Tonight she would face and conquer her fears. She’d go to him and they could chat. About life. About London.
    About anything and everything, like they used to. Lifting her shoulders in a show of confidence she did not feel, she walked out of her room in search of Tyler. Tonight they would have a decent, platonic conversation, and she would prove to him that whatever they had been for a few weeks, they were no longer. It didn’t matter if he’d come back for her. She was going to marry Steve regardless of what Tyler thought.
    She found him in her living room.
    He stood with his back to her, staring out the window. His hair was wet, and he was shirtless. A snug pair of jeans hugged his toned butt and framed his hard, long legs. Relaxed, the muscles in his arms seemed to flow from his shoulders and down his back, streamlined and masculine. Sexy and sensual. The low-slung jeans sat on his hips, showcasing the slight flare of his ass.
    Katie’s mouth filled with saliva, and her heart tripped in her chest.
    Her already-muddled mind lost its way altogether.
    He was exquisite. A prime example of beautiful male. The scent of shampoo and aftershave lingered around him, and without thinking, Katie stepped closer and inhaled deeply, silently. He smelled of Tyler, of the man she loved. Of hot sun on warm skin, of wet leaves after a rainstorm. He smelled good. So damn good.
    Her instincts were quicker than her sense of self-preservation.
    She took another deep breath and her hands strayed upwards, caressing the hot, hard flesh of his shoulders before sweeping downwards over the smooth lines of his back and coming to rest on the waist of his jeans, just short of his delectable ass.
    Heaven.
    “Katie,” he rasped, and she froze.
    Dear God. What was she doing? She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk.
    Her voice stuck in her throat, and she began to perspire. Beneath her touch, Tyler tensed. Muscle bunched in his arms and around his neck.
    “Katie,” he said again, without turning around.
    “I… uh…” She cleared her throat, then jerked her hands away, searching desperately for an excuse.