The pleasure growing within her was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was so much more intense, so much stronger. She felt him in every fiber of her being.
“Let go, Elena,” he said again as he thrust into her up to the hilt, pressing his body all along hers, filling her completely with his hardness.
And Elena did let go. She shattered completely, beyond anything she knew. Yes, there was pleasure, more pleasure than she thought possible, but her heart burst at the same time with love for this man — love so powerful that she knew she couldn’t fool herself any longer.
As he groaned against her throat, finding his own pleasure deep inside her, she wrapped her arms around his back and clung tightly to him. She didn’t want him to see her face, didn’t want him to see what she was feeling.
When their breathing slowed to something approaching normal, she tried pulling herself together, but they were still connected intimately.
“Ah, Elena, that was perfect,” he said.
“Yes, Tyler, it was,” she whispered.
He tried to raise himself up, but she clung tightly. “Not yet. Tyler. Just lie here for a moment longer.”
“I’ve got to be crushing you.”
“No. You’re keeping me warm.”
Elena was unsure how long they lay there together, but the heat from their lovemaking eventually drifted away and the chill of the night gave them no choice but to drag their clothes back on. They finished their wine, ate the snacks, and then she held his hand back to the car.
“What about all the stuff we’re leaving behind?” she asked as he climbed inside the car with her.
“I have people coming right now to pick it up.”
They sat together in silence as his driver drove them to Tyler’s house. Elena thought about requesting that she be taken home, but her lover would question her too closely if she did that. And though she knew she was in love with this man, she couldn’t tell him that, couldn’t give him her secret.
So she accepted what he was giving her, and hoped it would be enough. It had to be enough.
Chapter Thirty
Let’s go, Nolan. You’ve got this!”
Elena sat back and watched as Tyler coached his Little League baseball team. It hadn’t been hard to find out where he was when she’d called his oldest brother, Blake. The man had sold his little brother out in an instant.
Why hadn’t Tyler shared this with her yet? Insecurity filled her at the thought. Of course, there was insecurity in all aspects of her relationship with Tyler. Even though he was good to her, almost too good to her, that scared her.
It was too good to be true.
And this was obviously something important to him and he hadn’t shared it with her yet. So here she was, hiding in the corner as she watched him coach these young kids.
He was good at it, very good.
The boy hit the ball and went flying around the bases. Tyler was out in left field smiling as Nolan made a home run.
“All right, kids, last batter,” Tyler called out.
Elena watched in confusion as the young boy to his left began creeping up behind him. What was happening here? Then the young child got a silly grin on his face as he tugged on a loose string hanging down from Tyler’s shirt.
At that moment, the batter connected with the ball and the kids were running for it while the batter ran home. Tyler looked at the boy who had found such amusement in pulling on the string, and he ruffled the boy’s head. Then they all began dashing back to the dugout.
That’s when Tyler’s eyes connected with hers.
Letting his assistant coach begin packing up the equipment, Tyler jogged over to her.
“What was that about in the field?” she asked, embarrassed at having been caught. “I mean with you and that little boy.”
“That’s Albert,” Tyler replied. “He’s been fascinated with the string on the bottom of my shirt all day.”
“You really seem to enjoy coaching these kids,” she told him.
He was quiet for a minute, looking as if he wanted to say something, then one of the children came running up to them with a gigantic smile.
“Coach Knight, I got my report card today,” the boy said, holding out the piece of paper and waving it.
“How did you do?” Tyler asked, kneeling down.
“Only one B. All the rest are As,” the boy burbled.
“Nice job, Bobby.” Tyler high-fived the kid. Then the rest of the team members were also pulling out their report cards. After a chaotic few minutes, Tyler bestowed a brilliant smile on the members of his team.
“All of you are not only passing but also on the honor roll. Do you know what this means?” he asked.
“Yes!” the team shouted.
“Pizza time,” Tyler told them, and the kids began rushing toward the two vans waiting in the parking lot.
“Pizza time?” Elena asked.
Tyler looked a little uncomfortable when he answered. “They get a reward for doing well in school.”
“I think you’ve really changed through the years haven’t you, Tyler?”
He looked puzzled for a moment, and Elena bit her tongue. She didn’t want to reveal her humiliation of that night to him. Finally, he spoke. “You made assumptions about me. Lots of people make those assumptions but everyone does change as they grow up. We have to be a little bad for a while so that we know how to be good.” Then he winked and moved in closer, his words quiet so no one else could hear. “However, if it’s an asshole you want, then I can be that.”
“Oh, I know you can be that, Tyler. But I didn’t say that’s what I wanted.”