Del absorbed his words. He’d unraveled her, turned her inside out, and all that was left was the raw woman who bled and feared . . . and hoped. Tears fell down her cheeks, even as another orgasm clawed its way through her and left her speechless.
So she simply nodded.
As if that had turned on some switch inside Tyler, he shoved his cock into her rougher, faster, grabbing her hips and looking her right in the eye. “Come with me. Yeah?”
It astounded her that she could. She could barely move at that point, she’d been so drugged by the pleasure. But she managed to nod, then clamp down on him in a thundering climax harsher and more demanding than all the rest. She screamed until she lost her breath, her voice—and still the ecstasy racked her. It turned up a notch when she felt Tyler jolt, then the wet jet of his semen blasted deep inside her.
With a long, low growl, he filled her again and again with his pleasure and his seed, clutching her. The growl became something like a moan. Then his body went completely limp underneath her.
Their hearts thundered together. Breaths mingled. And reverent silence filled the rest of the room. Something had happened here. She’d given a piece of her soul to Tyler that she’d never be able to take back. It scared the hell out of her.
Walking away from him scared the hell out of her more.
“Angel,” he breathed. “God, you’re perfect. It’s never been just sex with you. It’s like . . . melding. I only wanted to get deeper inside you and never leave.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t have prettier words, just a fresh batch of tears at the touching way he’d described their lovemaking. “It’s like my body knows how much you mean to me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about everything . . . the past.”
Del swallowed. The stark honesty on his face couldn’t be a lie. He meant every word he said. His apology and his sincerity choked her up. Could this man get any more perfect? “I know.”
Relief filled his expression, and he burrowed his face into her neck, breathing her in. “I want to hold you all night.”
It sounded heavenly . . . except they were going to need a change of sheets if they didn’t get up soon.
Then their situation struck her. She gasped. “You didn’t use a condom.”
“I’m clean,” he offered immediately, then peered closely at her. “You’re not on the pill?”
She shook her head. “No reason to be.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “You’re right. No reason at all. Seth needs a brother or sister.”
That quickly, Del felt his cock growing, lengthening. She gaped at him. “Tyler, we—”
“We’re going to be good parents to the boy we have. Don’t you want more children? I do.”
“When all this danger is over, we can talk about it, but I—”
His strokes grew deeper, longer. “I’m not letting this motherfucker dictate my future. We’re going to get him, and when we do, we’ll celebrate. If you’re pregnant again, we’ll celebrate even more. Angel, please. I want to be with you every step of the way this time. I want to make you utterly mine.”
Damn, the picture Tyler painted was so seductive. He made it sound heavenly and ridiculously simple, like all she had to do was lay back and let him love her until nature took its course and a new baby to love grew in her belly.
Reality intruded. Carlson could even now be on their asses. They were still in danger, and until this slimy bastard was caught, none of them were safe. That wasn’t her only objection. She wasn’t terribly old-fashioned, but she’d just gotten divorced last time she’d given birth. This time she wanted to be married and settled.
Still on top, Del disentangled herself from Tyler and pushed off the bed before he could grab her. “Now isn’t the time to be careless or make rash decisions. I need to think about this.”
Confusion racked Tyler’s face. “I love you. I love Seth. I want our family, and I want it to grow.”
“Right now, we don’t even live in the same state,” she pointed out.
“And neither of us can rent a moving van and fix that?” He raised a tawny brow at her.
She flushed with something between anger and shame. “We can. Like I said, this is happening awfully fast. I knocked on your door in Lafayette a handful of days ago.”
“I’ve loved you for years. You love me. I think you’ve loved me for years, too. I’m not letting anything come between us again. What else is there to know?”
Del couldn’t answer that. But she felt like her life was on fast-forward. She didn’t know how to cope. The most prolific playboy she’d ever met now talking about forever and babies and commitment just didn’t compute when she was still rattled from danger and mind-bending sex.
“Just . . . let me sleep on it, okay?”
His face closed over. “Sure.”
She’d hurt his feelings, and that hadn’t been her intent. All she’d needed was for him to slow down a bit and let her breathe.
On silent feet, she padded over to Tyler and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you. I’m not walking away again, I swear.”
“Good. I’d just come after you.” He relaxed a bit and enfolded her into his embrace, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. “Take a bath and get ready for bed. I’ll see if I can find out if your phone has been traced and if there’s anything new on Lobato Loco.”
“Thanks.” She squeezed his hand. “For everything.”
Tyler nodded, slapped on his jeans, and walked away.
DAMN it.
Tyler stomped into the office across the hall from the master bedroom, slammed the door shut, threw himself into his chair, and shoved his head in his hands.
Real smooth, fucktard. She got shot at tonight after finding out her ex-husband was cheating scum, and you want to make babies. Want to hunt for unicorns and rainbows next?
He was angry, not just at himself—but at the fear that coursed through him. The last time Del had been sweet but distant after sex, he hadn’t seen her again for two years. No fucking way would she get that far from him again. She was his now. Was always going to be his. Once all this shit with Carlson was over, she’d stay his. There’d be time for more babies then. Oh, and she’d probably want to get married first. Duh! He probably should have mentioned that.
The “M” word that had once made him break out in shivers and hives now had him smiling. She’d look gorgeous walking down the aisle toward him in white lace with Seth beside her and all their friends around him. Of course, he liked the picture better with her sporting a baby bump. Guess that made him a caveman after all.
Right now, he had to get his head out of his ass. He couldn’t possibly hope for that future if he didn’t untangle this danger. Despite the clock reading something like two in the morning, Tyler resolved to press on. There was a reason Lobato Loco hadn’t shown up, and Tyler wanted to know why.
First, he had to solve the problem with Del’s prepaid cell. Wincing, he called Jack. No doubt, his new boss would love the oh-dark-thirty wake-up call.