Tension

Our relationship was supposed to end when she found out who was stealing from me. I had a reputation I was trying to move on from, and she had been fighting to prove herself, so when a public confrontation put us in the limelight, we had no choice but to play along.

What was supposed to be a fake engagement very quickly turned into the realest thing in my life, but when the truth was discovered and explanations were demanded, I knew there was only one answer.

“I’d rather not do this, Tyler.”

“Do… what?”

She motioned back and forth between us. “This. Where you pretend to care and be a nice guy.”

“Pretend to be a nice guy?”

“You’re being nice to me because you’re friends with Brody, and I get it. You didn’t have to go along with my thing tonight yet you did, faking interest and being forced to touch me. But after tomorrow, we’ll never talk again, so you’ll never have to do it again. I’m gonna tell Foster the truth because he’s one of my best friends, and I can’t lie to him. He’ll keep it quiet so nobody else has to know.”

What was she talking about? It was like she was a completely different woman than the one I had just spent time with at the bar. Jesus, I thought for a minute there that she was different, that she was worth the effort. I thought all the back and forth was the alcohol, but nope, she’s just as crazy as every other fucking woman in my life. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

“Then we’ll pretend tonight never happened.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Good.” Pulling her shoulders back, she stared straight ahead and stayed like that until I pulled up to her house.
I was pissed at her but more pissed at myself that I was dumb enough to fall for yet another woman’s bullshit. Still, I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t see her inside safely, so I parked in the driveway of her small ranch house and got out to help her get down. “I can get myself into my house on my own.”

“Stop it with the attitude, Tally, and just let me make sure you get inside all right.”

She spun around and stomped away, and I followed her to her porch. After she had the door unlocked and pushed it open, she turned to me. “There, I’m—”

I put a stop to her attitude when I slammed my mouth to hers. I grabbed her ass with one hand and held on to the back of her head with the other. Her lips parted, and I pushed my tongue inside, tasting cherries and beauty, and it was so good I groaned as I moved us into her foyer.

Kicking the door closed with my foot, I kept walking until her back hit the wall. She dropped her keys and phone on the ground and dug her nails into my arms as I held her immobile and devoured her mouth.

She whimpered, pushing up on her toes. Angling her head, she pulled me closer, begging for more. And damn, did I want more. I wanted to kiss every inch of her skin, I wanted to taste the most intimate parts of her, and I wanted to bury myself inside her so badly I felt it in my bones. But I’d learned my lesson the hard way, so there was no point in trying to fool myself that she was worth the risk.

I ripped my mouth away and tilted her head back, forcing her to look at me. She panted, bringing her fingers to her lips like she’d just tasted a miracle. “I wasn’t pretending to care, I wasn’t pretending to be a nice guy, and I wasn’t faking interest. And for the record, I touched you because I wanted to.” I tightened my grip on her hair. “But you can be damn sure this is the last time I’ll ever put my hands on you.”