Counterfeit Courtship, page 16
Tyrone’s heart raced; how could she possibly know? He and Kiera occasionally talked about their arrangement in public, but they’d kept it to a minimum. If Cora had overheard, why didn’t she say anything? No way would he admit to the truth in front of her. Not so she could use his words against him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She smirked. “Fine. Play dumb. I’m not here to ruin your party.”
“Then what are you here for? I know you hate me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Who said I hate you? I mean, yeah, I’ve got to look out for my cousin, but...” She cocked her head to the side and eyed him with interest. “Li’l Bit told me about how good you were when you two were together. I always wondered if she exaggerated.”
“Keep wondering.” He moved to go past her, but she put a hand on his chest.
“Why you trying to act like you’re some good guy when we both know you’re an equal opportunity player?” She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She took the paper and slipped it into the pocket of his pants. “Call me. Show me if you’re as good as Li’l Bit said you are.”
Someone cleared their throat. He looked up and met Kiera’s eyes. Tyrone stepped back. Cora turned, saw Kiera and her smirk widened. She looked back at him. “Now that she has her new job, I’m sure you’ll need someone to keep you company.”
She pursed her lips at him in a mock kiss before turning and sauntering down the hall. Kiera watched her walk away with hard eyes. Cora waved her hands then continued out of the hall.
Tyrone hurried to Kiera. “It’s not what it looks like.”
She held up a hand. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
Her words and flippant, dismissive words frustrated him more than Cora’s weak come-on. “If you pull that we’re-not-really-together mess...” He took a stabilizing breath. “Kiera, let me explain.”
She shook her head. “Not here. Too many eyes and ears. Smile, take my hand and let’s go back out there and have a good time. Neither of us can afford to ruin everything we’ve built so far.”
Chapter Twenty
They stayed at the party for another hour before leaving. Kiera didn’t want to talk about what happened with Cora at the club. She’d seen the entire thing. Had headed that way the moment she’d noticed the woman going in that direction after Tyrone got off the stage. Before that, she hadn’t known the woman was there, nor would she have cared about her being present. Tyrone and her cousin had ended badly, and she was sticking up for her family. Kiera could respect that, but when she’d smirked at Kiera before following Tyrone, she’d known there would be trouble.
In the car she kept the conversation on the concert and the after party. How much fun she’d had and how much she’d enjoyed seeing Jessica in person. Anything but Cora’s come-on. She wanted to sit in the fantasy a little while longer, despite knowing she couldn’t be in a relationship with Tyrone and watch him flirt with women and deal with them propositioning him whenever she wasn’t around.
“And thank you for the congratulations on stage,” she said. “When you first got up there, I didn’t know what you were going to do.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. The streetlights filtering in through the windows cast shadows across his handsome face. “Did you think I was going to embarrass you?”
“Honestly, for a moment I worried you were going to go up there and beg me to stay or something.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. I meant what I said. I’m proud of you and even though I’ll miss you, I support you.”
She stared at the side of his face for several seconds. He finally took his eyes from the road to glance quickly at her. When he raised an eyebrow, she smiled.
“No one’s ever really gotten up and cheered for me like that before. It was nice.”
“I don’t mind cheering for you. Does a part of me wish you’d stay here? Of course. But a bigger part of me wants to see you succeed. I know you’ve got dreams. I only want to support them the way you’ve supported me.”
When he said things like that, it made it easy to sink into the fantasy and wrap the dream around her like a blanket. To be honest, he’d started to wear her down. Not by begging or constantly making a case for himself, but by acting like a considerate boyfriend. After he’d gone on stage her defenses weakened. That was until she’d seen the way he’d hugged his coworker, how her hand had accidentally slid across his behind and the quick whispered conversation when they’d passed the microphone. That’s when the first cracks in the fantasy appeared tonight. No matter how sweet and loving he was to her, Tyrone was still a casual dating guy who would at least tell her before he slept with someone else.
“I’m sorry about Cora,” he said.
Kiera was about to wave away his words and decided against it. She’d wanted to ignore the entire thing. The quick glances he tossed her told her he wasn’t going to let her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He hadn’t invited Cora down the hall. Hadn’t asked her to sleep with him. Hadn’t agreed to call her when Kiera was out of time. She’d cleared her throat before that. She hadn’t wanted to hear his answer.
“I didn’t expect her to come at me like that,” he continued. “I thought she hated me.”
“Hate can often be used to disguise someone’s true feelings. Feelings they don’t want to admit. She’s jealous.”
“I don’t get it. Why would she want to even do that to Li’l Bit?”
“Why does anyone do things they know might hurt the people they’re supposed to care about? Selfishness. She wants a piece of you.”
The idea made Kiera’s skin crawl. She’d wanted to charge down that hall and snatch Cora’s hands off Tyrone’s body and drag her by her long ponytail down the hall and away from her man. She’d taken a step forward to do so when the truth popped back into her mind. Tyrone wasn’t her man and making him her man meant she’d have to deal with those types of situations all the time. It would be her relationship with Mike all over again. That’s when the fantasy shattered.
Nothing was more desirable to some women than a reformed playboy. The challenge of proving he hadn’t changed was a turn-on for others. She’d have to watch, turn the other cheek, or go with instincts and pull someone by the hair, while hoping Tyrone did his part and turned down any advances. Until the day came when he didn’t.
“Well, I don’t want a piece of her.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “I only want a piece of you.”
She smiled despite the cheesy line and shook her head. “Get to the house and you can have a piece of me.”
His hand tightened on hers, and his eyes lit up. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Kiera knew she was living dangerously. She’d duct-tape the fractures of the fantasy for the rest of the night. In a few days she would be on her way to LA. Until then she’d take a few snatched moments of fun.
Hadn’t she done that from the start? Gone into a fake relationship with Tyrone when she knew she was attracted to him? Slept with him even though she knew doing so would make their situation more complicated? Tried to keep him from her family to avoid connections, but didn’t protect herself from caring about his brothers and their girlfriends? She was buried under an avalanche of complicated and messy feelings she wasn’t sure she could trust. Something that started as a lie couldn’t end well, could it?
She needed space. She needed time to think. She needed to know if this was real or just an illusion created by lust, proximity and mutual benefit.
When they made it home, Kiera didn’t give Tyrone time to talk, or for her to think. If he talked, he’d say all the right words, because he’d always know just what to say. She didn’t want the right words tonight. She just wanted to be in his arms. To have him make love to her one last time before she did what had to be done to prevent her heart from being broken.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. A happy moan rumbled through his chest before he deepened the kiss. He held her tight against him as if he was afraid she’d slip away. Kiera wiggled to loosen his hold. She didn’t need affection and tenderness. Not tonight. Tonight, she only needed the physical release. The physical goodbye.
His hands roamed up and down her spine before cupping her behind in a strong grip. Kiera tugged open his shirt. Her fingers played across the muscles of his chest and toyed with the hair there before circling his tight nipple. He sucked in a breath. Burying his nose in her neck, he nipped at the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder met.
She stepped backward and guided him toward the stairs. Upstairs, they landed on the covers. She expected him to sense her urgency and undress her quickly, but instead he continued to kiss her slowly. His body rubbed against hers. His hands caressed her curves. His tongue played over hers in a slow, sensual glide that made her sex slick. Her hands clutch at his shoulders and arms.
“Tyrone, quit playing with me,” she moaned as her back arched for more.
“Who’s playing?” he asked in a low, serious voice.
“You know what I want.”
His sexy chuckle as he finally released the hooks of her bustier brought out her own grin. “That’s what you want?”
She sucked in a breath as the pressure released and her breasts were free. “That and a whole lot more.”
She opened her eyes and trailed her finger down his chest, over his abs and to the waistband of his pants. “Make love to me.”
The smile left his face. He stared down at her with a look of such need and tenderness her heart ached. He cupped her face and kissed her hard. He removed the rest of her clothes with the same urgency she’d felt before. His soft lips kissed every single inch of skin he revealed. Nipping, licking and sucking until her body squirmed as she clutched the sheets and whimpered in pleasure.
She was lying spread-eagle on the bed, and Tyrone kneeled between her legs, chest heaving with his heavy breaths. His eyes never left hers as slowly rolled the condom down his hard erection. Kiera ran her hands over breasts and stomach. A teasing grin on her face. His nostrils flared. He quickly blanketed her with his body.
Kiera’s grin widened. “In a hurry.”
“You know what you do to me,” he whispered in her ear.
His erection moved heavily against her sex. He rotated his hips, teasing her with the long thick length before pulling back and plunging into her. Filling and stretching her in the most pleasurable way possible. Kiera’s nails dug into his back with each deep, rhythmic stroke. The sounds of their ragged breathing and sighs of pleasure filled the room. The heat of his sweat-slickened skin against hers created a sensual friction that vibrated in every nerve of her body. When he rose onto his elbows, caging her in his embrace, he pushed the hair back from her face and he looked down into her eyes.
His expression, one of tenderness and affection, melted the cracks in her defenses. Her eyes prickled with tears as emotions swelled inside her. She was too late. Her heart was already too closely tied to him. She wanted him inside her always, but knew she had to escape. She reached between them and touched herself where they were joined. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, breaking the hold of his gaze as her body crashed over the edge immediately. Her pleasure always brought him pleasure, and sure enough, his body shuddered, and he gasped as his own orgasm seized him.
He collapsed against her. Kiera smiled contentedly and ran her fingers across his sweat-dampened back. Tyrone lifted his head, got one look at her face and returned her smile.
“You know we can make this work, Kiera,” he said before kissing her ear. “Let’s make this work.”
He didn’t play fair. She floated in a haze of pleasure and her heart was coated in the tender emotions that made her want to feel like this forever. Her mouth opened. The word yes on the tip of her tongue. His cell phone rang, loud and unwelcome in the middle of their moment.
Swearing, Tyrone pulled away from her. “I’ll put it on silence.”
She shook her head. “Nah, check it. It’s late and could be important.”
He moved to the end of the bed and grabbed his discarded pants. Kiera stood and walked toward the door. When he pulled out the phone, he scowled at the screen. “What the...?”
She froze and turned back to him. “Bad news?”
His eyes jerked her way before he shook his head. “No, it’s nothing. Looks like someone from the radio station called. It was probably a missed dial.” He held up the silent phone. “See, they hung up already.”
“You don’t need to call back?”
“If it’s important they’ll leave a message.” He darkened his screen then came to her. “Forget that. How about round two in the shower?”
Grinning, Kiera let him follow her to the bathroom. Later, after round two, she was lying on Tyrone’s chest and listening to his soft snores while she contemplated what to do next with the feelings she had for him. Light filled the room as his cell phone brightened on the nightstand. She glanced up at him to see if he’d noticed, but he continued to snore. She reached for his phone to darken the screen then paused after seeing a text. A text from Towanda. The former coworker he’d hugged at the station.
Towanda texting wasn’t what shoved her out of the warm happy place she’d been in. The words of the message did that. You always come back. Stop playing. I’ll see you when she goes to LA.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tyrone hummed to himself as he flipped the last few pancakes on the griddle. He’d gotten up before Kiera and come downstairs after washing up to start breakfast. The smile hadn’t left his lips since the first few rays of sunlight came through the window. The night before had been perfect, despite the interaction with Cora. Taking Kiera to see her favorite singer followed by supporting her decision to take the job had been the right moves to make.
He’d seen the look in her eyes. Watched the affirmative nod of her head. She’d finally agreed to stop pretending as if they were still in the fake relationship they’d started months ago. Watching her go to LA would be a heck of a lot easier now knowing the separation wouldn’t serve as the start of the “amicable but public breakup” they’d planned.
The sound of Kiera coming down the stairs echoed through the house just as he slid the last of the pancakes onto the stack on the plate next to the griddle. Grinning, he moved the plate of pancakes from the island and took them to the table. There, he’d already set out bacon and sliced fruit he’d prepared earlier, along with orange juice.
“Breakfast is ready,” he called out. He turned to the coffee maker and poured coffee into a mug. “I hope you’re hungry because I made plenty.”
He turned just as she entered the kitchen. She was fully dressed in a stylish tan loungewear suit, her makeup flawless and her hair twisted up. His smile fell as his eyes dropped from her unsmiling face to the suitcase at her side.
“I’m not really hungry,” she said in a soft voice.
Tyrone stared at her for a few seconds. His brain tried to process what his eyes saw. She wasn’t leaving already, was she? The job wasn’t for another week or so. He had more time before he needed to let her go.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m going to head back to Atlanta.”
“Already?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I need to get some things settled before I go out to LA.”
Okay, that made sense. He went back to the table and put down the coffee. “Cool, you can still sit down and eat, and I’ll go pack. I’ll go with you to Atlanta before you leave.”
She shook her head. “That’s not necessary.”
“It may not be necessary, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go with you.”
“But... I don’t want you to go with me,” she said carefully.
The words hit him with the brutal force of a stun gun, shocking his senses and paralyzing him for several tense seconds. Swallowing hard, Tyrone tried to rein in the hurt ricocheting through his chest. He crossed his arms and tried to sound calm, rational. To not overreact and make things worse. “Why not? I thought that after last night—”
“Last night was just us doing what we do,” she said in a detached rush of words. “It didn’t mean anything more.”
He took a step back. “What? I asked you about us giving this a go. And—”
“And I didn’t answer. Your phone rang, remember?”
He scowled as he remembered the interruption. Towanda’s call. He forgotten all about her whispered proposition on stage in the aftermath of what happened with Cora. Definitely hadn’t expected her to call or send the texts that followed when he didn’t answer. Texts once again offering to hook up after Kiera left town. He had no intention of following up Towanda’s proposition or letting Kiera know about them.
“Yeah, my phone rang, but that doesn’t change how we felt last night. I saw the look in your eyes, and you agreed with me.”
She shifted her stance and glanced away. “I had a moment where I thought about what you said, but it was just a moment. That’s why I need to go. Before things get even more complicated.”
Tyrone hurried to stand in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Complicated? How? Kiera, we both want this. Why are you fighting this?”
“Are you going to call Towanda when I leave?” she blurted out.
His stomach dropped. The words coming out of her mouth were the last thing he expected to hear. For her to ask the question meant one of two things. “Why are you asking?”
“Because I saw her text last night.”
He let go of her shoulders, confusion turning to frustration. “You went through my phone?”
Guilt flashed in her eyes for a half second before she lifted her chin and stared back. “Your phone lit up in the middle of the night and I went to turn it off. Then I saw the text.”
