Page 80 of Return to Me Always

The tears were coming, but I fought them. I couldn't cry right now. But something about the way Tyler held me, his hand caressing my arm, his head above mine, made me want to cry.

"Shhh," he whispered against my hair. "It's all okay now. It'll all be over soon."

I nodded, unable to speak. My mom turned around to look at us but didn't say anything. It definitely felt weird cuddling with Tyler right in front of her. Thinking of all the questions she would have for me once we were alone made me shudder, and Tyler's hold tightened around me for the rest of our quiet ride.

A few minutes later, Ben pulled into a hotel, its warm lights welcoming in the dark. As he parked, I sighed at the thought of a hot shower and comfortable bed.

"Come on," Tyler said. "Let's get you upstairs."

He held open the door for me, gently helping me out of the car. Putting an arm around my waist, he held me close to him as we walked together. To be honest, I could have done it on my own. But this pampering from Tyler, yeah, it felt pretty amazing, and I was definitely not going to pass it up.

I leaned into him even more, milking it, as we followed my mom and Ben who led us to the elevator. Too soon, we walked down the long hallway, and I knew I'd have to say goodnight to him. No way in hell was my mom going to leave my side.

She was oddly quiet too, making me kind of nervous. What was she thinking exactly? Stopping to key into a room, she turned around to say something then paused.

Of course, Ben filled the silence. "Don't worry, Kit Kat. We're right next to you in case any new bad guys show up. We even have an adjoining door." He wiggled his eyebrows, making us all laugh.

"Nice try, Ben. No way am I unlocking our side," my mom said. "Well, good night, guys. You've been an enormous help. I really can't thank you enough." She gave me a pointed look. "Kat, I'll give you a sec. Okay?"

Ben fidgeted with his key. "Right. Right. I get the hint. That one's pretty obvious. Even for me." And he disappeared into his room at the same time my mom did.

Tyler gave me that half-grin, capturing my gaze, making my heart leap in my chest. All my exhaustion disappeared. We were alone… for a few minutes at least.

"Finally," he sighed, leaning my body up against the wall. "God, I've missed you."

Suddenly, his mouth met mine, and I drank him in, starving for him. His hands caressed the sides of my face while his body pressed into mine. My hands roamed all over his back, his arms, his chest. He felt so damn amazing and tasted like the sweetest drug.

No words could describe how much I wanted this man, wanted to devour him, wanted to taste every inch of his beautiful body, wanted him to love me more than anything in this world.

Tyler's lips were made for kissing, for kissingme.We fit together so perfectly, lips to lips, body to body. His hands moved from my cheeks, down my neck to my arms and shoulders, giving me instant chills and sparking heat through my whole body. I was desperate for him to touch me all over.

He suddenly stopped. "Did I hurt you?"

"Hmm? What?" I struggled to make sense of his question through my haze.

His hands dropped to his sides. "I didn't mean to touch you there, right where your wound is."

"Oh, I see. No, no. It's fine. Please don't stop."Please. Really. Don't stop.

He smiled but didn't continue. Instead, he rested his forehead against mine. "You took a bullet for me."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. His lips were so close to my own, and I just wanted him to kiss me again.

"Did you hear me?"

"Hmm?" What was he saying?

"My God, you shouldn't have done that. You could have died. You almostdiddie." His eyes stared into mine, tormented. "Again."

Again? What did that mean? I gasped as it dawned on me. He knew!Of course. Heknew.

The door popped open next to me. "Kat?" my mom said.

What the hell? She couldn't have given me a few more minutes?

Tyler's body left mine as my mom poked her head around the door to look at us. "You ready, hon?" she asked all innocently.

I shoved away from the wall. "I guess."

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