Page 41 of Firecracker

Goddamn, need for her burned inside him in a searing blast. He wanted to taste that pretty mouth, feel her soft lips under his, pull her hair out of that ponytail and run his fingers through it. Desire throbbed inside him, a nearly overpowering urge to reach for her and…

She took a step back, her breath hitching. “G-good night, Tyler.”

He gave a jerky nod. “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh. Right.” She blinked rapidly, then reached for the doorknob behind her and opened her door. “See you tomorrow.”

She disappeared inside her apartment and the door closed.

Tyler pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, his body still aching for her. Fuck.

He turned and shoved into his own place, giving the door a firm push to shut it. He pulled a long breath into his lungs. Okay.

He was frustrated. But that was okay. Because the good thing was…she felt it.

He wasn’t going to push too hard, or too fast. Christ, patience had never been a strength of his, but he learned it over the years. She’d just arrived a few days ago. She was in the middle of a huge upheaval in her life. It wouldn’t be fair for him to be too aggressive. He’d take his time. Show her it was okay.

In the meantime, he needed to rub one out. Spank the monkey. Arm wrestle with his one-eyed vessel. Yeah.

Chapter Nine

Arden hurried home from work. She’d left fifteen minutes late because Elena, one of the other servers, had taken an extra long break, and Emma was going to be at her place soon. She hadn’t had a lot of time to prepare for Emma’s visit after a late shift last night and working earlier today, and that annoyed her.

She enjoyed being a hostess. She and Michael had entertained a lot, and she’d taken pride in having the perfect party—mostly the food, because she enjoyed cooking, but also decorations, music, ambience.

Today, she had no decorations, not even a vase of fresh flowers. The music would be a playlist from her phone, and the food was a bunch of nibbles she’d picked up—nothing fancy.

But the important thing was seeing Emma!

She raced up the stairs and into her apartment, feeling sweaty and gross as usual after a shift. She’d planned to shower after work, but she skidded to a halt in her hall facing the demolished bathroom.

Oh right. She had to shower at Tyler’s.

At least her things were still there. With a quick glance at her watch, she turned and bolted across the hall. She knocked on the door.

Tyler opened it. “Hi.” His face lit up at seeing her, that gorgeous smile spreading wide to reveal perfect white teeth. Damn. That smile reached down inside her and made her girl parts squeeze.

“Can I have a real quick shower?”

He blinked. “Sure.”

She pushed past him and headed straight to the bathroom. “My friend Emma is coming over.”

“Right. You said that last night.”

“I was late leaving work and I need to clean up quickly.”

“Go for it.”

After a rapid shower and shampoo, she grabbed her clothes. Ugh. She didn’t want to put them back on. She needed to invest in a nice thick terry robe for crossing the hall. She sighed and wrapped a towel around her, tucking it in at her breasts to hold it in place. She twisted another towel around her hair in a turban.

She peeked out of the bathroom. Could she make a run for the door and leave without encountering Tyler?

Clothes clutched in her hands, she made a move, scurrying on bare feet over his shiny hardwood floor.

“Done already?” He appeared in front of her.

She sighed and halted. “Yes. Thank you.”

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