Page 45 of Tempting the Heart

“Mae, I can’t tell you how much better you’ve made this trip for me.” He rested his forehead against mine, and the connection felt surreal. I couldn’t fathom how holding onto a crush for years had resulted in a moment like this.

My heart raced, and my pulse jumped as his eyes dipped to my mouth. Closing the gap between us, his body pressed tenderly against mine as his other arm looped around my waist. Feeling him against me made my entire body light up with a jolt of desire. Every sense heightened with a craving I couldn’t understand.

I didn’t want to believe a kiss could happen, but when his gaze caught mine, I saw the heat behind his beautiful blue eyes.

His mouth pressed to mine as my eyes closed, memorizing every single second of this kiss and fully aware that it might never happen again.

Tyler’s hands moved along my spine as I kissed him back. The softness of his lips did little to hide the heat and rawness of our connection.

Warmth quickly swarmed my body, melting me into him as he pulled me tighter. His fingers trailed along my hips as I parted my mouth, his head tilting slightly.

Tyler playfully kissed me, nipped at my bottom lip, and flitted his tongue with mine. Things had changed since that awkward day in the treehouse, but the playfulness remained.

I gripped his shirt, falling into him more as our kisses consumed us.

Feeling his body next to mine, the way I tucked in completely, made it impossible only to imagine kissing him.

A little moan escaped my lips as he kissed me harder, and I kissed him back to match. There were no words as his fingers tangled into my hair, and our breaths collided with one another’s with every passing second. We both wanted more, but he slowed our kisses, breaking us apart while still cupping my head in his palms.

My gaze fell to his mouth, and I tried to calm my breathing.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have crossed that line.”

My eyes flashed to his. “What? No. I wanted it.”

His pained expression softened slightly.

“I promised your brother years ago that I’d never do that, and I broke it once, vowing to myself not to do it again.” He stepped back and let out a deep breath. The fire still danced behind his gaze.

Shock pummeled through me as my brows knitted together in confusion.

“What do you mean, you promised my brother?” My hands flew to my hips. “What does he have to do with anything about who I kiss or, furthermore, who you kiss?”

His lips curled slightly, and he closed the distance between us again. “You’re right.”

Tyler’s mouth touched mine softly, but this time, the need was almost painful as a little moan of frustration and pent-up desire erupted from me, but I couldn’t shake his revelation.

This time, I slowed our kiss and stepped back.

“What do you mean, my brother didn’t want you kissing me?”

Tyler briefly chewed his bottom lip before letting out a sigh. “Back when he caught me calling you Mayflower, he asked if I had a thing for you.”

My brows flew up. “And?”

Tyler grinned. “Well, I couldn’t exactly confess everything I wanted to do with you as a teenage boy, so I lied.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I didn’t have the hots for you.” He laughed, scratching his chin.

I chuckled. “Were those your exact words?”

“Something like that. Anyway, I felt awful for lying to Brad, but I didn’t want to lose seeing you or lose Brad as a best friend.”

All these years, and Brad had never mentioned he’d ordered Tyler to stay away from me.

Interesting.

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