Page 30 of Tyler

She had just put it back in the drawer when a knock sounded at her door.

Her pulse leapt, and the butterflies danced in her stomach as she forced her feet to walk, not run, to the door. After a quick inhale and slow exhale, Piper opened the door.

Her pulse and the butterflies switched places at the sight of Ty leaning in her doorway wearing a leather jacket, navy button-down shirt, jeans, and a sexy grin, as his gaze heated behind his glasses.

“You look beautiful,” he said,

Heat invaded her cheeks as it usually did whenever he paid her a compliment, looked at her, said her name…breathed.

“And you look amazing. Come on in.” Smiling, she stepped aside to let him in.

“This is for you,” he said after she closed the door.

Piper hadn’t even realized he’d been holding a flower until he held it out to her. She’d been too discombobulated by the sheer magnitude of his presence and sexy-as-sin grin.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the purple rose, unexpectedly relieved it wasn’t blue. That was her and Zane’s thing. She wasn’t the same person anymore, and Ty wasn’t Zane. What they had wasn’t the same. It was just as meaningful, but different. “It’s beautiful.”

“I see it’s fitting.” He motioned to her dress.

She smiled. “Yeah, what were the chances.” The urge to pull him close and finally have her way with him was strong, so she forced her legs to walk past him. “Let me put this in water and check on the lasagna.”

“It smells amazing in here,” he said. “What can I do to help?”

“You can pour us some wine,” she replied, pointing to the glasses and bottle chilling in a bucket on the counter before she stuck the rose in a small vase and added some water.

After setting it on the table, she turned to face him and nearly swallowed her tongue.

He’d removed his coat, and the fabric of his tailored shirt clung to his well-defined frame, emphasizing the subtle contours of his body while he poured out the wine. And when he turned to hand her a glass, she noted how his shirt collar framed his face, drawing attention to his strong jawline and chiseled features.

Piper’s mouth literally watered. It had never done that before.

She swallowed twice before she took the offered glass. “Thank you,” she said, her voice sounding a little hoarse, even to her ears.

Holding his gaze, Piper sipped her wine, not really tasting anything but her desire for the man.

He inhaled. “Piper, you have to stop looking at me like that.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Unless you can stop looking at me like I’m good enough to eat.”

Ty muttered under his breath before he took the glass from her hand and set it on the counter next to his, then stepped closer. “Not possible.”

But bless him, he didn’t kiss her, he just stood toe-to-toe, chest-to-chest with her, still giving her the choice, the control as to the next move.

That was easy.

She slid her hands up his chest and into his hair while pulling his face to hers to initiate the kiss she’d wanted and needed since she opened the door and found him leaning against the frame.

He needed no more instruction. Ty slid his hands around her back and hauled her close as their kiss went from needy to desperate. The taste of wine on his lips intensified her thirst for him. He kissed her deep and long, and it wasn’t until air was an absolute necessity that she drew back and inhaled.

“Wow, Ty,” she panted as she set her forehead against his jaw. “Kissing you keeps getting better and better.”

“I agree,” he said, brushing her temple with his lips.

Her need for the guy was overwhelming, and since she was in control, she drew back to meet his heated gaze. “You ever have lasagna for breakfast?”

A sinful smile spread across his talented lips. “No, but I like where your mind is at.”

Piper’s heartbeat stuttered, knocking the breath from her lungs. The sexy man was the one who looked good enough to eat. And…oh, boy…she was starving.

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