Control (Harper Security Ops #18)

Seventeen

SEVENTEEN

Alana

Ty was a hot sleeper.

I knew this was the case, because I hadn’t ever woken up feeling the overwhelming urge to rip off all my clothes.

Then again, the reason for that might not have had anything to do with the actual temperature. It might have been the result of being wrapped up in the arms of a man who’d vowed to protect me.

Who told me I was all he thought about.

Who was easily the best kiss of my life.

I woke before my eyes opened this morning, and I shouldn’t have been surprised to find my body was still tucked close to Ty’s. Only, we hadn’t remained in the same position we’d fallen asleep in last night.

Apparently, we’d turned in the middle of the night. Or, well, I did, anyway. My body was practically plastered to his. My thigh was hooked over his hip, his arm was draped over my waist, and my head was tucked into the crook of his neck.

I loved the closeness. I adored being held like this by him.

But I was burning up. The heat was just radiating off his body like a furnace.

Between his physical temperature, the hold he had on me, and the flashes of memories I had of kissing him last night, a rush of desire moved through me. It was almost as though I could hear the quickened beat of my heart, something that caused a flutter in the center of my chest.

And my fingers.

My fingers ached with the need to touch Ty.

I clenched my hand into a fist and squeezed briefly before releasing and spreading my fingers wide. I did that several times just inches from his chest, doing it while feeling like I was barely breathing.

Maybe, just maybe, I could do something about how hot I was feeling and find a way to experience something much more intimate than that kiss we’d shared after our date. Maybe I could find out if kissing was the only thing Ty did well.

Unable to stop myself, I inched my trembling fingertips closer to him as a dull ache blossomed between my legs. The urge to roll my hips, to scoot closer, was strong. As much as I wanted to look up at his face, something held me back. Maybe there was a bit of worry still lingering.

He had said he was over his last relationship, but it felt awfully fast to me. I didn’t want to question him—he hadn’t lied to me about anything yet.

But even if he had been honest about that, what if this was too much too soon for him? I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk seeing his eyes open, only to have him reject me. It was better if I just relieved that slight ache at my fingertips and touched him.

Satisfy that craving, that need.

And if Ty wanted more, he could be the one to take the lead. Or, at the very least, give me a hint he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

My fingertips traced lightly over the smooth, solid plane of his chest as my eyes roamed over the bumps and valleys created by the strong muscle beneath his skin along his entire torso. The size of his shoulders, the strength in his arms—it was no wonder I’d immediately felt safe in his hold last night.

“And here I thought I was dreaming.” The deep rumble of Ty’s sleepy voice moved through me.

A hint of amusement lingered in his tone, and it was just enough to give me the confidence to tip my head back so I could look at his handsome face. I smiled at him, my fingers still roaming. “You’re not disappointed, are you?”

His fingers on the arm draped over my waist found a sliver of exposed skin on my lower back. They just barely brushed that skin, sending a shiver along my spine. “Not at all.” We held each other’s stares for just a few tense beats before he said, “You’re up early. Are you feeling alright?”

“I am. I was just… hot.”

He chuckled. “I thought you said you get cold at night.”

“I do.”

He jerked his chin down just enough to look at where my hand was gliding along his body. “And this was helping to cool you off?”

My tongue darted out to lick my lips. “Not exactly.”

A mischievous smile spread across his face. “Should I ask what you were hoping to accomplish?”

I shook my head as best I could while it rested on the pillow. “I think it’d be better if you just made an assumption about that.”

His hand at my back stopped moving as he eyed me curiously. Then, after a few assessing moments, that hand drifted down over the curve of my ass. He must have seen the approval in my gaze, because he offered a squeeze and a victorious smirk. “I didn’t peg you as a shy one.”

“What does that mean?”

Ty’s palm rubbed circles on my ass. “I’ve seen you walk into these interviews, even when you first came to Harper Security Ops, and you’ve been nothing but determination personified.”

That wasn’t an unfair assessment. But in this scenario, I was treading lightly. I didn’t know if the reason for that was because I was unsure if he was ready for it, or if I was terrified I might do something to screw it up. Either way, I was glad he noticed, because I could only assume that would mean he’d take the lead.

“Sometimes, a girl is uncertain.”

“About what?”

My eyes dropped to his chest, and I licked my lips again. “About her chances of success. About whether she’s misreading things.”

Ty’s hand stopped moving on my ass. He gripped it possessively before urging me forward, closer to him, with one swift movement. My eyes shot to his on a gasp, and I could feel the hard length of him against my core. “Does that clear up any confusion?”

His eyes were intense, molten pools of dark brown heat swirling with need.

“I think so,” I murmured.

“How hot are you?”

“Burning,” I confessed.

The glint in his eyes told me he was loving every second of this. The hand on my ass began drifting up my back beneath my shirt. “Maybe we should get you out of this, then.”

Yes.

His hand went as high as it could until the position of my arms and our bodies prevented him from going farther. That hand slid around my side to my front and captured my breast. My lips parted, a soft gasp escaping as his stare remained pinned on mine. A thumb swiped roughly over my nipple. “Ty,” I breathed.

That did it.

That single word forced him to react.

He urged me to my back, shifted himself, and brought his mouth to my chest. His tongue flicked my nipple, his lips ultimately parting and sucking my breast into his mouth. My back arched in response, a moan escaping.

Ty kept at me, moving from one side to the other, and doing it so well, I could barely keep up. I could barely breathe for how badly I was panting.

Oxygen or not, I wanted more. More of his mouth. More of his hands. More of him.

My shirt was gone, Ty playing with my breasts a bit longer.

But he eventually trailed kisses down my torso, his hands landing at my hips. More than I enjoyed his mouth gliding along my abdomen, I loved the feeling of his strong hands splayed on my sides and gripping my hips. There was something about the way his fingertips pressed in and the strength in his hold that I adored.

Ty’s mouth came dangerously low on my abdomen, landing just beneath my navel. It was all I could do to keep from squirming.

“Please,” I begged.

I felt Ty’s smile against my heated skin just seconds before he lifted his head and stared up my body and focused his attention on my face. “What do you want, Alana?”

His fingers were stroking ever so lightly at my sides, the tender touch undoing me.

“I want you to touch me and kiss me,” I told him. “I want to feel you moving inside me.”

Instantly, his fingers hooked around the waistband of my pants, but before he dragged them down my legs, he asked, “What about your foot?”

I hesitated, attempting to assess the situation. “It’s not ideal, but I think I’ll be okay as long as you’re on top and my legs are wrapped around your waist. Me being on top without that boot on could be too risky for my toe. And I don’t think it’d be very sexy with it on.”

Ty chuckled. “You’re sexy with your clothes and the boot on, so I figure if you had that boot on and nothing else, I would not be complaining.” He began dragging my pants and underwear down my legs, stopping at mid-thigh and said, “But let’s not worry about that now. I’ll give you what you need, what we both want, while you keep these gorgeous legs wrapped around me.”

He continued the downward journey toward my ankles, pausing there to be mindful of my foot. Once he had everything off, he took in the sight of me.

“Gorgeous, naked, and in my bed.” His voice was deep, rough, and the sound of it made me feel powerful.

“This is hardly fair,” I said, squirming under the intense scrutiny of his dark gaze.

His eyes traveled up my body, doing it slowly as he took his time appreciating each and every part, until they eventually settled on my face. “What’s not fair?”

“I’m naked, and you’re only halfway there.”

Ty’s mouth quirked. He hooked his hands into his pants and pushed them down his legs, ultimately removing them and his underwear, so he was as naked as me, kneeling on the bed beside my legs.

That alone had made me happy, but Ty went a step further and gave me several uninterrupted moments to appreciate the sight of him with nothing on, just as he’d done with me.

His lower half was just as impressive as the upper half, maybe even more so. “You’re—” I stopped, sat up, and cleared my throat. Reaching for him, I croaked, “You’re not small.”

Ty allowed my fingers to curl around his hard length, rewarding me with a groan when I squeezed and stroked. “I would never hurt you, babe.”

I smiled at the endearment and looked up at him through hooded eyes. “I know.”

Ty dropped one hand down onto the mattress beside me, allowing me to keep my hand on him, as he brought his other hand between my legs. My body shuddered the moment I felt his touch, and my mouth sought out his mere seconds after he began applying pressure and circling.

We stayed like that a long time, touching and teasing one another as we shared more than a handful of kisses. Those kisses, which had started off sweet and tender, quickly turned desperate and rough. There was lust and desire and labored breathing.

And when I wasn’t sure I’d need anything else but exactly what we had in that moment, Ty tore his mouth from mine, pulled his hand away, and reached over to his nightstand. “I need to be inside you, Alana,” he said just before he tore open the condom packet with his teeth.

My eyes were glued to his movements, watching as he rolled it on. There was something about seeing Ty with his hands on himself that had me growing even more turned-on.

When he was ready, he carefully positioned his body between my parted thighs, being mindful of my foot.

The next thing I knew, he was surging forward, stretching me, filling me. Ty gave me time to adjust to his size. “Are you okay?”

He’d brought his big, strong body down over mine, my hands floating over his shoulders and up into his hair. I lifted my head from the pillow and touched my mouth to his. “I’m the best I’ve ever been. God, you feel good.”

Ty growled, giving me just barely enough time to let that register before he moved. He started with several slow thrusts, surging forward with a steady rhythm and dragging his hips back at a torturously languid pace.

But even if his intent had been to drive me wild and get me to the point of begging for more, Ty couldn’t handle the torture himself. He soon picked up his pace and drove in, delivering one pleasurable and forceful thrust after another.

“So tight. So wet. Your pussy feels so good, baby.”

“Ty.”

He kissed me once, his tongue dipping inside to taste me before he tore his mouth from mine, lifted up, and cradled my hips in his hands. His eyes drifted down my body until they landed on the connection between us. Something primal took over, and he drove in harder.

Ty’s grip on my hips grew firmer as he powered into me, one delicious thrust after another. I was so turned on, watching the strength in his body, the power in his movements, and the heat in his stare as he gave us what we both had wanted, what we both had needed.

There was nothing better.

The movement of his hips never stopped. They didn’t even slow as his hands released mine, one crawling its way up toward my breast and the other moving in to find my clit.

There was something about his hands on my skin that did me in. He hadn’t even touched me between my legs or reached my nipple, and my body was growing hotter and climbing higher. Nothing was better than the feel of his hands on my skin.

“Ty,” I panted. “Oh, God, Ty.”

“Are you going to come for me, Alana?”

“Don’t stop,” I begged. “Please don’t stop.”

How it was possible, I didn’t know, but Ty thrust harder. He pressed one of his palms into the mattress again, kept the other hand roaming along my side, and lowered his mouth to mine. One soft caress of his hand over my breast as his tongue spiked inside my mouth, and I was panting, whimpering.

And several thrusts later, he tore his mouth from mine and watched as it happened. My orgasm tore through me, my body writhing beneath his as my hands sought to grab anything to hold on to while I rode the wave.

Near the tail end of it, just as my body was starting to come down, Ty’s breathing became labored and his movements swifter. I held on to him, my eyes focused on him. On the strength and power in his striking body.

And then it happened.

Ty’s body came apart above mine, his hips jerking violently as each wave of it crashed into him.

It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

When it finally left him, his body all but collapsed on top of mine. I wrapped my arms and legs tighter around him, and Ty turned his head so he could kiss my cheek.

“I’m sorry for you having to do all the work, Ty,” I lamented, as we both fought to regain control of our breathing.

“I just came harder than I ever have in my life, and you’re apologizing to me?” he countered.

“Really?”

He lifted his head so he could look down at me. “Yes, baby. Fuck, do you know how amazing you are?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t, but I guess I do now.” His lips twitched. “You’re just as incredible.”

Ty shot me a full-blown grin.

Then he dropped his mouth to mine and kissed me a long time before he got up to get us both cleaned up.

Although it was safe to say I would have been content to remain in Ty’s bed with him for the next several hours, we needed to talk. There was plenty to discuss, and the longer I delayed it, the longer I pretended that what happened last night wasn’t something to be concerned with, the worse things would surely become.

After the two of us had gotten a few forkfuls of light, fluffy eggs in our mouths and had taken a few bites of both steak and toast—evidently, Ty was serious about starting his morning off with good food—Ty broke the silence and took us where we needed to go.

“We need to talk about what happened at your place last night,” he said.

“I know.”

“How are you feeling about all of it?”

My avoidance tactics for the last twelve hours or so hadn’t helped me. Because now I needed to face this, and it was safe to say I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. Recognizing it was best to be honest, I confessed, “I really don’t know. I’m not sure much has changed for me since last night.”

“You’re still not sure if you want to continue with the story?”

I nodded. “I mean, there’s one part of me that’s stubborn and refuses to allow whoever is behind this to stop me from doing what I feel called to do. But there’s that small logical part of my brain that’s screaming at me, telling me I’m crazy to continue to put not only myself but you in danger as well.”

Ty reached over and curled his fingers around my forearm. He squeezed and said, “Do not make a decision about this based on your concern for my safety or well-being. I’m doing what I’m perfectly capable of doing by being with you wherever you need to go.”

His response didn’t come as a surprise. I had expected he’d never want me to be swayed by my concern for him, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t. Maybe, in the beginning, it hadn’t hit me like this because not only did I not suspect just how bad it could get, but I also didn’t have the feelings for Ty that I did now. “I don’t know. There’s also the thought I have in the back of my mind about what that note said. I think the guy coming up to me in the gas station was my warning. I’m pretty sure that there’s no longer any grace for me. Whether I choose to move forward and keep pushing to find out what happened to Annie, whoever is after me isn’t going to stop, regardless. For that reason, I should just continue doing what I’m doing.”

“I’m glad you recognize the seriousness of the threat that was delivered, because that’s been on my mind since last night,” Ty shared. “And it’s making me a bit nervous about your return to work. The thought of you being out of my sight isn’t easing any of that.”

There was that, too.

Work.

I had planned to head back in a matter of days, but something told me that my investigation into this story wouldn’t be wrapped up that quickly. And while I hadn’t expected I would have uncovered the truth by the time I’d returned, the issue was that I couldn’t very well take Ty with me when I returned to the news station unless I wanted Dale to start asking questions about why I needed a bodyguard.

“Maybe I could buy myself some additional time by simply calling and telling them I need a few more weeks for my foot to heal. Technically, I won’t have this boot off for six weeks. That means I’m looking at just shy of two more weeks. I have enough in savings to cover myself, and I do technically have some paid time off I could use. Applying for short-term disability seems like a lot of extra work right now, and considering what I might still get myself into over the next couple of weeks, it just wouldn’t feel right,” I reasoned. “Plus, the more things go like this, the more I’m realizing just how important it is to do this work. I’m leaning heavily toward going off on my own for work.”

Ty set his fork down after taking his final bite of steak and lifted a piece of toast toward his mouth. “I’ll support you in any way I can if that’s what you choose. Like I said, I don’t want to tell you what to do or step on your toes when it comes to your job. But I’d be lying if I said that things didn’t change between us, Alana. Your safety is my priority.”

Things changed.

Obviously, I knew that.

After that kiss last night, I got the sneaking suspicion. But following what happened in his bed this morning, there wasn’t a doubt about it.

Something squeezed in my chest at his admission. “Things changed between us,” I said softly.

“I hope that doesn’t come as a surprise to you.”

I shook my head. “No. No, I just like the way it makes me feel to hear you say it. And I guess I’m curious what it means for you when it comes to stuff like we’re discussing.”

Ty popped the last bite of toast into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “You’re no longer the girl who walked into Harper Security Ops looking for a bodyguard. You’re mine now, babe. And that means I’m going to go above and beyond what I would have already done to protect you.”

With the last bite of my breakfast gone, I got out of my seat and crawled into Ty’s lap. He didn’t hesitate to sit back and give me the space I needed. I draped my arms over his shoulders, nuzzled my face close, and kissed along his neck. My lips made their way to his ear, and once I was there, I whispered, “What else does it mean?”

His lips curved into a smile. “Sounds like someone’s not feeling so shy anymore. How about I take you upstairs and show you what else it means to be mine?”

“Hmmm. I guess a slight delay in figuring out what to do next won’t hurt anything.”

Ty didn’t hesitate.

He lifted me in his arms and carried me upstairs. Then he showed me what was arguably the best part about being his.