Page 27 of This Is Why

“Still. I hope you know now that I didn’t want to leave you.” His grin goes wicked. “And second of all, you masturbated thinking aboutme?”

I nod. “I did. Alot.”

“Damn, Lex. That’s something else about you that will drive me crazy.”

“I like the idea of driving you crazy.” I take a drink. “So, anyway, about these letters. How many are there?”

He looks surprised. “You know, I never counted.”

“When do I get to readthem?”

For the first time, Ty looks genuinely put out. “Read them?” He shakes his head. “Never.” He laughs, self-conscious. “I wrote them to you but never intended you to read them. There’s a lot of me in there, you know? The parts I don’t like to have out in the open for people to see or know or judge. The private parts that make up the darkest parts ofme.”

“What if I want to know those parts? What if I want to know the things that make the impenetrable Tyler Reed afraid? A person isn’t all one thing, you know? The good parts, the bad parts, the strong parts, the weak parts … we’re all made up of so much more than we want to share with the world, despite what our Instagram feed lookslike.”

Tyler makes a face that says he agrees with me. “True.”

“I wonder what it would be like to have a person you didn’t have to hide from. And I mean you in the universal way right now. Not just you personally, but all of us, myself included. What if there was a person who knew everything about who we are? Would it be amazing? To be so naked and stripped bare in front of each other?” I shake my head. “I don’t know. Maybe it would be intimidating, but there’s a part of me that thinks it’s the way things are supposed to be. You know, drop all those social pretenses and justbe.”

Tyler leans in. “And you want to be that person for me? That person who gets to see deep down into my soul and know all the things that make me what Iam?”

I nod. “I think I do. Every little bit I learn about you only makes me want to know more. And something tells me there are so many layers hidden beneath this perfect exterior with the award-winning smile. I want to unravelyou.”

Tyler kisses me, trailing his lips along my jawline and across my mouth. His hands trail up my legs, his thumbs gripping my inner thighs. “I want to unravel you, too,” he says and then bites my earlobe.

“Is that a yes?” I ask. “I get to read the letters?”

“Only if you’re a very goodgirl.”

“Oh, Ty. I promise you, I’ll be very, verygood.”

He growls his approval and slides his hands further up my legs while he kisses down my chest. “You’re wearing entirely too much clothing.”

“So are you.” If his body is anything like I remember it, then I need to see more of it, andnow.

There’s a flurry of movement and the rustle of fabric and we are undressed, our clothes in a discarded heap on the cheap tile floor of my kitchen. Ty swipes his drink from the counter and steps back, his erection straining towards me. He is perfection. His broad chest and shoulders. His chiseled abs and oh, shit, that V right at his hips. His thighs are strong and muscular.

He takes a long drink, his eyes on my body. “Look at you, up on that counter with your legs spread for me. You’re everything I need, Lexi. Everything.” He takes another drink and then steps between my legs to put the glass down on the counter. He runs his hands up my thighs.

“They’re so cold.” Goosebumps travel across my flesh and when his chilled finger swipes across my slit, I drop my head back and a moan escapes my parted lips before I can clamp my mouthshut.

“Does that feel good?” Ty parts my lips and strokes my clit and my hips buck at the sensation. “I have an idea,” he says before stepping away and opening the freezer, giving me a delicious view of his ass, one of the few parts of him that isn’t tan. He grabs an ice cube from the bin and pops it in his mouth before he kneels in front of me, using his hands to spread my knees even further.

He draws his tongue across my pussy. It’s chilled from the ice and I slap a hand over my mouth and hum my approval. He looks up at me, that devious smile brightening his face and then pulls the ice from his mouth and slides it past my lips and into my opening. I clench around it, unsure how I feel about the intense sensation. He doesn’t leave it there long. Oh no. After only a few seconds, he’s on the move, running the dripping ice cube up around my slit and then spreading my folds to expose my clit. The ice burns like fire and I swallow a scream, but when he bends and goes back to using his tongue, licking and sucking and caressing the frozen parts with his warmth, I melt into him, rolling my hips against hisface.

He alternates between the ice and his mouth. Water drips from my legs to the counter and an orgasm builds. I need friction. Movement. I need him inside me, thrusting again and again because holy fucking shit I need to come. Now.

“Please, Ty,” I say. “Please, I need tocome.”

“Do, it baby.” He flicks his tongue across my clit and slides his fingers into my opening. “Come for me, Lexi.”

“I want to come on your cock.” I hold eye contact with him as he stares up at me, his gaze heated, his tongue and fingers still working my aching pussy. He has me so close. So. Close. “Please.” I don’t recognize my own voice, need and lust and desire has thickened it and I do everything butpurr.

He bends down to dig through the pile of clothes for his pants and pulls a condom out of his wallet.

I shake my head. “I hate the way they feel. I want you. All of you.” I spread my legs. “I’m on thepill.”

Ty gives me a long hard look and then drops the unopened packet on the ground only to bend down and grab something else. He strides over to me, his eyes hard and cold as steel. When he shows me my panties balled up in his hand, he grins. “Open your mouth.”

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