Page 145 of Trigger

“I’ve never been in love before, you know?” Carter saidthoughtfully. “I never loved anyone, and no one ever loved me. Not my parents,and certainly not Vic.”

It was a terrible thing to say, and my heart ached for him.

“I think Raj loved me, but not the way I loved him,” he continued,“but what I feel for you… I just… I caught fire, Tye. I caught fire at onepoint, and now I burn, and I can’t think straight. And I say stupid things, andI do stupid things, and I know they hurt you, because they hurt me, too.”

I kissed his forehead. “I know.”

“And I think I loved you from the beginning. I just didn’t knowit.”

I grinned. “Oh, I definitely loved you from the beginning. Fromthe moment I saw you standing in that locker room, probably. Even before that,when our eyes met briefly in the hall, and I felt as if I got struck bylightning. Do you remember?”

“I remember everything.”

When I felt him hardening against me, I couldn’t help but smile.His libido was insane, which was perfectly fine by me since I couldn’t getenough of him.

“Do declarations of love always give you a boner, Dom?” I teasedhim, looking down at his crotch pointedly.

“Nope. It’s the Tye effect.”

I chuckled and kissed his lips, enjoying the way his tonguetangled with mine—so readily.

“By the way, we can do this the other way around as well,” I said,wanting him to know that the option was on the table. “If that’s what you want,of course.”

“What do you mean?”

I trailed his earlobe teasingly. “You can top me if you want.”

He mulled it over before answering. “I mean, I definitely want tofuck you one day, but for now I’m just loving your dick in my ass too much.”

I burst into laughter because only he could say something sohilarious out of the blue. Then something on the muted TV caught our attentionbecause we both looked up.

When Chief Bibb appeared on the TV screen, Carter turned on thevolume.

“This is not just an investigation,” Chief Bibb said, looking intothe camera. “It’s a manhunt. The man we’re hunting doesn’t know it, but we’reclose. Seven cities, sixteen victims. All the departments are working closelytogether, and it’s only a matter of time before we capture him. And we have aneyewitness who helped us identify him.”

Then the reporter appeared on a TV screen. “We heard what thechief of police had to say. Now back to you, Roger, for more sports news.”

“A manhunt?” I repeated, looking at Carter incredulously. “Closeto capture? An eyewitness?”

Carter shrugged. “The chief does that sometimes, but it works. Theperp feels threatened and starts to make mistakes, only because of a bluff.”

“Well, I hope it works this time, because I want to catch thatdemented fucker more than anything.”

Chapter 29

Trouble Brewing

Carter

When I woke up, I found myself in heaven. The bed was warm andcomfy, and the air coming through the open window was crisp and fresh. I couldhear the birds singing outside, louder than the sounds of traffic. And therewas a firm, muscular chest under my cheek instead of a pillow. The massive bodynext to me stretched, making me smile before I heard a low and sleepy, “Goodmorning.”

I raised my head, only to find the baby blue eyes watching me.

“Good morning,” I said, as the memories of last night flashedthrough my mind. I hoped I wasn’t blushing like a teenager, because what Icould remember was pretty hot.

“Are you okay?” Tye asked me, studying my face as if he was searchingfor hidden clues.

I nodded, despite the sweet pain that I could feel in every inchof my body, including my toes, probably because I spent too much time on myknees last night. “Yeah. You?”

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