Page 85 of All Inn Thyme
“What’s your real name?”
“Tyson Flynn Harden. And Nova is Nova,” he says with a small smile.
“Where will you go now that this assignment is over?” I glance away, unwilling to watch his face as he lets me down.
“I’m staying here with you. I promise I’ll never lie to you again. I didn’t want to before, I hated every single minute of it.”
I stare at him and know that he’s telling the truth, so I give him the same. “Falling in love with you was unexpected, in the most beautiful kind of love. But you lied to me, and I don’t know where we go from here.”
He just nods and stares at me.
“Bradley shattered me, and I had to run away… but you make me want to run to you. Even when you lie. How are you still my safe space even after all of this?”
“Because what we have is real love. I love you both so much, Mellie.”
“I love you too, Ty.” I lay my head on his shoulder.
“You’re the whole reason I believe that love really exists, Mellie. I promise to love you and Kase forever. You’re it for me.” His face is full of love and conviction as he says this.
“You think we can come back from all of this?” I ask.
“I know we can.”
I lean in and kiss him, and he folds me into his arms. “I’m going to marry you, Mellie.”
“I’m going to marryyou.”
“Oh, I’ll be asking,” he confirms, kissing me.
“I’m not moving to Alabama, though,” I say.
He smiles and laughs. “Freedom Valley is home. I think we both know that.” He looks at me, heat in his eyes, and picks me up and carries me into his room while kissing me.
He lays me down on his bed and kisses me until I forget I was ever mad at him. Breathless, I wrap my arms around him and kiss him back. He sits up to pull off his shirt and jeans, and it’s honestly the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I feel something so deep with him, something that I’ve never felt before. It’s funny how we can fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time and then you can’t imagine living without them, no matter what their imperfections are or what happens.
He leaves his black boxer briefs on and turns on the lamp. “I want to see you, Mellie.”
I sit up and pull my shirt off, his eyes never leaving mine. As soon as my overalls are off, he’s on me, cradling me in his arms and pulling me into him sideways, kissing my face across my cheeks. “These freckles,” he says. “I love them so much.”
My freckles have always been something I’ve been self-conscious about. Bradley hated them and always wanted me to cover them up with makeup. He said I looked like a child. Whatever. These freckles are who I am, and hearing Ty say he loves them makes me feel better.
My hands wind their way down his chest, over his muscular stomach and down his boxers, finding him already hard for me. He groans into my ear slightly and kisses down my neck and across my chest.
“Do you forgive me, Mel?” he asks as his kisses trail down my stomach.
“I’m working on it,” I tease.
“Work faster,” he says, working his way down to my already wet center. In a flash, my panties are gone and he’s working me with his tongue. I lean my head back and think about how good he makes me feel when I’m with him. But this? I need this. I need him.
I grip his shoulder as I come hard. He grabs a condom from his drawer and I watch him put it on, anxious to have him inside of me.
He enters me and says, “Mellie…”
“Yes…” I moan and he pounds harder, kissing me as he makes love to me, and I finally come hard, pulling him in closer to me and gripping his shoulders as I feel him shake and fall beside me, pulling me in close.
“Why haven’t we done this sooner?” I gasp.
“Because I couldn’t do it until you really knew. I needed you to know it was more than this. I’m in, Mellie. I want you and Kase to be my family. Forever. You’re my forever, Mel,” he says, kissing me again.
