Page 54 of Forbidden Love

Tyler clutched the blueprints in his hands before placing them in a pile on the table. “So, I just need to pull out these papers when I want to get it on?”

I chuckled. “That sounds about right.”

“You’re an easy woman to please.”

“I get excited about designing houses,” I said as he pulled me into his arms again, swaying to music that wasn’t playing.

“Are we dancing naked?” I asked him as he pressed his lips to my temple.

“Mmm,” was all he said as he held me tighter.

The tender way he held me made my eyes sting with tears.

“I want to stay the night.”

“I’m not going to say no,” I said as he lifted me and carried me bridal-style up the stairs to my room. He gently placed me on the bed and shut off the lamps. I needed to brush my teeth and wash my face, but his arms came around me, and I didn’t want to move.

Who knew that things between Tyler and me could be like this? I wanted to hold on to this moment forever. Remember it so I could recall it again and again. I had a feeling this was a once-in-a-lifetime connection that not everyone got to experience.

Tyler was making me believe in something more than I’d ever thought I’d have for myself. When he held me tight, I could almost see myself staying in Telluride, moving into the house we’d planned together, and maybe even having some kids to play with their cousins. There’d be family dinners and barbecues, more fundraisers to help the community, and love. So much love.

Is that what was filling my chest? The beginnings of love for Tyler? I wanted to deny it, but it was already there, taking up residence in every nook and cranny. I was in so much trouble.

I’d gone and let myself feel something for someone my brothers would never be okay with me seeing. I think they’d prefer if I was single forever, but at the very least, you didn’t sleep with your brothers’ friends.

If they found out, Tyler would choose them, just like he did when I was eighteen. He worried about their approval, not mine. Like everyone else in my life, my brothers came first. Was it too much to ask that a man want me despite my brothers? I wanted someone to fight for me. To tell my brothers our relationship had nothing to do with them.

I fell asleep dreaming about Tyler, his hands on my body, his voice whispering sweet words in my ear. Maybe it was real, and Tyler was whispering things to me. I just wish I could understand them.

CHAPTER 15

TYLER

I stayed awake for a long time after Kylie fell asleep, wondering what had just happened on that dining room table. There was something about the excitement in Kylie’s eyes over the blueprints that made me feel something I hadn’t felt before.

I felt more with her. Sex was so much more. Each time, I felt closer to her than the time before. I wanted to hold her close and never let go.

I think I’d even whispered that to her after she’d drifted off. I couldn’t stop touching her and holding her close. The connection I’d had with her when we were younger bloomed into something neither of us had anticipated.

There was no way I could just walk away from her if she decided to move on. There was something between us I’d never experienced with anyone else. Didn’t we owe it to each other to figure out what it was? Maybe it wouldn’t work out in the long run, but I had to try.

Although I wasn’t sure what Kylie was thinking. She’d been clear from the beginning that this couldn’t be anything permanent. She probably had no intention of staying in Telluride. It was almost as if she couldn’t be near her family or the lodge.

I held Kylie tight as I drifted off, with her warmth surrounding me. When I woke, the light was streaming in, and the sheet next to me was cool to the touch.

I smelled eggs cooking, so I swung my legs out of bed and went to the bathroom.

I pulled on my clothes, knowing I’d be late to the job site, but there wasn’t anything my second-in-command couldn’t handle. I sent him a quick text letting him know I’d be a bit late this morning. I wanted to take my time with Kylie this morning, to see if I could get a handle on what was going on between us.

In the kitchen, Kylie stood by the stove, watching the eggs cook. Her hair was swept up in a messy bun, and she wore a wrinkled tee and shorts, but she’d never looked more beautiful. I walked behind her, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and kissing her neck. Her body shivered under my touch. “Morning, gorgeous.”

“Morning to you too. Do you have time to eat?”

Smelling the fresh pot of coffee, I moved to pour myself a cup. “I called to say I’d be late.”

She gave me an apologetic smile. “I wasn’t sure if I should wake you.”

“I don’t have to be present all the time.” We hired reliable, hardworking people at Fletcher & Sons and paid them well so we could have that luxury. Unlike Sam, Mac, and my father, I hadn’t had any reason to take advantage of it.

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