Somebody to Hold (Tyler Jamison #2) - April Wilson Page 0,30
he might try to hurt you. After reading that note, all I could think about was finding you and making sure you were all right. I looked for you everywhere, and when I couldn’t find you, I didn’t know what to think.”
“You didn’t know what to think?” Pain lances through me. “Did you really think I’d let him touch me? That I’d betray you?”
Tyler tightens his hold on me. “God, no. I was just afraid you might feel like you had to give in to him—to protect me.”
As the pain of his accusation swamps me, I pull away from him, putting space between us. “How could you think I’d betray you, Tyler? I love you.”
Tyler winces. “Damn it, Ian. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
He reaches for me, but I step back as I rub the excruciating ache in my chest. “I’ve never given you any reason not to trust me.”
“I do trust you. I—”
When my phone chimes with an incoming message, I flinch. I pull it out of my back pocket and glance at the screen. My stomach drops. “It’s him.”
Brad: I warned u. Now ur bf’s going to prison
Tyler holds out his hand. “Give it to me.”
I hand him my phone, and after he reads the message, he hits redial and puts the call on speaker.
“Ian,” Brad says, his voice smug. “It’s about time you called me back. Where the fuck were you this afternoon? I waited for you.”
“Leave Ian the hell alone,” Tyler warns through clenched teeth. “If you continue to harass him, we’ll get a restraining order. And if you ever lay a finger on him again, you will answer to me. Is that clear?”
Brad growls in anger. “You son of a—”
Tyler ends the call abruptly and hands the phone back to me. “Let me know if he contacts you again.”
Realization hits me like a ton of bricks. Brad’s going to do it. “He’s going to press charges against you.”
“He was always going to do that, Ian. He’s just stringing you along and using me as leverage. Nothing you do, or don’t do, is going to change the outcome.” He pulls me into his arms. “I’m not afraid of Turner,” he says quietly. “The only thing I’m afraid of is losing you.”
I stand stiffly in his arms, my emotions still stinging from his insinuation that I might have betrayed him.
“Ian.” He pulls back and looks me in the eye. “I’m sorry.” His hands come up to frame my face and his thumbs brush gently across my cheeks. He leans in and kisses my forehead, then the bridge of my nose, and lastly my lips. As he presses his forehead to mine, I feel the force of his apology, of his love, and even his fear. “Please, forgive me,” he says. “I let doubt get the best of me. The idea of that sadistic monster hurting you made me go a little crazy.”
“Did we just have our first fight?”
“That wasn’t a fight. It was just me being an ass. And I’m sure it won’t be the last time.” He brushes my cheeks with his thumbs, his eyes suddenly full of heat. “Come upstairs with me. Let’s shower and change, and then we’ll think about dinner.”
Tyler takes my hand and leads me up the stairs and into our bedroom. Without saying a word, we both strip and walk into the bathroom. Tyler turns on the water in the shower while I grab some towels.
He pulls me with him under the spray of hot water and kisses me. “I’m sorry,” he says again.
“Apology accepted,” I say as I lay my hands on his pecs. His dark chest hair is crisp beneath my fingertips. His torso is a feast for the eyes, and just looking at him makes me hard. When I lean in to lick one of his nipples, he arches his back with a cry.
We take turns washing each other, soapy hands caressing long limbs, muscles, abdomens, shoulders, biceps, and backs. Neither of us is in a hurry—this is more therapeutic than anything else. We need this time to reconnect after the emotional shitstorm we just experienced.
Where the fuck have you been, Ian?
Did you let him fuck you?
It hurts that he even had to ask those questions. But then I think how devastated I would have felt if the situation were reversed.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” I tell him. “I was just trying—”
“To protect me. I know.”
I admit it stings—that Tyler thought even for a split second