Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t help but shake the feeling that something horrible is about to happen to him, and he knows it.”
“Mackenzie, look at me,” Tyler said and I pulled my head out of his chest to see a look of concern on his face. “I may not have always been the biggest Charlie supporter…even now, I’m still not certain of his motives…but I promise to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to him. I’ll have my guys work harder at finding him and try to figure out what he knows. We’ll do everything we can to uncover the truth here. That way, no one else gets hurt. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, the intensity in his gaze burning into me as the sound of early morning on the shore echoed around us. The wind was calm, the waves light, and we welcomed our first day as a married couple.
Safe and secure in Tyler’s arms, despite the unease I couldn’t shake from my phone call with Charlie, I turned around to watch the sun peek over the horizon. Wasn’t that what love was supposed to do? Help you forget your problems? Make you feel that everything would work out? Shelter you from the heartache? Uplift you when you were at your lowest?
Splaying his hands across my stomach, he inhaled deeply. “Mmmm…,” he groaned, the huskiness in his voice making me want to melt into him, our two bodies to become one and never separate again. “Cinnamon.” He gently pushed against me and I could feel how aroused he was.
“You’re a fiend, Mr. Burnham.”
“Only for you, Mrs. Burnham.”
My heart warmed at the sound of that rolling off his tongue and I spun around, wrapping my arms around him as he pinned me to the railing of the balcony, his devilish eyes causing a burning excitement to stir in my stomach. “I like the sound of that,” I whispered, tilting my head toward his, desperate to feel his lips on mine. But every time I drew closer to his mouth, he pulled back, keeping me on edge.
“As do I. Want to know why?”
Biting my lower lip, I nodded, keeping my eyes on his, the green vibrant on that chilly November morning.
“Because it means I belong to you, and you to me.”
Running my fingers through his hair, trying with everything in me to pull his lips against mine, I said, “How very Neanderthal of you.”
“I’ve never heard you complain about my caveman tactics before. In fact, if I remember correctly, you get turned on when I go all, and I quote, ‘protective ape man’ on you.”
“That was months ago.” I smirked. “I may have changed my mind since then.”
“Oh, really?” He raised his eyebrows in a flirtatious manner.
“Yes, really.”
“We’ll see about that,” he growled, grabbing my hips and hoisting me onto the balcony railing. Looking over my shoulder, I was thankful the railing was quite wide, at least several feet, making it nearly impossible for anyone to lose their balance.
I yanked at his boxer briefs, pulling him toward me. Wrapping my legs around him, I locked him in place. His eyes grew even more hooded, his chest heaving, his stare carnal and full of lust.
“Kiss me.” I closed my eyes, desperate to feel his lips on mine. Since that first kiss all those months ago, I had grown addicted to them, each kiss different and unexpected.
“Not yet.”
“Why?” I whined playfully, loosening the grip my legs had around him. This was all part of his game and I loved every exhilarating moment. The anticipation was almost as fulfilling as the catch. The longer we waited, the more I burned for him, and he knew it. My body gave me away by the way it reacted to his nearness, my nipples alert, my skin flush, my breathing uneven.
“Because I want my lips on other parts of your body first,” he explained, yanking at the tie around my robe, allowing it to fall open.
I shrugged the robe off my shoulders, leaving me totally exposed. Tyler’s eyes remained fixed and calm as he surveyed my body. He took his time, raking over me as if trying to memorize every dimple and curve. Without warning, he grabbed my hair, forcing my head back as he ran his tongue down my neck. My skin flamed, despite the chilly temperature.
“Do you like that we’re outside where anyone could walk by and see us?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, feeling as if I was about to fall over the metaphorical