MADversary (8 page)

That was all she needed to hear and it didn’t matter if she was just going to be the friend Tyler loved and left.  She needed him and she wanted him
now
.

Chapter Nine

CLASSY MOVE.
  TYLER
had stuck his head in the cab and told the driver they didn’t need a ride anymore, but he handed
the cabbie
a fifty-dollar bill for her trouble.  That impressed the hell out of Megan even if she didn’t say so.

And she felt desperate now. 
If Tyler’s kisses were a preview, she was going to have one hell of a night.  But there was still a war going on in her head.  Did she want to take one night or should she just walk away?  No, she couldn’t
walk
.  If she turned him down, she’d always wonder about what could have happened this night.

So when he wrapped his arm around her waist and they started walking back to the hotel entrance, she resigned herself to her decision.  And then, once the realization sunk in that she
was
going to Tyler Green’s hotel room, she grew warm in anticipation.

And nervous.

She and Tyler hadn’t been together in ten years, and she suspected—just based on what had happened between them moments earlier—he had honed his techniques and she would have the time of her life.  But she was afraid of her own performance, and her nerves made that fear worse.  Would she seem shy or incompetent? 
Or cold and unresponsive?
  Would she look too skinny or fat or not be curvy in the right places?  She knew someone like Tyler would have had his choice of women and she started doubting why he would even want to be with her.

Probably just to know he still had it.

And she chided herself internally
.  This encounter meant
nothing
.  It was just a nostalgic pairing, and once the reunion was over, they’d go back to where they both came from. 
Just enjoy it for what it is
, she told herself.  So she willed herself to let go of any expectations.  She needed to just enjoy the moment for what it would be—a fun romp, a little passion, something that might give her a little perspective when she returned to her usual dating grind.

So she let him lead her through the lobby and in the opposite direction of the area where the reunion was being held.  They stood in front of two elevators and Tyler pushed a button between them.  They stood in silence until they heard the
bing
that indicated one of the elevators had reached the ground floor and a door w
as getting ready to slide open.  “After you,” he said, holding his hand over the side of the elevator where the doors waited like horses behind the gate.  Once she’d stepped in, he followed.  And the look he was giving her indicated he might want to get started as soon as the doors closed behind him.

“Hold that door!”
  A businessman in a gray suit hustled through the doors that Tyler once again was holding open.  “Thanks,” the man said, breathless.

Well, Megan thought, she could wait a little longer.  She moved closer to Tyler, giving the man more room on the other side of the elevator, but he stood closer to the front, staring at the doors.  Megan
felt a little relieved that they would wait till they got to Tyler’s room.  The elevator had mirrors all the way around, and for some reason, it would have made her feel funny to be able to look at herself from all angles.
  More than that, though, she would have worried that the doors would
come
flying open just as her bra was coming off.  No thank you.

Megan and Tyler exited on the third floor while the other passenger stayed inside.  Tyler grinned at Megan and grabbed her hand, leading her down the hall without saying a word.
  When they got to his room, he slid a card into the lock to open it.  When the
tiny
green
light
lit up
, he looked at Megan.  “Sure you
wanna
do this?”

Why would he even ask?  Having the question posed to her made her question her decision.  What was he thinking when he asked?  So she said, “Why?  Are
you
having regrets?”

He pushed the door open and let out a breath of air. 
“Hell, no.
  I just…wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
  He switched the light on.

“Of course, I am.” 
She shook her head, feeling bemused.  It just seemed…
odd
.  Did she look like a scared little rabbit not sure where to run or like a doe standing at the edge of the road afraid to cross?
  Well, maybe she did.  She
was
nervous, after all.

She followed him into the room.  While his appearance might not have given away his success in the music business, his room did.  It wasn’t just a plain old room—it was a suite.  There were a kitchen area and a living area with a fireplace.  Off to the side were the bathroom and bedroom from what Megan could see.  And it was spacious, not what Megan was used to seeing in typical hotel rooms.
 
In fact, the suite was as big as her apartment. 
The place screamed money, and that made Megan feel nervous too.  So she joked.  “What?  You couldn’t get the penthouse suite?”

Tyler smirked, walking the rest of the way in.  “This isn’t to your liking?”

She raised her eyebrows.  “Do you really need a place this big?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe not, but what does it matter?”  She nodded.  He was right.  And why should she care?  “Do you want something to drink?  I could call room service and have
them
send up some champagne or…”

“Do they even have room service this late?”

“Hell, yeah.
  I don’t think they actually cook meals at this time of night, but they’re always happy to bring up a nightcap.”  He moved closer to Megan.  She was still standing in the doorway, as though she were afraid to walk the rest of the way in.  “But you’re avoiding the question.”

She paused,
then
remembered. 
“Oh, no.
  I don’t need anything to drink.  I already reached my limit earlier tonight.”

He grinned.  “Are you like a g
remlin?  If I give you something to drink after midnight, what will happen?”  She started laughing.  “I
kinda
think I’d like to find out what kind of damage you could do to me.”

She laughed even harder as his body pressed up against hers and their lips met again.  Her anxiety still lurked in the background, but he’d managed to loosen her up with his humor.
  She parted her lips to invite his warm tongue into her mouth as she let her purse slide off her shoulder onto the floor.
  Part of her wanted him to move fast to help her past her jittery nerves, but the rest of her, the part that wanted to savor every second
,
wanted him to take his time.  She forced herself to be calm and try to go his pace, however fast or slowly he wanted to go.  She didn’t trust her own judgment and was happy to let him lead.

His hands rested against her lower back.
  She slid her hands up his chest and then wound her arms around his neck.  Like earlier, she realized that these kisses weren’t the ones she remembered from her youth.  Tyler was a man now, one changed by ten years of experience.
  He felt different to Megan, more exciting.  And even more dangerous, mostly because she knew it would be so easy to
fully
give in
to her emotions.

She braced herself internally while opening herself up for physical pleasure. 
As if he sensed the war inside her, he held her and kissed her
without rushing
.  Each kiss was slow and gentle but deep and soulful, and she felt herself grow warm all over.  Her nerve endings stood at attention, ready for his touch.  She moved her fingers to his neck, wanting his skin and hair underneath her fingertips, almost as though to assure herself that was happening was real.

Feeling her hands on him was his cue to move forward.
  He slid his hands from her back to cup her ass, and he didn’t need to push her into himself for her to become aware of the throbbing need growing between her legs.  Yes, she wanted him.  She wanted to taste him, feel him, if for only a few fleeting moments.

Her mind drifted back to her youth, and she remembered their first time…her first time.  It had been awkward and painful, and yet she
’d
felt happy and fulfilled afterward.  Tyler’s parents had been gone for
a
weekend and the young couple seized the opportunity to consummate their budding relationship. 
After that, they
’d
found creative means and places to do the deed, and each time had felt special to Megan, even the times they’d had sex in his car.

And here she was again, ten years later, returning to that same thought…that Tyler was a special guy and she’d be a fucking idiot to let him go again.

And
that
thought freaked her out.  That was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid.  She didn’t want any messy, clingy feelings getting in the way of what could be a fantastic time.
  So she tried to concentrate on the way his hands felt as they moved from her ass
up
to her back, and she decided to move into a higher gear.

She slid her hands down to his waist and gripped the bottom of his t-shirt.  Megan knew the only way to shut her mind up would be to immerse herself fully in what she was doing.  She had to press forward.
  Tyler put a little space between them and grabbed the bottom of his shirt as well to speed up the process, and as soon as it was over his head and on the floor, Megan moved her greedy fingers to his naked chest.

She could feel the difference a decade had made.  He’d been in shape as a teenager, but he had been
more wiry
then
.  Now he was more filled out and taut all over.  Megan spread her fingers out over his
pecs
as he continued kissing her.
 
“
Mmmm
.”
  She heard the soft voice of approval her throat made involuntarily, and she felt his lips spread at the corners in a smile.
  Well, what did it hurt if he knew exactly what she thought about his body?

His lips left hers and began exploring other areas.  He kissed her neck, moving slowly down an angle back to underneath her ear, and she felt in her nipples how much she liked it.  They grew tight again and she felt a shiver race down her spine.
  His lips were warm, moist, and deliberate in the movement across her sensitive skin.
  She could feel her heartbeat quicken and her breathing deepen.  As his lips moved farther down her neck toward her collarbone, she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from becoming vocal again, all too soon.

Why was she having such a hard time controlling herself?  It wasn’t like she’d never had sex, and it certainly wasn’t that she’d never had sex with this particular man before.  It had to be that she was feeling too much for him, and that should have been her cue to break away.

But she couldn’t.  Everything he was doing to her felt so good.

His hands moved from behind
her
to between them.  She felt his hot breath on her collarbone, just above her blouse.  His fingers touched the top of the soft fabric and unbuttoned
the blouse
at the top.  His lips met the flesh there as his fingers moved down to the next button.  The next exposed her cleavage and his lips moved to touch the skin above her bra.  It was agonizing the time he took unbuttoning her blouse, and as he moved his head lower, she moved her hands to the back of his head and ran her fingers through his hair.

At last, though, the final button was
released from the blouse’s hold and Tyler pulled the two sides apart.  “My, my, Megan, I thought you were all that back in school, but
shit
.  I think you’re hotter now.
 
Hiding all this under such conservative clothes.
”
  He moved his hands to her shoulders and brushed the blouse back so that it slid down her arms where it bunched at her bent elbows.  She pulled her hands away from his hair so it could fall to the floor.

As his words sunk in, she
found herself growing
nervous
again
.  He was comparing her to the way she’d been in high school, just like she’d been doing with him.  What if he was unimpressed?  What if he wished…
?

Her thoughts were broken off as his hands moved to
the
bra snaps located between her shoulder blades.  She remembered how the young version of Tyler had fumbled with her bra for a solid five minutes before getting all the snaps undone, but older Tyler seemed far too suave to have an article of clothing give him any trouble.
  She felt the last snap give way to his fingers as her bra relaxed around her middle
and he coaxed it off her with his hands, pulling it forward off her shoulders and arms, letting it drop to the floor next to her blouse
.