Unbearable (the TORQUED trilogy Book 2) (45 page)

“Raven.” He sighs as his fingertips gently touch my cheek to make me look at him. He doesn’t say anything at first, blinking slowly, those thick dark lashes that seem like curtains to the beautiful depth his eyes hold. “You and I both know I wouldn’t take something like this lightly. You know what I’ve been through and you know what I’m afraid of. I’m asking you because I see myself spending the rest of my life with you, and I want you here with me.”

“I’ll move in,” I tell him immediately, afraid if I don’t, I’ll burst into tears before I get the words out.

He pushes me onto my back, hovering above me. His skin’s hot against mine. His hands are forceful, taking over, discovering and commanding my attention just as they always do. Just like
he
always does.

Looking over my body, he glances from my face, down, all the way to between my thighs. Holding my wrists captive above my head, he then releases my right wrist, using his free hand to push down on my hip, gripping under my knee and touching my face with the other.

He whispers in my ear, “I love you.” And then lifts his face to mine, his breath hitting my lips. His mouth dances across my jaw stopping in their path to kiss my lips and forehead, his nose delicately nudging against mine.

When he finally closes the distance, peppering me with gentle kisses, a sigh of contentment falls from me.

My hands soon find their place on his chest. “I love you,” I tell him over and over again.

There are always going to be what ifs in my life. For a person like me, a person who always demanded order and believes every problem has a neat and reasonable solution, the what ifs could be considered unbearable. Lying here, in Tyler’s bed, having him touch me and love me in a way only he can, I realize while I might only be twenty, soon to be twenty-one, I know what I want in life and that’s Tyler Hemming. The rest will all work out because the strength and honesty in our love, it’s undeniable.

Maybe I didn’t need to be in control of everything. Maybe walking into Murphy’s that night was me being in the right place at the right time as Tyler once said.

Writing acknowledgments are always hard for me. Thank you to my family who supports me through it all between the long nights and the sleepless ones where I stay up all night worrying about these stories.

I struggled a lot with Unbearable because I didn’t want people to hate Raven, but I also wanted them to understand she’s nineteen/twenty when all this is happening and very much naïve to a lot of things. Especially love. So if you were frustrated with her a time or two, so was I! You don’t know how many times I thought she was being annoying, but I still didn’t change her character. I had to write her the way I did though because it was true to her personality and her.

Tyler, well, I fell for him immediately because what’s not to love about him. I write characters the way I see them and trying to persuade me into writing them another way is pretty much impossible. Ask my beta readers. The thing is, these are real instances to me when that’s exactly how people act. I want
real
emotions and faults and sometimes people are
unbearably
stubborn and frustrating until they finally see the hold ups.

Thank you to Lauren for making this book what it should be. Couldn’t have done it without you. So thankful for the time I was able to spend with you this last month.

Janet, I love you. Thank you for everything you do for me and being there when I need a shoulder to cry on. I honestly believe we were meant to find each other in this life and be family. Can’t wait to see you again soon.

Barb, thank you so much for proofreading this book in one day! Love you girl! And thanks for driving me around in a hurricane so I could find a strapless bra for my date, lol. You’re the best.

Jill, Marisa, Shanna, Ashely Schow, Ashley Sloan, Rachel… thanks for being there for me when I need someone.

Becky, girl, you make my words shine like the stars. Thanks for being patient while I work on these edits through a hard time in my life and a hurricane.

To my readers, new and old, thank you for taking a chance on me and falling in love with these characters like I have. They’ve quickly become family to me.

Shey Stahl is a
USA Today
bestselling author, a wife, mother, daughter and friend to many. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her family in the Pacific Northwest where she was born, and raised around a dirt track. Visit her website for additional information and keep up to date on new releases:
www.sheystahl.com
.

You can also find her on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SheyStahlAuthor

Racing on the Edge

Happy Hour

Black Flag

Trading Paint

The Champion

The Legend

Hot Laps

The Rookie

Fast Time

Open Wheel

Pace Laps

Dirt Driven (Winter 2016)

Behind the Wheel (Release date: TBA)

The Redemption Series

The Trainer

The Fighter

Stand Alones

Waiting for You

Everything Changes

Deal

Awakened

Everlasting Light

Bad Blood

Heavy Soul

Pause (Coming December 2016)

Bad Husband (TBA)

Crossing the Line

Delayed Penalty

Delayed Offsides

Delayed Roughing (Release date: TBA)

Unforgettable Series

All I Have Left

All We Need (Release date: TBA)

The Torqued Trilogy

Unsteady

Unbearable

Unbound (January 2017)