Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off #1)(79)

“But that means I’ll owe you forever,” I gasped and bit my lip.

Thrusting harder, he bent down and sucked that lip between his, never taking his gray gaze off of me. “I don’t see the problem in that, beautiful. It means I’ve got you for the rest of your life.”

Lifting up on his elbows, he reached between my legs and fondled my clit, rubbing it with the pad of his thumb. Arching my back, I groaned as my orgasm started to build and spread throughout my body. Pushing deeper, he knew I was about to come and so he picked up his pace and held me tight, releasing inside of me at the same time I exploded all around him. Breathing hard, he laid on top of me for a minute, and kissed me.

“So what exactly does it mean when you say you’ve got me for the rest of your life?” I asked curiously. We were together and we loved each other, but we hadn’t been together long to really consider our future.

Holding onto me, Tyler flipped over onto his back to where I was now straddling him. He reached behind the pillow, pulling out a small black box, and handed it to me. “I know we haven’t been together long, but I know what I want . . . and I want you.

“You’re my future, Kacey.” I opened up the box and inside was a Las Vegas keychain, with a set of keys on it. He pointed to the largest one. “This one here is the key to this place. Yours and Bree’s names are on the deed already.”

“Tyler,” I breathed as the tears welled in my eyes.

“And this one,” he said, pointing to the other, “is the key to my house. I know I don’t have a ring right now, but I know in time we’ll take that step. I don’t want to wake up another morning without you being the first thing I see.” He lifted his hands to my face and pulled me down to his lips. “All I want is to hear you say yes . . . that a future with me is what you want. I love you, Kacey.”

“I love you, too.”

Kissing him gently, I held the keys tightly in my grip and knew without a doubt what my answer would be . . . what it would always be. As the tears flowed down my cheeks, I made love to him again and again, whispering the same word against his lips.

Yes.





“ARE YOU IN love with him?” Colin asks.

We’d just walked through the door of my apartment, only long enough for me to sit my bags down and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

We were in Vegas because Colin and Bradley had a baseball tournament. Well, that, and to be with my best friend, Gabriella. That’s what I told myself anyway. Deep down, it was because I knew Ryley was going to be there too, fighting. Seeing him again had only awakened what I kept buried inside of me.

I didn’t know what to tell Colin as he stood there looking at me with those bright green eyes of his. The eyes which belonged to a man who was everything I could ever want—smart, loving, caring, and sexy as hell. Not to mention he had a body to die for. Colin was our school’s star pitcher, and on his way to bigger and better things in the MLB.

I still haven’t answered him yet, but if I let the truth come out of my mouth, I won’t be able to take it back. Not even a day ago, I was afraid I was pregnant with Ryley’s child. It was the scariest moment in my life, but what frightened me more was the look in Ryley’s eyes when he thought he was going to be a father. He wasn’t ready . . . hell, I wasn’t ready.

The only problem was, right after I left him for Colin, he went straight back to his old ways with his identical twin. It’s like I was erased from his mind, no longer the girl he fell in love with.

I have too much pride to go back to him, knowing he’ll be whoring around with other women. Colin’s a good guy and he deserves more than a woman whose heart’s divided. I love him a lot, but I’m in love with someone else.

“Ashleigh, please,” he murmurs, taking my hands. “You’ve avoided me all day. Did something happen while we were in Vegas?”

I was never good at lying, and Colin’s always the first person to know when something’s wrong. Sitting down on the couch, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. My stomach is in knots because I know I’m about to break another guy’s heart. Colin’s my safe place, my guarantee at a normal, functional relationship. I just know that if I stay, I’ll never be fully happy. He doesn’t own my heart, but he shares a part of my soul.

I have to make a choice. Opening my eyes, the warm tears fall down my cheeks.

Colin doesn’t speak because in my actions he already has his answer. He lowers his head and slowly lets go of my hands, running them through his hair.

“I don’t think I can let you go, Ashleigh. At least, not without a fight.”

Sighing, I wait for him to lift his head, and when he does I lean in to give him one last kiss. “I’m sorry, Colin, but you don’t have a choice.”





Present time (One Month Later)




“SO WHEN ARE you coming back to California?” Gabriella asked.

When I get the balls to face Ryley again.

But in all honesty, I didn’t know. For the past month, I’d been in Aspen with my family, trying to get away from anything and everything that reminded me of Ryley and Colin. Working in my family’s hotel helped. I loved talking to the tourists and getting them all settled in. It was a good distraction.

I’d been afraid Gabriella would’ve told Ryley by now about my breakup with Colin. So far, she’d kept my secret. Colin, however, refused to give up on me and made sure to keep in touch by calling almost every single day. He’d even visited Aspen twice already. He was my friend before we became lovers, but once you cross that line, it’s almost impossible to go back.