Tangling With Ty

10

WARM AND SATED, Nicole opened her eyes and found Ty watching her through his own half-opened baby blues.

He was so beautiful. It wasn’t often she needed a physical release, which meant it wasn’t often she’d had recreational sex. But this…this had been nothing like her previous sexual encounters.

First of all, she’d had an orgasm. Easily. Almost from just looking at him. Second, she’d nearly wept at the intensity of it.

And third, she wanted to do it again.

But Ty didn’t utter a single word. He didn’t have to, as with each passing second, his gaze grew more pained, more exhausted.

And more guarded.

“Go to sleep,” she whispered, a weariness replacing her pathetic, and it seemed, premature, joy.

His lids fell shut. Without a word.

And when he was out like a light, she left.

Without a word.

TY WASN’T SURPRISED when he awoke alone, but damn, he had to admit to feeling disappointment. If he was smart, he’d attribute that to the morning hard-on that wouldn’t quit even after a gut-sucking cold shower. But even he knew enough to admit his problem wasn’t physical.

Before he could give too much thought to the matter, he called Nicole at home. What he planned on saying, he hadn’t a clue. Hey. Good orgasm, huh? Or, Why did you leave? I wanted to get laid again.

Maybe he should stick with the truth. I woke up reaching for you and when I found you gone I was lonely as hell.

But in the end, he said nothing because he got her answering machine and hung up. She’d left without a word, and he should have the grace to accept that. Last night had been nothing more complicated than two adults taking care of their needs.

He just hoped he got to take care of her needs again soon.

He went about his day, somewhat heartened that he didn’t feel like throwing up every time he moved. And then there was the fact his entire body hummed with the remembered vibrations of spectacular sex.

And it had been spectacular. Fireworks, earthquake, the entire enchilada.

Not that he hadn’t had really spectacular sex be fore, but…ah, hell. He’d never had really spectacular sex before. Not like that anyway, where he’d really, truly lost control, giving everything he had over to a woman, keeping his eyes open when he came so that he could see into hers, and feel her heart and soul while she did the same.

Scary stuff.

Work helped a little, as he was swamped. And when he went by Taylor’s building to discuss the plans with her, he told himself he would just peek in on Nicole.

Just to say hey.

Naturally, she was at work. Most likely not even thinking about him.

Taylor and Suzanne plied him with food and laughter. It felt good, which was strange. Normally such a thing would smother him. After all, he hadn’t even slept with either of them and they wanted to spoil him and talk to him and…be friends.

It wasn’t often he’d been friends with a woman, much less two of them, but resisting either Taylor or Suzanne was pretty much impossible.

Plus, he liked them, at least until he was reminded that the engagement party was that night and as their friend, he was expected to attend.

Two more strings on his heart.

And seeing as he had those strings, he figured he might as well go all the way. Once again, he drove to the youth hostel and asked for Margaret Mary.

And once again was told sorry. Only this time, he was sorry, too. She’d moved out, moved on, he was told.

Ty gripped the front desk and wondered at the drop in his stomach. “Moved on to where?”

The young kid shrugged. “I think she said she was interested in seeing Seattle.”

Seattle. One thousand miles away. Did she have a car? Did she have money? Or was she out there, all alone, no means and no friends, and too young to know danger when she looked it in the face?

Ty had no idea what his sudden rush was, but he raced home for his e-mail.

Nothing. No long, windy messages from her, no short appealing messages from her, nothing.

What did that mean? Had she given up on him? It wouldn’t surprise him, as he deserved exactly that.

For the first time, he initiated contact.

Margaret Mary of Dublin,

I am Irish and I am stubborn and I am sorry. I know this is nothing but a lousy excuse, but please try to understand. Family has never given me anything but pain and suffering.

But I have the feeling you would have been different. I don’t know what changed my mind, whether it was the fall on my head (long story) or the fact that I woke up alone this morning and knew I’d done that to myself (another long story).

So Margaret Mary of Dublin, am I too late?

Ty Patrick O’Grady, your brother.

Leaning back in his chair, Ty looked out of his great big picture window at the San Gabriel Mountains. What a glorious view this huge house gave him.

This huge, empty house.

When had that happened? When had the house become too big, too quiet? There had been a time when that’s all he’d wanted, his own space and quiet.

But now, he needed…more. What, exactly, he wasn’t certain.

But definitely, things were missing. And, if he was admitting such things, people.

He was missing people.

NICOLE MANAGED, with a good amount of swearing and disgust, to get herself ready for the engagement party that night. She also managed to avoid Taylor and her bag of makeup and hair stuff by staying late at work, because nylons, a fancy dress, mascara and a dab of gloss was as good as she was going to give.

The party was taking place at Ryan’s house, which Suzanne was moving in to. The moment Nicole walked in, she was assaulted by the scent of delicious food-thank God-and music and laughter.

And hugs. Everyone wanted to hug her. Suzanne. Taylor. Ryan. She pushed away Suzanne and Taylor because they were hooting and hollering at her in the dress, and let Ryan in for a good long hug.

“Hey, that’s my almost-husband,” Suzanne protested when Ryan, tall, dark and gorgeous, hugged Nicole back.

“Just being sisterly,” Nicole said, and gave Ryan a smacking kiss on the lips, enjoying Suzanne’s hiss and Taylor’s laugh.

Then another man walked up to them. He was tall, dark and gorgeous too, more so, if that was even possible, with sharp blue eyes, a sometime-Irish accent and attitude to match hers.

“Hey,” she said, a little defiantly, but damn it, she suddenly felt…conspicuous.

That Ty’s gaze nearly gobbled her up from head to toe and all the spots in between didn’t help. “Hey, yourself,” he said.

Suzanne pulled Taylor and Ryan away with a completely obvious and annoying wink.

Leaving her alone with Ty. Unable to stand still, she shifted on the stupid heels, nibbled off her gloss. Before she could stop herself, she tugged at the hem of her dress. Damn, she felt stupid. Exposed.

Ty stepped closer, and she shifted again, feeling the need to smack him. Kiss him. If only she was dressed in jeans.

Then Ty put a hand on her waist and squeezed gently. “You steal my heart.”

Ah, hell. When he said shit like that, her heart just tipped right on its side. “Stop it.”

“It’s true. You’re amazing.”

“A pair of heels and a ridiculous dress make me amazing?”

“No, your heart makes you amazing,” he said softly, and stroked her jaw. “You got all dressed up for Suzanne. You love her.”

“I knew she’d have good food.”

He shook his head. “Play tough if you need to, I see right through you.”

Yeah. He did, he saw right through her.

Terrifying.

NICOLE’S PLAN was to stay busy at work. That way she didn’t have to think about Ty. The way he’d looked so good at the engagement party she’d wanted to gobble him up whole. The way he’d whispered those hot, sexy words in her ear as he held her close, which was every moment. The way his intense eyes had promised her the world even as he let her go home-alone.

She managed to use work to keep her busy for small periods of time, but Ty was proving to be hard to forget. One day the following week she stood studying a patient’s chart in the nearly deserted nurses’ station, lost in her own world.

Until Dr. Watts came up behind her. “You smell good,” he whispered, standing inappropriately close. So close in fact, that the front of his thighs brushed the backs of hers.

“Back up,” she warned. He had her pinned between the counter and his body, but she was far more pissed than worried. She could drop him to the floor in an instant; she just didn’t want the scene that would follow.

“Why do you resist me?” he asked, his fingers stroking her neck.

She slapped his hand away. “I’m going to tell you one more time. Keep your paws off me.”

“Or what?”

“Or you’ll be sorry. Now back off.”

His soft laughter was her only answer; he still stood in her space. Then he brushed his hips to hers and she saw red.

“You feel good-” he started to say, but ended on a whoosh of a breath when she plowed her elbow into his belly and stomped on his foot hard enough to drop him to the floor like a log.

“Well, then.”

With a sigh, she shoved her hair out of her eyes, turned around to face the new male voice, and came face-to-face with Dr. Luke Walker.

Medical chair. The man in charge of just about anything there was to be in charge of, including Dr. Lincoln Watts, writhing on the floor. “Problem, Dr. Mann?” he asked over Linc’s body.

“Not any more.”

He eyed the man on the floor, then looked her over carefully before he said quietly, “You should have come to me sooner, Nicole.”

She let out a slow breath. “I’m fine.”

“Good, then. Please, consider your shift over.”

“But-”

“Not as a punishment.” He stepped back as Dr. Watts struggled to his feet. “Consider it a small payment for your patience with the system. Dr. Watts, come with me, please.”

Linc shot Nicole a look to kill, and she had to turn away to hide her grin. In fact, she grinned all the way to her car, then sang all the way home through South Village traffic, and actually got a great parking spot right out front before she remembered she didn’t really want to go home.

She climbed the steps to the building thinking she should have stopped for some take-out, but before she could let herself in, Suzanne was there, smiling at her.

Nicole scrunched her forehead, trying to remember. “Did I miss a wedding planning session?”

“Nope. I just wanted to say hello.”

“Me, too, you twit.” Taylor slung an arm around Suzanne’s shoulders and looked at Nicole. “You ever heard of returning phone calls?”

She’d gotten their messages but hadn’t had the time to get back to them. Now that she was looking into their relaxed, happy-to-see-her faces, guilt sank in. Why hadn’t she made the time? “See, this is why I don’t do the friendship thing.” She unlocked her door and gestured them in. “I’m terrible at it.”

“You’re not, you’re just busy.”

“But you do have to remember we exist,” Taylor told her. “That would be nice.”

“I’m sorry. Work-”

“Yeah, yeah.” Taylor put her hands on her hips and studied the ceiling she’d had patched. “I don’t suppose you even noticed I had this fixed.”

In truth, she hadn’t. What did that say about her? Besides the fact she’d purposely been so busy she hadn’t had time to breathe? “Um…”

“Rhetorical question,” Taylor assured her. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Look, I have to-”

“You just got home from work, what could you possibly have to do?” Taylor sank into the futon couch in the living room and looked around. “You need furniture in a bad way.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a pretty noncommittal yeah. You planning on moving soon? Is that why you’ve never settled in here?”

“I’ve settled in. I have a bed.”

“Uh-huh.” Taylor lifted an eyebrow. “And half your kitchen is still in boxes on the floor.”

“That’s because Suzanne keeps bringing me food so I haven’t had to cook.” Nicole smiled at Suzanne. “Thanks, by the way.”

Suzanne smiled back. “Should I stop? Would that make you stay? If you had to settle in here?”

“Stay? But…” She looked back and forth between them. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You sure about that?” Taylor stood, came closer. “Because I still have your rental app, which clearly states you haven’t stayed in one place for longer than a few months. We’re coming up on that mark now. Is it nearly time to move on? You’ve got a few people who care here, and I can tell it’s unnerving you.” She nodded as she studied Nicole far too closely. “Yeah,” she murmured. “Nearly time to move on, isn’t it?”

Nicole crossed her arms. “So I haven’t lived in one spot for long, so what? Lots of people suffer from wanderlust and besides, I’ve had my job for a good long while, and that’s not going to change. That’s got to count as stability.”

Suzanne’s smile was sad. “I don’t think it’s really wanderlust affecting you, Nicole. I think it’s fear of letting people close. I know, because before I met and fell in love with Ryan, I was the same way. Never really let people in.”

Nicole turned to Taylor. “We have a vow of singlehood, have you forgotten? I’m pretty certain that means never letting people in.”

“It means you don’t put a diamond on the ring finger of your left hand. But you sure as hell can do just about everything else, and should.” Taylor tipped her head to the side and studied Nicole until she squirmed. “You know we love you, right? And I think you feel something for us back.”

“Well, mostly for Suzanne because she cooks for me,” Nicole said, trying to tease past the sudden lump in her throat. She never quite knew what to do with emotion, with easy affection such as she was being offered.

“And I know you feel something for Ty-”

“Actually, what I feel mostly right now is irritation.”

Taylor lifted a brow. “Are you saying you don’t like him?”

“Well, I-”

“It was all over your face when he got hurt, Nicole.”

“Because I’m a doctor! I hate to see anyone hurt, including a know-it-all Irishman.”

“You were beside yourself because it was the know-it-all Irishman,” Taylor pointed out. “So much so that you even forgot your training. That was huge, you panicking like that. Huge and very unlike you.”

“You even took a day off,” Suzanne so helpfully reminded her. “Remember?”

“How could she forget?” Taylor grinned. “She discovered soap operas and cheesy old classic reruns. And she allowed herself to feel, to care. Didn’t you, Nicole?”

What Nicole remembered most was the simple pleasure of that day. Sitting, for a change. And yes, watching TV. But most of all, she remembered the sight of Ty in her bed. Remembered thinking she could get used to that.

“Or was it so good you scared yourself?” Suzanne asked quietly.

“You guys have far too much time to think, you know that?” Nicole hugged herself, feeling…naked. “Yes, I care. Okay? I care about a lot of stuff.”

“How about Ty?”

“Yes, fine, Ty. Should I say it louder? I care for Ty! I care for him a lot.” She lowered her voice to a soft sigh. “So much that it terrifies me, and diving back into work was all I had. Happy now?”

Ty stood in the front doorway, eyes on Nicole, smile grim. “I’m a lot of things, actually.”

Nicole nearly swallowed her tongue. When the hell had he shown up? “Ty, I-”

“I don’t have much experience with happy,” he continued. “But terrified?” He pondered that. “Definitely. I’m definitely terrified, Nicole.”

Suzanne put her hand on his arm and gave him a gentle squeeze. “It gets easier.”

“What does?”

“Why, love of course.” She smiled into his shocked face and reached for Taylor. “We’ll just leave the two of you alone-”

“No!” Nicole softened her voice with effort. Her heart was pounding. Her palms damp. She wanted to start running like hell and never stop. Love? Who’d said anything about love? For God’s sake, couldn’t one lust for someone without the L-word coming into play? “Taylor-”

Taylor just laughed at Nicole’s face. “Oh, sweetie, if you could see your expression. Well, girlfriend, you’ve been too busy for too long, you never learned to slow down and take it all in. Now it’s happened without your permission, hasn’t it? And you haven’t a clue what to do with it. Poor baby.” She grabbed Nicole’s face and gave her a smacking kiss. “Good news, Super Girl. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”

Okay, maybe Nicole had only recently realized what she was missing in her life. Maybe she’d only recently understood that life wasn’t all work and no play, but she still hadn’t reconciled it all, she still didn’t know how to get more for herself, or how to…

How to face Ty, the man she’d foolishly thought maybe, possibly, hopefully could be the one.

He wasn’t the one. He wouldn’t ever want to be the one.

And he’d heard her shout how she felt about him. God. Talk about humiliation. “Taylor-”

But they were gone. Leaving her alone with Ty, who was looking at her with an expression she supposed mirrored her own terror. “Well.” She tried to smile. “My day is complete.”

He blew out a breath and looked at her. Really looked at her. “Something else is wrong,” he said.

“Besides you being here?”

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” she muttered, a little cross that he could see through everything and find the lingering unease over the Dr. Watts scene. “It’s just that work sucked and now-”

“Did that asshole try something again?”

She stared at him, a little shocked by his deep tone of instant rage. For her. “Everything is going to be fine in that department.”

“Sure?”

His voice was every bit as low and gravely and sexy as she remembered, and she remembered plenty. “Very.”

He drew another deep breath as if struggling for patience.

She knew the feeling. “So why are you here anyway?” she asked, more than a little defensively, crossing her arms.

“I have a job here.”

“Oh, yeah.” Now she felt just stupid. Of course he had a job here. What did she think, that he’d come to see her? How ridiculous that would be, how-

“I’ll just get to it,” he said, and turned to the door.

Only he slammed it shut while still on the inside, closing them inside the apartment together.

Alone.