Tyler (Blue Halo Book 6)

“Your home is beautiful.”

Tyler’s gut spiraled in waves of heat at the way Emerson’s eyes ran over his living room. He’d never cared what anyone thought of his home before, but with this woman, he did. He wanted her approval. He wanted her to like where he lived and feel comfortable in his sanctuary.

He cleared his throat as he dropped his keys on the kitchen island. “I’m glad you like it.”

Each member of his team had received a large payout from the government after Project Arma. It meant they could invest in both their business and where they lived. His home was comfortable—two story, four bedrooms, and all his.

A photo on his mantel caught her attention. She moved closer and lifted it, a smile playing on her lips.

“Is this your mom?”

He walked up behind her, touching her hip and letting awareness skirt up his arm.

His mother’s face glowed with happiness behind the glass. The familiar sadness settled in his heart. “Yeah.”

“She’s beautiful. And she must be strong to have raised you on her own.”

Oh, she had been. Strong. Kind. Generous. She’d also been his entire family. “She made me into the man I am today.”

“Do you see her often?”

He snuck a thumb beneath her shirt, grazing it over her skin, letting it soothe him. “She passed away. Mismanaged diabetes.”

He hadn’t mentioned that the other night because he hadn’t wanted to put a dampener on the evening. Even saying it out loud now hurt like hell.

As his mother had gotten older, he’d always been the one to make sure she was on top of her medication and eating the right things. But he hadn’t been able to do that when he’d been taken by Project Arma. And he knew from her medical reports that she’d struggled with his disappearance, both emotionally and physically. She’d stopped taking care of herself.

Emerson watched him, a frown deepening on her face. “I’m sorry.”

People had told him the pain of losing a loved one dulled with time. That wasn’t his experience. But then, maybe it was because he allowed rivers of guilt and anger to block his acceptance of what had happened. In his mind, the second he’d been taken, those assholes had killed his mother.

Tyler let himself swim in Emerson’s brown eyes for a moment, forcing the anger down. “She would have loved you. She was always on me about finding a woman who made me smile for no other reason than she was in the room.”

That was Emerson. Even now, when he was feeling the pain of his mother’s absence, he wasn’t completely taken with his grief. Because he could feel Emerson’s warm skin. Smell her floral scent.

“If she was anything like you, I think I would have loved her too.”

“She was a better person than me.”

She tilted her head. “She sounds like she was an incredible woman. But then, that’s not a surprise, because she raised an incredible son.”

His gut twisted, then he lowered his head and kissed her. It was the second kiss of the day, and it wasn’t nearly enough.

She hesitated, only for a moment, then she leaned into him, a low moan slipping from her lips.

Fuck…this woman could bring him to his knees. She made him want to hold her tighter, kiss her longer, and fear the moment their connection ended.

Her lips separated and he slid his tongue inside her mouth. She tasted of peppermint blended with sweetness. It was intoxicating. Addictive. And he wanted more.

Without stopping or opening his eyes, he took the framed picture from her fingers and set it back on the mantel. Then he lifted her body against his, fusing them together.

Her hands swept from his cheeks to around his neck.

They stayed like that for endless minutes. It wasn’t enough, but he had a feeling nothing would be. When she pushed at his chest, he called on all his damn willpower to lift his head. To separate from her.

Her lips were red, her eyes sparkling amber. “I shouldn’t be kissing you, Tyler Morgan.”

Again, the hesitation from her combined with words that made no sense. Because in his mind, there was nothing they should be doing more.

“Why not?” he questioned, the question becoming more important with each touch.

She stared at him intently, then her thumb grazed his bottom lip before she dropped her hand. “We haven’t known each other for very long.”

“Is that all it is?”

Her pupils dilated. No. There was more to it than that. But her lips remained sealed.

With a sigh, he slowly slid her down his body onto the floor. Shit, even that was torture—her soft curves grazing his hardness. He took a much-needed step back. It didn’t help.

“I’m just going to have a shower and change. Feel free to grab anything you want from the kitchen. I won’t be long.”

She nodded, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth.

He bit back a curse. This was going to be the coldest shower of his life.

Neat. Tyler was very neat. It was a surprise, even though it probably shouldn’t have been. Military guys were usually tidy, weren’t they? Maybe she’d just been hoping he was a slob. Grabbing at anything that might be a turnoff, because God, she needed one. Something to make him a little less perfect.

He’d been gone for fifteen minutes, and in that time, she’d worked out how to use his very big and very impressive coffee machine. Every device in the man’s home seemed to be top of the line.

She sipped her coffee before setting it on the island and returning to the photo of his mother. She’d hated hearing the pain in Tyler’s voice when he talked about her. He’d loved her. And she’d left him earlier than she should have.

It was a pain Emerson was familiar with. Pixie had become her mother, and she missed her every day. But at the same time, a part of her was glad that the woman’s suffering was over. She’d hated losing her son. Having him disappear and remain out of her reach. She’d already mourned her son’s declining mental health before that.

When a knock came at the door, Emerson frowned, glanced toward the stairs, then back to the front of the house. Slowly, she moved forward.

She was about to look through the peephole when a warm hand touched her shoulder.

She spun, lips separated on a gasp before she saw Tyler. “I didn’t even hear you come down the stairs.”

He grinned. “What can I say? I’m good.”

Yeah. He was. Especially for such a big guy. She swallowed at the smell of his clean, crisp scent. At the fresh shirt that strained against his thick chest muscles and biceps.

She tilted her head toward the door. “I was just going to check to see who’s here.”

He leaned over her shoulder, his arm sliding around her waist as he looked through the peephole.

Her pulse jumped. Calm the hell down, Emerson.

A small smile tugged at his lips, and he pulled the door open.

She frowned at the sight of her Airbnb host, Mrs. Henry, standing on the other side of the door.

“Hello, dear.” She smiled at Emerson before turning to Tyler. “Tyler, would you come look at the HVAC system in my crawl space again? It’s doing that thing where it just refuses to turn on like last time.”

Wait… “You live on this street?” Emerson asked, surprised.

“Right next door.” The older woman tilted her head. “Tyler didn’t tell you?”

Ah, no. And he’d been at the cabin when Mrs. Henry had stopped by the other day with an electrician to check out the fuse box.

He shrugged and pressed a hand to the small of her back as they stepped outside. “It didn’t come up.”

They crossed the front yard to Mrs. Henry’s home. The older woman didn’t seem surprised to find Emerson at his house, but then, she’d seen them together at the cabin.

They stopped at the side of her home, and Emerson’s throat closed at the sight of the entrance to the small crawl space.

“Now, I’ve already popped my head in there and turned on the light for you, but when I look at the system, I may as well be looking at a manual written in Japanese. I have no idea.”

“Not a problem, Mrs. Henry.” Tyler faced her, and she wasn’t sure what he saw, but it made his features crease into worry. “Hey. You okay?”

She swallowed. “Yes, of course. I just… I’m nervous for you crawling into that space. It’s really small.”

“I’ll be okay.” He watched her for another beat, definitely seeing more than he should, then he kissed her forehead. “I won’t be long. Stay close so I can see your legs.”

She nodded, relieved when he didn’t push or ask any more questions. Tyler gave her hip a little squeeze before disappearing.

Mrs. Henry stepped closer. “The day that boy moved in next door, my life got easier. He helps me with everything.”

She forced herself to turn away from the crawl space and smile at the older woman. Mrs. Henry was in her mid-sixties and had a motherly kindness about her. “I can imagine. He’s certainly been helping me with some stuff.”

Concern flickered in the woman’s eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s…” Not okay? Messy? “Complicated.” Yeah, that word fit well.

“Oh. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I make a pumpkin pie that turns even the hardest days around.”

The woman was so sweet. “Thank you.” And wouldn’t it be nice if pumpkin pie could fix her problems? A girl could dream.

They’d only been standing there a few minutes when the familiar tingle danced on the back of her neck. Her gaze shifted to the street. Was Levi here? Watching?

She’d just opened her mouth to call Tyler when he appeared from the crawl space. “It should work now. It was the same switch as last time.”

The tingle disappeared. Levi was gone.

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver,” Mrs. Henry gushed.

Tyler moved toward Emerson, his warm hand slipping around her waist. “Everything okay?”

She blew out a long breath and nodded. “Yes.”