War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy (latest ebook reader .TXT) 📕

And again. “Yes.” Her hands wove into his hair, and she pressed her brow to his. “Yes.”

Relieved and knowing he was luckier than he had any right to be, Ty held her tighter. “I’ve missed you so damned much.” Brushing his mouth to hers, he began to back her toward the sofa. “Let me show you.”

He felt the flutter of a smile against his lips as she murmured, “Dog.”

Right. He wasn’t used to working around one.

A quick glance told him Duke was already snoozing on his bed, but Ty wasn’t keen on canine interruptus, so he switched directions, moving them toward the stairs, wishing for a more normal set he could carry her up to give her a little romance. She deserved romance. She deserved everything.

They climbed to the loft and reached for each other. Her mouth met his again and again as they slowly undressed, exploring each inch of newly revealed skin. He didn’t want frantic or hurried. He wanted to make love to her as she deserved, slow and thorough, to give them both the gift of time.

Paisley lay back on the bed, pulling him down and over her with a sigh. Her hair pooled against the pillow, a silky mass of waves begging for his fingers. He lost himself in the scent and taste of her, gorging himself on the feel of her bare skin. His own system sparked and trembled as she touched and took, reclaiming him in a way he’d never wanted with anyone else. With her hands and mouth, she soothed the scars, no question, no hesitation in her movements. Every touch was an acceptance of who he was now, an acknowledgment of all he’d endured in their years apart.

His eyes met hers as he slipped inside her and found welcome. When they would have blurred and closed with passion, he held on, curling his hands with hers where they pressed against the mattress. “Stay with me.”

“Yes.” She rose to meet him. Every sinuous move of her body echoed the word, a hundred affirmations that buoyed the heart he’d thought too damaged to ever beat for someone else again. It pounded for her as he stroked deeper, driving them up and up, on a long, languid climb he wanted to make forever.

Then she sighed his name, her body shuddering over the edge and pulling him into the slippery fall of an endless, glorious release. He poured himself into her, emptying all the heartbreak and loss and lonely years, until his tarnished soul felt cleansed, and they were both laid bare.

Afterward, they lay tangled and spent, hearts thudding, skin cooling. Her fingers stroked down his nape in a hypnotic rhythm. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, absorbing her hum of pleasure, and for the first time in more years than he could count, he felt at peace.

Chapter 9

“There’s so little here.” Discouraged, Paisley dropped her copy of the thin file Joel had sent and rubbed at the headache beginning to bloom.

“There’s more here than you think. And your own pictures and notes will help make up for the theft of the original packages.” Ty’s hand settled on her nape and began to knead.

Paisley couldn’t stop the quiet sound of relief or the way her body automatically leaned into his touch. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and she caught the shared glances between the rest of his friends scattered around Harrison and Ivy’s living room for this sitrep meeting.

Last night had changed everything. They’d both stopped fighting the pull between them. She’d worried he’d be uncomfortable about it around the others, but it was as if a switch had been flipped, setting him to Boyfriend Mode. It was weird and wonderful and clearly out of character for him based on how everyone kept staring. This was her Ty, and they were just going to have to get used to it.

For once, Sebastian kept his mouth shut, but he did offer her a thumbs up when Ty appeared not to be looking. Even as Paisley’s lips twitched, Ty flipped him off and continued to massage her neck and shoulders.

“Children,” Ivy warned.

“Awww, look at you, practicing your mom voice,” Paisley teased

“These three clowns give me plenty of opportunity.” She spread a look between the three men. “Anyway, Ty’s right. There’s enough here to help us build a timeline. Once we have that, we’ll look at what else was going on in your life at the time to see if we can map what might have sparked the changes.”

Wielding a dry erase marker on the massive white board Paisley knew she used for book plotting, Ivy made notes. Together, they slowly, painstakingly reconstructed the entire thing, with notes about each contact. By the time they’d finished, it was easy to see the progression delineated.

Ty added the last one to a digital map on his computer. “There were different postmarks on all of them. Each one is within about an hour’s drive of Nashville proper, so it seems likely that whoever’s doing the sending lives or works within or close to that radius.”

Ivy studied the whiteboard. “Everything kept a degree of separation until a little over two weeks ago. That’s when things got more direct. What was going on two-and-half weeks ago?”

Paisley considered. “Nothing unusual, other than your wedding. But I don’t see what that would have to do with anything.”

“Not just the wedding,” Ty said. “Me. You left the reception with me.”

And she’d taken him home with her.

“The first direct-to-your-house package showed up the following Monday,” Ivy continued. “The first one with no note, like maybe it wasn’t thought out but reactionary.”

“Like maybe someone was jealous?” Harrison put in.

“It seems like a reasonable argument that the person behind this is, if not definitely male, probably interested,” Laurel added. “Ty would represent a threat in that case.”

Paisley frowned. “I have a hard time imagining a guy doing the rest of this.”

“The other day, when you saw the collar, you said ‘he’. ‘He followed me.’ Why?”

“It