Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy #2) Read online

  “Come on, don’t be embarrassed. You did fine just now. I might go as far to say that you wanted it.” He smirked, pulling my face to look at him. He gave me a soft peck on the lips.

  “It’s just different. You do it different…,” I whispered, moving my eyes so they were anywhere but on his.

  A smug smile played across his lips. “Different how?”

  “I don’t know…” He actually knew where to touch me.

  After all that time being with Connor, Tyler made him seem like a blind man trying to figure out an optical illusion. Maybe that’s why I was turned off to it.

  “Come on, tell me what you like…,” he cajoled.

  I flushed again. Why were we talking about this?

  “You don’t have to tell me. I’m pretty sure I already know.” His eyes were gleaming with triumph as he pulled my hips into his.

  “You like when I play with this,” he teased, moving his hand down between my legs, rubbing that sensitive little spot. I took a sharp breath in. It was still very swollen. “You like it gentle. When I make a circle around it. When I give it a soft little suck,” his breath was low and warm against my lips.

  Jeez was he ready to go again? How am I ever going to keep up with him!

  “Ty…,” I rasped, taking another sharp inhale when he pressed down. I was thinking about his words, imagining his tongue doing what he was describing.

  “You’re thinking about me doing it, aren’t you?” he coaxed, his breathing picking up its pace while his chest thrummed against mine. He made slow circles with his index finger, watching me intently. His eyelids were heavy while his mouth was open. He moved his hand downward, inserting two fingers. It felt so nice after being stretched by him earlier. He inhaled sharply. “You’re still soaked,” he rasped. “I don’t know if I can wait until tonight, baby.”

  I rolled my eyes back as he moved his thumb to caress me again.

  “Ah,” I groaned, wincing my eyes. I was still throbbing from earlier. He brought his hand slowly up to his mouth, sucking on his fingers that were just inside of me.

  Jesus, he has no shame.

  “I guess I should give you a little break,” he grinned after pulling his fingers out of his mouth. “We should get dinner before we go at it again.”

  I opened my eyes, still breathing heavy. The ache in my belly had started to rise again.

  “Tease,” I rasped.

  Tyler laughed and sat up. “Come shower with me,” he coaxed with a conniving smile.

  I bit my lip and made sure my chest was covered by my hands. He rolled his eyes. “I won’t look. I promise. I will turn the dimmer light on, too,” he teased, reaching over the back of the sofa, throwing a blanket at me. He threw on his boxers and ran up the spiral staircase.

  I looked away, feeling stupid for being so concerned about being naked in front of him. I had just had sex with him in broad daylight on his living room couch, why was it so hard for me to stand in front of him without any clothes on?

  Stupid stretch marks and stupid comments from family members.

  I thought about my mom and all the little comments she would say to me, realizing she probably never meant anything by them. She probably didn’t even think I took them the wrong way. But I did. I would forever have her eyes looking over my shoulder when I looked in the mirror.

  I needed to make amends with her. But I didn’t know how. I needed to say what I said to her. I felt badly for hurting her feelings, but she had damaged my self-esteem so bad throughout my formative years, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I would have to figure out what to say to her and how to say it.

  I heard the shower start running and wrapped myself up in the blanket to head up the spiral staircase. A nice warm shower with a steamy Tyler Conklin took over my uneasy thoughts very quickly.

  Chapter 3

  “I love that dress,” Tyler flirted, giving my behind a gentle tap as he passed by me in the large brown tiled bathroom. I blushed into the mirror as I finished blow drying my hair straight. There wasn’t anything spectacular about the plain yellow dress that flowed at the waist to just above my knee. If anything it felt Summery, not a dress for five days before Christmas.

  Tyler emerged from the vast walk-in closet buttoning up a blue dress shirt with khaki chinos. He walked past me to another closet and came out looping a belt through his pants. He was so dapper and handsome, very fashionable. No doubt all designer. He dressed better than I did.

  I started to put some mascara on when he slithered his arms around my waist, kissing my exposed shoulder.

  “I’m going to freeze in this dress,” I grumbled, milking the tube of mascara before I applied some to my other eye.

  His lips slowly grazed from my shoulder to my neck. “That’s what I’m here for, baby doll.”

  I bit my lip as I tilted my head to the side. “We are never going to leave your condo if you keep kissing me.”

  His lips came up to my ear. “Mmm, as nice as that sounds, I want to take you out on an official public date. Hand holding, pulling out chairs, kissing you whenever I want, no matter who is watching.”

  His eyes met mine in the mirror, his arms tightening around my waist. I smiled at his mischievous Conklin grin. A grin I had seen on all of the Conklin men, but it was the cutest on Tyler.

  “I still feel like I should be wearing heels.”

  “The shoes you have here will be fine. Our reservations are in a half hour.”

  “You know, I haven’t been to Louis Benton in a very long time,” I said, running my hands through my hair.

  Tyler unwrapped his arms from my waist and placed them on my hips. “It’s very nice. Quiet and elegant, romantic, no screaming babies.”

  I froze when he said the word babies.

  Fuck, my pill.

  “Something wrong?” Tyler asked, furrowing his eyebrows at me, noticing my body tense up.

  I spun to look at him. “I really, really want to go get different shoes.”

  Tyler scowled. “Baby, you look beautiful. You don’t need different shoes.”

  “Yes, I do,” I panicked.

  If I took it later in the day, I would be safe. I needed to get home and get my pill.

  Although I hope I won’t start bleeding. The thought annoyed me. The last thing I wanted while Tyler and I were so hot was my period to make an appearance, although it would be coming soon anyway, fortunately after Christmas.

  “Okay, okay. Do you think Jamie would be willing to run them down to you? I don’t want to be late,” he grumbled.

  It was my turn to scowl at him. Why did it matter if we were there at a certain time?

  “Are you ready then?” he snapped, releasing me to put on his watch.

  He was never this short with me. What was his problem?

  I called Jamie when we got into the car. She wasn’t home, but out with some friends from her old job. I tied my gray pea coat tighter.

  “You can wait in the car while I go get them. Jamie isn’t there,” I mumbled, worried he was going to be grouchy again.

  “I will go up with you,” he sighed. I hugged myself closer. Why was he in such a bad mood?

  Tyler parked the Lexus, and we hurried to the elevator and to my condo. I quickly ran to my room, while Tyler stopped by the flowers from Gage. His jaw clenched then he followed brusquely behind me.

  Jeez, he was in such a hurry. I quickly went into my bathroom and popped the pill out of the plastic container and threw it in my mouth just as Tyler was walking in the entry way.

  His eyes widened when he noticed what I was doing. “Is that really why you wanted to come home?” he gulped.

  I bit my lip and shook my head yes.

  He sat down on my bed and put his hand on his forehead. “Shit, is it okay? Please tell me you have been taking it regularly,” he asked in a menacingly low tone.

  I put the packet in my makeup bag and walked over to him, forcing his face to look at me. “I take it religiously. I wouldn’t have slept with you wit
hout a condom if I hadn’t been. But I traditionally take it in the morning. I just wanted to get it into my system. It’s fine as long as I take it today, I just might…” I flushed.

  His scowl deepened. “Might what?” he snapped.

  “If you have to know, I might bleed a little because I didn’t take it at the same time as I normally would.” I dropped my hands from his face, walking into my closet to get my shoes and an outfit for work tomorrow, in case Tyler wanted me to stay even though I might be bleeding soon. God that was embarrassing to say. Would he not want me to stay overnight if we couldn’t be intimate?

  I heard a loud sigh and my bed creak. As I pulled out a simple black dress, I caught Tyler leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “It just threw me off, and, well, we hadn’t been together in a while… I shouldn’t have questioned if you were still taking birth control. I know you are more responsible than that.”

  I grabbed the dress and slipped on some gray heels then walked over to him. “Do you still want me to stay over tonight?” I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. I was worried he wouldn’t want to stay with me because I screwed up my pill regiment and would have to face the consequences.

  He stood from the door frame, “Of course I do,” he licked his lips and his eyes grew bigger. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m sorry for being short with you. I just don’t want to miss our reservations, and I got nervous with the whole birth control thing,” he said with soft sincere eyes.

  I bit my lip and held my eyes closed for a long second. Why was I feeling the urge to cry?

  Tyler pulled me into his arms and nuzzled my hair. “I want to hold you all night, Becca. I have to go to Cleveland tomorrow then Chicago. I won’t be back until late Wednesday.” He squeezed me tight to his chest. I settled into his arms, still holding my dress for tomorrow. “I need you so much,” he whispered, running a hand through my hair.

  “I need you too, Tyler. More than you know,” I whispered back into his chest.

  He pulled back and held my face in his hands. “Good. Now let’s go eat, okay?” He gave me a soft smile. I returned the same smile back as we walked out the door.

  The whole way to Louis Benton I couldn’t get Tyler’s reaction out of my head when he saw me taking the pill. Did he not want kids? Did he just not want an unplanned pregnancy? Neither did I, but I wouldn’t have freaked out like he clearly would. I needed to know if a family was something he would want in the future because it was a must for me. I was afraid to ask though because he could break my heart with the simple word, no.

  We pulled up to the valet in plenty of time. It was three minutes to our reservation as we walked out of the car. Tyler took my hand and started talking to the hostess. Just as we were about to be taken to our seats a strong, familiar voice rang from across the lobby.

  “Tyler? Becca? What a surprise to see both of you here,” RJ said, gracefully walking towards us with a tall bleach blonde at his side.

  Tyler snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. “We are just grabbing dinner. Becca hasn’t been here in a while, so I promised I would take her.”

  RJ’s smirk grew wide as he watched Tyler pull me in close. I blushed as Tyler pressed his lips to my temple. This was the moment I had been waiting for, when Tyler claimed me in front of his father. Exposing that we were an item and not just sleeping with each other. But RJ didn’t seem surprised. He acted as though he already knew.

  “Molly, my assistant, and I were having our usual pre-week dinner meeting. Tyler, you should have told me, we could have all had dinner together,” RJ grinned. His eyes were twinkling with mischief.

  “Not really into double dates, sorry RJ,” Tyler said, his face hardening. “Becca is coming to Chicago for Christmas dinner though. Will we be graced with your presence this year?” Tyler mocked.

  RJ’s eyes were alight with fire. “Your mother would be very upset if I didn’t make it to Christmas, you know that.”

  Tyler looked over to Molly with annoyance. She was playing with RJ’s cufflink and staring off absent-mindedly as though she didn’t realize we were both standing in front of her.

  “Since when are you for pleasing my mother? What is she up to right now, anyway?” Tyler bit, throwing his scowl at Molly. I put my hand on his stomach and looked up at him, hoping to calm him down. I could see RJ was already getting under his skin. Seeing him with someone who wasn’t his wife was pretty irritating to me too. I wasn’t stupid; there was no way he was dealing with just business with Molly.

  Tyler looked down at me and gave me a wry smile and put his other hand over the top of mine. RJ’s snicker broke our gaze. “Aren’t you two cute. It’s about time you took Becca out.”

  Tyler’s eyes found the floor as my jaw clenched, remembering how Tyler told RJ he didn’t need to take me out to dinner because I was easy. Of course it was all a ploy, but embarrassment spread throughout my entire body.

  “I should be going. It was lovely to see you again Becca. I look forward to Christmas dinner,” RJ said, leaning forward to take my hand from Tyler’s. He brought my hand to his mouth while keeping his mischievous grin on Tyler as he let his lips linger on my skin. I could feel steam radiating off Tyler. “Goodbye son, enjoy your evening,” RJ smirked to Tyler, then eyed me up and down, licking his lips as he walked backwards with Molly on his arm.

  Wow, did he know how to make my skin crawl.

  Tyler sprawled his hand out on my hip as he wrapped his other arm around my waist while kissing my temple again. I’m sure his eyes were on RJ the entire time as though he were marking his territory. As slimy as RJ made me feel, I was starting to believe he just wanted to get under Tyler’s skin and not necessarily under my dress.

  “Is RJ why you were so worried about making our reservation?”

  Tyler looked down at me and nodded, his eyes wary.

  I gulped and stared up at him. “Worried we would run into him on purpose or on accident?”

  “I wanted him to see us together, outside of work. I had more of a plan, but I didn’t realize he would have Molly with him. She threw me off,” he whispered.

  My poor Ty. He looked so sad, almost lost. It must be hard for him to see his father with other women when his mother was left at home. I couldn’t imagine either of my parents going out to dinner with someone else, even as friends, especially on a Sunday.

  “I think we made an impression. Plus, you told him about bringing me to Chicago,” I said excitedly. He really was trying to make our relationship seem real.

  “Come on, let’s go eat,” he said with mild amusement. Tyler looked towards the hostess, giving her the sign that we were ready for our table.

  Tyler squeezed my hand as she led us through the lovely dining area. It was a unique dining room set against a backdrop of wines, mahogany wood, and a warm fireplace with candlelit tables and white linens. Tyler was right; the restaurant was very quaint and romantic. Good thing you went and got your heels. I gripped his hand tighter as we followed the hostess.

  Once we were at our table, Tyler took my jacket and handed it to the hostess who scurried off. Before I could take a seat, he pulled me to his chest and gave me a long, soft, gentle kiss while holding my hips.

  Wow… wasn’t expecting that! He wasn’t kidding about giving me kisses in public. He probably felt a pang of instigation from our encounter with RJ. I flushed when he pulled away and pulled out my chair for me to sit.

  “Isn’t this place great?” he asked as he took a seat in his chair kiddy corner to me, his mood starting to sober. He moved his hand to my knee as he flipped open the menu with one hand.

  “Want to get a bottle of wine?” Tyler asked.

  I shook my head no. I had enough wine last night, and if I was contemplating calling my mom tonight, I really needed to have a clear head. “I think I’m going to stick with water tonight.”

  A waitress arrived to take our orders. She was tall, blonde, and thin and
gave Tyler a sly smile, clearly giving him her full attention.

  “I’ll have a gin and tonic please. Do you want sparkling water, baby?” Tyler asked, leaning towards me. I nodded my head yes, pleased he called me baby in front of the overly friendly waitress.

  “We’ll start with the steamed mussels,” Tyler ordered, barely looking at the waitress. She whipped her hair around as she swayed back to get our drinks and appetizer.

  “Do you know what you want to eat?” Tyler asked while looking over his menu.

  “I don’t know. The spinach salad looks really good, but I haven’t had a good steak in a long time,” I contemplated.

  “Get both,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, keeping his eyes on his menu.

  “I don’t need two meals,” I said under my breath.

  Tyler glanced up at me. “The spinach salad isn’t a meal. You can get the small size and then get the queen filet.”

  I hugged my chest and crossed my legs. Why was I suddenly feeling uncomfortable?

  Tyler sighed and leaned over the table. “Becs, stop it. You don’t have to eat it all. Just get the steak and the side salad. It’s not a big deal.”

  I hummed under my breath. I’m sure the skinny blonde would love to see me stuffing my face.

  The waitress gracefully came back to our table, placing the plate of mussels in between us. She was standing much closer to Tyler’s side of the table.

  “Are you ready to order your main dish?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

  “Yes, go ahead baby,” Tyler nodded my way.

  “I will have the queen filet please. Medium.”

  “What would you like as your side?” she asked, not taking her eyes from her pad of paper.

  “Asparagus is fine, thank you.”

  She darted her eyes to Tyler the second I stopped talking. Tyler stared intently at me.

  “I will have the Ultimate Steak, medium rare, with your whipped potatoes and TWO small spinach salads, please.”

  I scowled at Tyler. What was his deal? I thought he understood my eating habits and wasn’t going to give me a hard time?