Waiting for everyone to join me for our lunch meeting, I look up and I’m shocked when I see Tyson walk in. His movements are sluggish as he greets the hostess. His light green eyes light up when the hostess indicates where our table is and he spots me. The closer he walks toward me I notice he has bags under his eyes. Even looking as if he hasn’t slept the whole week, Tyson’s still drop dead gorgeous; my sex clenches at the sight of him.
I arch a brow when he takes the furthest seat from me.
He pulls out a report and pen before looking over at me and clearing his throat. “I’m trying to be on top of my game here, and with one whiff of your vanilla and whatever else scent, I’m going to be a goner.”
I had no idea that I had a smell Tyson liked. It must be the lotion that I use every day.
“I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, but you look like you haven’t slept in days.”
He tries to smile but fails. Instead he closes his eyes and leans against his hand, murmuring, “Keep talking. Maybe I can get a few minutes before the other two get here.”
He really does look as if he could fall asleep any second now.
“Am I that boring?”
Tyson’s eyes open in alarm. “No! God, no. You’re far from boring. I’ve barely slept since I left Tuesday morning.”
I know the feeling. Since Tyson hadn’t been in my bed this past week, I couldn’t get comfortable or fall asleep for long. Each morning, I used an eye mask to hide the wrinkles and dark circles under my eyes and drank an entire pot of coffee before heading out to work.
“Are you going to be able to participate in this meeting?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Brent and Amy walk in and spot us.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Amy’s perfume will keep me awake,” he grumbles.
“Let’s talk after the meeting. Time to get professional,” I say quietly enough for only him to hear.
An hour and a half later, we’ve made progress on the account. I picked which ideas from each that would work and gave them their next deadline.
We’re almost to the door when I turn to Tyson and place my hand on his bicep. I love the way it flexes underneath my touch. “Why don’t you come over tonight and we both get some sleep?”
Brushing his lips against my ear, he answers. “That sounds great.”
A shiver trails down my entire body from only one small touch.
“You want me,” he states. “I can’t wait until I sink deep inside of you.”
Fuck.
I did want him. Always. But he was not going to like the news I had to tell him.
“Um… It’s a whole different crime scene down there now.”
Taking a step back, his straight brows pull together as his gaze aims straight to between my thighs. Thank God, Amy and Brent already left. “What? When I asked you about it the other day you said you were mostly healed.”
“Walk me out and I’ll tell you, I have to get back to the office for a conference call.”
Once outside, we see that the weather has turned dark, dreary, and misty, Tyson places his hand to the small of my back and ushers me to the nearest cab. “I’ll see you back at the office.”
“We can share unless you drove.” The restaurant isn’t far from the office, but if we walk back, we’ll be wet and miserable for the rest of the day.
“Are you sure?” he asks, looking around most probably for Amy and Brent.
“I’m sure. Hop in.”
Sliding in next to me, Tyson doesn’t leave any room between us. Instead, he puts his arm around my shoulders and draws me closer until my head rests on his shoulder.
“That’s better,” he mutters, burying his face in my hair. “I missed you.”
A smile tips my lips. “I missed you too.”
“What’s this crime scene you mentioned going on in your pants? Or should I say skirt? Please tell me you have underwear on right now.” He moans, sounding as if he’s in pain.
“I can assure you that I do in fact have on underwear. They’re pink and lacy.”
Tyson groans from beside me. “No more. You’re killing me as I picture your hot body in nothing but those panties.”
“Sorry.” Not sorry.
“Tell me about this crime scene.”
“Do you remember when I went a little crazy last week when you mentioned being exclusive?”
His body tenses at the mere mention of how irrational I was. I’m lucky it didn’t scare him off.
“I remember. I didn’t know what was happening at the time. Actually, I still don’t, but that’s crazy for you.”
Pulling back, I glare at him. “Not crazy, irrational. I can’t explain it. It’s like something else takes over.”
“So, your possessed,” he chuckles softly in my ear.
“In a way,” I agree. “I told you that I get that way right before my period. The bad news is the older I get the worse my period seems to get. I was hoping that once I started taking the pill it would help, but my doctor said it could cause blood clots and other problems. She advised that since I haven’t been on birth control before, we continue to use condoms.”
“Whatever’s best for your health,” he agrees. “What about…”
“Oh, that’s what I call my period. It’s pretty bad the first couple of days and it reminds me of a crime scene.”
He makes a noise of disgust and I laugh.
“Surely you’ve had girlfriends and were around them when they were on their periods.”
“I grew up with my mother, but she didn’t broadcast it and now that I think about it my girlfriend in college turned into a bitch, picked a fight, and then stayed away.”
“Well, I’m not going to hide it from you. If you want to stay away during that time that’s your prerogative, but as a woman I can tell you it sucks and rules my life. I sat in my office all day yesterday with a heating pad because of my cramps.”
Tyson might not like it, but I wasn’t going to lie or hide what I had to deal with every month. It’s up to him on whether or not he’s going to be around or not.
I guess I’ll find out tonight.