The Beauty Within (24 page)

on his hard member.

He was now naked as well.

He wasn’t as long as Quincy, but definitely long enough, and, damn, he was

thick. Tyler began stroking him, her eyes glazed as she looked into his. They

were heavy and completely focused on her, and she took the initiative by

kissing him thoroughly. Gunnar’s hand joined hers as they made him ever

harder, and her nether lips wept with her essence.

After a few moments of stroking and kissing, his other hand cupped her

face while the hand that had covered hers lifted her thigh to wrap around his

hip. He brought that hand back to where she still grasped his hardness, and he

guided it to her slick heat.

He broke the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes.

Do you want this?

Please…

He entered her hard, stretching her so completely she was sure she would

split into two. She let out a choked gasp, her eyes wide as she looked into his.

He closed his briefly and dropped his forehead to hers, resting it there a beat

before kissing her lips gently.

He started thrusting slow, as if wanting to feel every cling of her muscles

as he pushed forward and retreated. She felt her channel flower and sting a

little, it having been so long since something so large was inside of her. He

kissed her every time he entered her, sometimes on her lips, sometimes on her

cheeks, once on her nose and once on the space between her brows. The pace

he’d set was unrushed, deliberate, almost reverent. This wasn’t sex they were

having; this was something else, something she hadn’t the guts to name.

The kisses she felt upon her eyelids compelled her to lift them. She hadn’t

even been aware she’d closed her eyes. His hands were still at her cheek and

thigh, and he started thrusting faster. His jaw clenched and his mouth settled

to a thin line, and those gray eyes were ever piercing and unguarded upon hers.

His breath was harsh as he exhaled through his nostrils, and a flush crept up

his cheeks.

He was close.

So was she.

Tyler wrapped her arms around his neck, sinking her hands into his hair.

She rubbed her nose against his cheekbones and pressed her body into his,

wanting to feel every bit of his skin against hers as they reached the pinnacle.

Gunnar’s fingers tightened around her thigh, digging into the fat and muscle of

it, and Tyler hugged him tighter. His thrusts were becoming erratic and the

squishy sounds of their union clashed with their harsh breathing. She nuzzled

his cheek and neck and he bit the crook of hers.

Her name was a shout as he came, and she let out an undecipherable wail,

signaling her completion milliseconds afterwards.

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129

Both stood there silently, unmoving, as their bodies trembled in the after-

math; yet when Tyler felt goo ooze down her thighs, she froze.

Gunnar wasn’t wearing a condom.

She gasped and pulled back, but Gunnar didn’t let her go very far. She

wanted to curse herself and cry. She was
never
this irresponsible when it came

to sex—not even with Quincy! It would be her luck she would get pregnant,

and while she didn’t think Gunnar was so free with his body as to bed women

indiscriminately, she didn’t know how clean he actually was, either.

He father had taught her better than this!

“Look at me,” Gunnar murmured, his hands gentle as they framed her face.

Tyler couldn’t, and dropped her eyes, willing the tears that had filled them not

to spill over.

“
Min kjære
,” he whispered against her lips. “
Nei
gråt
,
ja
?” His thumbs brushed away renegade tears. “Don’t cry.”

She sniffled and nodded, but his tender tone only made her cry harder.

“Baby, why are you crying?”

She shook her head, her throat too tight to tell him why. When she tried to

back away again, he followed her, pressing her against the wall. He remained

inside her, though he was soft now, and seemingly had no intention of pulling

out.

“Tyler,” Gunnar said softly. “I’m right here, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Gunnar—”

He kissed her, stilling her words. He slid his free hand into her hair and

broke the kiss slowly. He shook his head, making sure she looked him in the

eye.

“I will not leave you,
elskling
. I’m not leaving you.”

He pressed his hips against hers, leaving her no doubt he understood the

seriousness of the situation as well. She gave into the tears she’d been doing a

poor job of hiding, burying her face into his neck. She was overwhelmed by

emotions, yet the most powerful one was the one that scared her the most, and

it wasn’t fear. She hadn’t felt this way since Quincy, but what she was feeling

now seemed different, more awesome in its scope and depth.

“Oh, God,” she murmured against Gunnar’s neck.

He finally slipped out of her, and the emptiness that overcame her at the

move astounded Tyler. Gunnar dropped his arms from around her and she

backed away from him, looking around the room for her clothes. She bent

down to pick up her shirt and bra, but he touched her shoulder.

“Leave it,” he said, not even bothering to look at her garments.

“I need to take a shower,” Tyler said with a frown.

Gunnar’s smile was downright erotic, and her body reacted accordingly. “I

know.”

He grasped her hand and began walking backwards, his eyes trailing over

her body like a caress. She knew he could see her arousal despite her dark skin,

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Savannah J. Frierson

and from the way his length began to twitch, it was apparent he was raring for

a second go as well.

Tyler blushed and ducked her head, her eyes skipping to her usual shower,

but when Gunnar tightened his hand around hers and led her up the stairs, she

couldn’t stop a tiny grin of her own.

She guessed she wouldn’t need that clean bra for a while, after all.

Thirteen

“
Mmm
…
baby
…that feels so
good
…”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Tyler moaned, biting her lip at how he was making her feel. “God,

those hands…”

His chuckle was low and husky, and he applied more pressure.

She hissed.

“Liked that?” he whispered in her ear, biting the lobe of it.

“
Gunnar
…”

“Now you’re getting a taste of how you make me feel,” he said deeply, kiss-

ing her shoulder.

“I make you feel like this?”

“Every single time.”

“Hmm. I should charge you extra!”

Gunnar laughed and smacked her bare bum gently. “Turn around, wench.”

Tyler’s laugh joined his, and she did as instructed, leaning her head back

into the shower’s spray so Gunnar could rinse out the shampoo. The water and

suds slid down her body, only heightening the sensual experience of sharing

the shower with Gunnar. They had behaved the entire time, taking the oppor-

tunity to explore each other’s bodies as they washed. To her surprise, Gunnar

had expressed his desire to wash her hair, and though she knew it would be a

tangled, frizzy, nappy mess afterwards, she decided to indulge him. Besides,

he’d already seen her naked; there was nowhere to go but up in her eyes.

He pulled her head up gently and kissed her, making her smile against his

lips. “All clean?” she asked.

He nodded and kissed her again, wrapping his arms fully around her. “All

clean,
elskling
.”

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Savannah J. Frierson

She snuggled into his wet, warm, chest. The water soothed her, and with

Gunnar holding her so close, Tyler didn’t know when the last time she’d felt so

completely relaxed.

Gunnar’s hand drifted along her bare back, and she felt him kiss the top of

her head. “I had no idea your hair was this long.”

It brushed between her shoulder blades when wet. “I don’t straighten it

very often. It’s a pain, for one, and for two, I like my hair natural.”

“And it’s all yours?”

“All mine.”

“Hair that’s all yours…what a concept!” Gunnar teased.

Tyler giggled into his shoulder and hugged him tighter. “Not all black

women wear weaves or wigs!”

“Not even a black thing,” Gunnar said, popping her bum again. “Every

woman I knew in LA had extensions. One girl I was dating…hers came out

during…um…‘vigorous exercise’…”

Tyler rolled her eyes, not even wondering what this “vigorous exercise”

entailed. “I’ll bet!”

“Bad form to talk about one woman while naked in another’s presence,

huh?” Gunnar conceded, leaning back to cup her cheek. His gray eyes were

bright with amusement and a little contrition. “I’m sorry.”

“The past is the past,” Tyler said, stepping out his embrace and out of the

shower. She heard Gunnar turn off the water behind her, and just as she

reached for the towel, he snatched it away and wrapped it around her. “Thank

you.”

“Tyler?”

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking?”

She bit her lip, debating whether to answer truthfully, untruthfully, or not

at all. She chose the third option and started to leave, but he held fast to her,

and she could feel his nude body press against her through the terrycloth of the

towel.

“
Elskling
.”

“I messed up,” Tyler said with a frown, staring at the black bathroom mat

on his floor. Her earlier rash actions rushed to the fore again, and she stared

down at her belly. At that very moment, she could be carrying a child, Gunnar’s

child. They’d only been on one date, and now they might be forever linked.

Then again, he could still move on, leaving her holding the squalling bag. She

could become an anecdote of his past, like the woman with the hair extensions

was.

That didn’t make her feel too good.

Gunnar sighed deeply, but he tightened his arms around her. “You regret

us making love?”

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133

Why did he have to put it that way? And yet, she couldn’t deny how exhi-

larating it had been braced against the wall of his home gym and having him

pound into her over and over again. It had been thrilling, all of it. But better to

call it what it was, though. “Fucking against a wall—”

“No, Tyler,” Gunnar said, dipping his mouth to her ear. “I’m not going to let

you do this.”

“Tell the truth?”

“Tell your version of it so you won’t have to deal with your feelings…
our

feelings…”

She tried to flee, but this time he lifted her off her feet and carried her into

his bedroom. She yelped, shocked at the ease with which he’d lifted her, and

the intense look he held in his eyes as he stared at her. He placed her gently on

the bed, the towel still firmly tucked around her.

He shook his head. “No,
kjære.
That won’t do at all.”

Staring into her eyes all the while, Gunnar pulled the towel away from her,

leaving her as naked as he was. She hadn’t even felt this exposed in the shower,

and his eyes took their time looking at her body.

Just as she moved to cover herself, Gunnar stopped her, holding her wrists

in his hands and pinning her eyes with his.

“A woman’s body,” he said softly, brushing his lips against her nose. “All

woman. I love it.”

“You do?”

“Ah,
kjære
, why do you sound so skeptical? I’ve said so before—”

“I was fully clothed then. I look better clothed. It hides things—”

“You don’t have to hide from me, honey,” Gunnar said, kissing her lips

lightly. “I don’t want you to hide from me. Ever.”

This discussion was really a day late and a dollar short, but that didn’t stop

Tyler from turning over to hide from him anyway. All that served to do, as she

realized belatedly, was give him an unobstructed view of her generous behind,

and she sucked her teeth.

“Lord…”

Gunnar’s strong hands slid up her back, then down to her buttocks and

the backs of her thighs. Her body trembled from his touch, and when he added

pressure, she moaned.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

He chuckled lightly. “Giving you a massage. I don’t think I’m doing it

wrong…”

He wasn’t, and Tyler decided to loosen up and enjoy his ministrations.

This was ten times better than the brief experience she’d had of a Gunnar

massage in her barbershop that one time, and the fact both were nude only

enhanced the experience. He was hard, his length brushing against the outside

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Savannah J. Frierson

of her thighs and backside as he moved his hands up her back, and she felt her

body turn to jelly with relaxation and arousal.

“How many women have gotten the Gunnar special?” Tyler asked drowsi-

ly.

He laughed, working on her shoulders now. “‘The Gunnar special’, huh?”

“Hmm,” she intoned incoherently. She was starting to fall asleep, and the

last thing she wanted was him hearing her snore!

“I gave my sister some,” he admitted.

Tyler laughed. “Did you?”

“I needed to practice! And Inge is notorious and brutal with her honesty.

She started coming to me whenever she needed one; gave me ten dollars for an

hour.”