PARANORMAL: Tamed By My Alpha Vampire (Vampire Billionaire Alpha Male Paranormal Romance) (BBW Multicultural Mail Order Bride Short Stories) by KELLY IRIS Page A

won’t have to.

Chapter 5
     
    Jackie
     
    T yler was nothing like I remembered him, but that was a good thing. In school he was always this lanky awkward kid who clearly had a crush on me, but never knew how to show it. Now he was a suave and chiseled professional athlete. He was the kind of guy you saw on magazine covers and in shaving commercials. I had to admit, he caught my eye when he first arrived.
    I was different too, though. I had once been a skinny girl lacking in curves, but now I was a big beautiful woman who had a lot to offer for the right man. Up until he left, I had thought Axel was that man.
    Tyler was a sweetheart underneath it all, though. He was great with Jacob and he took really good care of me when I needed help. There was a sexual tension between us from the moment he walked in, and as time went on it only got worse. I saw the way he looked at me, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t return his looks, but I was still hopeful that Axel would keep his promise and come back to me.
    That hope started to fade though. Tyler was going to be with us for a year while he recovered and that was a long time to live with that kind of tension in the air. Things progressed slowly, like the pace of a high school relationship. We flirted almost constantly in those first few months. Then there were mornings when I was cooking breakfast that he would come out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
    I stole a glance every time he walked by. My heart started racing when I traced a line down his chest and towards his waist. Part of me always hoped the towel would accidentally slide off. When Jacob was sleeping, we would put on a movie or watch one of my cheesy reality TV shows. As the nights went on we started sitting closer and closer until one night, after several glasses of wine, I found myself laying against him. His arm was draped over my shoulder. I felt comfortable and safe for the first time since Axel left.
    It had been over eleven months since he left. They stopped talking about draft-dodgers on the news, but he never came back. Either they found him, or he really did just run away. I didn’t want to think about that, though, I wanted to exist in this moment.
    Tyler reached up and ran a hand through my hair. A gentle chill ran down my spine as he delicately massaged my shoulders. On the TV, two contestants on a cooking show were fiercely arguing about the proper way to use turmeric in a dish.
    “Jackie, can I ask you something?” Tyler asked.
    “Sure, what’s up?”
    “It could just be me, but I feel like there’s been something between us over this last year. I didn’t want to say anything out of respect, but I can’t stop the way I feel about you,” he said.
    My heart froze solid in my chest. I felt it too, but I was hoping this moment would never come. I didn’t want to choose, I just wanted things to go back to the way they were.
    “It’s not just you, Tyler, but I, I don’t know what to do,” I said.
    I sat up and looked at him. I stared into his emerald eyes and I realized that even after all this time living with him, I still didn’t know him, not really. Of course, after several glasses of wine, my judgement was impaired to say the least.
    “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said.
    I felt his fingers run through my hair as he pulled me toward him. At some point, I just let go and gave in to my desires. I fell into his kiss and felt his lips press against mine as his coarse stubble rubbed across my cheek. His confident hands slipped under the t-shirt I was wearing and pulled it up over my head. We broke apart for a moment and I saw a fire in his eyes. Whether it was passion or simply desire, it was a look that I severely missed.
    We fell back into each other’s arms. His hands unclasped my bra and it fell to the ground. He cupped one of my breasts in his hand as he laid me down on the couch. He broke our kiss and buried his lips in my neck, gently kissing as he