Walker Bride by Bernadette Marie

Taking a breath, she continued, “I haven’t
seen or heard from you all week. And the last time I saw you, well,
let’s just say I thought you were very interested.”
    He let a slow groan rattle from his throat as
he closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. “Lydia
thinks it’s best if we don’t see each other since we’re
partners.”
    Pearl grit her teeth. “That’s sensible,” she
agreed and hated it.
    “And I told her that’s how it would be.”
    That ripped through her, and she ached. “Then
why are you holding me?”
    “Because you’re here.”
    She swallowed hard. “Why did you kiss
me?”
    “Because I couldn’t stand not to.” He gently
kissed her again as if to make a point.
    “I just wanted to thank you for the flowers,”
she managed with a shaky voice. “It was very thoughtful of
you.”
    “You’re going to do great in the new
location. It’s a nice place.”
    Pearl pushed back so she could gather her
thoughts. “You’ve been there?”
    He nodded. “A few times. Lydia is very
excited about it. I met the realtor and signed what I had to
sign.”
    Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose. “So you
only ignored me because of Lydia?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I shouldn’t be here.” Pearl pushed her
shoulders back and tried to swallow the disappointment that was
brewing in her belly. “She’s probably right, you know. It would get
very messy if we got involved.”
    Tyson nodded as he moved toward her. “You and
I come from very deceptive families. They lie and cheat to get what
they want.”
    Pearl willed away the threat of tears. She
was Byron Walker’s daughter. And Byron Walker’s daughter didn’t cry
when things weren’t going her way—or when someone pointed out
reality.
    “You’re right. Our families do that. You and
I, and Lydia,” she added, “aren’t like that. If she thinks this is
a bad idea, then we forget about it. We go on and…forget about it.”
Her voice shook as Tyson moved in even closer now, scooping her up
with her legs wrapped around him and pressed against the wall.
    His mouth came back to hers in a fury of heat
and need, and she responded in kind. As the heat rose in her belly,
she fought off the voices that told her to push him away, but
instead she wrapped her legs around him tighter.
    His fingers gripped her hips, and his hard
body pushed against hers.
    This was wrong. They had both just
established that this wasn’t a good move. They were all going to
get hurt. There was so much more at stake here, but she couldn’t
stop. There was a desperate need to keep him close and feel his
body pressing against hers.
    Tyson sucked in a hard breath and looked at
her. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” he said gasping before
taking her mouth again with his.
    Thank God that’s how he felt because Pearl
was sure she was going to burst.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    When Tyson had watched her drive up the road,
he’d had all intentions of turning her back down it.
    As his hand skimmed the skin just under the
hem of her shirt and her fingers worked up into his hair, he
remembered the promise he’d made to his sister. Then he thought
about how he was going to break it.
    Was this what had driven his biological
mother, Eric’s mother, mad—passion? Had she given up her child over
lust? Was that what he was doing?
    The bonding of the Walkers and the Morgans
was one thing when it came to nailing the son-of-a-bitches that had
been messing with them. But hard feelings and family secrets had
torn the families apart for years. Having sex with a Walker wasn’t
going to mend it.
    Pearl’s legs were tight around his waist. Her
lips were on his neck and her skin soft under his fingertips. A
moan escaped between them—from him.
    It was so much more than burying a hatchet.
He’d done that. The moment he accepted his biological mother’s
fate, Eric as his brother, and the lie his mother, father and
grandfather had fed him his whole life had been the moment