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voice.
    “Let’s not worry about it ’til morning. That’s soon enough. Sleep now, sweetheart.”

Chapter Three

    A rustling against the pillow roused Lacey from her restless slumber.
    “Tyler?” Her voice, strained from both wails of despair and passionate cries, rasped out.
    “Shh.” Comforting lips brushed her forehead in a chaste kiss. The pre-dawn gloom obscured his expression. What would she see on his face after the night they’d shared?
    Grief and pleasure had paled beside the horror of her nightmares. But all through the blackest hours, he’d been there to catch her when images of her brother’s bloody corpse interrupted what little shuteye she’d managed to grab. Rob’s gentle face had seemed crazed, crimson drops sprayed in slow motion from the sliced vein in his neck and the familiar yet repulsive tang of copper had burned her nose when he issued the order to stay safe.
    The last thing she remembered was the security of Tyler’s embrace placating her.
    “Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
    Disoriented, she reached out a hand to locate him on the bed but encountered a crisp sheet of paper instead of the firm warmth she expected. She crumpled the note in her fist as her brain began to function. Several blinks cleared the grit deposited by her evaporated tears. Enough to realize he stood beside the bed, fully clothed in his now rumpled uniform. The deliberate space between them turned her cold. “You’re leaving me?”
    “Mason called. He’s got a lead on the case. I have to get down to the station.”
    “Don’t lie to me. What did you write here?”
    “Read it in the morning.”
    “It is morning.”
    “Shit, Lace. You need to rest some more.” The first rays of morning silhouetted Tyler as he scrubbed his broad fingers through his already mussed hair.
    “You expect me to curl up and nod off without inspecting the bullshit reason you gave for sneaking out of here without so much as a goodbye?” Gathering steam, she levered up onto her elbows, causing the sheets to tumble to her waist. The darkness must not have impaired his vision as much as it did hers. The hiss of his rapid intake sliced through the silence following her question. “Clearly, it’s not because you don’t want me. I bet you’re hard as steel again right now.”
    He fled from her roaming fingers so fast he stumbled. “Don’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “There are things you don’t understand, little one.”
    “So explain, Tyler.”
    “I wouldn’t trade a moment of loving you last night for the world but that doesn’t make what I did right. I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry for taking my virginity?” She couldn’t prevent the note of vulnerability from creeping in.
    “No. Yes. Damn it, I don’t know.” He paced off to stare out the window. Several harsh breaths sawed out of his chest before he faced her again. “It’s complicated. Fuck! I-I’m sort of involved with someone else.”
    Neither he nor Mason had ever been in a relationship that extended beyond carnal exchanges before. She hadn’t imagined anything could hurt worse than the trauma she’d endured yesterday but she knew Rob would never have left her if he’d had the choice. Blinding agony seared straight to her soul until she caught Tyler’s tentative phrasing then honed in on the uncertainty in his fidgeting stance.
    “You mean Mason?” Figures he thought her oblivious to their sexual preferences. Hadn’t she asked them both to make love to her yesterday? The whole afternoon had blurred together somewhat but she distinctly remembered begging for what she wanted most. Hadn’t she been clear enough to make them understand?
    “What! How did you know?” She thought she caught a glimpse of unease in his emerald glance as her pupils adjusted.
    “The rumors of your conquests reach far and wide. I’ve been hearing the details of your sordid threesomes for years. Every woman in the city hoping to become the middle of a Ty-son