Robyn Amos - Lilah's List

In her inebriated state, she was quick to remember just how long it had been since she’d been in proximity of a good-looking man and a bed. She had a sudden, wacky impulse to climb on top of him.

But two drinks hadn’t made her bold enough for that. Her survival instincts were still intact. “Do you think Reggie will notice?”

Tyler straightened into a sitting position. “Of course, in fact, let me find out what’s keeping him.” He took his cell phone out of his jacket. “I need to find a better signal. Be right back.”

Lilah didn’t watch him walk away. The room was spinning. She lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

Tyler swore under his breath. Contrary to what many outsiders believed, tonight was the first time in history that Tyler had been jealous of his brother.

As a general rule, he and Reggie weren’t even attracted to the same type of women. It’s not that Reggie was particular. He wasn’t. He liked them all shapes and sizes. On more than one occasion, his younger brother had tried to offer Tyler his leftover groupies. Tyler always refused.

Easy and available wouldn’t do for him. He had a more discriminating eye. They had to be sophisticated, ambitious and intelligent. But he was a man. He liked them sexy with curves, too.

As a result of the brothers’ differing needs, the two never fought over women—or anything else for that matter. Reggie wanted fame. Tyler just wanted success. Reggie wanted to make music. Tyler wanted to make money. They were like yin and yang. Perfect opposites, which made for a balanced relationship between them.

Until now.

For the first time Tyler felt himself coveting something that wasn’t meant for him. Lilah Banks had walked into his life and captured his attention entirely. For the first time that he could remember, he’d been about to indulge in a serious public display of affection. And from the look on Lilah’s face, he was certain she was on the same page.

Only the Martin man that she wanted was his brother.

So be it, Tyler told himself. He wasn’t hard up for dates. He’d been casually seeing an attorney for the past few weeks. The best thing for him now was to find his brother and leave the rest to Lilah.

He no longer wanted to be involved. After finally finding a signal downstairs, outside the bathrooms, Tyler speed-dialed his brother.

“Yo.”

“Where are you? You said you’d be up in ten minutes. You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m just going to bring the girls down to you, okay?”

“Uh, actually, bro, me and the boys are at the 40/40 club. I was just about to call you. Why don’t you grab the girls and meet up with us here?”

“Are you kidding me? You left without telling me? Why would you do that?” Tyler tensed. He was ready to launch into a lecture on wasting other people’s time.

“The boys were getting bored. We had to roll quick so we wouldn’t get caught by the fans. I didn’t have time to come upstairs. The manager let us out the back door.”

“You could have called me. The only reason I’m here tonight is to meet your friend. What happened with that?”

“He’s here. Don’t trip. Just come meet us.”

“No, I’m done for tonight. Later.” Tyler clicked the phone closed before his brother could respond. His anger would ebb quicker if he didn’t have to hear the kid’s voice right now.

Great. Now he had to go back to the girls and tell them they’d crashed this place for nothing. Oh well. He’d done what he could. Now he just wanted to get home and take a shower. Preferably cold.

As Tyler crossed the room, he saw that Angie seemed to be on the receiving end of an intense sales pitch from one of the Isosceles promoters. Climbing the steps to their bed, he froze, taking in Lilah’s prone form.

Sleeping Beauty.

Her face was burrowed into one of the satin pillows and her feet were curled beneath her. Hair slipped out of her up-do to trickle down her neck. For a fleeting second Tyler had the strong urge to curl up beside her and kiss her awake.

He shook it off. He wasn’t Prince Charming in this fairy tale. That role was reserved for someone else.

Moving over to Lilah’s side, Tyler gently lowered his weight onto the bed, careful not to startle her. He leaned over her and softly prodded her shoulder. “Lilah, wake up.”

She murmured under her breath and rolled onto her back. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave him a sleepy smile.

“Lilah, I—”

She grabbed his lapel and jerked him downward. Tyler found himself sprawled across Lilah’s body. Then she kissed him.

Wide-eyed, Tyler remained as still as stone as Lilah’s lips explored his. Feeling his ardor resurface, he groaned in defeat and took over the kiss.

He didn’t believe in public displays of affection, but no man in his right mind could resist this. She was soft and warm, and her lips had the faint tart taste of green apples.

His tongue surged into her mouth, and when he finally broke the kiss, she moaned in protest. “Reggie…”

Tyler’s spine snapped straight and Lilah’s eyes cleared. She was no longer lost in her sleepy alcohol-induced haze. Her eyes were filled with shock and confusion. She opened her mouth to speak….

Slipping his hand behind her neck, he kissed her with persuasive force. He felt Lilah’s arms curl around him as she leaned into his embrace. Finally he pulled back to look into her eyes.

“My name is Tyler. And I don’t want you to ever make that mistake again,” he said just before his lips found hers.

Lilah was having an out-of-body experience. There was no other explanation for the surreal dimensions her world had taken on.

Her fingers were caressing the ultrasoft skin on the nape of a man she barely knew. And she was loving it. Her mind began to cloud once again as the sensations of his lips working expertly on hers intensified.

Vaguely, in the distance, she knew she should be resisting. Something about the time and place was completely wrong. But logic couldn’t penetrate the fog surrounding her.

“Whoa!”

Tyler released her and her head fell back against the pillows.

Lilah watched the scene unfold as though she were watching a movie. Tyler was sputtering while Angie gaped at them, her arms stacked with three boxes of Isosceles cologne.

“It’s good to see the two of you getting to know each other better.”

They both turned their attention to Lilah. “Are you okay, missy?” Angie asked.

Lilah felt the giggles bubble up from inside her. She pointed a finger at Tyler. “He—he is a good kisser!”

Angie dumped the boxes on the bed. “Okay, she’s drunk. She’s been telling me all night that she needed to eat something, and I should have listened to her. I’d better get her back to the hotel.”

Tyler came to his feet. “I’ll help you get a cab.”

Moments later Lilah felt her shoes being shoved onto her feet. Tyler was standing back, watching her.

She gave him a big smile. “It was so nice sharing a bed with you.”

There’s someone in my bed! Lilah’s mind screamed as she came into consciousness. As the world began to take shape around her, she realized she was lying in her hotel room and the body next to her belonged to Angie. There was no mistaking the soft, gurgling snore she’d endured all through college.

The clock radio on the night table read 1:22 a.m. Lilah sat up straight and a slow, steady throb began at her temple. She trudged to the bathroom for her toiletry case that housed her ibuprofen, and took a swig of water straight from the tap to swallow the pills.

“Oh, what a night,” she whispered, sinking to the floor. A sting of heat rushed her cheeks as she remembered making out with Tyler Martin. “What the hell am I doing?”