Free Wicked Love (Wicked White Series Book 3) by Michelle A. Valentine Page B

into a hole somewhere and completely shut down, not wanting to live anymore without him.
    Tyler drapes his arm around my shoulders and rubs my arm and I find his gesture sweet. What kind of guy comforts a girl who’s crying in front of his dad’s gravesite when she should be the one comforting him? I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m not sure why I feel this way about a man I’ve never even met, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I can empathize with what Tyler’s going through.
    “I don’t mean to freak you out or upset you by bringing you here, but I felt like it was something that I needed to do so you’d understand,” he says, then pauses, taking in a shaky breath, and continues, “My dad was everything to me. My hero. The man I looked up to and wanted to model my life after. He and Mom always seemed so happy, and that’s all I ever wanted in life—to find the kind of happiness they had. It wasn’t until Dad got diagnosed with cancer that he began talking to me seriously about my getting out of this town and making something of myself. On his deathbed—the last words he spoke I took to heart. He asked me to do something—something that may sound a little strange.”
    “What?” I whisper and my heart thumps hard in my chest. “What did he want you to do?”
    “He told me to stop screwing my life up and to take things more serious. He told me to stop messing around with random girls, to just focus on my music dream, and to get the hell out of this town,” he says with a sighing breath. “Dad always thought I would fall in love like he did and never leave this town because that’s what happened to him. He and Mom got pregnant with me right after they got together, and getting a job to take care of his new family took precedence over going after a dream. He wanted to see me give my dream of doing music for a living a real shot before I settled down—to go after my dream before anything else got in the way so I wouldn’t live a life of wondering what if, like he did.”
    “That sounds like pretty solid advice, if you ask me.”
    He smiles. “Yeah, it was. That’s why I can’t sleep with you. My plan is to get out of here as soon as I save up enough money. I’m going to Nashville. You know, give this music thing a try, and I don’t plan on coming back here if that happens. It wouldn’t be fair to start a relationship with you knowing that I’m going to be leaving.”
    I nod. “I can understand that. How close are you to saving enough money?”
    “I’ve been on track to do exactly what Dad asked me to do, so I’m pretty close to making my goal.”
    My mind processes everything he’s just said and it makes me curious about something else. “So you’ve not slept with anyone since you made that promise to your Dad?”
    He shakes his head. “I’ve never had any girl cross my path who’s tempted me—that is, until you. There’s something about you that draws me in, and I can’t stop myself from wanting to be around you. Ever since that night I gave you a ride home, you’ve been on my mind almost constantly. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and what’s even more surprising, you’ve got a big heart. I’ve seen how easily you get hurt, and I think that’s the sign of someone who is passionate and loves wholeheartedly. I find that unbelievably attractive, making you really hard to resist.”
    I bite my lip as I stare into his eyes. “You think I’m tempting?”
    He takes my other hand in his and threads his fingers through mine while he faces me. “Let’s just say now I totally get why Adam gave in to Eve and sinned. If he was attracted to her half as much as I am to you, there’s no wonder that he risked God’s wrath to be with her.”
    I don’t even know how to respond to that. No guy has ever poured his heart out to me like this, and it’s taking every inch of willpower that I possess to stop me from jumping his bones here and now.
    I