“You know”—he pulls back after a moment and locks his gaze on mine—“I keep waiting for something, anything to show me that this—you and I—are not going to work, but I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he says gently, making my stomach bottom out as his eyes roam my face. “We’re gonna need to talk about what happens after you go back to Oregon.” His fingers smooth down my jaw before they trace the lower edge of my lip. “Not right now.” He covers my lips with his finger when I open my mouth to ask what he wants. “Not now, but before our time is up, we’ll figure out what we’re going to do. Because I’m going to want to see you for more than a week every few months. A whole lot more than that.”
“Okay, we’ll talk about it and figure it out.” I move my hand to his chest, over his heart, wondering if his hurts like mine does right now at the thought of me leaving. I want to say I’d stay if he asked me to, but the truth is my whole life is somewhere else. My friends, family, and everything I’ve ever known are in Oregon, but I’m starting to see that there’s more to life than my small town. And a good thing is I can work from anywhere, which makes this situation a little less complicated.
“How about a bath?” He runs his nose across mine.
“I don’t think I’ve taken a bath since I was a kid,” I say, and without a word, he slowly pulls out of me, then pushes off the bed and reaches out for my hand.
When we get into the bathroom, he lets me go just long enough to deal with the condom. Then he turns on the tub that looks like it could fit three people comfortably and dumps in a glob of something from a blue bottle under the faucet. As the smell of mint fills the room, he lifts me off my feet and places my naked bottom on the counter, making my breath hitch.
“Sorry, just wanna get you wrapped up.” He takes my hand and deftly puts on one of the plastic gloves he stole from the hospital and tapes around my wrist. “All done.” He lifts me down. “I’ll be back.”
When he leaves, I get into the bath and am covered under a layer of bubbles when he comes back holding something that makes me smile. “Are you going to read?” I motion to my book in his hand.
“Yep.”
I somehow manage to keep my eyes on his face, even as he walks toward the tub; then I scoot forward when he motions me to, and he gets in behind me, placing his legs on the outside of mine.
“Good?” he asks, wrapping his arm across my upper chest, urging me to lean back against him.
“Yeah,” I reply, and he opens the book to the page he left off on. As he reads, I close my eyes and relax against him completely, the sound of his voice and the hot water washing away the stress of today.
“Cybil,” he calls after a long while, and I turn to look at him over my shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“I thought you fell asleep.” He sets the book down on the side of the tub.
“Just relaxed.” I roll so I’m resting on my stomach, which places his rock-hard cock right between my breasts.
“Come here.” He drags me up his body until I’m straddling him. “How’s your hand?” he asks—or I’m pretty sure that’s what he asked. It’s hard to tell with the sound of my heart pumping in my ears as the feel of him between my legs makes me dizzy.
“Fine,” I breathe as he leans up and bites my earlobe before dragging it through his teeth, causing me to roll my hips in response. As his hand latches around my waist, I reach between us, and the moment he’s in position, I don’t hesitate, sinking down onto his length. “Yesss.” I drop my forehead to rest against his. Not only is he thick, but he’s also long, making me feel impossibly full in this position.
“Are you okay?” The question is strained.
“Yes.” I nod, and both his hands move to my waist so he can lift me up and urge me back down. As he picks up speed and I fall into sync with him, water sloshes over the side of the tub. I lean back, and as one of his hands moves to cup my breast, the look on his face almost sends me over the edge. I didn’t grow up questioning my appearance, but I’ve never had anyone look at me the way he does.
“Fuck, you really are perfect, sunshine. So fucking beautiful.” He urges me down harder. “Touch yourself.” Slowly, I move my hand over my breast, then down my stomach and between my legs. The moment I circle my clit that is still sensitive from my earlier orgasms, my inner walls tighten, and he curses, “Don’t fucking stop.”
“Tanner.”
“I’m right here, baby.” His hand around my hip urges me to move faster and harder, which sends him deeper and deeper; then his mouth latches onto my breast.
When his tongue lashes against my nipple and his teeth nip the sensitive flesh, blinding white heat spreads through my body and my core in spasms, sending me closer to the edge. Lost in the sensation of him, heat begins to pool in my lower belly, and I know I won’t be able to hold off for long. It’s too much; it’s all too much.
“Let go, sunshine.” He drags my mouth down to his, and his tongue thrusts between my lips. The taste of him sinks into my senses, and I lose the ability to hold back, no matter how much I don’t want this to end. I fall over the edge, whimpering his name as I shove my face into his neck and hold on to him with every piece of me, feeling him jerk and his grip on me tighten.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to let you go.”
His softly spoken confession has the tears I felt earlier crawling up my throat, only this time, I don’t fight them. I let them go as I give him a piece of my heart he doesn’t even know he has.
Sitting on the back deck, with the morning sun sparkling through the trees and the sound of nature alive in the forest just outside the screened-in porch, I take a sip of coffee as I watch Tanner do push-ups.
“Do you work out every day?” I tuck my feet under me and pull down his T-shirt I stole from him, so at least my ass is covered.
“Most days.”
“I should work out with you,” I say absently, watching his elbows bend and his biceps flex.
“I wouldn’t mind giving you a workout.” He stops with his arms straight in a plank position and moves his eyes over my bare legs, my breasts, and face, the heat in his look causing my nipples to pebble and wetness to spread between my legs. Really, it should be impossible for me to be turned on after the night and morning we had, but there you go. One look and a few words from him and I’m ready all over again. After experiencing sex with Tanner, I now know what I was missing; sex with Galvin was routine at best, probably because he wasn’t into it and I had no idea what I was doing or what I was missing out on.
“Don’t turn me on when I need sustenance.”
“I’ll feed you after I work out.” He gives me a grin before he goes back to doing push-ups. “Then I’ll eat you after we have breakfast.”
“You’re so bad.” I laugh, leaning forward to grab my cell phone when it starts to ring. When I see it’s Galvin calling, I hit the ignore button. I’ve said everything I need to say to him, and I’m not at a place where we can be friends. When it starts to ring again almost immediately, I frown and set down my coffee, then pick my cell up, slide my finger across the screen, and put it to my ear. “Yes?”