“Let me have this moment. I just want to look at you.” He slid his nose against hers until his lips were a sigh away from her mouth. She waited, swallowing down all the words she wanted to say.
Why was he looking at her that way? What did it mean?
And why did it feel so right after all this time of hating him?
“It was always you,” he whispered. “Always.” He slid his hands down the curve of her spine, pressing her against him until she wasn’t sure where she ended and he began. But still he didn’t kiss her. She could see his eyelashes fluttering as his gaze took her in.
It was always you. Her body hummed with the truth of those words. No matter how much she tried to fight it, he’d always been there. In her failed relationships, in her career triumphs, behind her eyelids when she tried to sleep at night.
It was always Tanner she saw, with his crooked smile and warm eyes, and his total belief in her.
“The way you look at me,” he whispered. “God, Van.”
All her words were gone. Caught in her chest that was squeezed so tight it was a surprise she could even breathe.
It was always him. Yes it was. And no matter how much she fought that, she would always lose.
His hands tightened around her, his fingers digging into her back. “You make my heart race like nothing and no one else,” he told her, closing his eyes and breathing her in.
Softly, slowly, he brushed his lips against hers, making her body sing in delight. Sliding his hand to cup the back of her head, he deepened the kiss, his lips needy and demanding, his tongue sliding against hers until they were both aching and breathless.
She looped her hands around his neck, rolling onto the balls of her feet to get closer. He walked forward, maneuvering her until the backs of her knees hit the soft surface of her mattress. Without conscious thought, they bent, until she was laying on the bed, Tanner’s strong, long body hovering over hers.
Not once did they break the kiss.
She wasn’t sure it was possible. Having his lips on hers felt as essential as breathing. He filled her up, emotions shooting through her chest, her stomach, her thighs.
When he finally pulled back, he looked as dazed as she felt. His eyes were bright, almost manic, his lips reddened by the friction they’d created. His hair was a glorious mess thanks to her demanding fingers, pointing this way and that. The same way it had when they were kids and he hadn’t learned to tame it.
She reached up to press the craziest of his locks down. His eyes scanned her face, as though he was looking for the answer to a question he hadn’t asked. She felt a jolt of electricity, along with the strangest emotion he’d brought out in her today.
Humor. God, this felt funny. Kissing Tanner Hartson after all these years. She tried to bite down the laughter, but it kept rising up, curling her lips and making her eyes crinkle.
“Are you laughing at me?” He pretended to frown.
She bit her lips together. “No.”
He grinned and slid his nose against hers again. She didn’t know what it was about that move, but it did something to her. Made every muscle in her body contract with the need for him.
“I think you are,” he whispered, tracing a line with his finger across the bottom of her throat. “I think you find me funny.”
“Not you, the situation.” Another cough of laughter excaped. “One minute I’m arguing with Chrissie Fairfax, the next I’m making out with you on my childhood bed. It’s like I fell asleep and woke up in 2010.”
“Coming home will do that to you. Make you feel like a kid.”
“Or a teenager.”
His grin widened. “Touché.” He kissed the corner of her lip. “Wanna make out like teenagers all night?”
She slid her hands up his back, pulling him closer. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“I’m asking.” He slid his hands over the swell of her behind, then pulled her against him, leaving her with no doubt of how excited he was.
“And I’m saying yes.” She circled her legs around his waist, anchoring herself against him.
“Okay,” he murmured, pressing his lips to hers. “Shut up and let me kiss you again.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tanner drank Van in with his eyes as she lay on her bed. Her golden hair was fanned out around her like a halo, framing her heated eyes and swollen lips. Lifting himself on the mattress, he caged her in with his arms, kissing his way up her neck, her jaw, until his lips were on hers again.
She tasted so good. Even better than he’d remembered. Her tongue was soft against his, delicately teasing him, making him harder than he’d ever felt before. Sliding her hands beneath his t-shirt, Van feathered her fingers up his skin, making him gasp against her lips.
Much more of this and he’d be in so deep he wasn’t sure he’d make it to the surface again.
He needed to see her. All of her. Curling his fingers around her t-shirt, he tugged until her stomach was exposed, soft and smooth as he caressed it with his palms. He dipped his head down to press his lips against her skin, smiling when he heard her sigh.
Pushing her t-shirt up further, he kissed his way up her torso, until he reached the edge of her lacy bra. He glanced up, his eyes meeting hers, and she gave the smallest of nods. Her eyelids were hooded as he pulled her t-shirt off, leaving her exposed to him.
“You’re beautiful.” His voice was rough. Full of desire. He brushed his lips against the swell of her breast, then sucked at her nipple through the black lace of her bra. She arched her back, her breath catching in her throat, and the sound made him throb harder.
The air surrounding them changed. Hissed and fizzed like it was full of electricity. He reached up to smooth her hair back from her face, and pulled her in for another kiss.
She was as needy as him, tugging at his t-shirt until he was lifting it over his shoulders, then pressing his ridged chest to hers. She had the body of a runner. Lithe and firm, with all the right curves. Her ass was smooth and plump, and as his palms traced its contours he groaned into her mouth.
He could feel her nipples pebbling against him through the thin fabric of her bra. With tense fingers he pushed the straps down, then the cups until her breasts were exposed to him. Soft swells with hard peaks, the perfect size for his hands. He captured a nipple in his mouth and sucked hard, causing her to cry out. Damn, he loved the way she responded to him.
Their jeans were the next to go, landing in a heap beside the bed. She was naked now, apart from her panties. With his eyes on hers he slid his fingers beneath the elastic, waiting a moment until she gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“So damn sweet,” he murmured against her lips.
He felt the warmth of her against his palms as he slid his hands beneath the cotton. Pressing his fingers into her smooth flesh, he felt her grind against him. Damn, he was hard. Couldn’t remember the last time he felt this on edge.
How quickly he could be inside her. His body ached at the thought. He was throbbing, reacting to the steady grind of her hips and her desperate kisses. Sliding his hand down further, he traced her with the tip of his finger, feeling her warm wetness as she gasped against his lips.
When he looked at her, Tanner could see his own need reflected back at him. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and her gaze never left his. “Please touch me,” she whispered, arching her back until her body made contact with his hand again, her pelvis tilting against his palm until his fingers were sliding through to the warmest, neediest part of her.